A MacKenzie and Some Stripes

We have a very short season here in NY to go out and about in a wool blazer, so as soon as the weather warms up (but not too much) I try to wear mine out, especially those in spring-y colors (not that I have many). Last Friday I took advantage of a few hours of break from winter temperatures to wear my MacKenzie blazer from last year in the lovely (bronzed? warm?) clay color.

I love this blazer, I really do. I like that it is unstructured and can be easily dressed up and down. That day I had to make a quick change and go from casual to "professionally polished" and it worked very well. Demonstration.

In the morning I went out for errands with my daughter, so I dressed it down with jeans. It was still pretty cold so I wore a cashmere cardigan under it (the cashmere crewneck in rose dust from last Fall) and my pastiche scarf:

After dropoff I had a meeting with the Director of the nursery school (to talk kindergarten applications), so I had to change into something more polished, almost professional. This is as professional as I can get these days (I haven't bought work attire in years but these pinstripe pants from Zara still fit from my pre-baby days, even if they are a little bit tighter than back then). I felt very comfortable and appropriate in this outfit:

After the meeting, I changed into my jeans again to pickup my daughter but instead of the jacket I wore the cardigan open over a Zara striped tee that has the same pink in it. I know, I probably didn't need another striped tee but this one was inexpensive and the colors are quite original:

It also works wonderfully with the blazer, that I tyically wear with a white tee or shirt. Here I was trying an outfit with Zara chino pants and the MacKenzie:

I love these pants. I have been looking for a pair of not-too-dark navy casual pants forever and when I saw these I had to get them (also love the golden button detail, sort of a twist on the classic chinos). They come in an array of saturated colors to play colorblock this spring and I might buy another pair in emerald green or bright blue. They retail for $59.99 in case you are interested.
In the pics above you can't see the real color (they are lighter, almost an admiral blue) but here is another pic with my other staple this spring, the Gap striped breton that I bought around the holidays (better than Saint James, IMO and for only $19):

How do you wear you wool blazers this spring?

Off to die eggs now... Have a great Easter weekend!

OOTD (Gone Fishing!)

So I mentionned that last Saturday I bought the perfect shirt in candy plaid in the green colorway, that appears top be currently sold-out on the website. I have waited for this shirt to go on sale since it came out, so I bough it at the first markdown (less 20% off).

This shirt really reminds me of a "camping" or "fishing" shirt and it is one of those things that I probably wouldn't have even noticed at another retailer. But since it is Jcrew, the fit, the softness of the cotton and the design made it a must-have for me. Call it Crewlade if you want.

I have to say that this shirt in this colorway is tough to pair, there are only so many colors that goes with it and they are not the more usual ones (basically what they call seaweed green, light pink/blush, clay/brick, citron yellow and light khaki). The other colorway is easier to pair because it goes well with navy and looks great under a navy blazer, so keep it in mind if you have to choose one or another.
I broke it out this morning, pairing it with my green (pardon me, vintage taupe) JBrand cargos and a blush cashmere cardigan from last spring:

I also tried it with the Mackenzie blazer from last year, for a more polished look and it worked too (but I would wear another pair of pants):

The sun outside fooled me a little bit. I thought it was much warmer than it really was and I regretted not wearing my puffer instead of my Gap twill jacket (one of the best jackets ever made by the Gap IMO). I liked the "country" look, but I admit I was freezing like this at the playground:

Later in the season I plan to wear it with white bermudas or denim shorts. By the way for some reasons, this shirts reminds me of the SATC episode in season 4 when Carrie and Aidan go spend the weekend in Aidan's country cabin (and then Mr. Big shows up). I don't remember if she actually wore something similar in the episode, but she definitively could have worn this shirt with a pair of super-short shorts!

Have a great weekend!