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Return, right? Help me dissect this fail! ETA new pics

Jonesy

Veteran

Okay, I tried on this dress at Target a few days ago and liked it, but not enough to pull the trigger. Then I saw Traci wearing it (in black and gray) in her WIW and looking fab (http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....ides-again). So...I was back at Target with the kiddos today and bought it.

IRL I thought it looked okay; in the pic I think it looks really bad. I guess maybe I have a poison eye for jersey dresses on me, and this type of shoulder, and the deep V, and the fitted waist....

But maybe my YLF friends can be objective. It's bad, right? You can be perfectly blunt with me. What is so off, exactly?

ETA: Okay, I tried pulling up the sleeves and I added two different belts (silver skinny one--feels very Disco Party--and a black webbed one). Still pretty blech, but perhaps not so bad...

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Shopping

41 replies

Latest reply was from Jonesy

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

I think the waist placement is off. Not at your true waist, but nor a empire waist either. Plus the sleeves are sort of a half-a$$ed cap sleeve.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I'd kind of like to see it with a belt. (My poisoned eye is for visible elasticized waists) Otherwise I really don't see anything wrong with it.

marianna

Veteran

Hmm. It's not bad, but not killer enough for super stylish you. Something about the waistband is off to me. Is it elastic? Looks bulky.

I loved it on Traci too. So interesting!

Traci

Veteran

Try bunching the sleeves up on your shoulder. I plan to alter mine (maybe just w safety pins) to pull the sleeves in. I noticed it makes a huge difference in how the overall dress looks. I hadn't figured out exactly how I wanted to make the adjustment, so I threw the denim jacket on top to mask the sleeves.

RandomThoughts (Andrea)

Veteran

It took me a moment to decide, but I like it. I think I would like it more with a belt or cropped jacket to define your waist. It's a fun piece!

Jonesy

Veteran

Anna, that's my actual waist :). Agree about the sleeves.

I don't like the exposed elastic too much either. I did try it with a belt and it made my top half look even more disproportionately short!

ETA: So clever, Traci!

Thanks, Andrea! I did think that layering a jacket over it would improve it a lot, but I already have several dresses that are almost strictly for layering, so I'm trying to avoid buying any more, even if they are inexpensive.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

I like it! My 'paper bag' dress has similar sleeves and I do find myself trying to pull them up a bit subconsciously, so I get the sleeve thing. I think with the right belt this would look great.

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

Are you sure it is the same dress Traci has? Hers does not seem to have the elastic waist and also the difference between high and low in the skirt is much more pronounced in your dress than in hers.
I don't hate it on you but it does not excite me either...wish I could articulate why...

Jonesy

Veteran

Thanks, Malina. Maybe I will try it with a belt, and try scrunching the sleeves up...

Yep, it's the same dress. I think it's the camera angle that's making Traci's look less high-low.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Jonesy, I have that issue with belting dresses, too! My darn short torso. When I sit at a table with other people, I feel like the shortest person in the room! It's so weird.

If you feel like its going to be a hard piece to work with, and you're not in love with it, you may want to return. I've done that with a few things lately that just proved to be too challenging once I got them home.

DonnaF

Veteran

I think the dress is cut for a shorter, different body type. IMHO, it doesn't hit you in the right places. You can probably wear this style, even in a jersey knit, but made by a different manufacturer -- and probably not at this price point, LOL! And to think, I had thought you look drop-dead gorgeous in EVERYTHING! The color is great, however. IIRC, you already have clothing in this color.

Jonesy

Veteran

Yes, I usually disguise my super-short-waistedness, but with a dress like this sitting at my waist, there is no place to hide :)!

ETA: Donna, I agree the fit is just not quite right. LOL me looking good in everything! I've got some baggy, ill-fitting cotton chinos from a few years back that would make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up!

catgirl

Veteran

I dont think this is bad but it's just not screaming Jonesy fabness to me. Something sort of in between a couple of styles with the sleeves and waist?

Jonesy

Veteran

Thanks, Una!

Traci

Veteran

I think it may just not be a dress that can stand on its own. Here's a terrible pic that I had dh take of me in the dress last night when I was trying to get a decent picture of my new booties. I actually think it looks better on you all on its own. I doubt I'll wear it w/o a topper. And a second outtake to show just how hi/low it goes. I can't ever figure out why my hemlines always seem off in photos.

**please forgive the scary hair, dust bunnies and dirty laundry. I only share these pictures in the interest of science:)

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Janet

(website)

Veteran

Jonesy, I think the belt and the shoulder tweak help! I could tell even from the thumbnails.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

I agree with Anna - I think the waist is too high on you, Jonesy. You can see the difference in Traci's pics, where it's closer to her true waist. I too can rarely buy dresses like this off the rack because the bodice is always a bit too short and it makes the proportions off. It looks better with the belts but still not something that bowls me over for you.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Fascinating.

Knowing you, I am sure you could style this baby to perfection.

But I agree that just on its own (or even with a belt) it's not up to your usual fabness, or doesn't feel like you.

We are built entirely differently. But I have a dress that's similar to this and I feel exactly the same way about it. (Mine doesn't have the cool high-low hem, but the sleeves and neckline are similar.) I"ve relegated it to the beach cover up category this year.

It is something about the combined angles. In theory, it seems as if it SHOULD be flattering. Perhaps especially to pretty pears (which I know you're not). But this looks a lot better with the sleeves rolled. I still don't know if it's "you" though.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Love the colour on you

Your sleeveless version is better for sure. But as Anna suggests, the waist placement is odd. It's too high. It should blouson - and it's almost and empire. Also, the effect is too Grecian. Not your look. Onto something better!

I agree that the dress was KILLER on Traci. Love when we can dissect things like this

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

It is so interesting to read this dissection. There is not question it looks a lot better with the belt and sleeves tucked in, but agree it is not up to your high standards. Do love you shoes though!

Jonesy

Veteran

Thanks so much for weighing in, Angie and everyone else! Traci, I think you look great in the dress! In looking at Traci's pic, I see that her waist is at roughly the same spot as mine is (horizontal with her elbow bend, which is the common spot, although her waist is slightly lower than her elbow bend and mine is slightly higher), but somehow she does not look oddly proportioned :).

I think this is why I naturally tend to gravitate toward dresses that are loose. If I wear dresses that have a waist, I almost always wear a jacket over them (see pics below). You can see that the waist is at the same place in each of these dresses (sitting at my natural waist, which seems too high to some), but wearing the jacket over the top somehow mitigates the oddness, no?

Angie, I agree about the need for some blousoning or something...and the Grecian comment is right on too, somehow. I also think the deep V emphasizes how little space there is between my boobs and my waist--it's like a big arrow pointing to that narrow region :).

Thanks all!

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Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I love your outfits so much, Jonesy! So nice to look at

Your further dissecting makes so much sense. The jacket addition elongates the torso. You should try low slung belts and drop waists. That's why the kimono top that you bought at the Rack in Chicago worked so well!

Had me chuckling at your deep V arrow observation.

RandomThoughts (Andrea)

Veteran

Yeah...I like okay with the belt but I think everyone else is right about the waist. And sans jacket... Hmm. You don't love it so back it goes.

Jonesy

Veteran

Yes, I love the dropped waist and the low-slung belt! Also, a loose, no-waist dress with a waist-nipping jacket over it, so there is the suggestion of my waist, but I'm not broadcasting my short-waistedness :). You are spot on, of course (and thanks for the compliments about my outfits, old though some of them may be)!

Thanks, Andrea!

sarah

Veteran

Just chiming in to say that I learned so much from this! I hope you and others continue to post their "failures", because I almost learn more from them than from the winners!

rae

(website)

Veteran

Those elastic waists never work on me, so I think that's the culprit. Even if they hit at the natural waist, I think they visually look higher because of the blousing effect.

Scarlet

Veteran

This seems to be sorted, but I have to chime in to note how fabulous your fluorescent yellow choker is in 1. Someday you must take me accessory shopping.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

You are a jacket gal, Jonesy! So am I. Ever tried a drop waist frock? Very Dries van Noten.

Anonymous

Thank you for posting this Jonesy! I have always admired your ability to wear a jacket with a dress (something that I can seldom get to work, unless it's denim). Now I just have to figure out why. I always blamed the jacket, but maybe it was the dress that was wrong to begin with!

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