The Search For The Perfect Dress Continues With An Origami And A Zara

So if you read my last post, the Milly dress that was in that beautiful box was a huge disappointment. Let's say that in this case the container was better than the content. But don't be sad for me (I know you are not, it's so to speak), I must say that I was almost relieved that it din't work because in the meanwhile I found two other dresses that fit me to perfection and I couldn't have kept the three of them. In some sort it made things easier, being the most expensive of the three I had decided that I would keep it only in case it would blow me away, and it provided some present-opening fun on Xmas Eve.

The other two dresses are the JCrew Origami and a Zara dress that I found a couple of weeks ago while I was in for a return (Zara is the only other store besides JCrew that I can't leave without buying something).
Let's start with the Zara dress. I don't see it online but it is a "pencil skirt dress" in a very substantial fabric with cap sleeves and seams along the sides. It is a little bit Mad Men in a good way and fits me to perfection. Best of all, it is in my favorite color, navy:

You can't see and feel the fabric but it looks and feels much more expensive than the $79 it retails for. It could easily be mistaken for a Michael Kors or Roberto Rodriguez. The belt makes it a little bit more modern but can be removed (in fact I think I am going to get rid of the twoo loops because they really aren't functional, the belt stays in place without passing into them). The only thing that annoys me about this dress is the lining: it is cheap poly and tends to bunch up. I am tempted to take it to the tailor and have it removed because as I said the fabric is substantial enough to keep its shape without the lining. Any of you has any experience in this matter that they want to share?

While the Zara is a polished day dress, the Origami is definitively more elegant and to me more of a cocktail/evening dress (I know that many JCAs wear it to work but they must work in a very dressy environment). I was a little bit late to jump on the Origami bandwagon. For some reasons I never felt compelled to order it, even if it received rave reviews on the JCA, probably because I never had the chance to try it in store (it sold-out pretty quickly in my size and then it was waitlisted forever).
One day during the recent 30% off promo I was in a store and I saw this beautiful dress and even if I vaguely recognized the detail of the origami I wasn't completely sure that it was the same dress because the fabric was definitively softer and more drapey than the wool crepe of the Teddie (that I returned BTW because I never reached for it in almost two months). The SA told me that it was a new version of the origami in another fabric (the style number is different even if the ticket says "New origami dress in wool crepe"). They had a few sizes left but they had a 0 and when I tried it on I understood why everyone was raving about it. WOW, I am seriously impressed by this dress, the fabric and fit are divine and with the 30% off going on I couldn't leave it in the store. I think it fits better bustier ladies because I can barely fill the top and I am a 34C, but besides it being a little bit loose on top it is perfection. This is the dark charcoal, in a 0:

This new origami also comes in navy BTW. Maybe it will be rolled out on the webste tomorrow or maybe it will remain store-only, who knows with JCrew.

Do you like my new Zara dress? Do you own the Origami? Please share!