It's My Sweater (Sonia Rykiel for H&M)

If you have been following the news of the fashion world, you probably know that H&M has produced a collection in collaboration with Sonia Rykiel, the French "Queen of Knitwear", that debuted in stores this past Saturday.
Even if I have never lined up to get a H&M high-fashion designer piece before (they generally sell out the same day that are put on the shelves), I decided that I wanted something from this collection just because it reminded me of Paris.

I have a H&M really close to my place but I rarely go there. Actually I try to stay away because I generally like their prices more than the clothes themselves and if I walk in I rarely walk out without buying anything (I get caught in the "irrestistible deal" game), only to regret the purchase when I arrive at home. What helps is that they keep the music's volume so high that even if sometimes I'm tempted, I don't make it past the front door, especially if I'm with my daughter (maybe they don't know that but that's better than a bouncer for us moms).

But this time around I was going especially to checkout two pieces of the Sonia Rykiel Collecion, that I had previewed on the website here. By the way, even if you're not interested in the clothes themselves, I reccomend to checkout the Flash animation with different corners of Paris that come to life and provide a background for the model wearing the pieces of the collection (darling if you love Paris!)
I didn't know what to expect because knitwear is not what H&M does the best. They tend to use cheap fabrics and it clearly shows on their knits. In fact I didn't like most of the offerings, including the sweaters and scarves in the iconic colored multi-stripes (that looked a little bit cheap to me).
Anyway, one of my two choices (a black and white striped sweater with a bow around the neckline) was already sold-out by the time I got there in the afternoon. The other one was a black scoopneck with the words "My pull" (My sweater) and the Rykiel "signature" in white with rhinestones (it also comes in bright pick with black inscription) and it's very Parisian in an Agnes B way.
They had it both in XS and S and I had a hard time in chosing between the two sizes, but I finally went with the S in case it shrinks in the washing machine:



It's kind of challanging to wear a black and white sweater in non obvious ways (like, with black pants) and even more challanging to avoid the the Pierrotization of an outfit around this sweater. I have tried it under my Zara jackt and Martini pants and I liked because it gives the outfit a playful touch:



What do you think? Is it possible to wear this sweater and not look like a mime?

Even with my best intentions I couldn't help buying something else while I was there, but that's for another post.

Have a great week!

JCrew New Arrivals: Dressing Room Pics

Today I took advantage of my free morning (my daughter's day at school is longer on Thursdays than on Tuesdays, so I typically plan my shopping trips this day of the week) to visit a bigger Jcrew store (than the Collection one, that has limited merchandise) and checkout the new arrivals of the January catalog. I wasn't really excited about anything in the new catalog, but the stores have always more items than what's in the catalog, so I was curious to see what they got.
Well, I have to say, not a lot of new stuff but at least one item that I really liked (without buying) and one that I bought.

The following is the one that I liked but didn't buy. It's a ruffled cardigan (again, I know) a little bit in the spirit of the Fifi that came out in the Fall and sold-out almost immediately. But it's a cotton cardi (if I'm not wrong) and it's a crewneck. It comes in two colors, shadow and champagne:






Initially I thought that it was the Rosette ruffle cardigan, but then I realized that those are not rosettes but just strips of ruffles (by the way, the ruffles don't go all the way around, they are only in the front). Very cute, especially the shadow one. If you are interested, the price is $98 but I can't read the style number on the pic of the tag that I took (my camera couldn't focus). A warning though: the ruffles "raw" hem was freying very badly on the one that I tried (on purpose, I guess, but a little bit too much).
BTW, the jeans that I'm wearing in these pics are the toothpick in the new "amore" wash, which is more springy than the twilight and midnight washes (the 27 was a little bit loose but I think that sizing down in these is not a good idea).

The next one is an item that I had high expectations on and disappointed me. It's the popover shirt, in its chambray, striped and white (store-only) versions.
I already have the perfect cotton contrast-stitch shirt from last summer (the fabric is exactly the same) so I wasn't interested in the chambray for myself but because I know that it's pretty popular I tried it on in case any of you is on the fence about it:



And this is the white one:



They also had a striped one, different from the one on the website (the stripes are navy):



I didn't like the fit, as you can see it's too big in the chest area for me (I tried the same XS in the three colors) but I do think that the fabric is really nice. Also, I wouldn't know how to style it. Untucked like this? Belted? It seems a little bit too long for a shirt and a little bit too short for being worn like a tunic. I was bummed because I was hoping to replace and old white Zara one that I have worn to death (of the popover lol), but I guess that I have to keep my eyes open.

I wasn't interested in the very popular Stained glass cardigan, which has been reviewed on several blogs already, but this print also comes in shorts. Now it's a little bit of a shocker to put (very short) shorts on when it's freezing outside, so please pardon the appearance of my white (and under-toned) legs:



Sorry, I totally forgot to look at the price of these shorts. Anyway, I have tried a 0 (I would probably size up to a 2 if I were to buy these), but the interesting thing is that they came in 00 too. Maybe it's an indication that they are going to put on the store shelves more items in the 00 (and possibly petites) size.

Speaking of short lenghts, the following must be the shortest mini-skirt ever. For the new followers, I should mention that I'm 5'2" and I'm a fan of the Jcrew full mini-skirt (like the shirred wool one and last summer Monterey):



Where are we supposed to go with this skirt? I wouldn't even go on the beach with it, I prefer no cover-up! The S was just slighly better:



The price ($39.50) and the fabric (the same lightweight cotton of the Oxford tunic from last summer) were nice but the fit was a total disaster in my opinion (it also comes in an indigo wash).

The Ruffled Carly dress that I really liked on the hanger wasn't particularly flattering on me, maybe because of the pale light amethyst color:



The other color available in store was a slate and not the deep olive that is offered on the website.

Last, the item that I bought. It's a long boatneck merino sweater in a sweatshirt style (like the Jaspe, but merino); it's super-soft but what I really liked is the color:




It retails for $69.50 (much better than the $178 of the double-breasted cashmere cardigan) and I LOVE this warm yellow (it's called HONEY and is more bright IRL than in the pictures, but it's not a citron-y shade). I have to say that I really regretted not getting the painter tee in a similar color last year (unfortunately it hasn't been offered this year). This is perfect with skinny jeans but I also bought it with the idea of taking it with me on vacation at the end of the month in the Caribbean because it's lightweight enough to be worn over a bikini and shorts when if the weather is stormy and windy.

By the way, even if you see me buying more that you would probably have expected after my resolution, I'm sticking to my rules (I haven't purchased anything extra-gift card on the website and I'm allowed to in-store purchases from time to time). Also, I returned a few items (including a big-ticket one) and the money went into the gift card.

What do you think of these new arrivals? Anything that you're interested in? Any question, let me know!