What Do You Think of ... These Two Evening Dresses?

OK, so these No Minimum Free Shipping codes paired with random nightly website updates must stop RIGHT NOW before I loose it. I love these codes too much because if I see a popback in my size I can go to the checkout right away, without looking for other stuff to add to my cart and get the free shipping (while loosing the coveted popback in the meanwhile). I know that it sounds crazy but I think that I even had a Jcrew-induced case of insomnia TWICE last week. Like I would wake up (for any reason) around 1 am and then I wouldn't be able to fall asleep again because my brain was unconsciously pumping adrenaline in my veins to keep me up for the site update. Of course by the time that the update (something like 6 am) really took place I was sound asleep and I actually woke up even later than usual.

Anyway, one morning I was at my computer early enough to snatch up a Brynn dress in warm wisteria for the quite incredible price of $39.99. I had tried it twice in a 0 in the evening primrose print but something was off with it. Then when it went on sale I tried it in a size 2 in the warm wisteria color and liked it better but it was a little bit loose in the bodice, so I made a mental note that as soon as the price would come down a little bit more I should order a 2P. Well, I wasn't expecting the price to go down from $99 to $39.99 but it took me less than 30 seconds to acknowledge the new price, see that the 2P was one of the few sizes still available, put it in my cart and check it out (thanks no minimum shipping code number 3).

I was almost sure that I would get a cancellation email but it did ship, and it wasn't even broken or stained, just a little bit wrinkled.
Now I think that it's a beautiful dress but I'm wondering if it's too short or too young-looking for me? Basically I like it but, am I going to wear it? I know, how could you know? But in your opinion where could I wear this dress to? I have a wedding coming up but it's in MAY next year and I'm sure that I'm going to use the excuse of the wedding to buy me another dress in the spring. Those of you who have this dress, did you wear it so far? I think that the evening primrose print is more easy to dress down for a drink or evening out with friends or even the office (with a jacket), while the solid colors are more "occasion" or party dresses.





Should I keep it and just wait for the right occasion to wear it or return it? Keep in my that I paid the price of a tee shirt for it.

A few weeks ago, on the aftermath of my wedding outfit dilemma, I started to look for a "any occasion" black dress to have just in case and I bought this simple Zara dress. At that time $59 sounded like a good price. I liked that it has a timeless shape, without being a sheat dress. It's a lace overlay pullover, with an elastic band at the waist. Kind of classic-classy, but not a fun dress (at least without accessories - and I can't think of anything but pearls with this dress):




It is surely more wearable than the Brynn dress and I think that I will get more wear out of it but I'm also less excited about it.
I understand that these are two completely different dresses but I don't feel like keeping both. Which one should I keep in your opinion (if I should keep one at all)?

Some New Arrivals: IRL Pics

I went into Jcrew yesterday to sort out my bubble necklace mess (I'm double bummed because I had to place another order and today is 20% off. GRRR) and I tried some of the new arrivals on. Not many because my daughter was hysterical, but I wanted to share the pics anyway.

First, the much talked about Dream Tori ruffle cardigan. To be honest with you, I didn't recognized it (I mean I thought that I had tried another cardigan but when I came home and looked for it on the website I realized that it was the Tori), it looks completely different IRL, as many JCAs already said on the JCA post about the new arrivals.
Maybe it's the color, I tried the black in XS:



As you can see the taffeta trim is not that ruffled, but personally I liked it more this way, I think it's going to better stand the test of time. Size-wise I would say that it's TTS. I think that it's a really nice cardigan and is going to be a holiday favorite.

Another evening cardigan that I really wanted to try on when I saw it earlier this week, is this tuxedo-like merino cardigan:




This one is retail-only and the price is $118. I have to say that I liked it better on the hanger than on, I found it a little bit somber (there isn't enough contrast between the sateen around the collar and the merino IMO), but maybe with a nice sparkling top and/or bottom is going to look different. The fit is TTS (I have tried a XS) but the sleeves were a little bit long as you can see in the second pic.

The third item wasn't part of the new rollout but I hadn't seen it before and I REALLY liked it. It's the Wool ribbon ravine dress. I wasn't interested in it (I have tried by request of a reader) until I tried it on. This is the rosebud color (more salmon than pinkish IMO) in a 0:



And detail of the neckline:



As the website description says, the edges of the ribbon trim are raw but it doesn't look as they are fraying. The 0 was a little bit loose in the bodice and a little bit longer than on the model but this dress comes in petite (BTW, the crewless SA told me that it didn't), so keep that in mind if you want to order it. I think that the rosebud is a beautiful color for the holidays and I'm definitively going to get this at some point.

The last item that I tried on is another in-store-only cardigan. Ruffles again but quite nice. It's a little bit this year (=ruffled) version of the Lea IMO. I'm sorry for the "ruffles over ribbon" pic but my daughter was throwing stuff in the mirror and I was in a hurry to get out of the fitting room before a SA would come in and ask what was all that noise:



This one came in a plethora of colors (I saw a light berry and a mustard) and the price was $89.50 if I'm not wrong.
I also saw the new Merino watercolor leopard cardigan and if you want to order this one beware of the fact that there is a bright blue component much more pronounced than it shows in the website pics (it's quite beautiful though).

That's it for now. If you have any questions let me know. I have to go back later today or tomorrow for my bubble necklace (they couldn't process the return, triple bummer), so if you are interested in any of the retail-only cardigans I will take note of the style number.

Have a great weekend!

A DIY Project by JCrew

So I must confess that I placed a few orders with those fantastic no minimum Facebook codes. Nothing from the last or new roll-outs but some great deals in the sale section that I couldn't pass.

Among them I pulled the trigger on the Bubble Necklace in soft violet. Actually one of my best friends in Italy just turned 40 and I thought that I would offer it to her and, in case I really, really liked it (I have never seen it IRL), I would eventually order another one for me with another code.

I was quite impressed with the delivery times: no order cancellations (so far) and my first three orders shipped the SAME DAY. WOW Jcrew, I though, I forgive you for not sending me those beautiful earrings.

Well, I take it back. The packages arrived yesterday and inside I found exactly what I had ordered, but the bubble necklace came in 4 PIECES (5 to be precise):



Now, how can this be possible? It's like I have received a DIY kit, or an IKEA piece of furniture but without the assembly instructions.
At first I even thought that instead of going through the painful process of calling CS with what could seem like a big lie, I would accept the challenge and try to put the damn thing back together. I mean if I have all the pieces it shouldn't be so difficult, can it?
Well, I have compared what I have with the pic of the necklace and it doesn't make sense, there are stones missing and stones that are where they shouldn't be and one of the chain ends makes a no-sense loop (you can see it in my pic). It looks like someone at the warehouse tried it already and then gave up, put all the pieces in the bubble bag and sent it to me. They could have put a "good luck" note at least!
So now I have to call them and explain them the situation, wish me luck. I'm sure that they are going to send me another one with free overnight shipping but I'm upset anyway because I wanted to try it on me before ordering another one, I was afraid that it would overwhelm my petite figure. The only thing that I can say is that I LOVE the color, I thought it would be more "violet" but it's definitively pink.

I still have a libretto necklace in the dusty blossom color on its way. Let's hope that it's not another DIY project signed Jcrew.

The Slub Retro Floral Tee (IRL pics)

So, the "love child" tee of my previous post is actually called "Slub Retro Floral Tee". The color is WPI, that, I think, stands for Whisper Pink. I haven't seen it in the new arrivals on the website, so it must be retail-only for the time being.
I agree that it's a little bit deja-crew, but I haven't bought any of the most recent floral or "necklace" tees and as I said the colors of this one are just beautiful.

In my opinion, this tee is made for the perfect pencil skirt in dusty blossom. I liked the idea of wearing that skirt with a tee and a cardi (it tends to look a little bit too "school teacher" with a shirt, at least for me) but I hadn't find the perfect tee so far. Until I saw this one in store and immediately thought that it would look great with it.
I'm wearing it with my new Michelle (I needed some pink) and my old dark charcoal one (I love how the color of the tee seem to change depending on the color of the cardigan):







While I'm at it I wanted to show you a pic of the script coat. The color is to die for. Now, it's a size 2 and it's a little bit roomy in the body but otherwise perfect in the shoulders (I will have the sleeves shortened a little bit). I think that I actually might like it better than a 0 because of the added lenght, I don't like when a coat is too short and you can't tell if it's a long jacket or a short coat (the ruffle one for example, is too short for me to be called coat). But I would like to know your honest opinion, do you think that it looks too big (please take into account the gimmick required to take the picture)? I can still return it (during the sample sale, not that I'm looking forward going back) and buy something else instead (like, a cashmere sweater with a hole or another pair of flats).




I will try to comment back in the previous posts now, if my daughter doesn't wake up!

Sample Sale Goodies and a Few Tips for a Successful Shopping Experience

So I made it. I went to the Jcrew sample sale this morning and I wasn't even late for my daughter's dismissal at school (my biggest fear was that I would loose any notion of time while shopping there and I would "forget" to pick up my daughter. That didn't happen, good mom).

The sale was pretty good in my opinion, especially if you are looking for shoes. This is what I brought home:



From left to right: black cashmere turtleneck from the current season ($75), Michelle cardi ($40, pricey but I regretted not buying more of these in FS and now are really gone), 3 pairs of Marjorie ballet flats (I know, I know 2 would have been enough but for $45 a pair), Vintage Roaster booties (major score at $99) and Script coat in antique stone (another score at $149 but it's a size 2).

The shoes were definitively the best part of the sale, even if the prices could have been better (the flats were $65 with the exception of the Marjorie, heels $99, booties $99 and tall boots $149, wellies $25. They also had Hunter boots for $75). They were mostly from spring/summer 09 but they also had some current Fall style (these with little defects but nothing serious). I got there early so the selection was good, I don't know if later in the day or in the sale it's going to be the same.
The coat selection was good too, I don't know the Jcrew coat styles by heart but the the yellow Winnie, the Ladyday (in white) and the Camino (in sea salt and dusty blossom) were definitively there. And the script coat of course. They were all $149. Suiting blazers were $99 (by the way, there are no bottoms in this sale) and I almost bought the Butterscotch wool flannel schoolboy blazer (same price) but I'm happy that I didn't because it wasn't such a good deal and I definitively don't need it.

The sweaters were a hit or miss. Not as many marked with a big SAMPLE word marked on the back like in the previous one but a lot of oldies. They had a good selection of jackies (summer colors) but they were $40 (and I paid $31 in the summer for mine). If you go there I would stick to those that have a tag and are current overstock, because the other ones can have holes or some sort of defect (not to mention that often the size is not and you cannot try them on).

If you decide to go there I have a few tips that I hope can make your shopping experience better:

1) Arrive at least 15 minutes before the opening in the morning. Ten minutes make a big difference, people tend to arrive around the exact opening time and you can't imagine how fast the line build up.

2) If you can, leave your coat at home and have only a small purse with you. No coat means no coat check-in and less time in the line.

3) Go with a pre-fixed budget (I left my credit card at home and took only cash with me) and take a pocket calculator with you, so you can make up your mind BEFORE you are at the register (the mistake that I made this morning, I decided when I was at the register). $40 here and $75 there easy sum up to a thousand dollars.

4) Know your prices and your sizes before you go. It's good to have a good knowledge of the current and past stock so you know what is more worthy it.

5) Check every item for holes and defects BEFORE going to the register. I had 5 cashmere sweaters that I was considering and each of them had a small hole that I hadn't seen at first. The shoes come in plastic bags and generally there is a handwritten note that describes the flaw (ex. sole worn, this is something that I learned when I came home, I didn't notice while I was there).

So am I happy with what I bought? Yes, but I regret leaving behind the black Metropolitan suede ankle boots for $99. I should have got those instead of the third pair of flats (and I could take home both for lack of funds!) That's what I mean when I said know your prices when you go there. I didn't know that these were still $250 FP on the website and I clearly made the wrong decision.

And because I don't know when I will be back blogging, I will leave you with a surprise. A new tee from the new Holiday collection (retails for $39.50):


This is the love child of the rosette tee from last spring (the pink roses are textured like in the rosette tee) and the current "bouquet" tee. Even if I have the rosette tee and I don't wear it that much I couldn't resist the color combination of this one (btw, it's slub cotton and not ringspun). In case you are interested, the style is 20455 and I bought a XS.

I apologize in advance if I won't be able to reply to your questions before tomorrow morning (as you know hubby is coming back from his trip today and OMG! I have to hide all this sfuff before he arrives!)

OOTD: Leopard, Cheeta and Toothpick

This is a mix of pics of my real OOTD and an outfit that I had tried on last week when it was warmer and I could have got away with a short-sleeve tissue turtleneck and a jacket (but I wore my Halloween outfit for three days in a row instead and now it's too cold).
The first item that I bought in this outfit are the shoes. Back in the summer I had a brief love affair with the leopard print Tory Burch Revas in calf-hair and I bidded a couple of times on them on Ebay but for some reasons it didn't work out. Then I saw these Target pointy-toe flats that aren't a cheap print but real calf-hair (another of Gigi's finds, I never go to Target as the closest is in Brooklyn, no less, and I'm like Miranda of SATC, pre-baby) selling for almost a tenth of the price of the Revas and I was sold (plus I love pointy-toe shoes, I think that we don't see them around enough). Then I bought the toothpick (not "to wear with the leopard flats", but it can't be denied that this style goes greatly with pointy flats) and then the Jcrew Cheeta calf-hair belt. I'm sure that this one will go on sale because it's a quite expensive belt but I LOOOOOVED it and took advantage of a $25 off $125 card to buy it (actually I bought it along with the jeans).
So the bottom part of my outfit was easy because I bought these pieces with the intention of wearing them together.
But strangely enough I had a hard time finding a top to wear with the black jeans and the animal print accessories. Initially, I didn't want to go "total black with animal print accents" and I tried different sweaters in the beige color palette but in the end I think that a black top works better than a lighter top.
Anyway, this is the version that I wore today, minus the hat (I was just taking my daughter to a playdate):


And the final touch is this Plexiglas leopard bracelet that I bought for $5 on the street, the same day that I bought the Deco pashmina (can you tell that I'm momentarily tired of expensive jewelry)?



Have a great week (DH is coming home tomorrow so you know where I am if I don't reply. Oh no, this came across like a bad sex joke, did it?)

PS
Not that I want to sell you anything on this blog, but if you like the shoes (and I can vouch on their cuteness and quality), I have a second pair in a size 6H (my size was sold-out and I ordered one size up and one size down and I'm keeping the 7H) that I can still return to Target but can offer you for $25 shipped (the price was $29.99 and they are completely sold-out). Please don't make me go to Brooklyn to return these (just kidding).
If interested, please email me at crazyaboutjcrew@gmail.com.

Statement Jewelry for Less

The F21 Family&Friends No-Minumum Free Shipping code (F21FRIENDS) expires tomorrow. I had a bracelet sitting in my cart since Gigi blogged about it in a post back in the summer (sorry I can't find the post any longer) and I perused the website for more jewelry. I have never bought on their website before because they have a 21 days store-credit-only return policy and a $75 minimum for free shipping (which is hard to reach!), but I thought that this time I would give it a try.

I ended up buying a few "statement pieces", all for less than $10 each:

1) Chunky Faux Perl Necklace, $7.80

2) Edgy Rhinestone Earrings, $9.80



3) Lace-Covered Rhinestone Bracelet, $5.80


And this is the bracelet that Gigi reviewed, the Cut-Out Rhinestone Bracelet, $10.80

I know that this one looks a little bit cheap in the pic but it looked stunning on Gigi and hey, it's $10.

There were many other interesting ones that I left behind (including the Chain Perl Necklace, lookalike of Jcrew "pastiche" necklace), If you have a little bit of time (browsing the website can be a little bit time-consuming), I really recommend to have a look and take advantage of this free shipping offer.

What do you think of these? Have you ordered anything from F21?