Item review: Natalie long sleeve sweater

I recently won a $75.00 gift card to discountdance.com during their back to school sweepstakes.  I used most of it to stock up on basics for Nutcracker, but I got a few fun items too.  One of the fun things was this long sleeve warmup sweater by Natalie dancewear (style number N8740).  I got size small.

The sweater is made of a rayon/nylon/spandex blend that is very heavy, silky, and soft.  It feels very good against my skin. The material seems to have the potential to pill if it is washed and worn a lot, but I haven't had the chance to wear it that much yet.  I like the way the fabric clings slightly.  I feel like my teachers can still see the lines of my body when I'm wearing it.

The neck hole is large (which is good for not messing up perfectly pulled back hair), but not off the shoulder as it appears in the picture.  It is more of a general scoop neck/boat neck.  The neck also has two layers (not visible in the picture).  The inner layer is not hemmed, but rolls up on itself for a cute detail.  It does not seem likely to unravel, even though it is not sewn.  The outer layer of the neckline is folded and sewn down.  

The hem of the sweater falls just past my hips and is slightly ribbed, so it hugs my body and doesn't flap.  It's long enough to cover my bottom, so I felt comfortable wearing it over my leotard without shorts to leave the studio.  

The sleeves are long (which is great for me; my arms are long and many sleeves don't reach  my wrists), and they have thumb holes.  I love the thumb holes because they keep my hands from touching the barre too much.  The barre is sometimes very cold in winter or sticky feeling in summer.  

This sweater is the perfect basic warm up for any dancer's wardrobe, regardless of your style of dance.  It is $22.95 (but currently on sale for only $14.92!) on discountdance.com.  I think it's a great value for the luxuriousness of the product.  Overall I give it a 9 out of 10 (only deduction for the possible propensity of the material to pill).