J.Crew: New Arrival - Patio Dress Review

J.Crew's new patio dress (item #14270) was available at my local store, and is also available online. It is only $48 (you'll see why soon). J.Crew describes the dress as such:

The chic cowlneck on this dress makes it a warm weather must-have for
après-beach days. Cotton. Short sleeves. Seam under bust for support.

So I'm not sure how new this dress is (it was at the back of the store, which isn't always sale items), but I have never noticed it before. J.Crew's website lists it as a new arrival, but you have to search for it by item number or name.

I tried this dress on in a coral color. (It comes in navy, brown (desert stone), and dark grey/black (dark slate) online.)

This dress is alpha-sized, and it's hard to tell if the dress fits true to size, because I'm not exactly sure how it is supposed to fit. I picked it up in my normal size, and it certainly doesn't look like it does on the model (but does it ever?). I don't like the "seam under bust for support" - first off because it is elastic, and I don't like the way it looks, and secondly, because this dress reminds me of the way some grandmas (mine included!) wear their pants - with their waist hiked up to right under their busts. Now I know some people (like grandmas) can pull off that look, but I can't.

Aside from the bust issue, I didn't like the fabric either. It is fairly thin, and I can see why this would be marketed as an "apres-beach" dress. As for other details, the cowl-neck was not styled as it is the modeled picture, but I imagine if you put a little time into it, you could get into to do more than just sit there.

This dress hit at just above the knee for me. The dress itself was a little roomy - the sleeves were not tight, and neither was the "seam" (elastic) under the bust.

I would have liked this dress with a little heavier fabric, a more polished neckline, and a different waist. As soon as I put this dress on, I wanted to take it off, so needless to say, I left this one behind.

What do you think? Do you like this dress? Have you seen it in person?