Recap on the Jcrew latest tees

The only thing that I feel like buying right now is a new tee. I'm wearing over and over the "silk applique bow" tee from the holiday season (I have it in dark gray). Sorry I don't have IRL pics but you know which one I'm talking about. I'm actually wearing it a lot more than the champagne "candy" licorice one that has more of an holiday feeling to me, but I would like to buy a lighter one for the summer (ie not made in ringspun). I have the beaded zebra but besides the fact that it's going to be too heavy for the summer, it's not something that you would throw on when you don't know what to wear. I would like something between the zebra and a plain tee, something with a little embellishment but not too much. A graphic tee would seal the deal but this year they made very few and I didn't like any of them (I'm talking about the flowers, fish and more recently, the "seahorse").

Besides the one that I've shown here and the "fireworks" one (see post here), they had a brand new one in store that initially made my heart jump. It's in supersoft cotton and it has a "cascading ruffle-flower" around the neckline. The have just added it on the website, I'm pretty sure that it wasn't there last week. The item number is 14973 and it's called "Perfect-fit corsage scoopneck tee". This is a navy (XS), even if it looks more like black in the pic:



Here is in natural (S) where the detail around the neck shows better (but I wouldn't buy this color, I'm a little bit of sick of putty and co):



Pretty cute and the best feature is the price: $29.50. Finally a tee under $30, I couldn't believe it. However, the colors offered are a little bit bleah (neutrals again): besides the navy and the natural, it comes in a really faded mint (I was wondering what they could have called it and I see now on the website that they came up with "breeze"), a khaki ("wild mushroom"), a mixt of gray and beige ("bleachwood") and a lavander ("amethyst"). If you're interested, you should know that the amethyst color is much, much darker IRL than on the website (it's a really saturated lavander). I have to say that these are not my favorite colors for summer; I would probably go with the navy but do I need a navy tee?

I also wanted to try again the slub cotton ripple-ruffle tee (#13620J) because I really liked how it looked on Liya Kedebe in the new catalog (OK, I'm not a model but I have a model-like feature: I'm small-chested and I thought that if she can pull it off with those little breasts of hers, there is hope for me too).
I couldn't grab the picture on the website because it's part of a Flash animation but you can see it on page 12 of the catalog. Here is on me (same color than the one featured in the catalog, heather dusk, which is more grayish than brownish):



Not bad, if I don't move and don't bend. I will buy on sale if I can find it but not at $39.50.

The last one that I gave a second thought to is the tissue with hand-cut applique flowers. I can't find it any longer on the website but it was selling for $55.
The reason why I've tried it it's because one of the colors is exactly the same than the waterfall cardi that I've bought:



And here is alone, without the cardi:



I liked it but if you didn't know that "each petal is carefully cut by hand with a laser (to eliminate fraying) and topped with a bead in the center" you would never think that this could cost $55. So another one to leave for the sales.

I didn't buy any of these, I prefer to wait. What do you think? Do you own one of them? Have you seen/tried them?

My weekly visit to a JCrew store: pics of few items on sale

This might be my last "weekly" visit to a JCrew store in a while, I feel like I've seen and tried everything and I'm starting to be a little bit bored. Plus, my closet is full of items that I couldn't wear yet because spring is not here (we had a beautiful Sunday yesterday but today it's rainy and chilly again).
Basically, I went to buy the waterfall cardigan that I had tried the last time and I also wanted to give a try to the charmeuse pencil skirt that Gigi discussed in her post here.
Well, I'm happy that I didn't pull the trigger on this one during the EXTRA30 promo because this skirt clearly isn't for me. Trying a 0:



Even if it fitted like this (holding fabric in the back):


it would be still too long, so I'm happily $59 richer.

While I was there I've tried the Frenchie slicker (just because I was curious and it was $99):



I kind of liked it but the belt doesn't want to stay knotted in place (because of the fabric). I have a Zara trench like this and hate it, I'm re-tieing the knot like every 2 minutes. And if I had to buy one (trench), it would be the washed ruffled-collar trench (I didn't take pics but it's really cute on me and it could be easily mistaken for a Burberry), but will buy only if I find it for a deeply discounted price because I don't need it in any way.

They also had a Maise jacket in a size 0. I had only seen it on the catalog/website and it was on sale for $89, so I tried it (again, I was curious). I felt a little bit like Mary Poppins. Jackets are not my favorite Jcrew item, the 0 (my size) tends to have the waistline way too up:



Last, they had a rolling-ruffle tissue tank left in XS, probably the last XS in all NY state, so I tried it again even if I had already tried when it first came out and didn't like it so much to pay FP for it:


I'm still not convinced, plus I liked the slate (now sold out) much better on me. Really, I can't believe that this thing ended up being such a hit, I was sure that I was going to find tons on sale and when I tried it on again I still felt like I was wearing a $20 Gap tank ...

I left with my waterfall cardi in spicy olive (in promo for 59.50) and an old yellow long sleeved painter tee that is not really my size but I had to buy after looking for it everywhere (including ebay). BTW, I'm having a craving for a new tee, but I can't make up my mind, too many options and none that I'm crazy about.
I'm going to write another post about this hoping that you can help me to decide ...

The JCrew Pavillion Pique Dress

While I was at the Time Warner store last Saturday I couldn't help myself from trying once again the Pivillion Pique dress (item 14299, just marked down to $59.50 from $68 online) in bright tangerine. I had already tried it three times because I liked so much the idea of this dress (and the color) but as many JCAs pointed out the scoop is impossibly low and uncovers what should stay well hidden. I was hoping for a miracle, like that my torso had maybe streched out since the last time or that the dress itself (and especially the scoop) had shrunk.
No miracles, as you can see from the pic in the fitting room:



However, while I was holding the extra fabric on the shoulders and looking at the dress with a nostalgic air for what it could have been, it crossed my mind that something could be made about it, as the fabric (the polos cotton pique) looked easy to cut and sew. So I opened the fitting room door, while still holding it in place, to look for some pins.



The reaction from the other ladies in line for the fitting room was wow after wow (for the dress), which convinced me that I had to take the risk and buy it. The price was $39.99 and I still had a 10% off card, and even if I'm sure that it will hit the $19.99 lowpoint I didn't want to regret not buying it now (I'm also sure that the XS will sell out pretty fast).

I meant to have the alteration done this weeek, but I couldn't yet, so I'm going to show you an improved version (with pins in place) of the fitting room pics.
This is how it looks without any alteration and with a bandeau swimsuit:



And this is how it should look after cutting 2 to 3 inches of fabric on the shoulders. The good thing is that because of the ruffle, the sewing hasn't to be perfect and the dress is not going to be too short (at least for me):



Close-up of the neckline:



This is going to be a great everyday dress for the summer, I can't wait to wear it.
Did you try it? Would you buy it?

Saturday Night Out with the Fireball-charm Necklace

Last Saturday night was "big night out" with husband and friends. We had planned to go to this fancy NY restaurant for weeks and I was really excited (also because that restaurant was my choice for Valentine's night, but we ended up cancelling and going to friends instead). Just so you understand what a big deal it was for me, let me say that the last time that we had dinner out without the baby was ... I don't even remember, but definitively before the holidays.

I don't know why but when it comes to dress up to go to fancy places I always end up wearing a very safe evening outfit (black pants and white shirt) or throwing on the first pair of jeans on hand with a tee (OK, embellished tee). And it's not like I have nothing to wear, my closet is full of clothes (not a lot of evening tops, it's true, but I can do better with what I have).
The problem is that I think only vaguely about what I'm going to wear days before, without trying anything on, and when it's time to actually get dressed I found out that the blouse that I had planned to wear has a stain from the last time (now I remember!), or that I don't have a nude bra to wear under that sheer top or that those fantastic pants that I've bought a while ago still need a hem done.
This time I wanted to make sure that I was going to have an outfit ready and avoid last-minute panic attacks in front of my open closet (and the babysitter). So I spent my daughter's nap time Friday afternoon choosing what I was going to wear.

The thing that I knew for sure was that I wanted to wear my new fireball-charm necklace. I bought it online a few weeks ago (it's now in stores too) and I simply LOVE it (it has a special "disco" vibe) but I can't wear it when my daughter is around because I'm sure that she's going to pull on the chain, that doesn't look very sturdy (if I have to find a default in the necklace is that the chain is so thin).
The goal that I had in mind when I bought the fireball-charm necklace (not that I need a goal to buy anything, but in this case I had one) was to lighten up the many simple ivory blouses and "luxe knit tops" that are hanging in my closet. But I also had in mind an ivory dress that I bought last summer and I had yet to wear.

The dress is a Theory silky stretch dress and as you can see in the first picture it is VERY short and the fabric makes my hips appear wider than what they are (it's the fabric):



Anon, if you're reading this, I still need a thicker bra ;-)



But it's a really stunning dress and I thought that wearing it with a long cardigan while it's still winter could be easier than the bare summer version:



I was a little bit worried about proportions. The cardigan and the dress are almost the same lenght but as far as the dress hem doesn't disappear under the cardi I think it's OK:



I could definitively wear this and I almost did, but the potential problem with this outfit was my husband. My husband likes me in pants more than in skirts/dresses (especially short ones) and there is nothing worst than your husband looking at you with ... pity (not to mention TELLING you that you don't look good) to ruin the excitement of an evening out.
The other problem was my girlfriend: she has nice clothes but her style is more tunic/blouse over jeans and I didn't want to appear over-dressed compared to her.

So I tried a more relaxed outfit. And yes, this outfit involves jeans but worn with pumps (which I never do for comfort reasons).
The top is from Theory again (bought along the dress) and I love this color. The fireball necklace gave it the exact amount of sparkling:






With the same cardigan I was ready to go:



I decided for this outfit. I was ready before the babysitter arrived, my husband approved, and we had a perfect evening out (my girlfriend showed up in jeans).

Do you prepare your outfit before going out?

The JCrew Tissue Ruffle Cardigan in Slate: Styling Ideas

Last week I wanted to write a post on the ruffle tissue cardigan, that I love and own in two colors (slate and dark charcoal), but everything had already been said in this post by Gigiofca. I thought that the world and in particular the small world of the JCAs could happily live without another post on the subject.
Today however, I was going through my summer clothes trying to find candidates to wear with the slate one and I thought that it would be fun to take some pics of my findings to share with you.
In particular I was looking for colors other than white to wear it with. And at the same time I was targeting clothes that I haven't worn in a while (pre-baby) to check if they still fitted. So, what you are going to see are tentatives and not "outfits". Still, they could give you some ideas.

Let's start with the more obvious choice, the white. I didn't bother trying it with white pants or capris because I KNOW that it's going to look good.
Instead, I tried it with an old pair of striped cropped pants from a French brand (one of my favorite actually, but I couldn't wear them in a very long time due to baby fat) that happen to have the same shade of gray. Yahoo, they fit! And I like them with this cardi!



Then I tried them with a white pencil skirt:



Even better with a belt. This is the skinny leather belt in silver that I bought last Saturday and it still has the tags attached because I wanted to make sure that the size was OK (BTW, I'm going to get the golden too):



OK, enough of white, that was easy.
I don't like it with navy or black but another shade of gray for a "total gray look" should work. Instead of trying one of the many gray pants that populate my closet, I tried it with a skirt. I'm sorry, I don't remember how this was called, it's from last year, came out in August (you have to imagine it with another pair of shoes, even if I'm pretty sure that they styled it with flip-flops in the catalog because they always do with this kind of skirt):



Not that great, period.
A color that turned out to go great with slate is citron. Boy, these old cropped pants from the Gap are supertight and I don't know if they will ever see the light again, so I'm posting the pic just to show you the two colors together:



I don't have many pink bottoms, but pink is another option to wear with slate if you own some (especially the JCrew "shell").
But, wait a minute, one of my favorite summer knit dresses is in a dark hue of pink and I never know what to wear with it. It has a ruffle around the scoop, but it could work:



And belted (the color of the belt doesn't work well though):



All in all, I'm pretty satisfied of this fitting session. I found at least one color other than white that I really like with slate and I hadn't think of before (the citron). And I found out that I can reintegrate two items in my "active" closet (the striped cropped pants and the pencil skirt). So worth the time, hopefully for you too.

A Night at the Hospital (or a Break from JCrew)

You might have noticed that I didn't post anything yesterday. I know that it seems a really lame excuse for not posting, but I spent Sunday night through Monday morning at the ER.

Sunday morning I was playing in bed with my daughter when I hit my head pretty badly against the bedside table, which is made in cast iron. Then I kind of forgot about it, but in the evening I started to have all these scary symptoms (headache, blurred vision, dizziness). To be honest up to two weeks ago I wouldn't have considered going to the ER for, basically, a headache but after the Natasha Richardson's tragic death it would have been foolish to ignore them (I am no hypocondriac, I rarely go to the doctor and this was my first visit to the ER in my entire life, for myself I mean), so I decided to go.

So after three hours in the waiting room and another six hours on a stretcher, they finally gave me a CT scan and it turned out that nothing was going on in my brain (well, apart from the usual things) and the bump in my head and the dizziness were unrelated. But spending a whole night alone (my husband had to stay home with my daughter) at the ER thinking that you might even die helps to put things in perspective. While I was laying alone in the stretcher with all these whining people around me, the only things I could think of were my daughter, my husband and my parents (but especially my daughter) and JCrew didn't cross my mind for a moment (normal, you will say, but I can't help thinking of that other time when I was on a very turbulent flight and all I was capable to think of was that I wouldn't live long enough to see the season finale of Six Feet Under, my favorite show. Maybe is because I wasn't really thinking that I was going to bite the dust that time. Or maybe is because I was still childless).

So, I don't want to give lessons and say that we should all stop shopping and waisting our time on silly things like shoes and tees but really, if you don't get that JCrew jacket or tank is not THAT important.

And now, back to JCrew!

My weekly visit to a JCrew store (part 2): new arrivals

So my next destination was the Time Warner store where I had planned to try on the most discussed new arrivals. I was a little bit disappointed because they didn't have the ripstop utility pants but these were the only item missing from my list. Plus, I had a surprise.

Let's start with the Milla print tank, that retails for a wowing $175. I said on the JCA blog that I didn't like it, especially for that price, but I gave it a chance since they had one in my size (btw, there were only two left).



I don't like the print but I expected the fit to be nice. Well, I find it a little bit boxy and not flattering:



Not worth the price IMO, but it was flying off the shelves even at that price, so maybe I'm part of a minority here.
Then I tried the printed coastal tunic (#14137). OK, this one is prettier once worn than on the hunger. But, what are we supposed to do with the two threads hunging from the wristbands?



I can see my daughter pulling on those until she rips them off. In fact, that might be the solution.

Then I've tried the Distressed vintage slim jean in antique destroyed wash (item 12068), in a size 26. I've tried them the Jcrew way, ie rolled-up:



Worn with a crewneck cardi they are almost chic:



I love they way they look and feel, but I can't get past the distressed thing. I really hope that they are going to make a not distressed version of the vintage fit.

The surprise that I was keeping for the end is that they had a pretty cool new slub cotton tee:




I can't tell if it's a flower or a firework, but I liked it (there is another version with the "thing" in more vibrant colors but they didn't have it in my size). I tried a XS and a S and it felt TTS. It's not on the website so it must be a retail-only item.

I didn't buy any of the items that I've pictured here, but I bought something else that will be the object of my next post (probably tomorrow).

Would you buy any of these new arrivals?