OOTD and Quick Review of the Herringbone Schoolboy Blazer

Good morning and happy Saturday!

Before disappearing for the long weekend I wanted to post a quick review of the Herringbone schoolboy blazer since maybe some of you are considering getting this jacket with the current FABFEB promo.

But first, my yesterday outfit. We were expecting record high temperatures for the month of February (68 degrees) here in NY yesterday but it didn't feel that warm, especially in the morning, before the sun came out. I wanted to wear something cheerful and I picked my merino boyfriend sweatshirt in the honey color that is like a sunny day and always put a smile on my face.
Last year I used to wear this sweater mostly with the checkered navy shirt but I wanted to try something new and my eye fell on my tartan boy shirt from the holiday season. Someone once asked on the JCA for styling tips to de-holiday-ize (is that a word?) this shirt. Well, here is an idea (the pants are the twill toothpick in the green colorway, that are perfect with this shirt but any dark pant will do it):




How do you like it? A long gold-toned simple necklace would have been the perfect accessory to de-preppy-ize the outfit a little bit but I didn't find what I was looking for in my jewelry box (added to the shop list) and didn't feel like wearing something too bling-y in the daylight. So I went without one and I topped everything with the downtown field jacket.

Now, on to the schoolboy blazer. I tried a 2 in the beautiful aged driftwood color. The fit was perfect. I love how it looks with my jeans, perfect for spring:



And buttoned:


Someone had reported on the JCA a problem of scratchy fabric (from metallic threads) that made it uncomfortable to wear on the skin. At first I thought that this lady might have tried a defective one because the fabric is so soft at the touch (not metallic-y at all) that it seemed very unlikely that it would hurt anybody's skin in any way. I also liked that it looks more polished than frumpy, but still a little bit casual:



But then I tried with a short-sleeved tee to check the fit with less layers and I understood what she was talking about. It did itch in the sleeves, but again, no metallic threads whatsoever in the lining. It turned out that the problem is in the stitching used to sew the lining. It is really uncomfortable so be advised if you plan to wear this with camis or short-sleeve tees. Bummer! As I said on the JCA they should recall it and re-sew it. They probably count on the fact that there is no customer review feature on the website, so customers who don't know about a fabulous blog like the JCA will learn at their expenses. If it didn't have this annoying problem with the sleeves, I would say that it's worth paying full price. It's a fabulous staple that you will reach for in your closet again and again for years on.
Personally it's on my sale watch list. Besides the problem with the sleeves I have too of a casual lifestyle to justify paying full price (even with the 20% off) and have already two similar blazer from last year (the flower-y blazer that I don't remember how it was called and the Lollipop that I snagged on super-duper final sale).

What do you think of the herringbone schoolboy blazer? Is it on your wishlist?

Happy President's Day Weekend to all of you!

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!

OOTD (Yes, I'm wearing Yellow, Not Green)

OK, I know that I should be wearing green today in honor of St. Patrick but I'm not Irish after all (and not much of a "green" person).

Instead I'm wearing my yellow merino boyfriend sweatshirt again. It is a gorgeous sunny day here and when I woke up I just felt like wearing yellow (plus I must admit I didn't realize that it was St. Patrick's Day until I saw strange people wearing green in the street). I am in love with this "honey" shade but I have to say that it looks richier on this sweater than on the ethereal merino cardigan, that also comes in honey (not that I own it, but I saw it IRL and I was a little bit disappointed).

Anyway, I thought that I would give the Liberty of London for Target Tiered Ruffle Keyhole Tank a try under this sweater:




I know, cute, you can go ahead and copy the outfit if you have both (it works better if you have long hair because it gets a little bit messy in the back, with the keyhole and everything);-). However I didn't wear it because I'm not 100% sure that I'm going to keep the tank. I find the ruffled neckline a little bit overwhelming (even worn backwards) and I have the dress in the same print coming my way. I think that if the dress fits well I will get more use out of it than the top in the summer. BTW, both the dress and the top are made in poly, not silk as I had previously thought (and wrote). However, it's a poly that does look more like silk than other styles in this collection.

But I did wear my BR purse (and it wasn't the first time). It's really the right purse for my needs (not to mention that I love it) and if my husband wants to offer me a Vuitton, he's more than welcome but I won't cry if he doesn't.

My husband is travelling this week, so you can expect another post this evening!

Weekend Outfits (featuring the Tulle Art Blossom Tee and the Merino Boyfriend Sweatshirt)

We had an exceptionally warm weekend here in NY (as everywhere else in the Northeast if I'm not wrong) and today is the first day with temperatures that are nearing 60 degrees since early December (heard on the TV this morning)!!! I know that it's too early to say that spring is finally here but at least we can enjoy being outside in the sun without freezing.

On Saturday morning I went on the hunt for a cardigan to wear with the potpourri dress and then I met my husband and daughter at the zoo. I hoped that I would find something and that they would match the Internet prices, since they were running the 20% off sweaters promo. I think that I found the perfect cardigan (and it's cashmere, so I will not freeze in my dress in Seattle), but even with the 20% off I couldn't stomach to pay more than $100 for it and I decided that I'm going to wait because this type of cardigans always goes on sale early in the season. It's a Featherweight cashmere cardigan in a color that appears to be in-store only (unless it's sold-out on the website, but I doubt it). The color code is NME and my guess of "neon melon" appeared to be spot-on when I asked the SA to check. By the way, did you know that they have a page with all the color codes and their explanations on the computer? I wanted to DIE when I saw the list and I almost asked for a printout but I couldn't find any good reason to give the SA for that (besides being a crazy lady who spends her time learning by heart the JCrew color codes).
Anyway, the color is a very bright melon (if not really "neon") and enhances the orange component of the dress. Another perfect match is the light berry color, but the orange-coral looks much better on my skin tone than the berry. I also tried a lot of Jackies but there wasn't a color that looked as good with the dress as the neon melon of the cashmere cardigan.

I wore my toothpick cords in faded cement, merino ethereal cardigan in heather dusk (bought when it went on sale a few weeks ago) and the Tulle blossom art tee that is currently on sale in stores for $24.99. I wasn't sure about the tee, because the fit with the wide scoopneck isn't too flattering on me. But it looks so good under the ethereal cardigan that I have decided to keep it. Of the three available colors, I like this one the best because the embellishment is black and I can wear it also as an evening tee.




My husband, unlike Slastena's husband, never commented on my soft ochre cords being pukey, but when he saw me in this outfit he had to say that the pants don't look "classy" (the color, specifically). They are definitively sporty, but that's the reason why I "needed" them and could justify buying a third pair of toothpicks (the navy ones are definitively more elegant and I can't wear the soft ochre with grey).
What I liked in this outfit is that it goes easily from day to night with a change of shoes and adding a necklace (and I knew that I wouldn't have much time to change for the evening):



I wore this to a neighborhood pizzeria where we went with a couple of friends and our toddlers. Boy, now I remember why we don't go out very often with our daughter, especially on a Saturday night. At some point the two were running across the restaurant floor and a couple of (not very understanding) ladies were yelling at us for letting them "ruin their dinner" (not that they did anything bad). At that age, they simply can't sit for two hours in a chair, there is not much that you can do: it's the running and giggling or the cries.

Yesterday we decided to cross the park and have brunch at a favorite Mexican restaurant on the Upper West Side. It was a GORGEOUS day and I broke out my Merino boyfriend sweatshirt in honey that I hadn't the occasion to wear yet as it has been too cold and I like it best worn alone and not over a buttondown or turtleneck. It's a little bit wrinkled from being under a pile of other sweaters in my closet. I wanted to iron it before leaving but my husband and daughter wouldn't wait for me:



Instead of a coat I wore my navy sherpa hoodie (from two years ago): it was the perfect weather to wear this outfit!




BTW I didn't wear the necklace in the end, I'm not sure if I really like it with the sweater and anyway we were just going for a stroll in the park and a brunch in a very casual place. What do you think? Do they go together (I don't have another necklace that I could possibly wear with this sweater)?

I also made an unexpected purchase this weekend (at another retailer), but I will leave it for another post.
Have a great start of the week!