OOTD and a JCrew New Arrival (Let's Call It the Double-Breasted Cashmere Sweater)

I wore my Jcrew cashmere popover boatneck in cinnamon spice last week for the first time (Monday, I think) and again today to meet a friend for breakfast:



To be honest I find it a little bit lightweight for a cashmere sweater, I like to feel all cozy and warm in my cashmeres and I was not while wearing this popover (because of the boatneck and the 3/4 sleeves and also because it's horribly cold here). I really love the fit and color and I would buy it again for the price, but I wouldn't buy multiples, I prefer a turtleneck.
The necklace that I'm wearing with it is a $5 necklace that I bought from a street vendor. Usually I'm not a "charms" person, but I loved the fall colors of this one and I knew that it would look great with a cinnamon spice sweater (that I didn't own when I bought it, but I KNEW I would own one day):



Speaking of cashmere sweaters that are not so warm, I tried a new cashmere cardigan when I was at Jcrew on New Year's Eve. It's a double-breasted cashmere cardigan with a punched trim above the ribbed bottom band. Sorry, I don't know what's the term for that, the pics will speak by themselves:




I was drawn to it mainly because it came in the honey glaze color (pictured) and because I thought that both the style and the color would be a good match for my sweet guava blouse. I think it's very feminine and pretty (even if a little bit retro); however, personally I wouldn't spend $178 in a cashmere cardigan that is so flowy and open (meaning not warm), it feels like a waste. It's a bummer that they didn't make in another blend or even cotton, with a more attractive price tag.

By the way I wanted to thank you for all the suggestions that you have left on my sweet guava post. I haven't commented back but I plan to have a follow-up post soon (I'm waiting for something that I have ordered with the 20% off to try with it. Not sure that it will work but it wasn't final sale).

Do you like this new cardigan?

New Year's Eve Outfit

It's officially 2010, so Happy New Year again everybody!
I just wanted to post my New Year's Eve outfit (while hubby is napping. Poor thing he got up at 5.30 to give my daugther her morning milk).

We stayed at home yesterday night. We tried to organize a New Year's Eve dinner with friends at our place but it didn't work, so in the end it was just the two (er ... three, of us).
My husband cooked (scallops and lobsters, yummy!), so all I had to do was dressing up for the occasion and enjoy.
I had a couple of outfits in mind but in the end I decided for the silk tiered cami and black toothpick jeans for comfort (and my pinkish Marjorie flats):



And yes, that's the bubble necklace in soft violet, the one that came in pieces and I had to reorder. I was struggling to find a necklace to wear with the cami (I didn't want a golden necklace) and at the last minute I tried the bubble that was still in the Jcrew box and LOVED it with the tiered cami (it brightens up the deep aubergine of the cami and also flattens a little bit the front tiers). This was the first time that I wore it and I'm happy to report that this one wasn't defective and didn't break during the evening, even when I danced on the notes of Jaromiquai's "Canned Heat" (one of my favorite dance songs).
BTW, the pic above is the first one taken by my husband especially for the blog (he always refused): that's a fresh start!

We spent a very nice evening and for the first time since we moved in this apartment two years ago I got to stay up and enjoy the fireworks from the window of our bedroom (last year I was asleep by 10):



Enjoy your first weekend of 2010!

The Best of 2009 and Happy New Year!

Because this is a time for "Best of" lists (and resolutions, but I already had a resolution some time ago, right?) I thought that it would be fun to have a "My Best of Jcrew 2009" post. These are not necessarly the items that have the most WOW factor but the ones that I have worn a lot and would buy again and again:

My top of the top, in any category is (TADADA): the Linen Monterey skirt



Boy, I love this skirt, I just bought my third one (in white, I have already the khaki, pictured above, and the striped one) on the JCA Weekly Exchange. I know that I will wear it again next summer. In fact I CAN'T WAIT to wear it again and thanks to an upcoming Caribbean vacation at the end of January it will happen sooner than it normally would be (I have already decided that I'll take the white one with me).
Runner-up in this category: the wool perfect pencil skirt. I haven't worn it a lot but it surely is one of the best skirts ever and I'm sure that I will wear it when I'm older (if I can still fit in).

My top in ... tops is: the Tuxedo-front cami.
Unfortunately I don't have a website pic of this one but you certainly remember it:



Runner-ups in this category: the (first and original) cascading-ruffle tank and the Olive flannel top (this one actually could be an ex-equo).
(By the way, remember these denim pants that I had a "Returnable item of the week" post on and had returned? I finally re-bought them on super-final sale at the end of the season for $19.99. So, I'm looking forward to wearing them next year.

My top in pants is: the Summerweight chino cocktail capri:



I love the fit of these. I have the charcoal and khaki and will be adding the white soon. I bought all off them in super-sale so they are even more worth it.
Runner-ups in this category: toothpick cords

My top in dresses is: the Pavillion Pique dress



I know it was controversial, but it worked well for me.
Runnerup: the wool Ravine dress.

And this will be my LAST PURCHASE of 2009:



The Bettina heels, bought this morning for $79.99 (after seeing them - and wanting to buy them - almost every day since they came out as they have been in the window of the Madison Collection store forever).

What's on your "Best of 2009" list?

To all of you my best wishes for 2010!

Fashion-Related Question #1: What to Wear with... Sweet Guava?

I can never remember if papayas are fresh or bright at Jcrew but I'm pretty sure that guavas are sweet (I'm talking about the colors, of course).

So this is the first of a series of posts where I ask you to help me with a fashion-relate dilemma. In this case the dilemma is what to wear with a sweet guava top.
Some time ago I had the chance to come across a Harlow blouse in sweet guava in my size and for a decent price on the JCA Weekly Exchange. I already own the ivory version (see this post) and I regretted not getting also the sweet guava one (and/or the honey glaze one) because I absolutely LOVE this blouse, it's so feminine and classic and it will never go out of style (I can picture myself wearing this when I'm 80). So I got it and I was very excited about adding it to my closet.
However as much as I love the color per se, I find particularly challenging to find a cardigan to pair with it. I think that the blouse is mean to be worn alone in the first place but it's freezing here and I would like to wear it before spring, if not right now (it is REALLY freezing and there is nothing that could convince me to wear something different from a cashmere sweater these days).

Anyway, I have tried it with different cardigans that I already have and I'm not very happy, so I hope that you have some great ideas for me. While I was trying to find a cardigan to pair with it, I have realized that my winter color palette, and in particular my cardigans' color palette, is neutral bordering boring: besides a bright papaya cashmere V-neck cardigan from last year and the pinkish Michelle that I bought at the sample sale, everything is beige or black/charcoal or navy. There isn't a single splash of color, so I wouldn't mind taking advantage of the current great sale prices to buy a cardigan or two in a bright color.
But because maybe you don't remember the blouse, I wanted to show you a picture of it worn alone first. The jeans that I'm wearing in the pics are not the best style for this blouse but I was focused on the top half of my outfit, so please don't let the jeans distract you.



A similar style (plus the ruffly placket) from the current fall/winter collection, is the Solid Loulou blouse, that also comes in sweet guava, so if you have this one and you have found what to wear it with, I would like to hear it!

The first pairing that I have tried is the most obvious one, a black or navy cardigan. I picked up the navy Portland because it was longer than my black cardigans:



That's a safe choice (I think that nobody will point at me and say that I have a weird color taste if I go out wearing this); however I also think there is too much contrast between the sweet guava and a dark color like navy.
So I tried a heather grey, which on the opposite, is a little bit too fade for sweet guava (please mentally substitute this cardigan, which is old and too short, with something like the mohair souffle one):

I think that in the lighter palette a snow would work better, but snow is typically a color that washes me out (the last time that I have tried something in snow, the SA said that I could do better and said by a SA it sounds like a granitic truth).

Now for the unexpected pairings, I tried it with my cotton-cashmere waterfall cardigan in spice olive from this spring:



Unexpected it surely is, but is it also nice? I can't tell, what do you think?

And finally the following is the best I could come up with. You could call it an orgy of pastels but I kind of like them together, it's very delicate and it "respects" the spirit of the blouse. I'm talking of my croquet cardigan in amethyst from last spring. Did I tell you that I love this cardigan?



I think that this is how I'm going to wear it until I find another option. The bonus is that the cashmere in this cardigan is much thicker than any cashmere sweater that I have seen this fall/winter season (I'm still wondering why this cardi was part of the spring collection), so at least I'm going to be warm.
An option that I have been considering is buying a sweet guava cardigan for a total guava look. But because the bling cardigan (that comes in guava) I had put my hopes in is so flimsy, I am left with a cashmere crewneck and I don't know if I want to spend money in a cashmere in this color.

Do you have a blouse or cami in sweet guava? What do you pair it with? Do you have any color pairing suggestion? Which one of the options that I have showed you do you like the best?
Please share!

Post-Holiday Sales

Hi everybody, I hope that you had a fantastic Xmas weekend at home with you families or out of town if you were travelling to visit your closest ones. As you have noticed I didn't have the time to post anything since last wednesday, so a belated happy holidays to you all.

I meant to post something about how I spent Xmas (I really enjoyed reading all the Xmas posts and to see what you got and your outfits) but I feel like Xmas is SOOO last week.
I have the feeling that in the US you get over with Xmas much more quickly than in Europe (with maybe the exception of London), and in particular my country, because of the crazy after Xmas sales. The Day-After-Xmas sales always take me a little bit by surprise. First of all the 26th is a bank holiday in Italy and everything is as dead as on Xmas Day and all you can do is go to the movies or keep eating the leftovers and play games inside (or both). Second, the sales don't start until well into the New Year, so you are left with a little bit of holiday sickness between Xmas and New Year's Eve when basically there is not much to do and a lot of people are on "winter break" (that's why it's typical to leave for a vacation just after Xmas).
But here it's different, it's like "Forget about Xmas, that was yesterday, let's go shopping!".

So I went for a little after-Xmas shopping Saturday morning with the crowds. My first destination was Saks (I wanted to checkout the bags) but that was a total miss because by 10.30 (when I got there) they were SOLD OUT OF BAGS ON SALE (I have never seen that before). Then I went to Jcrew with a specific list of items that I wanted to possibly get on super-sale and I'm happy to report that I sticked to the list and didn't get the crazy prices (because with the additional 30% off sale prices it gets pretty much serious) distract me too much. Focus, Ema, focus. You don't need a golden pencil skirt that you know you will never wear.

The first item that I had been eyeing for a while, waiting for it to go on sale, is the Martini pant, a collection item that I had tried a while ago and liked, but not for $168. Actually "liked" is not the most appropriate word, I felt that I "needed" these pants to wear with my Zara Chanel-inspired jacket because of the metallic threads that give the pants a special shine (and my jacket has silver threads as well, even if I'm not sure if it comes across in the pictures).
Anyway, I almost got them during the last 25% off and free shipping promo (they were $119 before the $25% off) but I didn't pull the trigger (I didn't have enough on my gift card to get the free shipping and I didn't want to upset my husband just before Xmas with an "unauthorized" purchase) and I was super-bummed when I saw a few days after that the price had dropped to $89.99 but my size had sold-out.
I was even more bummed when I went to the Madison Collection store the same day hoping that they would still have my size and was told that they had shipped all of them to another store in the city (for the NewYorker readers, that's an interesting thing to know: they ship their sale merchandise to the 5th Avenue store and that's why I have often seen collection items in the sale section there). I called the store (it was Christmas Eve) and they told me that they had received boxes but they weren't sure of the content, and that I would have a better chance calling on Saturday, which I promptly did. I wasn't really expecting the store to have a pair in my size but I had the chance to speak with a non-crewless SA who understood what pants I was talking about even if I didn't have the style number and found a pair to put on hold for me. The best of all was that the price in store was $69.99 and with the 30%off I got them for less than $50. What a deal! The lesson is also that you generally get a better deal in store than online, something that I generally tend to forget when I spend too much time on the Internet reading what everybody's else is ordering.

So here they are with my Zara jacket:



It was a little bit dark in my bedroom this morning when I took the pics, so I'm going to show you the fitting room pic (from the first time that I have tried them) where you can see them in a better light:



If you are eyeing these pants as well, you should know that the fabric is a little bit unforgiving, they show every bump in your body and you can probably tell that I gained some weight these last days as they look looser in the pic from a month ago (too many chocolates).
Here they are with the Organza sash tissue tank that I have blogged about a while ago (and that I re-bought for half the price):


As you can see they aren't really "cropped" on me but I can always decide later to have them altered.

The other item that I got is the Silk ruffle cascade jacket in wild blueberry (which is basically navy). I had tried it when it first came out and I wasn't impressed for the price. But when I tried it again this weekend I really liked it and I LOVED the price that I paid: $48.
Here is with the toothpick cords in navy:



I liked that it looks good with a (cashmere) turtleneck, meaning that I'm not going to be limited by the temperature outside. It's an easy jacket in my opinion, that you can throw on at the last minute on an otherwise casual outfit (it looks really good with skinny jeans).


By the way this is exactly what I was wearing on Xmas Day, minus the jacket:


And if you really want to know I spent a very nice and warm Xmas at friend's (the parents of my daughter's "boyfriend") eating roasted goose and Panettone. They had a beautiful Xmas tree with real candles instead of lights that we lighted at twilight (a German tradition as he is German).
Oh, and I almost forgot. I got a digital frame for Xmas from my husband, that's was the gift that he bought for me (even if I think that HE is the one who wanted one). Not exactly Ugg boots but it was sweet. The funny thing is that I almost bought one for him, for the office, but then I opted for two weeks worth of Jcrew boxers (he really needed new underwear but I bought more so I can delay the laundry machine chore. See, I have been selfish too, in reality it was a gift for me).

Did you go post-Xmas-shopping? Did you get some great deal?

What's Not Under My Christmas Tree (AKA What I didn't Ask for Xmas)

I could have made a list and checked it twice, then handed it to my husband only to found out on Xmas Eve (when we typically exchange gifts with my husband, after putting our daughter to bed) that NONE of my Xmas wishes had come true. Last year I asked for 1) an iPhone; 2) a food processor (that's a dream for a husband, right? A wife who asks for a food processor for Xmas); 3) a pair of Uggs (not a NEW pair, I have been asking for a pair of Uggs for years and never got one) and just to make sure that my list would be taken seriously I also asked to renew my Barnes and Noble membership card. Guess what I got? Yes, the B&N card! I mean, not that I wanted EVERYTHING that was on my wishlist but the B&N card was clearly an add-on. He then offered to pay for "something for our beach vacation" after Xmas and I picked up a little sundress from Calypso. Why he wouldn't ge me what I really want and then pay for something that I hadn't asked for is beyond my understanding, but I have decided that it's one of those "Men come from Mars" things that you can't even try to explain.

So this year I didn't make a list and didn't tell my husband what I wanted, which generally means that I won't get anything. But he surprised me with a package under the tree and I have NO idea what it could be. My husband swore that it's not a joke (like the agenda from his office that I get every year) but a REAL present that HE BOUGHT for me. So I'm really curious. The last time that he bought me a present without a list of suggestions I got an iPod Nano (that I actually decided to return because I had already an erlier version and I didn't feel the need of another one, but it was nice of him and totally unexpected) so I'm up for something.

Anyway I have learned over the years that if I really want something for Xmas, I'd better buy it (unless is something very expensive) and what I really wanted this year is a simple one-strand pearl necklace. Now jewelry is something in the husband departement but I didn't want something expensive, as long as it was natural (and I'm not picky, if men have to help mother nature to produce a little pearl out of an oyster I still consider it "natural") and not a plastic one. I know that it's something that is generally passed on in the family but as a matter of fact I don't have one (and I don't think that my mother has one either - she has a pearl engagement ring and earrings but not a necklace) and have many outfits that would benefit from a pearl necklace. But what really decided me that I needed one is this:




When I tried the Ravine dress I really felt that it needed a necklace and not any necklace but a classic pearl strand.
So I started to look around. I don't know anything about pearls (besides the obvious difference between syntetic and natural/cultivated ones) so I didn't want to put a lot of money in it (to avoid overpaying for something that wasn't worth the price). I almost settled for one at Banana Republic, which was decently priced but then I thought "Wait a minute. Why should I buy a pearl necklace at Banana Republic? Don't do they clothes?". I know that Macy's has a large well-priced jewelry department and while I wouldn't look at their offerings for gold and diamonds because I generally don't like their designs, a pearl necklace is a pearl necklace and besides the clasp there is not much that could be improved design-wise.
There are some great deals at Macy's but the descriptions on the website lack details and basically don't help you with your choice.
So I turned to Ebay. Buying jewelry on Ebay is always a risk, but after selecting "US only" as country of origin I felt more comfortable. After a short search I found what I was looking for
directly from a producer of cultivated pearls in Florida. The price with free shipping was $16.99, a no-brainer, so I went for it.

The necklace arrived last week and the pearls are definitively a nice quality for all I can say. The clasp is a little bit on the cheap side but it's going to be hidden by my hair all the time (but that's definitively something that you want to check out before buying if you have short hair) and all in all I am very pleased with the purchase. And because of the price that I paid for it, I won't feel too bad in case there is another, more expensive one under the tree lol.

Here it is, the pearl necklace that did not make it under my Xmas tree (I hadn't the time to try it with the Ravine dress, here is with the silk posy cami that I got for $19.99 but I'm not sure about. It's just that the flower is very droopy and impossible to wear under a cardigan):




What's under your tree? Did you buy a present for yourself just to be sure that you would get it?

I'm going to try to have a "Xmas Cheer" post tomorrow but in case I run out of time, I wish you all a wonderful Xmas!

A Conversation about Jcrew

Friday was one of those days. I woke up a little bit stressed already because I had THREE Xmas parties to attend, one at my daughter's school in the morning (not that a 2-years-old Xmas party stresses me out "per se" but it meant that I had very little time to do stuff on my own, as drop-off was at 9 and the party started at 11, and should I mention that it was the only day where I could have potentially gone THE TORY BURCH SAMPLE SALE wasn't it for the party?), one in the building for cocktails and one later in the evening at friend's and plenty of errands to do in between. I already knew that I wouldn't have the time to do everything, but as to make things worst I LOCKED MYSELF IN THE APARTMENT after dropping my daughter at school. I know, it's pretty unusual, normally people lock themselves out, but what happened is that a piece in my door's lock broke and I couldn'open the door from inside the apartment because the knob wouldn't turn without the key (and my lock doesn't have a key-hole on the inside). Luckily my doorman had my keys, so he let me out and I could go to my daughter's Xmas party but I had to call the locksmith anyway because once back from school I wouldn't be able to close my apartment's door without locking myself inside again (which I actually did: closing the door is such an automatic action, one of those things that you do all the time without even realizing that you're DOING something). Well, the locksmith came and worked on the door-lock all the afternoon, so around 6 I just had the time to dress and rush my daughter out the door to the building Xmas party.

All this to say that it was an exhausting day and I didn't even have the time to take a shower before going to the evening party and without showering I didn't feel like putting on the outfit that I had planned to.
Instead I wore this (actually I wore black jeans instead of the ones in the pic):



The jacket is a Banana Republic velvet jacket that I found recently after deciding that the Eden blazer looked weird on me (I have ordered the Eden twice because I really nedeed a black jacket and ended up returning it twice). This is the same outfit with the Eden jacket:



Weird, right? Too high-waisted and short. The Banana is AWESOME in comparison, it has a much more tailored (cropped) fit and looks great with dresses AND jeans. In case you are looking for something like this, you can find it here.

While at the party, a friend of a friend (very nice guy) asked me where I got my tee because he liked the design. When I uttered "Jcrew" he couldn't believe his ears, he asked me if I was joking. He thought that Jcrew was "a catalog company" that made basics like cords and standed at the same level than Old Navy. I wanted to die, so of course I launched myself in a "Crewlogy" (Jcrew elegy? Jcrew Eulogy? You choose) and talked about the Jcrew "success story" and MO and Jenna and the store on Madison (he didn't even know that Jcrew had actual B&M stores). He didn't seem convinced, then he looked at my velvet blazer and said "OK, but this can't be Jcrew, right?". I almost lied because it could have been Jcrew, in fact it could have been the Eden that I had returned, but then admitted that it was a Banana. So maybe he won, but it was fun to speak with someone who didn't know anything about the "new" Jcrew.

We had a big snowfall last night, my daughter and husband are already outside in the snow, have a nice Sunday!