Thursday, February 26, 2009

J.Crew: Cotton Poplin Sydney Dress Review

I fell in love with J.Crew's Cotton Poplin Sydney Dress (item #97372) when I saw it (online), but went back and forth about buying for a little while. After my tax return came, I decided to treat myself.

J.Crew describes the dress as such:

Our easy, all-occasion dress tailored to fit in comfortable, crisp cotton—it's a wardrobe essential. The fitted bodice boasts a scoopneck with pleating at the front and back, and a slight A-line skirt with two sets of pleats also at the front and back. It's a great piece to dress up or down. Sleeveless silhouette. Non-adjustable straps. Side-seam pockets. Back zip. Fully lined. Falls above knee; 21" from natural waist. Import. Machine wash.
The dress showed up a few days ago, and I have to say, I still love it! The fabric is nice and smooth, and also very light, which makes it a very nice spring and summer dress. I was kind of worried that the fabric might be too stiff, but that's definitely not the case. I will definitely be throwing a cardigan over this and wearing to work when the weather gets nicer!

I also love the color, which J.Crew calls pewter. It is a very pale grey, almost white, but I also feel like it has some blue undertones, and I just think it such a nice, light color.

As for the style, it is pretty true to what they show online. The bodice is very feminine looking, and while I'm normally not a fan of pleats, they are not too bad on this dress. I think the lightness of the fabric probably helps with that. As for the fit, it was a little looser on the top than expected/shown in the picture, but not so bad that I would consider returning it for a smaller size. This dress wasn't offered in petite, so it is just a shade longer on me than on the model.

IRL pictures below. (Don't mind the wrinkles - I had just taken it out of the bag!)

This dress also comes in navy and black.

13 comments:

Michelle February 26, 2009 at 3:29 PM  

I love, love, love it!! The pleats are adorable and the dress looks fabulous on you! It isn't something I would have choosen based on JCrew's picts, but now I will have to get it when it goes on sale. :o)

JTS February 26, 2009 at 10:00 PM  

Thanks Michelle!! I am glad the review was helpful! It really is a very pretty dress :)

Anonymous February 27, 2009 at 5:09 AM  

Oh my such a pretty dress! You look very nice in it. I will see if they have it in store and try it on. I don't think I have enough to put in that stye dress. :o(

Anonymous March 6, 2009 at 1:26 PM  

Lovely dress on you! I wonder how tall you are. I don't look good in above the knee dresses or skirts. I wonder how long the sydney dress is, relative to one's height of course. Jcrew descriptions sometimes just aren't accurate I'm afraid.

Christina March 6, 2009 at 10:43 PM  

looks really cute!

JTS March 7, 2009 at 8:11 PM  

@Anon 2:09 - Thanks so much! I'm sure it would look lovely on you :)

@Anon 10:26 - I am 5 feet tall. I will measure it for you sometime this week!

@Christina - Thank you!!

Rayna J March 8, 2009 at 1:05 PM  

First, you look fantastic!
Second, thanks for the review. Totally convinced me to get it in the light pewter as it looks very flattering against your skin tone.
I have it in tea rose and wore it to my best friend's wedding rehearsal dinner this weekend. It really is the all occasion dress. Thanks for a great review!

JTS March 8, 2009 at 10:01 PM  

@TwisterChick01 - Thank you so much! How do you like the tea rose color - I wasn't sure how orangey pink it might be. I had wanted to get another dress in the pewter, but they had it in lavender, too, and because purple is my favorite color, I got that other dress in lavender!

I agree that it is definitely an all occasion dress - I feel like you can easily dress it up OR down!

Rayna J March 24, 2009 at 11:21 PM  

JTS, sorry for the late response! The tea rose in the sydney dress is a very vibrant coral color. VERY pretty. I have a pic of me wearing it if you'd like to see sometime. My skin is a cinnamon color and bright colors work well for me, but it seems like the sort of color that anyone could pull of, esp with the right accessories. And if the other dress you're talking about is the Melody dress, then we must have very similar taste, because I fell in love with it the moment I saw it and promptly ordered it once it went on sale! Would love to see you do a review of it!

Rayna J March 24, 2009 at 11:22 PM  

btw, I am TwisterChick01 in case you were wondering!

JTS March 30, 2009 at 10:37 AM  

Hi TwisterChick01 - Now *I* am sorry for the late response! I would love to see the other color on you! And yes, the other dress IS the Melody dress - the same picture you have for your other pic :)

RunningOnCoffee April 8, 2009 at 8:51 AM  

Thanks so much for the review! I initially fell in love with the Slub Cotton-Silk Melody Dress, but then I came across this one...now I can't decide!

JTS April 18, 2009 at 9:54 PM  

Hi Mollywaffles - I got them both! They are BOTH on sale now (sigh) too!