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!!!