A Cardi for the Beaded Ribbon Top

I apologize for not being a good blogger these days, but the hours go by without me having the chance to get anything done and at the end of the day there I'm just too tired to blog (I still read my favorite blogs though, even if you don't see me commenting much). Where did that blogging time go? I guess that the problem is that 1) my daughter hasn't been a very good napper recently (my daughter's nap time = my blogging time) and I don't even attempt any longer to sneak out of her bedroom and blog when she's up and around because she knows which button has the magic power of turning off the computer and I can't even get mad at her for trying to get my attention (bad, bad blogger mommy) 2) my husband kindly reminded me that I have some family duties that involve fun stuff like ironing his shirts (or at least laundry them) and that blogging cannot be considered as a family duty 3) the battery of my camera had been out of charge for over a week and I couldn't find the charger ANYWHERE. Then yesterday it popped up in one of my daughter's toy bins and all of a sudden I could take pics again (I'm just too bad at writing posts without IRL pictures).

So my blogging will probably be sporadic until at least the next week, when my husband will be traveling again (for ten days) and I will be all bored and with a lot of time in my hands during those long evenings.
But I absolutely wanted to post this while I can and before it's too late (my daughter sleep pattern seems to be better today) in case you have the Beaded Ribbon-Front Top in antique stone and you are looking for something not too dressy to wear with it. Well, I found a good match for this top so I will finally be able to wear it at the next occasion (and maybe you can too).

Before finding what I think is a perfect cardigan for this top at another retailer, I tried a few Jcrew options.
The first one is the Mohair souffle cardigan in heather grey. Even before ordering I knew that it probably wouldn't work. However, because I scored a 20% off on it with CS, I thought that I would give it a try.
The thing with this top is that you need a long cardigan, because there is no way that it can be tucked in and the advantage of the mohair cardigan is that, well, it's long (at least on me).
In fact the style wasn't bad, but I think that the light grey color kind of dulls out the ribbon's beads and the color of the top in general:


Plus, and this is totally subjective, I felt like cuddling on the couch with a hot cup of tea in my hands (and I don't even drink tea), instead of going out and sparkling around in my ribbon top. That's the effect on the mohair cardigan on my mood. I never thought that a piece of clothing could be an energizer (or the total opposite), but I really had this "cocooning" feeling while I was wearing the mohair cardigan. And I forgot to mention that the itching factor is really an issue when wearing this cardigan with a sleeveless top. So back it went.

The second Jcrew option that I tried was a supersale spring item: the glimmer cardigan in natural (it disappeared from the website, so I cannot create the link but you probably know which cardigan is). I remember trying this cardigan in the dusty rose color when it came out and I remember thinking that the XS was really tight in the sleeves, so I ordered it in a S. Which was probably a mistake because the shape was a little bit lost. Anyway, the biggest problem with this cardigan paired with the ribbon top was the lenght (too short):




I liked the beige color better than the grey with the top but let's face it, this is a very thin summer cardigan that is not going to do much to keep me warm in the cold NYC winter. So back it went too.

At this point I decided that I would wait to see what the next rollouts had to offer, but I kept my eyes open while shopping at other retailers (which, I have to say, happens less and less often. I'm becoming a lazy shopper, which is all good for Jcrew).
So I was at Zara looking for a coat (Zara has the jackets and coats that fit me best), when I saw a cardigan in a hue that I thought would look great with the antique stone of the beaded top. And it was a long cardigan. And 100% cashmere (warm!) and for only $89!
The color is very similar to the warm wisteria, that is one of my favorite colors offered by Jcrew this season (now, if only they could make a cardigan in this color! But it doesn't matter any longer because Zara made it). Here it is (the color IRL is more similar to the color in the first two pics than in the third one):







I think that the color of this cardigan has the effect of enhancing the color of the top (quite the opposite of the grey mohair), and I also like that it makes it more understated and wearable. I like this casual version of the outfit with boots but I also plan to wear it with last year's crackled silver Mary-Janes or this year's Pippa flat that I have ordered recently and are on their way.
I was already won over it, but I happen to have another top that can benefit from this cardigan. It's the Silk Tiered Cami in deep aubergine. I know that I didn't like this cami when I tried it on for the blog but the deep aubergine is a more flattering color and I got it for $39 instead of $88, which changes everything, right? On the downside, it's a size 2 but I don't think that it really makes a big difference compared to the 0, especially under a cardi and belted (I'm on a belt kick, I'm belting everything, please indulge me):




I really recommend this cardigan, even if I understand that Zara is not accessible to everyone because it isn't available online yet (but the good news is, they are getting there and the WSJ reported that the first online store will open next year in Europe). However, I thought that this find could inspire you to look for something similar in this color.
If any of you is interested in this particular cardigan, the style number is 5145/811/659 and it comes in S, M and L.

My next post will be the long-time due first giveaway, but I don't know when it's going to happen, so stay tuned!