Maritime Striped Dress (J.Crew, $88)
This dress is everywhere right now. So why buck the trend? It’s a simple dress, in a flattering shape and a classic pattern.
A word of caution, though, J.Crew’s sizing is wildly out of control. I ordered an S (34/27/37) and it was huge. HUGE! Like wearing a bathrobe. So be prepared for the possibility that you’ll need to size down.
Have a big day ahead? Major hearing? Big trial? The presentation of your life? Gonna be at a conference with that ex? Whatever it happens to be, these are the fashion weapons that get me to the confidence level that I need to be at.
Without question, the most worn item in my wardrobe is a black-and-white striped tee. I wear it in winter under sweaters, in spring with white jeans, in summer with black shorts. I’ve been wearing the same one for years (it’s the best). But they don’t make it anymore. So here are some options for replacement.
When I started this blog, influencers still re-wore clothes. There were no haul videos filled with the latest from Shein before it winds up in a beach in Ghana poisoning the planet. There were no sponsored campaigns delivering fresh wardrobes each month. The content machine doesn’t like reruns.
Have a big day ahead? Major hearing? Big trial? The presentation of your life? Gonna be at a conference with that ex? Whatever it happens to be, these are the fashion weapons that get me to the confidence level that I need to be at.
Without question, the most worn item in my wardrobe is a black-and-white striped tee. I wear it in winter under sweaters, in spring with white jeans, in summer with black shorts. I’ve been wearing the same one for years (it’s the best). But they don’t make it anymore. So here are some options for replacement.
When I started this blog, influencers still re-wore clothes. There were no haul videos filled with the latest from Shein before it winds up in a beach in Ghana poisoning the planet. There were no sponsored campaigns delivering fresh wardrobes each month. The content machine doesn’t like reruns.
When I was young, my Mother used to bring me along when she would go shopping for fabric. As a result, I spent a lot of time, killing time, flipping through pattern books. So when I spotted this dress, I was instantly transported to the pattern table at a Jo-Ann Fabrics.
Just bought this dress last month and posted about it on my blog too!
I've worn it several ways already. And Jessica over at What I Wore is always rolling up the dress to wear as a top. Too cute!
Can I ask you both how thin the fabric is? Will layers look lumpy underneath or is it thick enough to have weight to it?
As much as I love J. Crew (and, boy, do I ever! My love is evidenced in my sorry looking checking account), they engage in such vanity sizing. Beware with most of thier items–in particular the non-numericals (i.e., XS, S, M, etc.). Great dress though!
Elaine: That's true. I've gone from a Small, to and XS, to an XXS. I'm 4/6, I should never be in an XXS.
Heh, this makes me laugh. For me, in size L or XL, there is no chance in h3ll I would ever wear those stripes.
Oh, agreed!! I love JCREW's stuff and absolutely cannot stand their sizing. When I buy something from JCREW that isn't cardigans, I almost always have to get it tailored. Pretty expensive and over the time, it becomes less and less “worth it” to shop there. I have to REALLY love something from JCREW (again, cardigans excepted) to buy it.
Agreed on their sizing, I was consistently the same size throughout college and suddenly I've been able to drop two sizes and sadly, I'm not getting any skinnier!
I always avoid stripes across the body because I was told it makes a short, not stick-thin woman look really wide. What do you think about that? Can shorter women wear cross-body stripes?
Kate: I think a thinner stripe helps the compression that horizontal stripes give. You can also mitigate the damage with long necklaces and scarves to break up the stripe. Check back at 1PM for some more tips.
I love the J. Crew maritime dress, but got this striped dress from my local Old Navy instead: https://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=50186&vid=1&pid=898186&scid=898186002
I love the dress. have to agree about the J Crew sizing. I really want the cafe capri pant, but the legs are so wide that they look frumpy instead of sleek (I don't know how they manage to make them look so good in the ads).
For Kate, as a shorter (and more hourglass-figured) person myself, I've got a horizontal striped dress from Jack Wills with thinner stripes and it's much more flattering for my height. That dress is sold out online, but the Stripy Tunic at Boden is almost identical to it.
I wear size 2 pencil skirts in Jcrew world! (6 or 8 in the “real” world.)