I ordered the Cashmere Blouson-sleeve bateau in Bright Fuchsia during the sweater promo last week. The Bright Fuchsia is what I would call Hot pink. Darker than Bubble gum pink and lighter than traditional Fuchsia. The color is a little lighter and softer than it appears online. I love the color but unfortunately the sweater did not work for me.
The Blouson Bateau runs very big. I would need to go down one size for a relaxed fit, two whole (imaginary) sizes to get a fitted look as seen on the J.Crew.com model. The sweater is not only large in the waist, it is big in the chest and in the arms/sleeves. I purchased the extra small and it is so big, I wonder if mine was mislabeled.
The Bateau hits at the hip. It has bracelet sleeves and a bow on the shoulder/neckline. The hem of the sleeves and waist are left unfinished to roll, just like the cashmere tees.
The bow on this sweater is a little larger than I was expecting but that is not to say it is oversized. It fact, I think J.Crew got the embellishment perfect this time. It is so cute that it breaks my heart I can’t keep this sweater. Usually, when I see a sweater in this style, the bow is so thin and small the it just flops over on it self and doesn’t really look like a bow at all. More like a lump of fabric on your shoulder. The bow on the Bateau is placed and sized just right in my opinion. It lays nicely right along the shoulder blade. The top loop tends too fall over a bit when you move about, so if I was going to keep the sweater, I’d use a tiny piece of fashion tape to keep it in place.
If you have purchased the Blouson-sleeve Bateau, I would LOVE to know what you think of the fit. I almost hope I was sent a mislabled sweater. Although, I would be upset about having paid shipping and wasting a 20% off coupon on a defective sweater, I would be thrilled that I might be able to purchase this in a fitted size.
Retail Description:Fitted, (??) flattering and topped off with a chic, sweet tie at the boatneck collar. Soft, luxurious Italian cashmere from a world-famous Italian mill in a fine 12-gauge knit. Three-quarter sleeves. Rolled edge at cuffs and hem. Hits at hip. Import. Dry clean. Catalog/jcrew.com only.
Sizing: SD (boxy)
Overall: **
Shannon, I’m curious about why they called this sweater “blouson” sleeve. Usually “blouson” refers to something that is gathered into a band and “blouses” around the waist, such as the blouson dresses and tops popular in the 70s and early 80s.
Sounds like the “blouse-y” part of this sweater is the fit. Too bad, as I agree the bow is cute.
I think the blouson refers to a fuller instead of typical jcrew fitted sleeve? What blows me away is that the description says the sweater it fitted! I am going to call tomorrow and ask for measurements
Sorry to hear about your sweater…I ordered 5 tanks from JCrew in different colors and one was about 2 inches shorter all around including the straps…mismarked? defective? who knows! Just glad I had 4 others to compare it to…if I had ordered only this one I would have thought that style does not fit! Poor quality control! Shame JCrew!
I called CS and their measurements for the XS were a little bit smaller than mine. I’m going to do an exchange although I have my doubts this new one will be small enough..They are going to cover all the shipping, so it is worth a shot.
I noticed something new about the sweater. The way the bow is attached, there is a hole underneath the collar that the bow threads through. I am wondering if the hole will stretch out with wear and become visible or fray. Hopefully not..
Shannon,
Thanks for the helpful review of this sweater. Please let us know if the exchange fits better. I ordered the Eva sweater last month and had a similar experience. I found it ran very big, and was surprised given that it is also described as ‘fitted’. JCrew’s inconsistent sizing concerns me since I plan to get most of my cashmere once it gets marked down after the holidays, but by then it will be final sale!
-Allie
I’ve found that the cashmere Ts fit well, but I ordered last year’s bateau on final sale this summer and was so disappointed–huge and boxy!
Let’s hope that your replacement sweater is more TTS, Shannon.
Anon 7:22pm
On that note, wouldn’t you love to know how many of us J Crew fanatics (looking for a sale on pricey things ie. cashmere) have ordered at full price with free shipping just to make sure they know what size they wear and if they really like the style, then returned to their store to wait until it goes on final sale? J Crew must waste a lot of money on free shipping this way. I know others mentioned doing this on J crew aholics just so they know for sure come final sale what size and if it is worth buying at any price. (Just another good reason they need to rid of final sale.) Their stuff is SO inconsistently sized–it’s just crazy. Really hard to shop there because of this and very time consuming…it’s true dedication on our part;)
Quit complaining about the shipping price every blog here you are posting the same thing!
Anon 11:46: You can post your disagreement without jumping on another poster. I respect every one’s opinion, whether I agree with it or not, but I will delete posts if I feel they are getting unnecessarily personal.
Ie: be nice
Thanks Shannon–I have come to realize that this poster doesn’t read anything I write and just jumps on me about shipping. I am not even complaining about shipping-LOL-if you read my post, then read their response it’s comical. Sorry they have now followed me over here and are now here causing trouble.
Anxious to hear how you like the licorice tee-it looks ADORABLE! Did you get the pink or champagne color?
I ordered the pink! I wanted to wait until a mark down but I was ordering the Wild Rose peep-toes and I thought they will be too cute together. I’m going to wear them with jeans and my snow crystal button cardi
Are you ordering anything with the 20% off?
Covert5-
I have to say that it is tiring me out though, and can take the fun out of shopping when I have to worry about the sizing issues and the effort involved in potentially returning. That is why I’m so grateful for Shannon and other’s helpful product reviews!
Yes I completely agree that it is true dedication on our part!
-Allie
Shannon,
Ever heard of Fraycheck? (I bought mine at Michaels’s) It is a liquid in a bottle that is washable and dry cleanable and stops fraying bits in their tracks. It is awesome. I use it all the time on various things…..it dries clear even on ribbon. I have used it on just about every fabric…
Julie
covert: There is more than 1 anon complaining about your length of your posts, and no we are not following you we happen to like JC too, as well as this blog.
Covert5,
I Like your long posts…..no problems here…it’s a blog and I like to hear all sides:) Weren’t all our teachers in school telling us to write more? LOL
Anon 1:51pm
I don’t recall anyone complaining about the length of my posts..except for myself when I apologized for it;)
Anon 8:16p thanks~it’s just how I am :0)
Update: I finally received my new Blouson-sleeve bateau. It is definitely smaller than the original which was mislabeled. However, it is still too boxy, even tucked in. Returning!