Product Review: Collection Silk Cafe Capri in Pewter Paisley (And Advice Needed)

Last weekend I read an interesting article in the WSJ "Off Duty" section about the so-called "New Boho" wave in fashion and how designers and style-setters alike are incorporating bohemian prints and styles into a more traditional wardrobe (like pairing a banker shirt with a skirt or pants that have an ethnical vibe). You can access the article here but you need a subscription to read it (there is also a video-interview about the new "grunge" that you can watch even without a subscription and misses the mark completely IMO). The article mentions brands like YSL and Victoria Beckman but looking closer to us I think that JCrew and Tory Burch do a very good job at the new hobo.
The unforeseen effect of the article is that it made me look at the Collection Café capris in pewter paisley in a new light, probably because I saw them in store the same day. In fact it made me look at them to start with, as I had completely ignored them when they came out. Even when Jenna showed up in pewter paisley head to toe I didn't have a second glance at the pants. But all of a sudden after reading the article I started to fantasize about them. As you know JCrew put out plenty of "crazy pants" this season but none of them attracted me, simply because they all seemed superfluous (not to mention the price points).
So why these are different? Well, because they are grey and I "need" grey pants to pair with my grey schoolboy. I ordered the herringbone café capri back in the Fall but returned them because they didn't go with the schoolboy. At all. I looked intensely in the eye of the grey café capris but they would look too much like a suit with the jacket. I tried a pair of Theory grey herringbone slim pants but they didn't fit well. Who knew that grey was such a difficult color?
Not only these would pair well with the schoolboy, I thought, but they are seasonless because of the silk fabric so I can wear them now (well, not really now with the temps that we are having but in normal winter weather) and later in spring-summer. In the summer I thought, I could try to pull off a "new boho" look with a tee or a paisant blouse on top. Also, I have that heather lace shell that maybe some of you will remember that I love but can only pair with white pants and I thought that they would look great together.
So to the store I went to try them on, the plan being to buy wait for a sale. They had none left in my size, in fact they only had one pair left. What? These are $300 pants! Same thing at the other store. I go on the website and again, only one pair but this time they are a 0. At that point you probably know the "I have to order them this minute before they sell out completely even if I have to sell my liver to pay for them" feeling and I call my new VPS and we place the order. He assures me that I got the last pair (not true, because I had a pair in my cart and it was still there after we placed the order).
I received them yesterday afternoon and tried them on immediately because I wanted to return them (and get my $300 back) ASAP if I wasn't blown away.
Now, I had seen them in store so I wasn't disappointed in the fabric but from the Jenna outfit pics and also the catalog pic you might be wrongly induced to think that they have some texture, like a silk jacquard. They have none. This is plain silk twill. Also, something that I knew is that they are not lined. I am one of the few who like unlined pants better than lined pants because I think they fit much better on me but I agree that for the price they could be lined. Let me put it this way: I have no idea why these pants cost $300, they are completely overpriced. However, they sold out at this price so the market is sort of saying that they were right to price them so high because people bought them (I guess many took advantage of the pre-holidays 30% off promos, but still).
When I put them on, I was surprised by the fit. I was expecting them to pull a bit in the thighs, as the cafe capri, especially the silk ones, usually do, but they fit TTS and GREAT. I also appreciate that they are uncuffed and a bit more tapered on the leg. They also look a little bit shorter than the regular café capris but maybe I am mistaken and it is only because of the silk:

As expected they look great with the grey schoolboy (I know, I know, the golden buttons ruin the total-silver look but I am going to replace them one day):

At first when I tried them with the heather lace shell I was disappointed because the greys are different and clash a bit. However, this outfit grew on me, the pattern of the lace on the shell is almost a textural counterpart to the paisley print and I like the effect:

I also tried them with a white silk blouse, just to see the effect. This blouse (the Harlow blouse from a few season ago) is more ladylike than boho and could give the pants an old-ladish vibe but it is a classy outfit for a cocktail or an event:

So I do like a lot how they look but I am torn for a few reasons. First, the silk seems very snag prone. Like a bad manicure could ruin them. Second, I am afraid that I am going to crack them at the seams when I sit. Not that they are small but I feel like sitting could put a lot of stress on the seams.
Third, well they are $300 and last year I regretted buying the fresco floral for almost the same price because I didn't wear them that much. Fourth, while they pair perfectly with the schoolboy blazer and I ultimately like them with the shell, I don't see that many other styling options than the white shirt and I am afraid they will generate more purchases. Now I know why Jenna wore them with the coordinating popover: she didn't know what else to wear with them! I am kidding, I know she wanted to make a statement, but there is a bit of truth to it. So for all these reasons I am wavering. I am tempted to keep them and try to play the repurchasing game when they go on sale but if for some reason they don't go on sale that fast or they don't popback, I am stuck with a $300 pair of pants. As always, I don't mind to pay full price if it is something that I actually start to wear right away but if in two months they are a third of the price and I haven't worn them I will be mad at myself. Ah, the Crewlette!

What do you think of the Silk Café Capri in Pewter Paisley? Are they on your watch list or anybody else has them? Do you think I should keep them at full price? Anybody else read that WSJ article?

The Perfect Boots

So I am still singing "Red and Black" this morning and I will admit to downloading it from iTunes, along with "One More day" , but Les Miserables is not the only movie that I saw recently in a movie theater. One day last week (it was Wednesday if I am not wrong) I was feeling depressed and under the weather (literally, it was raining and gloomy) so I decided to go and see "Silver Linings Playbook" on a whim to lift my spirits. I really liked the movie and it worked as a pick-me-up but I won't bother you with another movie review today as I don't want to alienate the readers who are here for the fashion (but if you have questions about the movie or you have seen it and you want to share your impressions leave a comment). I want to talk about the outfit that I wore to the movies that day.

You have probably noticed that I rarely wear knits in winter and by knits I mean knit dresses. I only have two and it is because I hate wearing tights and while a majority of ladies find knit dresses very easy to wear, I find the whole thing very complicated. I seem to never find the right tights and even with the right tights there is the problem of the footwear. As you know I am petite and I don't like how I look in tights and flats as I always had muscular calves that are accentuated by the tights and without a heel I just feel stomp. Wearing pumps during the day simply doesn't happen in my life so I end up wearing pants most of the time in winter (the same goes for pencil skirt and it is generally too cold to wear minis).
As I said the other day it was raining so I had an excuse to put on one of my few knit dresses because I was going to wear my rainboots, which are by L'Aigle and look like equestrian boots. A new pair of boots to wear with skirts and dresses was on my buy list this fall (as every fall) but I have a love/hate relationship with boots. While I love them on other people, most of the time I don't like how they look on me. Ideally I wanted a heel, but a walkable one and not a stiletto; I also dislike any sort of hardware on boots (including blingy zippers). So while I love shopping, as you know, I find shopping for boots a chore and as a  result I gave up on the task (as you will probably remember I bought a pair of Enzo Angiolini that I think were amazing for the price but I ended up returning because they looked too much like my rainboots and did nothing for my legs being completely flat). I also didn't know exactly what color I was looking for. I have an old pair of black Nine West in tumbled leather that I don't wear anymore for some reason but is still in good condition and my rainboots are black so another black pair seemed superfluous. I have too little brown in my wardrobe to pair with dark brown boots, so that leaves cognac (that I like but doesn't go very well with black and can be a bit too sporty) or a more "trendy" color like burgundy that can easily fall out of fashion. After spending hours and hours on various websites trying to decide if this pair or that pair were worth a try but , I decided that maybe I am not a boot person and moved on. 

Then one day I was walking on Madison and I saw a young lady wearing an amazing pair of boots (actually the entire outfit was quintessentially French chic and I am almost sure that she was French). They were classic but sexy at the same time, the heel was  manageable and straight, the color wasn't the usual black nor a dark brown nor a cognac but a brown bordering on burgundy. Leather looked amazing and no buckles or zippers. The funny thing is, I knew exactly what they were, for spending so much time on the website, or at least I thought I knew.
Once home I opened the computer and typed in "Stuart Weitzman Toujours". I had noticed these boots when I was looking for a pair because they looked gorgeous but they were uber-expensive (as almost all the Stuart Weitzman boots) and the shaft was said to be very high and fit very snug around the calves (my weak spot) so I had never really considered them even on sale. They were now half the price so I decided to give them a try. I was actually very surprised that they hadn't sold out immediately for that price but I took advantage of the situation and ordered them in two sizes since the reviews said that they run big. I ordered them on Zappos (here) because of the easiness of the free shipping and free returns but they are actually even less expensive on Piperline.com if you can still find your size.
I didn't expect them to work because pull-on boots never work on me and because of the supposedly high shaft but when they arrived I was actually surprised that I could put them on easily and that they didn't hit ackwardly the cap or the middle of my knee. They just looked beautiful and I felt like my legs just had plastic surgery. This was the 6H, which is half a size down from my regular size. The 7 was considerably bigger and the shaft at least half an inch higher and just didn't look so good (I was also feeling a bit unstable in them because they were too loose at the ankle). Granted, I can't wear them with my pants tucked in but I didn't buy them for that purpose, I bought them to wear with my knits and skirts.

Demonstration. This is the dress that I wore to the movie. It is a Talbots wool dress actually that I picked up when they had a crazy sale in the summer. I think I paid less than $12 for this dress so I thought that it was worth the final sale risk and the fact that I probably wasn't going to wear it that much. It is one of the two knit dresses that I was talking you about, the other being a Hilfiger in a camel colorway that I bought last year and barely wore once because it is very thick and warm and last year we didn't have a cold winter (I will wear it soon).
Let's not make a big deal out of the fact that without the belt this dress almost hits my ankles (really, Talbots, this is supposed to be a XS PETITE?), I think it looks terrific with my new boots:

See how the shaft keeps going straight on the leg and doesn't open up at the top? That's what I love in these boots and the reason why they are so flattering. This is typical of pull-ons but as I said it is difficult for me to find a pull-on pair that I can actually pull-on, usually they are made for models with the thinnest calves (not that these are big but the leather is so supple that it stretches out a bit. Also the fact that they are fully lined helps):

The other thing that I had in mind when I bought them is that knit skirt that I bought in Italy and just love but didn't know what to wear with, in terms of shoes. Well, now I know:

I can say that I finally found the perfect boots for me, they are exactly what I wanted and they are exceptionally well made so that they should last a lifetime (if I don't run in the mud in them of course). I guess I should thank that lady on the street. Now if only we could go back to normal winter temps, I could start wearing them with my skirts!

Are you still looking for the perfect pair of boots? Anybody has the Stuart Weitzman "Toujours"?

Vive la France, Vive la Revolution!

This is a late night post so let's take a (short) break from the OOTDs and shopping-related posts to talk about Aaron Tveit. Never heard about Aaron Tveit before? Well, me neither, until this morning when I went to see Les Miserables (I know, I know, a movie at 11 am on a weekday is for retired people but I didn't have anything more important to do and my friend could only do 11. Plus, it was only $7??? I must investigate if it was a Tuesday thing, an incentive reserved to those willing to skip lunch to endure a three-hour musical set in post-revolutionary Paris or some exceptional discount because if this is the regular price of a matinee I can certainly make room in my schedule for more morning movies, now that my daughter is in school until 3 and later).

Anyway, while I could certainly appreciate the singing of Anne Hataway (if not Russell Crowe; I don't know if I can use the term "miscast" for Russell Crowe but boy, he was hard on the ear, especially at the beginning!) and the performance of Hugh Jackman, I wasn't really overwhelmed with all that emotion that everyone who has seen the movie or the musical was talking about (I wasn't that moved by Anne I must say). I was actually borderline bored until Enjolras, the leader of the revolutionary students, appeared on screen (making Hugh Jackman disappear to my eyes). I was completely transfixed, I didn't have a "who is this guy and why I don't know him?" moment like this one since probably the appearance of Brad Pitt in "Thelma and Louise". He made me want to jump on the barricade and die for the revolution (until he actually died himself. That was a tough toll to pay for viewers). I knew his face from somewhere but I couldn't place it. I still can't place it even if, as I learned after, he has played a major character in Gossip Girl (that I never watched. And I don't say this with proud, I think I have actually missed on something but it is just too late now). Anyway, I am talking about this guy:

Not only he is hot but he can also sing, as you know if you watched the movie.
I kept thinking that he reminded me of someone and then all of a sudden I saw it: a young Robert Redford. He has the same eyes and smile.
Look at these B&N pictures of a very young Robert and Aaron. You would almost think it is the same person:

And even if Robert Redford was much older when he played Brubaker, the resemblance is startling:

I hope that this a groundbreaking performance for him and that we will see more of him (and singing). Anyway, to me he was the highlight of the movie and thanks to him and the other actors playing "the friends of ABC", all excellent, I came home singing and wanting to watch more period movies set during the French revolution. It actually uncovered memories of a movie that I saw years ago in Paris and that for the life of me I couldn't remember how was called (or who directed it). Well, I finally found it, after an hour of web searches. It's Eric Romher "Lady and the Duke". This is a great period movie with a very unique approach to set décor and if you liked the Miserables you will like it, I promise.

So, anybody else who watched the movie noticed the performance of Aaron Tveit? If, like my friend, you were loyal to Hugh Jackman and you want to share your impressions on the movie, please do!

OOTD: Leopard And Gold (And A Joe Fresh Sale)

Happy MLK Day! I have been busier than usual last week and my daughter started the MLK weekend a day earlier (she was home from school this past Friday), thus my lack of posts. I still have a few issues with the camera and uploading the images on my new computer so I am going to post a OOTD that I wore pre-holidays, just to get back into the swing of blogging.

I bought this leopard-print shirt (whose real name I cannot remember) as soon as it hit the sale section. I love the colors in this print so much better than all the previous iterations of the leopard blouse (I didn't have any before this one). I don't know what it is, probably the fact that there is olive more than camel/beige in the print and the fact that the background is ivory. In any case I also have the scarf in the same print, as some of you will probably remember. I am also a fan of the silk-cotton blend but that makes the shirt thin and more weather-appropriate for spring (or very early Fall) than winter.

In any case that day in December it was exceptionally warm so I broke it out with the Loft super-skinny cords and my zipper pocket cashmere sweater in olive. I am wearing my usual perfect-shirt size, a 0:

If you have or plan to buy this shirt and you need a belt, I also recommend the square-buckle patent belt in warm ivory. I am wearing a S but this belt is very long and I could have gone with the XS (I am rarely a XS in belts):

That day I happened to step into Joe Fresh after spying in the window a golden foil print sweater that reminded me of this Michael Kors one that I had tried on (in the gold colorway) but was too dark for my taste (I was hunting for such a sweater to pair with a couple of dresses and skirts during the holidays). I loved the sweater and the outfit so much that I decided to ditch the cashmere cardigan and I wore it for the rest of the day:

This sweater should still be in stores if you are interested (it was originally $59, not sure if it went on sale recently but it wasn't a week ago). BTW, if you are in NYC or have a Joe Fresh store nearby I highly recommend to go, they are having a clearance sale with cashmere sweaters for $29 less 25% off (down from $89). I bought two cardigans in basic colors (before the 25% off) and I love them. This is the grey (I didn't have a basic grey cardigan), in a XS:

That's it for now. My husband is travelling this week, which means that I have more time to blog. I have a few things to share, stay tuned!

OOTD: Azzurro

I don't know if it is the same with the word "blue" in English, but the word "azzurro" in Italian immediately triggers images of summer and Mediterranean sea, mostly thanks to a famous song by Paolo Conte that is a classic of the Italian culture.
In any case I hadn't really planned to wear a total blue outfit the other day but in the end I did. I just wanted to try on my new Liberty perfect shirt in assorted florals (blue/white combo) that I had just picked up with the 40% off. Actually I wanted to try it with a new pink bra (am I the only one who buys her bras in January?) that was supposed to take care of a bit of gaping (I decided to go with a 0 instead of a 2 even if the 0 just fit). Well, I hadn't realized that the color would show through that much! My boobs are almost neon-y!

Obviously the bra goes back but at that point I was inspired and started to try other things with it. So I decided to cover the neon-y boobs with a sweater that is almost the same exact color of the pants. I tend to categorize my clothes in "summer" and "winter" and the V-neck cashmere pointelle sweater came out in the summer so it didn't occur to me before that I could wear it in the winter too. Granted the pointelle weave is not the warmest but the yarn is thick and soft and with a layer it can be worn in the winter (I have it in the succulent green color too and I wore it in the summer directly on the skin). I was feeling a bit constricted (as I usually do when I wear a button down with a sweater) so I got rid of the Liberty shirt and wore a white tissue turtleneck instead:

It was a gorgeous day (if cold) so I decided that this would be my outfit for the afternoon (it was the day of my Opera mom's night out so I went for a manicure before picking up my daughter at school). I only changed the shoes because I want to save these white leather ballet flats for the spring. They are one of those early morning crazy popbacks. I had actually ordered them once before (in the summer) but my order was cancelled and they never popped back again in my size until last week. I was really sad to miss on them because white shoes are really hard to find (for a reason totally unexplicable to me. Shouldn't the majority of summer shoes be white?)

Speaking of popbacks, look who's back. The terrazzo jacket! In a size 2! Again, an early morning random popback that shipped. You might remember that I returned the 0 that I had paid full price in the summer because it was uncomfortable in the shoulders and I was afraid that I wouldn't reach for it as often as I hoped. I stalked the 2 for a little while, then lost interest in a tweed jacket (it was the middle of the summer when it's so hot that all you want to wear is a bikini), but regretted ever since.
The 2 is perfect in the shoulder, but a bit looser in the body (although not so loose as to be unflattering):

Do wear "azzurro" in the winter? Any crazy popbacks for you?

A Night At The Opera (Without The Beaded Mockneck Sweater)

First, a public service announcement. In case you are one of the few people living in a household equipped with TV who hasn't jumped on the Homeland bandwagon yet, Showtime is having a free preview weekend this weekend (list of participating cable providers on the Showtime website) so you can catch up with the rest of America. I was late to the Homeland party (darn Netflix never had the first DVD available and I had to switch to Blockbuster only in order to get it) but we just watched the complete first season during the holidays and it is completely addictive (and one of those shows good to watch in couple). Husband even said after watching the third DVD "Get the last DVD this weekend, I NEED to see how it ends", which is very unusual of him as he usually doesn't like TV shows. Of course we didn't know "how it ended", we just wanted to watch more and I couldn't bear to wait another 6 months to get the second season on DVD.

Second, I have a new computer. It is beautiful (like a Mac, except it is a PC) but I am having troubles to get use to it with all those icons. It took me 10 minutes only to find the icon of the desktop to access my files. In the long term is very good news because the old one was so slow that as of late it discouraged most of my attempts to blog (it made the noise of a diesel engine, I kid you not) but as I said I am getting used to it (especially to the picture folders and treatment) so it is going to take time probably for me to post new pictures (I mean, besides the ones that I have transferred from the old computer).

Back to regular business, I went to the Opera yesterday night. I used to go quite often pre-baby but with the exception of a Madama Butterfly a couple of years ago I hadn't been back since I was pregnant. I am no opera expert but I love going to the Met, it is such a beautiful place that it is almost impossible not enjoy yourself. Anyway, yesterday night was Puccini's Turandot and even if it isn't my favorite one, "Nessun dorma" and the scenery more than makes up for the rest (as a side note, I can sing "Nessun dorma" in an almost-tenor tone and keep it up until the last "Vincero'", that's one of my few skills in life but I could never be an opera singer because I am no soprano). Plus it was a "mom's night out" so just being in the company of my friends was a treat.

Ever since I knew I was going, I had planned to wear the beaded mockneck sweater, that I got before the holidays with the 30% off. I had to do a WWFIFY for this one and for a change it was a successful one. Since it is a very warm sweater (100% thick wool) I didn't wear it just to hang around at home during the holidays and "saved it" for yesterday night. Well, for the life of me I couldn't find anything to wear with it as I didn't want to wear pants and I think it looks better with pants than skirts. Actually I think it looks great with "glorified" leggings or track pants. I tried it with a pair of black velvet leggings by Joe Fresh and I loved the look but I knew you wouldn't approve of my wearing leggings (glorified or not) at the opera ;-.
I took pics of the sweater when I received it, so these are just to show it how it fits and looks on me (you can also see it on our friend WWM). I got it in my regular XS after trying both the S (too big) and the XXS (a tad too small on the chest but I could have done it, out of desperation).

 

It is definitively a sweater that makes your shoulders look square and I think it suits small frames best. In any case I didn't wear it and I wore my golden brocade Zara skirt and peplum top instead. I kind of regretted not wearing the sweater though because it was cold in the theater, even if I was very close to the stage.

However, I got to wear (or carry) a new bag that in my mind I associated with the opera. It is a new evening bag by Tory Burch that I got retroactively as a belated Xmas present from my husband (I could convince him because it went on sale after Xmas). I have stalked this bag forever but it jus wouldn't go on sale and it was a whooping $475, price semi-justified by the fact that it is a fur bag. As much as I liked it I didn't feel like putting so much money on it because I get easily tired of my bags and I don't have the occasion to wear evening bags that often. But patience in this case has been rewarded as it finally went on sale and with an extra % off that brought the price down to around $250, which I can stomach.
I tend not to carry clutches and I like the fact that it is a shoulder bag with a leather strap that can be removed:

The inside is supple leather:

Without the strap, as a clutch:

I love this bag and I have a matching fur "funnelneck" that I wear around my neck instead of a scarf in the evening with my black coat. I felt a bit overdressed in the subway until I arrived at the Lincoln Center and both my friends showed up in floor-length fur coats! So at least I wasn't completely furless.

What do you think of the beaded mockneck sweater? Any suggestion on what to wear with it? Anybody going to the Opera?

OOTD: Navy And Gold

The scroll print shorts in my last post kind of inspired my outfit yesterday. I can't wear shorts in January (sorry Gayle) but I can certainly wear a similar color combo of navy and yellow/gold. I was going through my winter pants, or should I say through my collection of winter cafe capris since it seems that the new definition of pants is cafe capri, and I stumbled across a pair that I am very fond of and I should wear more often, the cropped wool crepe pants (ancestors of the cafe capris, only better) in bronzed twig. Bronzed twig is like a day version of gold, a bit more green and without the shine, so I grabbed a navy sweater and my TB suede Revas in navy (BTW, as you know I am a fan of Tory and the Revas but I don't recommend the suede ones, they are VERY delicate. Love the color though!) I also finaly broke out my new coat, so far it has been too cold to wear it (it isn't a very warm coat to start with but we had frigid temperatures, especially last week), which is navy with golden buttons as you know (and the buttons are very similar to the logo medallion of the Revas):

I had mentioned that the coat has a golden piping inside:

As you can see I am also wearing a medallion necklace. Actually it is a coin and I had promised you to tell you more about it and its cousin (I have another one) but it is a very long story and it deserves a post on its own. I will tell you the story soon, I promise!
This reminds me that I wore a similar version of this outfit (same colors) in the Fall and never got to post the pics, I think, so here you go. Instead of the coat I was wearing the Acadamy stripe schoolboy from last year, same necklace, bronzed twig cowlneck tee and jeans (plus TB Sallies open toes). I LOVED this outfit:

I got a lot of compliments on the coat at school and I felt very well dressed. As a reminder the coat is on sale for $329 here (only the camel is left but I am sure the navy will popback and it should still be in the stores).

Have a great one!