Pink is the New Black

First of all, pink is not my favorite color. If I had to chose I would say that navy is my favorite color, along with the green of the "bon voyage" tee (emerald?)
So, I'm a little bit surprised myself by the fact that many items that I bought recently at JCrew are pink (or as they say, "shell").
As you already know I have the Cate slingbacks, the rosette tee (btw, I have returned the white one and kept only the pink one) and the glass-bottons cotton cardi. Another recent acquisition is the Georgia cardigan in warm blush, which is more peachy, but still pink.
And yesterday I went to Jcrew for the LAST time and bought (among others) another pink item, the cafe capris in warm blush that were on sale for $19.99 (or $14.99 with the %25 off).
Maybe they aren't the best-fitting pants ever but for the price I can forgive them and the effect is pretty nice anyway.



BTW, I'm wearing the $6.80 F21 necklace that Gigi made us discover in this post and that I bought from her (what a great necklace for less than $10, thank you Gigi!):



The specific reason why I went back to Jcrew is that I kept thinking about the Monterey linen skirt and I wanted to try another color before expiration of the red card.
This skirt is a pleasure to wear, and I think that one of the reason is the fact that I can slip my hands in the pockets and pull it up and down. I don't know, it's difficult to explain, it makes me feel like I'm six years old but in a good way.
Since I'm not (six years old), I'm going to wear it with my "pearls" and my Cate:



Of course I couldn'resist and while I was there I also bought the featherweight cashmere crewneck cardi in spice olive (for $74, as I told the SA that they were in promo before, so they looked up on the Internet and even if one color was on sale for $99 they applied this price anyway), two perfect-fit tanks (I know that I would have regretted), another skinny belt to wear with the Havona (gold) and a pair of high-heel flare jeans (white).

And with this I AM DONE Mickey, I'm not going to spend one more cent at Jcrew in the next three months. It's a promise (unless you give us another card).

Duel of the Week: the JCrew Cutwave Dress vs. the Phillip Lim Ruffle Dress

Before I start, I have to warn you: this isn't an "expensive versus cheap look-alike" topic, but an "expensive versus even more expensive" duel, so I apologize in advance if I go there. If you don't want to be tempted with impossibly cute but expensive clothes, just skip this.

I don't know if I have already told you, but the Jcrew new arrival that really got me excited when I saw it on the website was the cutwave dress, which is a Collection item and retails for $250. I really hoped that this dress wouldn't be as pretty IRL as on the website pics because it's the kind of dress that makes me splurge impulsively no matter all the very good reasons standing for not purchasing it.
But as soon as I saw it from the windows of the Madison Avenue Collection store (yes, from the windows, and not in the windows, because it was inside and I spied it each time that I walked by), I knew that I had a problem. I don't know if that's the reason why I waited so long before going and trying it on (I mean because I knew that I was going to love it), but when I finally decided myself yesterday there was only one left, the one on the dummy (sorry, I had to look this up, is that how you call the thing?) The SA thought it was a 0 (she knows that it's my size), so she took it off but it was a 2. I tried it anyway, knowing that it would probably be too big.
It wasn't perfect but it wasn't THAT big, I mean that I wasn't floating in it:



It is a really beautiful dress, the cotton tiers fall perfectly in waves and it's fully lined:



The bodice is where it would really need an alteration in this size because being strapless it needs to be very fitted around there, otherwise you know what happens:



The only default of the dress is the apparent metal zipper in the back:



I don't know what the designer or Jenna were thinking, but it's NOT that kind of dress. It's not "edgy" and it really would benefit from having the zipper covered. It neverthless remains beautiful.

The SA asked me if I wanted to order a 0 but I wasn't ready to buy it without trying it on in my size, so I told her to call me if they received more.
I was a little bit disappointed but also relieved because it is an elegant dress and if I bought it I wouldn't probably have the occasion to wear it more than once or twice this year, which makes it very expensive even with the red card.

The design of this dress reminded me of another dress that had been in the windows of a nearby store not a long ago, so I decided to check it out. I don't know why but I thought that this dress was a knockoff of a GORGEOUS Philipp Lim dress that I had seen in this Polyvore set a while ago and retailed for $450. But when I entered the store I realized that they carried Phillip Lim, so the dress that I saw was probably the real thing. In fact it was, but it was sold out in my size. They only had a 4 left and I tried for the sake of it.
It is a much more casual dress that I could wear every day (the belt comes with the dress):



Please bear in mind that this is not my size, but two sizes up:



Again, I was relieved that it was sold out in my size so I didn't have to fight the temptation to buy it (with which money is another problem).

So we have the JCrew that is half the price but much more elegant and less wearable. On the other side the "wave" design of the JCrew is more classic than the "ruffles" in Phillip Lim, that bears the risk to become "unfashionable" next year.

Do you like the JCrew? If they costed the same, which one would you buy?

My Weekly Visit to a JCrew Store: Pics of the New Arrivals

Last week I made up my mind on some recent purchases and I decided to return them on Saturday while checking out the new JCrew arrivals, even if I had already briefly seen some of them when I picked up the rosette tees. But before leaving, I imposed myself a rule, because I was a little bit afraid that I would go wild, being this the last weekend before expiration of the 25% off card. Since one of the readers of this blog kindly sent me her card, I've spent much more than I had planned on clothes (I really don't understand the Jcrew policy to make this card "exclusive": I think that they should be happy that this incentive works and makes people want to spend in their stores). Anyway, my rule was that I wouldn't spend more than the amount of what I was returning. With that in mind, I went off in my "bon voyage" outfit.

My first stop was at Banana Republic, to return the Darion Luncheon necklace (see my first post). The necklace was worth $74 but while I was there I noticed a golden bracelet that would complement perfectly my outfit of the day. Looking closely I saw that they had a "buy 3 for $30" promo on that and other "mix and match" bangles (whose price ranged from $14 to $18 each), so I dived in. The great thing with this kind of promo is that if you decide to return one or two items, the price of the third one is not adjusted, so you get to keep it for $10. But I really did like the three of them together:



That left me with $40 to spend. The next stop (the highlight of my trip) was JCrew: I chose the Fifth Avenue/Union Square store because I like to hangout in that neighborhood when I'm alone and I also had to return something at Old Navy which is not far.
I tried tons of stuff at the JCrew store, I think I spent at least two hours there. However, the two items that I was really curious about, the much-talked-about cotton-silk ruffle swirl tank and the cotton-ruffle tank (15697M) weren't available in store yet. So I guess that I will have to go back one of these days!
I have taken tons of pics and I have trimmed them down to the ones that I'm going to post, I hope that it won't be too boring. It's a long post, so bear with me!

First I wanted to try again the Lightweight-denim trouser in perfect fade wash (item 13900). I had already tried them the day when I bought the surplus gray matchstick jeans but since they were just arrived I decided to wait. This second time I didn't like them as much as the first time though. I love the fabric but I'm not sure about the trouser fit, they are very long (I tried a 0) and a little bit too flared for my short figure. Plus they aren't exactly cheap, as they retail for $120.
Here are with a T-shirt that I picked up to try with them because of the color (I didn't mind this tee, so I don't remember the price, but it was on the new arrivals table):



Then I tried them with the Georgia cardi (15131) in warm shell. I'm trying an XS:



And finally with the tuxedo-front cotton cami (item 15251M):



The cami was a real surprise: I didn't like it AT ALL the first time that I saw it in store, quite a while ago. When the new catalog came out though, it kind of awakened my interest, but still not enough to take one to the fitting room with me. However, while I was trying the pants, I could see them hanging just outside, so I asked the SA to bring me one to try, for the only reason that it was white and I was trying to determine if I liked the jeans.
Well, I don't know if I liked the jeans but I really liked the cami as you'll see in the next pics, I didn't want to take it off!

Next, I tried the Linen Monterey Skirt (14807M) in azalea just for the fun (size 0). It is a very airy skirt and if I was younger I would probably buy it:



I just can't see myself wearing this hue of pink but it is very pretty.
Then it was the turn of the jersey strapless dress in papaya (XS):



I know that you're going to say that I look great in this dress but the idea that I could buy the same thing at F21 for around $24 dollars crossed my mind at a certain point and I couldn't get it out of my mind. Honestly, I don't need a dress like this one, especially for $78, but I know that many of you liked it. I think that if you live anywhere near a beach or spend the summer at the beach you can get a lot of wear out of it, but I don't think that this dress is made to be worn in the city.

I also tried the similar Sanur dress (now in promo for $59.50), that is not new but comes in a new color very similar to the papaya of the strapless dress (I don't know how it's called though). Same thing, it's more of a beach dress (which I knew) and I didn't like the lenght:



But for those who own it, I wanted to show a fun way to wear it that the SA tried on me (honestly, I don't know how she did that), if you don't mind showing off your legs:



Next, linen beach shorts (always with the same top and Georgia cardi). I think I've tried a size 2 in white:



And a 0 in the warm maze:



I have too many shorts but these felt great, I'll keep it in mind when they go on sale. Almost done, I have only 3 items left to show you.
First, this mini. I couldn't find it on the website nor in the catalog, but it's a very pretty cotton mini. However, it's VERY short and if I'm not wrong it retails for $98:



Then, the "bow" skirt that I had already tried in turquoise and now comes in a new color ("bronzed twig"?). I tried it because I have read so many good things about the double serge in bronzed ochre, but the new cotton version is an Internet only item, and I thought that the effect would be similar:



I don't know if it's the color but I liked the turquoise much better (it also looked shorter?)

Last one, the cotton ruffle tunic (14834), which, besides the collar, is really a shirt and not a tunic IMO:


I like it more with the collar folded down:


I really loved it. In the catalog it doesn't show but it's in a very lightweight cotton with a soft wrinckled effect. I have a Zara shirt in the same cotton and I've worn it a thousand times. Now it's a little bit tired and I use it as a cover-up for the beach, so I was happy to find this one to replace it. It comes also in shell and in a metallic fabric (that I have tried and didn't like).

At the register I returned $140 worth of merchandise and I bought the tuxedo-front cotton cami, the Georgia cardi and this last shirt. With the 25% I was around $170 but if you remember I still had a $40 "credit" from Banana Republic, so I was good (I did manage to spend a little bit more by the end of the day though, but I will write another post about this)!

During this trip I tried almost everything that catched my eye but I left out a few items to try this week at the Madison Collection store, just to make the pleasure last a little bit longer, so stay tuned.

Would you buy or did you buy any of these new arrivals? What do you think of the lightweight denim pants (I have to decide between them and the Georgia cardi before expiration of the red card)?

Saturday Shopping Outfit

Saturday I spent the whole day shopping (yay) but before reporting on my finds, I wanted to post some pics of my outfit because 1) spring, or I should say summer, was finally here and I could wear my "bon voyage tee" without a cardi. If you live in the area you know that it was very hot, even too hot for a ringspun tee, but I can't go from winter clothes to wearing shorts and a tank without any transition, so I wore my white Citizen of Humanity summer jeans with the Jcrew tee ; 2) I almost managed to walk all day long on my platform sandals without twisting my ankles (I'm not very good at that as as rarely wear heels) BUT when I was a bare thundred feet from home (I was crossing the street just in front of my building) with a big JCrew bag and two very heavy grocery bags, I tripped, falled with my butt on the street while an entire classroom of fifteen years old was passing by (nobody offered to help but they surely had fun) and most importantly SCRATCHED my new golden Thompson tote! Now you can see a little bit of gray leather on both sides. Not to mention that I almost ruined my fresh $30 pedi. Luckily, I had bought a bottle of nail polish at the nail salon so I could fix it at home.

And worst of all I got busted. If you have been reading this blog for a while, you know that my husband doesn't approve of my shopping habit (see my post here for an introduction). With the grocery bags and the "shock" of my recent fall, I didn't pay all the attention that I usually put into hiding my purchases, plus I had also bought a pair of shorts for him (pre-approved purchase) so I just put down the Jcrew bag and quickly transfered my new clothes in the entry closet when I arrived home. My husband suspected something when he saw the bag but I showed him his shorts, so that was it for the moment.
However, the morning after, I woke up at the noise of the thin paper that wraps up the Jcrew purchases and I immediately thought "he found them". He did found my clothes hidden in the closet indeed, but he wasn't as mad as I though he would be; actually he was kind of amused as if I were beyond hope.
So keep all that in mind while you look at the pics.

I didn't want to upset DH BEFORE even going shopping, so I took a pic of my outfit outside the apartment next to the elevator. This is my first attempt with the self-timer and it could be better, but also worst:



The platform sandals that I'm wearing are the same hue of blue of the "Bon Voyage" and are one of my obsessions of last summer. The brand is "Corso Como" (it makes me smile because Corso Como is a very hip, although short, shopping avenue in Milan, the city where I grew up, where I used to go all the time) and I saw them at Lohemann's around end of June. I don't know you, but when I go to places like Lohemann's, Filane's etc. I'm looking for bargains and I don't like to buy FP even if Lohemann's FPs are at least half of regular stores FPs. So I waited for them to go on sale, and waited, and waited and finally bought them in ... October, for half the price, sure, but without being able to wear them until now. I love them even if I had blisters after ten minutes of wear (why, oh why all the cutest summer shoes must give us blisters?)



Here is the effect after the pedi. By the way, the nail polish is Essie "Mini shorts" that was featured in the last Jcrew catalog if I'm not wrong (but I picked it up without knowing that it was that one, I just love orange in the summer).



Coming up, pics from the dressing room...

Rosa, Rosae ... Rosette (like in Rosette Tee)

Yesterday I bought myself two rosette tees. Yes, bought like "in-store-bought", not like "I-bought-on-ebay-for-twice-the-original-price". If you subscribed to this post on the JCA blog, you might have already heard the story (I know that Francesca did!), but I will tell it again here with more details. It's pretty instructive!

So, I was reading the JCA blog late at nigh Tuesday when a comment of an anon who said that she had spotted a few rosette tees on a table in the back of a store, that she named "Rock center store", caught my eye. I immediately went online in the store locator section, trying to find out where this "Rock Center" store could possibly be. Nothing, no locations called "Rock" and no "Rock Center" (maybe she meant "mall"?) in all the USA. I was about to give up when it hit me that she was talking about the Rockerfeller Center in Manhattan.

So, the morning after (ie yesterday) I called the store at 10 (I was in a hurry because I was bidding on one on ebay and the bid was about to end) and asked the SA who picked up the phone about the rosette tee. She said that they had them in the back and went checking for my size. Fifteen minutes after I was still waiting, so I hung up and called again. Another SA answered and this time the answer was a firm "no, we don't have those, they are sold out". I insisted because the first SA seemed pretty positive, but she fetched an annoyed sigh, like I didn't understand English (OK, sometimes it's true, particularly if I'm speaking with someone with a strong Southern accent, but I understand the Manhattan accent pretty well). I called again, had a third SA who told me the same thing and said that the first SA probably had mistaken it with the new dupioni-silk rosette tank that retails for $185 and it's a Collection piece. What could I say? But you know what, I pretty much trust more the people who give hints on the JCA blog than the avarage SA, so I didn't give up and went looking for the "Lauren Hutton" catalog (hoping that my husband hadn't thrown it away, which he always do when he finds a JCrew catalog around - can you believe that I have to hide them?) So here I am with the style number in one hand and the telephone in the other hand. Forth SA, I don't even explain that I've called before, I just ask if she can check on a style number and size. She looks in the computer and asks me to wait a moment. No more than three minutes later she picks up the phone again, asks if I'm the one waiting on the rosette tee. Yes. Shell? Yes. Size S? Yes (here my hopes fly really high). We have it, she says, I will put it on hold for you at the register. Like that. After four calls and 3 crewless SAs (HeidiG, I hope that you don't mind if I borrow the term, it's so appropriate!) calls. So, ladies, when you call a store and you're pretty sure that they have what you're looking for, just don't give up at the first crewless SA.

I was so excited that I HAD to go and pick it up (in case someone spotted it behind the register and pretended to be me, you never know) even if it was sure that it was going to rain and my daughter was ready for playground fun with shovel and bucket in her hands. Don't you want to take the bus instead, sweetie? It's so much fun! She didn't, she wanted to go and play in the sandbox, so we had to go. After ten minutes in the sand she was done with it, now she wanted to go to the zoo and watch the seahorses (or "otaries", that she has just learned to say in French). I liked that, because the zoo is merely 10 blocks away from the Jcrew store, so we went but we couldn't see the seahorses (from outside the zoo) because they had just fed them and they were (what is that seahorses do when they are not entertaining the visitors at the zoo? Swim?) sleeping in their pool. My daughter was so disappointed that I forgot for a second my tee and bought us two tickets so that we could at least see the penguins. She was delighted by the penguins (and so was I), and then she quietly falled asleep in the stroller, which is like a big green light for me to go shopping, when it's not raining like hell and I'm not 40 blocks far from home. But she was sleeping and well protected under the rain cover and it shouldn't take long because I only have to go to register and pay, right?, so here I'm, strolling down Fifth Avenue against the rain and the tourists.

Once arrived at the store, I, obviously, don't go straight to the register but take in the new arrivals, that I see for the first time. I'm a little bit overwhelmed, so I head to the back where the JCA spotted the rosette tees and in fact they are there. Two piles. Shell and (surprise) white (not natural, but white white). The first temptation is to buy the whole stock just for the sake of it, then I calm down and pick one of each in S and XS and head to the fitting rooms where I realize that not only I was about to pay much more fore the same thing on ebay but also buy the wrong size, because clearly I have to size down and take an XS in this.

This is more or less the end of the story (unless you want to hear how we managed to get home); I bought both the colors because I didn't want to change my mind and regret it after and here are some IRL pics, just because I want to share my happiness with you and in case someone is interested in seeing the white one.



I forgot to mention that I also picked up a cotton glass bottons cardi in shell to wear with the shell tee, because I don't have anything else in that color. Here is the entire outfit with the Cate slingbacks:



And this is the white one. I think I prefer the shell because the roses come out more on the shell and I can achieve the same look with any white tee:



And this is the last one that I want to share, with my daughter taking a nap on the floor:



Do you own the rosette tee? Which one do you prefer? Any episode involving crewless SAs that you want to share?

Matthew Williamson for H&M hits the stores today

A little reminder that the First Part of the Matthew Williamson collection for H&M hits the stores today, for a change from JCrew.
I always liked Matthew Williamson prints and boho style and I was thrilled to learn about his collaboration with H&M. However, I hadn't really marked this date on my calendar as I feel too old for standing for hours in line waiting for a store opening with teens and fashionistas alike, but I happened to walk by the Fifth Avenue (Uptwon) store yesterday and the main pieces of the new collection were already up in the windows. Looking doesn't hurt, right?

My favorite piece from this collection is the yellow and blue sequined dress that is on sale for $249 (sorry, I couldn't grab the pic but it's viewable on the H&M website, and it's the eight item from the left in the collection). The execution looks beautiful, but I think it's a little bit pricey for H&M. Anyway, I would never buy it because I wouldn't know where to go dressed like that. Pool party, anyone? It looks like this first part is an even more limited edition made of few outstanding pieces for party-goers, while the "summer collection" (in all the stores on My 14th) will be more affordable and maybe more wearable.

Do you plan to check this collection out? Do you own an H&M item from a "designer collection"?

Dear Havona (Part 2)

I bought the Havona top some weeks ago after my husband announced that he would finally take me (us) to Bermuda on his next business trip the first week of May. He goes at least twice a year and he NEVER asked me to go with him (not that I haven't begged him), but this time I didn't even have to insist, he just offered. I wasn't going to say no, right?
I thought that the Havona would be perfect for Bermuda. We are staying only five days, and it's not like I would have gone naked hadn't I bought it, but I needed an excuse to buy it because it looks like something that I wouldn't typically wear in my ordinary life. I don't know you, but I LOVE to buy something new for a vacation, it makes the wait and the packing all more exciting.

Anyway, I got it (how I got it will make the topic of another post) and even if I had read reviews about it, I wasn't prepared for its sheerness and lightness. It's just unlined organdy and it's so ethereal that I was taken aback.
My biggest worry was that besides the vacation, I wouldn't have any occasion to wear it, it looks way too elegant for me; but once "demistified" it is very nice worn with jeans. I would totally go out to dinner with friends dressed like this:



Or like this:



but with a bra (that I have to buy, NO WORRIES, I'm not going around like this. When I saw the pictures I thought that I wasn't going to post them, but I don't have the energy to do this again and anyway I haven't bought the bra yet, so please don't comment on my nipples, I KNOW that they are showing) or the same waterfall cardi as above:



Once the issue of the money-per-wear resolved, I set my vacation fantasy free. Here I'm on the deck of a luxury cruise ship, taking the breeze in while I wave "Hellooo, captain":



Because of the sheerness of the top, I like it more tucked in the pants than not:



But maybe it's just the contrast with the white, because I liked it much better worn untucked with these $10 beach pants. They are a little bit lighter IRL than on the pics, but still go wonderfully with it:



Here I was obviously having a cocktail on the beach...

Back to reality, here is how it look with a pencil skirt:



And this is maybe my favorite outfit. It's elegant but discreet at the same time and I love the contrast between the colors of the Havona and the navy of the capri pants:





And a variation on the same (note the change of bracelet):



In the end, I think it's more versatile that it looked at first. I'm not sure how the flower will hold up after a few ... minutes of wear, but it's possible to unsew it and as FFM suggested.

What do you think? Do you own this top? Have you been tempted to buy it? Do you like the more casual ways to wear it? Do you have any suggestion that you would like to share?