J.Crew sale dresses and shoes

I have acquired a few new items from J.Crew's sale section lately (the only section of J.Crew I shop), and I thought I'd share my thoughts, since there is a 30% off promo going on (code SHOPNOW). First up, shoes.

The lovely olympia suede sandals in grappa punch, which are now only $69.99 before the 30% off. These are lovely. The color is very bright but I am a brights fanatic so it works for me! I have worn them twice and they are very comfortable. No rubbing, though on a 90 degree day after a while my feet felt a little claustrophobic. They are all leather, including the sole, which is nice. Very flexible and easy to walk in. Highly recommend these! I took a 10, which I can usually wear in J.Crew open shoes. If J.Crew made size 10.5, that would probably be my size 99% of the time... but they don't anymore, so I have to guess between 10 and 11.

The Lena sandals are next, which I picked up in navy because, well, I don't have any navy sandals. I like the style and I don't think the wraparound straps cut off the leg too bad visually since they don't go in a straight line. I bought an 11 because that's all that was left and they fit fine. I feel like there is alot more wiggle room in sizing when it comes to sandals, which is nice! The leather is nice, nothing too special, and again the sole is leather. Very nice.

I wanted these Lula snakeskin flats for a while, and I am not disappointed! I know that these have been reviewed alot, but I just wanted to show a real life picture to show that there is very little toe cleavage. Many people are not a fan of it so here is a shoe option that covers more of the foot! Oh, and they feel like slippers on - super comfy. I purchased an 11 but I think the 10 would fit as well... these seem to run more true to size than other J.Crew shoes.

Last but not least, the tortoise lucca sandals. They are extremely comfortable with a manageable heel. I wanted to show them next to the suede luccas because the straps on the tortoise are slightly narrower. This might make them more appealing to some! I am getting really lazy with wearing high heels so these are perfect - nice and low and comfortable! Size 10 is perfect in these.

Now onto a few dresses.

The palazzo dress, or as I like to call it, the old navy tent dress that had J.Crew tags sewn in at the factory by mistake. This dress is kind of a piece of crap. I am wearing it right now because it's 95 degrees out and I refuse to wear more than one piece of clothing, but honestly, if I could return this, I would. The material is thin and not very soft, and there is no way this thing is going to hold up to repeated washings. I am going to baby it and hope for a few more wears because I like the length; I could wear this to work if I wanted to with a cardigan or something over it. Why a cardigan, you ask? Oh, because the "elongated keyhole slit in back for a peekaboo effect" is playing peekaboo with my bra. Not cool.

 I like the cute braided belt and it's a good thing they included it because as you can see in the first picture, it is a shapeless blob otherwise.  I ordered a small but an extra small would have still been more than big enough, I'm afraid. Cinch that belt!

The ella dress in petal eyelet is a steal for $49.99 before promo. Unfortunately, strapless dresses aren't the most flattering on me, but I still like the dress. I look like a big green rectangle, so I guess I'll have to slap a wide belt on when I do wear this in public. This is a size 6. I can never, ever wear smaller than a 6 in any strapless dress at J.Crew and even a 6 is pushing it. They make these things for the small busted. It has one of those inner corset things which I love because the dress actually stays up! Check it out on Jeannie - she really rocks it.

This is my favorite purchase in a while, despite its flaws. It is the Hailey dress in speckled silk, a collection piece that is marked way down to $99.99 from $288. I am a sucker for a printed dress, so I finally went ahead and ordered this in a size 6 since it looked fitted on top. Sadly, I think it is made for someone who is pear shaped because the top is tight and the bottom is loose on me.

It sticks out a couple inches on each side in the hip area! I don't mind though because it doesn't look bad...(right?). I may have to go braless, but if not, there are nice bra strap holders. I love how practical this dress is - no shapewear or special bras required!

Close up of the pretty print. Black and charcoal gray smudges.

Phew. That's all for now. Happy sale shopping! Did you pick up any goodies in the "secret" sale?