As in, it’s perfect for me.

It was love at first sight when I found this pleated dress on Target’s website. Truth is, I haven’t been on there in a while, and I definitely haven’t looked at any of their clothing in months, so I was blissfully unaware of their options.

Looking for this pleated sweater dress I saw someone rave about, I came across the one, and I couldn’t resist it. I read the reviews to get an idea of the sizing, picked a size, and ordered it on the spot.

I have to admit that I was nervous about it — the reviews seem all over the place, but I was pleasantly surprised once I received it. This dress looks so much better in person! As mentioned in this blog post, the only thing I’m not thrilled about is the belt — the silver buckle takes away from it, and the belt itself doesn’t stay put. But you can go without it like I did in these photos.

In all honesty, I didn’t intend to wear the dress without the belt — I literally forgot about it, and I think it looks better this way.

What made me fall for this pleated dress so hard? Its style! This is my dream style in a dress: fitted bodice, full skirt. With this one, the pleats are the whipped cream, and the pockets are the cherry on top! I feel amazing wearing dresses in this style!

Now, the sizing, and other details:

This pleated dress with pockets definitely runs small — I went up a size but if you are a big-chested girl, you might want to go two sizes up.

The fabric is pretty heavy for it to be a summer dress, it doesn’t stretch, and yes, it wrinkles, though I found it pretty easy to steam. The pockets are large and comfy like they should be.

Note that the cups are sewn a bit on the pointy side if that’s something that you think will bother you (as you can tell from the photos).

How to wear it:

What I like the most about this dress is that it’s versatile and can be worn in so many ways:

• Wear it with a leather jacket and military-style or Chelsea boots for an edgier look;

• Wear it like me with elegant shoes — add a lady jacket for warmth or more formal settings,

• Wear it under a cropped sweater to make it look like it’s a skirt,

• Wear it with flats, really, the possibilities are endless.

Top left: Dress; Lady jacket, Red shoes, Gold shoes; Top Right: Dress, Blazer, Booties; Bottom left: Bag, Shoes; Bottom right: Dress, Military style boots, affordable Chelsea boot option; Leather jacket, more affordable “leather” jacket.

My outfit details: sunglasses, dress, straw bag; shoes unavailable online — will share if I find a link.