Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Poppy Floral Jacket Review--Plus I Wore it Today, June 9, 2009!!!

Ooh, you all, I have been DYING to get this jacket. And it came, yesterday! FINALLY!

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!

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very pretty! Weird, but your Polyvore says the jacket is $859!!

tm said...

Nice! I really like the idea of a liberty print blazer, and wish it came in more color combos.

You have the wide patent leather belt in yellow, right? Perhaps you could cinch the waist with it if you wanted a more defined look? The dusty rose belt would be good, too.

I could see this jacket transitioning into fall paired with golden yellow cords.

Drewablank said...

I looove it, Dina! Yay! Fabulous outfit! This jacket has so many possibilities. I can see you wearing it with a dress (that bright dress you wore to the JCA private shopping event maybe?), jeans and a tank/tee, cords (as tastymoog said in time for fall) & maybe a turtleneck...I think you can even get away with the olive Victoria cami and jeans, a skirt or maybe, WHITE jeans. :)

So many possibilities!

Oh, and you're POPPING the collar on your POPPY floral jacket. Heehee. (I'm a dork, I know.)

AppGal said...

ooh, so pretty! i'm so glad you got it before it sold out! :) the liberty fabric stuff really is lovely.

Sabrina said...

Hello... Thanks for stopping by my blog! It's so fun looking at your blog, I love all your cute outfits! Very smart and sassy! :)

Lady Jane said...

Love your reviews!! I can truly imagine the jacket!

Summerilla said...

Okay I am JEALOUS! I wanted this item too but couldn't take the plunge since I bought the Ikat dress instead. It looks so beautiful on you - I want I want!!!!

Moda said...

Dina, you got the jacket!!!!! Ohhhhhhhhhh it's gorgeous!!!! I want mine!! I remembered we ordered at the same time but I didn't get any email from JCrew yet saying the Jacket is on the way :(

Thank you Thank you for your review, I am going to keep my fingers crossed and hopefully I will receive it soon.

Anonymous said...

Must have been a return and your name was high on the list as it still shows backordered in all sizes online. I ordered this second day it was out as well as the sold out silk gladiola knotted jacket (with no backordered dates). I rarely purchase full price but glad I did with these two jackets:) I heard through a manager that the poppy floral is the hottest selling Collection piece ever.

I ordered my regular JCrew jacket size and it fit just fine like all my other JCrew jackets...collection pieces or not.

Anonymous said...

Congrats:) Very cute.

HeidiG said...

Love the jacket on you - looks fantastic! Cute outfit - I think you could swap in a pair of flat sandals instead of the heels, too.

Isn't it fantastic when you find a piece that is just so perfect for you?

Marietta said...

Dina, the jacket looks amazing on you! I just had my PS place an order for me, it is on backorder, but that's ok.... hopefully the weather will finally warm up, so it'll be too hot outside to wear now, but what a great Fall piece!

Beth said...

Nice with the denim skirt!
Great review again. Love also... your pics of the kids!!

Cute!

Slastena said...

Dina, the jacket is simply stunning! I think it is a worthy investement. Print is subtle and sophisticated, cut is exquisite- you'll enjoy it for a long time to come.

dinagideon said...

Anon at 3:04: Isn't that a hoot about the price? I clipped it and the price automatically said $859. I think polyvore just does random number assigning. A pair of fit-flops that I clipped this morning were $9!!!

Tastymoog: I so want this jacket in a brighter print. The jacket I wore to the April "in-store" JCA meeting may have been a liberty print jacket and I know that is way BRIGHTER!

I totally plan on cinching this jacket with a belt...I think both would work BEAUTIFULLY. I didn't cinch it that day because I wore it open the entire day...but in the fall with a turtleneck and buttoned-up, perfection!

Drewablank: Getting it so early was such a nice surprise...both for me and for my wallet (I so thought it was coming in August!) so it was a good thing I had gone on a shopping ban because my account had enough money to cover the cost!

I love all of your ideas, too! :) Definitely! Also, the popping of the poppy jacket will happen again...teehee.

AppGal: Thank you...I wonder if it will sell out? Hmmm...

Sabrina: I love your blog, such fun. Thanks for coming to my blog, too!

dinagideon said...

Lady Jane: Thank you for such a sweet compliment!

Summerilla: Maybe you should get it! I only really lust after a few items, but if my heart thumps that loudly for something, I will get it full price. It's rare, but it does happen!

Outfit of the Day: I bet it is because I am a size 8. I truly think there is more demand for the smaller sizes in J. Crew. I never seem to have issues getting things in larger sizes but now that I am getting smaller I am finding things are selling out more quickly. (I believe you wear a smaller size than I do, right?) I almost bought this jacket in a six and if I had, I bet it would have taken longer to receive.

Anon at 8:23: Hmm...maybe!!! If it was a return it was the nicest return ever...looked like it had never been handled except by the warehouse folks. There was no hanger, but sometimes that happens with their items!

I love that gladiola jacket...very ladylike and special!

I wonder, too, why the poppy jacket is so popular? I have only heard of a few people being interested in it...maybe I will start seeing it on more folks, though...

Anon at 10:56: Thank you so very much!!! :)

HeidiG: I will so be swapping these heels for cute sandals...and soon...I can see this jacket with some shorts and a tee... :)

Marietta: This will definitely be a fall piece for me. VA summers are killers! So unless I know I will be in air-conditioning, this will be hidden for a little while!

I hope you get it soon...

Beth: Thank you so much...I am also glad you liked the kiddies...I try to strike a balance between my fashion stuff with my other "superfluities!"

Slastena: I agree with everything you say. It reminds me a lot of the Maggie jacket...sublime in so many ways!