Today I am going to post the pics of the regular stuff while later tonight or tomorrow it's going to be party time!
Let's start with the Heart me sweater that many loved in the last rollout but received some bad reviews on the JCA. I understand why: the fabric is really sub-pair for JCrew, it is a thin blend of wool, nylon and cashmere and I bet that the cashmere content is 5%. Anyway, I kind of liked it (you will see it a lot in these pics because it is one of the only tops that I grabbed, and the neutral colors made it a good match for many bottoms) but I bet that this will go on sale before Valentine's Day (I feel that the only occasion to show up with a big heart on my chest is a kids Valentine's party). I am trying a XS in the acorn/black colorway, it fits TTS:
Another top I was curious about is the Wynter sweater in sequin stripe. Initially I wanted to try the black/ivory colorway but the clay blue was more special (although more difficult to wear, because it isn't really an evening sweater in these colors and sequins in daylight are soooooo 2010). This one runs SMALL. I am trying the S here and it just fit:
A top that I admired in the catalog is the Cashmere fair isle sweater I loved, loved, loved this sweater in the catalog and website pics and also when I saw it in store. The cashmere feels very plus and the colors are great. However, this is the most strangely-fitting sweater ever, in that the sleeves seams are very low, like a dolman-sleeve but not . It has to do with the intarsia patterns that runs across the chest and through the sleeves. This is the XS:
Last sweater, a in-store only offering (I think). Sort of a mix between a sweatshirt and a sweater, in a "nordic" pattern. I thought that some of you would find this kind of cute but I forgot to look at the tag yesterday and when I saw it today again at the Collection store I was shocked to find out that it retails for $148 and (wait) has a 84% acrylic content (12% wool and 4% nylon or vicevera). Really? Anyway, this is the XS:
Let me say just a word on the striped leggings that I am wearing with the sweater: AWESOME. These are on sale and I have always been strangely attracted to them but I thought I would never dare. They are superslimming (I know I am fairly small but I don't always look good on leggings)> This is the XXS and they are perfect on me because there isn't any extra fabric, which is always a issue with leggins for us petites. The fabric is 30% wool and 70% rayon and I really recommend to give them a try if you can get them with the 30% off. Now I have only to find something that covers my butt to wear them out:
Let's continue with the new arrivals. I hadn't taken the Cafe capri in wool plaid in the fitting room because I wasn't interested but a lady in another fitting room had just tried them and they were my size so I gave them a try while I was at it. LOVE! They were unusually flattering and fun. However I know I wouldn't reach them very often because they are very loud so I didn't buy them. They seem to run big. This is the 00 and I am usually a 0 in pants with very few exceptions:
On the other hand the much talked about Cafe capri in leopard jaquard were a disaster. Too high-waisted, baggy and plain unflattering (size down for sure). This is a 0:
Speaking of leopard, I saw the Leopard sweater-dress at the Collection store today and tried it on. This is very itchy (it's mohair), sheer and borderline hooker (and all this for $225!) What were they thinking? The fit is good though, this is the XS:
I also couldn't resist trying the No.2 Pencil skirt in harvest tweed when I saw it. It was thinner in texture than I expected (which is good for the fit IMO), even if I had tried on the pants in the other colorway. This is a 0, it fits like a dream. I don't reach my pencil skirts that often so I am not going to buy it FP but I will try to catch it on a good sale. I tried it with my sweater untucked and tucked:
There are a few golden metallic threads in the tweed that I hadn't noticed at first (I tried to take a pic but they don't show):
They also had the tweed pencil skirt with the bow that was mentionned on the JCA recently. I didn't like this one as much (the colors are a little bit drab) and it didn't fit me as well for unknown reasons ;-). This is a 0 as well (the bow looks a little bit sad but maybe it was this one in particular):
This is retail-only for the time being and the price is $148. Someone on the JCA mentionned that it's called No. 2 Pencil Skirt in Glen Plaid (Item #55689).
Last, many JCA were curious about the Fair Isle merino leggins. I have to say that they looked much better than expected (wool leggings is generally the type of leggings that add weight and shorten my figure) and they weren't itchy (at least not while I was trying them on. I think they are something like $95% merino and 5% spandex). What I didn't particularly liked is the camel hem that gives the illusion of something cropped (it looks like a piece of leg). This is the XS (there was a little bit of extra fabric but not that much):
Personally, I wouldn't spend that much in a pair of leggings but if you are a fan of the fair isle pattern and are in Canada or NY, Joe Fresh has a much cheaper alternative (albait a black and white) for $29:
Congratulations, you made it to the end of this post! If you have any questions let me know and stay tuned for the party items!
What's your favorite item from the holiday collection? Which of the items that I showed in this post did you like most?
