J Crew Franny Dress (Retail Only?)

Happy Labor Day Weekend!  We are headed off to a Mexican Fiesta Pool Party tonight - grown-ups only.  I want to be wearing a cute little dress...but it's about 70 degrees right now and headed down to a low of 51 tonight, so I don't think a cute little dress is in the cards...unless I go with a coat and tights...but it's Labor Day weekend - way too soon to pull out the tights in MD.   Instead I'll be wearing a pair of white jeans, like probably 50% of the ladies there.  I imagine that about 35% will have on regular jeans, and the other 15% will split out between black pants and the fools crazy enough to go with bare legs.  Did I mention it's always very breezy at our pool, so it's going to feel a lot chillier? 

But I'll have my Jaspe sequined slouchy sweatshirt to keep me warm...and sparkly...and given all the gardening I've been doing today, a sweatshirt seems about right  I've posted on that before and I'm not sure if I'll get pics before I go, so I thought I'd share what I wish I were wearing.  And I'll brace myself for the tomatoes, because a lot of you saw it on AppGal of Musings on the Mountain and I think pretty much everyone agreed with her big thumbs down.  Then again, I've always said it would be really boring if we all wore the exact same JCrew, right?

J Crew Franny Vintage Mixy Dress (#31033, $128, currently marked down in stores but not sure of the price).

Let's get this out of the way...it's short.  It's shorter than anything I own.  But I fell in love with the dress...in spite of the length.  Now I'm certainly not going to wear it to volunteer at school.  For me, it's a great party dress.  I wore it a week after I got it to a wine tasting and fundraiser for Grassroots Soccer.  (fantastic organization, by the way, a co-workers daughter is doing a fellowship in South Africa this year) 

Even though it's short, the way the hem falls, I actually don't feel like it's about to blow up in the wind - it's cut straight at the bottom - not billowy.  I actually felt very secure in it, hem-wise...and you know me, I'm usually the first complaining (whining) about JC's hemlines.

I love love love the fact that the dress is cotton.  I like the mix of textures - the black eyelet is just fun for me.  The waistline hits me at a good spot.  It's cool and comfy, and works great with just a regular black bra (so it's easy).

Interestingly enough, I got this dress when I was out shopping with one of my dearest bloggie friends, dinagideon - who is a couple inches shorter than me and is long-shinned as well (while I am short-shinned, with more of my leg length in my femur).  Dina tried on the dress, but it actually looked shorter on her, which was weird.  And we both agreed it was weird because usually everything looks and is shorter on me.  We think it had something to do with the weird bodice fit on her.  For me and my wide shoulders, it sat in the right spot.  But it was nice to ha

But I go back to Ema's sidebar notes on her blog, My Closet, My Baby, and I:  "If something that you are trying makes you feel like you are Kate Hudson (replace Kate Hudson with your favorite style icon), BUY IT."  I felt a bit Gwyneth in the dress.

Given all that's going on with the dress, I kept the rest of the outfit pretty simple - ponytail, stud earrings, and flat sandals.  Yes...FLAT sandals...because it is a short skirt and flat shoes always ground the short length a bit. 

Funny story:  When I was trying the dress on at my not-usual B&M, the SA suggested it would look great with heels.  And I just looked at her and said "with a hem this short?  seriously???  Um, yeah, I don't think so."  But I may try it out in chillier weather with tights and a long cardi...we'll see...not sure if I'm that adventurous yet.

And if you need a tomato to toss, check out the gorgeousness below...fresh out of the garden this morning:

Oh la la...J Crew Jaspe Sequined Slouchy Sweatshirt

J Crew Jaspe Sequined Slouchy Sweatshirt (#21197, $150).  "Sequined" and "Slouchy"?  Count me in...love it. 

The back story is that, as you probably read on Summer's and Slastena's blogs, a bunch of us DC JCAs got together to do a little shopping and Starbucks time on May 1.  And what happened?  Well, we all dove into the Crewlade, as shown in my Polyvore below:

Crewlade Cliff Diving Anyone? by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew tops

So here's our total:
2 = already had it in white, aka "grey jaspe" (dinagideon, Summerilla)
1 = pregnant so actually had a bit of sense (Amber)
1 = Cleo was strangely immune to the charms of the sequined Jaspe
6 = the rest of us, who bought out Friendship Heights' stock of the metallic jaspe (me, drewablank, kater, Slastena, Rosa in DC, and Jane-who ordered it)

Yep, that was pretty much it.  Thank goodness they didn't have crewcuts there or a crewcut version, since I brought along my mini-Jenna, E. 

The sequined jaspe originally came out in December and then was waitlisted forever.  But wow, that front table display was wiped out after we whirled on through.  dinagideon wore hers here in the "grey jaspe" version, which has the white sequins. 

This is the "metallic jaspe" color, which just means the sequins are a dark silver color.  Admittedly, I re-ordered it when knits were 20% off, so at least I only paid $120 for it...which still seems like a lot...but it's just so cozy...I really love the fit.  Most of the ladies got a regular sweater size.  I actually got the Large.  And truthfully, I really only tried it on for a lark after the SAs told kater that there was an M on the mannequin that they could grab for her since she said the L was too big. (Slastena snagged hers from a mannequin, too - like I said, we cleaned them out of Jaspes)  I was thinking NO WAY, but as soon as I put it on....love love loved it!  It's so comfy.  And such a great combo of shiny & slouchy.  And let's be honest, I love to dress up, but it always has to be comfy. 

The sequin-sewing backing is totally fine - I ended up returning the Loft sequin shell because every time I put it on, the back sewing of the sequins was totally irritating to me.  (wardrobe test - if you can't stop fidgeting when you try something on, don't get it because you'll be doing the same thing when you try to wear it for real.)

But back to fit...I think the Large worked on me because of my frame.  With wide shoulders and a fairly flat chest, I can usually pull of slouchy better than someone with a curvier figure.    And it has a nice long length so it sits on me as slouchy, not boxy.  It really is a fine line, though, but fit-queen dina approved.  The open neck adds a lot to the sweatshirt since it shows off some skin...and who doesn't have a great collarbone?  But because of the slouchy fit, I will only wear it with slim bottoms.

So for a house party the other weekend, I wore it with skinny white jeans (KUT from the Kloth at Nordstrom - love them).  Not this pic here, since it was a come home from soccer game and immediately change to go out evening - no time for pics.  But this is pretty much how I wore it.  Except that I also had on silver flip flops and the gray pearl earring that drewablank brought back for me (which I still love - thanks, honey!).  With all the sequins, you really don't need much else - too much jewelry would actually be distracting.  And oh yeah, I got a multitude of compliments.  So I give it an A+.

Other ways to wear it:

• Like I am in the first pic when I just tried it on for a photo but hadn't gotten around to posting.  How fab would you feel lounging around home in this? 
• I tried it on in store with a navy blazer, while wearing my white jeans and it looked amaaaaazing under the blazer.  If I actually worked in an office, I would totally try it out.  And if I had a regular real navy blazer, which I don't, but it really should be on my list.  Maybe next fall, I think I've blown through my spring/summer wardrobe budget.
• With skinny jeans - the sequins almost have a blue tone, so it would totally work with medium to dark denim
• With Minnies, duh - black definitely.  not sure about the coal ones - haven't tried.
• With khaki pants & black heeled sandals, a la Dec 2009 Marie Claire feature copying a Celine look ("Cents-ible chis: Shimmering sweaters and sexy ankle strap heels amp up low-key khakis) but the printer with the scanner died so you'll have to take my word for it.  And yes, I have been cleaning out my magazines.
• With cute shorts and flat sandals for a very casual glam beach party.

Am I crazy?  Or crazy like a fox?  We'll see...

Updated with:
Gigi's post on the Jaspe...
and Debye's original post on the Jaspe, her 2nd post on Jaspe styling ideas, and most recent on pairing with a pencil skirt.  Thanks, ladies!!