JCrew Sale Picks

After the show I headed to a JCrew store with my friend (who was just visiting) for a well-deserved little shopping treat.
I was a little bit nervous about taking the subway (=sweating in the subway) with my Jardin jacket but it turned out to be sturdier than I thought. The store was very picked over probably because it was the end of fashion week and it's in a very central location. The sale section was a mess as I had never seen before but I managed to find something lol. I didn't take pictures in the fitting rooms, so I am going to show you only what I bought.

First, the Heathered lumiere ruffle cardigan in heathered driftwood. Boy, this cardigan is beautiful, I don't know how I could pass by it many times without even noticing it. It's probably a secondary effect from rollouts overload (too many of the same).
I wasn't in the market for more ruffles but this one is special and it is one of the few offered in a camel color. It fits TTS, this is an XS:



And with the first button closed:


It is a little it itchy and sheer as all mohair is but I haven't a particular sensitive skin. If you plan on wearing it with a long-sleeved tee or blouse you might considering sizing up.

Next, the supercute Sweatshirt dress in heather almond. I had never tried it on because I thought that it would be too big/long on me but I was wrong (it is actually quite short). It is very comfortable and can be worn now without tights and later with tights and boots and a long-sleeved shirt. This is the XS, unbelted:



And belted:


By the way, this was $10 cheaper than online.
Last purchase, a pair of Minnies riding pants that I don't remember seeing before. The style number is 28430 and they were only $29.99. They are very soft/comfortable and they are going to replace my coal twill Minnies that have lost their shape after a few passa\ges in the washer/dryer:





I also bought a very cute skinny belt in a cobblestone color with some glitter (all FP belts were 10% off) that you will probably see soon with some outfit.

Do you own or have seen any of these?

The Martha Stewart Show Experience and a Giveaway

So if you have been reading the JCA blog today you have probably guessed that my "secret" event was the taping of a Martha Stewart show featuring Jenna Lyons. A while ago someone from the show posted on the JCA that they were giving away the tickets to be in the audience and that special seats were reserved to Jenna Lyons fans, so I replied and was given two tickets. In the ticket confirmation that I received they made a big deal out of the outfit that we were going to wear (must be JCrew head to toe, wear your most special pieces etc), which turned out to be completely irrelevant. I could have wore my pajamas and it would have been the same, especially because Jenna didn't show up (I had fantasized a little bit about Jenna complimenting my jacket, which couldn't have happened in any case because we weren't given the chance to meet the JCrew rep, which I also found disappointing).

Jenna's absence was a complete let down (we didn't even received an excuse or some sort of explanation. They have probably underestimated our real interest in JCrew). Instead of Jenna we had the VP of women's design, Marissa Webb, a mini-woman (it would have been interesting to see her and Jenna side-to-side) who wears Crewcuts pants (I swear) and was completely unable to say anything interesting about the brand and the pieces that they were featured on the show (also not very interesting choices in my opinion). Because during the taping we were not allowed to take pictures, I don't have one of Marisa to show you, but I have one of Martha who answers questions from the audience. Can you tell that she's wearing Jcrew (her line was all about the jacket, that I didn't recognized, but the tie-neck blouse was actually quite nice)?



The Jcrew segment was only the first out of 5 segments that we had to sit through before being entitled to leave the premises and receive our goodie bag, a deceptively empty JCrew canvas tote (only Jcrew goodie inside the bag, besides a September catalog with no coupon inside - a joke considering that the October catalog was out today - was a bottle of Essie nail polish in the "Cantaloupe" shade, probably an old Jenna's pick that the stores couldn't sell).
Anyway, Justin Long of "He's not that into you" fame, saved the day. He was the special guest invited to "help" Martha cook lobster linguini and he made me forget the reason why I was there in the first place. The segment was hilarious and if you are going to watch the show that airs this Thursday (tomorrow) make sure not to miss it (time better spent than watching Marisa Webb repeating that at Jcrew they like sequins). I don't know how much of it was scripted and how much it was impromptu but surely the guy is a natural and Martha kept up with him (I hope that they won't cut too much of it). He was also really fresh and cute (he came with his mom).
After a (thankfully) short segment on facial yoga (where we had to make funny faces and were threatened to be caught on camera), we had to show our enthousiasm through an unreal "DIY" segment where we learned how to make a statement necklace out of hosiery and ping-pong balls and an Hermes-inspired canvas bag that Martha unwillingly made fun of when she said that it was good to carry the dog's stuff.

Anyway the most interesting part was to see what the other JCAs were wearing. I expected more iconic and old pieces but there were a few very cute outfits and a few doubles: two buffalo boy check shirts (even if styled very differently), two berry-trim Astrids in the plum color (one wore by the friend I went to the show with), two sequined skirts from this season (the bell store-only one and the brown pencil one). I recognized a few other bloggers and I was seated next to Tres Tippy. She was the one wearing one of the two Astrids and I was wearing my Jardin jacket with the contrast-stitch perfect shirt:



All in all it was an interesting experience (at least I learned how a TV show is made), even if it wasn't what I had expected it to be.

And now I am going to give away a bottle of the infamous Cantaloupe polish, generously offered to you by my friend. If you want to be entered into the giveaway, leave a comment in the comment section telling us what you would have worn if you had been invited to the show. I am going to pick a winner on Monday, so you have until Sunday midnight ET to enter.

Dans Mon Jardin

I have to attend a top secret event this Tuesday and I need to be dressed up in my best JCrew attire (it doesn't need to be an "occasion" outfit, only it must be something special). I will post about the event after attending, as the organizers have requested the information not to be posted on any blog. Don't worry, I am not going to a dinner hosted by the Obamas or something like that!

Anyway I plan to wear my Jardin jacket, as it is quite special. I know, I never told you that I am one of the happy owners of this jacket but I actually purchased it months ago.
I was one of those who admired it when we first saw it in magazines and previews but as you probably remember it soldout as soon as it (virtually) hit the website. It is something that is typically out of my price range and it looked too hard to get anyway so I wasn't really thinking about buying it.

But one day I was strolling on Madison Avenue when I caught a glimpse of the jacket on a mannequin inside the Collection store. It turned out that they had two in my size and I ended up bringing it home. I must admit, it was quite an impulsive purchase but what decided me to take the plunge was that not only it is an absolute exquisite item that fits me very well but also it is something that I can see myself wearing 30 years from now. Also my birthday was only a month away and I used some money that my parents gave me to "reimburse" our family account. So let's say that it was a birthday present.

I took pics for a post as soon as I got it but it seemed a little bit silly to write a review about a jacket that nobody could buy anyway, so I decided to wait until I would wear it, which didn't happen until now (I bought it in May and the summer has been hot here).
I remember that when I was looking at the jacket online I had a hard time to figure out the collar from the website pics, that as always didn't seem to be there with the purpose of helping the customers. It is actually a shawl collar and the sequins are sewn on the inside of the collar, so that when you flip it, they will be visible on the outside:





As I said the sequined floral motive is absolutely stunning IRL:



As someone said all those sequined flowers are heavy and sewn on a chiffon base so they tend to pull on the fabric a little bit but in my opinion this is not a case of bad execution. The only problem with the jacket in my opinion is the tie closure, which in reality is a drawstring. There is no way that you can wear it open like the model, unless you use some trick to attach the ties on the inside of the jacket. Look what happens when you untie the ties:



I think that a simple push button or an eye and hook closure would have been better than the drawstring, also because you can't really pull on the ties as to really close the jacket, there will always be a gap in the middle. At some point I think I will have a button added so that it stays like that:



Initially I had planned to wear it with the contrast-stitches perfect shirt for a look similar to the one shown on the model:



But then I thought that a bright pink top would actually bring out the pink tones of the jacket and I started to look for one. A neon pink like the neon flamingo color that JCrew offered this summer would actually be the best pairing but besides my vintage cotton v-neck tee (which is too casual to wear with the jacket) I don't have anything else in that color and I didn't find anything to buy in the FS section of the website during the past week.
I finally bought a tee at the Loft that is actually quite nice and silky, even if in a darker shade of hot pink. I apologize for the quality of the pictures but I had to use the flash as it was very dark already when I tried it with the jacket and I wanted to post this tonight:





I still have a few details to figure out, like the belt and shoes, so this is not the final version of the outfit. Please let me know which pairing you prefer, if the pink tee or the blue shirt as I am undecided.

By the way, I don't want to enable as this is an expensive item but if you were lusting over this jacket, it is back in stock in all the sizes on the website (crazy JCrew inventory). Maybe it will even go on sale soon!
Have you seen the Jardin jacket IRL? Would you buy something like this? If you own it, do you have any suggestion as how to wear it?

I will probably be back posting Wednesday as I have guests arriving tomorrow and the event on Tuesday.

Have a nice week!

More Talbots

So the other day I ended up having a "fashion afternoon out" with my daughter instead of a fashion night out by myself. I went midtown and it was actually fun to see the stores getting ready for the big event (some stores where having catwalk "rehearsals") without the crowd.

I took advantage of my daughter falling asleep in stroller to hit a few stores, including Talbots. I hadn't seen the fall collection yet and I was curious to checkout some of the most talked-about pieces. I could only try a few items on as they were sold-out of my size in almost everything and also the store was kind of difficult to navigate with a stroller (you know, steps instead of ramps).

The first item that I tried on is the Double-faced wool pencil skirt. I had already tried on the 2 regular and here I am trying the 2P:




It didn't flow nicely on my hips. Maybe it's the fabric but I definitively prefer the fit of the JCrew pencil skirts and I find this one in particular a little bit overpriced.

I almost ordered the Belted leopard-print sheat dress and I am happy that I didn't before seeing it IRL. In the pictures it looks very Demi Moore but I think that Demi couldn't be caught dead wearing this. The fabric looks a little bit cheap IMO (the description says cotton but I am almost sure that it's not 100% cotton) and it was very stiff. The fit of the 2P is off on me, too wide at the midsection, even if it's supposed to be belted:




They didn't have the pencil skirt in the same print (and, I suppose, the same fabric) but I guess it would have been a pass too.

Finally I tried the Lace sheat, in the same fabric than the lace shell that I had ordered and returned.
This one was definitively the best of the bunch even if not for me. I would consider it if I had a formal occasion but I have nowhere to go in it and it's a bit too serious to ring as "party dress" for the holidays. Again, I didn't fill the midsection and the lining was bulging a little bit around the thighs (on the model too):




Now, I had almost given up on the Leopard-print velvet coat, the one that Linda Evangelista wears in the ad campaign and that had been the reason why I started to turn to Talbots in the first place since spotting it last spring in a WSJ article on Talbots. The coat came out when I was on vacation and immediately sold-out in the 2P, which is the smallest size for coats at Talbots. I saw it in store but because there were only big sizes left (8P and up) I couldn't tell how it would look on me (it seemed to run big). Then I found a 20% off code on the Talbots Facebook page and I became determined to find one in my size if I could use the coupon towards the purchase on the phone. I used the "Find it in a store" feature on the website and started with the NY state (no results), until I found one in a store in NJ. I called yesterday morning and I had an excellent experience. The whole thing took 5 minutes, no wait on the phone and the SA happily applied the 20% off and added a free lipstick as a bonus. Best of all, the shipping was only $6 (hello JCrew!) so I won't be upset if it doesn't work and I have to return it. They are going to ship it on Monday, so I will review it when it arrives.

Have you tried one of these items? Do you own or have you seen the leopard-print coat?

Apply code "Lipstick2010" at checkout for 20% off one single FP item (valid until 9/30). Enjoy!

PS
Speaking of Demi Moore, on the plane I watched a movie with Demi Moore that I really reccomend, The Joneses. The story is really original plus, I don't know you but I always enjoy a movie with David Duchovnic at his best. I think he's one of the sexiest men in the world and also a decent actor, even if he is often underestimated.

OOTD: White and Lilac

I clearly don't abide to the rule "no white after Labor Day". Who said that? Besides the fact that I love white on a sunny day, I couldn't wait to wear my new suckered gingham perfect shirt in bright lilac that I found yesterday in store. I put it several times in my cart during the last two % off FS promo but never pulled the trigger as I was unsure of sizing. In store is still 39.99 but at least there is no final sale and the 0 fits perfectly. If I tried it at the beginning of the season I would have happily paid full price for it:





It's frisky this morning outside, so I am wearing it with my cashmere croquet cardigan from last year:



Not to be rethorical but I can't finish this a post without a tought to the victims of 9/11 the and their families (even if I'm wearing white and not black).

Enjoy the weekend!

Great find of the Week: the BR Lady Peep-Toes (Alecia Look-Alike)

I am on a shoes kick. You will see a lot of shoes in the next days but today I want to blog about a pair of Alecia look-alike that will rave those of you who are smitten by the JCrew Alecia but find them too expensive, even on sale.
I went back and forth about the black suede Alecia all the summer: I wanted to buy a pair because I don't have anything similar in my shoe closet and they are great to add a little edge to any outfit but I waited for them to go on sale as it's a style that could look "passe" next year and by the time they went on sale I cooled off because it was too late in the season and they were still too expensive, even with the 30% off.

A month ago I was at BR and I saw the perfect look-alike, the Lady suede peep-toes. They were $140 but I had a couple of 40% off coupons to be used in September so I hoped that they would still be there when I got back from vacation. They were, and they were still full price which in this case it's a good thing because the 40% coupon can only be applied to full price items.
With the 40% they came down to $84 (what I call a good deal) and I am happy to report that Banana Republic changed back the return policy from 30 to 60 days due to costumer feedback. Take that, Jcrew!

From the front, they are identical to the Alecia, besides the stitches:







The only difference is that the zip is located on the side and not in the back (which is better because less noticeable in case you don't like zippers) and the heel is a little bit higher (4" against 3/4" of the Alecia) and straight:





In case you want to give them a try, I had to size down half a size because my foot was felling off the back. It looks like this is a design flaw as I still had this problem with the smaller size but at least I can walk and I think that it can be solved by applying a little instert.

And yes, I am wearing the Silk and sequins scoopneck tee in olive moss. You know that I really liked it when I first tried it on in sweet almond but when I saw it in store in this olive color I couldn't resist even if it's definitively expensive. It's one of those pieces that just feel like "me" and I thought that it was worth to buy it FP because it's a short-sleeved top and it's season is NOW, unlike most of the fall stuff that are full price now but will be on sale before you can even wear it (I am talking about you Dream V-draped aka "Yoga" sweater.) And if I ended up not wearing it I could always return it. But I wore it a lot already (in Milan and here), so I guess that it was a good purchase.



Now if only could go out and about like this tonight for NYC fashion's night out. I could sip cocktails with Jenna at the Prince store and rub my shoulder against Halle Berry at Ralph Lauren. Instead my husband will be sipping cocktails in Montecarlo at my place and I will be at a playdate with my daughter until 7. I am tempted to show up in this outfit at the playdate and stop by Ralph Lauren with her on my way back (I know someone there) but I am afraid that the other moms will be all in jeans. Unless I put a pair of Gap city flats in my bag and make a quick change before/after the playdate.
I will see how I feel. Anyway I will have my camera with me and if I end up going I will let you know.

Have you seen or tried the BR Lady peep-toes? What do you think? Do you own the Alecia? Please share!

Wednesdays at the Gap: the Suede Wedge Booties

For today's edition of Wednesday's at the Gap I am going to do a quick review of the Suede wedge booties that I have ordered during the recent Give&Get promo (yes, I was in Italy but isn't it just great that one can shop in the US while sipping coffee in Italy?) I was sure that these were going to sell out and in fact there is only one size left on the website in the grey color. However, you can probably still find them in store. I ordered the grey as the camel ones weren't available in my size.

First the good: they look more expensive than what they are (I wouldn't say high-end but you wouldn't think that they are Gap). The suede is a nice quality and even if the sole isn't leather they are nicely finished and the wedge is very comfortable. I personally like the golden hardware, I don't think it looks cheap at all. So, out of the box (actually, I should say out of the the plastic bag) they looked very promising and really cute. The color is a little bit lighter than on the website pic:





However, they didn't lived up to my expectations when I tried them on. I couldn't size down as they don't come in half sizes but they do run big, not in terms of length but the part that laces up and should tighten the ankle is loose fitting, at least on me. And let me tell you that I never had particularly thin ankles and calves. In fact for many years if asked what part of my body I would have changed if I had a magic wand, I would have replied my ankles and calves (nobody never asked because I am not famous and nobody ever interviewed me and asked me these kind of questions but that would have been my answer).

I wish I had more pics to show you but my camera's battery died on me, so I hope you get the idea. I tried them with bootcut jeans and half covered by the jeans they look pretty nice:



Side view of the wedge:



And this is a view from above to show you that there is a inch gap between my leg and the bootie's leather:



Granted, I still have to try them with tights but I don't think that they are going to be flattering anyway. I think the top of the bootie should be a inch or two lower and closer to the ankle. You can see that they cut the leg:



I did try them with the Minnies in the same color and didn't like how they looked together.
So they didn't work for me, but for the price you should give them a try as it is a question of fit. If you have very long legs and you can wear them with thick socks or tights, you are probably going to rock them.

Do you have these? What do you think? Are you tempted?
By the way, I hadn't the time to go into a Gap since I came back. If you know of a promo going on now in stores, please share!