This past weekend the queen, Tracee Ellis Ross, launched her new JC Penney Collection. I’m not sure about you, but I have been waiting with bated breath for November 12th for quite some time. So, of course, I was there the moment they opened the doors on Sunday morning! Oh, and I wasn’t the only one! At least 3 other women made a beeline for the TERxJCP collection along with me.
While browsing through the racks I noticed a few things, had some fun trying it on and I even bought something!
First impressions
The collection boasts 45 original pieces and I’m happy to say that my local JC Penney had most of the items. I looked at the collection online prior to going to the store so I had an idea of which pieces I wanted to try. The only thing I don’t remember seeing is the ‘Everyday Joy’ sweatshirt that I really wanted to try. Otherwise, everything I’ve seen online was also present in my store.
To be honest, wasn’t impressed by the TERxJCP display set up at our store. There was no sign to draw attention to it and the mannequins near the collection weren’t dresses in Tracee’s Clothes! The entire collection was on 4 racks and packed on a tiny patch of carpet across from Sephora. We were on top of each other trying to find our sizes. Without a doubt, the TER collection is the best thing to happen to JCP since Sephora launched in their stores, so it makes no sense that they gave her such a small display in our store. I’ve seen her in other JCP stores on her social media accounts. Those were given a much better set up than the one I was in! But this isn’t Tracee’s problem, my local JCP just missed the mark on this, in my opinion.
What I tried on
As far as the clothes go, I was happy to finally see everything in person but my store was very stingy with the small and medium sizes. I think it’s awesome that this collection ranges from a size small to 3X but our store seriously only had 1 or 2 smalls in most items and no smalls at all in everything else. This is the reason why I wasn’t able to try on everything I liked online. I’m hoping that with time they will get a bigger stock of certain items so I can go back and buy more stuff!
I was about to try on a total of 4 items. Overall I thought the sizing and pricing of each item were great. The clothes are of good quality and worth every penny.
Illuminated Long Sleeve, Velvet Bodycon Dress -$34
Velvet is very on trend right now, whether you love or hate it. I think it fits really well and the length is perfect for wearing this dress with booties. The color is great for holiday parties. This could easily be a work to happy hour outfit with a few tweaks. Shop this look on JCP.com
Glow short sleeve, reversible dress -$74
I believe this is the most expensive item in the collection. This dress is completely covered in sequins and pretty heavy. I love how it looks on Tracee but not so much on me. I looked like I was wearing a shiny bag. It could be due to the fact that I am not curvy and this isn’t something I would typically wear but I tried it on just because. Click here to purchase on JCP.Com
Glorious Elbow Sleeve, Fit & Flare dress – $49
This dress comes in this floral print and a blue & red polka dot print. I love a good fit and flare dress and this is perfect for the office. It’s very modest and I think this would be really cute with heels and jewelry to spice it up.
Click here to buy this dress.
Kindness long sleeve, Mock neck Bodycon Dress – $34
In my opinion, this is the best dress in the collection and it’s the only thing I actually bought. The stripe pattern is really flattering and forgiving in places that bodycon’s usually aren’t. I even love the high neckline, something I usually stay away from. It can be a little difficult to get it over your head if you have a big head and a lot of hair like me (lol).
This dress is currently out of stock but you can keep an eye on it here.
All in all, I’m really happy with this collection. I hope Tracee plans to continue this collaboration as I love her and JCP.
