Saturday Outfits (Checks for the Day and Black for the Night)

I hope that everyone is having a good start of their week. For you today I have a post on the outfits that I wore this past Saturday, as I broke out one of my favorite purchases (non-JCrew) of the season, that I hadn't the occasion to blog about yet.

But let's start with the first part of the day, when I went shopping for a car seat for my daughter (and I also stopped by a Jcrew store nearby to check the sale section because as they say you never know). It was very sunny Saturday (even if not as warm as one could think) and I felt like wearing something summery, and what's more summery than white jeans? I paired them with my navy check shirt and added the navy cashmere tee that I have bought at the last sample sale. I have to say that many people stopped me while I was at Jcrew to ask me about my shirt. A lady in particular looked like she was going to open her wallet and offer me to buy it off my shoulders, had she been my size. I think that I made her day when I told her that it was offered online. Does it count as good action?





In the evening I met up with some other JCAs for a fantastic private event organized by Summerilla at the Collection store. I wished I could have spent the entire evening shopping with these fabulous ladies but I had to run off after half an hour because one of my best girlfriends was throwing a dinner to celebrate her 40th birthday and I couldn't have missed that.
For the (double) occasion I wore a dress that I bought during the Bloomingdale's F&F event (along with my Marc Jacobs purse). I first saw a version of this dress on the lovely Dinagideon of My superfluities who wore it around the holidays. It's by INC, which I thought was a brand only sold at Macy's and hers was black with a white embroidery (if I am not wrong) on the front. When I saw it on Dina this it wasn't available for purchase any longer, but they made another version for the spring in a different color combination that was featured in one of those Macy's special 4-pages ads that are distributed with the Sunday newspapers. When I saw the ad, I immediately checked the website and I would have bought it if the color (of the embroidery) wasn't called "parrot green" (it looked more like a gold in the ad). I made a mental note to go to Macy's and see in person as the website showed that it was available in the NY store, but never got around to.
Soooo, to make a long story short I stumbled upon this dress when I was at Bloomingdale's for the F&F event and I ended up buying with the 20% off.
I like the versatility of this dress because being short-sleeved and made in a cotton-modal blend it can be worn in the winter, with tights/boots and a cardigan or in the summer, with bare legs and flats or sandals (not in the summer hottest days though, because the fabric isn't the most breatheable). I think that for the price ($78) is one of the most flattering dresses out there.
On Saturday night I wore it with tights and my Juliet mid-heels as it was too cold to wear it without tights:




The parrot green color of the embroidery is very similar to the Jcrew spice olive color. In fact I had planned to wear it with my soiree jacket from last year (but I ended up wearing a coat instead):



My husband liked this dress A LOT but when I topped it with my (new) black script coat he asked me a little bit puzzled if I hadn't a coat like that in another color already (note: it is very unusual for him to notice something like that, but I guess that the script coat doesn't go unnoticed, even by easily distracted husbands). Well, yes, but the black popped back during the last 30% off sale and I couldn't resist buying it for around $120 as it is one of my favorite coats ever and I needed a black coat (unfortunately I didn't have the time to take a pic of the entire outfit). What can I say, I guess that next year I won't need to buy a coat.

I didn't buy much at the event because I was in a hurry and also a little bit shopped out, but I did buy the Cozumel tunic that they had received just that morning and I will review it soon (fits BIG). For more about the event at the Collection store, read this post by Summerilla.

The Checkered Shirt is Back

Are you sick of seeing my checkered shirt? Sorry, I can't get enough of it. I worn it THREE TIMES this week alone. The good news if you don't have one is that is back (actually backordered but back) in all the sizes at JCrew.com here (I don't know if they have restocked it during the last rollout or has been there for a while, I didn't check on it). If you are holding back because the price went up (again), don't: you will wear it again and again and the cost per wear will be a dollar or less in no time. I swear. The funny thing is that my PS conviced me to get it with 20% off while I could, I almost left it at the store because I don't wear shirts that much and I have many barely worn in my closet (especially now that I don't work any longer).

These are two outfits with the shirt that I wore this week. The first features the short-sleeved navy cashmere tee that I bought at the sample sale. You have already seen this outfit in my sample sale post, but I added the detail of the pearl necklace:




If there is something that I have learned from Jcrew, style-wise, is that a necklace can change everything. This is a pretty casual-preppy look, but with a pearl necklace it looks "pulled together".

The second outfit features the merino sweeatshirt (again, I know. At least I'm wearing what I bought) ad I wore it yesterday to the playground and a quick stop at the Collection store on our way back:


The fact that the merino sweatshirt is a little bit sheer and that you can see the shirt underneath doesn't bother me in this case. It was a little bit of a hassle to roll the sleeves of the shirt over the sleeves of the sweatshirt (as the sweatshirt has pretty long sleeves), but I think that the look benefited from it.

The forecasts for today are rain and snow, yikes! But at least I can wear my new black Vintage Roadster boots that I grabbed on sale. There is nothing like breaking out new clothes to fight bad weather blues!

I should have enough time this afternoon to post quickly some new arrivals pics, stay tuned!

A Gap Find for the "Check Shirt Fan Club" and a Few Other Picks

As you probably know the Gap, BR and ON "Get&Give" event (30% off everything in stores and online) starts tomorrow, so I wanted to share a recent find for those of you who own or plan on purchasing the Jcrew Cotton check shirt (and I think there are many fan out there).

I really like this shirt (and my husband too, yay!) and I have already worn it a lot but I was a little bit afraid that once the temperatures would start to drop it would hang sadly in my closet. I'm a chilly person and I need a turtleneck or something to keep me warm under my coat when outside it's cold. Plus I really think that this shirt is worth to be worn alone and not under a cardigan or a V-neck.
So I came across this Cotton turtleneck sweater at the Gap and I bought the navy to wear under the check shirt (it retails for $34 ans they were having a 25% off promo last weekend so I got it for a great price already). Actually I should thank FFM in the first place who showcased the black one in one of her Polyvore sets and recommended it.
Now, the navy it's the EXACT same color than the darker checks of the shirt. It's quite fitted (so it doesn't get all bulky under the shirt, and you can still move your arms) and not too long, so you can still wear the checked shirt untucked. Plus it's a more substantial weight than the JCrew (or Gap) tissue turtlenecks and if it gets really cold you can still wear a cardigan over the whole thing. I'm sorry I didn't take a IRL pic because I thought that you had already seen the check shirt over and over, but trust my word on this one.
I think that for $23 is a must-have and I'm probably going to get the black and the heather gray too. I'm tempted to try the petite size as the XS regular is just a little bit long in the sleeves.

I have also seen these Buffalo plaid flats and I would have picked up a pair for sure if they came in red (why they didn't make them in red it's beyond my understanding). The blue ones were very cute too though, if you have something in that color (or you can always buy the Ruffle-front buffalo plaid shirt to wear with the shoes). I like to wear tartan and plaid only around the holidays (I guess I'm not the only one) so in this case I don't mind about quality at all and the cheaper the better.

While I was in the (long) line for the register, I picked up a pair of black ribbed tight very similar to the Jcrew wool ones that I don't see on the website (I own a pair of Jcrew from last year and I find them very itchy, so these ones, in nylon and spandex, are a welcome and cheaper alternative). I have seen the Pointelle ones though and they are also a nice look-alike.

Do you plan on taking advantage of the Gap offer? If you need a code or the coupon, email me and I will email you one (the online code is one-time use only but I can "invite" 25 friends).