But today is another story, as I was expecting it to be warm so I could plan my outfit accordingly. Even if when my husband told me this morning that it was going to be in the 70s today I could hardly believe him, it actually turned out to be true. To celebrate, I decided to wear flowers, an eternal symbol of spring.
I bought the Old Navy version of the Liberty perfect shirt in Margaret Anne a couple of months ago after reading this post over at Gigi's and it has been sitting in the return pile all this time. Then this past weekend I saw someone wearing the Jcrew one and I seriously considered ordering it with the 30% off given that in the meanwhile it had gone on sale but in the end it seemed silly to order something when I had a less expensive version at home, especially since I am not a flowers person (that's the reason why I ordered the Old Navy one in the first place: I have always liked the Margaret Anne print but knowing myself I wasn't sure that I would like it on me or I would want to wear it enough to bring down the cost per wear).
Anyway, this morning I decided to give the Old Navy shirt another chance. The print is bigger in scale than the Margaret Anne and the colors are a little bit more loud, which is what I didn't like when I first opened the package, but they are VERY similar. I mean, from a distance you could totally mistake it for the Liberty one, don't you think?
At closer inspection, the flowers look more like wild flowers than in the JCrew version (pants are old Zara chinos):
I ordered a XS and the fit is good with no gaping at the chest, I would say it fits like a 2 in Jcrew perfect shirts (that I tend to buy in a 0 but I should really buy in a 2 if I wanted to be more comfortable).
Now, I still needed a topper and I didn't want to wear a cardigan/sweater so I tried a pairing that is a bit unexpected but turned out to be great. As you probably remember I have been looking for a military jacket and I ended up returning the JCrew factory version (which is back on the website BTW) because I felt that it was too big and didn't have the refined look I was looking for. Last week I found one at Bloomingdales (during the family and friends, post to come) that is very similar to the factory one but more tailored to my figure. It is also much softer than the factory one and the fabric is a solid army green (while the Jcrew one had a herringbone pattern). It appears to be sold-out on the Bloomingdale website but I am going to show you the stock pic because for the life of me I can't take a decent picture of the color of this jacket (the pics below don't do it entirely justice):
It is by Lily Aldridge for Velvet. While I know Velvet (even if I don't know anything by this brand), I had no idea who Lily Aldridge was. In case you too are curious, she is a Victoria Secret's model turned stylist.
Anyway, with all the discounts (there was a double promo) it came down to a few dollars more than what I had paid for the JCrew one so I was ha[[y with my decision of returning it.
So, here it is with the flower shirt (I am wearing a XS). I received tons of compliments on this outfit today (especially on the shirt, that reinforced the feeling that it was a good decision to keep it):
On a complete different note, did anyone watch the season premiere of Madmen yesterday night? I admit I was very tired and I could barely keep my eyes open but I felt it was a bit boring (except for the Peggy storyline). I think I am a bit over Don's midlife crisis that is becoming a lifelong crisis. Plus, I wouldn't say that the opening verses of Dante's Inferno really apply to his situation because he was never on the right path. I just wanted to shout at him "Get a grip, Don, you have a beautiful wife who loves you and you are screwing up again! What's wrong with you?" But I have never been a big fan of Don in the first place (totally don't get why women like him), I watch the show more for the other characters.
What about you, did you enjoy the show?
Do you have the Liberty perfect shirt Margaret Anne or the Old Navy dupe? What do you think of toughen up flowers with army dress?
Funny - I just mentioned in tomorrow's post that I bought a fatigue jacket from H&M - it is fun and now I am going to wear with with some flowers as I like the look. I bought and sent back the Margaret Anne shirt last year - it just didn't look great on me, but I would seriously consider the old navy version for the difference in price, and I think you look great! Hope the 70s come here!
ReplyDeleteH&M has great options too, I tried a few of them.
DeleteIt's goi.g to be 80 today, I am sending big waves of heat towards you!
The shirt looks great on you and i really like the army jacket.It seems like the army jackets are everywhere and as you know i found one too:)
ReplyDeleteNow i think i "need" a flower shirt too!
ahah, I think I am launching a new trend ;-)
DeleteEma, I don't normally comment, but read your blog ALL THE TIME. I feel I had to comment this time, because like you, I'm not a flower shirt person, and since you were on the fence, I have to say.... I love the outfit. I think the shirt looks great on you. I don't own any of those pieces, but now feel I should try and hunt them down. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! The ON shirt is very cheap now and definitely worth trying to track it down. If you don't want to invest a lot of money in a military jacket H&M has some good and inexpensive options.
DeleteI fully support finding a fatigue jacket from somewhere besides J Crew. Esp if you know what type of look you're going for. The ON top is so close to the Liberty. I don't wear florals often or own many and I'm quite happy w/mine. I like your outfit.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link love :)