Frock Ballad Dress in Angie

The Frock Ballad Dress is my first Modcloth Purchase. I'm an Anthropologie gal all the way and top 10 reviewer. I am seriously in love with Modcloth. SIZING: I considered all the reviews. I carefully checked the measurements and found that the Medium was a perfect fit. The length could be an inch or two shorter. It's right at the top of my knee. The dress is fully lined and closed at the hem. The arm holes are just right. The waistline falls in the correst position. AT MY WAIST, Not Above. STYLING: Not thrilled with the back zip, but it looks nice. The pleating in the front is very fresh. I did find the hem to be uneven, but not noticeable when wearing. FABRIC: The Rayon/Poly blend is suitable for a Winter Frock, but will not work in 100 degree weather. Dry Clean only. This is a Nicola Brand. DETAILS: I love this style and the Navy color is sheer genious for this dress. The pockets are outrageously wonderful, and the gray button detailing on the pockets and back of collar are to die for. I can dress this up by changing the tights to gray and adding Blue suede heels and an Ivory coat with ruffle placket. The attached pics are for an oufit more work place suited. Thank you Modcloth for making my day!

This dress, along with the Forest For the Trees jacket, was my first purchase from ModCloth. I had my eye on this dress for a couple months and decided to buy it because it went on sale. I've read a lot of reviews on this site and was a little concerned about the sizing I chose and the quality of the dress. When I opened the bag containing the dress, I found the color to be very true to the pictures. The fabric felt a little different than I expected, but it still felt nice (more smooth than cottony-- after all it is rayon and polyester). There were some hanging threads that I had to snip, but every seam was even and tight-- no unraveling threads or funky stitches. The dress also came with one extra button, which was nice. Overall the dress looked exactly as pictured. I was pleased to find that the dress had some weight to it which helps it hang nicely. When I tried it on I fell in love-- it fit perfectly! I love the thick waistband and the way it hugs my waist-- it makes the dress stay put and not ride up or down-- the top stays fitted and the pleated skirt falls slightly away from the stomach and hips while still showing the definition of your body-- very flattering. The back zip is very well made and is hidden, which makes the dress look very nice from every angle. I am only 5'1'', but the hem hit in a very flattering spot right at my knees. The neck is a hybrid between a cowl and turtleneck. It fits very loose, and you can fool with it a bit to make it look higher or lower, messier or more neat. The bust fit perfect with my t-shirt bra and it also fit well with my "enhancing" bra which makes me look about a cup size bigger (I'm a 32-B). I happened to like the way it looked more with my normal bra-- I felt I looked a little too top heavy in the push up bra. The two main problems I have with the dress are the fact that the buttons at the back of the neck and pockets were not functional-- you cannot unbutton them-- which makes it a bit more difficult to iron the dress. Which leads me to the second problem-- the dress was very wrinkled when I got it (I guess it's to be expected having been shipped). The hem does not lay evenly unless you iron it right. You have to make sure the lining and the dress fabric are correctly aligned in order to get a perfect hem (I'm a little bit of a perfectionist when it comes to skirt hems). I started out with a very low setting on the iron, in fact, it was so low, I could rest my hand on the plate without fear of being burned. I tested it on the inside hem just in case it did something to the color. It didn't harm the dress at all. I slowly increased the heat to get the wrinkles out because the warm setting wasn't really getting them out. Eventually I increased it to "1" which my iron says is for acrylic and acetate. The "3" setting on my iron says it is for rayon and polyester, but I was too afraid to turn it up that high. The lower setting took longer than usual, but did the job. I have yet to wear this dress out-- it's very cold here in Michigan and I don't really have an occasion to wear a dress right now. When I do wear it, I think it will look really nice with opaque tights in a brown or gray shade paired with my tall dark brown riding boots. I tried it with my tall high-heeled black boots and it just didn't seem to fit with the mood of the dress. I also think a nice pair of flats will look good-- I have some black suede ones that will look really cute. You can also pair it with a cardigan or jacket or wear a long-sleeve shirt of some kind underneath as long as it is tight-fitting. I think wearing your hair up in a ponytail or at least halfway back is more flattering with this dress than wearing your hair down. This dress has a lot of versatility and can go from being more dressy and prim to being more casual chic. All in all, I was very happy with my purchase and plan to buy from ModCloth in the future.

I knew ever since I saw this dress on Be the Buyer that I had to have it. It's been well worth the wait (and the price!) The fabric has a nice heaviness to it which is great for fall, the lining is smooth and comfortable. The stretch in the fabric is very generous and flattering. I was worried that it would be too long because I'm 5'2", but it's knee-length--absolutely perfect.