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!

Time for A Giveaway (and yes, it's JCrew) !

Dear readers, you don't talk much these days and I love to hear from you. So I thought that a giveaway would shake you up a little bit and make you talk, especially those of you who haven't talked in a while (if you are still there). I don't have anything special to celebrate (the blog first anniversary will be next month and I couldn't wait that long) but I feel like a giveaway is overdue in sign of appreciation from me to you for being a follower and reading my blog.

I know that I had announced a giveaway before and dropped it but at that particular time there were so many bloggers giving away fabulous jewelry that it was getting a little bit competitive out there. And because I didn't receive any gift from Mickey that I could offer to you in my turn, I waited to find the perfect prize (something that wouldn't cost much but that you would possibly love).

And I think that I have finally found it! I will give you some clues:

1. It's Jcrew
2. It's inexpensive
3. It's reusable
4. It's coveted

No, it isn't one of the new recyclable shopping bags, like the one pictured under the title (even if they are cute, aren't they). I put that pic up there because I didn't want you to find out immediately. But your prize WAS in that bag.

Are you ready? It's TADATA .... Yes! One of the super-cute and much talked about canvas totes that are in-store only (at least for now). These come in 3 patterns and I picked up the one that I like the best, with three chic ladies going shopping with their doggies:



And of course you have the name of your favorite (or ex-favorite) retailer on it as a bonus.
If you don't know what you could use it for, let me tell you that these make the perfect bags for returns because they are big enough to stuff a lot of Jcrew items inside and unlike the most reusable bags out there they are landscape-shaped (wider than taller) and not portrait-shaped (thanks to HeidiG for the terminology).

Here are the rules:
1. You have to be a follower (new followers are welcome)
2. You have to leave a comment and tell me what you like best of the blog and what you don't like that much (please be kind)
3. You have to promise that you won't resell it on Ebay for $35 bucks (if you don't like it, do not participate, even if it's free stuff)
4. You have until Thursday the 25th at midnight ET to enter the giveaway. The winner will be chosen by random.org (whatever that means, but I have a week to find out) and will be announced on Friday the 26th.

If you want post a link to this post on your blog, you're more than welcome but you will still have an entry, to not penalize the non-bloggers.

And now, good luck!

OOTD (featuring the wool twill club pants)

Technically this is not my outfit of the day (I'm still in my pjs and I don't think I'm going to wear this this morning as we still have snow on the sidewalk), but it has been an outfit of the day a few weeks ago, when I came back from vacation. I meant to post this earlier because I LOVE everything about this outfit, but I never got around to it.
The reason why I'm posting it today is that it gives me the occasion to do a quick review of the Wool twill club pants in case you are considering ordering these with the 20% off promo. I'm really puzzled that these pants are still available in more or less all the sizes (at least in the butterscotch and black), because they are LOVELY and CLASSIC and if you can get them (like I did) for around $30, they are a great deal.
But first, the OOTD pics:





I'm wearing a 0. These also come in 00 but I couldn't even button them, so I would say that they run TTS. They are equally nice with low heels (above) and flats (below):



Now, I know that these pants have a bad reputation because people were complaining on the JCA blog that they pile like crazy between the legs (and that's maybe the reason why they are still lingering in the sale section). And I can understand that if you have paid $98 you are entitled to be mad if your pants pile. But for $30 I was ready to take the risk and you know that I'm not that concerned by piling because I have a secret weapon. Plus these are not pants that I plan on wearing often and for a long stretch during the day. In fact I wore them to go to the doctor and then the day after to take my daughter to another "interview" (by the way, I'm done with that!)
Anyway, they did pile a little bit around the crutch after the second wear, but nothing that can't be undone and for me the pros outdo the cons by far. First of all there aren't many wool pants out there that look good on petite figures. They tend to be wide-leg and wide-leg pants overwhelm me most of the times. The cropped leg on wool pants is great for us petites. Second, they are fully lined and one of the reason why I don't buy wool pants often is that they tend to be itchy. In fact I had almost given up on the whole wool pants idea after the last time that I wore a pair for dinner and I spent most of my evening in the restaurant's restrooms to scratch my bare legs to get some relief. Well, because there are lined, no itching (tested and approved). Third, I have been looking for a pair of neutral (beige-ish) pants for a while and the butterscoth color is such a great neutral.
As a top I'm wearing the cashmere boatneck popover. I know that I had said that I wouldn't buy multiples of this (I have the cinnamon spice already), but when the heather grey popped back in my size I couldn't resist the great price and I have to say that when I put it on I was completely smitten. So I take back what I said. It fits even better than the cinnamon spice and I don't have another grey cashmere sweater.

The pants look good with the Donegal shawl cardigan (that was the cardigan that I had originally tried them with when they came out in stores). The color is more of a match than what it looks in the pic:



And also with the Funnelneck sweater (the pants kind of play down the military accents of the sweater):



I really reccomend these pants to anyone who is not afraid of piling! Get them before it's too late!

President's Weekend Shopping

So I was at the Gap last Saturday to pick up some tees for hubby (they were running a promo and all the tees were $10) and I saw some cute stuff in the ladies department (obviously I couldn't leave the store without having a look), including a cotton henley sweater that was in promo for $30 and reminded me of the Jcrew cashmere one (I will probably buy one of these on super-sale).
They also had some great leather ballet flats: the leather of these ones is super-soft and the black really look like Repetto. They are $39.50 and totally worth the price in my opinion but they run big and they will probably fit better someone who normally wears half-sizes (I am a 7 and the 7 was too big, while the 6 was too small). Thanks God they didn't work for me, because I really don't need another pair of ballet flats.

But the one item that I'm really excited about is this top. Now, the website pics not only don't do this top justice but are misleading as the fabric looks completely different IRL. It looks like a heavy cotton on the website while in reality it's a blend of cotton and rayon, very lightweight and sheer, with a swiss-dot pattern (if you fear sheerness, this top isn't for you).
At $49.50, it's a little bit expensive for the Gap but I had a 20% in-store coupon and I used it to buy it because they had only a XS left and the S was sold-out.

It has cap-sleeves but the collar is what makes this top really special:


Look how adorable it is under a cardigan:




Now, in case you want to order it, you have to know that it runs SMALL, especially across the chest, so depending on your bra size you might want to size up (I bought my regular XS and it's a little bit tight, but not uncomfortably tight). And as I said it's very sheer (you need a nude bra or a cami under it).

I also picked up a Button cuff striped tee in the blue lightning color (these were on sale for $9.99 in store) but the sleeves are excessively long on me so that I would have to wear them cuffed and I don't know if I'm going to keep it.
At checkout they gave me a coupon for 40% off on one full-priced item every Wednesday starting today through March 3d, so I will try to re-buy the blouse with the 40% off if I happen to see another XS (but to me it's worth the price that I paid and even the full price).
They were still giving away those today when I was at GapKids, so you might want to ask the next time that you're in a store.

Over the weekend I also became the proud owner of a Jcrew ruffled-collar trench (aka Keagan) from Spring 09 (you will certainly remember the lovely Vanessa wearing it in the March catalog). This jacket was one of my biggest regrets as I had missed in store when it went on sale and I had the "Mickey" red card that gave 25% off on top of everything. After it became clear that I wouldn't find my size in a store I stalked the website almost every day for MONTHS for a popback (it never popped back in a 0 in the bleached almond color) and then I started to stalk ebay (the 0 was pretty rare even on ebay and it was much more expensive than what I would have paid had I bought it with the red card at Jcrew). In September I almost bought a size 2 that was reasonably priced but then I decided to wait and then it was too cold to wear all of a sudden. Then one day las week, when the 0 that I had been watching on ebay for months became "the last one" available, I realized that if I was still after this jacket after a year, it was probably worth it to pay the price that they asked for it (it was still less than the full price), so I pulled the trigger it helped that it will be soon again the season to wear it).

I receive it on President's Day (actually my husband received it and he handed me the package without a word). The good news is, I still LOVE it, after all this time. Here it is (I know that some consider this jacket boxy and not flattering but I love everything about it), finally:




The detail that I didn't remember is that the ruffle around the collar is detachable, so even if one day I get tired of ruffles I can still wear the jacket. Genius! (Now if they only could do that for every ruffled top that they put on the selling floor ...) I think it's one of those "classic with a twist" items that JCrew makes so well and it reminds me of a Burberry short trench without the price tag.

Do you like the Gap top? Did you see anything that you liked at the Gap recently? Have you ever had a similar obsession for a piece of clothing that you ended up finding on ebay? And did you still love it when you received it? Please share!

I will review the Tory Burch shoes in the next post.

My Valentines

Hello ladies, it feels like a long time since my last post, but my husband had a long three-day weekend and I just found a little bit of time to update you on my Valentine's Day celebration, even if it comes a little bit late in the game.

With hubby, we decided to celebrate Valentine's Day a day before, on Saturday night, because we were hosting a Valentine's Day playdate for my daughter's best friends and their parents on Sunday afternoon and we thought that after that we wouldn't be in the mood for a romantic dinner (not to mention that I absolutely wanted to watch the Pairs Figure Skating Short Program on Sunday night and watching TV isn't ranked amongst the most romantic Valentine's Day activities).

We have this tradition that if we stay in for Valentine's Night (and we decided to stay in because we hadn't booked any restaurant and anyway finding a babysitter last-minute for Valentine's Night is nearly impossible) we order sushi at our favorite sushi place (as we don't normally order sushi), but I wanted to bake something for dessert.
So around 7, while I was baking a chocolate cake, my daughter managed to burn her fingers pretty badly on the bulb of my bedside table lamp (while my husband was with her!), and because I didn't have any anti-burn first-aid ointment and husband was taking care of her I had to stop baking my cake and run out to the closest Duane to buy some (I know that it's silly to put ointment on a burn an hour after the fact but it reassured my husband, plus it helps the healing and to avoid scars). Now, there was a MONSTER line at Duane of last-minute Valentine's givers (mostly men) who were buying Valentine's cards and chocolates. And I had to skip the line because the register at the pharmacy was already closed and explain to the angry costumers in the line that it was an emergency. Which gave me a big headache.

All this to say that when I got home I wasn't in the mood any longer and I almost called off the celebrations. I didn't, but I could really have ruined it and I have to thank my husband who stepped up and saved our Valentine's dim-lit dinner. First of all, when I showed up for our dinner in my jeans and not showered (and clearly not in the mood for romance) his disappointed face made me go back and take a shower. That really changed everything because once showered I made the effort to dress-up (I wore the Banana Republic silk-print dress that you have seen in one of the latest posts) and felt like celebrating again.

Second, he had a Valentine surprise for me and ladies, let me tell you, I was SHOCKED. He picked up a neon pink stretch lace babydoll by Victoria Secrets and I can't even remember the last time that he offered me some lingerie (we were probably dating and we have been married for twelve years). I really didn't think that he would have something for me, especially because he had travelled all the week, and for a second I felt bad for ordering myself a bottle of the new Chloe perfume in lieu of cadeau from him (he was nice about it though, because I had told him the day before and even knowing that I had bought myself a present, he still went to Victoria's Secret on Saturday morning and picked up the babydoll. BTW, he said that my daughter helped him to choose the color, which I can totally believe!)

Needless to say we had a very romantic evening. By the way, I did finish my chocolate cake, so at least I can say that I participated in the making of the dinner:




The Chloe perfume arrived today (the package didn't make it here for Valentine's Day because of last week bad weather) along with the Tory Burch shoes that I have finally ordered over the weekend with the 25% off promotion. I have also received a long-regretted Jcrew item from last year that I have finally bought on ebay last week, but more about these purchases in the next post (I also did a little bit of shopping at the Gap and want to talk about one item in particular). So stay tuned!

JCrew New Arrivals: More IRL Pics

These start to feel like old arrivals actually, after yesterday mini-update and the news than the new collection (a big one, apparently) will hit the stores as soon as Feb. 22d. However, since I have taken the pics I'm going to post them as I know that it's always useful for those who are nowhere near a store and also because of the current 20% off promotion.

Let's start with the "new" chambray shirt (item 22658). It's a heavy (and quite stiff) denim and sort of shapeless on me, but the sleeves were really tight. I didn't feel comfortable at all but I wasn't interested for me as I already have the contrast-stitch perfect shirt and the denim safari jacket from the past summer. This is a 0:


This is the "new" Jaspe hoody that I'm pretty sure was also available on the website but disappeared. It is thinner than the "winter" version, but has the same fit (only, the price increased to $68). This is an XS:



They also had a new, cropped, version of last year space-dyed cardigan. The XS was big on me (and totally not worth the $98 price):


The following is the Alpansia swiss-dot blouse (item 22657), in a 0 in black. As you can see it was VERY long for this kind of blouses on me (but I should have tried the white one, as I think that the black is not as pretty):



Nightgown alert on the next one. This dress had a little something on the manniquen and I hadn't seen it yet, so I tried it (without any real intention of buying it when I saw that the price was $188). It's silk and it comes in XS-L sizes (not sure about XL). It could have used a steamer, so try to imagine it without all those wrinkles:





I have to say, it wasn't completely unflattering and styled as it was in the store with the Jaspe zipped hoodie over it, it was kind of cute (especially for a younger gal). But would you spend $188 on this? Right!

Let's move on to the tees. There were a few neon-y tees, like this one:




I really liked the fit and the color of this one (it's store-only), but the applique ruined it for me (and the worst is that it's what makes the price jump to $45 for this tee). I think that they should stop putting rosettes and embellishments in general on all their tees because I'm sure that I'm not the only one tired of this.

The following one is the Hand-cut flower art tee (item 23713) that is also on the cover of the Lisbon catalog, but in the less-seen light charteuse color. I don't know if it was the particular tee that I have tried on, but it looks like it runs very small (this is a XS):



And now the two watercolor scarves that have been discussed over at the JCA. There has been a lot of confusion over these and the confusion comes from the fact that they have the same style number (23288) and the only difference is the color code, even if they don't look alike at all to me. This is the papaya (PAP):



And this is the cotton candy (CCA):



I liked both of them (if they only costed $19 instead of $59.50) but while when I was in store I had a preference for the papaya one, thinking it over I would buy the other one as the colors are more springy (but as I said both were very pretty).

I didn't feel like trying any mini or dress (besides the "nightgown" one that I could try leaving my pants on) but on another visit I tried (very quickly) the shimmer pant (mainly for casual-crew, who kept asking about them). Now, I would go with your regular size if you want to order them. I tried both the 00 and the 0 and the 0 fit better. For compairason I have the summerweight chino cocktail capris from last year in a 00 (and they are still a little bit slouchy).
The slate color is very pretty (but they didn't have the 0, so this one is the 00):



The fabric is very soft and comfortable, even if prone to wrinkle. BTW the fabric isn't shiny (on some pics on the catalog and the website you could say that they are sateen-y like the cafe capris, but they are not. The fabric is more of a soft twill.)
This is the 0 in the natural color:



That's pretty much it. I don't think that I'm going anywhere near a store before the new rollout (unless I have to return something).
If you have a specific question on an item that you don't see here I will try my best to answer.

And now a special message for the New Yorker followers. I'm trying to organize a private event for the week of Feb 22nd at the Rockefeller Center store. If you are interested and you haven't received a mail from me about it, please send me a message at crazyaboutjcrew@gmail.com.

Have a very nice Valentine's weekend with your special ones!

PS
I would like to year your opinion on the Tory Burch shoes in the previous post, if you have any opinion at all (there is also a 25% off code). When I published it yesterday it went under the January posts (because I had started wrtiting it in January), so even if your reader showed a new feed you have probably missed it.

Fashion-Related Question #2: What's the Season for Wearing Peep-Toe Shoes?

I had another post in mind for you today, but I received an email this morning that triggered this second fashion-related-dilemma post instead (where I ask for your help). The email contained a President's Day offer from Tory Burch (and you know that I love my Tory almost as much as my Jcrew) and it's even better of the Jcrew 20% off one (one nail drives out another, right?)

But first, meet my new obsession, the Tory Burch Kitty shoe, in black:



And in nude:



And in gold (swoon):



It was love at the first sight between me and the Kitties. I have been considering buying another pair of Reva flats as I wear my black ones so much, but when these came out I thought "Perfection" because they look a lot like the Revas but they are not completely flat and being 5'2" I could certainly use that one and a half inch of stacked heel (which should also make them a little bit more flattering with skirts and dresses than the Revas). They also look as comfortable as the Revas, with the same rubber sole.

Well, they are almost perfection. Because they are peep-toes, as you have certainly noticed. As a matter of fact I own only a pair of peep-toe shoes and I don't wear them much because, it seems, there is no season here for wearing them. In the spring rare are the days when it's not too cold to wear stockings but still not too warm to wear sandals. And I always thought that wearing sandals or peep-toes with stockings (not matter how clear) is a fashion misfit.
But maybe it's just me and I would like to hear your opinion on peep-toe shoes. Do you own a pair of peep-toe shoes? Do you wear them often? Are peep-toes only for the summer? BTW, there was a patent version of the Kitty in the winter, which means that someone wears them with stockings?

And now meet Sally, my alternative to the Kitty. In tumbled leather, Sally is Kitty's big sister, with a 2 and half inches stacked heel, and it comes with peep or closed toes.
Peep-toe Sally in tumbled leather (the color is royal tan):



And this is the closed-toe version (I could only get a picture of the black but it comes in the royal tan color as well):



Now, the promotion is 25% off everything on the site and free shipping for orders above $300 and I'm ready to pull the trigger on one of these (and a pair of Thora sandals, that are very rarely on sale, at least in the not-colored version), but just one, even if they are returnable.
Which one would you order for yourself? Do you think that I will get more use out of the Kitty (lower heel but peep-toe) or the Sally (higher heel but option of closed-toe)? Also, I prefer the royal tan in the Sally but I think that it's much more of a summery color choice, so it would make sense to have them with open-toes. So, if your overwhelming response is that peep-toes are summer shoes, I will probably go with the closed-toe Sally in black or the open-toe Sally in royal tan and wait for the Kitty (that is only available in black and coconut, a sort of grey, on the Tory Burch website. The other colors pictured above are from other retailer's websites). Hope that it makes sense ;-).

And now, the code (ENABLER ALERT): receive 25% off your purchase of $300 or more on Toryburch.com and enjoy free standard shipping when you enter BDAY at checkout (expires Monday 15th at 11.59 pm ET).
Unfortunately the Revas are excluded from the promotion but the code is valid on everything else on the site, including other much-coveted shoes that rarely go on sale (like the Thora and the Miller sandals).

Happy shopping (just stay away from my Kitties)!