Review: Moroccan Stone Earrings And Bracelet

I wanted to show you my funky Monday outfit today (it was really cool) but I am technically challenged and I can't retrieve the pics from my cell (seriously NOTHING works: the home computer Internet doesn't work since last month, the telephone has been mute for two weeks, I can't comment on Feedly, my phone can't send attachments, I can't type on most of the sites. Is this a curse or some kind of contagious electronic virus?)

The camera works, thanks God, so I can show you my picks from the 25% off promo that ends tonight (even if I am sure there will bee a BOO or SPOOKY or TREAT promo tomorrow, maybe 25% off and free shipping).
I haven't been much attracted to the JCrew offerings as of late, as you have probably noticed; however, I had a love at first sight reaction when I saw the "Moroccan stone" jewelry collection that debuted with the last rollout. I would have bought the necklace if it didn't have the fringe. But the good news is that, DESPITE THE DESCRIPTION, the bracelet is fringe-free, so that one went on my wishlist. I have been going back and forth about buying it now versus waiting for it to go on sale but since we are entering the holiday season and red is a color that I tend to wear mostly around the holidays, I decided that it was smarter to buy now with the promo than wait for an hypothetical better sale. The other reason why I prefer to buy now is that this color is perfect with my all-time favorite shirt, the buffalo plaid one. I tend to wear shirts early in the Fall and then I go into hibernation and wear turtlenecks all the time (unless we have a very mild winter, which is very likely since we are expecting temps in the 70s for Halloween). So if I want to wear it with the shirt I have to buy it now.

I went to my store earlier wearing the shirt (just to check that they really go well together IRL) and while I was trying the bracelet I noticed the earrings. For some reasons I hadn't noticed the earrings on the website. They have a fringe but it isn't overwhelming and I actually like it because it casual-ize them and gives them a little western/folk look that is good for everyday wearing. The SA almost dissuaded me from trying them saying that she can't wear "their" earrings because they are too heavy. While I appreciate the honesty I knew from holding them that they were not going to pull on my earlobes, they aren't that heavy (truth to be told I had to sell a pair of chandelier earrings from a few seasons ago because they were impossibly heavy to wear so maybe they improved that). So I ended up buying both, also because there was nothing else that I vaguely wanted and I needed to reach the $150 for the promo to be applied. I wouldn't have bought them today without promo, probably, as $75 while not crazy expensive is already an amount that makes you pause and consider if there isn't something else that you would like/need more.

The color is the most delicious shade of red. It is very deep but again, because of the fringe the earrings are not too "night at the Opera". The bracelet has a chain extender so you can adjust the length. I am sized out from bracelets more often than not because I have very small wrist so I appreciate bracelets with an adjustable length. But I have to warn you that it was very difficult for me to get it on as you can only use one hand to simultaneously open the lobster clasp and pass the closing chain link through it (now that I think about it, I don't think I have another bracelet with lobster clasp closing). Also, the lobster clasp itself doesn't seem to be of the highest quality, as the trigger doesn't spring back when you release it and I had to manually push it to close the clasp around the link (which actually is a good thing because I can leave it open while I position the link in the middle). Besides this, it is average JCrew quality, I think, but it doesn't look cheap.

Here are a few pics with the buffalo check shirt. The fringe of the earrings and the gold hardware pairs well with (real) gold jewelry as you can see:

 

What do you think of the Moroccan stone collection? Is any of these pieces on your wishlist? Is there any jewelry piece by the Crew that is striking your fancy?

Monday Musings

I feel like we had a busy weekend even if it for a change we didn't have anyone over for dinner on Saturday night. We love to invite friends at home but it is also nice to spend a "carefree" Saturday without having to think of the menu, cooking (my husband), cleaning (me) and baking (me again). Especially that we were already seeing friends for Sunday brunch.
Our routine on Saturday mornings this Fall took an unexpected turn since my husband broke a ligament (or two) playing soccer this summer as part of a team-building business trip (note that he never played soccer in his life). He used to go running every Saturday and/or Sunday morning but now he is forbidden from running for at least two more months. So he takes my daughter to fencing instead and then they go grocery shopping while I have some "me" time at home that usually involves some magazine reading. You would think that I have time during the week to read magazines but it is an old habit from my working days, I just can't read magazines during the week, it makes me feel the laziest person on earth. As I have mentioned before, I recently found out that I can buy issues of my favorite Italian magazine on iTunes and read them on my iPad but this weekend I actually bought my first electronic book. I know, I must be the last relatively young person in the Western world to do that. I never thought it would work for me as I LOVE paper books but I really had no plans to go to the bookstore and ordering the book in question would take too long, even with express shipping. My daughter's school has a parent's bookclub that meets three times a year and the first meeting-discussion is coming up soon (and they serve wine and a light supper!) The book is http://www.amazon.com/dp/0670026603">Me before you"
by Jojo Moyes and while I had never heard about it, I decided to give it a try after a friend at school raved about it. So on Saturday morning I downloaded a sample on my Kindle for iPad (yes, you can buy books for Kindle and read them on your iPad) that I had installed six months ago for a reason I cannot remember but never used. I was immediately hooked (which hasn't happened in awhile), and I decided to download the rest of the book. I read 100 pages in almost one setting and I especially liked that the light from the iPad screen keeps me awake and reading at night (I usually drift to sleep as soon as I open a book in bed). This book is an easy and engaging read, so I have to test it next on another, more challenging book but I am definitely surprised at how much I am enjoying reading on iPad (the only problem is, we only have an iPad and my husband has already told me that it is HIS iPad so I see another iPad coming in our lives soon).
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I took advantage of my free afternoon (my husband usually takes a nap in the afternoon) and went to the Zadig and Voltaire sample sale FOR THE SECOND TIME THIS WEEK. I don't do sample sales that much anymore because the thing you are hoping to find usually is not there and you end up spending money in other stuff just because of the pressure and the fact of being there. However, while Zadig and Voltaire was one of my favorite French brands while I lived in Paris and it still is, their prices sky-rocketed to a point where it is almost impossible to buy anything in store, even on sale. Unfortunately, I can't simply forget about them because we have a store on Madison that I walk by every morning while taking my daughter to school (and if it's not the morning, it's the afternoon) so I am doomed to lust over their impossibly expensive boho-rock-chic clothes and accessories.
This was the first sample sale of the brand I had heard of but apparently they had at least one before. Anyway, I didn't know what to expect but I was hoping for a lot of cashmere. I went the first day and it was the usual sample sale chaos: the line wasn't long but inside the line for the fitting room and for the register was insane. I left almost empty-handed because there wasn't any thick cashmere and prices were generally high but at some point but my eye spied a bag that I had tried to buy on sale in the summer but had to leave at the store because even with the discount it was still almost $300. At the sample sale it was half of that so it came home with me, along with a silk tunic that in the meanwhile had reappeared in my size. Here are both (sorry for the dark picture, the tunic has golden sequins on the shoulders):

 

There was also this incredibly pretty black silk blouse, almost completely sheer but at $130 it was the same price than the tunic dress above and they seemed to have many of them (while they had very few of those tunics, that BTW retailed for $550!!!). They also seemed to have many of their signature wristlets (these were quite the deal at $55) so I thought that I would try to come back later in the sale (when they usually slice prices) to see if I could get a better deal on these items. I was also interested in the tees but they were overpriced at $55.
So when I came back on Saturday there was no line and they had took 20% off the prices, which isn't an awful lot but enough for me to get that blouse and the tee below (I couldn't resist the "girl on a motorcycle" graphic, even if $44 was still not a great deal). I am sometimes sized out in Zadig because their sizes start at S but I like the oversized look of this one:

I also got a going out golden blazer that fit perfectly (for $150 down from $770!) and one of those wristlets. Then I went to the Crew and everything seemed very blah!

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So without guests to entertain we FINALLY watched The Great Gatsby on Saturday night. I thought I would enjoy it more but maybe it makes more sense on big screen. Both my husband and I thought that the house looked exactly like our daughter's Cinderella's castle and while I thought Di Caprio was a charming Gatsby, I have never been particularly fond of the character. In fact I don't think I really liked the book to start with. At least there was the fashion and I took note as I am invited to not one but TWO Gatsby-themed parties this year (the first one around holiday time).

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As I mentioned above, yesterday we were seeing friends for brunch. I was very excited as I hadn't seen them in four years (they live in London and I never go with my husband when he goes there for work. Ironically he left for London yesterday night). They were our next-door neighbors when we first arrived in NYC and we became very close friends as we had a lot in common (they are French and about the same age) and we immediately connected but they moved years ago to Washington first and then to London permanently. I was so sad when they moved, for the first time I understood my mom and dad when I announced them that I was moving to France. I felt so lonely and abandoned! Anyway, when we first met she was very pregnant with their first baby, who was the first baby I had ever got to be around, and now they are at number three.
We had brunch at Landmarc in the Time Warner tower (probably the most kids-friendly restaurant in the city) and to go there we crossed the park. It was a gorgeous Fall day and actually warmer than I though and much warmer than Saturday. I wore a coat but I was hot in it. I felt Parisian in this outfit in that it came out unintentionally cool, thanks to the Converse (which I love wearing this Fall but I now remember why I haven't worn in so long: I can't deal with laces anymore, they drive me CRAAAAZY!). My daughter was SO pretty in her Zara coat:

This is what I was wearing under the coat. Boiled wool, that is!

When we got home in the afternoon, my husband left for the airport and I went downstairs with my daughter for our building annual pumpkin carving contest. I had never carved a pumpkin before last year but now my carving skills have improved. I don't think we are going to win because the girls (my daughter but especially our neighbor's two daughters) kept pouring glitter and glue on the pumpkin while I was carving so in the end it was a mess and you can't really see the design but I am proud of myself and most importantly my daughter was proud of mommy. There is a price for the "over 12" category and one for the "under 12" category but if there was a price for "Women" I would certainly win as I was the only carving lady.

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Once my daughter in bed I read a bit more of "Me before you" while I was waiting for "Homeland" to start. The last two episodes were amazing and in case some of you gave up on this season BEFORE Episode 4, I invite you to watch it, it was genius (I really didn't see it coming)! I also like Quinn's character a lot and I was happy that we got to see a lot of him in last night episode. I am almost sure he is going to soon replace our Brody as an object of Carrie's affection!
Now, is anyone watching "Masters of Sex" after Homeland? I don't know what to think of it. First of all, while I really don't think there is something terribly scandalous about it, my husband seems to be very disturbed by the sex talk and scenes and almost forbid me to watch it, at least while he is in the same room! And we are talking of a French guy! Which of course makes me embarrassed of keep watching it, like I am watching porn while he is sleeping. Good thing he is travelling a lot! Besides this, uhm, situation, I really like it, especially now that they got rid of the brothel setting (that was a bit of a drag, I think that in 2013 nobody is slightly interested in brothels anymore but maybe I am wrong). Anyway, I think the cast is phenomenal (I have always loved Michael Sheen but all the other actors are extremely good and believable too) and I am really surprised that the writers managed to keep us interested in the storyline after the first episodes. While at first I thought that all we really cared about was to know if these two were getting in bed together or not and that the writers couldn't possibly drag it for one entire season, not to mention more than one, I am really becoming interested in the other characters too. I think the writers are doing a really good job but I wonder how many people are watching this.

That's it! If you have anything to share about any of these, please do, I love to read your comments.
Has anybody read "Me before you"? Anybody is watching "Master of Sex"? Anybody in the city went to the Zadig sample sale?

I did take a few pics at JCrew and I will share them in the next post.

Style Inspiration: Tory Burch Holiday

A few days ago I received the Tory Burch Holiday Lookbook in the mail. I don't remember ever receiving a Lookbook by Tory (some ads yes but not a Lookbook) and while I generally throw these things in the recycle bin after looking at them once at best, I was so mesmerized by the pictures in this one that I hold into it and kept going back to look at it while drinking my coffee or as a reward for finishing a chore (a little bit like my daughter and her American Girl's Christmas catalog, she wakes up in the morning and all she wants to do is to look at it, lol.) You can look at the online version here. There is also a video that is very Antonioni meets Gatsby (it is shot in Long Island) and will make you swoon over the clothes even more.

While the looks stroke me as very unseasonal for the North-East holiday season (all that barely there chiffon and not a single coat or stole in sight), I couldn't help myself from sale-wishlisting the Elizabeth skirt even if it probably won't make it to sale as it is already almost sold-out on the website, and the Estelle tee.
In the meanwhile I tried to recreate some of the looks with what I have (as a therapy against shopping therapy). The color palette is based on black and blush (as Tory says it "a nearly nude shade that is just this side of pink") and while I don't have any blush bottom like the Elizabeth skirt I have a pleated black skirt that is about the same length and I can wear blush on top. This was very timely because I had just received from the Shopbop.com recent F&F sale a Joie blouse in a similar blush tone and I was trying to decide if I wanted to keep it or not (love the style, in fact I have it also in black, but the color and the think silk make it very unseasonal). So let's start! Shall we call it the "Ema holiday lookbook based on Tory?"

Look 1: Zara pleated skirt (old), Joie Eleanor blouse, Talbots pumps (old), Zara clutch (old)

Joie "Eleanor" blouse with a pretty bow-tie in the back

Look 2: The Look 6 in the Tory Lookbook is an all-blush look. I recreated an all-black look with the same feeling to it (because of the length of the skirt and a jeweled top that I can wear tucked in or untucked). Everything is old here (sandals are also Zara as the skirt) and the top is actually "from the archives" (it is Jcrew holiday 2006):

Look 3: What about some warmth on top? My JCrew beaded merino sweater from last year in apricot mist is a beige with a hint of pink and the rich beading detail makes it very holida-y:

Look 4: I have a Talbots angora short-sleeved sweater that is more pale pink than blush but will do, especially if I add a necklace in the same tones, like the bubble one in soft violet. This is a variation on Look 1 but with a more weather-friendly top. I took many pictures of this look but for some reason my phone won't allow me to add attachments to emails all of a sudden so I could only download and show you this one, which wasn't the best but you get the idea, I hope:

Thanks to this try-on session I realized that I have enough options and I don't really need the Joie top this minute (I will try to re-buy on sale maybe). For once, looking at expensive clothes made me save some money!

I hope you enjoyed the "Ema holiday Lookbook based on Tory". Any of you received the Tory Lookbook or is lusting over the Tory holiday collection? By the way there is a "private" sale (which makes me smile because anything private is like Pulcinella's secret these days) going on on the website right now, mostly stuff from the summer (nothing for me but these are the lowest prices you can get for Tory, before ebay of course). Any of you is shopping the sale?

Style Inspiration: Denin on Denim, Western Style

This is a post I had in mind since I came back from Italy. I enjoy reading Italian magazines when I am in Italy and I always miss them a bit when I am back here. My favorite one used to be Grazia which has now a French and UK edition too but my new favorite this summer was Gioia (which means "Joy" in Italian), that used to have an older vibe but got recently a makeover and is a much more fun read now, especially thanks to vice-director and columnist Michaela Gattermeyer (shot by the Sartorialist here). I was even thinking of an online subscription but I just bought the current issue for $0.99 through the www.lekiosk.com app. How didn't I know that you could just download international (French, Italian and English) magazines on your iPad for $0.99 a pop? This could become addictive...
But I am digressing. The point is that in one of last the Gioia issues that I read this summer I found an inspiring fashion report on the denim-on-denim trend. I always thought that denim on denim is a fashion mishap or something that you end up wearing because you have nothing better to wear and not because you want to make a fashion statement but the Gioia fashion editor made it look fresh and effortlessly chic.

As a matter of fact and maybe influenced by this the only clothing purchase that I made in Italy this year is a denim shirt by Max and Co. Besides my JCrew short-sleeve one, I don't own any denim shirt (I had the long-sleeved selvedge one briefly but ended up selling it). For some reason I never felt compelled to buy a denim shirt, my last one was a Reply that I was wearing when I was a teen and was so oversized that I can still wear it. What I immediately liked in this shirt and made it standout in the sea of denim shirts out there was that it is a "western" shirt but with feminine touches like slightly puff sleeves and a tie-neck (that was sewn in the back of the collar but I asked my mom to detach so I can leave the first button open. I can always tie it over it when I feel like it but it is more likely that I don't want to button it all the way up). The shirt is also very fitted which helps to make the look more feminine and not like you are wearing workwear.
The crocheted earrings add to the western feeling of the shirt (note the belt in a matching color). I took these pics more than a month ago but never got to post them:






Nice try but I still didn't feel like wearing this outfit out and about (it felt more sloppy than stylish probably because of my jeans wash). Yesterday I gave the look another try with much better results. I must thank my amazing Ralph Lauren herringbone jacket in caramel that I don't get to wear enough. I also switched jeans and my toothpicks in Huron wash look much better with the denim shirt (they are darker than the pair that I was wearing above). I added a matching belt and my booties even not "western" were also a nice match:





I took these pics at Saks and the SA complimented me on my look and said that it was very Ralph Lauren (which is easy if you are wearing a Ralph Lauren jacket, I must say!)
One of the reasons why I don't wear this jacket very often is our weather (there isn't really a jacket season here normally, it is too hot or too cold and yesterday it was actually too hot, I was sweating in this by lunch time and I had to change into a much lighter jacket) but also that besides jeans I don't have many pants to wear with it. While I was at Zara I found a pair of printed jeans that looked awesome with what I was wearing. I could barely get into the 36 but once in they fit pretty well. The pictures make them look a bit purplish but there is no purple in the fabric, what looks purple is an indigo in the same exact than shade than the shirt, and teal. They were pretty inexpensive at $49:





In the end I couldn't decide if they were gorgeous or ugly, so I left them there. Ultimately I don't think they fit my style but they were absolutely perfect with the RL jacket.

Are you wearing denim on denim? How do you wear a western shirt?

OOTE 1: Winterizing the Yellow Curator Pants

We went out two nights in a row this past weekend. It seems that we never go out and then there are weekends like this one (I also had a girl's night out planned for tonight but my girlfriend had to cancel). Bot the outings were work-related but fun anyway and the good thing about going out with my husband's clients or collegues is that you get to go to very nice restaurants without worrying about the bill. Also, given my very casual-relaxed lifestyle any chance is good to dress up and wear the clothes that don't get much wear.

Case in point the yellow curator pants from the spring. I love these pants but to be honest I didn't wear them much. In fact I didn't get to wear them until a long time after buying them and since I bought them almost full price I regretted a bit not waiting for a sale because they got quite cheap. On the other hand sometimes when I wait too long I lose interest in things (there are always new things that grab my attention) so I tell myself that I would have missed on them had I waited and that would have been really a bummer because not only I like them a lot BUT THEY ARE MY HUSBAND'S FAVORITE PANTS. You would think that my husband who usually has very classic taste in clothes would be horrified by a pair of neon yellow pants but he finds them fun and classy. Go figure. So I knew I wouldn't have to fight him and in fact he immediately approved of them.

One of the reasons (if not the only reason) why I didn't wear these pants as much as I thought I would is that I don't have a lot of tops to pair with them. They need a bit of structure on top because the fabric is quite heavy. Plus, I really think they look best with a black top and believe it or not I don't have a lot of summer black tops that are also a bit structured (am I the only one who thinks to have a lot of black blouses/tops when in fact I have very few?) A black and white tee is another option and I very much regretted returning the "Oh Chic" Zoe Karssen tee because it made a very nice outfit with these pants. All my other tees are too thin and clingy or casual to wear with them.
So looking for a black top to wear with them on Saturday night I stumbled upon a Zara velvet top that I bought on super-duper sale at the end of the winter season. I bought it mainly because I already had the matching pants and it was something like $14. I think the velvet texture looks smashing against the yellow of the pants:





It has a little crystal bow at the opening (very cute):



My husband liked this very much but we both decided that it was a bit too dressy and holida-y for the occasion. However I plan to wear it in the holiday season with my BR velvet tuxedo jacket:





In the end I wore my Milly leather-collar top. This top is made in a very clingy material so sometimes I can't wear it because it hugs every bump and lump and makes me feel uncomfortable. However I happen to have a very flat stomach right now (I have no idea why, I didn't do anything special and until a week ago I felt like I needed to lose weight). My curator pants are a size 0 (I sized up compared to my old black ones because of the color) and they are definitely a bit loose at the waist right now. If I knew that my circumference would stay like this I would probably have them taken a bit (an inch); but as I said there is no assurance that they will fit the same in a few weeks so I decided not to take action:






It wasn't as elegant as the first outfit (in fact it is almost a day outfit) but I felt very comfortable in it. Now I want neon yellow accessories. How amazing would these Jimmy Choos degrade heels be with one of these outfits? If they weren't sold-out in my size already I would put them in my wishlist and hope that they could me mine with a 70% off discount one day. A girl can dream...

Is any of you planning to wear neon yellow in the holiday season?

I will be back with my second evening outfit of the weekend featuring the shearling cardigan

Going Out in Head-to-Toe H&M (plus, take 30% off your entire order today!)

I am having a lot of fun shopping at H&M this fall. They make it SO easy to shop there (well, except for the long lines at the fitting rooms and registers). I know that many of you simply refuse to shop "fast fashion" and I understand that; however, if you are looking for novelty at affordable prices you can't beat H&M. As you know I am a long-time fan of Zara and Zara clothes are generally better made than H&M clothes; however, they are also more expensive in the US and sometimes don't have the same "edge". In my case they also don't fit me as well, especially pants and dresses.
Anyway, I think this Fall collection in particular is very distinctive. While I generally buy casual clothes and the occasional evening top that mix well with other things that are in my closet, I usually don't buy "outfits" at H&M, especially not "going out outfits". But during one of my recent trips I saw a few dressy items that could really compete with JCrew offerings and more expensive brands and I couldn't resist buying the whole thing.
The first item is an embellished pencil skirt with amazing colors. This is not your "wear-to-the-office" pencil skirt, it is a fancy one with jewels on the front. At $59.50 it was expensive for H&M but I used my "welcome" 20% off coupon again so it came down to a more reasonable $47 and it is totally worth the price. I went with a size 6 because I didn't want to look too squeezed in it (it is made in poly and elastane and is a bit clingy):




There are three items in the same print. One is the skirt, the other one is a tee-shirt with the same embellishments on the front and the third one is a sweater with a silk-like panel in the front but no embellishments. The skirt and the sweater look absolutely smashing together (very Dolce and Gabbana) and the sweater is actually the first thing that I bought. It is in a wool blend and feels like merino on. It is also cheaper ($49) than the tee, which in my opinion is the one that isn't worth it. I don't have a pic of the skirt and sweater together but here is the sweater (sorry, there isn't much light here today):



Sometimes it happens with brands like H&M that once at home clothes that seemed special in the store lose their appeal and don't stand the test of actually wearing them out. But yesterday night I did go to a school reception in H&M head-to-toe (well, head to ankle, I don't have H&M shoes. Yet). After all Hellen Hunt famously wore H&M to the Oscars, even if in my opinion that dress wasn't the best choice (you shouldn't do "classic" at H&M IMO, especially if you are a movie star).
I didn't wear the skirt and sweater together because I just LOVE being able to wear a shirt out without freezing and I have time to wear the sweater this winter. The shirt, also by H&M, is 100% poly but I happened to try it with the skirt in store and the whole outfit just blew me away. It is very "dramatic" with slight "balloon sleeves" and a little ruffled trim going around (like a western-style shirt). Normally I wouldn't have bought a 100% poly shirt (especially at $39, which is a bit expensive for poly) but as I said the outfit made me feel like a million bucks and as they say that's priceless. It is a very blousy shirt that looks best tucked in a high-waisted skirt or pair of pants and I got a size 4 (I could have done a 2, probably):




So, as I walked out like this (actually I had to wear tights so I had to swap my Balenciagas for regular black heels) I was absolutely confident that my outfit didn't read "cheap" (which is always the risk with cheap clothes). In fact while I was walking to school I heard a voice (that I vaguely recognized) saying "Oh, that's swanky!" (the voice belonged to a SA of a toy store in the neighborhood who always sees me in my "mom uniform"). And at school all the moms with no exception commented on the skirt. I told one of them that it was H&M and she said "Oh, you have an eye!" In case you are wondering, I didn't lose any rhinestone and none of them is about to fall off, they are all solidly attached (but I have to say that I bought it right away as soon as it came out and things with embellishments tend to get shopworn from tries-on at H&M).

The best thing is H&M.com is having a huge two-day sale and you can take 30% off your entire order until tonight with code 0835 (free shipping is automatically applied to orders over $50). I looked for these pieces yesterday as I was planning this post but I was unable to find them on the website. However, they have new arrivals today and I found the skirt here and the top in the same print here (but as I said the tee is my less favorite for the price). I haven't found the sweater but please post if you do. If you have kids, they also just launched an ADORABLE Halloween collection (almost sold-out already) that supports UNICEF (25% of the SALE PRICE of each cloth is donated to Unicef, which is AMAZING). I might run to the store and check it out.

Would you go out in H&M head to toe? Did you like Hellen Hunt dress at the Oscars? Please share!

A Few JCrew New Arrivals (Sweaters)

Good morning! I went to the Zara flagship store on Fifth Avenue yesterday afternoon and stopped quickly at JCrew to checkout the new arrivals in the store and the sale section. This rollout consists mainly of things that were already available on the website since the last rollout and finally made it to the stores, or viceversa. There wasn't anything calling my name but I tried a few things for the blog. I didn't do it on purpose but it looks like I only tried sweaters (I was a bit in a hurry and I might go back to try other things).

The first thing that caught my eye is camel sweater that I actually have in my "wishlist". I think it is really cute (it reminds me of my trip to Morocco where I actually got to ride a camel for one day) but it is made of their blend of nylon/merino cashmere and I found it quite scratchy (it is exactly the same weight and color of last year's "La parisienne" sweater). It was fitted in my regular XS but that's the style. I mean that I wouldn't size up). It is overpriced for what it is but I would consider it on sale:




The next one is the handknit tile sweater in mist grey. This one looked really cozy and it is heavenly soft even if it is the same merino/cashmere/nylon blend (but in a 3 gauge knit) and not 100% wool. It was a bit bulky on and not the most flattering sweater on me, also because of the color (not sure why it is called "mist grey", as the main color is an apricot beige). This is the XS, fits TTS:




The pants are the Café capri in diamond foulard and they are the only thing in the sale section I have my eyes on. I almost pulled the trigger when the 0 was still available on the website but I had never tried them on and they were still expensive even with the discount to be stuck with them in case they didn't fit properly. This is the size 2 and while they look fine in these pics, they are a bit big in the leg towards the bottom. I was in a hurry so I put them on hold but I might go back and try them with heels. I think they are great "holiday" pants and a bit more sophisticated than plaid. Thoughts?

Last, the only real new arrival (I mean in the stores and the website), the merino knotted scarf sweater that some JCAs pre-ordered after seeing it on the stock pic of the postage stamp mini in chevron stripe. First of all I didn't expect it to be green, I thought it would be navy or black or grey but it is sort of a faded pine green (called "paisley"). Second, the colors of the intarsia are a bit loud, I am not a fan personally (but it will look good paired with a red bottom). It fits exactly like the "other" scarf sweater, aka kind of lean and long. This is the XS:



What do you think of these three? Anything that you are wishlisting in today's new arrivals?