Last week I stopped at Macy’s to pick up some tops for an upcoming post, but when the elevator opened directly onto the Lauren Ralph Lauren dress section on the 5th floor, this dress sucked me into the dress department.

The surplice top, empire waist and ruching are constants with this brand and always work for us, but what really caught my eye was

the interesting print;

the color–although it’s more subdued in real life, the royal blue is eye catching, and the print also contains grey, black, and white, which means it will go well with a variety of accessories, jackets and sweaters;

the elbow-length sleeves–highly unusual because these dresses end in cap sleeves. All. The. Time.

Not surprisingly, I saw several other shoppers with this dress draped over their arms on their way to the dressing room. When I finally made it to the dressing room with a mound of adorable dresses, I didn’t want to love this dress. It’s so typical of what’s already in most busty closets, but after trying it on and photographing it, and then having the photographs catch my eye later, I knew it was a must-have.

It’s comfortable enough to wear around the house, but it’s polished enough to wear to networking events. It’s also constructed of matte jersey, one of my favorite fabrics. Besides having a nice drape, it’s wrinkle proof so it will travel well after I squeeze it into a suitcase (where it barely takes any space).

In the photograph above, I’m wearing a Petite 14, and it also comes in plus sizes. Below, I’m wearing it in a regular size 10, which looks almost identical to the 14P, except the 14P gives a little extra fabric at the neckline that I can pin if I need to hide my bra (I’m wearing my Panache Idina).

I haven’t torn the tags off this dress yet because I’m still playing with our budget to be able to afford it. Ralph Lauren brands don’t go on sale as frequently as other brands, but I was able to get 20% off by using my Macy’s card. The good news is that Macy’s is having a 25% Friends & Family sale from June 4-9, and I don’t see Lauren Ralph Lauren on the list of exclusions!Â If you decide to purchase this dress then, just enter “Friend” at checkout, and I’d be forever grateful if you’d access the site through one of the links above so that Hourglassy gets a referral fee.

The Jessica Simpson seersucker dress that you see behind me in the last photo is another one of the adorable mound that I tried on. I’ll report on it and other dress finds soon! (Teaser: Ellen Tracy had a “you never know” dress for me.)