Customer Reviews Arc'teryx Contenta Dress

Runs big! Otherwise be great travel or sport outfit

I AM SHORT 4"10", 68 YEARS, and 130 lbs old. I would have kept it years ago but this covid thing has kept me from tennis and daily exercise. A Bad excuse, I know. But based on the measurements above this is not for me I loved the fabric, loved the style. I have to return .. it is too short for me to be comfortable wearing out. The middle stitching is lower than I expected and raising it to tuck under means it's short. Not tight just short for me.

Even with the design changes, this dress is awesome. The fabric is lovely and dries quickly. I can roll it in my suitcase and wear it when I arrive. I have this dress in three colours and will buy more because it is so darned flexible. BUT my favorite and the most flattering by far is my first - purchased before the higher neckline and armholes were introduced. Those changes altered the overall look to "sporty" and made it less breathable/breezy, which it needs because the fabric can feel warm in very hot weather. Too bad. But still, a really great dress.

I bought the older version (2015) in black and I love it. I wear this for work meetings and out and about. The black is super flattering. I wear it without cinching the waist, more like a drop waist. My one complaint is that it pills. I don't know if they fixed this with the new version but I am currently looking to buy the red or orange color despite the pilling. I am 5'9", 165 lbs, and a DD and the medium works and is fitted, the large is a little looser but still fits for a more relaxed look.

Great lines, lovely fabric. The cut is so off. Very, very broad across shoulders/chest. Cut for someone with a very broad back. Would love to see cut revised. Love the lines.

I really love the material and pockets in this dress. It is the perfect dress for a hot summer day, and is functional with two pockets as well as a zipper pocket for important things. The only downside is that I feel the bottom isn't wide enough, while biking and hiking I feel a bit restricted in this dress.

Ordered 2 of these dress after falling in love with the last year's contenta dress. The fabric is light for summer, but the shape is not great at all. Please bring back the old contenta style with elastic instead of tie. I feel like I'm in a maternity dress.

I have two of your old Contenta dresses (original ones maybe) with the dropped waist, and lower neck line. They are my favourite go to dresses for summer. They are flattering, cool, easy to wear on their own or add a shirt or sweater over top. Please bring back the original style. This new version is nothing like the old one. Why not create a new dress with a new name and bring back the original (in decent cheerful summer colours) under it's name. Was hoping to update my wardrobe but will be wearing my old ones for another season.

Why oh why oh why would you mess with the world's most perfect dress?! Every season I order new colors in the original Contenta Dress -- the old scoop-neck style, which I find much more comfortable. This high-neck version is too constricting and rides too far up on my neck. Not at all what I want in warmer weather. Please bring back the old scoop-neck cut!

I now have 3 of these dresses at size small. I bought one of the first - in black - but it is cut too tight under the arms so I don't always wear it for this reason. The second - bought later - is white and this was cut looser so I assumed Arcteryx had received comments and altered the cut. To replace the first black one I bought another. But guess what - this is tight again! I despair. My only option is to cut the arm holes. I really like these dresses so easy to wear, cool and don't crease. I have had problems with inconsistent sizes - I demonstrated this in the London flagship store with two pairs of shorts that were almost a size different.

I now have 3 of these dresses at size small. I bought one of the first - in black - but it is cut too tight under the arms so I don't always wear it for this reason. The second - bought later - is white and this was cut looser so I assumed Arcteryx had received comments and altered the cut. To replace the first black one I bought another. But guess what - this is tight again! I despair. My only option is to cut the arm holes. I really like these dresses so easy to wear, cool and don't crease. I have had problems with inconsistent sizes - I demonstrated this in the London flagship store with two pairs of shorts that were almost a size different.

Tie dresses normally flatter me and I've liked both the Contenta shift and the Contenta so I expected this to be a great purchase. It was so horribly disappointing. It fit weird everywhere. I wouldn't be able to wear this dress as a casual around-town dress let alone as an active dress the way I've used the past Contenta dresses. The tie would snag and the cut is so incredibly unflattering. The material is good quality which is the only reason I gave this product 2 stars. I LOVED the old shift dress it was easy to pull on over shorts after a long sweaty run or wear for a casual hike. I would have bought several more if I'd known the style was going away. Please bring it back!

Love everything about it, except that there is zero room for hips or booty. If you have a hourglass shape, the top will fit you perfectly, but the bottom is super tight. Not comfortable or flattering.

Definetly not the great styling of the Cala dress from last year. Loose large fit no shape . A real dissapointment. The pockets and hidden zip pocket are thebone redeaming feature. The Cala dress fro thebpast collectiin was one of the best designed well fitted casual yet stylish fantastic pattern wit a lovely neckline nice front details great darts wonderful hidden pockets nicely fitted back for a shapely silhouette. Pleasebplease please bring it back in new colours.

I have no idea why Arcteryx would mess with the perfection that was the contenta and contenta shift. I would have bought one in every decent staple color. Sad. The contenta shift was the most perfect dress ever.

I have 8 different colour of the older version of the Contenta shift and Contenta dress, I love it! This new version looks like a potato sack - even on the model. Arcteryx seems to be making a lot of design and fitting changes to their products and are losing their focus. They need to stay on track with excellent cut, fabric and functional designs. I am disappointed with a number of the "revised " designs this year.

I am 5'2 and weigh 112 lbs. this dress and all of arc teryx dresses just hang on me. Wish they would come out with a XXS

I am 5'5" and 123 lbs and the xs fit well. I am too old to want my bra straps showing though. I never did find the draw string to tighten the dress, but I didn't pursue it bc my underwear was showing. It would have been a great travel dress due to the fabric, but I am returning it.

Another product made for a square, thick, fat torso, and skinny legs. This collection is terrible! Arc'teryx used to be so elegant! Women do not have bodies like that!. The fabric is great, but this design is soo ugly, the dress looks cheap and does not fit anyone.

I purchased this a month ago at a retail store, as I have lived many years wearing my years old contenta shift. This version is not the same quality. I found it uncomfortable and unflattering.

Please bring back the old Contenta Shift Dress-It's my go to dress! The shift dress is so cute, classy, sporty, and flattering. This dress is just not the same & the fit is not as flattering.

This dress not high quality.

Due du nouveau design. Encolure trop petite, moins confortable au cou et cre un look moins classique passe partout. Svp revenir l'ancien modle. J'en prendrais de diffrentes couleurs. J'adore l'ancien modele que j'ai!

Like many others it seems, I am not a fan of this redesign. I own several of these dresses, purchased at different points over the years. I have pretty broad shoulders and bust, so I do enjoy the additional room there, but find the higher neckline uncomfortable. Additionally, since I wear mine to work in a warehouse, I'm often layering shirts over the top in winter and the high neck shows above the collars. The lack of a plastic lock to cinch the waist is annoying as I now have to tie /untie knots to adjust it and get it to stay put. However, the pocket placement in this version compared to the old versions is the real deal breaker. My other dresses have patch style pockets placed a bit further back on sides/hips. These pockets are the reason I bought so many of this dress. They were deep enough to fit my binoculars while hiking, my wallet and phone while shopping, or to stick my RF in at work. The new ones however are in seam bag style pockets. While still roomy, they now sit in front of my thighs/knees and whatever I end up putting in them bounces around down by my knees when I walk/run. They lay funny and kind of bag out even when empty. And the bottoms of them end up peeking out from under the hem when I sit down. I hate these pockets so much I'm considering sewing the seams closed and just cutting them off. I unfortunately won't be buying anymore of this design and can't recommend it.

Like many others it seems, I am not a fan of this redesign. I own several of these dresses, purchased at different points over the years. I have pretty broad shoulders and bust, so I do enjoy the additional room there, but find the higher neckline uncomfortable. Additionally, since I wear mine to work in a warehouse, I'm often layering shirts over the top in winter and the high neck shows above the collars. The lack of a plastic lock to cinch the waist is annoying as I now have to tie /untie knots to adjust it and get it to stay put. However, the pocket placement in this version compared to the old versions is the real deal breaker. My other dresses have patch style pockets placed a bit further back on sides/hips. These pockets are the reason I bought so many of this dress. They were deep enough to fit my binoculars while hiking, my wallet and phone while shopping, or to stick my RF in at work. The new ones however are in seam bag style pockets. While still roomy, they now sit in front of my thighs/knees and whatever I end up putting in them bounces around down by my knees when I walk/run. They lay funny and kind of bag out even when empty. And the bottoms of them end up peeking out from under the hem when I sit down. I hate these pockets so much I'm considering sewing the seams closed and just cutting them off. I unfortunately won't be buying anymore of this design and can't recommend it.