The other night Mr. G.Q. and I had dinner with new friends at Lavender Bistro in La Quinta, California. I wore one of my favorite dresses which was a Gretchen Scott dress. The dress style was the “ruffled neck dress” that I had discovered in a little shop in Charleston, South Carolina. I wanted to tell you all about this darling dress because it’s so cute and it can take the wearer to so many places! In this piece I will tell you all about the features of Gretchen Scott clothing in my personal experience.

Features of Gretchen Scott Dresses

First and foremost, Gretchen Scott clothing is made from beautiful colored fabrics. All the items are brightly hued prints with combinations such as pink and white, navy with lime, hot pink and orange, etc. Just looking at the line on the website makes me smile because I LOVE color so much!

These dresses are so fun! They are made of a jersey fabric that is 97% polyester and 3% elastane. Now I can hear you saying that jersey can be so unforgiving to those troubling “lumps and bumps” that most of us have. What’s so neat about the jersey from this designer, is that it truly fits like a dream! By that I mean, that normally when I wear a fitted knit dress, I need to wear shapewear to look my best. And we all know that shapewear in the heat (it’s 100 degrees today here where I live in La Quinta, California!) isn’t a great option. But, this dress fabric is so forgiving in that it just skims over my waistline and looks good, even after a full meal. The dress runs true to size. I am usually a size 6 and this dress is a size small. The sleeves are 3/4 length which is great for those who are uncomfortable with their upper arms. The sleeves are comfortable and not too tight. The cuffs can be worn down or rolled back. When rolled back, the sleeve ends right at the elbow and a neat feature is that doing this, exposes a contrasting print that is also used on the inside of the back panel. The hem on these dresses are four inches! That is a very generous hem allowance, and will allow women of various heights to wear them. I am 5’4″ and the dress hits just above my knee. I think this detail speaks to the quality of the designs of Gretchen Scott.

The Ruffled Neck Dress

When I first saw this dress on the hanger, I was less than enthusiastic because I am a minimalist when it comes to ruffles. I know ruffles and puffed sleeves are experiencing a bit of a resurgence in the fashion world, but usually I avoid both for my personal style and age. My friend Colleen encouraged me to give the dress a try, and boy am I ever glad that did! This neckline is SOOO universally flattering. The collar is designed in such a way that it adjusts to however you want to wear it. By that, I mean that if you want to wear it “up” framing your face, it stays that way until you decide otherwise. No flopping down, just a soft style that allowed me to forego any necklace. If you wear it “down”, you can easily wear jewelry in the pretty v-neck of the dress. I think this collar is genius and is due to an impressive hidden interfacing that has such great “memory”, even after repeated wear and washing.

Care Instructions

This line is truly “wash and wear”. Who says that about a dressy dress? The actual label says, “Machine Wash Cold / Cool Tumble Dry or Dry Clean”. I wash my dresses from this company in cool water on delicate and then I just hang them up to dry! Easy peasy! This line obviously travels so well. Just pop it in my suitcase and wear it immediately upon arrival, without ironing. Amazing!

How to Style This Dress

As you can see in my photos, I wore this in a dressy manner. I added a cream pashmina, (similar, here) to ward off any post sunset cool breezes. My jewelry was a simple pearl bracelet, my Ebel stainless watch and pearl stud earrings. My nude Stuart Weitzman sandals extended my leg line (as nude sandals do) and my clutch was a white rectangular one (old), (similar, here) with a silver clasp. And although I went for this special occasion styling, this dress would look equally cute paired with nude flats, and a jean jacket, running about town or going out to lunch with your girlfriends. Seriously, this dress is such a versatile style to pull off.

Where to Buy These Gems

For the most part, you have two main choices to find this line. Gretchen Scott has her own website (www.gretchenscottdesigns.com) or find a store that carries her cute stuff. I mentioned above, I saw lots of her dresses, tunics, and accessories at a shop in downtown Charleston, but I have also seen them at nice women’s boutiques in Florida, frequently in high end resort wear stores. If you have a chance, do yourself a favor and try these babies on! You will be so glad you did. Ironically, I haven’t seen many reviews of this line, but trust me, they’re great. (There are a few of these items on Amazon and Poshmark; but only VERY limited sizes and prints are available.) The price point is comparable to other special occasion dresses from say, Nordstrom’s.

Another Very Cool Detail

All of Gretchen Scott’s items have the most inspiring label. Her tags say: (in bright colors, of course!) Laugh More, Gripe Less, Ignore Critics, Say Yes, Order Dessert, Love Life. Isn’t all that such a wonderful mantra?! And for those of you new to my blog, Drjuliesfunlife.com was started by me to share tips and tricks on how to have a more fun and full life. I think any clothing that carries such a positive message is something we should all get behind, don’t you agree?

Want Even More Gretchen Scott?

Here is another post I did wearing another print in this same ruffle neck style. The colors are a bit more subdued in grays, white and black, so it lends itself to year-round wear (think black tights and boots) than today’s pink and white number. And don’t worry, I promise to review another style from this designer very soon.

In Closing

In closing, I highly endorse this Gretchen Scott ruffled neck dress. I like the quality and the colors. I LOVE her motto and would love to become friends with such a girl. Fingers crossed that our paths will cross in the near future.

AND for any of you new to my blog or other social media platforms, please take a moment and subscribe to my blog, Drjuliesfunlife.com. I feature lots of cute outfits from casual to special occasions, as well as recipes, beauty tips (I’m a retired cosmetic dermatologist!), and much. much more!

Thanks for reading, Please let me know in the comments below if you too have tried these great dresses.

XO

Dr. Julie

P.S. Some of my readers have asked me the significance of items that have been typed with pink ink. These are “magical links” because when you click on them, you will be brought right to the site where you can purchase that item if you so choose. They are officially called “affiliate links” which means when you shop through them, you help support my blog (all at absolutely no additional cost to you) so thank you