Gwen DressClick here for product page
Iitem 99367
Regular: $2,000.00
"Thanks!" to Heather:D (in this post) who suggested this dress for a "Love It or Leave It" post. After seeing the pictures, I can understand why! ;) This dress has some very lovely features, but several "say what?" features as well.
I will say that I love the ruffle front. That particular design is very much like the Teagan Ruffle Swiss-Dot Top (item 99679; was $98.00, now $29.99) that they offered last year. (I love that Teagan top by the way!) With that said, I am not a fan of the fabric, which looks... fuzzy? According to J.Crew, the fabric consists of "layers of chiffon, organza and soft French tulle".Second, this dress looks super short on the model. The dress falls "above knee; 20" from natural waist", which means it would probably fall short on most customers as well. I guess sitting while wearing this dress would be out of the question for me. ;) Also, for $2,000, there should be more fabric. However, the dress does come with "a garment bag, shipped in a gift box with blue ribbon". ;)
Lastly, I don't know what to say about the bottom portion of the dress. There is waaay too much going on. Glass beads, sequins AND feathers? As Joey from the t.v. show Blossom would say, "whoa!"Overlooking price, this dress is a complete "leave it" for me. There are so many other dresses J.Crew is offering, that I would prefer to wear. :)
What are your thoughts on the Gwen Dress? Do you "love it" or would you "leave it"? Have seen it at a store? If so, please share with us your review. :)
I think it's funny that J. Crew describes it as a "collage" of beads, feathers etc. To me a collage is when you glue random pieces of things together. This is a really expensive art project!
ReplyDeleteLOL at limegreen - that's just what I was going to say. I was going to try and dig up my 6th grade sewing project and sell that for at least 3 grand. LOL :-)
ReplyDeleteAwesome, she looks like a goose.
ReplyDeletelol leave it!
ReplyDeleteA definite leave it.
ReplyDeleteBoooooooo. The 3 bows really clown it up. Me no likey.
ReplyDeleteOT, the EXTRA20 code is up on the site now. Good for sale stuff only, through Sat.
ReplyDeleteI think it would look better without the feathers and sequins at the bottom of the dress, because the actual dress itself is pretty. There is way too much going on at the bottom, IMO.
ReplyDeleteLOVE IT!
ReplyDeleteI think is so different, authentic, but I just wish was cheaper.
I think this dress is very cute. I like it a lot. I would buy it.
ReplyDeleteI like the dress. The bottom is my favorite top. I think the bottom detail has to be there to balance out the top part.
ReplyDeleteNot cute and a very busy bottom! Leave it!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite PART! not top
ReplyDeleteLove it. If I had an invite to a cocktail party at the MOMA or the Met I would wear this in a heartbeat. How it would look on me is a totally different story. ;)
ReplyDeleteI love it, think it would be a cool wedding dress (I posted a link to a polyvore set I made in a previous entry), but could do without the feathers. I love the mod shape of the dress and the white tweed.
ReplyDeleteThe price makes me think it is intended to be a wedding dress-- why else would you even think of spending $2000 on a dress?
I can't be the only one who likes this dress? :)
I wore this as my wedding dress May 15 2021
DeleteIt was gorgeous!
I see others like this dress too, yay! :)
ReplyDeleteI agree that the feathers and sequins are a great detail, the only reservation I have is that I keep picturing some poor bird getting its feathers plucked. :/ But, I do like the dramatic effect created.
I'll say it again - it's like Bjork
ReplyDeleteso every dress that is white and has a bit of unconventional styling, like a few feathers and beads, is automatically compared to the bjork dress, aka craziest Oscar getup ever? :P
ReplyDeleteaww, it looks nothing like the bjork dress, other than the color and (considerably more subtle) use of avian accents. ;)
It looks like a MESS. Leave it. http://isnotfashion.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteI like the bottom. It's the top that doesn't jive with me (I have a larger bust so this would be totally unflattering)...Great suggestions on where to wear it, too: a MoMA event or cool,hip wedding dress is perfect. Ordinary church or work, not so perfect...
ReplyDeleteHate the placket, and they should just have done feathers at the bottom, not also the glass beading. If that were the case, I'd like it a whole lot more.
ReplyDeleteIt looks too Couture for RL. I think it would be best in a movie or tv show...not so much for the every day person. Plus, who has an extra couple thosand to throw at a dress? I'm only in lust.
ReplyDeleteIt's a cute dress, but do people who wear $2,000 dresses even shop at JCrew?
ReplyDeleteI LOVE it! it reminds me of chanel.
ReplyDeleteLove it! And yes, I have owned very expensive items of clothing and shop at J. Crew. I actually buy a lot of the Collection pieces and love the design. The details of this dress are very pleasing. I wish it would have been in black, as I have the PERFECT event for it. This is the kind of piece that keeps me shopping with J. Crew. It is the youthfulness and detail of design. Jenna Lyons is really lucky to get to produce mass market pieces as well as special items like this. I can only think of a few othhr designers who do. Most license out their lower market brands. That said, I still can not firgive the atomic flower necklace. I don't love everything, but do love this dress
ReplyDelete...sorry for the many typos. Three year old getting antsy to leave for playground, and I did not re-read first.
ReplyDeleteHi all,
ReplyDeleteThanks Alexis for posting my suggestion! Thanks also to the fabulous JCAs who made suggestions regarding this dress.
I'll admit, it's a leave for me. Maybe I started off on the wrong foot w. Gwen... After all I found it while searching for "tweed" for work clothes & didn't expect a party dress. Still not sure how an all white dress is tweed. I thought tweed was a mix of colours, not just the weave of the fabric. Oh well, learned something new today :}
After reading your comments, I can imagine it working for the right person. A sort of mod, gamine, Audrey look. Unfortunately, I'm a bit too curvy to pull it off. That's why I focus more on the 30s & 50s than the 20s or 60s when I shop vintage.
Still, that's what I love about JCrew & this site. There's something stylin' for everyone.
Thanks for the ideas,
H:D
I like it bc it's weird and different, which is right up my alley. But where on earth would one wear it, besides to a badass wedding?
ReplyDeleteI want to love it...for obvious reasons...but I don't
ReplyDeleteI love it, I think it's quirky and fun. But I don't love the price tag!
ReplyDeleteLooks like you're wearing a muppet
ReplyDeletelike the shape and think its a fun concept, but you can get equally cute dresses for much less at BCBG in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteIf this dress ends up in their final sale, with an extra 20% off and free shipping, I MIGHT get it.
ReplyDeleteThing is...I would really like to see it on a REAL person. I feel like the dress looks like its eating her.
I would NEVER wear this, but I would stare at anyone who did it with admiration. It's one of those eye catchers for uber fabulous, tall, and thin women. Totally perfect for a museum function/party for said women.
ReplyDeleteI would get it if it went on a super-duper-uber markdown plus an extra 30% off and so on, but then I'd have to hire bodyguards to make sure that NO ONE came near me with a glass of red wine or the like. I know this sort of dress isn't bought for practical reasons, but it'd be easier to wear in black.
ReplyDeletelove love love it. I only hope it gets marked down to two hundred, not two thousand, buck!
ReplyDelete^ I'll root with you, anon. Seems like more people are leaving it than loving it, so hopefully that's in our favor :-)
ReplyDelete"avian accents". That cracks me up.
ReplyDeleteEpic fail - very goosy, ostrichy design. Euuk !
ReplyDeleteThis dress would be really cute on the right person at the right event. Of course, you couldn't wear it again for a few years because everyone would remember it.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, people who spend $2K on dresses do shop at J.Crew too. I have quite a bit of expensive designer garb but I love the J.Crew collection looks and even some of the everyday stuff.
Very unusual. It would be cute on the right person. I agree with others who have suggested that the high price tag indicates that J Crew intended it to be a funky wedding dress. Has J Crew offered dresses at this price point other than wedding dresses?
ReplyDeleteEveryone: Thanks for sharing your great comments. I love reading everyone's take on this dress. :)
ReplyDeleteI like the dress sans the feathers. If you ignore the feathers it's actually rather pretty. But with the feathers I wonder if the designer had one too many drinks/drug combo.
ReplyDeleteI think the feathers are too uniform. If they were random, with perhaps more feathers, or larger feathers, the effect would be more feminine and balance the rich tweed.
ReplyDeleteAnd the poster at 7:01 is entitled to her opinion. The comment was in no way rude. I've seen worse from "professional" critics. I think she gets her point across very clearly.
JMHO
A cheaper version would be to buy the teagan top for 29.99 and a white pencil skirt, toss some glue on and then roll over some down feathers. I hear you have to pay big money for that in NY.
ReplyDeleteI agree with FFM; i could have done without the feathers. However, this dress is not a total leave it for me. If the price were right -- for me :) -- and i had the occasion to wear it, i would definitely give it a second look.
ReplyDeleteThere have been some other JC items which I have thought much more bizarre than this one.
ReplyDeleteI actually like the feathers and beads, but I think the placket is ridiculous. I also think the skirt part would look better on a dress that had a simpler top half. Also, I would like it better in black, though.
I would not buy this because I'm too cheap and have no place to wear it. But it does fascinate me for sure!
i loooove this dress, but i haaate the price. I would so wear this dress. i bought the fountain dress, which most people didn't like, and loved it, I sit and stare at it actually, yes, fashion is my drug of choice.
ReplyDeleteIf this dress ever finds its way to $500, this would so be apart of my collection.
anon 7:30, where would you wear this dress? How could you wear this regularly? I, too, like it (not at 2k, of course), but I can't really think of how I'd wear it often enough to make it worth it. Would love to hear your thoughts.
ReplyDelete@ Maria, I'll probably wear it to some fancy cocktail reception or it would even be a great dress for your birthday celebrations...actually that would be the most exciting...obviously, not much assecories are needed at all...just a simple but classy hairstyle, like a low but loose ponytail thats not too fixed, but not to sloopy either...that's my 2 cents.
ReplyDeleteoh and when you get married, if your not already, it would be a good option to change into this dress for the reception (or even for the rehersal dinner) as the dress is fun and flirty but still demands a certain level (in a good way) of respect and attention.
another option too, is to wear it to a christmas party, the white (which seems to be a winter white) is so christmassy...it will be a fun (and not so boring) holiday party option. you can spice it up with some color if you like, some, I wanna go home or any other jeweled toned pump.
I guess my 2 cents turned into a dollar...lol
along what lines were you thinking?
20 inches from the natural waist is a tunic, not a dress.
ReplyDelete^No. It depends entirely on the height of the woman. It's going to hit differently on a woman who is 5-2 than one who is 5-10.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting piece. I'm usually a fan of the occasional abnormal piece of clothing, but this just seems so "off." Maybe this was designed by a newcomer who wanted to make a splash coming in or something. I think this would look more appropriate on the runway on a model at fashion week but not so much on the average everyday woman.
ReplyDelete