Nude Shoes Dilemma: Advice Needed!

Way back at the beginning of the summer I impulse-bought on sale a pair of high-end shoes that I almost immediately regretted buying, for two reasons. First (most important) reason: they were not my size but a half size bigger. I wasn't loosing them but you could see a gap of half an inch between the back of the shoe and my foot. The SA talked me into wearing them with pads and I was stupid enough to buy into his sale pitch.
Second reason: they are a beautiful pair of shoes but not something that I needed and they are expensive, even on sale. What I really liked about them (besides the fact that they are nude without being pinkish or tan which is pretty rare to find) is the fact that they are very classic and they have a very low heel, which (to me) makes them the perfect pair to wear with non-black party dresses (as I am pretty incapable of wearing a pair of high-heeled pumps without looking, and feeling, like a foolish woman).
They are by Bally, a Swiss brand that is maybe more well-known in Europe:







I wanted to return them but the problem was the final sale policy of the store. Luckily for me I used my Amex so after getting back from my vacation I filed a claim through my Amex return protection program and I finally received the go-ahead from Amex to send the shoes (that must be unworn and in the original packaging), which is the final step before they can refund my credit card for the amount that I paid (something like $250).

But in the meanwhile I caved and bought the Elena shift dress (which is almost sold out on the website, as I just found out!) I have to tell you that I am still a little bit in shock about the price that I paid (even with the $25% off) but it's the "cool factor" of this dress that I find quite special and very suited to my personality/lifestyle and I thought that if I were ever to buy a lace dress it had to be this one.
So what the Elena dress has to do with my shoes? Well, the shoes happen to be the perfect pair to wear with the dress IMO (when I am not in the mood to wear it with my motorcycle boots, lol) because they are exactly the same champagne shade of the dress lining. And quite magically I tried them today and they fit like a dream (no gap). Don't ask me how's possible that a grown-up woman's feet grow up half a size in a few months but I have noticed recently that many of my old shoes feel quite tight. OK, now if this is a known symptom of incipient menopause, don't tell me!

So as I am ready to put them in the mail and never see them again, I am hesitating and I would appreciate a little help ;-). You maybe see something that I don't see and that can help me taking the right decision.
I am going to show you the shoes with the Elena dress but this is not a post on the dress itself as I didn't have time at all to style it (but I think that less is more with this dress so there isn't much to style). I am perfectly conscious that these are a more springy alternative to black tights/black shoes but I think that that's how I prefer it (without tights or with nude tights) and I don't think that there is a better pair of shoes for it out there, also because the dress is pretty short and a higher heel would create a disproportion. The downside of lower heels is that they don't lengthen the leg as, say, a 4" Laboutin.
But enough words, here are the pics:






What do you think? Should I keep them or you think that I can find better? The only contender would be this pair but it feels silly to return a pair of shoes that I already have and go through the hassle of ordering another pair very similar if it's not to save money (and these are basically the same price). Obviously I don't plan to wear them ONLY with this dress (incidentally I think that they should also look great with pants, even if I haven't tried) but this is the mean reason for me to keep them.

Your advice is greatly appreciated!

OOTD with the Lace Panel Tee and My Fall Uniform

I just wanted to do a quick OOTD post before expiration of the 30% off FS at JCrew.com. The reason is that I am wearing my favorite "fall" tee which happens to be in the FS section for the ridicolous price of $14.99 before 30% off. It's the Lace panel tee in windsor grey and I am wearing it with the ethereal cardigan from last spring in heathered grey:




At first I had put on my Minnies in coal for color scheme consistency but then changed into these Paige bootcut jeans because I had an appointment with the orthopedist for my calf and I thought that it would be easier for him to examine me if I wore non-tight pants (it's very easy to pull them up). That was quite silly as as soon as I arrived I was asked to take my pants off and put on one of those hospital plastic gown. The good news is my calf is going to heal by itself but I have to start a stretching routine because that's why it happened, apparently (because I don't stretch and my muscles are tight).

To go back to the lace panel tee, it is very delicate and feminine and very flattering IMO, so if you need something to reach the free shipping minimum I would give it a try. I especially love it with the felted bistro mini (that I am very excited to wear as it was a popback that I bought during the summer):




I also wanted to post what has been my typical uniform for the past two weeks: a pair of jeans or skinny pants and my downtown field jacket accessorized with the Printed wool wrap in the dahlia multi color. You have already seen it in one of the fitting room pics post but now that it is available on the website too I wanted to advertise it as the perfect scarf to wear with the downtown field jacket in the fall. The color of the scarf just blends into the color of the jacket (mine is the black one, which isn't a true black but more of a faded color between black and forest green) and the pops of yellow and red scream "it's fall". I know that JCrew scarves are expensive but this is my favorite scarf ever and I would recommend it to anyone (especially if you have the field jacket or a similar one):



Have a nice week! I am alone until Friday, so you can expect a lot of posts to come...

PS
So I enjoyed the last episode of Mad Men (did you see it coming?) but I thought it wasn't nearly as poignant as the previous season finales, especially Season 2 which is a television masterpiece in my modest opinion!

The Victoria Shirt Goes to a Concert (Saturday Outfit)

My husband just left (again!) for a business trip and I have an hour and a half to kill before the season finale of Mad Men (so excited but also sad that another season is coming to an end), so I thought I would post a few pics of the outfits that I wore on Saturday and that feature the Victoria long-sleeved shirt.

I haven't worn it in a while (more than a year, I think) but I still love it and I tend to wear it especially in the fall. I am very fond of this shirt because it was the first thing that I bought at the Collection store on Madison Avenue when they opened exactly two years ago. I still remember that the first time that I saw it in the store I thought that it was the most beautiful white shirt that I had ever seen and, as Caroline Herrera will tell you, a good white shirt can take you everywhere. We have seen a lot of similar ruffled shirts since then and we tend to forget how unexpected and unusual this shirt was when it first came out. I think that it really is an iconic piece.

Because it is a little bit dramatic with all those pleats and ruffles around the collar, I have always associated it with theater and I love to wear it to a theatrical performance, especially a concert or a opera (where sadly I don't get to go as often as I would like to). In this case I was taking my daughter to a "Lollipop Concert" (a classical music concert geared towards 3-5 years old) organized by the nursery school (that was fun and instructive, even if my daughter was a little bit too young).
I paired it with matchstick cords from 2008 (I tend to wear something casual as a bottom with this shirt to play it down), a BR merino open cardigan from the same year and my Glanbrae boots (now that I think about it the entire outfit is from 2008):



It was FREEZING cold on Saturday morning so I topped everything with a Zara coat that I bought while I was in Italy. This coat is everything that I wanted a coat to be this season. First, it is camel (if you have to buy a coat this season, make it camel); second it is very minimalist and it looks like a Celine (swoon) and third it's inexpensive (because who knows what I will like next year). I would say that it is the perfect coat if it weren't for the fact that is open, like in "you can't button it because it has no buttons." My mom (who was a tailor) solved momentarily the problem by sewing a hook on the inside but it is kind of visible (it's intended for fur coats so a little bit massive) and I will need to replace it at some point. Anyway at least I can wear it without freezing (even if admittedly I wouldn't wear it during the coldest months when I typically switch to my puffer coats anyway):






In the afternoon the weather warmed up a little bit and I swapped the merino cardigan for the cashmere zip cardigan (and I went out without a coat). I just wanted to show you that you can easily wear a shirt under this cardigan (I am wearing a XS). I love the cuffs of the Victoria peeking out:



We had invited friends for dinner. I have to say that I rarely cook when we have friends coming over as I don't like to cook (only bake) and my husband is a very good cook but every year at this time of the year I love to prepare a pumpkin soup (a cream, actually) as an appetizer and I love to serve it in the emptied pumpkin itself. It is very easy (cutting the pulp of the pumpkin is the hardest part) and scenographic and the guests always appreciate the effort (plus the day after you can have fun with the kids and carve a Jack-o-Lantern for Halloween). I wished I had taken a picture of the soup but because I poured it into the pumpkin just before serving it I couldn't do it. Instead, I took a very rare pic of myself wearing an apron (this is a silly one and describes the recipe for a "elephant stew"):



Because I had basically spent the day in my Victoria and even cooked in it I wanted to change myself before our friends arrived but my husband asked me not to because he thought that the shirt was very pretty. I always like a spontaneous compliment from my husband so my Victoria stayed for dinner too.

Do you still wear it your Victoria shirt, if you own one?

Enjoy the last episode of Mad Men, those who watch the show!

Finding Chanel at the Gap

I meant to post this yesterday as part of the "Wednesdays at the Gap" series but I had a crazy day and my husband came home early from a trip and took quarters at my computer desk (and I can't complain as he's the one who brings the money home) for the rest of the afternoon until we went out.

In any case I went to the Gap with my 40% off coupon to check out what they had (I missed the 40% off everything promo that they had in stores on Columbus Day as my daughter was sick and I could barely walk) and I found something absolutely AMAZING.
Let me introduce you the Pleated bow skirt. Actually I had already noticed this skirt online and almost put it in my cart when they had a 30% off promo last week but because of the fabric (100% poly) I didn't dare ordering it without seeing IRL first. So I was happy to see it in my store yesterday.
At first I was drawn to the ochre color (which is TDF IRL and certainly more unusual than the black one). Here are the pics that I took in the fitting room but let me say that they don't do the skirt justice because 1) I didn't have the appropriate top and 2) I still had a wrap around my calf from last Sunday injury (which thankfully is healing by itself, today I can almost walk normally) which isn't very sexy:




But let's be honest, where I was going to wear this skirt? It's very pretty but dressy and I tend to wear dressy skirts only in the evening, so I thought that I would probably get more wear out of the black one, which was also a little bit more flattering (again, not the best top to show it off):




The skirt is incredibly well done for a Gap garment (which are usually a little bit cheap in the details like stitching etc.). The fabric really has a silky feeling to it and you wouldn't say that it's 100% poly:




I paid $35 for it (with my coupon) but it looks like I paid much more and I can bet that nobody would say that it comes from the Gap.
That evening I was to attend a class cocktail party held at a NY art gallery and as I was trying to figure out was I was going to wear (initially I thought that I would be condemned to wear pants because of the my calf but the wrap came off while I was taking a shower and it looked like I could walk without) I immediately thought of pairing this skirt with the JCrew bow top from last year that you have seen recently in another post. I tried to wear this top with a black pencil skirt but the outfit was a little bit too serious (not to say funereal). It looks like this top and this skirt were made for each other: the skirt brings out the playful character of the top managing to keep it very elegant. In these pics I had untied the bow so as to wear the top untucked:




I thought that I had taken a pic of the entire outfit, but apparently my camera's battery died before (and I am too lazy today to re-wear it just to take a picture). In the end I wore the top tucked in with a black long cardigan, tights and red lipstick (and the same Miu Miu pumps). Both the top and the skirt have a Chanel feeling to them and the outfit itself was very Chanel-esque (and also perfect for the occasion as it turned out that everybody was wearing black. That's NY!)

I would recommend this skirt to anyone (especially those of you who feel let down by the length of skirts at Jcrew this year as this one hits above the knee but is not a mini).
Have you seen this skirt at your local Gap? Are you considering it?

Saturday Housewarming Party Outfit

This Saturday we went to New Jersey (Jersey City) for the housewarming party of our friends who got married in Seattle last spring.

The party started at 4 to allow for couples with children to bring them. I really, really wanted to wear one of my newest purchases, the Tiered silk ruffled cami, which, incidentally, is a "hidden" item in the sale section. You have to type "Tiered silk" to find it, go figure.
When I tried this top in store last week I immediately fell in love with it. I felt very gracious in it, like a ballerina or a little bird. The color is black but only the wool panel in the back, grosgrain belt and straps are black. The silk charmeuse ruffles themselves are more of a midnight blue, which is a navy tinged of grey.
I haven't tried the dress but besides the fact that it is still FP I think that the wool all the way down in the back is going to be too form-hugging and maybe even sheer as it is kind of a lightweight fabric.
The top is very easy to wear IMO. It looks good alone with black pants/jeans (I am wearing last year toothpick in dark raisin rinse):



but is also super-cute peeking out from a cardigan or jacket:




In the end I didn't wear it because it was too dressy for the occasion (not to mention that it took us an hour and a half of public transportation to get there) and in fact the other guests were very casual. I wore my Talbots tee instead, with the Loft clear necklace from this spring. I always get a ton of compliments on this necklace and it's true that it's really pretty and unusual:



Our friends apartment is on the waterfront and they have an amazing view of the Hudson River and the NYC skyline on the other side. This the view from the walkway between the train station and their building:



I was carrying an Anthropologie bag with a present for our friends. I rarely visit Anthropology and I think that I have never made a purchase there (at least not clothes) but the last time that I have been there (in the summer) I saw in the home section these adorable Storybook romance dishtowels and I though that they would make a great little present for newlyweds (if for example you have not been invited to the wedding but you want to send something or, as in this case, you are invited to a housewarming). I was happy that they still had them in the store, they made the perfect present.

These are the last few hours of the 25% off card. I feel a urge to go outside and take advantage of it for the last time but I have spent way too much already and I am stuck home with a sick daughter AND a calf strain (that I have inflicted myself yesterday while playing frisbee in the park. Hopefully it will heal by itself but because of Columbus Day I couldn't even see the doctor today).

Have a nice week.

OOTD (Casual Cobblestone)

This post is for mrs.anketell who requested some outfit ideas for the Dream draped v-neck sweater (aka "Yoga" sweater) in heather cobblestone. I posted a couple of outfits here (it looks really nice with the carmichael popover) but I wore it today for the first time in the real world (the world outside my bedroom where I actually need to wear clothes). I have to say that if I still LOVE the cobblestone color, I realized that there aren't so many colors that I can pair with it (at least in my closet) as it's not quite grey and it's not quite brown. In the end I chose the semplicity of a white painter tee.

In my opinion, if you are going to wear this sweater with a simple tee you need a necklace to prevent it from going totally casual (not that there is anything wrong with casual. As you know I am casual most of the days). I decided to try the Northern Lights necklace in gunmental, that I bought a few weeks back when the stores were running a 25% off promo on jewelry (after seeing it on Andrea from The closet chronicles. Glear blog BTW, check it out if you haven't yet). I had a hard time in choosing betwen the golden one and the gunmetal and I went with the gunmetal because I have a lot of grey sweaters/tees for the winter.
Anyway, I think it looks great with this sweater:




For a look a little bit more sophisticated, you can wear a Victoria cami or other ruffled-neckline cami. I love the Victorias because they add some pizazz (is it really a word?) without adding bulk (but I don't wear them alone, only under cardigans). They still popback on the website and if you happen on one in your size I wouldn't hesitate to grab it, especially in a light color (they are even worth paying the shipping IMO if you don't have anything else to add to your cart):



While I am at it, I wanted to show you the Cashmere zip cardigan that I got yesterday with that crazy sweater promo that the stores are running (must resist buying 42 cashmere sweaters). I got it in the heather saddle color (which is as camel as you can get at JCrew this season) and I love it. I am happy to announce that this one doesn't suffer from tight sleeves syndrome and it hits me below my hips. This is my usual XS and I can even conceive wearing a long-sleeved shirt under it, yay:





Are you taking advantage of the sweater promo? Are you buying JCrew cashmere this season?

A Few Outfits from the Past Week

I have a few cute outfits that I wore last week to share.

I wore this one at the beginning of the week (don't remember if it was Monday or Tuesday but it was definitively before the rain came) after school. I am not a legging person but this tunic-dress is too short to be worn without something underneath, even for me. It's a cord dress from Old Navy and made some buzz in the blogosphere last year. They have a similar version this year here that you can see on Gigi and also a drawstring-waist version. I could have sized up but I ordered it without trying it on and by the time it arrived it was completely sold out. Thus the leggings (I wore it without the belt):





The next outfit is pretty unusual for me. It's a knit dress by Zara and I think it's the only knit dress that I own. It has been hanging in my closet for years (bought it before baby) and the neckline now is very low as the fabric stretched out. I wore it Friday morning to a "coffee meeting" at school. I wasn't sure how the other moms would show up so I thought that a dress was a pretty neutral solution (in the end it was very casual but I didn't feel too dressed up anyway). I paired the dress with the JCrew whirling ruffle cardigan from last year (which is exactly the same color and texture of the dress) and the blossom belt that I just bought on supersale (after stalking it for quite a long time):



It was very dark in my bedroom that morning, so I also took a pic while I was in the fitting room at JCrew where you can better see the details:



It was raining so I topped the outfit with an old classic trench (also by Zara) and a vintage Hermes scarf (that my aunt had offered my mom years and years ago and my mom gave to me):





I always get a "Inspecteur Clouseau" feeling when I wear this trench (any long trench actually). For years I fantasized about buying a classic Burberry trench but then I realized that it's not for me, I am just too short to rock this look (but at least the Zara one keeps me dry). I will let you guess about the boots that I am wearing (post coming next).

And on Saturday night I broke out my new wool crepe cropped pants in bronzed twig to dinner with friends (love them). It was warm, so I didn't wear a jacket but only a cardigan. The top is the ribbon-front top from last year that I can finally wear because I finally found a cardigan long enough (the Loft v-neck cardigan) but not too long on me as the Infinity/Eternity one. I also broke out the BR heels. I have to say that these are not the most comfortable heels that I own, actually quite the opposite so I will save them for short walks. My husband thought that the heels were "funny" (he also asked if it was normal that my pants were that short. Guess he doesn't quite get the concept of cropped pants):



Have a happy Tuesday!