Referencing {FAQ}

Monday, March 1, 2010

J.Crew Email: Into the wild, in style

"Thanks!" to many of you, including Marietta, Belle de Jour, Desert Flower, & DinDin, who shared with us another email from J.Crew this morning (aren't they busy bees today!) :)

This email features the Vintage Zebra-Stripe Blakely Dress (Item 24207; $128.00). J.Crew describes the safari style dress as:
Sophisticated and elegant in crisp cotton, with a romantic ruffled collar and fitted crossover bodice (our designers gave it strategically placed darts and pleats to make it unfailingly feminine and terribly flattering). Dressed up in one of our favorite prints of the season, it's one you'll (truly) wear again and again. Sleeveless. Side zip. Pleated skirt. Falls above knee.
This dress has been on the "must-list" for several JCAs since its arrival. :) I understand why too. I am crushin' on it myself! I am surprised because I did not care for the print on the jacket-version (refer to the "What's Up w/ the Vintage Zebra-Stripe Trench?" post). However, it works very nicely on this dress. I think in part, because I like the cut and fit of the dress which is a very classic style.

"Thanks!" to JCBelleMarie who has a fabulous & detailed review of this dress over at her JCBelleMarie blog. Check out her "Review: JCrew Blakely Zebra Dress" post for more! :) Also, "thanks!" to jcrewphd (in this post) who let us know that Summerilla has a review & real life images of this dress over at her Sum Sunshine blog (refer to her "Some new arrivals and some not so new arrivals." post for more). This dress looks amazing on her!

What are your thoughts on the dress? Do you like the pattern, fit, & style? Have you tried on or already own this dress? If so, please share! :)

17 comments:

  1. Hmm, I didn't know it was cotton. It would be more special if it were, say, slub silk. Seems overpriced for what it is.

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  2. I can appreciate why so many love this dress but it is not for me. Would really like to see some IRL photos of it though, to understand what is the big attraction.

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  3. Marietta or anyone else who has tried the cotton Emmaleigh dress, can you provide an opinion on fit? Is it TTS? Would like to order this with the freeship code today. Appreciate any advice.

    TIA

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  4. Although i'm not into animal prints, i think this dress is really cute; the cut and the fabric are nice. I love this dress in cotton in the solid colors as well as the Blakely in silk taffeta. The only issue i had with it was that the neckline gaped and showed too much cleavage. I would have to pin the neckline in multiple ways or wear a cami.

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  5. i saw this dress IRL and its very pretty. i love the cardi in this print. i'd probably get more wear out of that than the dress.

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  6. Mine should be arriving this week. I'm very curious after reading some of the JCAs reviews. I am small busted, so the V could either be a big hit or big miss. I'll try to post pics.

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  7. I tried it on. Loved the fabric and print. The length was good and fit on the lower half was good. I'm smaller on the top though and there was serrious gaping going on, under the arms and at the neckline.

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  8. I tried it on. Loved the fabric and print. The length was good and fit on the lower half was good. I'm smaller on the top though and there was serrious gaping going on, under the arms and at the neckline.

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  9. Bought it last week and am in LOVE. I put up a review on my blog. The quality is top notch and I cannot wait to wear it!

    re: the gaping, I'm bony on top and I think if you have good posture and are less endowed it isn't a problem. If I were going to be bending over a lot, I'd use a bit of fashion tape. I prefer wearing the collar inward like the victoria, vs. outward like in the product shot.

    and I normally steer clear of animal prints, but this one is more like watercolor stripes IMO - it doesn't automatically channel zebra for me, especially under a cardi.

    some mentioned it's tight in the ribcage, but I wore my normal sz0.

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  10. xoxo,
    Yes, I feel the same. Not for me. I don't wear animal prints. I wouldn't even have looked at the dress if I hadn't keep reading/hearing about it. Wish it came in a solid. I like the style.

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  11. Saw the dress IRL this weekend and it is gorgeous! The fabric is hard to describe but it felt thick and really looked amazing. I have no where to wear it so didn't even try it on, but if I had an event coming up I would have purchased. FYI- the mercury bag they show it with on the website is also super cute! It also comes in a non metallic version, but it must be a store only item as I do not see it on the website. It was a super thick leather in a gorgeous rose color.

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  12. Genny, the Blakely dress does come in solid colors in both cotton 23978 and silk taffeta 22511 versions. It looks pretty but I don't like the pleated sarong-y look, too much fullness in the skirt. The pattern is nice and fresh so I can see why people are attracted to the zebra print.

    It's nice that I'm not scrambling to get this dress as I often do with popular new arrivals. Nothing in the sunshine peony print either. I much prefer the opportunity to deliberate over what to buy rather than rush into something with the concern that it might sell out.

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  13. JCBelleMarie: Thanks for sharing your review. It's amazing! I went ahead and added it to the main text of this post. :)

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  14. xoxo,

    Oh, thanks for letting me know that the dress does come in solids.

    I agree with you on the peony print.

    Also, seems we have a similar shopping plan of action. I don't let the "it will sell out" must buy it now get to me...I am too much of a sale shopper.

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  15. Summer in Sum Sunshine has a IRL photo of this dress.
    I've tried the black version of this dress in my normal size and it was tight in my ribcage. I didn't try a size up since they were out but I wouldn't since it might be too loose on top.

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  16. Actually just bought this dress today, and it is a dream! It fits just perfectly, I can't wait to weat it!
    For the person who mentioned it being cotton, although that may be what it says, it's a very sturdy nice fabric, that I think reads more as a heavy silk.
    Many other people at my store mentioned the gaping at the chest too, but I think it just depends on your build, because I'm small chested, and it layed very nicely. Maybe I'll post some IRL picks on my blog soon?

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  17. jcrewphd, thanks for mentioning the IRL pix.

    Summerilla, thanks for posting the photos.

    Now I definitely know this dress is not for me!

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