crew reviews: wool capri, maisie dress, perfect shirt, stripe-breaker, jardin, wedges.

Hello everyone,

I popped into my J.Crew yesterday to make some returns, and tried on several items.

Perfect Shirt in leopard -- Uncertain about the leopard Tippi, I gave the perfect shirt a try. I went with my typical perfect shirt size, a 4. Definitely like it so much better than I imagined! It didn't wow me on the hanger, but it's better on the body, and very soft against the skin.

New Cafe Capri in wool, dahlia (sold out online) -- I bought the Lolli pants last year, and unsure of how to really style them, I decided not to keep them. Well, I ended up sort of regretting that, but figured I'd get over it. Then, of course, they came out with this wool capri, and inspired by all the Polyvore stylings, I decided I had to give these a chance. Alas, they were super popular and were immediately backordered to August. Then I just got another notice that mine were again backordered to end of September, boo. But, lo and behold, my store got them in, and had just put them out yesterday when I walked in the store and snatched them right up. Meant to be, no? I took a size 4, which is my size in the wool pencil skirt for reference. Yes, they are unlined, but I didn't find them itchy at all. Very cute on, and I think easier to wear than the orange Minnies. My amazing store also allowed me to get my cardholder discount on them, b/c of all the backordering business and being unable to order them online with the discount. Awesomeness!

Jardin Skirt, rich purple -- There was a lot of hype upon this skirt's arrival, with most people just thrilled to see a longer length finally, finally, hit the racks. It just showed up in my store, and I felt I had to give it a whirl after seeing it look so pretty on other bloggers (see it on AppGal and Debye). Well, I fell for it too. The color, the length, the soft swishy-ness of it = love. I feel like full price is a bit much for it, but with the cardholder 20% off it's not too bad. I wonder if it will be marked down soon or not. Probably not, since it's backordered until mid-September. It could be worn into fall, layered up, and super cute with boots. But once the super cold returns, show's over. I actually thought it looked nice with the leopard perfect shirt.  Thumbs up, and true to size. I personally think it looks best with a belt. Hoping they bring this back in the spring, in other vibrant colors. This is my usual size 4.

Maisie Dress in abstract floral -- They only have the print version in store right now, and it's a lovely colorway. But can I say first that it is not depicted correctly online at all! The background is ivory, not tan/fatigue -- it's a silk version of the gorgeous watercolor scarf. I grabbed a 2 and gave it a try, and sadly it's a pass for me.  The silk is pretty and floaty, and I actually like the elastic waist. However, it is an empire waist, which I kind of wish they wouldn't have done. And...it's too short. Argh, this would have been better at the knee IMO (although if you're a lot younger than me, you may likely disagree. I wouldn't have minded it at 25). Ah well.



















Stripe-breaker Sweater -- I was eyeing this online, as I thought it would pair nicely with all my ochre/mustard for fall (e.g. ochre double serge, under the LLBean cord blazer) I like that it's all-cotton and I like the neckline, which has a wide band that's not quite a crewneck. Fairly thick, but the weave is tight enough to not snag on every little thing. I grabbed a small, but think I should have gone with an XS. 













I also tried the new wedges, in black suede and patent leopard. I tried 8.5 (my normal size outside Crew) and 9, and would go with a 9. The wedge is comfortable and I liked it a lot, but $238 (I think $228 for the black?) is really high in price. The leopard print covers the wedge, which I'm on the fence about. They didn't have the pretty nude color. I was in a tiny dressing room, with little light, so I couldn't get a good pic, but these give an idea:

Have a great day everyone!