My Weekly Visit to a JCrew Store: Pics of the New Arrivals

Last week I made up my mind on some recent purchases and I decided to return them on Saturday while checking out the new JCrew arrivals, even if I had already briefly seen some of them when I picked up the rosette tees. But before leaving, I imposed myself a rule, because I was a little bit afraid that I would go wild, being this the last weekend before expiration of the 25% off card. Since one of the readers of this blog kindly sent me her card, I've spent much more than I had planned on clothes (I really don't understand the Jcrew policy to make this card "exclusive": I think that they should be happy that this incentive works and makes people want to spend in their stores). Anyway, my rule was that I wouldn't spend more than the amount of what I was returning. With that in mind, I went off in my "bon voyage" outfit.

My first stop was at Banana Republic, to return the Darion Luncheon necklace (see my first post). The necklace was worth $74 but while I was there I noticed a golden bracelet that would complement perfectly my outfit of the day. Looking closely I saw that they had a "buy 3 for $30" promo on that and other "mix and match" bangles (whose price ranged from $14 to $18 each), so I dived in. The great thing with this kind of promo is that if you decide to return one or two items, the price of the third one is not adjusted, so you get to keep it for $10. But I really did like the three of them together:



That left me with $40 to spend. The next stop (the highlight of my trip) was JCrew: I chose the Fifth Avenue/Union Square store because I like to hangout in that neighborhood when I'm alone and I also had to return something at Old Navy which is not far.
I tried tons of stuff at the JCrew store, I think I spent at least two hours there. However, the two items that I was really curious about, the much-talked-about cotton-silk ruffle swirl tank and the cotton-ruffle tank (15697M) weren't available in store yet. So I guess that I will have to go back one of these days!
I have taken tons of pics and I have trimmed them down to the ones that I'm going to post, I hope that it won't be too boring. It's a long post, so bear with me!

First I wanted to try again the Lightweight-denim trouser in perfect fade wash (item 13900). I had already tried them the day when I bought the surplus gray matchstick jeans but since they were just arrived I decided to wait. This second time I didn't like them as much as the first time though. I love the fabric but I'm not sure about the trouser fit, they are very long (I tried a 0) and a little bit too flared for my short figure. Plus they aren't exactly cheap, as they retail for $120.
Here are with a T-shirt that I picked up to try with them because of the color (I didn't mind this tee, so I don't remember the price, but it was on the new arrivals table):



Then I tried them with the Georgia cardi (15131) in warm shell. I'm trying an XS:



And finally with the tuxedo-front cotton cami (item 15251M):



The cami was a real surprise: I didn't like it AT ALL the first time that I saw it in store, quite a while ago. When the new catalog came out though, it kind of awakened my interest, but still not enough to take one to the fitting room with me. However, while I was trying the pants, I could see them hanging just outside, so I asked the SA to bring me one to try, for the only reason that it was white and I was trying to determine if I liked the jeans.
Well, I don't know if I liked the jeans but I really liked the cami as you'll see in the next pics, I didn't want to take it off!

Next, I tried the Linen Monterey Skirt (14807M) in azalea just for the fun (size 0). It is a very airy skirt and if I was younger I would probably buy it:



I just can't see myself wearing this hue of pink but it is very pretty.
Then it was the turn of the jersey strapless dress in papaya (XS):



I know that you're going to say that I look great in this dress but the idea that I could buy the same thing at F21 for around $24 dollars crossed my mind at a certain point and I couldn't get it out of my mind. Honestly, I don't need a dress like this one, especially for $78, but I know that many of you liked it. I think that if you live anywhere near a beach or spend the summer at the beach you can get a lot of wear out of it, but I don't think that this dress is made to be worn in the city.

I also tried the similar Sanur dress (now in promo for $59.50), that is not new but comes in a new color very similar to the papaya of the strapless dress (I don't know how it's called though). Same thing, it's more of a beach dress (which I knew) and I didn't like the lenght:



But for those who own it, I wanted to show a fun way to wear it that the SA tried on me (honestly, I don't know how she did that), if you don't mind showing off your legs:



Next, linen beach shorts (always with the same top and Georgia cardi). I think I've tried a size 2 in white:



And a 0 in the warm maze:



I have too many shorts but these felt great, I'll keep it in mind when they go on sale. Almost done, I have only 3 items left to show you.
First, this mini. I couldn't find it on the website nor in the catalog, but it's a very pretty cotton mini. However, it's VERY short and if I'm not wrong it retails for $98:



Then, the "bow" skirt that I had already tried in turquoise and now comes in a new color ("bronzed twig"?). I tried it because I have read so many good things about the double serge in bronzed ochre, but the new cotton version is an Internet only item, and I thought that the effect would be similar:



I don't know if it's the color but I liked the turquoise much better (it also looked shorter?)

Last one, the cotton ruffle tunic (14834), which, besides the collar, is really a shirt and not a tunic IMO:


I like it more with the collar folded down:


I really loved it. In the catalog it doesn't show but it's in a very lightweight cotton with a soft wrinckled effect. I have a Zara shirt in the same cotton and I've worn it a thousand times. Now it's a little bit tired and I use it as a cover-up for the beach, so I was happy to find this one to replace it. It comes also in shell and in a metallic fabric (that I have tried and didn't like).

At the register I returned $140 worth of merchandise and I bought the tuxedo-front cotton cami, the Georgia cardi and this last shirt. With the 25% I was around $170 but if you remember I still had a $40 "credit" from Banana Republic, so I was good (I did manage to spend a little bit more by the end of the day though, but I will write another post about this)!

During this trip I tried almost everything that catched my eye but I left out a few items to try this week at the Madison Collection store, just to make the pleasure last a little bit longer, so stay tuned.

Would you buy or did you buy any of these new arrivals? What do you think of the lightweight denim pants (I have to decide between them and the Georgia cardi before expiration of the red card)?