Summer Dress Shopping

(Left) Dress: J.Crew Point Sur Flutter-Sleeve Dress, printed cotton voile, Size 8P

(Right) Dress: J.Crew Point Sur Flutter-Sleeve Dress, printed cotton voile, Size 8

Shoes: Fitflop "The Skinny" Sandals (old, similar or in gold)

When I put on this dress, my first thought was: "Darn, I look like a cupcake." I'm definitely sending it right back! Among other things, the dress is definitely a bit too frilly and dressed-up looking to really go with my summer shoes of choice, the super-casual and flip-flop like Fitflop "The Skinny" sandals (similar). And it doesn't fit me quite right, either.

Please note that this post contains affiliate links that could result in a commission, typically a few cents, for me if you click. Thank you for your support!

This particular J.Crew "Point Sur" flutter-sleeve dress in printed cotton (also available in solid colors) has been selling out remarkably quickly on their website. They've already taken the petite sizes off their website entirely, and the regular and tall sizes are almost all gone as well. I'm maybe a bit surprised that it's selling quite this well. It's very eye-catching, of course, and that's why I rushed to order it to try on. The store photos make it look pretty and appealing, and the fact that it's lined and still all-cotton is a huge and necessary plus, as I absolutely refuse to wear anything with a polyester lining in the summer if I can help it. However, although this doesn't fully come through in my photos (the only other try-on photo I've seen of this dress is here on Instagram), the proportions are off when it comes to the sleeves. The sleeve ruffles are way too exaggerated, and I found this to be true for both the petite and regular sizes. I think one might need to be a fair bit taller than me (at 5'3'') for the sleeves not to look silly. This particular design also doesn't suit my busty figure, as it ends up looking almost like an empire-waist dress, which is definitely not the intended design.

I probably could have predicted that this dress wouldn't have worked for me. If you look at my various purchases over the years, you might notice that my summer dresses tend to be fairly simple in shape and design. (Though there's an occasional ruffled sleeve here and there, I'm clearly not 100% opposed to that feature!) When one starts adding in more design details like elastic waists, ruffled or tiered skirts, and the like, dresses in lighter, floatier summer-friendly fabrics start being more and more likely to look awkward on me. 

For the coming summer season, I have a few other possible ideas for new dresses that I'm currently thinking about, and most of them are much simpler in look. The only more interesting design that's caught my eye recently is the polka-dot print A.P.C. "Clare" dress in cotton-linen blend, though in practice, I don't think I'd like the ruching and tie details at the shoulders, so I don't think I'd ever actually try it on. It's mostly just a nice idea, but I'm much more likely to try one of those other dresses I'm thinking of. Basically everything else on my list, whether from Elizabeth Suzann or one of the linen shops on Etsy, is made to order, so I might have to get a move on if I want to have a new dress in time for summer!