Weekend OOTDs: Army Green, Cream and (RED)

We had a busy, busy Saturday that started early with me taking my daughter to school for community service (where she got to make craft projects for various associations) followed by a birthday party. I wasn't sure what to wear as I was getting dressed, I wanted something casual but also cute because I was going to see a lot of friends from preschool (I know, I talk like I was the one going to preschool) that I haven't seen in a while. Also, I wasn't sure about the temperature but I took a chance and dressed for warm weather and it was a good call because it got superhot by lunchtime. Like, HOT!

I was very happy about how this outfit turned out, I really liked it. I wanted to wear the Embroidered flower top from the summer but didn't want to wear jeans (this top looks a bit sloppy with jeans, probably because I ordered a S instead of my usual XS and it is a bit big). I have a pair of chinos (can't remember the name, they are from early spring and I paid $11 for them) in the exact same color so I just added a belt in a contrasting shade of burgundy to break the all-creamy outfit. The belt matches a pair of crocheted earrings that I got in Italy and give any outfit a little "western" accent (these are not by Cruciani but by made by a local store at the beach town):





The belt also matched my pedicure but I ended up "covering" it with my camo Revas. I am not sure I showed you these already but I got them on ebay in late spring and they are one of my favorite pair of shoes. I highly recommend them if you are into camo prints and can find a pair on ebay (I had to stalk ebay for quite long but I am so happy I got them and for a decent price to boot):



They look especially nice with my military jacket. I can't get enough of this jacket. As you may remember I got it in the spring at Bloomingdales but you can still find it at Calypso.
Anyway, this is the outfit:




The outfit was very comfortable to wear except when I tried to teach my daughter how to do a cartwheel in the park. I was very good at cartwheels when I was young but it was 25 years since the last time I did one. I am proud to report that I didn't break anything and I am actually still quite good at it. But the next time I will wear gym clothes!

Yesterday my husband left for a 5-day business trip in the morning. I HATE being all by myself on a Sunday but in this case it turned out to be not so bad because my daughter went off to the neighbors (who have two girls aged 8 that my daughter loves to play with) all the afternoon and I could catch the Season 2 Homeland marathon on Showtime (they were airing the last 6 episodes of season 2 that I still had to watch, as my husband and I were catching up on season 2 on DVD and had just watched up to episode 6) before the premiere of Season 3 yesterday night (BTW, I have a big crush on Damian Lewis-Nicholas Brody). So despite the nice weather I just went out briefly in the morning when I took my daughter to Barnes and Noble (where we bought some books for her taking advantage of a double member discount). I threw on a very old Gap tee that I still love after all these years (it was from the RED campaign and quite popular at that time, I remember seeing SJP in this same tee) and my combo of military jacket and camo Revas again:



I felt very Carrie (Mathison, not Bradshaw) in this outfit ;-).

Anyone watched the Homeland Season 3 premiere?

JCrew Merino Zippered Sweater-Jacket And Collection Bonded Merino Sweater

Hello! A few more hours left to take advantage of 25% off and free shipping at JCrew. What a great promo! Apparently it is working well because a LOT of things are sold out or waitlisted or available in fewer sizes/colors.
I purchased two items during this promo and both were kind of a surprise love. I will review only one of them tonight since the other one is a more expensive Collection item that is excluded anyway. I will also post pics of the Collection bonded merino sweater (that I didn't purchase) even if sold-out as some of you might me curious about it regardless.

The first love is the merino zippered sweater-jacket. Only the navy is left on the website but it was also offered in a ballet pink color that you can probably still find in store. I think the pink is a bit more special than the navy in this classic style and flattering on my skin tone so I got the pink even if I am a navy person. The merino is a thick and compact waive that stops the wind and makes it feel more like a jacket. I like the detail of the golden press-button on the collar and hem, it looks classy. In fact this is a classy sweater IMO.
I tried a S first as the store where I first went and didn't have a XS. I thought the fit was good in the S and not excessively big:




I put it on hold and then found a XS in another store. The fit of the XS is slimmer but the sleeves are a bit tight (you can see my long tee sleeves bunching up in the pics below. I have to hold my sleeves' hems while putting it on). The XS fits more like a sweater and the S fits more like a jacket so if you want to layer another sweater under it go up a size (note: the S that I tried on in the second store fit considerably bigger in the body than the one above so the XS looked much better but the one that I had put on hold fit like something between the two). I know I will only wear it with tee shirts so I preferred the slimmer fit of the XS. I wore it non-stop since I bought it as it is the perfect topper for our mornings (it gets a bit hot in the afternoon) and everyone made a comment on the color:





In reality I really wanted to love the Collection bonded merino sweater (currently sold-out in both colors) but it didn't work on me. I found it horrible the first time that I tried it on (with black Minnies) but I wanted to try it again with jeans (as I am not in love with my Minnies these days). It looked a bit better but not as good as I though. I don't know, maybe I am not tall enough to counterbalance the slouchiness but I didn't have a WOW moment and I don't need anything that doesn't give me the WOW (the pink sweater-jacket surprisingly did). This is, well, the only size it comes in:




What do you think of these two sweaters?

OOTD: White and Red (And an Italian Phenomenon)

The weather pretty much followed the calendar this weekend: it was still summer Friday and Saturday and it was suddenly Fall yesterday and today. It would have made more sense if I had posted this outfit in real time or almost since I wanted to show you my solution to dress according to the calendar in warm temperatures but I am pretty sure it's going to warm up again before we settle in full Fall weather. So bear with me!

Even if I am more of a summer clothes girl than a Fall clothes person (I just cannot get excited by the idea of putting my legs into tights and boots, sorry. Plus the only beverage that I like at Starbucks is their Iced caramel macchiato) by September I am pretty much tired myself of wearing my summer clothes again and again. I know that for some of you Labor Day and the "No white jeans after Labor Day" rule (BTW, who came up with this? Is there some historical event related to this rule? Did something horrible happen to someone who was wearing white bottoms after Labor Day and since then people don't wear white to avoid bad luck? If you know about the origin of the rule, please share!) marks the start of a new clothing season but for me a more reliable sign of my saying goodbye to summer is that all of a sudden I don't feel like wearing open shoes anymore, no matter how hot it is outside. Knowing this I had put on my shopping list for Fall a pair of Kikis in the Moroccan red color and I finally pulled the trigger during the last promo. I know I missed on a better price and I know I could probably get them for a better price if I waited a bit longer but I just want to wear them NOW. Buying in season is probably the best way to save money in the end, even if it means not getting the best sale price. I have fantasized about the red Kikis for long enough that I felt it was a purchase I wouldn't regret and in fact I wore them right away.
Something I was also fantasizing about was wearing them with white jeans and a matching red top. But guess what? While I have white jeans I didn't have such a red top. I looked high and low and besides a tunic at Comptoir des Cotonniers that was quite expensive and not really suited to be worn with white jeans I couldn't find my "dream" top at any retailers. The red offered is often too bright or on the other side too bordering on burgundy.
H&M came to the rescue again. Now you will start to think that these posts are sponsored by H&M but besides the fact that they surely don't need me to sell clothes, I truly like H&M and I like to shop there more and more.
That's where I found the top that I am wearing in the pics below. It is a bit sheer, as you can see, but a cami can easily take care of that. For $12.95 I am super happy with this top and the outfit I could create with it. They also have a longer, tunic-like version but it was more expensive and I didn't like the metallic buttons that looked cheap. I am wearing a XS:

I think this is a great color combination for early fall and now I am on the lookout for a warmer sweater in the same red to wear later with my champagne toothpick cords. The bag is a cheapie from Zara from a couple of seasons ago (it isn't quite the same red though, it is warmer than the shoes and top).
My other accessory is a simple bracelet sourced in Italy:

These "crocheted" bracelets are a real phenomenon in Italy and pretty much everyone wears one (or more). The original ones are made by Cruciani, one of the oldest lace companies in Italy that reinvented itself with this genius idea. In Milan they have a store that sells exclusively these bracelets in all the colors and variations (a must see if you happen to be in Milan!). If I have to believe a statistic that I read in an Italian magazine, 49 Cruciani bracelets are sold every minute in the world. Who knew? In any case I bought a bunch for me and to offer as presents for my friends and my daughter's friends (the other genius thing is that they are "priced to sell" at 5 EU for their basic four-leave clover design that I am wearing) so you will see me wearing other colors too. I just found out by Googling Cruciani that you can now get them in the US too at their online boutique here (but of course they charge more in the US). Again, this is not a sponsored post, I am not affiliated with Cruciani in any way. I just wanted to share because this was the big thing in Italy this summer.

That's it! Are you wearing red and white this Fall? Have you ever heard of Cruciani bracelets?

Greece Vacation Pics: Day One

Ah, Greece, I do miss you. We were there only 4 days (in reality only three full days if we don't count the travel time. The trip back to Paris was especially long as we had to make a stopover in Munich) but I feel like I lived a dream and made memories that I will cherish forever. I have a lot to share and I have decided to breakdown the account of the vacation by day, as I lived it.

We arrived in Athens on a Saturday in the late afternoon. The subway ride from the airport to our destination was very easy and pleasant (the subway system is very recent and modern, in particular the line that goes to the airport that was completed for the 2004 Olympics). We started to chat with an old man (who spoke a perfect English) who basically told us all this life and how he managed to send his two sons to good universities in the US (engineering and economics) only to have them end up being artists. That was quite entertaining and set the tone of our vacation.
The hotel was an easy walk from Syntagma square that you have probably heard of because it is where the Greek Parliament is. Since it was a special occasion I picked one of the best hotels in Athens, if not the best, the Electra Palace. It was expensive for Greece but we could negotiate a special rate for our room due to the length of our stay (tourists in the summer season usually spend one or maximum two nights in Athens on their way back from the islands, while we stayed 4 nights). This hotel really made our stay special. It is a 5-star and while the service was top notch it had an understated presence that I really liked. The location was just in retreat of the Plaka district (the touristic area) so that you could easily walk there but you were not in the middle of it.
As soon as we arrived we went and checked out the pool that from my researches seemed to be the biggest attraction of the hotel, with its view on the Acropolis. I was a bit anxious because I had "sold" the hotel to my husband (who is always a bit reticent to pay more for hotels and hotel rooms) based on the reviews and the website pics and I have to say that it didn't disappoint. It was small (as you can expect from a rooftop pool) but as you can see the view was just amazing and mesmerizing (especially at sunset), I couldn't stop taking pictures:

The view from our small room's balcony was nothing less amazing (the hotel had few rooms with a view and we contacted them before our trip to make sure that we would get one of those. As a general rule it is always a good strategy to contact the hotel before your arrival with special requests as they will be more likely to accommodate them). Our routine involved drinking a glass of wine (we found a welcome basket in our room with a bottle of red and a few fruits) before calling home (Paris, where we had left our daughter at my MIL) and going out for dinner:

Cheers!

After that we went out to discover Athens by night.We ate in a very touristy "taverna" in the heart of the Plaka with live music and I have to say we didn't have the best meal ever but the atmosphere was great and we were just happy to be there. Then we wandered around and it was fun to try to guess what we were seeing for the first time, after reading about the sites in the guide (Is that the ancient agora? What's that temple there?) Athens is a beautiful city but especially beautiful at night when all the historical sites are illuminated and wherever you are you can look up and see the Acropolis and the Parthenon. Paris is overrated ladies, I think Athens is the most romantic city in the world:

 

On a fashion-related note, I LOOOOOOOVED this outfit even if the shoes weren't the best to walk on the somehow slippery cobblestones of the small streets and in fact were never worn again:

Top: JCrew
Pants: Calypso

That's it for Day 1. Day 2 was the busiest day with the visit to the Acropolis and also a very special happy hour. Stay tuned!

JCrew October New Arrivals: Fitting Room Pics (1)

I stopped at the Collection store yesterday to checkout the new arrivals that were rolled out on the website today. I took a very few pics, mostly because I wasn't interested in many of them. Today I am going to show you only a few of the most talked-about as I have little time but come back in the next few days for more pics.

First, the Jeweled chandelier sweatshirt. My store had both colors but only the grey in my size. I have too many grey sweatshirts so I would probably get the ivory for myself. I tried the grey for sizing purposes in case I decide to get the ivory later on. This is the XS, it fits TTS. It is soft and flattering, however in this color it looks a lot like your regular workout sweatshirt, only with jewels on it (the jewels are clear in the grey but multi-colored in the ivory). The jewels and the design are beautiful and in case you haven't clicked on the stock pic of the back, are only on the front panel and sleeves (which is good for things like relaxing on a couch!):




Next, another sweatshirt that drew a lot of attention, the Flower sweatshirt. Again, this fits TTS. The brocade in the sea green grey colorway has more relief than in the navy (so much so that at first I wasn't sure it was the same sweatshirt and I had to check the item number) and because of that feels stiffer on:




The grey is beautiful but I much preferred the navy for myself. I can see myself wearing this day and night while I am not sure where I would wear the grey one. The front panel is smoother and follows better your curves making it more feminine IMO (it is more like a jacquard than brocade):



While I was at it I also tried the matching mini (which in fact is called Collection fluted skirt in copper blue jacquard. This one is really short and much more fluted than the fluted skirt, I think, or maybe it is the fabric. They only had a 0 but I would need a 2, I was barely able to zip it and the fabric has no give at all. I didn't try the 2 for comparison but honestly I think it is overpriced (the poly lining was obnoxious and you could see it peaking out in the front):



Last, the Jeweled-shoulder sweater that I picked up only because I needed a sweater to try with the Moto mini in wool. I surprisingly liked this one a lot but being made in the dream yarn I would buy it only if it hits a very good price. It has a very nice fit (fits TTS, this is the XS) and the shoulder embellishments (a bit poor quality I have to say) give it a military look. I am sorry if you can't see much of it in this pic but I was focusing on the skirt, that I liked a lot (trying a size 2):



I also tried the Elbow-patch sweater in indigo but I need to try it again in another color/size because it had no shape at all in the XS (I don't think I would size down because it was already pretty short for a sweater that is supposed to be a bit oversized). This one is 100% wool (a rarity in the crewniverse!) but felt a bit thin.

I am a bit off the Crewlade since this summer but trying on new stuff is always tempting. I have decided that as a rule I am not going to buy more than one item for each big rollout. Hopefully this will help me to see what I really love/need/will wear. The best candidate from this rollout is the flower sweatshirt in navy as I know I will sear it.

What are you liking in this rollout? Any questions let me know!

Deal of the Week: The H&M Chiffon Blouse

What about a VERY good deal to start off the week? In case you didn't know, US shoppers are FINALLY able to shop H&M online and to celebrate the new "Gisele" collection H&M is offering this blouse for only $5 for a limited time (originally $24.95, until 9/18 while supplies last. One per costumer). You can get free shipping with a minimum of $50 and code 0791 (I used it to buy some clothes for my girl that I wanted to buy anyway). I have actually this blouse on hold in store in the dark grey color and was considering getting it at full price, so when I received the offer I pounced on it (the email that I received says that the offer is valid online only and I am not familiar enough with H&M to tell if they will honor it in store but you can always try if you have a store nearby). "Chiffon" obviously means poly at H&M but I think this blouse has a very nice drape and crisp look and is perfect for layering. While I don't want to clog my closet with disposable clothing and I was debating if I really wanted to put $25 towards a poly blouse (with $49 you can have a very nice silk shirt at Joe Fresh, not to mention that some colors of the Blythe are on sale for $49.99), I am definitely going to get my wear out of those $5 and if I don't like it anymore in 6 months or is ruined in the washer, I won't feel like a fool for throwing my money away. I really like the neckline and while I was in Paris I had this illumination that the secret of Parisian chic is actually a very crisp blouse, in particular a collarless one with a V-neck like this one (and not a button-down).
A crisp blouse doesn't necessarily have to cost a fortune IMO and while the weather in Paris at the end of August/beginning of September is perfect for silk, the more humid weather that we have here makes poly a better choice. Not that I am defending poly but it has its advantages, including the price and wash-ability. For reference, I usually wear a 4 in H&M blouses and that's the size that I ordered.

While we are in the H&M topic, I have a review that I was saving for a "Fall inspiration" post but I thought I'd better post now in case some of you want to take advantage of the free shipping (I will post the fitting room pics and will leave the styling for a later post). While I was in Italy I started to see ads in the fashion magazines for the H&M "Paris" collection, debuting in September. This was actually the first H&M collection to hit the runaway during Paris fashion week and the ads looked promising and right up my alley (very boho) so I couldn't wait to check it out. Well, in real life the collection was a disappointment with many of the pieces too expensive for the quality offered or simply not working in real life (like this chiffon dress, that looked very Kate Moss-y in the ad campaign but looks cheap and frankly unweareable IRL, especially in red). I tried this blouse in black and personally I didn't feel like it was worth my money (it was very low-cut on me). You can check out the entire "Paris" collection here (if you are in store, the items from this collection have a "Autumn collection" brown tag). However there was a standout piece that immediately grabbed my attention, the leather pants. First of all these pants are genuine leather and not "vegan" leather, but the price tag is what you would expect from H&M and what you would pay at other retailers for vegan. Not only it's genuine leather but it is very good, super-soft, buttery leather comparable to the leather used by high-end retailers. Second, these are fun leather pants and perfectly spot-on if you want to recreate that "biker" look that is one of the major fall trends. Third, if you subscribe to the H&M newsletter you will receive a 20% off code that you can use online or in store to get these pants and bring down the price to $120. Fourth, because of the H&M generous return policy, I personally could return one of the summer items that I hadn't worn and ended up paying only $100 out of pocket for these. Much better than the $500 pants that are offered everywhere else.
Now, I am not saying that you need these. They are quite peculiar with the quilting on the leg and the zippers at the ankle and they might not be easy to pull off. I had an hard time myself trying to decide which size to get. In these pics I am trying a 4 and while they look like they are supposed to look (I think), I felt very uncomfortable and sausaged in them, so I ended up getting a 6 that has definitely a more relaxed fit on me but I am also much more comfortable in. Warning: these pants work for me because, as you can see, they are very cropped (which you can't see from the website pics because the model is wearing them with boots. Silly). I am wearing them with the $5 chiffon blouse, even if I was focusing on the pants and you cannot see it entirely (sorry for the flash):






In any case I am very happy with these and as I said I think they are totally worth the price. Look for them in a future "Fall inspiration" post.

That's it! Have you shopped H&M lately and the Paris collection in particular?

We Are Back (The Blog and I, That Is)

I am finally back. I am sorry if I got some of you worried with my long absence. I did get back on Labor Day as planned since my daughter went back to school last Tuesday but I then accepted the generous offer made by a friend to spend the long weekend (4 days, due to a Jewish holiday) at her house in the Hamptons with our daughters (who are in school together) so I literally only had time to unpack and repack those two days.
What I didn't know was that Google had shutdown my blog due to a security issue on the Gmail account linked to the blog, which is the reason why some of you got worried. Apparently the security issue was that gmail found suspicious my travelling to Italy and then to Greece so when I attempted to login from my iPad in Greece they locked me out. In these cases Gmail will send an email with a code to the alternate account that you have indicated as a backup or a text to the phone number that they have on file so you can retrieve it and login again but I didn't bother to solve the issue immediately because with no blog activity during my vacation, I only receive retailer offers on this account and I thought that could wait. But again, I didn't know that the blog was down. Thanks to Gigi for alerting me and spreading the news that I was alive and kicking on the JCA!

Anyway, I am here now and I will resume blogging on a regular basis. Athens was really wonderful and you will get to see some pictures soon. Today I only want to post a OOTD to get me back in the swing of blogging. This past week I literally threw on whatever I found that was 1) easily accessible (aka, not in a suitcase) and 2) not dirty or too wrinkled without thinking too much about my look but today I made an effort to make my outfit a little bit more stylish since Fashion week is in full swing and yesterday I had the feeling while I was walking down Madison that I was the only one NOT looking like a fashion editor.
Well, you have probably heard it was 97 degrees yesterday here so I think most of those stylish ladies would have happily traded their high heels for a pair of Havaianas and a portable fan as everybody was on the verge of melting but today it was more bearable so as I said I decided to give it a try. Luckily for me the JCrew peplum top was perfectly clean (in fact it had still the tag on) and looked very fresh with my Tory Burch cropped twill pants:

Top, shoes and bag: JCrew
Pants: Tory Burch "Alexa"

 

The bag is not new, even if you haven't seen it on the blog yet. It is a navy "colorblocked" big Brompton that I bought more than a year ago at the sample sale in NYC. I have no idea why I never wore it before (probably laziness as I don't like to change bags very often) but when I got back from Paris (where I was hit by Handbag Decision Paralysis and ended up not getting any bag) I decided that it was going to be my bag for Fall and beyond as it is so gorgeous and I really don't need anything more. In fact navy blue is going to be my color for Fall.

I have a few "Fall inspiration" posts in mind, I will be back soon. In the meanwhile, that you for reading!

P.S.
As you may have noticed I am experimenting with the template as I would like to give the blog a makeover. This is not the definitive layout, in fact it may change every day until I am set on something I really like. By the way the image background is supposed to be Paris but the Eiffel Tower is covered by the text box...