Thursday, March 31, 2011

J Crew Urbanite Shift

J Crew Urbanite Shift Dress (338605, $118 or $94.40 with Mickey card; spiced olive & muslin currently $95 online) 

Since I had to pop in to my local B&M to do a couple returns on some ill-advised sale purchases, I sent a note to my PS to ask her to hold the dress for me.  I've been lusting over it in the catalog.  Love the retro orange color.  I know I'm all about the neutrals, but that is definitely a me color.  I'm very selectiveabout my colors, so I love it when J Crew does have some of my colors.  And have you seen the Fall 2011 looks?  Gorgeous colors, and finally a "real" red for winter!!  But back to the dress....

First of all, this dress is running HUGE.  I ended up with a 4.  I asked Jill to grab a 6 but she nabbed the 4 saying she had several 10's go down to a 4 in it.  And the retro orange wasn't even there in a 6, so I shrugged and said sure.  Thanks to my sister and dear dinagideon, I'm really trying to try on the smaller sizes first.  Hard to move the brain there.  But I remembered how big the Shelby dress ran, so I figured it was worth a try. 

Um, oh yeah, I took a 4.  A 4!!!!  I even tried on the 6 just to see (in the muslin) and it was like wearing a massive paper grocery bag.  So size down in this...way down.  Maybe that's what they mean when they say "easy fit" in the online description.  Pre-weight loss, I think I still would have taken a 6.

Other than the sizing issue, it's just a good old straight shift.  Lay it flat and you'll see the slight trapezoidal shape.  Remember, I am more angular (i.e., shaped like a brick) than curvy.  The dress hangs well from my broad shoulders.  If you are curvier or more pear-shaped, I don't know how it will work.  I'm happy I got to look in the mirror and go "oh yay, a dress that's not totally vacant on top".  If you actually have curves and have tried this, please pipe up!  I'd love to hear.

It does run on the short side, but the simple & straight silhouette offsets the length.  And it's not like I ever wear heels unless decorum dictates it, anyway.  The dress has an exposed back zip which is a nice feature as well as pockets.  Oh, I love pockets.  And it has my 2 favorite words "Machine Wash."  Thank you!

Let's talk color.  I'm glad I tried on the retro orange.  I admit I was sorely tempted by the muslin (oooh, pretty neutral), but I figure a tan dress is easier to find than one with this color.  Did not see the spiced olive in store.  The Retro Orange looks, to my untrained and upaid eye, like a pretty close dupe for Modern Red.  I held up the dress to a modern red perfect fit tee I got earlier in the spring and yep, they were an exact match.  So if you're trying to figure out exactly how orange it is, it's basically the same as the Dorrie skirt or the tees.

How am I going to wear it?  Let's see...With the navy atelier jacket and navy flats (possible Easter outfit), but I'd love some other flats...will have to play in the closet.  With sandals and sunnies, duh.  Maybe even with a long sleeve tee layered underneath.  I definitely had some fun playing with this on Polyvore yesterday.  Probably/possibly would work with tights underneath - I wonder if black tights would be too Halloween-y.  Any cardigan will work over it since it's sleeveless (must be why I love sleeveless in the summer, I always need the cardi anyway inside with all the AC, so it's just easier). 

12 comments:

Pamela said...

I saw this dress in the store last week and thought it was uber cute. I love it on you. It's such a classic cut.

I DID the new fall looks online and was excited to see some color!

Ema said...

I am glad that it worked on you. I tried a 00 but it was too big in the body, kind of shapeless on me (plus I don't really know where to wear it).
You look nice in orange! But yes, I would stay away from black. That shade of orange looks GREAT with grey (I have the atomic tweed mini and I wear it with grey all the time).

HeidiG said...

Pamela - thank you!

Ema - I can only imagine - I was thinking about you, Summerilla, Rosa - a 00 would have to be swimming on you. Excellent suggestion on the gray tights, thank you! I have quite a stash of those and I've always loved orange & gray together!

JulieStyles said...

You look so great in the dress. I know what you mean about color. I'm picky too. My shape is curvy and I really liked how the dress looked on me. It is much shorter than I prefer, but I'd have it lengthened-an easy fix. I rarely go for something that that doesn't define my waist-but might make an exception here. Having something light weight, cool and crisp for a hot summer day is always a good idea.

Unknown said...

That's divine on you. I love the color.

DaniBP said...

It's just lovely on you, beautiful color with your skin and hair!

Anonymous said...

Love the dress on you! Since I need to do a couple returns tmw @ jcrew, I'll try it on and see how it looks on me :)

RosaLovesDC said...

So chic! I love the color too!

Cleo said...

Love this dress and color on you.

I tried it in the petite in the muslim color and really liked it, but i'm torn between the orange -- i like bright -- and muslim (nice neutral) that i can accessorize.

MMM said...

Uwww- I MUST check this out! I'm a 'brick" shape too so I'm pretty sure it'll work on me! ;) And I LOVE this color!!!
Thanks for sharing!

HeidiG said...

JulieStyles - thanks for the curvy info! Very helpful! And yes, I agree it will be so great for hot summer days!

gigiofca & DaniBP - thank you!

anon@6:13 - hope if worked for you too!

Rosa - thank you!

Cleo - I was so torn between the 2 colors because I was imagining how versatile the muslin would be...so it was probably good I only had the size 4 in my dressing room. It looks so nice & bright hung in the closet with all the black & navy dresses!

MMM - Hope it works for you too!

Moda said...

I love when you put dress on, it looks so good on you, love the color choice!!