So here is the story...girl spies beautiful soft-Liberty print cotton jacket in J. Crew catalog back in early May...girl FALLS IN LOVE with the jacket...girl goes on-line and decides to wait it out because it is so pretty but SO expensive (J. Crew Collection item)...then revisits site a little while later (and happens to have a little bit of money)...discovers said item is on BACKORDER until August...determined, girl orders it in a size 8 and is prepared to wait until August 10, 2009 for it to ship...then, surprise, surprise, girl gets e-mail saying "your order has shipped." SQUEE!
You can find the jacket at jcrew.com if you are interested after reading my review.
Here is the Polyvore of my outfit that I made with this jacket. I had a tough time deciding what to wear with it...I want to style it like it is on-line and in the catalog, but I have to teach and short-shorts are not really professional (that would be the on-line styling). Also, it is about a bagagillion degrees outside so I knew the cargo pants and cardi and tee styling (in the catalog) would be WAY TOO HOT for me today. So I think I came up with a nice look...tailored to me and to my life. :) And after all, I have only my life to live...
Here is the outfit full-length. The only difference from the polyvore is a slightly different necklace (I have no IDEA where I got it--is that weird?), similar shoes (mine are slingback and grey) and a different denim skirt (mine is from Style & Co.--Macy's brand).
The jacket is J. Crew Collection and costs 168 dollars. It is made from the Liberty print fabric that J. Crew adores. In all the years I have been shopping at J. Crew they have had Liberty print fabric items (I own shoes, shirts, etc. in this fabric). By the way, if any of you own a size 8 or 10 in this blouse (thank you for the pose, Ema), I will happily buy it from you. HAPPILY!
The jacket is "classic" fit, which means it is neither too slim or too loose. I would agree with that sentiment. I truly believe that J. Crew makes their Collection items more true-to-size than their non-Collection items, so I will rarely order anything Collection smaller than an 8. This jacket is an 8 (regular, not petite or tall) and it has long enough arms, and the jacket hits at a nice place on my hips. The waist is a bit big for me, and the shoulders might be a titch too wide as well.
The fabric is SO PRETTY. It has poppies in a dusty rose color, daisies and other flowers in a deep citron color, and other florals in a pretty medium pacific blue color. The background is an off-white. The buttons are real shell buttons and are secured with another button in the back so that the button won't fall off (hate that)! The whole jacket is lined...through the body in a soft cotton and in the arms in some sort of poly-blend.
The whole jacket has a crumpled feel, and the fabric is so light, that I could see wearing this in the summer as a sun-cover! (Normally I would wear a linen blouse...this is just a lot dressier!)
I have good news for you wrinkle-phobes...it has that rumpled look, but besides that...this jacket has not wrinkled at all today and I have been wearing it for nearly 6 hours. YAY!
Here is a side-view. It does fit very nicely...just skimming the body.
Funny 80s-looking pic to make you all laugh...but in all seriousness...I love the collar up...I think it looks fresh and unique this way. I chose to wear the collar down today but I could see wearing this to dinner with the collar up.
This pic also allows you to see the jacket print a bit closer.
I would say that if you would wear this, get it. If you don't think you would get around to wearing it, and it would sit limply in your closet, don't. 168 dollars is a lot to spend if you won't actually wear this item. I personally think it is worth it...but I bet I will wear this in the winter, too, so cost per wear will be low.
And I think J. Crew, because they are limiting how many Collection items they are putting out, are actually putting the effort needed into creating pieces that should QUALIFY as Collection (for instance, shell buttons secured properly, lining of the highest quality, etc.) So good job, J. Crew...you have a very satisfied customer!
