J.Crew: Stretch Sateen Pencil Skirt Review

J.Crew's Stretch Sateen Pencil Skirt (show above, item #12541 for regular, and #14056 for petites) originally retailed for $88, and is currently marked down to $49.99 on select colors. J.Crew describes the skirt as such:

A great work-to-weekend piece. It's made from comfortable cotton with a hint of stretch (the fabric has a subtle sheen) and detailed with button-tabs at the waist. We love it worn with tucked-in tops and a cute cardigan. Classic pencil-skirt shape. Sits lower on waist. Zip fly. Side-seam pockets, back welt pockets. Back vent. 21 1/2" long. Import. Machine wash.

I tried on a skirt similar to this one in-store (item #14637), which was retailing for $88. I had seen this on sale once for $69.50, and other colors in the same style went as low as $29.99. This is the slate color.

This skirt fits true-to-size, but unlike some of J.Crew's other pencil skirts, I don't think you could get away with sizing down in this one. Just for reference, I tried this on in my regular pants size, which is one size up from my regular skirt size.

The fabric is nice and smooth, and a little heavier than just a straight-up cotton skirt. The little bit of stretch in the fabric is nice, too. As usual, I didn't really like the length on this skirt - I would definitely get this one hemmed.

From behind, it's a good skirt. Nothing fancy going on in the back, and not so tight you have to worry about VPLs. I actually prefer this unadorned back to the one in the model picture with the welt pockets.

I liked this color as a basic, classic wardrobe piece, but I've bought a few other pencil skirts this season, so I left this one behind. If it had been on sale, I might have been tempted to take it home though.

What do you think? Do you like this skirt? Do you like J.Crew's pencil skirts?