The Best of 2009 and Happy New Year!

Because this is a time for "Best of" lists (and resolutions, but I already had a resolution some time ago, right?) I thought that it would be fun to have a "My Best of Jcrew 2009" post. These are not necessarly the items that have the most WOW factor but the ones that I have worn a lot and would buy again and again:

My top of the top, in any category is (TADADA): the Linen Monterey skirt



Boy, I love this skirt, I just bought my third one (in white, I have already the khaki, pictured above, and the striped one) on the JCA Weekly Exchange. I know that I will wear it again next summer. In fact I CAN'T WAIT to wear it again and thanks to an upcoming Caribbean vacation at the end of January it will happen sooner than it normally would be (I have already decided that I'll take the white one with me).
Runner-up in this category: the wool perfect pencil skirt. I haven't worn it a lot but it surely is one of the best skirts ever and I'm sure that I will wear it when I'm older (if I can still fit in).

My top in ... tops is: the Tuxedo-front cami.
Unfortunately I don't have a website pic of this one but you certainly remember it:



Runner-ups in this category: the (first and original) cascading-ruffle tank and the Olive flannel top (this one actually could be an ex-equo).
(By the way, remember these denim pants that I had a "Returnable item of the week" post on and had returned? I finally re-bought them on super-final sale at the end of the season for $19.99. So, I'm looking forward to wearing them next year.

My top in pants is: the Summerweight chino cocktail capri:



I love the fit of these. I have the charcoal and khaki and will be adding the white soon. I bought all off them in super-sale so they are even more worth it.
Runner-ups in this category: toothpick cords

My top in dresses is: the Pavillion Pique dress



I know it was controversial, but it worked well for me.
Runnerup: the wool Ravine dress.

And this will be my LAST PURCHASE of 2009:



The Bettina heels, bought this morning for $79.99 (after seeing them - and wanting to buy them - almost every day since they came out as they have been in the window of the Madison Collection store forever).

What's on your "Best of 2009" list?

To all of you my best wishes for 2010!

Fashion-Related Question #1: What to Wear with... Sweet Guava?

I can never remember if papayas are fresh or bright at Jcrew but I'm pretty sure that guavas are sweet (I'm talking about the colors, of course).

So this is the first of a series of posts where I ask you to help me with a fashion-relate dilemma. In this case the dilemma is what to wear with a sweet guava top.
Some time ago I had the chance to come across a Harlow blouse in sweet guava in my size and for a decent price on the JCA Weekly Exchange. I already own the ivory version (see this post) and I regretted not getting also the sweet guava one (and/or the honey glaze one) because I absolutely LOVE this blouse, it's so feminine and classic and it will never go out of style (I can picture myself wearing this when I'm 80). So I got it and I was very excited about adding it to my closet.
However as much as I love the color per se, I find particularly challenging to find a cardigan to pair with it. I think that the blouse is mean to be worn alone in the first place but it's freezing here and I would like to wear it before spring, if not right now (it is REALLY freezing and there is nothing that could convince me to wear something different from a cashmere sweater these days).

Anyway, I have tried it with different cardigans that I already have and I'm not very happy, so I hope that you have some great ideas for me. While I was trying to find a cardigan to pair with it, I have realized that my winter color palette, and in particular my cardigans' color palette, is neutral bordering boring: besides a bright papaya cashmere V-neck cardigan from last year and the pinkish Michelle that I bought at the sample sale, everything is beige or black/charcoal or navy. There isn't a single splash of color, so I wouldn't mind taking advantage of the current great sale prices to buy a cardigan or two in a bright color.
But because maybe you don't remember the blouse, I wanted to show you a picture of it worn alone first. The jeans that I'm wearing in the pics are not the best style for this blouse but I was focused on the top half of my outfit, so please don't let the jeans distract you.



A similar style (plus the ruffly placket) from the current fall/winter collection, is the Solid Loulou blouse, that also comes in sweet guava, so if you have this one and you have found what to wear it with, I would like to hear it!

The first pairing that I have tried is the most obvious one, a black or navy cardigan. I picked up the navy Portland because it was longer than my black cardigans:



That's a safe choice (I think that nobody will point at me and say that I have a weird color taste if I go out wearing this); however I also think there is too much contrast between the sweet guava and a dark color like navy.
So I tried a heather grey, which on the opposite, is a little bit too fade for sweet guava (please mentally substitute this cardigan, which is old and too short, with something like the mohair souffle one):

I think that in the lighter palette a snow would work better, but snow is typically a color that washes me out (the last time that I have tried something in snow, the SA said that I could do better and said by a SA it sounds like a granitic truth).

Now for the unexpected pairings, I tried it with my cotton-cashmere waterfall cardigan in spice olive from this spring:



Unexpected it surely is, but is it also nice? I can't tell, what do you think?

And finally the following is the best I could come up with. You could call it an orgy of pastels but I kind of like them together, it's very delicate and it "respects" the spirit of the blouse. I'm talking of my croquet cardigan in amethyst from last spring. Did I tell you that I love this cardigan?



I think that this is how I'm going to wear it until I find another option. The bonus is that the cashmere in this cardigan is much thicker than any cashmere sweater that I have seen this fall/winter season (I'm still wondering why this cardi was part of the spring collection), so at least I'm going to be warm.
An option that I have been considering is buying a sweet guava cardigan for a total guava look. But because the bling cardigan (that comes in guava) I had put my hopes in is so flimsy, I am left with a cashmere crewneck and I don't know if I want to spend money in a cashmere in this color.

Do you have a blouse or cami in sweet guava? What do you pair it with? Do you have any color pairing suggestion? Which one of the options that I have showed you do you like the best?
Please share!

Post-Holiday Sales

Hi everybody, I hope that you had a fantastic Xmas weekend at home with you families or out of town if you were travelling to visit your closest ones. As you have noticed I didn't have the time to post anything since last wednesday, so a belated happy holidays to you all.

I meant to post something about how I spent Xmas (I really enjoyed reading all the Xmas posts and to see what you got and your outfits) but I feel like Xmas is SOOO last week.
I have the feeling that in the US you get over with Xmas much more quickly than in Europe (with maybe the exception of London), and in particular my country, because of the crazy after Xmas sales. The Day-After-Xmas sales always take me a little bit by surprise. First of all the 26th is a bank holiday in Italy and everything is as dead as on Xmas Day and all you can do is go to the movies or keep eating the leftovers and play games inside (or both). Second, the sales don't start until well into the New Year, so you are left with a little bit of holiday sickness between Xmas and New Year's Eve when basically there is not much to do and a lot of people are on "winter break" (that's why it's typical to leave for a vacation just after Xmas).
But here it's different, it's like "Forget about Xmas, that was yesterday, let's go shopping!".

So I went for a little after-Xmas shopping Saturday morning with the crowds. My first destination was Saks (I wanted to checkout the bags) but that was a total miss because by 10.30 (when I got there) they were SOLD OUT OF BAGS ON SALE (I have never seen that before). Then I went to Jcrew with a specific list of items that I wanted to possibly get on super-sale and I'm happy to report that I sticked to the list and didn't get the crazy prices (because with the additional 30% off sale prices it gets pretty much serious) distract me too much. Focus, Ema, focus. You don't need a golden pencil skirt that you know you will never wear.

The first item that I had been eyeing for a while, waiting for it to go on sale, is the Martini pant, a collection item that I had tried a while ago and liked, but not for $168. Actually "liked" is not the most appropriate word, I felt that I "needed" these pants to wear with my Zara Chanel-inspired jacket because of the metallic threads that give the pants a special shine (and my jacket has silver threads as well, even if I'm not sure if it comes across in the pictures).
Anyway, I almost got them during the last 25% off and free shipping promo (they were $119 before the $25% off) but I didn't pull the trigger (I didn't have enough on my gift card to get the free shipping and I didn't want to upset my husband just before Xmas with an "unauthorized" purchase) and I was super-bummed when I saw a few days after that the price had dropped to $89.99 but my size had sold-out.
I was even more bummed when I went to the Madison Collection store the same day hoping that they would still have my size and was told that they had shipped all of them to another store in the city (for the NewYorker readers, that's an interesting thing to know: they ship their sale merchandise to the 5th Avenue store and that's why I have often seen collection items in the sale section there). I called the store (it was Christmas Eve) and they told me that they had received boxes but they weren't sure of the content, and that I would have a better chance calling on Saturday, which I promptly did. I wasn't really expecting the store to have a pair in my size but I had the chance to speak with a non-crewless SA who understood what pants I was talking about even if I didn't have the style number and found a pair to put on hold for me. The best of all was that the price in store was $69.99 and with the 30%off I got them for less than $50. What a deal! The lesson is also that you generally get a better deal in store than online, something that I generally tend to forget when I spend too much time on the Internet reading what everybody's else is ordering.

So here they are with my Zara jacket:



It was a little bit dark in my bedroom this morning when I took the pics, so I'm going to show you the fitting room pic (from the first time that I have tried them) where you can see them in a better light:



If you are eyeing these pants as well, you should know that the fabric is a little bit unforgiving, they show every bump in your body and you can probably tell that I gained some weight these last days as they look looser in the pic from a month ago (too many chocolates).
Here they are with the Organza sash tissue tank that I have blogged about a while ago (and that I re-bought for half the price):


As you can see they aren't really "cropped" on me but I can always decide later to have them altered.

The other item that I got is the Silk ruffle cascade jacket in wild blueberry (which is basically navy). I had tried it when it first came out and I wasn't impressed for the price. But when I tried it again this weekend I really liked it and I LOVED the price that I paid: $48.
Here is with the toothpick cords in navy:



I liked that it looks good with a (cashmere) turtleneck, meaning that I'm not going to be limited by the temperature outside. It's an easy jacket in my opinion, that you can throw on at the last minute on an otherwise casual outfit (it looks really good with skinny jeans).


By the way this is exactly what I was wearing on Xmas Day, minus the jacket:


And if you really want to know I spent a very nice and warm Xmas at friend's (the parents of my daughter's "boyfriend") eating roasted goose and Panettone. They had a beautiful Xmas tree with real candles instead of lights that we lighted at twilight (a German tradition as he is German).
Oh, and I almost forgot. I got a digital frame for Xmas from my husband, that's was the gift that he bought for me (even if I think that HE is the one who wanted one). Not exactly Ugg boots but it was sweet. The funny thing is that I almost bought one for him, for the office, but then I opted for two weeks worth of Jcrew boxers (he really needed new underwear but I bought more so I can delay the laundry machine chore. See, I have been selfish too, in reality it was a gift for me).

Did you go post-Xmas-shopping? Did you get some great deal?

What's Not Under My Christmas Tree (AKA What I didn't Ask for Xmas)

I could have made a list and checked it twice, then handed it to my husband only to found out on Xmas Eve (when we typically exchange gifts with my husband, after putting our daughter to bed) that NONE of my Xmas wishes had come true. Last year I asked for 1) an iPhone; 2) a food processor (that's a dream for a husband, right? A wife who asks for a food processor for Xmas); 3) a pair of Uggs (not a NEW pair, I have been asking for a pair of Uggs for years and never got one) and just to make sure that my list would be taken seriously I also asked to renew my Barnes and Noble membership card. Guess what I got? Yes, the B&N card! I mean, not that I wanted EVERYTHING that was on my wishlist but the B&N card was clearly an add-on. He then offered to pay for "something for our beach vacation" after Xmas and I picked up a little sundress from Calypso. Why he wouldn't ge me what I really want and then pay for something that I hadn't asked for is beyond my understanding, but I have decided that it's one of those "Men come from Mars" things that you can't even try to explain.

So this year I didn't make a list and didn't tell my husband what I wanted, which generally means that I won't get anything. But he surprised me with a package under the tree and I have NO idea what it could be. My husband swore that it's not a joke (like the agenda from his office that I get every year) but a REAL present that HE BOUGHT for me. So I'm really curious. The last time that he bought me a present without a list of suggestions I got an iPod Nano (that I actually decided to return because I had already an erlier version and I didn't feel the need of another one, but it was nice of him and totally unexpected) so I'm up for something.

Anyway I have learned over the years that if I really want something for Xmas, I'd better buy it (unless is something very expensive) and what I really wanted this year is a simple one-strand pearl necklace. Now jewelry is something in the husband departement but I didn't want something expensive, as long as it was natural (and I'm not picky, if men have to help mother nature to produce a little pearl out of an oyster I still consider it "natural") and not a plastic one. I know that it's something that is generally passed on in the family but as a matter of fact I don't have one (and I don't think that my mother has one either - she has a pearl engagement ring and earrings but not a necklace) and have many outfits that would benefit from a pearl necklace. But what really decided me that I needed one is this:




When I tried the Ravine dress I really felt that it needed a necklace and not any necklace but a classic pearl strand.
So I started to look around. I don't know anything about pearls (besides the obvious difference between syntetic and natural/cultivated ones) so I didn't want to put a lot of money in it (to avoid overpaying for something that wasn't worth the price). I almost settled for one at Banana Republic, which was decently priced but then I thought "Wait a minute. Why should I buy a pearl necklace at Banana Republic? Don't do they clothes?". I know that Macy's has a large well-priced jewelry department and while I wouldn't look at their offerings for gold and diamonds because I generally don't like their designs, a pearl necklace is a pearl necklace and besides the clasp there is not much that could be improved design-wise.
There are some great deals at Macy's but the descriptions on the website lack details and basically don't help you with your choice.
So I turned to Ebay. Buying jewelry on Ebay is always a risk, but after selecting "US only" as country of origin I felt more comfortable. After a short search I found what I was looking for
directly from a producer of cultivated pearls in Florida. The price with free shipping was $16.99, a no-brainer, so I went for it.

The necklace arrived last week and the pearls are definitively a nice quality for all I can say. The clasp is a little bit on the cheap side but it's going to be hidden by my hair all the time (but that's definitively something that you want to check out before buying if you have short hair) and all in all I am very pleased with the purchase. And because of the price that I paid for it, I won't feel too bad in case there is another, more expensive one under the tree lol.

Here it is, the pearl necklace that did not make it under my Xmas tree (I hadn't the time to try it with the Ravine dress, here is with the silk posy cami that I got for $19.99 but I'm not sure about. It's just that the flower is very droopy and impossible to wear under a cardigan):




What's under your tree? Did you buy a present for yourself just to be sure that you would get it?

I'm going to try to have a "Xmas Cheer" post tomorrow but in case I run out of time, I wish you all a wonderful Xmas!

A Conversation about Jcrew

Friday was one of those days. I woke up a little bit stressed already because I had THREE Xmas parties to attend, one at my daughter's school in the morning (not that a 2-years-old Xmas party stresses me out "per se" but it meant that I had very little time to do stuff on my own, as drop-off was at 9 and the party started at 11, and should I mention that it was the only day where I could have potentially gone THE TORY BURCH SAMPLE SALE wasn't it for the party?), one in the building for cocktails and one later in the evening at friend's and plenty of errands to do in between. I already knew that I wouldn't have the time to do everything, but as to make things worst I LOCKED MYSELF IN THE APARTMENT after dropping my daughter at school. I know, it's pretty unusual, normally people lock themselves out, but what happened is that a piece in my door's lock broke and I couldn'open the door from inside the apartment because the knob wouldn't turn without the key (and my lock doesn't have a key-hole on the inside). Luckily my doorman had my keys, so he let me out and I could go to my daughter's Xmas party but I had to call the locksmith anyway because once back from school I wouldn't be able to close my apartment's door without locking myself inside again (which I actually did: closing the door is such an automatic action, one of those things that you do all the time without even realizing that you're DOING something). Well, the locksmith came and worked on the door-lock all the afternoon, so around 6 I just had the time to dress and rush my daughter out the door to the building Xmas party.

All this to say that it was an exhausting day and I didn't even have the time to take a shower before going to the evening party and without showering I didn't feel like putting on the outfit that I had planned to.
Instead I wore this (actually I wore black jeans instead of the ones in the pic):



The jacket is a Banana Republic velvet jacket that I found recently after deciding that the Eden blazer looked weird on me (I have ordered the Eden twice because I really nedeed a black jacket and ended up returning it twice). This is the same outfit with the Eden jacket:



Weird, right? Too high-waisted and short. The Banana is AWESOME in comparison, it has a much more tailored (cropped) fit and looks great with dresses AND jeans. In case you are looking for something like this, you can find it here.

While at the party, a friend of a friend (very nice guy) asked me where I got my tee because he liked the design. When I uttered "Jcrew" he couldn't believe his ears, he asked me if I was joking. He thought that Jcrew was "a catalog company" that made basics like cords and standed at the same level than Old Navy. I wanted to die, so of course I launched myself in a "Crewlogy" (Jcrew elegy? Jcrew Eulogy? You choose) and talked about the Jcrew "success story" and MO and Jenna and the store on Madison (he didn't even know that Jcrew had actual B&M stores). He didn't seem convinced, then he looked at my velvet blazer and said "OK, but this can't be Jcrew, right?". I almost lied because it could have been Jcrew, in fact it could have been the Eden that I had returned, but then admitted that it was a Banana. So maybe he won, but it was fun to speak with someone who didn't know anything about the "new" Jcrew.

We had a big snowfall last night, my daughter and husband are already outside in the snow, have a nice Sunday!

Cinnamon and Cords (Weekend Outfits)

Is there an expiration date for OOTD posts? I'm sorry to bother you with my LAST weekend outfits when the NEXT weekend is just around the corner (when I used to work the joke was that the weekend officially started on Wednesday after-noon, when the first half of the week was officially behind us), but because I spent the day of Monday almost in bed with flu-like symptoms (I had the two flu vaccines, I can't possibly have a flu!) and yesterday I still wasn't feeling well (but had to deal with it because my daughter had a busy schedule), today is the first day where I can stomach to look at the computer screen for more than two consecutive minutes. And I really liked these outfits, so I'm going to share anyway.

Before posting the outfits, I wanted to update you on my last week purchases. I was saving what was left on my gift card for something "cinnamon spice" on sale. I LOVE this color, it is one of the prettiest Jcrew "fall-winter" colors ever in my opinion. I wasn't hoping to find the cashmere boatneck popover any longer (I had tried in October but apparently it sold out quickly) but when I saw that it was down to $69.99 on the website last week I had to at least try a few stores in the city. Well, not only I found one in my size but I also found a Celosia cardigan in the same color for $39.99 (probably a return).

While I was in the store I noticed that another item on my wishlist since they came out in the summer, the toothpick cords, finally came down to $29.99, so I decided that it was the right moment to buy a couple of colors while my size was still easily available. I bought the soft ochre first and then the navy and deep aubergine. I am still regretting not buying more of last year's matchsticks, and I'm not sure that they are going to redo the toothpick style next year, so I thought that I'd better get them while I could ((no need to say that I don't have anything left on the gift card). I have to say that after these last purchases I felt like a lot of stress went off my shoulders and I haven't even checked the website or the JCA blog in the last three days because I bought everything that I wanted to buy and I could even envision not buying anything else until the spring. OK, maybe it's because of the flu, but still.

And now the outfits. Saturday was very cold and I wore my new soft ochre toothpick cords with the warmest sweater that I own. It's a very thick cashmere turtleneck by the French brand "Zadig and Voltaire" (which has now a store in the Meatpacking district) and it is all what a cashmere turtleneck should be: incredibly soft, warm and luxurious (I have to say, I remember spending a small Euro-fortune on this but it was just before moving to NY - I moved around Thanksgiving - and I was afraid that the winters in NY would be too cold for my wardrobe. And in fact they were exceptionally cold the first two years that I was here):





You can see that I'm holding something in the first pic. Let me introduce you to a girl's best friend:



Cashmere (even the best) piles but we are lucky to live in a world where someone (a genius) has created the Magik Fuzz Buster and our sweaters can look like new in less than 5 minutes. I have a Jcrew red cashmere sweater that I had bought when I was almost five months pregnant and after a few wears over my pregnant belly (and also a passage in the regular cycle of the washing machine by my husband who used to do the laundry) looked like an old sock and it is almost in like-new conditions after an intensive Fuzz Buster session. If you don't have one of these I urge you to run to the closer Walmart and buy one (it costed me $5 a couple of years ago). I'm one of the laziest person on the planet when it comes to housekeeping duties but you can really do this while watching TV. Plus, don't underestimate the pleasure of seeing a beloved cashmere (but it works on any blend) sweater that you had given for dead coming back to life before your eyes. It is Magik, I tell you.

On Saturday night we were invited at friend's for dinner. I wore my black matchstick cords from last year, my black Gap "layering" turtleneck with the snow-gem tee over it (both tucked in the cords) and a red lipstick very similar to the lipstick that the model is wearing in the latest catalog (mine is by Giorgio Armani). It was VERY pretty and festive. Unfortunately I couldn't take pics because it was already dark and the day after I didn't have the time to wear the whole thing again just to show you. But in case you have something similar in your closet, I would give it a try.

On Sunday we went all the way downtown (Tribeca) for a Xmas brunch with friends that we hadn't seen in a while (it was kind of a reunion). The restaurant with its big windows and wood panels was the perfect spot. I wanted to wear something festive but casual, so I broke out my new Celosia with the check shirt (that I surprisingly liked together). In the pic I'm wearing the toothpick cords in navy but I had to switch them for jeans at the last minute because it was starting to rain and cords don't love rain as you probably know (I apologize for my daughter's stuff in the background):



Fun fact about the Celosia cardigan: there was another baby at our table (younger than my daughter, barely a year old) and she was mesmerized by the cardigan's ruffles. When she was about to cry, all I had to do was come closer and show her the intricate design of the ruffles and she would just look at them and giggle. Who knew that a cardigan could babysit? I was surprised that the mother didn't ask where she could buy one!

Have a nice week!

Gap Holiday Promotions, Ema's Picks

Don't you love the Gap? I love it even more during the holiday season when they throw those incredible 50% off promotions. In my experience it doesn't get any better than that, even on sale.
There are several going on right now in stores. They are having 50% off sweaters (which is even better than the "Buy 1, get the second one for free" that they had for Thanksgiving); 50% off all pajama sets, and all the hats, scarves and gloves are $10. I was a bit surprised to find out that these promos are in-store only, because if you have watched the "Glee" season finale last Wednesday you can't have missed the Gap ad that advertised all the sweaters at 50% off this weekend and one could ask why they bother to make a special ad for a promo that they are not carrying out online. In any cases, remember to stop by the Gap this weekend to check them out.

I went in yesterday to stock up on the Ultrafine Turtleneck Sweaters, now on promo for $17. I LOVE these! As you know I had bought the navy to wear with the Jcrew check shirt and I picked up the black during the Thanksgiving weekend. Yesterday I bought the off white and a very nice green color that I plan to wear alone (when it gets a little bit warmer!):



This is the off white under the check shirt:



And it's thin enough to allow you the layered look with your favorite tees, to keep you warm and without bulking (and yes, that's the snow-gem tee, a perfect match for the off white color):



You have already seen in my Weekend outfits post the Cozy Turtleneck Sweater in the oatmeal color. Yay for mrs.anketell who snagged one for half the price plus 25% off yesterday! I have tried a few other colors (included a green very similar to Jcrew Jalapeno) but decided that one is enough for me. Highly recommended though!

The following is the Crewneck cardigan, on promo for $24.75. What makes this cardigan special is the striped grosgrain trim (but it comes striped only with certain cardigan colors, like the navy, bougainvillea, tomato and purple. In the other colors the trim is solid). I think the navy is going to be very nice in the spring (it's definitively a cotton cardi, even if there is a small percentage of cashmere). By the way, the seams at the sides and armholes are exposed (like in the Jcrew Dream crewneck cardigan):



And I couldn't resist the tomato color (very festive), even if probably I won't keep both:



I am a little bit bothered that the return policy at Gap is now 30 days (I must say, I used to buy much more at the BabyGap for my daughter when the return policy was 90 days because she often outgrew clothes before even having the chance to wear them). However buying during these promo is always a good deal even if you decide to return after 30 days because they will give you a store credit for the current selling price, which could be even more than the price that you paid for.

Last, a cardigan that I also bought during the Thanksgiving promo, the Classic cardigan. It's a very nice (even if thin) 100% merino sweater. A warning though: this cardigan is exceptionally long and I had to size down two sizes (while I usually buy regular sizes at the Gap, I ordered the SP and XSP to try and kept the XSP) to get the right fit on me. I love the heather brown color, similar to Jcrew heather latte:



And finally the pajamas. I love Gaps flannel pajamas but they don't last forever and the last one that I bought was three years ago, so I was really waiting for this promo. All the pajamas set are now $19.75 and they make great and inexpensive gifts (personally I would love to receive one). I like the fit of the pajama pants that are included in the pajama sets much better than the fit of the pajama pants that are sold alone (where the leg is much wider and this year come with button tabs to roll them up, a feature that I don't really care about in a pajama), not to mention that you get the top for free. I picked up this one in the "pink and grey plaid" pattern (where only the drawstring is pink) and it looks great. Now, I know that you would have loved a IRL pic of me in my pajama, but I'm not ready yet, lol.
Speaking of Flannel pajamas, I have a movie reccomandation for you. Flannel pajamas is an indie movie that came out a few years ago with a limited distribution and few people have seen (I think), but it's one of the best "romantic" movie ever, the characters are very authentic and the actors (Julianne Nicholson and Justin Kirk) are terrific. Not your Hollywood romantic comedy and probably a little bit depressing if you are all for happy ending movies, but a must-see if you are an indie movie lover.

Are you going to take advantage of this promo? Are you interested in any of these picks for yourself or as a gift?

Have a nice weekend and happy shopping!

Jcrew Product Review: The Organza Sash Tissue Tank

Today I'm going to do a quick review of the Organza Sash Tissue Tank, that didn't receive a lot of attention (as far as I know) but I think it's a very interesting option for your holiday parties and beyond. First of all, it's one of the few tanks and camis out there RUFFLE-FREE, unless you want to call the organza sash a ruffle. Second, it is reasonably priced. I don't know why cotton tiers and ruffles cost more than organza embellishments at Jcrew, but to be honest my reaction when I looked at the price and read $35 was one of surprise for it being cheaper than I guessed (especially compared to all those tees at $45 and up). In fact someone must have told the Crew, because the tank was marked up to $39.50 this morning in store (while I bought it two days ago for $35). The good news is that two colors, the pink and the ivory are on sale on the website for $24.99 (I haven't seen these colors in store) and the price is still $35 for the black and the heather grey. So if you want to buy it, I would do it before the price increases.

I don't remember when I first noticed this tank, if in store or on the website, but I almost missed it. In any cases, I became more and more intrigued by it over the past week and put it in my cart waiting for something else worth it the $150 minimum shipping. This tank comes in XXS, which usually means that it runs huge, and that's the size that I was going to order; however, I tried the XS when I went into the store for a return a couple of days ago and to my surprise it was quite TTS. The grey was sold-out in the XS but they had just received the black, that was the color that I was interested in. Truth to be told, I think that the heather grey (pictured on the model) is the prettiest color because of the contrast between the fabric of the tank (which is a very thin tissue cotton) and the organza (the sash is a little bit lost on the black, as usual with black on black embellishments) and is probably going to sell better than the black (and the other two colors). But, I don't "need" a grey top, I have been looking for a black top like this one for a while (simple and casual-looking but with "a twist", to say it with Jcrew), so I went with the black.
The other difference between the black and the grey is that on the grey you can see the stitches where the organza is sewn to the tank, which could bother some. I think it's intentional and adds to the "edgy" look of the top (in fact I think that edgy is the adjective that better describes the essence of this top, as opposed to "feminine" or "romantic". I miss a little edge these days!).

I'm happy that I tried the XS before ordering the XXS, it would have been a mistake. So I would recommend to order the XXS only if you are really tiny across the chest. I apologize if you can't really see much in these pics, the black doesn't photograph very well (plus, I tried it with black pants, which doesn't help). I hope that you get the idea, especially on the sizing:






And here with black tuxedo pants (for a less casual outfit):



What do you think? Do you own or were you considering this top? Do you think that it's well-priced? Would you rather buy a tee or this top?

Weekend Outfits (Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow)

Hello everybody, I hope you had a great weekend! On Saturday we had our first snowfall here in NYC and even if it didn't last long it was exciting, especially for my daughter!

On Friday I took my daughter to a holiday party organized by one of her classmates. The party was held at the school's gym, so I wanted something in the holiday spirit but casual. In the end I wore my Gap holiday shirt from last year (love this one), one of my favorite Jcrew cardigans (very similar to this year's ethereal merino cardigan but more versatile because the buttons are hidden under the placket and it's in the dream yarn, not merino) and JBrand bootcut jeans:



Saturday I went for a little Xmas shopping in the morning when it was only raining and not snowing yet and I wore a Gap sweater that I bought during the Thanksgiving 50% off sweaters promo (it's called the "cozy" sweater and it is well ... very cozy). I have a similar one from last year in heather grey that I wore a lot and I wanted one in the oatmeal color ever since. The quality was better last year because it has stretched out already after two wears but for $19 I'm not going to complain. And this is one of my favorite winter looks (the necklace is last year's fireballs necklace and the boots are last year's Glenbrae in camel):



Yesterday it was a gorgeous day but VERY COLD and I pulled out one of my favorite winter sweaters by Zara (that I rarely wear because it is very warm). Ralph Lauren has a similar one this year:


We took my daughter to the Rockefeller Center, to see the tree and the other holidays decorations. I think that we had more fun that she had, we were like "Look! Isn't it beautiful?" and she was like "OK, can we go home now?" The thing is that we dragged her there after lunch (when she usually naps) and she fell asleep in the bus, then we had to weak her up in the craziness of Rockefeller Center to show her the tree. By the way, I walked past the Jcrew store and I didn't even made an attempt to go in, and that was for the best.
Anyway, here are my daughter and I at the rink, in one of her rare attempts to smile for the pictures:



Have a nice week!

Antlers and Snowflakes

They are really trying my good resolutions at Jcrew. When yesterday morning I saw that the price of my coveted Ravine dress had dropped to $119 AND they were offering an additional 25% off on orders of more than $150 I was REALLY tempted to make an exception to my new rules and make a credit card purchase to get it before it was gone, since I didn't have enough funds on my gift card. I have to be honest: I wasn't only tempted, I really INTENDED to do it but I was running late to drop off my daughter at school so I had to let it go (as you know I have deleted my credit card information from the website so before making a purchase I have to re-input all the data etc. etc. But that was the whole point of deleting the information, to prevent myself from making impulsive purchases, right? Well, it worked!).

Once back from school, I took a big breath and instead of going ahead with the purchase, I picked up something that I wanted to return but never had the guts to (new rule number 2), my beloved BUT STILL UNWORN wool shirred skirt, I went out, patiently waited for the store to open and made the return, which would have allowed me to buy the dress with the 25% off on the website (and pay entirely with the gift card). OK, I agree that having a store ten minutes far from home helps with rule number two, but it doesn't help in deciding to part from things unworn that I still like and think that I am going to wear one day.

It turned out that the store still had the dress in my size and I had a $25 off $125 coupon that a reader kindly sent to me and was going to expire this weekend, so instead of buying the dress on the website ALONG WITH OTHER UNNECESSARY STUFF I bought it in store using the coupon (with the funds on the gift card, I didn't cheat) and paid the same that I would have paid on the website with 25% off plus the shipping. The price of the dress was just shy of $125 so I had to buy something else to be entitled to the $25 off but I just re-bought something that I already had (and I can return) for a lower price, so that was OK.

Which brings me to the real topic of this post, because the item that I bought along with the dress is the Antler tee, whose price has dropped to $24.99 BEFORE 25% off in case you haven't noticed. Sorry for the long introduction but I couldn't pass my yesterday morning struggle with temptations under silence and I had to let you know 1) that I have bought the Ravine dress that was at the top of my wishlist (50% off is a good price for something that you really want) and 2) that I haven't broken my rules even if it was quite tough to resist.

Some time ago I decided to allow myself to buy only one holiday tee this season, at least at full price, and between reindeers and snowflakes, my preference goes to the antlers tee, that I bought during the 20% off tees promo. I find that the antlers on this tee are more abstract than snowflakes and other reindeers and I can see myself wearing it after the holidays (maybe even in the spring/summer with the right pairings), while I couldn't wear a snowflake or reindeer in May. And with the price of the Jcrew tees, you better have more than one wear per season.
The other reason why I prefer this tee over the other holiday tees is that I like the slouchiness of it (maybe Jenna's picks after Jenna's picks I have been completely indoctrinated but I do feel the appeal of the "slouchy" look).
Third reason, and I agree upfront that that's very personal and not a good reason in itself to buy this tee, is that I see myself wearing it with flannel pajama pants on Xmas Day while my daughter opens her presents. Call it an "occasion". For $20 (the price that I paid using the $25 off card) I can afford to "lounge" and even go to bed with a high-end tee.

There are two things to know about this tee, if you want to take advantage of the current price but you haven't seen it in person. The first thing is that the color codes or names are completely misleading. The guy or gal in the production department must have been completely drunk when it came to put the color codes on the tag, or color-blind or both. I ordered it in light amethyst and it resembles in nothing to the amethyst color. It is much more similar to a dusty blossom or an antique stone. You can see in this pic that it almost matches the shade of the Donegal shawl cardigan in heather rosebud:



Surprisingly (or maybe not) the other color, soft graphite, is much more similar to what I imagine when I think of amethyst. I saw it in store and I was very confused, it didn't look graphite at all to me and I thought that it was the light amethyst at first.

The other thing to take into consideration is that being a tissue tee, it is very thin and quite see-through (and long, all factors that contribute to give it the slouchy look):



I won't say that I haven't been tempted by the Snowflake tee (by the way, it is not slub cotton, it is ringspun, this is the second time that I notice that they got the wrong fabric in the description of a tee), it is indeed very cute and I own the perfect pair of earrings to wear with it, a pair by the French brand Agatha that I bought many years ago (I also have the necklace with a snowflake pendant):



However, it was quite challenging for me to think of a cardigan THAT I ALREADY OWN to pair with the color of this tee and I didn't find the fit particularly flattering (although it does look good with the silver belt in the pic). This is the XS (from the fitting room):



I gave my "snowflake" earrings a try with the antler tee and I like how they look together. Plus I can even add the necklace, without making it to look like a snowstorm (which would have been the case with the other tee):




Because this tee turned out to be quite the deal, I'm also considering the Snow-gem tee that I didn't find particularly attractive when I saw it on the website but is VERY flattering on and quite easy to pair. You know that I love tees but now I need to be careful with my budget and this is a $48 tee that has a limited seasonal wear (especially if compared to my last year "holiday" tee investment, the silk-bow applique tee that I wear year-round), so I'm REALLY going to think about it. I still have something left on the card but it doesn't mean that I have to spend it, right? And I have items that have been on my wishlist for much longer than this tee (like the toothpick cords, that went finally on sale, at least in stores).

What's your favorite tee this holiday season? Do you have more than one? Would you consider the antlers one at the current sale price? What do you think of the snow-gem tee?
Also, do you think that my resolution is working in that I'm sticking to the plan or that it doesn't work in that it looks like I'm still quite obsessed with Jcrew? Please share!

My New Shopping Rules (AKA a Cure for My Addiction)

If you remember, in my Back from Rehab post I had told you that I had come up with a solution for my Jcrew addiction but then I kind of dropped the subject. The fact is that I wanted to test it over the crazy "Thanksgiving Sale" weekend before talking about it, just in case that it turned out to be a total failure. But the good news is that it passed the test, so I'm going to share it with you and hopefully it will help some of you in the same situation.

First of all, I am not going on a shopping ban. I am one of those persons who have to set realistic goals to have a small chance to get some results. I have never been able to implement a shopping ban for more than a month and that was a very extreme situation in my life. I really admire those who can say "Starting from tomorrow I will stop shopping for a year" but I know myself and I just can't do it. My husband is for the hard way and and always makes promise that I won't shop EVER again under various threatens that span from blocking the access to my favorite sites on the computer (threaten that he has already carried on at the beginning of this year with some success, until I found a way to disable ANY "parental control" password that he could possibly come up with. BTW, if I can do it, your teenager on or daughter can too); cancelling my American Express from the account and giving me pocket money every morning like if I were 10; sending me BACK TO WORK (his words); etc. etc.
What he doesn't understand is that the solution must come from within. It's like someone who is forced to go to rehab, it doesn't work long term.

The second thing that you have to know before you read below is that my shopping addiction is almost 100% an addiction to Jcrew. It happens that I shop elsewhere occasionally, but not addictively and in general I can let go of things or think before buying at other retailers. For more than a year I have been logging into Gilt.com or ideeli.com without ever buying anything and there are often better deals than you can find on Jcrew. But when it comes to Jcrew I loose my control, especially when it comes to sales, promotions and popbacks. So my solution is a cure for my Jcrew addiction and not a general shopping addiction.

I don't know if it's the case for many of you or not but my major issue is that I don't have a budget for my clothing expenses and it is very easy to go overboard when is someone else who is paying the bill. Even if I set myself a budget, write it down, create an Excel sheet and log all my expenses, my credit card doesn't know any of this and cannot stop me from saying "just this one time" when I'm about to make an unbudgeted purchase, which generally leads to many unbudgeted purchases.

Now, I don't know why I didn't think earlier of this (especially when I was trying to find a way to hide my Internet purchases from my husband) but a card that has only a preset amount of money that you can spend exists and it's called a gift card. The Internet shopping experience is pretty new to me (I used to buy everything in store until my daughter was born) and it never came to my mind until very recently that a gift card (which is the same thing that a store credit) could be used for Internet purchases.

So what I did a couple of weeks ago, when I "came back from rehab", is that I returned a bunch of stuff still unworn and/or that I had bought on an impulse and instead of getting the money back I put everything on a Jcrew gift card. Then I deleted my credit card information from the website and voila! My new self-imposed budget magically come true. Easy! I would even go and say genius!

Now I can test the real value of the things that I want to buy against this pre-fixed budget and when I see something go on sale and I'm tempted by it, I ask myself "Are you sure that this is really what you want? Because if you buy this now, you won't be able to buy anything else or (depending on what's the current amount on the gift card) you won't have enough funds to buy that dress that you have been coveting for a very long time". And I can tell you that this changes everything. It's illuminating.

So here are my new shopping rules:

1) I can buy whatever I want if I can pay for it in it's totality with my gift card. If the price exceeds the current amount on the gift card by only one dollar, I have to make choices or wait. Taking "advances" (ie, run out and "recharge" the gift card to be able to make a purchase) is not allowed.
2) If I return something, I can use that amount returned towards another purchase. This makes the whole "one in, one out" strategy a lot more concrete and realistic because I actually have to wait until I have made the return to be able to buy something else, as the gift card amount is not "unlimited", unlike a credit card. I can also "recharge" my gift card with the money that I get back from returning purchases made by cash, also at other retailers.
3) In-store purchases (= extra gift card) are allowed from time to time.
4) I can put a maximum of $25 cash per week on the gift card to "recharge" it (I won't explain why, but $25 is the amount that I'm allowing myself).
5) Making a wishlist helps to stay focused on what I really want. The goal is to make wishlists that last long enough to pass the test of time, ie are real love. I will create a new "Wishlist" section on the right soon, but the Ravine dress (see pic at the beginning of this post) is currently at the top of it.
6) Money gifts and gift cards are welcome.

As you have probably understood, I hope that these rules are steps towards quitting the habit of checking Jcrew.com as soon as I open my eyes in the morning and scooping it for popbacks, clicking on the "Submit Order" button at least once a week, being always tuned on the latest Jcrew offer instead of being tuned on the needs of my family. I can already see the results: during the Thanksgiving promotions I did buy something but I had to limit myself and ultimately I bought one item that I really needed and re-bought a pair of Juliets for a much lower price that I had initially paid (and of course I will put my "gain" on the gift card). I had to let go of all those tempting tees and necklaces for $15.99 and a lot of other stuff (like summer stuff).
Now the amount on my card is close to 0 and guess what? I didn't even check the website for popbacks in the last four days. What for, I don't have money to spend at the moment lol!
This is liberating because I can actually peruse Jcrew.com and read all the Jcrew-related blogs without being constantly on a search for a good deal.

And because I firmly believe in the power of literature and I'm convinced that a good book can keep you away from the mundane (and in fact I don't know how to demonstrate this but I'm sure that I buy a lot less whan I am absorbed in a good reading) this weekend I have finally picked up (and more important, started to read) a book that was on my reading list since it came out but I didn't have time for because I was too busy with my Jcrew obsession. It's "A Gate at the Stairs" by Lorrie Moore, that I highly reccomend (I updated the "What I'm reading now" picture on the side panel. By the way, you weren't really thinking that I was STILL reading "Twilight", were you?)


I never do this but because this topic is pretty important to me, I encourage you to leave a comment in this post to tell me what you think of my resolution. Sloppy or a good idea? Can it help you too to overcome your Jcrew addiction?