I saw this dress in my local retailer store, and am not sure why i did not try it on then, but later at home it began to haunt me. i loved the colored embroidery against the black. my husband and i will be traveling to europe later this fall and i wanted to take a dress with me that wouldn't take up too much room, and be suitable for times when i wanted to dress-up a little. online i saw that it was available in the petite, and with the reviews warning that it ran large i opted for a medium petite