JCrew September New Arrivals (Blazers and Minis)

Hello everybody! I know that some of you were expecting a post on the Gap but I have been "distracted" by JCrew this morning. I went in to make a return and miraculously I could try some of the new arrivals on while my daughter was reading (can you believe that they keep children's books at the Collection store so the moms can shop?)
I knew that I wouldn't have the time to try everything on so I selected just a few items, that is some of the new blazers and a cute pair of minis.

I think that they totally nailed the velvet blazer this year with the Velvet schoolboy blazer. I tried the deep plum one and I loved it, and if you follow my blog you know that purple is not one of my favorite colors (in fact I have a very few things purple). The color is very rich in person and the cut is just fantastic. Totally worth the $148 IMO.
I tried a 2 which is my size in this kind of blazers (the 0 is typically too short-waisted on me and snug in the shoulders):



Next I tried the plaid wool blazer that was featured in Marie Claire some times ago (refer to this post), with the golden buttons. I didn't like this one on me (especially for the $325 price tag), it was boxy and too classic-looking but looked better on some other (taller) customers. I am trying a 0:




Because many JCAs had loved it, I tried the Donegal tweed schoolboy blazer that I had already seen but never tried on because I thought that the Donegal tweed looked itchy (not to mention that I don't need a blazer like this one). Well, I was wrong and the JCAs were right: the tweed is very soft and the fit just great. Trying a 2 as well in the aluminium color (that I liked more IRL than the moss color):



That's one of the two minis that I tried on. You wanted color for fall? JCrew listened to you ;-). This one runs definitively small. I tried both the 0 and the 2 and the 0 was not only too short but also too tight (I was still able to close it but felt uncomfortable in it). This is the 2 (even sizing up it will still be too short for many of you):



The fabric has mohair in it, so there is piling risk. It zips up in the front and has front vents and side pockets. The belt is the wild calf-hair belt in a size S:



The next one is the tweed mini that was mentioned by some JCAs in the weekly review post. This one comes also in 00 and runs TTS. The SA convinced me to try the 2 because it's short but it looked better in my regular 0 (there wasn't a big difference in terms of length. The first pic is the 0 and the second one is the 2):





Close-up on the fabric (beautiful colors and has golden threads in it). But I couldn't get past the ugly zippers:



Both the minis retail for $120, which I find a little bit steep, especially for the orange one. That's almost $140 with tax for a mini. However, I do think that they are really cute if you can pull them off and if the second one didn't have the zippers I would have probably bought it (it is kind of growing on me though, even with the zippers).

What do you think? Do you like any of these new arrivals? Any question, let me know. I have the feeling that I am going back soon ...

I'm planning to go to the Gap later in the afternoon and I hope that I will be able to post pics still today for those who have the 40% off coupons. Stay tuned!

An Outfit with the Already Famous Jaipur Skirt

Last week I went to JCrew to return some stuff and as I walked into the store I saw that they had a new skirt in the same fabric of the Jaipur tunic. Because the tunic didn't work for me but I loved the print, I immediately grabbed the skirt and even if I wasn't 100% convinced I decided to bring it home with me and try it in better conditions (like, with heels instead of loafers). This past weekend everybody was talking about this skirt on the JCA blog, and I am happy that I bought it before hearing all the buzz about it (at least I know that I didn't buy it out of fear of missing out on it, as sometimes happens with popular items).

I am a little bit surprised that the skirt has so many fans actually because the style is the same than the Tie dyed Wednesday skirt and I was under the impression by reading the comments left by other JCAs that there wasn't a consensus on it (but I must be wrong because I see that it is almost sold-out now on the website).
Anyway, in case you are wondering, the Jaipur skirt too is short, short, short. Even shorter than the wednesday skirt because for some reasons it tends to sit even higher on the waist (at least on me) and pouch more because it is linen. But unlike the wednesday skirt, it doesn't look good belted, IMO.
These are the pics from the fitting room, with the white popover that I was wearing that day (you can see that this time I decided that I would rather be barefoot than try it with the loafers):




Once home, I tried to pair it with something that I have. It is an easy skirt for sure and it can be worn with a simple tee, as the print is stunning by itself (this is the painter scoopneck tee from last summer, bought for very cheap):



My champagne Jackie is a good match (the color of the skirt is more ivory than white):



In the pics above I was wearing the Cate slingbacks from last spring but I'm going to wear it more with flats. I loved it with my Miu Miu embellished peep-toe flats from last year:



Now, I have been invited to a private jewelry event at the Collection store this Thursday, with cocktails and the JCrew jewelry designer Lisa Finkelstein (it's the first time ever, since I am not a cardmember and these events are usually reserved to cardholders, and when the SA handed me the invitation I felt like I had won at the lottery) and I was planning to wear this skirt (weather permitting) with an old DVF cropped jacket (that I bought a few years ago at a sample sale and I almost put on ebay because I thought that I wouldn't wear it any longer) and the bauble necklace in soft violet:




I hope that this post was useful to those who have heard about this skirt without seeing it IRL (it is store-only for the time being)!

What do you think of this skirt? Would you buy it after seeing it in these pics? Do you think that it's too short on me? Do you like the outfit that I plan to wear?

My Last JCrew Online Order (featuring the Tweed Mica Mini)

And I mean last as in "Last of the Mohicans". No Other Will Follow. When I woke up yesterday only to find that the final sale was back on the website I was really mad at Jcrew. I placed 3 orders in the last 2 weeks that I would never had placed had the final sale been there. OK, I returned most of the items (in fact I'm only keeping the sateen soiree blazer), but the point is that I wouldn't have ordered at all if I knew that I couldn't return anything.

But enough with the ranting! So, last week when they where running the "secret sale" promo I have ordered a few stuff. The major trigger was to get the Marjorie flats in navy that I'm sure are going to sell out at the first markdown when I'm not paying attention. It happened with the Jane flats this winter and I regretted not ordering them with one of the TURKEY or HURRAY codes because the price when they went on sale was higher than the price that I would have paid with one of the codes and they sold out immediately in the size and color that I was coveting.
Along with the Marjorie flats I ordered the Whisper cardigan in light grey, one of the new pearls and crystal necklaces and the tweed Mica mini that I had tried in store when it was FP.

The package arrived Monday (I got another UPS scare because my husband was attending his company annual picnic that day and he came home around 3.30, ie BEFORE the UPS man. I didn't find any other solution than to call the doorman and ask him to hold any delivery for us until the day after with the excuse that my daughter was having trouble sleeping and I didn't want to wake her up. I felt bad but it worked. And my daughter IS having sleeping troubles, only not at that exact time).

Well, I have to say that this time I'm going to have a hard time to decide what to return because I love everything, and especially the Tweed Mica Mini.
I ordered it when it was on promo (25% off) and with the 20% off of the secret sale the price came down to $41. The day after the secret sale it went on sale for $39.99, I think I can live without asking for a price adjustement.

I love the weight of this mini (it is lined) and the little metallic threads that give it a little bit of sparkle (sorry, it doesn't show in the pictures). It runs a little bit big but I prefer it like that so it's not too short.
I tried it with my navy jacket and the new Marjorie flats:


Then with the spice olive sateen soiree blazer and light chartreuse Greer sandals (new as well, I was eyeing them and I bought them last Saturday for $89.99. I reccomend them if you have the soiree blazer in this color and in case you're wondering, they are the most comfortable sandals ever):


I tried it with the ruffle tank for a more summery look but as you can see it's a little bit bulky in the weist. I think that it would look lovely with the soft tee ruffle top though which has only one big ruffle on the chest:


Actually the real reeason why I put the ruffle tank on is that I wanted to try the necklace:

I think that it's a real nice necklace especially for the price ($38 but I got it for $30).

I also absolutely love the Marjorie flats and I don't have any navy flats (as you know by now, I'm a big fan of navy). However, I ordered a size 6H while I usually wear 7 because I had tried the 7 in store (in another color) and they were pretty big (I didn't try the 6H). The 6H that I have ordered is not too small, just a little bit snug and I have the feeling that they are going to stretch out. If you own the Marjorie, please let me know if they do.

The only item that I'm not thrilled about is the Whisper merino cardigan. Maybe it's because it's pretty heavy merino and I don't know if I want to stock up now for the winter. Also, I think that I would have maybe preferred the slate to the light grey (it was available as well) because I have more stuff that go with it. So that's the only item so far that I'm going to return. If my husband makes me a scene I will return in the order 1) the necklace (because I can re-buy it later) and 2) the Marjorie flats. I won't return the Mica mini unless I find it in super-sale in store in my size (but it's selling out fast).

Do you own the Mica mini? Would you consider buying it now that it's on sale?