Spend or Save: Textured Turquoise Dress

 Sunstream Eyelet Dress, Anthropologie, $128  |  George Knit Belted Dress, Walmart, $15-17

I first saw the Walmart version of this pretty turquoise dress a few weeks ago. I almost bought it at the time, but decided against it. Then maybe a week later I was reading an email from Anthropologie where they feature their version of the dress. Like the chicken and the egg, I don't know which dress came first, but this is probably one of the best Anthro knock-offs I've ever seen.

Both dresses feature a texture similar to that eyelet, only in a softer cotton fabric. You can see more of the underlayer in the Anthro dress, plus it has some amazing drama in the back. The Walmart dress captures the color and the texture in a more conservative dress, although I would skip the cheap-looking skinny belt. Good news for plus size ladies: the Walmart dress comes up to a size 4X in the turquoise, black, ivory, and lavender.

The color of the dress is just beautiful and would amazing fresh with a white cardigan or blazer for work. It also works for anything a sunny weekend may throw your way.  For accessories, I can easily envision this with metalliacs (gold or silver, your choice), and a wood bead necklace. No matter if you choose to spend or save, you're not going to lose either way. Both dresses are great additions to any wardrobe and I daresay will become your favorite dress.

Spend or Save: Colorblock Shirtdresses

Polyvore set here.
Left, BCBG by Max Azaria, $148, Nordstorm
Right, Alloy, $40, Alloy.com

Colorblocking and shirtdresses are both still trendy for this fall.  Luckily, they can be found at all price points, as these two dresses indicate.  While there are a lot of differences in these two dresses, the style statement is similar enough to debate if spending money is sometimes better than saving.

The blue dress on the left is made of silk and I'm iffy on the tie belt.  The violet dress is made of a questionable polyester but the gold skinny belt adds so much to the dress.  I think both are equally flattering, and despite my questions on the quality of the violet dress's material, it drapes very well.

Should you spend or save?  It depends on what you're buying a dress for.  If you're looking for a work dress, the blue silk without question.  Silk does need more care than polyester, but with proper care it will look like new for years.  Without seeing the Alloy dress up close, it's hard to determine how well the polyester is made.  It looks pretty cheap in the picture, but the draping is really on point.  My general rule on polyester is much like the UK basketball team, polyester is one and done.  Meaning, you get one year of wear and then it's time to toss out or give away.  Keeping that in mind, if you're looking for a fun addition to your wardrobe, the violet dress suits your needs perfectly without having to spend a lot of cash.