In a stroke of sheer luck, I was able to get to the Pentagon City store on both Saturday and Monday nights. My hubby stayed at home with at two of the kids and I brought the other child to the store with me, along with my stepmom.
I had no real reason to go to the store other than I just really wanted to go. My stepmom was very excited about the sale (extra 30% off sale items), and so it wasn't exactly difficult convincing her. LOL.
I ended up not getting much, other than items I already had put in my "wishlist," but it was a ton of fun to try items on in the store.
Best of all was the appearance of Greg, my man, Greg, manager extraordinaire. You can read about my
why I adore Greg so much at this post here. I had heard from my girl, Cleo26 that he moved, but I forgot he had moved to Pentagon City, so when he popped over to me on Saturday night, I yelped in excitement. :) It was great catching up with him, and to be completely honest, I anticipate visiting the Pentagon City store more to see him...
Okay onto the reviews:
Villa Dress in Stripe, Size small. I had this one on my radar after seeing it in the catalog last month, so I made a beeline for it as soon as I entered the store on Saturday night. I knew the small would fit, didn't even think of trying another size on, so I guess I would say this is true to size for your "maritime dress" size, if you know what yours is...
The material is super thick, and the shape is simple, with a fitted top and a slight a-line bottom. The way the stripes are placed don't over-emphasize any one area, which is nice, as I always worry about stripes on my hips making them look massive.
In fact, I would belt this dress with red belt or sash to give my waist a bit of a boost. Normally dresses make my waist look smaller, this is an outlier, one of the first I have ever tried that makes my waist, hips, and bust look the same size, roughly.
I could see wearing this in many summer outings. As my blog has proved summer after summer, I LIVE in dresses when the temps go above 75, so this sundress is right up my alley.
My stepmom grabbed this one of my little man making a really funny face. He must like his stripes better than mine. BTW,
his striped terry cloth onesie is a gift from my fellow DC JCAS, the
Nature Baby Terry One Piece. He approves, so if you have a new little one in your life, this could be a great gift for them. I like the idea of babies and children having a few pieces made from terry cloth, wonderful at keeping them warm, but great if they accidentally spill something on themselves, too. :)
Ultra Eyelet Shell, Size 4. This was also on my radar. Sadly, this photo is terrible, the lighting atrocious, etc. The top is quite lovely and I can see why it has been so popular with folks. I had heard it ran small (
AJC mentioned it in her review), but she specifically mentioned going up a size for the chest reasons, so I tried my normal size 4 and it fit fine. My stepmom wanted me to get it because she likes the idea of me showing off my arms. She also says that since I have a smaller chest and she doesn't, she will live vicariously through me when I wear this. I told her that sounds fair because she can go into any store and pick a pair of pants off the rack in a size 2 and know that they will fit her (oh, to be small hipped with no thighs!).
I look forward to losing the last few inches off my high hip, once I do, this top will flow a fair bit better.
Much better view of the color and the eyelet. I also liked that my stepmom took a picture with the March catalog cover on the wall, which happens to highlight this exact top.
Spindrift Sweatshirt in Stripe, Size extra small. This is a popular top amongst the blog world, and I can see why. It is really a nicely made, great feeling piece of loungewear. I didn't quite care for this mid-brown color on me (kind of washed me out), so I left this one behind. The sale price is great, though, something like 20 dollars?
That said, this one in blue is really really nice, and definitely worked much better with my skintone. I anticipate using this one on those lazy Saturday mornings or when I get home from the preschool run. This is a size small, but I honestly couldn't find a significant difference between the extra small above and this size small.
Last smart phone photo. This dress is nowhere to be found on the website, must be from the next online rollout. I liked the print (very subtle geometric print on a black background), and I sort of liked the shape, but I kind of think this will be a big ole hot mess on most women. My issues concern the empire waistband. Since it was made from two rows of elastic (one right below the bust and one an inch below that), the fabric bit in the middle kept bunching up, making my ittiest, bitties part look far bigger than it is (FAIL, J. Crew! Most women are tiniest here...). I also don't care for the spaghetti straps, even though I don't have "girls" that need support. I feel like the dress would have looked better with a thicker strap.
The skirt portion I did like, as a pear shape, it definitely skimmed over my curves nicely. It also showed off my shoulders and arms, which I prefer to do whenever possible.
This one was $88, so not over the top expensive, but in my opinion, not even worth that. I can definitely see this one going on super sale quickly. The size small fit great, so stay with your jersey dress/maritime dress size if interested.
Lucille Dress in Scalloped Eyelet, Size 6. I had received the measurements from my online PS and like I anticipated, the 6 fit like a glove. At this point, with my inches coming off (slowly), I know this is the right size if I choose to purchase it in the future (I left it at the store).
I adore this shape, color, fabric, and femininity. CW really liked it, too. :)
The top has a slight scoopneck, and cap sleeves. The waist falls a bit above my natural waistline, and the skirt has just enough room for my hips (even now!). I like that the hemline is an inch above my knees, making this a great dress for dinner out with the in-laws or church.
Even though I switched to an actual camera, the lighting was still pretty terrible. You can kind of tell there are pockets, though, because of the lighting, you can see the shadow on the skirt about four inches down from my hand (the one on my hip).
Pretty detail of the top. I love the white version the most and if I purchase this dress (a possibility in a few weeks when my budget allows), I will likely buy this color...however...
I tried on the violet version and promptly fell in love with that color. Agh! I normally shy away from purple as I don't like it with my "spring" colored complexion, but this purple must have just enough warmth to work. CW preferred the purple on me to the white, but she is biased...after pink her favorite color is purple.
BTW, that clutch is AWESOME. It is not on-line, but I kind of fell deep in love with it, and decided that I would use it enough to justify buying it. (I try to switch purses at least twice a week now...I will have my "main" purse full of my regular stuff, and then take a smaller purse and just put in the wallet, phone, camera, etc., when heading out for dinner or hanging out with friends. My main purse, btw, I use for preschool runs, errands, and the like.)
Brompton clutch in leopard. This clutch is $128 and is made from linen and has a leather edging where the clasp is. The clasp is the typical "Brompton" clasp. The linen fabric is the same as the one in the
Seville Printed Wedges. This clutch does not have a strap, so it is a true clutch. I held it like above, fully loaded with wallet and phone and it felt very comfortable. It also felt good under my arm. I decided I didn't care for the one I was holding as the clasp wasn't perfect (I am a stickler for details like that), but the SA brought out another one which was perfect, and that sort of sealed the deal. I do like the way the clutch looked with this dress and the way it is neutral enough to go with many items in my wardrobe.
I gather this will be online fairly soon, can't imagine this one being an in-store only item. There was also a bigger Brompton in the same fabric, really lovely. I have a Brompton hobo in carob (one of the original colors from 2010), so I don't need another, but this may be your speed if you don't own a Brompton and like this animal print.
Oh, I saved the best for last.
No, I didn't. Guh, this is just terrible on me. And it has nothing to do with being postpartum. (I was able to grab the cafe capris in foulard print in a size 8 and they look SO much better on me than these cotton atrocities in a size 10. Sadly I didn't grab a photo of the capris, but I expect I will wear them in an ootd post soon.)
Scoopneck Blouse in Anchors Away, Size 4. This was just meh. I liked the fit of the top in the top of the blouse, but the blouse is too long for my torso, and unfortunately the blouse is the same measurement from top to bottom, meaning it was far too tight around my hips. I think I would size up to a 6 if I ever got it, but seeing as I am a meh, I doubt that will happen. I do like the buttons on the shoulder, adorable white ones with navy anchors on them, but not worth it if I won't wear the darn blouse.
The pants are not on-line, but I fell in love with the color (oh, so pretty and summery!), but yikes on the fit. The tens fit, but the pockets only emphasized my widest part (right there for God and everyone to see). The length of the pants is nice for flats (if you have a longer inseam), and I think the wider leg opening is a good idea, but
eee, only go for these if you have supreme confidence in your hips, butt, and thighs. OR if you have SUPER SUPER STRONG shapewear.
Side view because I like making people laugh at my visible panty line.
Hawt. Ugh.
Any questions? Anyone try any of these on and have thoughts or links to reviews?
Okay, you all have a great night. I am off to have some wine. ('Cause I can.) :)
