Words cannot describe how woefully disappointed I was by the Diamond Flame Skirt that arrived today from Anthropologie. I’ve been drooling over this skirt since it first came out, obsessively stalking the product page every single day, debating whether I can really trump out $170 for a skirt I don’t really need. I finally pulled the trigger and purchased the tank and the skirt modeled in the catalog. I just reviewed the tank yesterday (love it) but this skirt is probably my biggest clothing disappointment thus far this year. Why? Oh let me list the ways. Or maybe a picture speaks a thousand words.

I’m wearing: Anthropologie Coil Flower Tank, Nine West Entire Sandals

Ok – WTF is that? Seriously. Those ain’t my hips. Is this a pencil skirt or a tulip skirt or just a poorly designed blob of fabric? Ok let’s start from the beginning. I pulled this thing out of the tissue and immediately noticed the fabric is a thin, light cotton. No lining, even though the description says there is a silk lining. No real weight. The skirt was wrinkled and seems easy to wrinkle. I was like, “I paid $170 + $12 shipping for this thin, unsubstantial skirt?? It better be cute on.” Not a questionable hope, since the tank turned out to be cute enough to offset its average quality. Well, I pulled it on and man, I looked like I pulled on a giant lantern. The waistband fits me well right at my natural waist, but the rest just…float. The fabric is so light and unsubstantial there is nothing to pull it down so it drapes nicely over my hips. Instead, it kind of just puffs out from the fitted waistband. As soon as you move (see right picture above), you can tell how thin the material is. The whole thing just looks incredibly cheap and poor. And look at how flattering it is from the side!

So apparently it not only puffs to the side, it puffs in the front too. Not surprising. There’s no weight to hold it down. Here are some more pictures of the skirt itself.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but for $170 I figured it had to be a thick, substantial fabric that drapes beautifully. Hence I was surprised to even see the tiny box it came in, and even more surprised when I saw it was practically a shirt disguised as a skirt. Even the zipper is cheap – it’s plastic and doesn’t smoothly zip up. It feels so flimsy I feel like any ungentle tug and it’d die.

For the sake of every girl out there who I know has been pining away for this skirt for weeks at least, I hope the poor fit is just on me. I’m sure it will work for someone, just not me. And just for sizing, I got a size 6, which fits my waist fine but not my 37″ hips. If you want to try this one for yourself, get it here for $168. Good luck.

When I first saw Anthropologie pair the Coil Flower Tank with the Diamond Flame Skirt, I knew I had to buy the entire outfit. I don’t have any print tops and I thought this dynamic skirt would be boring if I only paired it with solid tees (probably of the white, neutral color). I never would think to pair that skirt with an aqua color top, but I think it works, particularly with the red coloring of the pattern in the top.

$58 for a simple cotton tank though seems egregiously overpriced, but I figured I’d at least order the ensemble then decide…particularly as my size quickly sold out and I only managed to snag one due to sheer luck when one popped back up. It came today and my first impression was, “why the f. is this thin cotton tank $58?” It seems like extremely ordinary quality, the coloring wasn’t saturated at all as it appears in the photo above, and it honestly looked like something I can probably see at Target. Was completely unimpressed. Then I put it on and walked to the mirror…

I’m wearing: Old Navy Foldover Knit Skirt, Banana Republic Dahlia Wedges

…and I totally get it now. I LOVE IT. I don’t even know why. The print looks really unique and pretty, and the fit is uber flattering. The cut is high enough at the arm pits to avoid squishing out that small pouch of fat that appears by the sides when straps cut at the wrong place, and it really shows off the shoulders. The front is loose so it looks very breezy and flowy when tucked in. Here are some side shots. You’ll see in the second picture that because the back is racerback, your bra straps will show. Best to wear this one with strapless (I’ve yet to find a good one…).

Looks a bit weird when untucked with any kind of A-line or full skirt, but would probably work if you belted it over the skirt. Either way, I can definitely see how great this will look with jeans or pencil skirts.

My Diamond Flame Skirt is coming tomorrow, so I’ll post pictures of the whole ensemble tomorrow. I’m contemplating whether or not to pick up the tank in the other colors. You can get your Coil Flower Tank here for $58.