A Johnny Was Try-On with 5 Outfits I Loved (and One That Didn’t Work)

I’ve admired Johnny Was from a distance for a while now, all those beautiful embroidered blouses and flowy prints, but I finally set aside an afternoon to try on a stack of pieces and see how they actually fit a real body. Spoiler alert, one of them made me eat my words about a denim style I swore I’d never wear.

I’ll walk you through everything I tried, exactly what size I grabbed, and where I’d size up or down. That’s always the part I want to know before I click “add to cart,” so it’s the part I always tell you.

For reference, I’m 5’6″ and usually wear a size 8 in pants and a medium or large in tops, depending on the cut.

An Embroidered Blouse That Made Me a Barrel Jean Convert

I fell hard for this embroidered blouse. It’s a brand new arrival, so it hasn’t made it to the Johnny Was website yet, but the hand-stitched floral detail across the chest and cuffs is exactly the kind of quiet, feminine touch that makes a plain white button-up feel special.

I’ll link a few similar embroidered styles below so you have something to shop while this one makes its way online.

https://shopmy.us/collections/public/6793749

Now, about those jeans. I have said, more than once and with real conviction, that barrel jeans were never going to happen for me. I did not think my body needed one more place for denim to billow out. But I put on the Ryan Barrel Jeans almost as an afterthought, and, well, don’t you just hate to eat your words?

The curved leg actually skims rather than swallows, and the vintage-inspired wash felt fresh instead of dated. I’m wearing a size 29, and they fit true to size through the waist and hip.

A Peachy Printed Blouse I Styled Two Ways

This one already made an appearance on the blog when I shared it in What to Buy in August: Fall Transition Wardrobe Guide, but I’m bringing it back because I ended up styling it two different ways during this same try-on, and I think it deserves both moments.

The Loubellah Blouse has a soft, painterly print in peach and blue, a tie neckline, and a relaxed, breezy fit that never feels sloppy. I’m wearing a medium, and it fits fine through the shoulders and body, with plenty of room to tuck or wear loose. Paired here with the same Ryan Barrel Jeans, it leans a little more boho.

The Same Blouse with Chocolate Martini Cargo Pants

Here’s that second styling I mentioned. Swap the barrel jeans for the Poplin Cargo Pant in a rich chocolate martini shade, and the whole look shifts into something a little more polished and utilitarian, while the blouse still does all the same soft, feminine work up top.

The chocolate martini Poplin Cargo Pants fit fine in my usual size 8, with the classic patch pockets and a relaxed straight leg that isn’t baggy. Brown is such an easy neutral to build around this season, and I love that this one avoids feeling too “safari” and instead just reads as a great fall trouser.

A Monochromatic Brown Set That Might Be My Favorite

This might have been my favorite outfit of the entire try-on. I am an absolute sucker for a monochromatic look. There’s something about head-to-toe one color, especially with texture and embroidery doing the visual work, that just reads elegant and put-together without any effort.

The best part is that these two pieces don’t have to stay together. The blouse would be gorgeous layered under a blazer or cardigan, and the pants would work just as well with a simple white tee or tank.

The Talsi Blouse is a sleeveless V-neck top with a beautiful tribal-inspired embroidered pattern in the same rich chocolate brown as the pants. I’m wearing a medium, and it fit fine.

The Lysander Barrel Pant, also a medium, fit fine as well, with a soft drape and a slight barrel shape through the leg that echoes the embroidery detail near the hem.

A Palm Tree Dress That Just Didn’t Work

I loved this Button Front Dress the moment I saw the palm tree design worked into the hem. It’s such a standout detail, hand-painted looking palms and greenery along the bottom border, that turns a simple cream dress into something you’d actually get stopped and asked about.

I brought a medium into the dressing room because I noticed the drawstring waist, and I figured that would give me some flexibility if the fit ran snug. I was right about the waist. It fit fine there. What I didn’t account for was the chest area, which was too tight to button comfortably. I needed a large.

I’ll be honest, I’m also not a huge fan of button and loop closures in general. I find them fussy and hard to close, especially if they land anywhere near your back where you can’t see what you’re doing. This dress buttons up the front, but it’s worth knowing if you’re eyeing other Johnny Was styles with that detail.

The lesson here is one I repeat often: a piece can be beautiful and simply not be right in the size you grabbed first. That’s not a failure, it’s just information. If I order this dress, I’m going straight for the large.

What I Thought About the Sizing

Most of what I tried ran true to size. The Ryan Barrel Jeans in a 29 fit well, which honestly surprised me the most, since I walked in fully expecting to hate the whole barrel silhouette. The Poplin Cargo Pant in my usual size 8 and the Lysander Barrel Pant in a medium both fit fine, no notes.

The one piece I’d size up on is the Button Front Drawstring Dress. The medium fit through the waist thanks to the drawstring, but it was too tight through the chest to button comfortably. Go straight to a large if you’re between sizes or if you carry any fullness up top.

As always, the number inside the tag is just information. It changes from brand to brand and even style to style within the same brand. Buy the size that fits the body you have today.

Which Johnny Was Outfit Would I Wear Most?

The monochromatic Talsi Blouse and Lysander Barrel Pant set is the one I keep thinking about. It photographs beautifully, it fits well, and I love that I can wear the pieces together or apart. It’s the kind of outfit that looks like it took effort when really it’s two easy pieces in the same color family.

A close second is the embroidered blouse with the Ryan Barrel Jeans, mostly because I still can’t get over how much I like a barrel jean now. Never say never, ladies.

One Last Thing

Try-ons like this one are a good reminder that fit is personal, and a size that works beautifully in one style might need an adjustment in another, even within the same brand. I’d rather tell you the truth about what happened in the dressing room than pretend everything fit perfectly, because that’s not helpful to anyone.

I’m curious which of these Johnny Was pieces caught your eye. Was it the embroidered blouse, the monochromatic brown set, or that palm tree dress?

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To GOD Goes The Glory!

Verse Of The Day

Psalm 34:19 (NIV)
¹⁹ The righteous person may have many troubles,
    but the Lord delivers him from them all;