Instagram Expectations: Fleece edition.

Boating on the bay. Apple picking in the fall foliage. Meeting my future husband at the Trader Joe's checkout line. These are all the fantasies I envisioned while wearing my Dudley Stephens fleece.

Did they come true? no.

I WANTED to love Dudley. I really did. Women owned company? check. Made of recycled materials? check. Pajamas masquerading as work clothes? DOUBLE CHECK.

Bottom line: Necklines and torso lengths forced me to give up on the turtlenecks and boatnecks, but am trying to rationalize the bomber (and mayyybeee the pullover) in smaller size/different color, and have high hopes for future releases.

Options tried:

Turtleneck (Park Slope): Do you wear makeup? So will your fleece. Also is for short torsos.

Boatneck (Brighton Boatneck): torso was too short so I looked fat and frumpy. Not the bad and boogie vibe I was hoping for.

Bomber (Brooklyn Bomber): looked SO Good on insta. Was much larger than the other XLs I ordered, and not a bright red. Lining was luxe, and it felt like a $200 jacket, but not the color or fit I was hoping for. Also felt like the rayon lining would be cold, not cozy.

Pullover (Prospect Pullover): comfortable, but hides the booty. I work too hard to hide deez cheeks from the world. Also the neon zipper clashes with a lot of the bottoms you might consider wearing.

Color rating overall: The Navy is a true Navy, the pinks weren't as Pink as I was hoping. It's not light to be a pale pink, but too pink to be a blush. I wanted it to be pinker or lighter. I felt trapped in the middle. I remain DEVASTATED about the red. It is muted and darker in person.

Fit: I kept the pink boatneck. It did stretch out a bit with wearing, but the torso just F***ed me every time I wore it. It does look nice draped over your shoulders and I continue to wrap it like that as if I might put it on one day. If you have a normal or long torso, this may not ever feel right.

Wearability: anything in this line with a collar comes up to your ears. This is nice when you have forgotten your scarf, or if you like to channel movie villain vibes, but bad if you wear makeup or want to have a conversation with the person next to you at dinner.

Photos are below- I tried to find the pantone colors that closely resembled them as they don't photograph well color-wise. There is a BIG difference in the Pink and Red in how they appear IRL/In photos

How they photograph:

How they look IRL: