Holiday Party Outfit Galore!

Wow, it has been quite a busy week. For starters we received two new pieces of furniture, a big girl's bed for my daughter and a new couch for the living room and we had to get rid off the old ones (think of Craiglist); I was late with Xmas presents shopping and I spent hours at the postal office to send packages to my family in Italy (a framed picture of my daughter in Santa's lap, taken by a professional photographer at school. And listen to this: they did it for FREE. I never had anything for free in NY, I couldn't believe it) and I broke my personal record in terms of parties attended in the same week, as we went to three Xmas parties (and I am not even considering the holiday party at my daughter's school and the Xmas party of our building).
My mother in law arrives tomorrow to spend the holidays with us and I am looking forward to some quiet family time. So I am going to post the outfits that I wore to the parties and this is probably going to be my last post before the holidays. I will maybe be able to squeeze a quick OOTD post here and there but it is not guaranteed. Is it too early to wish you a wonderful Xmas?

The first party was last Saturday. It was at our friend's and it was a karaoke party. They had hired two deejays with a karaoke machine and I have to tell you, I don't remember having so much fun at a grown-up party. There were prizes and goodies for everybody who sang (I sang "Careless Whispers" by George Michael with my husband and "Hopelessly Devoted to You" by Olivia Newton-John in solo but the best was "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" sang by all the ladies as a group) and just a great atmosphere. If you are planning to throw a party, I highly recommend the karaoke as entertainment. At first nobody wants to sing but after a few glasses of wine or champagne people will line up and channel their inner Bon Jovi, I guarantee.
Anyway, I kind of misunderstood the dress code and I was a little bit overdressed compared to the other guests, but felt very festive. I wore the wool Ravine dress in rosebud from last year, with the flower elastic belt and a very old black crystal beads necklace wrapped around my neck:




As a topper I wore a sequined open cardigan, very similar to the current starry night cardigan but in reality very old (HO05. Yes, they were already doing sequins back then!):



The next party was a kid's party last Tuesday at the same friend's. I always look forward to their "playdates" because there is always plenty of food and wine for the parents too (who can relax and take a sip while the kids are taking care of by an entertainer, a clown in this case) and I generally end up staying late, well after bedtime (which I couldn't do this time around because I had to run to our building Xmas party, in the lobby). I wore my black Minnies and the V-neck drapey, aka yoga, sweater with just the festive touch of the "Bal d'Hiver" tee, peeking out the v-neck:



I had bought the Bal d'Hiver tee last year when it came out, paying almost FP. Then I returned it because I hadn't worn it in almost two months (and also because the XS was a little bit too snug) but regretted it (I could never catch it on a popback). So when I saw it in the final sale section of the factory site I took the plunge and ordered it in a S for $14. Having owned the retail one, I can tell you with confidence that there isn't any difference between the retail and factory versions.
I plan to wear it a lot this holiday season to casual gatherings. For example, I am going to wear it with the Tori factory cardigan, Minnies and crystalline suede belt for a brunch with friends the first of January. What a great tee to greet the New Year:



And now the last party of the week, my husband's office Xmas party. This was more of a formal occasion and I broke out the Tatum tweed jacket, that I wore with my trusty Theory pants, a black short-sleeved turtleneck (Zara) and silver accessories: a silver belt (last year) and silver-toned necklace (Madewell). By the way, it never occurred to me before but wearing silver accessories is a great way to break a total black outfit:



I could have worn silver shoes (my crackled silver mary-janes from a few years ago) but my husband said that it was a little bit too much for an office party and so I went with my black Juliets (however, I am going to show you the outfit with the silver shoes because I think that they are smashing):



The party was held at the Bryant Park Grill, with views on the Bryant Park blue-lighted Xmas tree and ice skating rink: can't think of a more perfect holiday party location in NYC, besides Rock Center which is a little bit too crowded with tourists at this time of the year!
The outfit was perfect as well, I felt very comfortable and the Tatum jacked has just the right balance of classic and modern. I love that you can wear it with both navy and black (because the silk trim is navy and black). I could have used a clutch but I hate having to hold something in my hands at a cocktail party (because you already have to hold a glass of wine and the occasional appetizer, right?), so yesterday I finally took the plunge on the studded tweed invitation clutch (the one in the same tweed than the Tatum jacket) taking advantage of the sale price and the current 30% off that has been extended to the stores. I love that it is an envelope-sized clutch but has a chain (and that it's a shoulder bag and not a cross-body), so I can still drink and eat (but I can also carry it without the chain). It appears to be sold-out online right now (see it on DaniBP) but the satin invitation clutch is currently at a great price (and it has a chain as well).

Voila, I hope that you will find inspiration for your holiday outfits. As I said I don't know if I will be back before Xmas, so I wish a wonderful Xmas to you all (just in case).
Almost forgot, this is probably what I am going to wear on Xmas morning (you are probably going to recognize it but in case not, clic here:



Happy Holidays!

Orange Tuesday (and Today's Outfit)

Sorry for the quite long iatus. I had planned to post some pictures of our Halloween party (we had a blast) on Monday but I have deleted ALL. The. Pictures. by mistake (before saving them on the computer, of course). I am still in shock, especially because there were a few good ones of my husband as Napoleon. I guess that the official party photographer has a client...

Anyway, you would think that this was one of my Halloween weekend outfit, but I actually wore it yesterday to a playdate:





Last year cinnamon spice color is the most perfect shade of warm orange (this is the boatneck cashmere sweater). The toothpick cords (last year as well) are navy even if they probably read as black in the pics. The flats are the tortoise patent flats, a recent sample sale find. I have stalked these flats for so long on the website and on ebay before finding them at the sample sale and you know what? They are the most uncomfortable shoes that I have ever owned (and I include my highest heels). They are almost impossible to walk in so until I find a solution or sell them on ebay I am using them only for very short walks. They are terribly cute though and when I look at them I tell myself that I can suffer a little bit:



It is very cold here (in the low forties yesterday), so I put my winter gear in full rotation. Yesterday I wore my cloud puffer in glazed pecan:



I am glad that I bought this last year (even if I didn't "need" it), the color is to die for and I always get a lots of compliments when I wear it.

Today's outfit was more casual (not that yesterday's one was particularly dressy but you know what I mean) and you have seen a variant of it before but I want to show it anyway because 1) I bought the tissue turtleneck in dark rosewood when it went on sale to wear with the Dream draped v-neck sweater (aka "yoga" sweater), which, by the way, is incredibly cheap right now, and it's a perfect pairing for the cobblestone color, even if a little bit more dark or "plum" that I expected and 2) I want you to see how cute is the factory enamel critter charm necklace IRL (I bought the elephant one).
So here you go, the dream draped v-neck sweater in heather cobblestone with the dark rosewood tissue turtleneck and the elephant charm necklace:




A caveat about the elephant necklace is that it hits me right in the middle of the cleavage, so if you don't want to draw attention there you need to wear it over a turtleneck or a not too low cut top. It is even cuter than I thought though and the only problem that I have with it is that I can't wear it when my daughter is around, as she wants it for herself (in fact when I received it and tried it on she said "You can't wear it, it's mine!").
I also want to apologize if my mirror is dirty but "someone" loves to come and put her little fingers (which are always dirty) on it when I take pics, no matter how many times I clean it:



Have a great week!

OOTD (Casual Cobblestone)

This post is for mrs.anketell who requested some outfit ideas for the Dream draped v-neck sweater (aka "Yoga" sweater) in heather cobblestone. I posted a couple of outfits here (it looks really nice with the carmichael popover) but I wore it today for the first time in the real world (the world outside my bedroom where I actually need to wear clothes). I have to say that if I still LOVE the cobblestone color, I realized that there aren't so many colors that I can pair with it (at least in my closet) as it's not quite grey and it's not quite brown. In the end I chose the semplicity of a white painter tee.

In my opinion, if you are going to wear this sweater with a simple tee you need a necklace to prevent it from going totally casual (not that there is anything wrong with casual. As you know I am casual most of the days). I decided to try the Northern Lights necklace in gunmental, that I bought a few weeks back when the stores were running a 25% off promo on jewelry (after seeing it on Andrea from The closet chronicles. Glear blog BTW, check it out if you haven't yet). I had a hard time in choosing betwen the golden one and the gunmetal and I went with the gunmetal because I have a lot of grey sweaters/tees for the winter.
Anyway, I think it looks great with this sweater:




For a look a little bit more sophisticated, you can wear a Victoria cami or other ruffled-neckline cami. I love the Victorias because they add some pizazz (is it really a word?) without adding bulk (but I don't wear them alone, only under cardigans). They still popback on the website and if you happen on one in your size I wouldn't hesitate to grab it, especially in a light color (they are even worth paying the shipping IMO if you don't have anything else to add to your cart):



While I am at it, I wanted to show you the Cashmere zip cardigan that I got yesterday with that crazy sweater promo that the stores are running (must resist buying 42 cashmere sweaters). I got it in the heather saddle color (which is as camel as you can get at JCrew this season) and I love it. I am happy to announce that this one doesn't suffer from tight sleeves syndrome and it hits me below my hips. This is my usual XS and I can even conceive wearing a long-sleeved shirt under it, yay:





Are you taking advantage of the sweater promo? Are you buying JCrew cashmere this season?

Two Looks Inspired by the August Catalog

I have tried to recreate my favorite looks form the August catalog mixing new pieces with old ones that I already have in my closet. At this point I have accumulated enough Jcrew clothes that some of them are interchangeable.

The first look is the look on page 52, featuring the Carmichael popover and the double serge pencil skirt in bronzed ochre:



I immediately liked the Carmichael popover when I saw it online and in the catalog and it didn't disappoint me when I saw it IRL and tried it on. I like everything about it: the relaxed but still feminine fit, the colors and the fact that I don't have anything plaid in my closet. But I waited for a % off before buying it. This season I am trying to stick to two simple rules: never buy FP (because things get marked down so quickly these days that it seems silly to buy something full price) and buy only stuff that I can make work with things that I already have.
In this case I don't have the bronzed ochre pencil skirt (and I don't plan to buy it until it goes on FS) but I have last year perfect pencil skirt in dusty blossom. The popover has a hint of dusty rose in it so the dusty blossom of the skirt is a very good match (better than the ochre in the catalog IMO). Instead of the wide calf hair belt, I'm wearing the equestrian belt:




The look also work with the Yoga dream sweater for more warmth:



The second look from the catalog that I wanted to recreate is the one on page 23, with the model on the bycicle:



I am quite lucky with this one as I own a substitute for each piece of the outfit and I don't need to buy anything. Instead of the toothpick jeans in smoke wash I have last year surplus matchstick in a very similar color (I don't remember how it was called); instead of the cashmere crewneck in heather cobblestone that the model is wearing I have the choice between the Corinne sweater (from HO08) in a similar color (it's more brownish IRL but you will see that it doesn't make a big difference) and my Yoga sweater in the same heather cobblestone. And instead of the flower sketch tee in irish moss, I have my new Loft tee in fall olive (any tee in a brownish-olive color will work).
This is the first option, with the Corinne sweater:



Striking the model's pose (but without the bycicle):


And this is the second option, with the Yoga sweater (sorry for the blurred picture), even if I think that the Corinne cardigan works better with these pants:



What do you think of my personal interpretation of the two catalog looks? What's your favorite look from the August catalog?

A Few More New Arrivals

A quick post on a (very) few new arrivals that I hadn't tried on last Saturday. I found my "MUST HAVE" item from this rollout and it's a store-only for the time being.
It's a dream sweater (dream like the blend) that is a pullover but it has an opening in the front like a double-breasted cardigan. It comes in the beautiful heather cobblestone, which is maybe the best color this season so far (I know, for us who love muggy and hearty tones). I saw it for a brief moment yesterday while I was at the Collection store to make some returns and I couldn't stop thinking about it. That's my definition of MUST.HAVE. NOW.
Here it is, in XS:





It also come in burnished olive and a pink that I haven't seen IRL. The name on the recipt is "Dream Yoga sweater" and the style number is GY6877. It retails for $88.
I would have preferred if the arms were a little less tight so that you could wear a long-sleeve blouse under it, but the XS fitted so well that sizing up wouldn't have been a good idea and anyway it is going to look great with a tank under it. A few days ago I pre-ordered the Khloe Jacquard Cami in (guess?) cobblestone because I needed a ride-along for free shippinga and this cami was the new arrival that really caught my eye during the first (gasp, we are at the second one already and it's barely August!) fall rollout and the stores haven't received yet (I will report back when I receive it, after the 8/17 shipping date). The two should look smashing together.

I know that there are people who have sworn off the dream blend, but I am a fan. It is very soft (more pleasant on the skin than merino) and piling is not an issue for me. It's a little bit like wearing cashmere but without the price tag. If you have a different experience don't hesitate to share.
Just to be sure, I also tried the new cashmere crewneck in the same color, that was my original choice/option when I started to want something in heather cobblestone, but I actually preferred the dream one over the cashmere (because of the style I must admit). Anyway here is a (partial) pic (this is the XS, I found it a little bit tight in the arms):



In reality I was trying to take a pic of the Herringbone bell skirt that someone was asking about on the JCA and I had regretted not trying on the last time that I was in the store. I really liked the fabric an the color but the length and the elastic at the waist don't work for me (it's too young-looking, even if I know that some of you will say that I can pull off the mini length). Here I was already sizing up to a 2, so don't be afraid to size up, there is room for it.

Last new arrival that it tried is the Lace panel tee. This tee is very pretty IRL and almost worth its $42.50 price tag. However I am incapacitated to buy a tee FP at the moment, I have tee nausea after seeing all those graphic tees languishing for months in the sale section of the B&Ms. Maybe in a few weeks I will be ready again ;-).
Still, this one was tempting, very flattering and new:




What do you think of these new arrivals? Do you share the enthousiasm for the heather cobblestone color? Dream hate or love?