The Cashmere Croquet Cardigan

I had planned to write a post on the Crystal Symphony Necklace today to wrap up the jewelry subject, as I ordered it last week to wear with my b-day party dress this coming Saturday, but when the UPS package arrived yesterday I had another (bad) surprise: there was no trace of my necklace in the envelope and I received a white Jackie cardigan instead! I was beyond upset: it's the second time this week that something goes wrong with my order (first the defective palm-leaf necklace and now this) and to be honest with you I ordered the Crystal Symphony necklace only to wear it on Saturday night (actually I bought the dress AFTER seeing the necklace IRL, kind of to showcase it) but I'm not sure that I'm going to keep it, unless I damage it in any way (and I don't think that I'm going to sweat on it as it is a seated dinner and we have simply no room to dance). At least, this is the plan because when I tried it on in the store I really "loved" it (I just don't "need" it as I have a very similar one from many years ago but the color is a little bit off compared the color of the dress).
I called Jcrew CS this morning and the SA offered to send me another one by overnight shipping (at no extra charge, of course) but when she was about to place the order she noticed that at the shipping departement they had already found out about the mistake and they had already shipped another one, scheduled to arrive today. So, in the end it will be here in time, but the post will have to wait.

Instead, I'm going to write a quick review of the Cashmere Croquet cardigan that, if you have read my previous post, I bought last week with the $25 off $125 card.
This cardigan has been sitting in my cart for a long time, waiting to go on sale. When it came out I thought that it was terribly cute but 1) the price ($188) was way too high for 2) a winter-heavy 12-gauge cashmere cardigan in summery, sorbet colors that I wasn't sure when (I mean, what time of the year) to wear exactly.
Actually I was eyeing the melon color, as I think that the melon is more for warm and the lavender is more for cold skin-eyes-hair tones.
When it finally went on sale for $129, I couldn't pull the trigger as it was marked as final sale and I wasn't going to spend that much on something that I had never tried on. Plus, I would have paid the sale tax on it (which in the NY state applies only to clothes and shoes that have a selling price above $110) and I HATE that, even if it's only 4.37% (while it's 8.7% on all jewelry and bags, with no minimum below). So I decided to wait, at least for a % off promo.

When I was looking for the jewelry at the Fifth Avenue store last Friday I spotted one on a table and it was a XS, but in the ametysth color. I tried it on and it fitted me very nicely, so when I found out about the "new" price of two necklaces I decided to buy it with the $25 off card (take that, sale tax!), even if I wasn't sure about the color.
(At the register I faced a crewless manager who just couldn't understand the sale tax thing. I wanted to buy the necklaces and the cardigan separately in two transactions, so the $25 would be taken off the cardigan price only and the new price would be below $110. I mean, you live/work in NY, you MUST KNOW THAT. Anyway, he couldn't believe it until he saw it on the ticket but he didn't give me the satisfaction of admitting that I was right and he was wrong. He just shrugged and went on to take care of another customer.)

I just couldn't pull myself to try it on this weekend as it was so hot, but when the 20% off promo started on the website I made an effort to try it on properly to make sure that I liked color, as the melon was still available on the website and I could have ordered it instead.
I styled it with the navy mica mini and the glass and pearl necklace (sorry, I was wearing my slippers, so I tried to hide my feet):




As you can see the XS fits me perfectly. I like that it has a jacket feeling and I also like that I'm wearing a short-sleeve tee (Petit Bateau) underneath but it doesn't show in the sleeves. I'm totally won over this color, I think it's uber-chic and will make a better transition to fall than the melon. Just to be sure that I have enough options to wear it with, I ordered a perfect tee in the amethyst and the corsage tee in lavender with the $20 off (will see if I can wear it unbottoned with it, depending on where the flowers are positioned).
This will be perfect for my upcoming trip to Europe to visit the family (at the end of August, we just booked the flights). We'll stay a week in Paris and I'm sure that I will have the occasion to wear it while I'm there (hopefully it will still be too warm in Milan where I will be next).

Is this cardigan on your wish list? Do you own it? When do you plan to wear it if you own it?

Happy Birthday to Me (with Jcrew Jewelry) - Part 2

As you might have noticed, I have been doing a little bit of shopping therapy lately as a reaction to the dreaded 40th birthday milestone. I have to say that in italian the 40th birthday marks the entrance in what we call the "ANTA" years (the forties, fifties, sixies, seventhies, etc all end in ANTA - as in quaranta - in italian) from which there is no return (unless one makes it to his/her hundredth birthday) and it's a little bit scary. On the other side it's better to be forty now than when parents where my age, as, as everybody knows, forty is the new thirty (I'm just hoping that by the time I'm fifty, being fifty is also going to be re-evalued).

Anyway, I bought a lot of stuff in the last month with the excuse that it was going to be my birthday (it happens every year, as, as you must know by now, I love summer clothes more than winter clothes and I just go crazy with the summer sales), but on the top of that I really wanted to treat myself with some new jewelry. I mean that this is a little (cheap) present that I wanted to buy myself, but my husband got me a big birthday present (I would lie if I told you that he surprised me with a diamond band hidden in my bday cake, because I actually bought it myself. But he was on the phone. And negociated the price).

So, a few weeks ago I was at the Soho store (the one with the "new" accessory-dedicated space) and I tried on two necklaces. One is the Dangling gold-disc necklace that is also sold through the website for $65 (style # 17774); and the other one is a very similar necklace that has dangling pearls instead of the discs. It'a retail-only item and the price was $58. I tried them together and they looked FANTASTIC. But I didn't want to spend that much that day and my birthday was still far away so I decided to wait.
In the meanwhile I got the $25 off $125 card in the July catalog and I spent it on the safary denim jacket that was waitlisted on the website until november and the orange gateau skirt (that I got for a mere $24).

Last week a blog follower who wants to remain anonymous, kindly asked me if I needed her card as she had received one and she wasn't planning to spend it in store. The two necklaces were still on my shopping list so I answered her that I would do a good usage of the card if she really wanted to part from it. Which she did. I received it last Thursday, so as the long 4h of July weekend started I went on a hunt for the two necklaces (as they were both sold-out at the Madison Avenue Collection store).

Sometimes I have a sixth sense, a little voice that tells me where to go to find what I'm looking for. So of all the stores in the city, I went to the Fifth Avenue store, one of my favorite and also one where the PS knows me from the days when I used to work in the neighborhood and I would spend my lunch breaks there (technically I didn't work exactly in the neighborhood but what are 15 blocks for us JCAs? My lunch breaks were unusually long though but I had a work that allowed me to manage my schedule most of the times).
To make a long story short, they had both necklaces and when I went to the register I found out that they were both on sale for $19.99 (the gold-disc one) and $29.99 (the pearls one)!!!
So I decided not to use the card on them but on the croquet cashmere cardigan that was also on my shopping list but I wouldn't have bought had I spent the amount of money that I originally planned to spend on the necklaces (I got the ametysth one, it was the only one in the store, and with the card I paid $104 for it).

I guess that after this river of words, you need some pictures.
I took the pics yesterday morning, the dress is a strapless Ralph Lauren dress that I bought on super-sale last year and I had completely forgot about. It fits me so much better than the Jcrew one, I'm so happy that I have returned that one.
Here I left the dangling pearls one down so you can see the lenght (it's the same than the dangling gold-disc one):




Here is the gold-disc one alone and wrapped three times around the neck:



And here is a combination of the two of them (but the combinations seem to be endless):


For the day, I ended up wearing the pearl one alone, like this (I got tons of compliments):



For the evening my husband and I had a reservation in a fancy restaurant that opened a few weeks ago and really wanted to try (Table 8). I wore a simple BR silk dress and the gold-disc necklace:



When we were ready to leave, literally waiting in my heels at the door, I got a message from the babysitter. The babysitter canceled on me. On my 40th birthday romantic dinner! I was more shocked than mad. I tried to call someone else but it was too late. So we ended up going to a neighborhood pizzeria with our daughter (who was already in bed but not asleep yet). So I changed my heels for my Tory thongs. Here is the outfit that I ended up wearing:



Actually, I was happy to spend the evening with my daughter, she's such a joy and I was feeling for her because she hates being with the babysitter (even if it's bedtime). She had a blast at the pizzeria and eat dinner again! As I said at the beginning of these posts, there isn't much more important in life than being able to spend time with your loved ones.
And anyway, we're going to have a party with friends next Saturday at home so it's not like I won't have the occasion to celebrate properly.
I will show you soon my party dress and, yes, there will be another Jcrew necklace!

Happy Birthday to Me (with Jcrew Jewelry) - Part 1

As you probably know, this weekend was a very special 4th of July weekend for me as yesterday I celebrated my 40est birthday! I don't know what to expect from myself (I was half expecting to burst in tears or be completely numb or very irritable or sad at the best) but we spent such a nice and full day that there was literally no time to be in a bad mood (nor to blog), only precious moments to enjoy with my wonderful family. I would say that my family is my greatest life achievement so far (maybe one day I will also realize my other dreams). Too often we forget how lucky we are and I'm grateful to my husband for reminding me where real happiness is (in his own words: "in me and your daughter, not in Jcrew").

Having said that Jcrew also contributed to make this day special as I finally got my hands on some coveted pieces of jewelry that I had been eyeing for a long time.
Firs, last week I ordered the Palm-leaf necklace that went finally on sale for $99. It was a final sale item but I had seen it many times at the Madison Avenue Collection store (even if I had never tried it on) and I knew what to expect, or at least so I thought.
Along with it I also ordered the Chandelier necklace, on sale for $49.99. I wasn't sure about this one but it wasn't marked FS and I needed a filler to reach the $150 free shipping minimum, so I ordered as well.
The package arrived yesterday afternoon, just in time for my birthday. Inside the postage box, I found two nicely wrapped boxes:

I half expected to find a Happy Birthday note from Mickey (maybe I had given this information when I setup the account?), but apparently this is just the regular packaging for this kind of expensive jewelry. Nice touch Jcrew!
Inside one of the boxes, the palm-leaf necklace in metallic rose:

But once unfastened from the wrapping, I had a first disappointment. The necklace is lighter than I expected it to be. On one hand it makes it more weareable; on the other hand, it feels a little bit cheap and not as "luxurious" as you would think it to be for this price.
The second (and major disappointment) is that it is a defective item. As you can see in the picture below, one chain link is missing:

Now, to be honest with you, I think it would be very easy to fix (the only think that I would have to do is to buy the missing link), but I'm also questionning the necklace itself. I'm not sure that I LOVE it. It's one of those pieces like the BR Darion Luncheon Necklace (see my first post), that is a little bit overwhelming. Because it's defective, I think that I won't have any problem to return it in store, even if it's FS (worst-case scenario I will get a store credit). What do you think?

As per the Chandelier necklace, it's not for me (I plain don't like it). I took a pic just for the sake of the blog, but this is going back:


I should be upset that none of them works but actually I'm not because of two great finds that I bought on Friday. I will show you in the next post, stay tuned!

Outfit of the Day and a Quick Review of the Scout Chinos

I have to admit it: I had totally overlooked the lattice Medallion-print blouse until I saw it in one recent post by the always-fabulous FFM (sorry FFM, my computer still doesn't support links in Blogger). I think that when it came out I was still in a winter state of mind and my brain just skipped it because this print is so summery. Of course when FFM posted about it, it was completely sold-out online and in stores but I was lucky enough and got it from a JCA through the Great Weekly Exchange without having to go on a Crewsade.

It arrived last week but my daily routine lately has been pretty much the following (after the wake-up-at-6-stalk-the-Jcrew-website-for-popups-get-myself-and-my-daughter-ready-to go-outside routine): quick stop for a cappuccino (and cookies for my daughter - I have to bribe her if I want to drink my cappuccino in peace) at one of my neighborhood favorite italian cafes, ViaQuadronno or Sant Ambreous, then straight to the playground where my daughter would alternatively cover herself (and myself) in sand or go directly under the water (there is a concrete water fountain at the playground, to the dismay of many mommies) or both. Then we go home, I give her a quick bath (note: normally I don't have time to take a shower myself), we have lunch (where half of the pasta ends up on my pants), my daughter takes her nap and I blog or read blogs and then when she wakes up we do all over again. Which doesn't leave much room for wearing nice clothes (the last time that I did, I spent the morning preying that my dress wouldn't get stained), not to mention nice shoes (I gave up on wearing nice shoes and I wear Havaianas, or at least carry one pair in the stroller for a quick change of shoes at the playground).

So today it was the first day that I had the occasion to wear it, as the weather wasn't very nice and we had errands to do, including a stop at the Jcrew store to return a pair of shoes. No playground = nice clothes for mommy.
I wore it belted with white jeans:



Not the wisest idea to wear white jeans today because it was threatening to rain and in fact we were caught in a shower. I had to roll them up (but it was too late and they got rain drop stains on the bottom):



I was wearing a different pair of shoes this morning (the vineyard flip-flops). Probably I wouldn't have stained them on the bottom if I had worn the platforms of the pic. They are a pair of Banana Republic that you have also seen on recent FFM posts and I was eyeing myself. I finally got them yesterday for $55 (BR is running a 30% off sales in stores. Not sure for how long though). I was just trying them to see if I like them with my clothes. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep them, I have to decide between these and the gold Tory Burch pair that I ordered at Neiman Marcus and should arrive soon. I haven't walked in them but they look confortable though. Here is a close-up:



While I was at the Jcrew store to return the Marjorie suede flat (I love them but I should have ordered my size instead of sizing down), I saw that they had received the new broken-in "Scout" chinos. I need a new pair of chinos as the last one that I bought (a Gap pair that I LOVED) date from my post-pregnancy summer and is now too big. I was curious to try them on since the July catalog came out (OK, I was intrigued by the description "our sexiest chino ever"). Since they are a new not-much-reviewed-yet item, I thought that I would offer a quick review in case some of you is debating about ordering them.

As the website says, they are definitively fitted through the hip and thigh. I tried a 0 as usual and for the first time this year I wondered if I should hae sized up, but the SA said that they are supposed to look like that. Of course she said that they looked very cute on me:



Actually they fitted me nicely in the weist and hip area (by they way, I'm going to get that belt!):



The problem is in the cropped cut. The leg tightens down pretty sharply and they are cropped just at end of the calf's muscle (at least on me). I tried the "rolled-up look" of the catalog and let me tell you that it's virtually impossible to wear them that way, there isn't enough room between the leg and the fabric to roll them unless you have the skinniest calves ever (the model must be wearing a bigger size and having them pinned in the back). All I could do was this tiny thing:



They are supersoft though and more feminine than your regular chino (not sure about the "sexiest" part).
I think that it's a style that won't fit many and I would reccomend to stay away from these if you have a muscled or large calf. Personally, I like them but I'm going to think about it and probably not buy FP.

I'm overindulging myself these days as my birthday is coming up in (Gosh!) 4 days and it's a BIG one! I bought a lot of new stuff with the excuse that it's my birthday (I feel a little bit guilty but then I think about what Jill of NYRHO got for her birthday and it wasn't even a special one!) and I have a lot to post about but it will probably wait until next week as the long 4th of July weekend has already started for my family (my husband is already at home from work, yahoo).

HAVE A FANTASTIC (AND DRY IF YOU LIVE IN THE NORTHEAST) 4TH OF JULY WEEKEND!

The ATL Denim Maxi-Dress

While we are at ATL, I wanted to share another find from two weeks ago. Well, it's not really a "find" in the sense that the price is higher than anything I saw at ATL so far, but luckily I had my $25 off card to spend so I got it for cheaper.
Actually, I did the silliest thing: I went in to return the V-neck ruffle dress that I have blogged about in one of my previous posts (I couldn't find a XS petite and decided that the XS regular that I had bought was too big on the chest) and also to see if I could spend my coupon (it was the last day) but after browsing a few racks I didn't find anything worth it (it had to be a full price item and I had to spend $50 minimum). So I returned the dress and the SA took out the coupon that was stapled on the ticket (I had "earned" the coupon with the purchase of the dress) and put it aside in a drawer.

Of course, just when I was about to take the door my eye was caught by this beautiful denim maxi-dress. There was only one left and it was a 0. I expexted it to be too big or long but when I tried it on I really, really liked it. I have a hard time finding maxi-dresses that fit me well, ie are not too long and I don't look pregnant in, and this one fitted the bill.
But I hesitated because the price tag read $79 and I had just said bye-bye to my $25 off coupon. So I decided that I would buy it only if the SA at the register gave me my coupon back (it wasn't won in advance because while the store manager is very nice but wasn't there, the SA are pretty harsh). While I was in the line I reharsed my little story (which was true but she could have said that because I had returned the dress I wasn't entitled to the coupon any longer; to which I could have responded that I would have waited to return it had I known. Still...). Anyway, the SA was nice enough not to give me a hard time on that, so I got it for $54, which is a much better price.

I like that it's in a dark denim wash, but not black. It has a double-tier on the bottom but it's not overwhelming:



It's in a very soft and lightweight denim, so it doesn't feel heavy to wear. In the pics I have styled it with the Jcrew pearls and glass necklace and espadrillas in a neutral tone, but it's going to look very nice with gold accessories to brighten up the dark color (I'm waiting on a pair of Tory Burch gold corks that should go perfectly with it):


I really like the fit on the bodice:


I have looked up the style number on the website but it says that this style "is not available online at this time" couldn't find it (I only found the Tiered Chambray skirt (style #233631) in the same fabric). Last Saturday when I picked up the "rose" tee, it was still full price.

Do you like/wear maxi-dresses? Do you like this one?

A Great Find: the ATL Rose Chiffon Tee

You know that I normally don't blog on weekends but I couldn't wait until tomorrow to share my latest find with you.
I have great news for those who are still eagerly looking for the rose chiffon tee on ebay or the JCA exchange. Look no longer: ATL has come up with its own version of the tee and it's almost as good as the real thing. And you won't spend a crazy $130 only to find out that you don't really like it; you will spend $34.50 maximum (less if you have a coupon) and you will have 60 days to return it (they are going to change their return policy as of July 5th). Here it is:



I saw it yesterday on the table of the new arrivals and immediately took it to the fitting room. Luckely I had my camera with me. I've looked it up on the ATL website and didn't find it.
It comes also in black and the black one is nicer than the Jcrew one IMO:



OK, the flower is a little bit less abstract than the rose of the Jcrew tee (in fact I'm not sure that it's a rose), but the overall effect is the same. The cotton is a lightweight cotton like the one of the boyfriend tees, which makes it more of a summer tee. It has a twisted neckline fabric like the Jcrew Twisted slub jersey V-neck tee, which you can like or not (personally it's the only thing in this tee that I don't like that much):

.

The natural color is darker than the Jcrew one (as usual the lighting in the fitting rooms is just horrible but I will post other pics soon). I tried an XS in regular sizes and it fitted me perfectly, I'm not sure if this comes in petite:



I bought the natural one because I'm planning to wear it under a black cardigan but if you like black tees, it is really cute in black (I know, I'm repeating myself). I don't own the Jcrew one and I don't want to pay ebay prices for it (I didn't noticed it when it came out in stores, before it became the IT tee, so I didn't get it) so this one makes the deal for me.
I'm sure that this one is going to sell out as soon as word of this tee comes out in the blogosphere (I'm uninfluential of course but if for exemple one Alexis writes a post about this tee it's going to disappear from the stores in matter of days).

What do you think? Knockoff or great surrogate of the real thing? Do you have the "original" Jcrew one?

Coming up, another ATL great find ...

Yesterday Outfit of the Day (featuring Petit Bateau)

Yesterday morning the sky was cloudy and not promising at all but by noon a little bit of sun came out of the clouds and in the end we had a gorgeous summer afternoon. I was so happy! I love being in the park in the late afternoon when everything is glowing under the declining sun.

Since I knew that this weather wasn't going to last, I thought that I wouldn't pass the chance to wear a dress that I bought some weeks ago and I was dying to wear ever since (who knew that we would have two days of sun in June?) It's the perfect easy summer dress and it's from the French brand Petit Bateau.
I don't know if you are familiar with this brand that specialises in children's clothes but has also a line for adults. In France (and in Europe in general) is very popular but the in US it's quite expensive due in part to the strenght of the euro (basically the prices here are the double of the price in EU). The quality is very good though and I generally buy during the sales when they have more decent prices, and when I see something that I really like and is not on sale I ask someone of the family to buy it in Italy or France and send it by mail. The bonus is that I can exchange in store or get a store credit if it doesn't fit. In this particular case I used a store credit to pay for dress but I think that I would have bought it anyway as I liked too much (it costs $111 - overpriced, I know).

They are famous for their stripes and this dress is this year's take on the nautical theme:



The dress is in a very soft and light cotton knit and I'm wearing a size 14a. Their sizes for adults go from 12a (12 years) to 18a that basically correspond to the sizes XS to L. I could have sized down but I liked the lenght and the fact that it doesn't stick to my body (meaning that I can wear any sort of panties without the seams showing). Because we were going to the playground I changed the shoes for the Gap gladiators that I reviewed in one of my first posts (by the way, they are extra-comfortable):


It is really a dress that you put on and feel good and it's the epithome of Parisian chic to me.
If you have the chance of going to Europe this summer, I reccomend to check out Patit Bateau (even if you don't have children). In Paris they have a store in pretty much each neighborhood and it's sold in all the departement stores.

Have you ever bought Petit Bateau for you or your kids?