Victoria Shirt Dress

Great Potential Just Not Quite Right

I was excited for Victoria because I really love the lighter stretch tech material and I owned Clara back in the day and was hoping for an updated version of her. My current stats: 41-35-43 5'6" ~178 pounds I purchased a Large, following the size chart. For reference, I wear a large in most wool& dresses, except Chloe in which I wear an XL. First the pros: Material is great -- it's stretchy and soft with enough wool that it retains the properties I've come to love in wool& clothing. I know this because I have another stretch tech light piece. Color is gorgeous in lavender. It's do shimmery and almost iridescent. Length and the side slits are great. I'm 5'6" and the large hits me mid-calf, but the side slits meant walking and sitting wasn't constrained. Pockets -- the zip pockets are a bonus on a dress! I appreciate that on the Acadia and I am happy to see them on the Victoria too. Now the cons (for me): Overall fit The fit is somehow both too big and too small. The length is perfect And it fits well in the chest and on my hips. But it was huge on my midsection (rarely an issue for me!). The back of the dress from between my shoulder blades to the lowest portion of my back billowed out. When I stood with my arms out, it looked like I was wearing a muumuu. Zero shape the belt didn't help, instead it just bunched up the fabric oddly. Sleeves The sleeves were tight. I could bend my arms, but it was really putting the "stretch" of the material into play. The sleeves were also short on me. With my arms relaxed at my sides the sleeves barely reached my wrist bones. When I bent my arms, the cuffs didn't stretch at all. I think to comfortably wear this dress I'd have no choice but to unbutton and roll the sleeves, which defeats the purpose of long sleeves for me. Buttonholes I had a devil of a time unbuttoning and re-buttoning the sleeves. Upon inspection I noticed that there were tons of threads in each buttonhole, almost like the material wasn't fully cut after the buttonholes were made. Perhaps this was a defect or something this will get better with use, but there were enough other issues for me that it isn't worth trying to exchange or wait it out. If this dress was more like the Clara, which fit me beautifully, or if this was closer to the Jules (with a longer waist) I think this would be a hit for me. I'm certain there are many lovely people on whom this dress will look spectacular, but I am not one of them! Sadly, back Victoria goes. However, should wool& ever take my suggestion and make a Clara-esque version in this material, please call it the Jennie!