Fab and Not so Fab – Winter 2013 Dressing Room Edition

I popped in to my B&M J.Crew for the first time in a while on Friday – I had a return to make and I was meeting a friend for drinks and to see Catching Fire (which was SO good…if you haven’t seen it – go!!) Of course I got sucked in to a full dressing room of try-ons, about half of which I took decent photos and feel like sharing with the world. A few loves and a few disappointments as usual. The 40% off was still running in store but my store’s sale section has seen better days. Today I’ll start with the not so fab and move on to the fab…

Merino Emboridered-lace sweater – $98

I’ve had my eye on this since it first came out and have watched it go through the backordered/out of stock/back in stock cycle online but still not pulled the trigger. I was pleased to see it in my store in two of the three colorways (byzantine blue and apricot mist). It also comes in a dark poppy color. Here’s the website photo:

I should know better than when the color is listed apricot mist, it won’t be the pretty ivory color shown on the website. I was right. I need to trust my J.Crew color instincts.

   

The color is most definitely apricot mist – I would not characterize it as ivory. This is a size medium and I honestly think the photo looks better than I felt in it – I would have liked this sweater to have a bit more structure, a heavier merino or something like that because I just felt like it was floppy and didn’t have a lot of shape. Thinking about it afterwards, I should have tried it with a button down underneath, but this is a sweater that I think should stand on it’s own and it was underwhelming in my opinion. The stitching on the sweater was very nice, I tried to get a decent closeup at that, but I didn’t need this one. Here it is in the byzantine blue in a large, which was even more sloppy on me. I do really like the color though.

Merino Scarf Sweater – $98

My store only had L and XL in this sweater so I tried a Large for the heck of it. I know a lot of people like this sweater and I can definitely vouch for it’s coziness – but maybe it was just the size, again, I felt like it was a little sloppy. Again, I should have tried it layered, which is probably how I would really wear it. I might consider it on sale.

Now, on to the fab…first up, the Gold-Stripe Dress $228 / currently on promo for $188. Let’s talk about how much I loved this dress when I saw it in the style guide – I really wish it was a skirt though, for as much as I love it, the top is a little odd to me. I would have preferred a cap sleeve to the tank style, but that’s just me. But the skirt…is gorgeous. And yes, they have made a mini in this skirt (of course) which I won’t share the photos of me in that mini because, well, nobody needs to see that. I am considering trying going up a size in the mini and having the hem taken down…there was a good 1 1/2 inches in fabric that could come down, but I might be stretching this idea.

              

With heels and a statement necklace, you’d be good to go. In my climate, I’d need a cashmere cardigan to make this even close to seasonal appropriate. I love this dress. It would be perfect for a fancy party or a winter wedding – neither of which I have on my social calendar this winter.  I didn’t even get far enough with the SA to ask if they’d give me the 40% off of the promotional price because I think I would have been duped in to taking this dress home with me. The skirt is definitely poufy – my hips were doing a happy dance that they finally had room to breathe in a J.Crew dress.  But I can definitely see how people might think it is too poufy. The skirt is built to have some extra pouf. I took my regular J.Crew dress size (12) in this dress. As I said above, the tank part of this dress I could take or leave, so really, it’s just the skirt that I’m mooning over.The length was perfect on me.  The fact that I literally have nowhere to wear this dress made my decision, but I’m still thinking about this dress.

Last up…Crepe Short Sleeve Dress in Antique Red $195

This dress also comes in black. The website description states that it falls below the knee, which is comical, because the website model clearly shows the dress above the knee. It’s above the knee. But it is longer than many of the suiting dresses they’ve put out in recent years and I don’t think I’d need to have it let out.

I need stockings and heels with this dress, but the red color is what I consider to be a perfect red – it isn’t tomato or orange at all, and starting on the spectrum towards burgundy. Yeah, I need some spanx, but I couldn’t go up a size without swimming in it up top. The price is still more than I’d pay for this so I’m hoping for a full price promo and I might spend my rewards card on this one. Did I say I love the color?

So of course, the items that came home with me I didn’t grab pictures of…I ended up with the colorblock houndstooth skirt (love!), zippered minnies (surprising love), and the Ceces in poppy. So there you have it. What are you thinking of J.Crew these days? Do you have any of these items? Would love to hear what you think and thanks for visiting!

Posted By: fablifeforever · In: Blog Posts