Thursday, April 26, 2012

Altuzarra for J.Crew Patricia Dress Review

I received the Altuzarra for J.Crew Patricia dress. It was one of those things I just had to try on.

Altuzarra for J.Crew Patricia dress
I asked CS for the measurements and decided it runs big, so I ordered a Small, which I usually wear in J.Crew knit dresses, but which I consider smaller of my non numerical sizes.

It was a right call and even in size Small it is still loose fitting which I like, but if you want a close fit, definitely size down full size. The length is good for this type of dress, slightly longer than on a model, but definitely not to the knee, like the description says, and I am not overly tall (5'6).
Size Small
The dress drapes nicely with slight waist definition. I like the fit. The sleeves are longer on me, but I have relatively short arms, so this is probably a good news for most. The colors are very flattering IMO and the red stitching of shoulder patches and sleeves adds some edge to otherwise very plain design. I don't know if this is clearly visible form the pictures but the dress is navy with ivory background but the shoulder patches and lower portion of sleeves is navy and white.  I like the varying width of stripes and they are positioned correctly with darker part around midsection, creating an illusion of a smaller waist. The dress has just enough room in the chest but the shoulders fit me nicely and the hops are not too big.
Good length but not 'to the knee'
The neckline is also nice, not too low and not too high, perfect for long sleeved dress, that would most likely be worn in the spring and fall, but not when it gets hot.
The fabric is slub cotton but the weight is perfect, soft and substantial, not so thin that it would be see through but not sweatshirt weight (like Maritime dress) that would make it too hot in a warmer weather.
The stripes are perfectly matched at the seams. The workmanship seems good to me with all the seams finished but the stitching is not perfect and many pieces of thread endings are left not trimmed. Nothing looks prone to unraveling or developing holes.
 
Overall, it is a basic shape dress but they did get the details right. For whatever it is worth, it is better than any cotton striped t-shirt dress I tried on recently.

There is of course a question of price.

It is expensive for a basic cotton dress. I was planning to try it on, return and wait for sale but I am tempted to keep it. I may be wrong, but I have a feeling that this dress will work for a lot of people and will not get that many returns. Since it is currently backordered until June, I may not get it for months if I decide to return. I hate paying full price and rarely ever do, but I may just suck it up on this one. At least I got it with 7% rebate from Shop at Home.
Cotton feels very nice against the skin
My concern is wearability. Our summers are hot and I would prefer if this dress had short, elbow of even three quarter sleeves, I think I will get more wear out of it. Since it has nautical vibe I am not sure I would want to wear it in the fall. I also have the Banana Republic dress has very similar function. Granted, I only paid $12 for BR dress, but how many navy striped dresses does one need?

If I keep it, I would wear it with a long necklace and yellow/red/navy/pink shoes, it should look good with both flats and heels. I could wear it to work with Madewell Academy blazer, but I can also see it on weekends with ballet flats or sandals. It looks great with red Repettos.
That's all folks!

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What do you think?
Are you considering Patricia dress or have you already bought one?
Is it worth the price? Should I keep it?

Please share, it would be no fun without you!!!

25 comments:

  1. You MUST keep it! It looks fabulous on your figure! Truth be known I waited to see your review before ordering mine. Just did it! Thank you for a great review.

    Cheryl

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  2. It looks great on you! Can you have it tailored to shorten the sleeve length for more wearability?

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  3. I agree you sjould keep it but I understand the concern about our summers being too hot for a long sleeve knit dress. That's why I had returned my Maritime but then when it sold out I regretted it and as yoi said I don't think that this one will make it to sale. It looks great with the yellow Valentinas!

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    1. These shoes are from Talbots, like I mentioned on your blog they do shoes well with good prices and the quality is better than JC in many cases. I actually tried to order the yellow Valentinas but they got canceled on me two times!

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  4. I have this dress on backorder. I didn't realize it was navy, not black, and I never would have guessed that there is ivory and white on the same dress. I didn't see the red stitching either. I don't know how they made all that work, but it looks great and I am looking forward to trying it on (in June!). I agree that it will be popular and probably not make it to sale. I ordered it in my Maritime dress size and now I wonder if it will be too big. Thank you so much for the review, I was especially looking forward to this one.

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  5. You look fabulous in this dress. It is definitely made for you. In fact, I would buy it now based on your review. If you could throw in your nice figure, that might help me too. The model (added to the poor website lighting) just didn't sell this dress to me.

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  6. You look great in the dress! I'm ordering it based on your reviews as we have more mild weather it will be perfect here. I think you should keep it. It will be nice for cooler evenings and it could be a great transitional items for Spring and Fall.

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  7. I love this dress on you! I'm still waiting for mine to ship, hopefully it will come soon. I'm slightly concerned about sizing now, since I ordered a size XS (my regular size) and am not sure if I should have ordered the XXS (which is my Maritime Dress size).

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  8. I love it, I think it looks amazing on you!
    Mine is arriving today or tomorrow. I also bought a size small, I hope my bust can fill it out LOL, otherwise it's not going to look as good as it does on you.
    I think you should keep it, it seems to be the most successful item of the Altuzarra collection and I think it will sell out. I don't think it will ever go to sale anyway so keep it and get maximum wear out of it!
    What a versatile dress. I like the long sleeves for the sun protection, I'm always looking for long sleeves in summer otherwise I have to cover myself with sunscreen.

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  9. Keep the dress, it looks amazing on you!!!!! It looks as if it were custom made for you...you look great IMO

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    1. I just checked to order it for myself and XS is already gone :(.

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  10. KEEP IT!!! It looks even better in person than it does on the website. I want it now, too, but my size is gone :(

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  11. I'm clearly in the minority but I don't think you need both the Banana Republic Mini-striped Weekend Dress and the J. Crew Patricia dress. I like the subtler stripes on the BR dress and the three-quarter length sleeves. While I like the varying stripe widths on the Patricia dress, the bold stripes are a little too "jail uniform" for me. I just re-read your review of the BR Weekend dress and you look really great in it.

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  12. This looks great on you!! I vote for keeping it, as it will probably sell out soon if not already, and it looks like it is a good quality piece. I know how hot and humid it gets in NJ in the summer - have you thought about hemming the sleeves to 3/4 length?

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  13. This looks perfect on you! I rec'd mine last night, and I'd say your review covers all the bases. It took me two try ons this a.m. to notice the variation in color between white and off white stripes (cloudy weather is my excuse). I agree it's overpriced for what it is...JCrew should be able to churn out flattering patterns and hemlines all the time. My concern is how much wear I'll get out of it too. Way too warm for hot weather, and the only way I'd wear it in the fall is with something over it or else it feels too springlike. Thanks for the review!

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  14. Keep the dress! You are rocking it!

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  15. Here's a thought -- what about getting the Altuzarra for J.Crew Patricia top instead of the dress? Yes $85 is a lot of money for a striped cotton top but don't you think you'll get more use out of the top than the dress? At least try it on next time you visit a JC store.

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    1. Rachel, tahnks for the suggestion, I thought about it, but somehow the top is not exciting at all (even if it seems to be the same cut) and it seems even more overpriced than a dress even if you are paying $60 for the skirt portion of the fabric. Now when I say it this way it does seem ridiculous... But a least a dress is a complete outfit and makes some statement when the top itself is quite invisible, imo.

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  16. This dress looks GREAT on you!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  17. First, I want to say I love your blog and really appreciate all of your reviews. I live in the country so when I go to my in-laws (4 hours away) if I am lucky I get to make a trip to the mall and hit up the jcrew. Otherwise all of my shopping is online. I was wondering if you have reviewed the Maritime Blaser? I love it but am unsure since it is a little on the high end at full price. Thoughts?

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    1. Hi Monica,
      Thank you! I am so glad if I can help in any way! I didn't review the Maritime blazer but I remember trying it on last year and I really liked it. It fits big (I think the fit did not change), I think I was hesitating between Small and XSmall, so definitely size down. If yuo can wait a bit I think the price will come down, last year it did significantly. It feel comfy, almost like wearing a sweatshirt cut like a blazer. If you are curvy on top it will accommodate it nicely and it is very flattering in that area. I liked it better closed than open.
      As I am writing it I am wondering why didn't I get it, I think this was a classic case of JC pricing the item too high and me losing interest just because of time passing, I was really excited about it when I first tried it...

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    2. Thanks so much for the response! I have been reading your blog for the past few months and love your reviews! I like that you work in the corporate world, I do too and I get ideas to re-invent my wardrobe or make purchases.
      Thanks for the heads up on the price coming down. I am planning to wait a bit and stalk jcrew.com daily - ha. I think the fit of the blaser will work for me and thought it was cool that it is machine washable. I like the black and white striped version and think I can pair it with a pop of color underneath and since I get chilly in the AC it would be a good alternative to cartigens.

      Thanks again! :)
      Monica

      PS - I love that dress on you, it looks great. I am glad you are keeping.

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  18. You look great in that dress ajc! I love the yellow slingbacks with it, an unexpected, very pretty twist.

    I would keep the dress. It's very flattering, easy to wear (you can wear it with yellow pumps and honestly, what wouldn't work with this dress?), and it is machine-washable to boot! Really wonderful pieces don't come along that often and it does look really wonderful on you. Granted, a striped dress may not be the most versatile thing in your wardrobe but it is perfect for spring and summer as well as vacation - it is certainly packable. Seems to me it is one of those effortless pieces that you would reach for time and again.

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  19. I loooove that on you. I guess put it up against the BR dress and see if there are notable differences. If you think the BR dress will last a few seasons, maybe just keep that one. If you want to be rough & tumble w/the BR dress and keep your Altuzarra dress for many seasons...maybe keep it. It really, really looks good on you. I haven't seen your BR one, though. I'll have to look for it.

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  20. Ladies, thank you so much for so many kind words!!!
    I decided to keep the dress, like many of you pointed out I think it is a very good fit and a good staple. After all we usually get the most out of the basic, even if we don't like to pay the most for them. As for the wearability and sleeve length I think there is still enough days to justify it (or so I am telling myself, lol).
    The biggest factor is that I think I would regret if I returned it more that I think I may regret buying it.
    I am not taking the tags of just yet but I will be doing returns this weekend and I have packed the stuff to bring back but the dress stays home :)
    Thank you all for the wonderful feedback, I really appreciate it!!!

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