Thursday, December 24, 2009

Review of the Watercolor Leopard Dress (Merry Christmas Eve, Too)!!!

So A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE TO ALL!!!

I loved all your comments about the shimmerveil charmed mini-bag, plus my "fabulous" going out to the store in the ice and snow outfit...I will comment back but not yet, today is all about getting those last-minute items from Macy's, Borders, Target, and tomorrow's dinner from Harris Teeter.

But for your perusal, today, this morning, I present the Watercolor Leopard Dress (she sure is pretty)...originally $228, down to $129.99, purchased by me for a % off for under $100.


Excuse the mirror's condition in this pic...it still has not been cleaned by yours truly, but at least the pictures aren't *that* blurry.

Here is the dress straight on. I am 5'8", with longer legs than a torso, bigger hips than the top half, with exceedingly narrow feet and long toes (just kidding...only added that because my feet are in the pic). I bought an 8, and hoo-boy, am I glad I did. The fit is fitted, no doubt. And there is none of the "vanity sizing" going on in this dress. I used to always be an 8 in their dresses, from 1994 forwards, but recently I have been wearing 6s. Hmm...

Regardless, the fabric is a wool-silk combo, with more wool than silk. The fabric has a lot of structure, which you can't really tell from my photos (except the last one) or on-line at J. Crew. In fact, I thought it would be more lightweight, like my lovely shimmer paisley lawn dress from earlier this fall.

The shape is a v-neck top that has enough coverage in front and back for a regular bra (even bra strap hook-y things in the shoulder area). The waist is very fitted, just a little loose on me (but that is where I tend to be smallest anyhow). The skirt portion is a slight a-line, with a narrowing tulip shape to the very bottom (so if you are a pear-shape, it fits you like a glove, following your curves precisely).

I would say when purchasing the dress, go with your largest measurement, be it bust, waist, or hips. I went with my hips. The top and waist may be a little roomy, but not enough for me to feel like I need to get it tailored.

I felt comfortable with it on. I loved how soft the fabric was, and even though I am wearing not a stitch of makeup and my glasses, I felt extremely lady-like. (That is a good dress, in my opinion.)


From the side you can tell it is fitted. The only reason the hem is up in the front is because my arm is lifted to take the photo and that caused the front to lift a bit.

You can really see the slight a-line with the tulip hem here.

Don't you all think this dress will look GORGEOUS with a fitted cardi or a short, boxy jacket???

And how about some cute booties in a grey leather with black tights to finish the look????


I rarely do back views, one because I can't take them well, and two, because I am nervous about this side of me.

Well, whatever, it looks decent enough. Love the fact that you can wear a regular bra, such a rarity in many of today's fashions.

You can see this dress hits me 2 inches above my knee. In an ideal world, I would like it to be at the knee, but I don't want to mess with the hem (it has detailing in the stitching that would be lost if I messed with it).


Speaking of detailing at the hem, here is a close-up of the hem. The line that you see horizontally stitched is the detail I speak of.

The fabric can best be seen here. Notice the lovely plays of grey, purple, white, and that touch of blue? Fantastic.

I want to say that since this is a wool product, and even though it is FULLY lined (very nicely, I might add), there is the possibility that if you are an "itcher," this may not be the dress for you. Mind you, it is not in the mohair cardi arena (supposedly, I never tried it on), but it still has the slight potential. Wool and wool products have never bothered me.

Enjoy your day, however you spend it!!!

20 comments:

Drewablank said...

"An itcher". Hilarious, DinaG! Gave me a giggle I so need this morning (since I am still stuck at work on this Christmas Eve). ;)

The dress is smashing on you! And the back view isn't as bad as you think! I think that dress is very similar to the watercolor floral Madison dress, which I have, and you're right - being able to wear a regular bra is a godsend, plus the dress has got these little "bra-holder thingies" to keep the straps in place. :)

I did get your message about dinner on Christmas; I do so appreciate the very kind and thoughtful invite. However, my aunt has asked me to go to their house for Christmas dinner. I would love, though, to see you all...soon! Have a merry, merry Christmas, dear friend! God bless and take care! *hugs*

dinagideon said...

Hi, Drewablank: Yay that you have an awesome Christmas planned. :)

We will get together soon...are you free next week at all?

Bah Humbug to working today, are you at least getting off early?

BTW, we need to figure out what the bra-holder thingy is really named...does anyone even know? If not, we should totally make up a name and brand it. ;)

Merry Christmas!!!

Anonymous said...

Dina, this dress is perfection on you. I love it! I think I love this print more in the skirt and the dress than I did on the cardi.

Have a wonderful Christmas and I hope Santa brings you lots of JCrew!!!

sparrowsandsparkles said...

Gorgeous! What a beautiful dress on you - so ladylike & pretty. I love that print - thought I was going to score the cardi but it is now gone in my size... watching for popbacks of course! Merry Christmas to the DinaG family!! :)

Pamela said...

Love the dress on you. So flattering! And I love that you can wear a good ol' regular bra with it! No fancy straps required!

Have a fun day doing your errands. Happy Holidays

Drewablank said...

I so miss the blogosphere. I guess that should be my resolution (my one and only to be sure!!) - to take care of my blog more and cultivate more bloggie friends and visit the ones that I have more. :)

And yes, I am leaving work early (woohoo! In a few minutes in fact!), and I am more free next week - I'm planning to take off the 30th and 31st and just staying in town. Lemme know what you have in mind, and we'll work from there. ;)

tm said...

I am oddly attracted to this print. I usually do not go for the animal prints, and when I first saw this one (in the catalog), something didn't seem "right" about it. But, when I saw it in person, I liked it. Still not sure if I could pull off wearing it, but I do want this print in the umbrella (I hope my store still has some of those after xmas!). :)

Anonymous said...

Very pretty! Like you in the glasses~

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Cleo said...

I love this dress. I tried it on and was so tempted. It's very nice on you Dina. Hits you in all the right places.

Merry Christmas! I'll be in town this week if anyone wants to meet up.

Julia said...

Dina, the dress is fabulous on you!! And I totally agree about being able to wear a regular bra, that is the best ever and so hard to find!

Hope you are having a wonderful Christmas, and enjoy the snow out there! :)

jcmama said...

I bought this dress during the % off and I'm planning on wearing it for my daughter's 1st B-day party.
I too was surprised how fitted this dress was around the waist but if I sized up my chest area would be too loose.
It is a gorgeous print...I've collected the scarf, evie top, this dress and an umbrella to go with it. :-)
Merry Christmas!

Unknown said...

Beautiful! I LOVE the dress on you! I've been eyeing that dress for weeks so I'm glad to see IRL pics. There's really something about the watercolor print that's so nice. I love all the different angle shots and close-ups.

I finally returned the double cloth camino coat to the store without any incidents. It probably helped that I had my receipt but I'm glad that's finally done. Alas, I'll just have to be happy with my sherpa puffer as my winter coat this year. :)

Merry Christmas!

HeidiG said...

An itcher...hehehe, that would be me.

Love love love the dress on you - just fab. And I do like that hemline, too. Can't wait to see your wear it IRL!

Hope you all are having a very Merry Christmas!! Need to catch up soon.

Slastena said...

Dina, I almost pulled a trigger on that dress.. It is s lovely and looks wonderful on you.
wishing you and all yours the merriest Christmas ever!

Rachel said...

The dress looks great on you! I thought about trying it but ended up with the cardi instead.

Rachel

dinagideon said...

I am glad I could get this dress review up...it seems maybe some of you may have been on the fence regarding whether to purchase it or not...hope this helped a bit!!!

Can't respond to everyone's comment today because I am in the process of getting a super-post ready for the Cash from my Closet blog (many of the items on it will only be there for less than a week)...I know you all understand!!!

Drewablank: We are definitely around on 12/30 and 12/31. Can we get together? Give me a ring. Let me know if you don't have my #. :)

JCMama: Ooh, that is the perfect dress for a birthday party. :) Love it!

Charlotte: Good. I am bummed that the Camino gave you so many issues, but oh, those J. Crew puffers...they are truly divine!!!

Are you thinking of getting the dress???

HeidiG. and Cleo26: Would the 30th or 31st work? Maybe a meet-up at Tysons? :)

tiffany rose said...

Yep, I was on the fence and it's all your fault that I ended up ordering this dress ;)

dinagideon said...

Tiffany Rose: Oops. I enabled. My apologies to your bank account. ;)

Unknown said...

I've been eying this dress forever and it finally popped back on FS and I couldn't resist with the current 30%+FS promo. Your post was really helpful in my final decision to buy. You should really get a commission or something. ;)

Thanks!