Two for the Day, One for the Night

I'm sorry for my long silence after my weekend in LA but this week was the last week of school and I was fully booked with birthday parties, end-of-the-year parties, make-up classes and more (not to mention that the apartment was a complete mess when we got back and I spent every free minute that I had in my hands to clean it up). In case you are wondering how it went, let me just say: OMG! It was the weekend of a lifetime and I am still trying to get over the beauty of the house. I promise that I will post pictures soon. I literally didn't have the time to turn the computer on for more than an hour this week and I still have to go though them and sort them out.
So while you wait for the LA pictures I am going to post a couple of OOTD that I wore this week. It is HOT here and I'm wearing mostly dresses and full skirts these days.

Yesterday morning I went to a friend's for a playdate (I must say that her playdates are always something I look forward to because while the kids play there is always something delicious to eat and a glass of wine for the mommies, even in the morning). I wore my JCrew drawstring shirtdress from last year (that I actually bought very late in the season - it must have been September already - on a popback and couldn't wear until this year), Prada rafia belt and espadrilles. I need to belt this dress as it is a little bit big on me and I kind of swim in it, which is the reason why I didn't buy it until it was too much of a good deal to pass:



This morning the school had organized a breakfast followed by free entry at the Victorian Gardens, which is an amusement park in Central Park, in the spot which is occupied during the winter months by the Wollmark ice rink. They opened up the amusement park just for us until 11, but after 11 it got beyond hot and the line for each attraction was too long, specially compared to the actual duration of the ride, so I decided to leave early (also my daughter was scared to death on most of the rides, even if I was riding with her, so it wasn't that fun for her). This outfit should have kept me cool but as I said, it was unbearably hot (I am wearing the linen striped Monterey skirt from last year, Gap top and TB silver Thora thongs):




Yesterday night I went out with the same group of mommies to see "Sex and the City 2". I had planned to wear the blue H&M dress that you have seen in my LA outfits post with my Tory Burch golden cork wedges. My daughter had been playing with those shoes when I was packing for LA and as a matter of fact I couldn't bring them to LA because one went missing and for the life of me I couldn't find it before leaving. Well, it was still missing as of yesterday night! Unable to locate the missing shoe, after a thorough search of the apartment (now you are going to believe me when I tell you that the apartment was a mess!), I decided to wear another dress, by Theory, in a very similar color but that didn't need the wedges. The funny thing is that I wore this dress exactly two years ago to see "Sex and the City: the movie" with a group of girlfriend, so I guess that I already know what I am going to wear to see the third installment of the movie (that is a GO, apparently). I added the metallic beach cardigan because I am always freezing in a movie theater and also to add some sparkle (the color of this cardigan is more vibrant than in the pic, especially against the blue of the dress):




I have to say that I really regretted NOT bringing this cardigan to LA. It was a matter of space in the suitcase and the only way to take it with me would have been wearing it on the plane but because I was travelling with my daughter I was afraid that something would happen to it so in the end I left it at home. In LA, and especially up in the hills where we were staying, the evenings were kind of chilly and I didn't have any evening sweater with me (some readers from LA warned me in the comments that but I made the mistake to ask my husband to confirm the weather the night before leaving, as he was already there and he dismissed my worries with a "Are you kidding? It's hot, it's LA!", reply that can only be imputed to his blind love for LA and too many drinks as he later admitted that it was cool and rainy that night).

Stay tuned for pics of my fab weekend in LA!

Product Review: the Watercolor Poupourri Dress

I have been vaguely considering the Watercolor Poupourri dress (22356) for a wedding that we'll attend in Seattle early May. For some reason I forgot about it when we had our JCA event last Saturday and I tried on the Poplin Bridget dress (22975 ) in soft violet instead, but that dress did nothing for me (not to mention that I already own a one-shoulder dress that I wore for my 40th birthday and was a stunner).
When the price of the poupourri dress dropped from $148 to $79.99 yesterday, all of a sudden it became sort of urgent to purchase it for the wedding, especially when I saw that the one that I had placed in my cart had disappeared after only a few hours (the 0 appears to be sold-out now on the website). So I called the PS at the Rockefeller Center to hold one for me and I went today to pick it up.
As I said, I had never tried it before and that's the reason why I didn't pull the trigger yesterday. This kind of dress can be a hit or miss, but in this case it's a total hit. Not only I love the print, but it fits me "like a glow".
Yesterday when I was trying to figure out if it would fit me and if there were any hidden faults, I tried to find a review of this dress in the blogosphere but didn't find any IRL pic or post about it. I even searched Polyvore for outfit ideas for the wedding, but it appears to be missing from Polyvore (I find a little bit strange that there isn't a single set featuring this dress: if anyone has a set, please let me know). So I thought that it would be useful to post some IRL pics and additional infos in case you are considering this fabulous dress for that fabulous price before it's gone (I don't think it will linger for very long). In the following pics I'm not trying to style it or anything (no time today!) and apologize for being barefoot, I just wanted to have some pics to show you as soon as possible.

This dress fits truly TTS, I don't need any alteration in my regular size. First of all, the lenght is exactly what it's supposed to be (the description says "falls above the knee"), even if I'm not as tall as the model, as you know:



Second, the bodice is very fitted (I was afraid that I wouldn't "fill" it) and the extra band of fabric sewn between the bodice and the skirt is very flattering and gives this dress extra structure (the skirt has darts):



An adhesive strap runs along the top of the bodice and helps it to stay in place. The bodice is lined in cotton as the description says, which makes it more comfortable to wear. The zip is in the back and not on the side. By the way, the fabric is not the same as the mini, which is more textured.
And, it has pockets as a bonus for those who love this feature:


At first I was all excited with the idea of buying a big necklace for the occasion, but I think that I can get away with my 20 bucks pearl necklace, that is just perfect with this dress:



I think that you can't go wrong with this dress if you can do a strapless dress.
Are you considering this dress on sale? What would you pair it with? Do you think that a Jackie cardigan in a yummy color would be OK for a wedding?

One Dress, Two Ways

One day, around a month go, I walked into a Banana Republic (where I don't go very often these days) and fell in love with this dress:



It's the BR silk lace-print dress and I felt immediately pretty as soon as I tried it on. And when you are forty going forty-one you don't feel pretty very often, at least not in the way as it used to be. You can feel elegant, chic, good but pretty? Very rare, I tell you.
I was very tempted to buy it but 1) it was a size 2 and even if not big I would have preferred to try a size 0 at least for comparaison and 2) it was an holiday silk dress from the Monogram line, which is the Banana equivalent of the Jcrew Collection line and even on sale plus 30% off it was still expensive (around $90) so I decided to wait a little bit.
A week before my vacation, the Gap run a promotion "the more you buy, the more you save" across all the brands where you could save up to 25%, and because I had to buy new clothes for my daughter I checked the price of the dress and with the promotion it came down to $59, that was more in the price range that I was willing to pay for it. The 0 was available, so I ordered it.

The dress doesn't seem to be popular as almost all the sizes are still available on the website but I have to say that if I hadn't seen it in store and tried it on, I wouldn't have given it a thought. Also, the only customer review on the BR website is a bad review (of someone who said that it wasn't as expected) and it's true that the description can be misleading because it doesn't mention that it has a sash tie and that it's meant to be worn with the bow tied (otherwise it's just shapeless).
But with the tie? Pretty:



The adjustable straps are removable (which I prefer) and print is prettier IRL than on the website (where you can't really make out the lace motif):



It's a cocktail party dress (read: not a lot of wear) but what really sold me on this dress is the fact that when I tried it I was wearing my toothpick cords in soft ochre and as much as I love them they are a pain to take off in the fitting room. So initially I tried the dress OVER the cords and surprisingly I liked it that way. Add boots and you have a bohemian tunic that you can wear during the day:



And my BR knit coat is perfect to top it:



I felt like this dress can be versatile and that's the reason why I caved (I'm laying, I caved because I felt pretty).

What do you think? Would you wear it as a tunic over pants? Which one of yopur recent purchases made you feel pretty?

JCrew New Arrivals: Dressing Room Pics

Today I took advantage of my free morning (my daughter's day at school is longer on Thursdays than on Tuesdays, so I typically plan my shopping trips this day of the week) to visit a bigger Jcrew store (than the Collection one, that has limited merchandise) and checkout the new arrivals of the January catalog. I wasn't really excited about anything in the new catalog, but the stores have always more items than what's in the catalog, so I was curious to see what they got.
Well, I have to say, not a lot of new stuff but at least one item that I really liked (without buying) and one that I bought.

The following is the one that I liked but didn't buy. It's a ruffled cardigan (again, I know) a little bit in the spirit of the Fifi that came out in the Fall and sold-out almost immediately. But it's a cotton cardi (if I'm not wrong) and it's a crewneck. It comes in two colors, shadow and champagne:






Initially I thought that it was the Rosette ruffle cardigan, but then I realized that those are not rosettes but just strips of ruffles (by the way, the ruffles don't go all the way around, they are only in the front). Very cute, especially the shadow one. If you are interested, the price is $98 but I can't read the style number on the pic of the tag that I took (my camera couldn't focus). A warning though: the ruffles "raw" hem was freying very badly on the one that I tried (on purpose, I guess, but a little bit too much).
BTW, the jeans that I'm wearing in these pics are the toothpick in the new "amore" wash, which is more springy than the twilight and midnight washes (the 27 was a little bit loose but I think that sizing down in these is not a good idea).

The next one is an item that I had high expectations on and disappointed me. It's the popover shirt, in its chambray, striped and white (store-only) versions.
I already have the perfect cotton contrast-stitch shirt from last summer (the fabric is exactly the same) so I wasn't interested in the chambray for myself but because I know that it's pretty popular I tried it on in case any of you is on the fence about it:



And this is the white one:



They also had a striped one, different from the one on the website (the stripes are navy):



I didn't like the fit, as you can see it's too big in the chest area for me (I tried the same XS in the three colors) but I do think that the fabric is really nice. Also, I wouldn't know how to style it. Untucked like this? Belted? It seems a little bit too long for a shirt and a little bit too short for being worn like a tunic. I was bummed because I was hoping to replace and old white Zara one that I have worn to death (of the popover lol), but I guess that I have to keep my eyes open.

I wasn't interested in the very popular Stained glass cardigan, which has been reviewed on several blogs already, but this print also comes in shorts. Now it's a little bit of a shocker to put (very short) shorts on when it's freezing outside, so please pardon the appearance of my white (and under-toned) legs:



Sorry, I totally forgot to look at the price of these shorts. Anyway, I have tried a 0 (I would probably size up to a 2 if I were to buy these), but the interesting thing is that they came in 00 too. Maybe it's an indication that they are going to put on the store shelves more items in the 00 (and possibly petites) size.

Speaking of short lenghts, the following must be the shortest mini-skirt ever. For the new followers, I should mention that I'm 5'2" and I'm a fan of the Jcrew full mini-skirt (like the shirred wool one and last summer Monterey):



Where are we supposed to go with this skirt? I wouldn't even go on the beach with it, I prefer no cover-up! The S was just slighly better:



The price ($39.50) and the fabric (the same lightweight cotton of the Oxford tunic from last summer) were nice but the fit was a total disaster in my opinion (it also comes in an indigo wash).

The Ruffled Carly dress that I really liked on the hanger wasn't particularly flattering on me, maybe because of the pale light amethyst color:



The other color available in store was a slate and not the deep olive that is offered on the website.

Last, the item that I bought. It's a long boatneck merino sweater in a sweatshirt style (like the Jaspe, but merino); it's super-soft but what I really liked is the color:




It retails for $69.50 (much better than the $178 of the double-breasted cashmere cardigan) and I LOVE this warm yellow (it's called HONEY and is more bright IRL than in the pictures, but it's not a citron-y shade). I have to say that I really regretted not getting the painter tee in a similar color last year (unfortunately it hasn't been offered this year). This is perfect with skinny jeans but I also bought it with the idea of taking it with me on vacation at the end of the month in the Caribbean because it's lightweight enough to be worn over a bikini and shorts when if the weather is stormy and windy.

By the way, even if you see me buying more that you would probably have expected after my resolution, I'm sticking to my rules (I haven't purchased anything extra-gift card on the website and I'm allowed to in-store purchases from time to time). Also, I returned a few items (including a big-ticket one) and the money went into the gift card.

What do you think of these new arrivals? Anything that you're interested in? Any question, let me know!

Some New Arrivals: IRL Pics

I went into Jcrew yesterday to sort out my bubble necklace mess (I'm double bummed because I had to place another order and today is 20% off. GRRR) and I tried some of the new arrivals on. Not many because my daughter was hysterical, but I wanted to share the pics anyway.

First, the much talked about Dream Tori ruffle cardigan. To be honest with you, I didn't recognized it (I mean I thought that I had tried another cardigan but when I came home and looked for it on the website I realized that it was the Tori), it looks completely different IRL, as many JCAs already said on the JCA post about the new arrivals.
Maybe it's the color, I tried the black in XS:



As you can see the taffeta trim is not that ruffled, but personally I liked it more this way, I think it's going to better stand the test of time. Size-wise I would say that it's TTS. I think that it's a really nice cardigan and is going to be a holiday favorite.

Another evening cardigan that I really wanted to try on when I saw it earlier this week, is this tuxedo-like merino cardigan:




This one is retail-only and the price is $118. I have to say that I liked it better on the hanger than on, I found it a little bit somber (there isn't enough contrast between the sateen around the collar and the merino IMO), but maybe with a nice sparkling top and/or bottom is going to look different. The fit is TTS (I have tried a XS) but the sleeves were a little bit long as you can see in the second pic.

The third item wasn't part of the new rollout but I hadn't seen it before and I REALLY liked it. It's the Wool ribbon ravine dress. I wasn't interested in it (I have tried by request of a reader) until I tried it on. This is the rosebud color (more salmon than pinkish IMO) in a 0:



And detail of the neckline:



As the website description says, the edges of the ribbon trim are raw but it doesn't look as they are fraying. The 0 was a little bit loose in the bodice and a little bit longer than on the model but this dress comes in petite (BTW, the crewless SA told me that it didn't), so keep that in mind if you want to order it. I think that the rosebud is a beautiful color for the holidays and I'm definitively going to get this at some point.

The last item that I tried on is another in-store-only cardigan. Ruffles again but quite nice. It's a little bit this year (=ruffled) version of the Lea IMO. I'm sorry for the "ruffles over ribbon" pic but my daughter was throwing stuff in the mirror and I was in a hurry to get out of the fitting room before a SA would come in and ask what was all that noise:



This one came in a plethora of colors (I saw a light berry and a mustard) and the price was $89.50 if I'm not wrong.
I also saw the new Merino watercolor leopard cardigan and if you want to order this one beware of the fact that there is a bright blue component much more pronounced than it shows in the website pics (it's quite beautiful though).

That's it for now. If you have any questions let me know. I have to go back later today or tomorrow for my bubble necklace (they couldn't process the return, triple bummer), so if you are interested in any of the retail-only cardigans I will take note of the style number.

Have a great weekend!

ATL New Arrivals

OK, this one is the last one, I promise, no more "New arrivals" posts for a while.
Last week I also had time to check out the new arrivals at ATL (it wasn't planned, is not like I was dieing to see their new arrivals but I was taking my daughter to the playground and she fell asleep in the stroller so I ended up there) and took some pics in the fitting room in case. Because of the F&F promo starting tomorrow (30% off the entire purchase and free shipping if you spend more than $125 with code FRIEND30) I'm going to share the pics with you.
As always, the lighting in the fitting rooms was just horrible so the colors in the website pictures are actually more true to life than those in my pics. Sorry for that.

I was quite impressed with their dresses. The first that I've tried is the Printed Sheat Dress that retails for $79.50. I've tried a 0 in regular sizes and as always with ATL dresses it was a little bit roomy in the chest area (but perfect elsewhere):



It has pockets (which I like):

I don't wear sheat dresses but the print was beautiful. It also comes in a blouse with puff sleeves (cute as well):



Second is this Printed Squareneck Dress . This looked cuter on the hanger than on me but they only had it in Petite and I couldn't find my size (XSP), so I tried a XXSP that was clearly too small:



I didn't like the squareneck (and the big straps) and is one of those dresses that I immediately felt pregnant in because of the empire waist, so I will pass.

The third dress is my favorite, truly a beautiful little dress for early fall. It's the Print Dress with Pleated Neck. It's a knit dress and it retails for $59.50. This one doesn't come in petite, so I've tried the 0 in regular:


It has a self-tie belt around the waist (the website says that it's removable, but I haven't noticed when I tried it on):




This is the detail of the pleating at the neck:


It will be hard not to buy this with the 30% off but I'm going to try as I don't have many occasions to wear this kind of dresses.

I also tried a couple of tees. This one reminds me of a Jcrew one that I have from a couple of years ago (it came in grey and white with a beautiful beading) and it's called the Vine graphic tee:



They only had a S left, that's why is a little bit shapeless.
They also have their vesion of the corsage tee, called the Placed petal tee. The petals are in chiffon and are placed lower on the neckline than in the Jcrew corsage tee. The Jcrew one is much better IMO but this comes in other "fall" colors:



The only thing that I think I'm really going to buy during this promo is this scarf:



The colors (the blue and the purple) are much more brilliant IRL and remind me of a Monet painting. It's called the Peacock scarf and it retails for $34. I almost bought it the other day but it was so hot that I didn't dare buying a scarf FP.

I think that ATL did a really great job with their "brushstroke" prints and I invite you to check these items out if you happen to be near an ATL store the next days.

Are planning to take advantage of this promo? Anything that you like?

A Week of Dresses

I realized that last week I wore almost exclusively dresses (with the exception of Saturday afternoon when we checked out the HighLine - I wanted to be comfortable in the subway and I wore a pair of very casual ON cropped pants and a tank). Maybe I was inspired by the post on day dresses by HeidiG, or maybe it's because it just felt nice to be outside in the heat wearing a dress. I don't go anywhere near an office, so my dresses are less "dressy", just easy summer dresses. Some of the pics were taken the same day when I actually wore the dress, some were taken today. So enjoy a week of dresses!

Tuesday 14th, concert-picnic in Central Park:

Maxi-dress by Romeo and Juliet, bought at Lohemann's for $29.99

Wednesday 15th, playdate in the park:

Petit Bateau dress (I know, you have already seen this one but what can I say, it's a pleasure to wear)

Thursday 16th, shopping at Jcrew:

Jcrew cotton pique Pavillion dress (as you can see I never had the alteration done, so I'm wearing it with a Theory tubular). I got compliments wherever I went (not only from Jcrew SAs!)

Friday 16th, lunch date at the Seaport with DH and baby:

Theory brown dress from 3 years ago (worn without bra)

Sunday 19th, stroll in the park and a movie:

I bought this sundress in Paris many years ago in a boutique in the Marais (neighborhood where I used to live). It's one of my favorite summer dresses, I just love the print and the cotton-lace details around the necklace and the bodice.

Monday July 20th, playground

F21 dress from a couple of years ago (I always get compliments on it and it is always mistaken for a DVF)

The Crystal Symphony Necklace (Help me do decide)

OK, so after the uproar caused by my previous post, I think I deserve a chance to reedem myself. Let's make a deal: I'm going to show you the pics of the Crystal Symphony necklace with the dress that I have planned to wear tomorrow night for my bday dinner and you will help me to decide if it's worth it to wear it tomorrow and keep it or not. If you think that it really improves the outfit and makes a big difference, I will wear it and keep it (I swear, I got you, OK?). Otherwise, I will return it and wear something else, go in peace.
I hope that all the anons who criticized me in the previous post will read this one and comment, but I will outright delete any comment that I find offensive.

I would like to stress the fact that I don't have anyone to impress, it's just me, my husband and my closest friends (who are more into books and arts than into clothes), so it's all about my personal pleasure to make the occasion and the outfit special to remember.

Having said that, this is the dress that I'm going to wear:



I bought it at Intermix on Madison a few weeks ago and it's by a brand that I've never heard of (Marley, like the dog) but being sold at Intermix it must certainly be a very hype brand worn by I don't know who in Hollywood. The original price was $325 but I got it for around $100. This color and a few other ones were on sale, while the black and the electric blue (my first choice) were not. I tried the blue one but I didn't like it for $325 (and anyway I wasn't going to pay that much), so I got this color instead. I think it's very delicate and chic but it needs something to spice it up for the evening and that's where the necklace can help.

First, I tried it with the dangling pearls one, so you can see the difference:



Granted, it's not the ideal necklace to wear to spice the dress up but I don't have that many necklaces options (I have a "statement" necklace very similar to the Libretto one but it's too of a heavy one for this dress).

And now the Crystal Symphony. First, I didn't remember that the ribbon was this long:



But because of the ribbon, the lenght can be customized, so I would wear it this way:



And this is the effect of the whole outfit (sorry, I just noticed that I cut the shoes in the pic but as you can see in the first pic, taken at a different moment when I first tried it on, they have faux rhinestones that match the color of the crystals. They are very cheap shoes that I bought at Loehmann's for $25 but they look like $1000 Giuseppe Zanotti IMO):


So, what do you think? As I said in the previous post I don't have any other occasion to wear it any time soon but it's a beautiful necklace in itself that I would love to own (but I'm still bothered by the price).