j crew dress reviews

J Crew ruffle dress in tropical floral review

J Crew’s ruffle dress in tropical floral (SU16, $128) runs regular 00 – 16 (F3884), petite P00 – P12 (F4010) and tall T2 – T? (F4026) . The color is called navy multi (NMU). 100% silk, 100% poly lining.

8/3 marked down to $99.99

Size 6 – I thought this would be true to size (tts), but it was too fitted from the waist on down. There’s no stretch in the fabric and you want it to skim your body and not fit it exactly. I bought the size 8 (not pictured). My mom said it looked like a Hawaiian beach…(then trailed off). I think she wanted to say muu muu, but was distracted by the Olympics.

The print is beautiful. I love the rich, cobalt blue and the different colors of the tropical scene.

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I tried the dress on with a thin, patent belt and the concept (belted) will work for some. I also tried it on with a black blazer and that looked nice. I have no waist definition, so the dress looked wide under the jacket, but the look worked. I also tried it with leggings and that worked as well. I wasn’t a fan of any of the looks on me. I have an umbilical hernia that pokes out at times. Some clothes hide it, some don’t.

The ruffles aren’t overdone. They feel like light flutters. I forgot they were there until I looked in the mirror.

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The Feeling
I wish the fit were a match for me. The colors and print are beautiful. Consider sizing up one, unless you are thin and straight.

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Promo

LOTSTOSHOP gets 20% off select items & 40% off final sale. Free shipping on all orders thru .

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J Crew striped t-shirt dress review

J Crew’s striped t-shirt dress (SU16, $88) runs regular XXX – XXL (C6514) and petite PXXS – PL (C7375). Color choices are black white (BWH) and navy fiery sunset (NFS). 93% cotton, 7% elastane.

Size S – black white – I like the black & white. It’s going to potentially grab your stomach if it sticks out. I didn’t feel too self conscious in it. The dress is comfortable. Midweight fabric. Not thin and not too heavy. Substantial, though. The fit was tts for me. Petite medium, which is a small equivalent, would bring the length up a tad and be the best fit. For size reference, I’m 5’0″, 34DD, 39″ hip.

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There’s no shoulder seam.

A lack of shoulder seam can often create an exaggerated shoulder width, but the forward placement of the side seams mitigates that. Meaning, the side seams are positioned to the front of the body and not along the sides of the dress. It’s visually sliming.

I don’t know why they had to put an exposed zipper on it, but I was able to step into the dress. I didn’t have to pull it overhead. So there’s that.

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Size M – I tried a M, but it’s looking nightgown-ish. If you’re a petite, definitely stick to tts. If you’re tall or want it to be looser, you might want to size up. The red black is nice, too. Bright, but not overpowering. I have purchased other stripes, but tend to wear navy/white or black/white the most.

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A pic with my head ‘n’ hurrrr.

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The Feeling
If the dress had shoulder seams then it greatly resemble a number of previous seasons’ releases. I like the small tweaks, even if they don’t work for me. Good fabric and #stripes!

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PROMO

The WEDNESDAY promo gets 50% off vacation picks and 40% off sale items. The dress reviewed above gets 50% off. Thoughts on some of the items that are promo eligible:

* classic popover shirt in striped cotton gauze (net $35) – review

* faux-leather scallop trimmed tank (net $25) – I was skeptical when I saw this online, but it’s really cute in-person. I didn’t try it on, but the scallops are small and cute.

* gingham cotton shorts (net $30) – I saw these irl and didn’t try them on. The fabric more lightweight than I expected. I would probably go for an 8. I’ve been doing that in some shorts for a couple years now so they can sit lower on the hip.

* lucite and crystal bracelet (net $65) – The colors look fall/winter like. I like it

* pavé drop tortoise earrings (net $44) – Very pretty irl. I haven’t picked them up, so can’t say if they’re on the heavy side or not.

* playa earrings (net $39) – Mermaid earrings!

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J Crew flutter-sleeve dress in eyelet review

J Crew’s flutter-sleeve dress in eyelet (SU16, $138) runs regular 000 – 16 (F1724), petite P00 – P12 (F3030) and tall T2 – T16 (F3170). Color choices are bold red (BRE) and white. 100% cotton, 100% poly lining. Machine wash, line dry.

6/18 – currently $109.99

Size 6 – white – The style is cute, but not a match for me personally. If you like a-line skirts, this is for you. I also think a pear shape would look good in this. A narrower waist and hips that are larger in contrast — I think — would look good in this dress. The top part of the dress felt fine. The seaming appears to accentuate the chest area, but it didn’t look exactly that way irl. I found the skirt to feel a bit lightweight, which is great for warmer weather, but I felt self-conscious in that area.

For size reference I’m 5’0″, 34DD, 39″ hip.

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Size 8 – bold red – The size 8 was looser in the skirt, but felt too big in the shoulders, in particular. The flutter sleeves were bigger in this size, too. I like the length in the regular (pictured). I’m not sure about the petite length. A shorter dress is going to make the top portion look a little bigger. The perfect flutter sleeves isn’t easy to execute. They didn’t nail this one.

The skirt portion was bigger in this size, but the weight of the fabric didn’t feel as thin as the weight in the skirt area. Maybe that was psychological since the color is rich. Speaking of, the color looks orange in these pics on my monitor, but it’s an orange-red in-person. It would go great with a lipstick in the same shade.

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I thought I wasn’t able to zip the dress all the way, but it turns out to stop at the mid-back. There’s a hook-and-eye closure that creates a keyhole in the back. I’m not sure how wide the keyhole is because I wasn’t aware of the design until I took the dress off and had a closer look.

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Here’s the hook-and-eye closure. The metal used is often gold or silver, but these notions are usually plain. I haven’t seen one with a cute button as part of the function.

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The Feeling
I like the eyelet pattern and the material is nice. It’s lightweight, though, and it was particularly noticeable to me in the white.

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Promo

SUMMER gets 40% off sale items and 40% off summer, including these:

* Candy stripe dress (SU16, $118) – review
* Classic popover shirt in striped cotton gauze (SU16, $69.50) – review
* Cotton Jackie cardigan – All colors on promo or sale, making the current net price $30 – $36.
* Crossback maxi dress in vintage plaid (SU16, $98) – online only – This is described as a cover up. I’d expect the fabric to be lightweight.
* Drapey chambray shirtdress ($98) – review
* Garment-dyed crewneck sweatshirt (new cut $39.99) – The misleading title is at odds with the fabric. This is a sweatshirt cut in t-shirt material. There’s no getting around that fact. That said, I like it in size M. I thought about going up to a L, which would have it slide around my shoulders, a la Flashdance, but it would be too wide in the body. It’s the perfect top for a cool summer morning.
* Regent blazer in linen ($168) – Spotty size options remain. I’ve tried this silhouette a couple times since it was released a year or two ago and I wasn’t a fan. I recently tried Loft’s on duty blazer, which is the same cut and I fell in love. The way they designed the stand-up collar works better on me. The jacket falls away from the center of the body a bit more than the Regent. I’m skeptical about the polyester fabric pilling, but it’s machine washable. And I figure I only need to wear it for the summer season. If it’s lasts thru that, great. 40% off with SWEET. 6P fit and felt fine, but visually looked a little tight at the back under the arms. 8P was perfect, so tts.
* Tiered eyelet midi dress (SU16, $138) – review

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J Crew grommets dress reviews

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J Crew’s metallic linen shift dress with grommets ($138) runs regular 00 – 16 (F2537), petite P00 – P12 (F3022) and tall T2 – T16 (F5901). The color is called golden flax (GFL). Hand wash.

Size 4 – golden flax – There was no 6 to try, which was fine because the 4 fit. So, consider taking the smaller of your two dress sizes if you’re in-between. For size reference, I’m 5’0″, 34DD and 39″ hip. The 4 fit fine, but I could also wear the 6P equivalent and be just fine. I do prefer a slightly longer length because I usually wear heels with dresses.

In this case, I’d more likely wear flat sandals with this dress, so the petite would be my first choice.

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The Feeling
I’m a fan of J. Crew’s gold metallic fabrics. Nice shift cut and the armholes aren’t too big/oversized like they are on some of the other shifts.

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Linen shift dress with grommets ($138) runs regular 000 – 16 (F1836), petite P00 – P12 (F5899) and tall T2 – T16 (Ff5900). 100% linen, 100% poly lining. Made in the Philippines. Color choices are marine salt and tuscan olive. It appears that both colors are available in regular and small. Hand wash. The tall is only available in marine salt. Tall people don’t wear green?

Size 4 – marine salt – I need to hurdle my fear of yet another program and figure out how to lighten pics. At any rate, here’s marine salt. It’s an off-white color. Like a creamy white.

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I realized that hardware on garments aren’t really in my style suite, but the grommets are nice. The scale is right for the dress. I would expect to be able to wear this next year and it not look out of fashion. The pockets are functional, but placed a little long on the dress. You wouldn’t necessarily put your hands in them while standing idle, but you might.

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The Feeling

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There’s also the suede slingbacks with grommets. These seem to be languishing in the sale section and are certain to get a 2nd cut. I can’t say I’m a fan.

Promo

SUMMER gets 40% off sale items and 40% off summer, including these:

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j crew dress reviews

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