You Need These Shoes

If you have been reading my blog for a while you know that every once in a while I cheat on JCrew with the Gap (if Mickey knew!)

Two days ago I was in to make a return (a swimsuit that I had bought for my husband and he didn't like, as 99% of the stuff that I buy for him). It was a Wednesday and I had one of those Wednesday 40% off coupons valid on one full price item that I generally spend on stuff for my daughter. But this time I spent it on a pair of shoes for myself.

If you have been reading my blog for a while you also know that I like Tory Burch shoes and I have luxury tastes when it comes to shoes. I have been tempted to buy the Eddie flats in Royal tan but then decided to save my money for the Sallies (that as you know I have bought in the classic navy). Well, the Gap came up with the perfect Eddie knockoff, the City flats that come in an array of colors including an in-store only tan that looks exactly like the Tory tan:





Not only these are much more affordable of course ($39.50 but I paid $24 with the coupon), but they have a padded sole that is actually better than the unpadded one of the Eddies. The leather (yes, they are real leather) is buttery-soft and they come in a very chic pouch (in the same color) for easy transportation:



I tell you, they are the perfect foldable flats: anybody needs a pair of these, especially if you commute or travel frequently (I generally travel in my Revas but I am going to switch to these for my next trip to Europe in a few weeks).

Size-wise I bought my regular size, even if Gap shoes tend to fit big (I was sized out of the equally fantastic ballet flats this spring). However, since these come in half sizes (bonus), you can order one half size up if you want to be sure that the elastic is not too snug in the back (mine is not even in my regular size but I know that people often complain about this).

I think that the tan color is terrific (there were a very few left in my local store), even if going towards fall you may want to choose the purple, black or the in-store only navy or grey (I am probably going back and get another pair in navy the next time that I have a coupon available).

If I haven't convinced you, maybe the enthusiastic reviews on the Gap product page will. And if you live near a Gap (who doesn't?), check them out as soon as possible before they sell out (especially if you like the tan color or the pink).
If you want to stick to the original Eddies (which are actually already a knockoff of the impossibly expensive Lanvin flats), they now come in a new patent leather for fall.

Do you own a pair of City flats? Do you have the TB Eddies?

Vacation Outfits (Part 1)

I am back, ladies! Thank you for being still there (if you are still there).

So, how did the vacation go, you may ask? As a beach vacation should: we had plenty of sun, relaxation (as much as you can get when you have a toddler), good food and I got a nice tan as a bonus (we were actually very lucky with the weather this year because besides an afternoon of rain and some evening storms we had sunny skies for the whole ten days).

I must say, I really love the Hamptons. I like that you have all the advantages of NY (nice restaurants, stores and even my favorite cafe, that has an outpost in Southampton) but in these great natural surroundings. Each time that I go there I am actually stupefied that they have managed to keep it so natural-looking, even if it's so close to the city (a mere hour and a half without traffic). Because I tend to be attracted to and notice not the natural wonders but things like clothes and stores, the most fascinating thing that I saw this year was this new store:



Tomas Maier, as you probably know, is the renewed designer at Bottega Veneta but he started as a swimsuit designer (I have always been a swimsuit junkie and I remember his first bikinis) and he never abandoned his own line. This store is in pure Hamptons style (technically Wainscott, but really in the middle of nowhere on the Montauk highway) and I find an Hamptons peculiaritye like Tomas Maier could have the idea of opening such a low-key store (even if it's a swimsuit store after all).

Anyway, in the following pics (divided in two posts) I am going to show you the outfits that I wore to dinner during my vacation (because the day outfits can more or less be reduced to a pair of shorts, a tee and a bikini). And while I am at it, I am going to rate each of them. Actually not the outfits but the clothes themselves as many of them were new or semi-new so it is a good exercise to judge them and see if they were a good buy (I am hoping that it's going to teach me something and you can maybe learn something along the way).

The first evening upon our arrival we ate at Serafina's in East Hampton (that opened a months or two ago). Serafina's is an "upscale pizzeria" and it's actually a welcome addition to the dining options in East Hamptons, especially when you have a kid.
I wore the JCrew Marin dress and my Lobbs and Wooton espadrilles in nude:



Now I know why this dress was hidden in the cover-up section of the website when it came out. Not that it is really a cover-up, but I had already worn it in the city a couple of times and I felt a little bit exposed like I was on the verge of being stripped naked at the first blow of wind. However, in a beach environment, when you spend your days being almost naked in front of other people, it's a great slip-on dress and I felt very comfortable (and pretty) in it. So, even if I paid almost full price for it and I'm probably not going to wear it that much in the city, it will always be a great vacation staple. Final note: I would buy it again, even at FP.

The second evening (Saturday) my not-napping daughter was pretty tired by dinnertime, so we didn't go very far and we ate at a favorite spot among locals, that happened to be just a few hundred feets from our hotel. You could actually walk there from the hotel but you had to walk by the side of the highway, in the opposite direction of the cars, and even us, European who never take the car when we can walk instead, took the car this time around (we walked last year and we said never again!)
The place is called "Lobster Roll" but is also known as "Lunch" because of the big sign visible from the highway, in pure Americana style:



It was quite chilly so I wore my vintage boatneck in pink and (not shown) my white scout chinos. What can I say of this outfit? I would buy the boatneck again in a heartbeat (this color is perfect for a beach vacation). Wrapped around my neck is last year long layering pearls necklace (and for those who are interested my daughter is wearing a Petit Bateau long-sleeve dress):



I couldn't resist to take a pic of the sunset on the highway:



The evening after (Sunday) was our 12th wedding anniversary and we decided to have dinner at a famous restaurant in East Hampton, Nick and Toni (where we had never been before). The outfit that I wore that evening is the only one that I wore twice but also the only one than paradoxically didn't get photographed (and you will understand why). Because I really liked it, I recreated it for you at home (which is why this post got delayed). You have already seen another version of it, but I changed the accessories, which makes a big difference:




The dress is the Playa dress from last year that I bought on super-duper final sale in the fall. It is maybe my favorite summer dress and I regret not buying it in another color (the black, specifically). The golden accessories (metallic beach cardigan and gold-disc long necklace from last summer) give it a relaxed vibe. Can I say that I love it? The metallic beach cardigan (that I bought almost FP back in February) revealed to be one of the best buy of the year. It goes with almost everything and adds shine and interest to any outfit (plus, I think that it will never go out of style). Final note: totally worth paying FP.

When we arrived at the restaurant we didn't have time to take pics in the beautiful alley because we were a little bit late and we didn't want to loose our table. Once we were seated, I noticed a familiar face at the table next to us and then I immediately recognized Steven Spielberg. No joke! The restaurant is known for being frequented by celebrities, but I was expecting (if any) some local and little-caliber celebrity like one of the real housewife of NYC, not Spielberg and family (his wife and their children were there too)! Anyway, I was so worried of respecting their privacy that in the end we didn't take pictures of our dinner because I didn't want them to think that I was trying to get a picture of them (which actually, I should have done, now that I think about it because I don't think that I will have another occasion to have dinner with the Spielbergs, so to speak!)
Even if the dinner was delicious, we had one of the worst services ever! For starters, our server seemed incapacitated to smile (we joked that she was saving all her smiles for Spielberg) and looked kind of bothered by us (even if my daughter was very well behaved and I even got an appreciation wink from Spielberg's wife while I was reading her a story!) Second, we asked if they could put together two side orders (like broccoli and potatoes) for her as they didn't have a kids menu and we were told that the chef couldn't do it. Now, what kind of chef can't put broccoli and potatoes in the same dish??? And last but not least, one of the servers fell on our wine bucket, spilling the wine on the floor, and not only they didn't apologize but they continued to pour the wine from the same bottle (that incidentally touched the floor) like nothing had happened. They were even a little surprised that we complained! Seriously, I hope that Spielgerg had a better experience!

But let's move on to Monday night, when we went for a pizza in Montauk. I wore my Barbara dress that I bought in view of this vacation:



Meh! Besides the fact that I was almost overdressed for Montauk (which is very low-key) and the dress kept felling off my shoulders (and annoyingly so), I didn't feel particularly well dressed in this outfit. Considered that I wore it exactly once, I wouldn't buy this dress again, especially at almost-full price. Final note: could have lived without (the lesson here is: never buy something to wear exclusively on a short vacation).
Anyway, this is me and my daughter in front of the pizzeria waiting for a table to be available:



That's it for now. Stay tuned for Part 2 (Tuesday to Sunday)!

Gone on vacation

See you in ten days!

Ema

Styling the Infamous Fringed Tunic

What can you buy these days at a B&M near you for the price of a caramel macchiato? Quite a few things actually but the most amazing deal has to be the Fringed tunic. I couldn't resist picking up one for $6.99 this past Saturday. I don't like to throw away clothes but I regularly throw away food that perishes in my fridge and coasts more than that, so even if it was "final sale" I thought that I would give it a chance. Worst case scenario, I thought, I would use it as a cover-up during my next vacation.

People are sizing down in this one but I actually sized one up to have more lenght and use it as a cover-up as the store where I tried it didn't have my regular size and I didn't feel that it was worth it to call another store to find my size and have it shipped (the shipping charge would actually be higher than the price of the tunic). I think there must be a very little difference between the 0 and the 2 anyway because it's not a fitted style (in the 0 the V-neck would probably be less low).

This tunic is growing on me. When I came home I was actually surprised to find out that I liked it more than I thought and that I would wear it even in the city.
I tried it with a few bottoms and I am going to share the outfits. I think that it's better belted for a non-cover-up use and you will see it belted in all these pics. Ideally a woven golden belt is the best option, but I don't have any so I used my leather one.

Even if you don't have a neon or hot pink bottom, something pinkish will work. I only have this old pair of capris that aren't the best style (a narrow leg works better with the tunic) but you get the idea:



Of course white is the best color option, because the tunic is very summery. Surprisingly, it looked good with my pencil skirt (and will look even better with a white mini, that I don't have):



And with white pants:



And my favorite, with DIY denim shorts (by the way, does anyone know how to stop the hem from fraying? I know a method by it involves playing with fire and I would prefer to avoid) I must say that I thought that it was styled like that on the website, but I must have dreamt because the product page shows it with silk shorts:



I really felt good in the last outfit and almost run out like this yesterday but then I thought that I was going to sweat in it and I want to put it in my suitcase (I leave at the end of the week for a beach vacation and I know for sure that I am not going to handwash anything before leaving).

In all the picture I am wearing the confetti leather capri sandals (that appear to be currently sold-out on the website but were $69.99 the last time that I have checked) that I scored for $34.99 (down from $98). They are fun for a beach vacation and I highly recommend them if you can find your size for the current B&M price:



What do you think? Worth the $6.99 or too hideous to buy even at that price (and would you take it for free)?

I have two incredibly busy days ahead and then I am leaving for a ten days beach vacation in the Hamptons. I hope to be able to post one last thing before my vacation but if I disappear I will talk to you around the 26th!

My Weekends with Max and Molly

I recently bought the Max and Molly tee, the one with the bicycle and the doggies. The funny thing about this tee is that I almost ordered it when it was FP during one of the % off tees promotion but at the last minute I "noticed" the doggies in the basket. I really liked the bicycle graphism but I was turned off by the doggies. I don't have anything against dogs but I find that wearing cute, little doggies on your tee is little bit age-inappropriate if you are around or over 40.

Actually I should say doggy (singular) because I didn't notice that there were not one but TWO doggies in the basket until a few days ago, when I had already bought it and worn it a couples of times and I was wondering why on earth they had called this tee "Max and Molly" (because that's the kind of philosophical question that occupies my mind more often than not these days.) Who the heck were Max and Molly? Only then I noticed Max. OR Molly. I mean BOTH.
The reason why I ultimately bought the tee, in spite of the doggies, is that I wear my Imperial tee from last year so much that I needed a backup tee (why, oh why, the cutest tees have to be hand-wash only?) This tee is in the same lightweight cotton than the Imperial one (that I find very pleasant to wear in the summer) and has the same flattering fit, so it fitted the bill.
Plus, I can get away with sporting a pair of doggies on my boobs because I have a three-year-old and people find that cute (that's the reward for all that poop-wiping: you get to wear age-inappropriate clothes and people smile at you).

I find this tee to be quite versatile after all. I worn it twice during the 4th of July weekend in two very different situations. The first time I wore it with cocktail chinos to go to the movies (you can call this the "dress-up" version):



On the 4th we didn't do anything extraordinary, we just hung out in the park all day. I loved the atmosphere of an almost deserted NYC (I don't remember the city to be THAT empty last year: maybe due to the economic crisis more people were vacationing at home than this year). I wore the Max and Molly tee again and left without taking a picture of my outfit (which involved Birkenstones, yikes!) but I want to share a couple of pics that we took in the park (I really like the ability of this camera to capture the moment). If I were a famous photograph I would call this picture "Lazy afternoon in Central Park":



And the light on this one reminds me of Monet's "Dejeuner sur l'herbe":



I wore the tee again yesterday (and yes, I have hand-washed in-between, in case you were wondering). We had brunch and later I went for a "gelato" with my daughter, while my husband took my MIL at the airport (bye-bye free babysitting). This outfit leverages on the "South of France" vibe that this tee gives me (I can see myself wandering in the streets of a tiny French village with a baguette in one hand and a straw bag full of fresh fruits and vegetables in the other one):




Do you have this tee? If not, is it because of the age-inappropriateness of the doggies? Do you feel a South of France vibe coming off it? Please share!

My Birthday Present and OOTDs with Stripes and Pearls

So the birthday present from hubby is the ... (TADATA) Lady four-strand pearl necklace and it arrived yesterday. My husband didn't like the cuff that much and when I went into the store to try it on I liked it less than on the website (it looked kind of smallish), so I didn't feel like "wasting" a birthday present on it. I chose the freshwater pearls necklace over the hammock twisted one because the latter is something that I could buy myself when it goes on sale and real pearls are timeless.

When I opened the package this morning (I waited for my husband to be with me to open it) I was a little bit upset that they had squeezed a necklace from the "fine jewelry collection" (and one with 4 strands of pearls!) into a regular small jewelry box. When I took it out of the box the silk threads were all twisted, giving the pearls almost a clustered look (if they don't fall in shape again I will call CS and have another one sent to me). I was also a little bit surprised that the 4 strands are strung askew like in the twisted hammock one so that they overlap a little bit, as you can see here:



It doesn't mean that I don't like it, just that I wasn't expecting it to be this way
because the website description doesn't say anything about this. On the other side the pearls are bigger than expected, especially the 10-mm ones on the shorter strand, even if a few of them show some imperfections. The closure is in sterling silver and has a spring clasp (and it's very well made):



To showcase the necklace I wore a short-sleeved turtleneck tee over my short pajamas that I had rolled-down (that explains the weird bulk around my waist in the pics). I wanted a new pearl necklace to wear over turtlenecks in the winter (and also the occasional evening dress of course) as the other one that I own (and you will see in the OOTD pics) is too small. This is the necklace after I spent few minutes to push the overlap behind, closest to the closure:



But its natural movement is more like this, with the strands overlapping:



I do like the necklace and it's worth the splurge as a birthday gift, but all in all I think that you can achieve the same effect with the twisted hammock one (which is a little bit heavier).

After trying on pearls all the morning, I couldn't go out without wearing pearls today. The weather has cooled down a bit (at least it had this morning) so I wore jeans and yet another striped tee. I usually associate red and white stripes with pirates but this one by H&M was very refreshing after all those navy and grey-ish stripes this year (I bought it some time ago already for $9). I like how the pearl strand offests the pirate potantial of this look:




As I have learned this year, pearls are definitively a girl's best friend (especially when the girl is 40 something), they can turn any outfit into a classy one. Another example of a similar outfit with pearls that I wore last week (with a Gap top and JCrew white scout chinos):



What do you think of the lady four strand necklace? Have I converted you to pearls? Do you have a pearl necklace that you wear over and over?

A Lady Who Launches (but also Goes Out for Dinner)

Thank you for all the birthday wishes that you have left in your comments to my last post. They surely had some effect because my birthday was a perfect day from start to end. First, I had free unlimited babysitting (thanks to my mother in law who is still here) and that's really a luxury for me as we normally don't have our families around here to help. Second, I got to launch with my girlfriends in a nice restaurant in the neighborhood and to dress for the occasion. Third, one of my girlfriends had a gift for me, which I didn't expect, and it was a JCrew jewelry box (after years of spreading the word and hoping that someone would give me JCrew as a present, someone finally did)! Fourth, I spent the rest of the afternoon shopping with the same girlfriend (while I generally shop alone or worst. And you know what worst is.) and it was a lot of fun, even if I didn't buy anything myself (just exchanged something). And last but not least I went out for dinner with my husband and our friends whom I hadn't the chance to see in a very long time and it was just the perfect ending to a beautiful day.

Planning my outfit was part of the fun. When I was organizing the lunch with my girlfriends I had just bought the Embroided Ikat Pencil Skirt. To me, pencil skirts are for the "ladies who launch" and I don't wear them enough to justify a FP purchase but when this one went down to $69 plus 20% off in stores I couldn't resist. It's one wonderfully made pencil skirt, the fabric is just amazing and I love the color and the embroidery, it's very summery (actually more than it shows on the website)without being gaudy. Because I was going to be a lady who launches for one day, I thought that it would be the perfect occasion to wear it.

Someone on the JCA asked me how I was going to style this skirt so I am going to share some ideas here. I must say that the picture on the website isn't very inspirational (just how many times have we seen the "a pencil skirt and a plain tee look" this season? It looks like someone is out of styling ideas at JCrew so I had to go through a styling session myself and see what would work with it. Please note that it was 100 degrees here yesterday so my choices were partially dictated by my personal comfort (I didn't even attempt to put a cardigan on)!

Besides the two colors that are already in it (orange and natural/ivory), this skirt looks very nice with a dark color on top, like shadow, navy or faded black. I get the idea of a wearing a tee with a pencil skirt, but just not a plain one, this skirt deserves better. I tried two combinations, with the sequin necklace tank and the sunray tee (I believe that this was the name and it's now very cheap). I apologize for the messy background in the pics: my daughter had decided to play with her doll just behind me and she wouldn't move.





With another tee, in the same tones:



I really wanted to try it with last year contrast-stitches perfect shirt, so I braced myself and wore a long-sleeved shirt for a few minutes, just to take the pics (and trust me, I was already sweating). I would totally wear it like this when the temperature cools off (I would wear this with pumps instead of my espadrilles):




It looks nice with a fitted jacket in a natural color for work (even if I probably wouldn't wear it like this myself). Hey, it's a pencil skirt after all:



And the last outfit is the one that I wore yesterday. To create this outfit I followed the "JCrew styling rule number one" (now don't look for it everywhere, I am making it up): take two pieces that normally don't go together, say a pencil skirt and a peasant blouse, put them together and belt everything. And if you are supposed to wear heels, wear flats (and viceversa):



The top is the Fiesta embroided tunic which is still FP on the website, but on sale in stores:



I got a compliment from pretty much everyone when I walked in the Collection store like that. The lady at the door, who is usually very nice with my daughter and speaks French, even told me that I was "toute belle", which made smile because it is usually a compliment that I only hear from my husband.

Anyway I told you that after lunch I went shopping with my girlfriend. Actually we checked out the new JCrew wedding store where I hadn't been yet. Because I knew a couple of SAs from the Collection store who now work there, we had a special treatment and we could go downstairs where they keep the wedding gowns and it's normally by appointment only. The store is beautiful and they have special items that you can't find anywhere else (especially very expensive jewelry but also party clutches, stoles and even belts. Oh and I saw the famous sequins pants that Jenna Lyons was sporting in one of the videos). My girlfriend tried an occasion dress and ended up buying it and because she was with me she had free overnight shipping (you can't buy any dress in the store, they only have a sample in each color for try-ons and they have to order everything for you). There was a "Breakfast at Tiffany" or "Women" feeling to the whole experience because it's a wedding store and now I regret not trying on something, just for the sake of it.

For my birthday dinner with hubby and friends I had booked a table at a Greek restaurant because two of the guests were Greek and I know that they love to eat Greek food (and so do I). The restaurant is known for the food, but is kind of low-key so I didn't go over the top. I was actually dying to wear this top from last year that I found at the last sample sale. I had bought it as soon as it came out (in fact I have even a post on it), then returned it to buy something else because I thought that I would find it on sale, then missed it when it went on sale (it never popped back). It was one of my biggest regrets and I have looked for it everywhere ever since (ebay, weekly exchange). When I saw it at the sample sale I almost fainted! The skirt and necklace are also from last year (the clutch is a neighborhood find):





My birthday present has shipped and it will be here tomorrow. Stay tuned to see what I got!

Birthday Wishlist

Hello everybody, I hope that you all had a great 4th of July! I am sorry for the lack of posts this past week, I have been busy with family celebrations and outings.
I have some outfits and final sale scores to post but first I wanted to share my birthday wishlist with you. My birthday is tomorrow and I have to pick my present. How nice from JCrew to offer 20% off jewelry just in time for my birthday ;-). When I woke up to the promo last Friday I asked my husband if he had bought me a birthday present (I knew the answer already), so he agreed that we should take advantage of the promo as he had no idea what to offer me. Now I just have to choose and I am running out of time as the promo expires tonight.

My first choice would be a long pearl necklace, because those never go on sale and I don't have any. But both the lady double-strand and the long pearl necklace have a ribbon-tie closure, that my husband dislikes (and I agree that if I could choose I would prefer to have a classic spring closure).
The opera-lenght pearl necklace it's a little bit too expensive and excluded from the promo, so not an option I think.
So in the freshwater pearls category the only candidate left is the Lady four-strand pearl necklace, which I saw IRL at the collection store and is very pretty (if not exactly long). With the 20% off is a good deal and a timeless piece, so the right occasion to buy it.

In the other categories (not freshwater pearls) I have a few picks, but not one that I am immensely in love with.
First comes the Crystal steps necklace. I must say that this one is MUCH more stunning IRL than on the website and I would have never considered it hadn't I seen it in store (on the website it looks like a re-edition of another necklace but IRL it really stands out):



My next choice is a bracelet from the Fenton/Fallon collaboration. Unfortunately it's excluded from the promo but it's maybe the piece that I'm currently loving the most on the website. It's the Fringe cuff:



However, the problem with this one is that I don't wear bracelets as much as I wear necklaces (especially one that is for the evening only), so I hesitate.

My last pick is a necklace from the sale section. Again, hadn't I seen it IRL on a girl in the street and then in store I probably wouldn't have noticed it but it's very sparkling and edgy, perfect to wear with a tee. It's the Crystal patch necklace, currently on sale for $69.99:



And finally, as a substitute for real pearls, the Twisted hammock necklace in the classic pearl color (I bought the pink frost one on sale but I didn't like the color, which is more yellowish than pink IMO, and returned it. However I like the pearl itself).
I will let you know tomorrow what I end up choosing but in the meanwhile I would like to hear what's your favorite pick among these and the website offerings in general. Plese share!
I have three birthday celebrations coming up (this evening with family, tomorrow at lunch with girlfriends and tomorrow night with hubby and friends) so you can expect a post with my birthday outfits for Wednesday. Stay tuned!