J.Crew: Garden Tunic Review

This is J.Crew's Garden Tunic (item #15688), which retails for $69.50, and is currently on sale for $49.99.  The tunic is alpha-sized, and is available in sweet papaya, white, and shell.  J.Crew describes the tunic as such:

The spray of hand-placed, raw-edged petals adds a modern touch to this classic boho style. Cotton. Self fabric. Straight bodice. V-neck. Three-quarter sleeves. Unlined. Falls to midthigh. Import. Machine wash.

I tried the tunic on in a size extra small, in the shell color.  I think the tunic runs a bit on the big side, but not as much as the other cover-up I tried on.  This cover-up also has longer sleeves, and the sleeves are fairly true-to-size, maybe a bit on the bigger size.  These sleeves "fit" me, but I would have liked them a little looser, especially for a cover-up.  I would imagine they would have fit better in a size small, my normal top size.

The tunic falls to about mid-thigh, and has a slightly flared shape towards the bottom, which allows you to walk/move around comfortably.  The tunic shape itself is fairly shapeless though.

The fabric is a very soft and light cotton, which does allow the fabric to move slightly.

The neckline of the tunic has a sort of keyhole neckline.  The entire neckline is trimmed in cotton flower petals, similar to those on the front of the Garden Dress, but with only one row.  The petals go around the neckline, and along the sides of the keyhole.  There is a skinny tie at the neckline that closes the neckline and keyhole.

I don't particularly care for the ties on the top.  I think the petal detail is nice, but I am not crazy about the tie.  I don't really like the way it looks when it is tied, and the ties just sort of hang there when it's not tied.  Notice in the model pictures that when it is not tied, it creates a rather pretty V-neck, but I still think it would be better off with the ties.

As a beach cover-up, I think it would have worked better with shorter sleeves, or sleeveless.  If you are looking for this to multi-task as a tunic top, then you should note that the neckline is pretty deep, and that it is fairly sheer.  That said, I do think it is a pretty cute tunic.

I left this behind because I didn't need a tunic, and I wasn't totally in love with this one.  And again, I hardly ever go to the beach, so I wouldn't really have much use for it.  I will say though that if I did end up picking this one up, the first thing I would do is get rid of those ties!

What do you think?  Do you like this tunic?  Do you like the petals on the neckline?  What do you think of the ties?  Which colors do you like?  Would you wear this as a beach cover-up, a tunic, or both?