I did a couple of these posts before (here and here), and y’all didn’t hate them so here we are: time for another round of changing room selfies. F–k yeah! It’s like we get to go shopping together. Breaking down the fourth wall, etc. This is gonna be awesome.
This time, I wanted to check out Joe Fresh. I want to do that every week when I go grocery-shopping, but usually there is no time. So, last week, when the boy was with his grandparents, I ditched my husband and the baby in the produce aisle, and made a beeline for the clothes racks. I ended up trying on a mixed bag of things, but there were a few winners in there. All of these should still be available in stores, in case you want to check them out for yourselves. (Spoiler: there are a couple you really really should.)
I was drawn to this burlap-y skirt despite the fact that it is, well, a fancy burlap sack. What can I say – stripes. Vertical stripes are kinda rare, no? Anyway, the skirt was ok. Too puffy on me. It’s not a skirt for the pear-shaped, but it could be cute on the right girl. But $29? Um, nope.
(For reference, I’m wearing the medium here.*)
The top was a random pick, because I needed something to wear with all the bottoms I was trying, but it’s actually not bad. Very nice colour. Cotton, which is always nice. I can’t find it on the Joe Fresh website, which is not surprising because they have eleventy million products and zero helpful names/descriptions.
The best part about this maxi skirt is that it doesn’t come with that stupid fold-over waistband that all maxi skirts seem to possess. Am I the only person annoyed by that? My pooch doesn’t need help being poochy; it manages just fine on its own. Anyway, this skirt has a plain elastic waistband instead. And, yet, it still does weird things to my lower torso – probably because of the pockets.
Oh yeah, it has pockets. Now, normally this is a good thing. I love pockets. Who doesn’t? Except, in this case, they bug. Your mileage may vary, obviously.
(I’m wearing a small, and the skirt is $29.)
Oh boy. I tried on these pants mostly as a joke, but the joke ended up being on me. These are pretty much my worst nightmare in pant form. 100% polyester. In warm weather, these are basically a sweat sack for your legs. To top it off, they are cut insanely tight across the hips … but, like, at a weird spot, which is not even my widest point. I would burn these with fire, except they’re not my property and that would be arson.
(I’m wearing a medium. The pants are $29.)
Very cute print, nice rayon jersey ($24). My only issue with this dress is that the waist sits a leeeeettle bit high, as if the dress was cut for petite sizing. The small fit me well otherwise, so I don’t think that sizing was the issue. I hate when dresses have too-high waists. Oh well.
This was really nice. A lot of black-and-white striped dresses in this price range ($24) are made from super thin material that requires some careful selection of undergarments. Not this dress. This one had a nice opacity, top and bottom. And the waist hit the right spot on me. I didn’t end up getting because (a) I have too many dresses (although, to be fair, that has never stopped me from buying more), and (b) I was getting a wee bit of a Hamburglar vibe looking in the mirror, and I just didn’t feel adventurous enough to say “why the heck not”.
(I’m wearing a medium.)
I loved this one! And this was my husband’s favourite too. But! The material is flimsier than for the previous dress, and you get those transparency issues I talked about before. Also, the medium was huuuuuge on me, and they didn’t have a small. (I can’t find this dress on the Joe Fresh website, and there were limited sizes available in the store. I’m not 100% sure of the price anymore, but it was either $19 or $24.)
See, I had the sadz. Joe Fresh, why the hell is your sizing all over the damn place?
Ok, this dress. Is good. So good. Comfortable, flattering, perfect for summer. It’s an empire waist that will not make you look pregnant, but will, in fact, discreetly accommodate any food baby you might be gestating. For $19, it simply doesn’t get better. I hemmed and hawed over it for a good long while, and it took a supreme act of willpower to leave it behind. And that only because I already have a million summer dresses (see above) – plus, I had already completely blown my June budget by the time I found this dress. But you guys need to go buy this dress. Now. Run!
And, while you’re there, don’t forget to check out my 30 x 30 striped dress; the coral version is currently on sale for $20.
So, that’s it. You got questions, I’ll have answers for you in the comments. Hit me up!
Oh, and do let me know if you enjoy these posts, or if you’d rather gouge your own eyes with a rusty spoon than go anywhere near another changing room with me.
* To give you a sense of fit, I am 5’7, and normally wear size 6-8 in dresses, and size 10 in pants.
I love posts like this! It’s interesting to hear what other women think in the fitting room. I love the striped dress that you left behind. Not hamburglery at all! But good for you at having willpower!
Love your picks and hearing what you did/didn’t like. We have very similar taste. I think I might need to take a little lunchtime shopping break to go snag that blue dress 🙂
Yes, do it! It’s worth at least trying, honestly … it was sooooo comfy!
so i’m trying to picture what joe fresh is, because we don’t have it here. is it like a super target that has a grocery in it too?
also, fitting room posts are some of my very favorite. i love shopping with my favorite bloggers! even virtually and even after-the-fact.
i actually think the burlap sack skirt has a nice shape on you, but i can see leaving it behind.
why would a maxi skirt have pockets? i love pockets, but that is not a place pockets should be.
i’m so sad to hear those poly pants were a bust because i was already picturing all the ways you can style them. it’s just too, too hot here in texas to wear poly pants, so i hoped maybe someone else could do it for me.
the color and print of red dress look fantastic on you. boo about the weird waistline.
always looking for thicker dresses like the striped one. for some reason i haven’t been able to buy a b&w striped dress because the colors seem too stark on me. maybe someday i’ll find a navy or coral one or something that has to come home with me.
thanks for sharing your dressing room with us!
xo nicole
I know – you should totally do a fitting room post! I would read the heck out of that!
I love getting comments on these posts because it’s like shopping with girlfriends (even after the fact), which I never get to do in real life.
Joe Fresh is a brand that, here in Canada, is sold in one of our big national chain grocery stores. After they became popular, JF started opening its own stand-alone stores, but they still sell in grocery stores too. In the US, i believe they are now sold through JC Penney. The designer behind Joe Fresh used to own/design for Club Monaco, before it was sold to some other big corporation (I forget which one). So, when he started Joe Fresh, it was great – they had nice designs for very low prices. It was such a success, that they started getting more ambitious. Stuff keeps getting more and more expensive …
I love all the stripy pieces, especially that first skirt! Also, you are not alone in hating the maxi-skirt foldover waist. WHY??? Why do they do that?
Seriously, right? The only time it was ever a good thing was when I was pregnant … it was like having a built-in belly panel. Otherwise, no.
That striped dress was super cute, as was the blue. Props for the willpower…I couldn’t have left either behind. Then again, I almost exclusively wear dresses (even in the winter, which in Reno is not terrible but is definitely a thing).
I love dresses too! But I have … mumble (close to 40) mumble … so, yeah. A little willpower was necessary 😉
The dresses are super-cute – I couldn’t have left them behind either. I agree with you on the website. I can never find anything in store that I’ve seen on the website and vice versa. Did you notice if they had any other skirts? I’m looking for a cute summer skirt…and wouldn’t say no to a summer dress as well.
Well, they have a ton of summer dresses. I liked that white eyelet dress I linked in my last budget post, and this striped one is nice too. They have a few maxi, hi-lo ones. I didn’t look around too much, because there is so much stuff and I get easily overwhelmed in there for some reason. Definitely worth a trip to Superstore though 😉
I’m glad that its not just me who has problems with Joe Fresh sizes! I found a cute dress there one time (I think it was this past winter) and even the size 4 was big on me (and I’m usually a size 8 in dresses). It is frustrating! Ditto on the pockets. They can make or break it for me. That striped maxi skirt was otherwise really nice.
Thanks for your post! I may have to make a trip to Superstore in the near future!
I hope you find something you like!
I haven’t shopped at Joe Fresh in a long time, so I was really surprised by how inconsistent their sizing is. But they seem to have a ton of really cute clothes at the moment. I swore off buying JF after the whole Bangladesh factory tragedy, but I believe the company has been trying to work on its manufacturing practices. So I’m giving them another chance.
I appreciate this since we are roughly the same size and shape!
Yay, I hope these reviews were useful! If you ever have questions about the fit of something I’m wearing, don’t hesitate to ask.