Product Review: The Gusto cami

The Gusto cami retails for $98. Sorry, scratch that. The Gusto cami retails for $78. Sorry, scratch that too. Depending on where you buy it, the Gusto cami will cost you $98 or $78. The higher price is the online price and the lower price is the in store price. Now, I know that we have seen price discrepancies before but that's a 20% difference between the online and store price, which is A LOT. I hope that they will fix the online price (and won't hike up the store price, even if that's what they usually do). To be honest, I don't think that I would have bought it at $98. But for $78 is a quite fabulous evening cami. And I am pretty sure that waiting in this case isn't a good strategy because the price will probably go up instead of going down. So if you like it, get it for $78 while you can (if you are nowhere near a store, you can call a store and have it shipped to you for less than the current online price).

I have to say that when I saw it online, I didn't care much for it. Another ruffled top, I thought. But when I saw it in store I fell in love. And my closet lacks of this kind of stuff. I don't know why but I struggle to find nice tops for the evening that can be dressed up or down. I tend to gravitate towards tees or daywear tops. Truth to be told I don't go out THAT much, especially in the winter. But when I do I am a little bit at a loss and I tend always to dress down.
So not only I really liked it but it fills a gap in my wardrobe. But you need to know a few things before ordering it (besides the price discrepancy).

First, it has a zipper in the back and it is an exposed zipper. They mention it on the website but there is no picture of the back of the cami, so you might not register that the zipper is exposed when reading the description.
This is how the cami looks in the back:



Detail of the zipper:



If it can be of any indication, I normally don't like exposed zippers but this one goes well with the style of the cami and at least is on the small side and not sewn on a big of black tape as we have seen on other items.

Second, and this is the major problem of this cami, it looks really good only when it has been steamed to perfection. It wrinkles very easily and the creases tend to fight with the ruches and create flaws in the design and the fit of the cami, which is otherwise quite flattering. Also, the front ruffle can look a little bit sad if not fluffed out and de-wrinkled. By the way, the front ruffle is made of three separate pieces of fabric, which can have some advantage to it (see later on).
So I recommend to spend some time to steam it before trying it on if you order it online (I can't even imagine how it must look after being shipped in one of those paper bag).

Third, I see it more like a summer cami than a fall/winter cami, at least in the cobblestone color that I bought. The rose dust is really lovely and more of a winter color but the cobblestone really looks better on my skin tone. The cobblestone looks great with white and that's how I will be wearing it, at least now:





Do you see the pouches under the underarm? That's an effect created by a vertical crease in the fabric from being folded in the bag. The ideal to avoid this kind of imperfection would be walking out the store wearing it ;-).

It looks really good under a long cardigan (BTW, this one is by the Loft, currently in stores, and I find the length more proportioned on me than the Forever/Infinity one):



And also under a jacket (this one happens to have a shine to it but I think that it will also look good under a wool one):



As I was saying before, the good thing about the ruffle being in three pieces is that you can let it play peekaboo from under a sweater:





(by the way the heather cobblestone color is surprisingly not a good match for the cobblestone of this cami IMO).

I think that for the store price is a fabulous cami, but it's not for perfectionists (who are going to freak out at the first wrinkle). It is a little bit high maintenance even for the non perfectionists and has some details that could turn you off, like the exposed zip, so I would say that it's probably one of those love it or hate it items. Some (like me) will see a great evening piece where other will see a hot mess. If you see the potential in it and have a good steamer, give it a try with a free shipping code or in store.
I still have to receive the Khloe cami that I have preordered a while ago also in the cobblestone color so I will take a final decision on the Gusto cami after seeing the Khloe as I probably don't need two cobblestone-colored camis even if the Khloe could look very different (that's also the reason why at the beginning I was jmore drawn to the rose dust color when I tried on the Gusto).

Do you own or have tried the Gusto cami? Do you think that it's for you or not?