"Thanks!" to many of you, including Just Visiting, Desert Flower & Marietta, who let us know about another email J.Crew's sent this morning.This email features the Marlie Racerback Dress (Item 26956; $128.00) which J.Crew describes as:
One of our favorite slip-on-and-go dresses of the season, this marries the luxe feel of silk with the sportiness of racerback straps and tee-pocket detailing. We're loving it mixed with more structured tomboy pieces—like a military jacket or blazer—and piled-on jewelry for added contrast. Silk. Sleeveless. Racerback shift silhouette. Relaxed fit. Side zip. Pullover. Straight skirt. Fully lined. Falls above knee. Import. Dry clean.I really don't care for this dress. First, the price tag. I get that it is silk, but the design is so simple (as in shapeless). You really have to work with accessories to make this dress shine. Ultimately, not worth full retail price. Second, it's "dry clean". For a "slip-on-and-go" dress, it should be machine washable. But that is just me.
What are your thoughts on the Marlie Racerback Dress? Do you like the style? Do you think it is worth the price? Please share! :)
I wouldn't want it even if they were giving it away. The dress is unwearably short.
ReplyDeleteWhy isn't it a washable material and at least half the price? I'm interested in the dress but I bet it only looks good on that model.
ReplyDeleteI’m agree with Jeanne.
ReplyDeleteMost of JC dresses this season are way too short...
I really wanted to like it in striped version. I ordered it and tried it on. It was too short and shapeless. Looked like potato sack on me. Maybe if you are tall, size 2 max, no chest but great legs? Returned.
ReplyDeleteIt is too short, too shapeless and too expensive. I think i see a trend here.
ReplyDeleteI love it when J Crew occasionally offers machine washable silk items-- I always buy them, because I love silk but hate to dry clean. In fact, when looking at new arrivals, I always go straight to the care instructions!
ReplyDeleteThis is the first summer in 5 years that I have not bought several dresses from JCrew! There is not a single one I like from the spring or summer line. A couple of summers ago I even bought duplicates of two knit dresses in the same colors so when they wore out I would have another as the shape/style was so classic.
ReplyDeleteLike Jeanne said even if they were giving them away this season I would pass.....
FYI: My sister had a silk dress from Urban Outfitters that said Dry Clean Only. We hand washed it while she was visiting when she spilled on it. It cam out just fine.
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ReplyDeleteI love this dress, and compared to other places I shop, the price is reasonable. The style is very of-the-moment and I am happy to see J.Crew putting itself out there with the more fashion-forward set.
ReplyDeleteIf you want longer, washable (?!?!), half-priced dresses, get in your time machines and go shopping in 1999.
Also, an aversion to the dry cleaner? Do you shop at J.Crew ever? Anything on the nicer end is dry clean only, and has been for a while.
100% agree with your comments on the dress, Alexis. Anything dry-clean only for the hot and sweaty summer is a fat NO for me! I love the look of the striped one, though!
ReplyDeletenot crazy about the dress, but I have a solution for all the dry cleaning fears! Unless it says "dry clean ONLY" on the tag, hand wash the piece in some gentle detergent (like woollite). Hang dry and it will be perfect!
ReplyDelete$128 for that? Are they high? I don't love the Crew any less, but some days the thinking just confounds me.
ReplyDeleteI would have worn this dress when I was in college, but would not have been able to afford it. I've only purchased one J Crew dress this summer, and it was for a wedding. Like Genny, I usually buy several summer dresses from JC, but this year nearly all are too shapeless and too short, not suitable for the size 2 older girl that I am. I would appreciate some recognition from the JC designers that there need to be options for the younger, more fashion forward set,as Whitney put it, as well as those with more classic, workplace appropriate clothing.
ReplyDeleteWhitney,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post. So very helpful! NOT.
It is fine if the price is right for you and you dont' mind dry cleaning a dress after wearing it once in the hot summer but maybe you could phrase things a bit nicer???
Well, I am in a good mood and off for vacation this evening. Happy Summer everyone:)
I didn't read Whitney's comment as being rude, just stating her point of view on things - that those types of items were around in 1999, but not now, and largely due to fashion trends and inflation. As someone who currently loves JCrew's recent items much more than the items from a few years ago, I feel like I'm in a very small minority around here sometimes. We're all JCAs for our own reasons and should respect each other even if we disagree.
ReplyDeleteI like the dress but I agree that it would look good on a very limited number of people... and that's fine. Plenty of clothes only look good on a certain body type. Very flimsy silk dresses like this are only becoming on leggy, lithe young girls and I see no way to make this office appropriate. I really wish J.Crew would do a little less "weekend in Turks & Caicos" type of clothes and more HELLO REAL WORLD clothes.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I have nobody to turn to but Theory now. Even Banana Republic has kind of ditched the traditional work wardrobe.
OT but I just recently discovered the Frances cami... does anyone have tips on how to liven the ruffles up a bit? They came all flattened out. TIA! :)
ReplyDeleteI don't care for this dress AT ALL! I feel like I could sew it myself. I agree with Genny...I have several amazing dresses in my closet from previous J.Crew summer collections but haven't found any dresses I like this year.
ReplyDeleteI think the dress is really cute, and very stylish because of its simplicity. I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't want my clothes to blend in; I want them to stand out. Dresses don't have to look normal to be cute...J Crew has started so many new trends-why can't a simple, formless dress be one of them? It seems like there isn't much appreciation here for what places like J Crew and Anthropologie have brought to everyday fashion...if you want to blend in go to Gap for goodness' sake!
ReplyDeleteAs for complaints about price and dry-clean requirement...
Price-A couple of pieces that stand out and are made well are all that you need in your wardrobe...this could be one of them and if it is, it's worth the price. But either way, there aren't many cheaper silk dresses out there! If we're going to complain about the price, can we at least complain in comparison to a similar, cheaper item?
Dry-clean-simple. If you're willing and able to pay the money for the dress, you should have a strong enough desire to keep it in good condition to take it to the dry-cleaner. And would any of you really wear it every day? It's a nice, silk dress!
Just want to say thanks to those who voiced agreement with where I am coming from... it's true that it's easy to feel in the small minority here if you like styles that verge from basic and preppy.
ReplyDeleteTo the others - no offense, honestly. Just trying to stir up your thoughts, perhaps, as so much of the commentary that I read here is rather negative.
One last thing: as far as the throw-it-on-and-go description that seems to have thrown everyone off, I think it's a reference to an easy piece that doesn't take much accessorizing (compare the blurb to the actual photo: belt and shoes) in order to have dinner al fresco with girlfriends... not to go fill up the gas tank or grocery shop.
Whitney, do you work for J. Crew or are you just new to the brand? We do shop at J. Crew and our dry cleaning bills are adding up because the fabrics are too cheap to stand gentle washing. So of course people balk at the price and care needs of an everyday piece. And you're right that maybe we should go back to 1999. J. Crew made nice clothes that fit more age ranges and lifestyle needs than the ones they do today. And not everything needed to be dry cleaned! I'm only in my early twenties but I'm tall and wearing that would be quite the statement.
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't work for J.Crew, but I poured over the catalogs in high school, ignored the company in college, and in recent years I've been pleasantly surprised to find a mainstream company making chic-er clothes than Banana Republic. I mean, who misses embroidered critters on shorts, belts and polos? I can't afford my favorite brands all the time, but J.Crew lets me update my closet without dropping $300 on one item.
ReplyDeleteA friend pointed this blog out to me, knowing I've become a disciple. I love the references to news articles I wouldn't find on my own, but I don't understand the point of taking time out to berate a dress that is neither off-the-wall nor a potato sack? Especially when it's at the top of my mental wish list... I felt like pointing out the negativity.
Lighten up, people!
(ps: Dry cleaning is meant for high-quality fabrics, am I right? You can't wash a wedding dress - doesn't mean it's flimsy.)
nomoneyfun,
ReplyDeleteThen the dress wouldn't look good on you-there will be people that it doesn't look good on-as with ALL clothing. That doesn't mean the dress isn't worth the money or isn't cute...it merely means that the dress wouldn't look cute on you. Big difference.
P.S. I don't think this dress is an "everyday piece." It's a dress! Do you wear a dress over 50% of the days in a year?
I think the dress is atrocious. It's boring, it's really short, it's shapeless. It probably gets horribly wrinkled when worn. For clothing like this, I'd think of going to cheapie stores like forever 21, or higher end designers who make trendy items. This does not seem like J.Crew to me... though I have said that about more and more items in the past year.
ReplyDeleteLately, I've bought alot more on eBay from 2007-2008 J.Crew collections, than from the current offerings.
Lauren:
ReplyDeleteI as well as many other commenters are not concerned about the short length of one dress. A ton of J. Crew skirts and dress have been quite skimpy lately. Maybe it's saving them money on fabric and keeping that profit margin high but a lot of their loyal customers are having a hard time dressing themselves with the product line. I like the look but the fit is off. I hate the party line "Not everything fits everybody" because that's obvious but when item after item isn't fitting, that's a problem.
And yes, I'm a girly girl so I wear A LOT of dresses. Maybe a dress is a special occasion or once in a while for some people and there's nothing wrong with that. But I wear a lot of dresses. Anything that is described as "slip-on-and-go" translates to everyday to me.
Whitney:
We'll just have to agree to disagree on the "because it's dry clean, it's high end" note. Dry clean only can also mean too flimsy to take a regular washing. People haven't liked some of the things that were on my J. Crew wishlist but I know my style and instead of getting irritated about it, I was confident in my choice and knew I could make it work. So if you're telling people to lighten up, please try to take your own advice. Alexis likes to keep it positive between commenters so let's end this discussion right now.
Like I said, my impetus to comment came FROM the negativity. Not to inspire more. I don't end discussions because I'm told to do so, and especially not when I was only trying to open a different (read: neutral) course of dialogue my adding my two cents.
ReplyDeleteComments hinting at a stranger's lack of confidence are, on the contrary, unnecessarily insulting.
It would be great to continue conversations with people who like the newer styling as well as with people with constructive criticism (such as Em-good points) to make about it.
Whitney: Wait. I wanted to be the bigger person but really, you were trying to start a neutral course of dialogue by telling people who didn't like this item they need to go back to the past implying their style is dated? That's pretty unnecessarily insulting. And then you go the extra mile to be combative and take my ending our discussion as an ending of any discussion about this particular item? This makes so little sense. I'm sorry I tried to engage with you and I'll know better in the future.
ReplyDeleteI love this dress! Pair it with a belt and it is very parisian. Super chic for summer. This is simple elegance at it's best, which is what I equate J crew with. I'm sick of all of this ruffle nonsense and glad to see something more simple. I personally love silk dresses and am not afraid to wash things that say "dry clean" on the care instructions. I do agree that on the model, this dress looks a bit shapeless. You should however, look at some IRL photos. I think summerilla has one on her blog. This is a very cute and simple dress. Maybe not throw on and just go to the mall or wear around the house, but perfect for dinner on a terrace or going out for a nice summer cocktail.
ReplyDeleteHello JCAs! This thread is getting quite the conversation.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I am late, I want to add that I really appreciate everyone on this blog who takes out the time to share their knowledge with us. It has become a valuable resource.
I speak for myself when I write that I love J.Crew, and I have gotten fat off the Crewlade. ;) I always manage to find several items I "have to have" each month, but I do not love everything they produce. The comment I made about not caring for the dress in the post was just my opinion & if it upset anyone, I am sorry.
Lastly, I hope *everyone* continues to share their comments. We have a lot to gain from each other. We all have different opinions & tastes that are different, and that is a good thing! And we all can be stylish in different ways, and that is a good thing too. At the end of the day, its just clothes. ;) So let's try to keep it positive! :)
And now back to J.Crew! :)
I'm very late joining this discussion, but I do want to toss out a suggestion that works for me re: JC's more fragile "dry clean only" items. Have you all tried Dryel or the Woolite version? This is an at-home in-the-dryer dry cleaning kit, and I've found it quite cost-effective -- and it works. The initial starter kit is between $15 and $20 (in my city, cheapest at Target or Walmart), and the kit comes with a giant mesh zip-up bag, some spot-cleaning fluid and a supply of dry cleaning "sheets" that resemble giant Wet Wipes. :-) For under $10 you can then buy refills of the "Wet Wipes". Toss up to 4 bulky sweaters or many more smaller items in the bag along with one of the "Wet Wipes". Dry on medium heat for 30 minutes. Use the spot cleaner as needed on more durable fabrics.
ReplyDeleteAnd re: the Marlie dress -- is a strapless bra the only option for this? Does anybody know of a racerback bra that has super-skinny straps and would work? I ask because, contrary to popular opinion, I liked the way this dress looked on me in the B&M -- but I'm built rectangularly and boyishly, so it mimicked my shape nicely. My only reservation was that even my racerback bra straps showed, and I HATE strapless bras!!!
http://summerilla.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteI reviewed the striped version of this dress on my blog a bit ago. I'm 5'8 and actually found this dress to be longer than a lot of the other styles this summer. I had a lot of doubts on this dress but still wanted to try it and actually really liked it. My favorite thing about this dress is I can see myself wearing it now with sandals and also could see myself pairing it with black tights, boots, and a longer sweater when it gets a little colder out.
Just wanted to offer some IRL photos!
I have to agree with those who commented about the short lengths of several of the dresses this year. It isn't just J.Crew that is following that trend this year it seems so many retailers are offering too short dresses when last year was all maxi length!!! A happy medium would be nice :). Working in DC in a professional environment unfortunatly I could not purchase many of the dresses offered this year due to the length. Like many of you, I would love to see J.Crew go back to offering varying lengths in their dresses including knee length, short (for weekends), and maxi length so I can wear them to work.
ReplyDeleteI actually love the dress. I'm 5'7'' and the size 4 isn't too short -- about mid thigh. The dress is lined and actually feels very substantial. I love it because I could throw it on with flip flops and look a little more polished than if I was just wearing cotton. Also, it may be dry clean, but the dress is so light and breathable that you're not going to sweat like you're wearing polyester. Thank you J.Crew for making one less thing with ruffles.
ReplyDelete