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?

J.Crew: Ruffle Gauze Cover-Up Review

This is a beach/lounge cover-up from J.Crew that I'm calling the Ruffle Gauze Cover-Up (item #15544).  It retails for $55, and is alpha-sized.  It was available in a few different colors, including this one, SSE (I think soft seashell), and at least white as well.  I can't remember if there were others.  I tried this on in an extra small.

I think the cover-up runs a little on the bigger size, as I tried this on in an extra small, and it fit very comfortably.  The small would have been pretty loose on me, and I think would have worked as well, since it is made to be a cover-up, and not a top.  The material was a gauze-like material, and I would guess that it is a cotton gauze fabric.  It is extremely light and breathable, which is always nice in a cover-up.

The cover-up has very generous armholes, and I would liken the sleeve shape to an extremely short dolman sleeve.  It has a very deep V-neck, which is trimmed in ruffles, and has a tiny bit of shirring where the V comes to a point.  Other than that, the cover-up has a fairly straight line, and looks almost like an oversized tee.  I do wish that they had made the bottom flare out a little bit, rather than keeping it in a straight line, as it's a little tighter around the hips and thighs than the rest of the cover-up is in relation to the rest of the bottom.  (Wearing your regular size would probably help here.)

The bottom of the cover-up is hemmed with a row of ruffles, and above that, there are three rows of smaller ruffles, which are similar to the ruffles on J.Crew's ruffle swim tops that are out this season.  I think they are a really cute touch, and really help make the cover-up a bit more interesting.

Agove is a close-up of the bottom ruffles, and below is a close-up of the V-neck and ruffles.

I ended up leaving this one behind because I wasn't really in the market for a beach cover-up (because I hardly ever go to the beach, ahem ahem Boyfriend), plus I have a lot of old t-shirts that I could always wear.  Plus I have a really cute gauze side-tie skirt from J.Crew a couple years ago that is a very cute cover-up.

What do you think?  Do you like this cover-up?  What do you think of the ruffle details?  What color would you get it in?  What do you use for cover-ups now?  Do you think this is too much to spend on a cover-up?

Gap: Athleta Has Arrived

Today, Gap announced the arrival of its newest brand, Athleta, right on the heels of Express's introduction of their new yoga line.  Athleta makes/sells sporty and active apparel and footwear for women (sorry, guys).  Gap acquired Athleta last fall, and has just now added the brand to its online stores.  Happily, the same shopping and cardholder perks that exist for Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, and Piperlime merchandise also exist for Athleta.

I find it interesting that this new brand focuses solely on women (and granted, the women's active apparel is, or was at one time, one of the fastest growing markets), where most of Gap's other brands seem to have a more balanced selection.

What do you think?  Have you shopped this brand before?  Do you think this brand works with the rest of the Gap family?  Will you check out Athleta?

J.Crew: French Terry Hoodie Review

This is J.Crew's French Terry Hoodie (item #12661), which originally retailed for $68, and was on sale at my local store for $49.99 (I think). It was available in white and at least grey, I think.

This sweatshirt fit true-to-size, and was a little longer than I'm normally used to for hoodies. There was a little wiggle room in my regular size, so depending on how you would wear this, you could consider sizing down. The french terry fabric was a nice balance between thick and thin, but I can't say it's really soft or plush.

I was not crazy about the flap pockets on the front of the sweatshirt. I prefer off- or on-seam pockets with hoodies, and these are just okay to me. I do like the cuffs on the sleeves though - they are a nice change from your standard ribbed cuff.

I actually only own one white hoodie (an emergency purchase), and I rarely wear it because I'm always worrying about it getting dirty. The hoodie looks fine from the back - the hood looks puffy in this picture, but I think that's normal for hoodies.

This was another piece The Boyfriend really liked, but I didn't completely love it, so I left it behind. As a sidenote, I did end up picking up the French Terry Cardigan on another trip, so I mainly left this hoodie behind because of the design (and a little because of the price), not the fabric.

What do you think? Do you like this hoodie? Do you own any of J.Crew's French Terry items?