How Obama (Almost) Ruined My Evening

Today's post is going to be one of a kind because the most umpredictable and funny thing happened last night and I am going to try to give you an accurate and possibly as funny account of it. I swear that all that follows is true!

So yesterday night there was a cocktail party at my daughter's nursery school for the opening of the Book Fair and I had signed up to volunteer as one of the cashiers since my husband was supposed to be away. The Book Fair cocktail party is a wonderful event and it traditionally opens the party season. It is one of the two school events not to be missed and an occasion to dress up. I had planned to wear my floating roses flair skirt and I had tried my outfit the day before already (when it was much warmer, I must add). The floating roses flair skirt is very festive and perfect for a conservative environment like school where you want to dressup without going over the top. The cami is the silk posy cami from 2009 and in fact the original title of this post, before the umpredictable events changed the topic, was "OOTD: Roses and Posies" (I had to squeeze it in here because I love the title!):

Not only I had my outfit all planned and ready well in advance but my husband came home earlier from his business trip and I had part of the afternoon to myself while he was at home with my daughter (I went for a blowdry and a manicure, the total luxury). When I got home my daughter was napping (which hasn't happened in years) and my husband had a dentist appointment to go to, so after washing some dishes and putting away my daughter's toys I started to get ready, taking my time to do everything without stress. In fact I even applied my makeup by the rules (using a primer, concealer etc.), which I never do because I am always in a hurry.
These are the pictures of the final outfit (the bag is H&H from last year). As I said it was much colder than the day before but I kept the cami in the outfit (instead of swapping it for a turtleneck) because I had to walk less than a block:

I was supposed to leave before 6 and at 5.30 I was all ready in my heels waiting for my husband to be back from the dentist when he called me to let me know that the police had blocked the entire area and they wouldn't let him go through the barrage to come home. I had learned that afternoon that President Obama was expected to have dinner somewhere in the neighborhood but I didn't know that the dinner was taking place on the street where I live and less than half a block away from my apartment. The police told my husband that Obama was expected to arrive shortly and then they would let him go. He asked if I was allowed to leave the building and they say no bacause nobody was allowed to walk in that stretch of the street.
So because I had nothing else to do but wait, I followed the scene of Obama arriving from my window, even if I couldn't really see him (I took some pics but I won't post them for privacy reasons). When the traffic resumed on Madison Avenue it was clear that Obama was safely inside the building and that my husband would be able to come home.

So when the doorbell rang I was sure that it was my husband who had probably forgot his keys.
When I opened the door, instead of my husband familiar face I saw two unfamiliar and pretty bold guys who introduced themselves as "Secret Services". Really. Now, after a lifetime spent watching movies, you would think that I would ask them to show me a proof before letting them in, but it didn't even cross my mind and it made completely sense that the secret services would show up at my place one evening to "check out my windows". Which they did, even if after seeing my daughter sitting at her drawing table they must have realized that it was unlikely that they would find a sniper sitting at my window.
The situation was already completely surreal but it got even more so when my husband finally came home, at the same time when the two men in black were ready to leave. Now, before I tell you what happened next, you have to know that my husband gets very upset when people come into our apartement and don't take their shoes off, which is something perfectly normal for him and that our friends with kids do without being asked but that most of the people wouldn't do spontaneously (and sometimes won't do even if asked, which I can understand).
Anyway, I don't know what kind of thoughts crossed his mind when he saw these two guys in our apartment but don't I hear him asking ME (and ignoring THEM) "What are these guys doing here?" Then he looks down at their shoes and says (in a very pissed tone) "You could have at least taken your shoes off, for God's sake", staring at them in an almost menacing way (in the meanwhile I was gesticulating for him to shut up and trying to minimize with the MIB "Oh, he is kidding, we don't really mind the shoes, officers!") I have to tell you that for a moment I thought that they would take out their guns and tell my husband to follow them but then, as they left without saying a word, I started to laugh to tears (when my husband, still not connecting the dots, asked me "Seriously, who were these guys?" I could barely mutter "Secret Services" before bursting into tears).

Of course this story made the rounds when I finally got to the cocktail party and I think it will become one of those stories that we will tell over and over at dinner parties. Maybe in some variations of it the guys will really take out their guns and I will never make it to the cocktail party. Or maybe Obama will show up instead of the MIB.
In any case I hope that you had some fun reading!

Have you a story like this one that you like to tell over and over?

Flair Skirt, Take Three

You were probably expecting the Part 2 of my Fitting Room Pics post, with the party dresses, but I don't have much time today and I prefer to blog about the Flair skirt that went on sale in stores in all the colors and you can get for $48 until the end of the day with the MUSTHAVE promo currently going on.

I have waited for the flair skirt to go on sale for what seems like forever. I refreined myself from ordering it with the recent 25% off because I knew that it would go on sale if I only could wait a little bit more. And it FINALLY did this week and went straight to $69.99.
Now the heather acorn was the color that I wanted from the beginning but I ended up getting the navy one too. The navy is different enough from the acorn, more elegant and I don't have any navy skirts except for the liquid silk one (which is an evening skirt and more spring-y).
I had tried this skirt at the beginning of the season in my usual size 0 and it fit perfectly, so when I went to the store to get it I made the mistake not to try it on. Once home I realized that it was teeeeeeny, I could barely button it. I am almost sure that it was a defective one because I didn't gain weight this Fall. Luckily I had bought it at the store where my ps works, so I explained the situation and they exchanged it for a size 2 even if it was final sale. I bought a 2 in the navy too, just to be on the safe side: I want to wear this skirt for years to come and better a little bit loose (which actually isn't) that too small.

In the following pics I am wearing the size 0. As you can see I can barely tuck my sweater in and breath:

I love the total navy look below, I mean LOVE (the belt is the leopard calf-hair belt in the grey colorway, currently on sale in stores for $39.99 and the shirt is ancient, it comes from my closet in Italy and it's an old Emporio Armani silk blouse that buttons in the back). Isn't it very elegant?

Now, you would think that two flair skirts are enough but I have been debating the printed roses one for a long time. The problem is I don't do florals that much and I was afraid that I would end up not wearing it. However when I saw it in store for $49.99 ($34.99 with the promo), it was a no-brainer. It is an easy way to dress up for a conservative environment like school for the holidays. I actually bought a 0 in the printed one, the fabric is less stiff than the solid one.
Keep in mind that this style loves cropped cardigans, so if you buy it you probably need to have something cropped to wear with it (unless you only want to tuck in a shirt). The Boden cropped cashmere cardigan is the perfect length (and you can buy it now with 25% off):

That's it for today, I hope you all have a lovely Sunday.

Do you own the flair skirt?

JCrew Fitting Room Pics: Some Skirts And An Unexpected Love for Preppy

I finally got around to go to a store (two, actually) this past weekend and I could see/try on a few things I was curious about, in particular the flair skirt. I have no time whatsoever today but I wanted to put up the pics, so I won't post the links (anyway you all know where to find these if you want to).

First, the flair skirt. I had read mixed reviews and I thought it wouldn't be flattering but I LOVED it. I thought it would look like the Dorrie skirt from this summer, that was a pass for me, but this one fits much more nicely, probably because of the thin waistband that keeps the skirt from pouffing out. This is my regular size 0 in heather acorn (I felt very chic in it. I was planning to wear it with boots but ladylike shoes will be great too):

And this is the pine color, a very rich green:

Another love (quite unexpected) was the liquid skirt skirt. I tried the navy in a 2, because they didn't have a 0 in the store, and it fit perfectly. It is a very elegant skirt and was very flattering (it is longer on me than on the model online, of course but I like where it hits, I don't think I would order a petite). I just don't know where I would wear this, plus, even if lined, it is too lightweight for our winter so I won't even be able to wear it for the holidays, I think. But it is a GREAT skirt, especially if you live in a place where you can wear it year-round:

I must have metabolized the new midi lenght because I didn't liked at all the two minis that I tried. The first, the Origami housthood mini was really short and I didn't like the "origami" effect at all (if I had to go with that pattern I would probably get the cafe capri). This is a 0:

The other mini that I tried, the leather-tipped bell skirt, was a total disaster (and I was interested in this one). It was completely shapeless (I am wearing a 2 for more length):

The Winnie dress was a disaster too. It is umbelievably soft though, so if the shape works for you I recommend it. This is the 00 (I had read that it runs big) and for some reasons it is more high-waisted on me than on the model:

And now the unexpected love, the schoolboy blazer in academy stripe. First, I was surprised to see that the stripes are a beautiful gold color and not ivory like they appear on my monitor (granted I had never zoomed in and they look gold once you zoom). Second, I loved the black trim, it is one of those details that make a garment special. Third I liked the preppi-ness of it without it being too serious. If you are going for the Gossip girl look, this is it. You can't be more preppy than with a striped blazer and cord shorts:

In this pic I am wearing a size 2 (my usual blazer size) but it felt a little bit bigger than usual and they didn't have a 0 to compare. If anyone out there bought this I would like to know if you went with your usual size or sized down for a more shrunken fit (like on the model). It looked much better with the fisherman sweater but I don't think that I am going to wear it with anything that thick.
Here are the Cailey shorts with the fisherman sweater (that I quite liked, except for the price). I am surprised that the shorts keep selling out on the website because they are very short, not sure who is comfortable wearing these (this is a size 2):

The flair skirt in acorn and the schoolboy blazer are definitively on my wishlist, while the fisherman sweater is on my "sale watchlist".
Do you have or did you try any of these? What do you think of the preppy look?

Again, sorry for not posting the links, I gotta go!