Once back from school, I took a big breath and instead of going ahead with the purchase, I picked up something that I wanted to return but never had the guts to (new rule number 2), my beloved BUT STILL UNWORN wool shirred skirt, I went out, patiently waited for the store to open and made the return, which would have allowed me to buy the dress with the 25% off on the website (and pay entirely with the gift card). OK, I agree that having a store ten minutes far from home helps with rule number two, but it doesn't help in deciding to part from things unworn that I still like and think that I am going to wear one day.
It turned out that the store still had the dress in my size and I had a $25 off $125 coupon that a reader kindly sent to me and was going to expire this weekend, so instead of buying the dress on the website ALONG WITH OTHER UNNECESSARY STUFF I bought it in store using the coupon (with the funds on the gift card, I didn't cheat) and paid the same that I would have paid on the website with 25% off plus the shipping. The price of the dress was just shy of $125 so I had to buy something else to be entitled to the $25 off but I just re-bought something that I already had (and I can return) for a lower price, so that was OK.
Which brings me to the real topic of this post, because the item that I bought along with the dress is the Antler tee, whose price has dropped to $24.99 BEFORE 25% off in case you haven't noticed. Sorry for the long introduction but I couldn't pass my yesterday morning struggle with temptations under silence and I had to let you know 1) that I have bought the Ravine dress that was at the top of my wishlist (50% off is a good price for something that you really want) and 2) that I haven't broken my rules even if it was quite tough to resist.
Some time ago I decided to allow myself to buy only one holiday tee this season, at least at full price, and between reindeers and snowflakes, my preference goes to the antlers tee, that I bought during the 20% off tees promo. I find that the antlers on this tee are more abstract than snowflakes and other reindeers and I can see myself wearing it after the holidays (maybe even in the spring/summer with the right pairings), while I couldn't wear a snowflake or reindeer in May. And with the price of the Jcrew tees, you better have more than one wear per season.
The other reason why I prefer this tee over the other holiday tees is that I like the slouchiness of it (maybe Jenna's picks after Jenna's picks I have been completely indoctrinated but I do feel the appeal of the "slouchy" look).
Third reason, and I agree upfront that that's very personal and not a good reason in itself to buy this tee, is that I see myself wearing it with flannel pajama pants on Xmas Day while my daughter opens her presents. Call it an "occasion". For $20 (the price that I paid using the $25 off card) I can afford to "lounge" and even go to bed with a high-end tee.
There are two things to know about this tee, if you want to take advantage of the current price but you haven't seen it in person. The first thing is that the color codes or names are completely misleading. The guy or gal in the production department must have been completely drunk when it came to put the color codes on the tag, or color-blind or both. I ordered it in light amethyst and it resembles in nothing to the amethyst color. It is much more similar to a dusty blossom or an antique stone. You can see in this pic that it almost matches the shade of the Donegal shawl cardigan in heather rosebud:
Surprisingly (or maybe not) the other color, soft graphite, is much more similar to what I imagine when I think of amethyst. I saw it in store and I was very confused, it didn't look graphite at all to me and I thought that it was the light amethyst at first.
The other thing to take into consideration is that being a tissue tee, it is very thin and quite see-through (and long, all factors that contribute to give it the slouchy look):
I won't say that I haven't been tempted by the Snowflake tee (by the way, it is not slub cotton, it is ringspun, this is the second time that I notice that they got the wrong fabric in the description of a tee), it is indeed very cute and I own the perfect pair of earrings to wear with it, a pair by the French brand Agatha that I bought many years ago (I also have the necklace with a snowflake pendant):
However, it was quite challenging for me to think of a cardigan THAT I ALREADY OWN to pair with the color of this tee and I didn't find the fit particularly flattering (although it does look good with the silver belt in the pic). This is the XS (from the fitting room):
I gave my "snowflake" earrings a try with the antler tee and I like how they look together. Plus I can even add the necklace, without making it to look like a snowstorm (which would have been the case with the other tee):
Because this tee turned out to be quite the deal, I'm also considering the Snow-gem tee that I didn't find particularly attractive when I saw it on the website but is VERY flattering on and quite easy to pair. You know that I love tees but now I need to be careful with my budget and this is a $48 tee that has a limited seasonal wear (especially if compared to my last year "holiday" tee investment, the silk-bow applique tee that I wear year-round), so I'm REALLY going to think about it. I still have something left on the card but it doesn't mean that I have to spend it, right? And I have items that have been on my wishlist for much longer than this tee (like the toothpick cords, that went finally on sale, at least in stores).
What's your favorite tee this holiday season? Do you have more than one? Would you consider the antlers one at the current sale price? What do you think of the snow-gem tee?
Also, do you think that my resolution is working in that I'm sticking to the plan or that it doesn't work in that it looks like I'm still quite obsessed with Jcrew? Please share!
