Some J Crew Dresses - Group 1 (not under consideration, but for information and entertainment)

Lots of cute J Crew dresses out there right now. And I took several for a try-on last week when I was at the store. I actually am curious about your opinion on 3 of them. But...first up... a couple that are not even under consideration for me, but thought I would post for both information and entertainment value:

#1 - the Drawstring shirtdress (#14940, $69.50). When Summerilla described the dress to me at tea, I was interested. So I tried it on. Just did not work. I actually think it looks better in the IRL pic than it did in the mirror, so you can imagine how bad it was on me.

The dress comes in sahara and navy. The fabric is really nice and lightweight, making it a perfect summer dress, even with the sleeves. (And I don't know about you, but I always freeze in AC.) But because the fabric is so lightweight and the skirt has some fullness, I felt rather breezy in back - like the skirt could fly up at any moment and I wouldn't even know. Not a comfortable feeling. I tried this in an M, and it felt big on me, but I don't think I could do an S. I like how the sleeves are rolled in the catalog pic, but I don't think that would save it on me.

The problem with the fit on me is that I have high hips. My hips don't curve out gradually, like a feminine shape, they jut out like a rectangle - it's weird, but hey, I know how to work with it, so I wouldn't change it - but it makes dresses like this with a waist on the actual waistline fit weird. Who would look good in this? Someone a little shorter, so that you won't worry about the skirt flying up, and someone who has a semi-normal waist - could be really cute and a great summer piece (and at a nice price!). Just wasn't the piece for me.

#2 - the Cotton bonbon dress (#15324, $78). Ok, I'll admit finding out the real name of this dress almost made me reconsider it because I love the bonbon idea. But no, it really was not good on me. But it could be good on someone. I didn't try this on because I was seriously considering it. Rather, it was because I saw it in store after hearing about it. (Again, Summerilla had tipped me off. Have you seen her blog? Way cute, check it out.) Anyway, to totally date myself again here, all I could think of was Sarah Jessica rocking this with a big scrunchie holding her side ponytail. I'm pretty sure I saw this actual dress in Footloose. And you know what they say about repeating a trend that you were around for the first time...

The dress comes in navy, dark charcoal, spearmint, and seashell. The cotton lawn trim around the neckline is very pretty. And the knit top is quite comfy. The dress has definite possibilities...for someone else. If you don't have much of a shape on the bottom, it can definitely give you one. And if you aren't exactly smooth across the rear (you know, the whole VPL thing), no worries because the tiers camouflage all of that. I tried an M, and the top was just too vacant. But the S was too tight across the ribcage. I think if you had a non-curvy/straight figure, this would be the definitive dress to give you curves.

Updates: J'Adore These Stores also did a review of the bonbon dress, as well as Laura in Real Life.

I am realizing that including the 3 contenders would make this post waaaaay to long, so....

Next up: the dresses under consideration.