Piperlime Find: The Marc Jacobs Jagz Velvet Skirt

Today I want to share a recent find from the recent 20% off promotion at Piperlime.com. Usually I don't take advantage of this kind of promo because I am usually overwhelmed at the vastity of the offerings on the website. I don't spend much time browsing on Piperlime unless I am looking for something specific so when a promo kicks in I don't even know where to start. I don't like the feeling of buying just because I have to take advantage of a promo or making decisions in a split-second out of fear that something will sell out (that's why I never buy on the sample sale sites a la Gilt, I just can't wrap my mind around stuff that wasn't even on my horizon until a minute before. The thought that I didn't even know that something existed and all of a sudden I need it so badly that I have to buy it immediately usually makes me feel like a total chimp and keeps me from buying). In this case though I had had the
Marc Jacobs Jagz Velvet skirt in my cart for a little while (not sure how I found it but I was probably looking at MJ bags, since I have been on the lookout for a white bag this summer, and stumbled upon the skirt) and I was waiting for a price drop or a promo like this one to pull the trigger. The price itself was already a very good deal compared to the original price but I needed a little help to overcome the fact that it was marked as final sale. With the promo the price came down to $95, which is the price of a basic sweater at JCrew these days, and I was also going to save an additional $10 in sale tax (which always gives me a special thrill) so I decided that it was the time to buy it.

The skirt arrived today. I was impressed by the packaging, it was very carefully packaged in bubble plastic to protect the fabric (it came in a box):

I haven't bought Marc by Marc Jacobs in a while but I tried a few things during the sale at Saks and find that it is still pretty much my style. For a $400 Marc Jacobs skirt I had pretty high expectations but this skirt exceeded my expectations, it is simply gorgeous. I ordered a 2 based on the reviews that said to size up and that was good advice but I could probably have sized up to a 4 since the waist is teeeeny, I could barely breath when I first put it on. Definitively not for a gourmet-dining evening! On the other side, a reviewer said that the skirt is pretty full, which I don't find to be true, unless she meant that the black satin waistband can create a bit of volume under it but personally I think it looks good and pretty much streamlined (the Jardin skirt for example does that on me).
I plan to wear it mostly in the evening with black. Being silk velours it has a lustrous shine to it that makes it more appropriate for the evening but it can certainly be played down for the day too, especially if you have brown or red tops to pair with it. Again, I don't have my full winter wardrobe on hand but I think that this is pretty much how I am going to wear it.

So here it is. I have a lot of black top choices and I tried it first with a black silk cami which is, I think, what's better suited for it:

Detail of the waisband (strangely the top of the skirt is sewn over the waistband, I think so as to avoid bulkyness at the seam but it could be just a designer preference):

At first I thought that I wouldn't be able to tuck in anything heavier than silk, but my cashmere short-sleeve tee is not bad at all:

Tucking in is the best choice with this kind of skirts IMO but I think that this H&M top works because of its boxy shape (I LOVE this too as much as if it were a Marc Jacobs):

As for jackets, the shortest, the better. My BR tuxedo velvet jacket is the perfect length:

The only "daywear" option that I have found so far is this old Cacharel blouse which is the same exact color than the skirt:

But I think that there is a new color in the cashmere sweaters that is the exact same brown than in the skirt. I was already considering it because I miss browns so I will try it and let you know.

This skirt makes is a stunning addition to my Fall wardrobe and I am thrilled that I could get it for such a good price. Most of the sizes are still available and I would recommend it with the caveat that your waist must be on the thin side for this skirt (or size up two or even three sizes especially if you are tall enough). Final sale sucks but this one was worth the risk.

What do you think of the MJ Jazg skirt? Any suggestion as what other colors I could try with it?

OOTD: Orange and Blue (First Anthro Purchase!)

This will come as a little bit of a shock to some of my longtime readers but I made my first clothing purchase at Anthropologie this summer, followed by a few more. I am shocked as well, in ten years of living in the city I must have stepped into an Anthro store no more of fives times. My only purchases have been a candle that I bought years ago around Xmas and a towel set that I bought as a wedding gift. It used to be that as soon as I stepped into an Anthro I was overwhelmed and wanted to leave and the Anthro-related posts of other bloggers never translated into a need to go and look for something in a store or online, I always thought that their style was not for me. So what happened? Two things: first, a new Anthro opened in the neighborhood (we didn't have one in the Upper East Side) and even if I generally don't choose the stores I shop at by their architecture, I really like the exterior of this one, it definitively has a West Coast vibe that the other stores in the city don't have and I find it particularly inviting. Second, one day I was caught in the rain when I was walking by the store so I took shelter inside and decided to peruse the racks. Mistake! To my surprise there were a few things that caught my eye> It was a Tuesday and I knew by reading blogs that Tuesday is markdown day at Anthro so I looked for the sale section. I didn't buy anything that day but I tried on two things that I really liked but were both sold-out in my size, a raffia top and a pencil skirt. I ended up ordering the top online and I was lucky enough to find one lonely pencil skirt during the additional 25% off sale in my size.

I apologize if I don't know the names of these items, I am an Anthro neophyte. The pencil skirt was pretty popular I think (I remember seeing it on somebody's blog) so many of you Anthro fans will recognize it. What I really liked of this pencil is the fabric, very stretchy and different from the pencil skirts at JCrew. When I first tried it on my store only has a size 0 and a few larger sizes. I could barely squeeze in a 0 and because of the very stretchy material it was very va-va-voom. Even in a 2, the size that I ended up buying, it is still a bit va-va-voom but I could see myself wearing it on vacation if not in NYC. To me vacation doesn't rhyme with pencil skirt, but this one reminds me so much of Spain and Italy that I had to have it (I am a bit obsessed with Spain right now, I haven't been in many years but I would love to go back).
I did wear it yesterday to host a playdate at home. It is very comfortable and lightweight and it stretches out with wear. The colors are to die for and it was my excuse to finally get the round-eyelet top in blue grotto that I had wishlisted since it came out. The blue in the skirt is the exact same blue and the eyelet in the top picks up the medallion detail in the skirt (in fact I think that this skirt was called Medallion something):

I have other things to wear with this skirt but I wanted an easy top option to leave untucked for when I don't feel like showing my curves. Tucking in a top shows off the pretty detail button at the waist but the effect is definitively more ve-va-voom:

The other item that really caught my eye was a crochet top made in raffia. The store only had a size S that was definitively too big and the tag showed a sale price of $89 that I wasn't ready to spend that day. Once home I looked for it online and to my surprise it was not only available in all the sizes but also marked down to $49, so I decided to order it (I did pay the shipping but I paid with my PayPal account and I had funds on it so it didn't hurt too much).
This top got terrible reviews on the website and I think that people didn't get it at all but it really spoke to my Italian soul. Raffia is a material that is more commonly used for clothing and accessories in Italy and not only Prada and Dolce e Gabbana make a heavy usage of raffia in their summer collections but it really reminds me of Italy. And guess what? I have an old Zara raffia pencil skirt somewhere in the storage (that I still have to dig out).
I tried it with my white Loft pencil with the eyelet hem but it really works better with black because you can see the color of the garment underneath:

I tried it with my black bell skirt from last year to show you how it looks with black. I belted it because the shape of the skirt creates bulk under the top:

Two weeks later I stumbled upon this top in the sale section again and it was marked down to $19.99. Again, no XS but I took my ticket to the register to see if they would give me a price adjustment. Given my JCrew background I was half expecting the SA to give me a hard time but she was actually HAPPY to make the price adjustment so I was thrilled to get this top for that price. Now I understand why people who shop regularly at Anthro love the customer service there. I am hooked and the fact that there is a store at walking distance from my place and my daughter's new school makes me think that I am going to shop there more often!

Do you have this pencil skirt or the raffia top? Do you shop at Anthro?

Styling Ideas Around The Golden Burgundy Number 2 Pencil Skirt

A couple of weeks ago I convinced a friend who reads this blog to buy the golden burgundy number 2 pencil skirt because I think it is a great color and perfect for her. My arguments in favor of this skirt were so convincing that I ended up picking one up for myself too even if I generally don't buy the cotton double serge because they are too stiff and too "office attire" for my casual summer lifestyle. However, even if technically it is a summer skirt this color screams Fall (btw, nothing golden in it, not sure what they wanted to convey with that adjective). I personally don't like to wear the wool pencil skirts until well into winter, so I thought that this could be THE perfect pencil skirt for our fall weather and I bought it with that in mind. In NYC you can get away with wearing nothing on your legs or thin clear stockings until end of October and sometimes November so I am not concerned about the skirt running up when I walk, which is usually the undesired effect of wearing a cotton pencil skirt with tights.

I finally had some time today to try this skirt with some things that I plan to wear with it. Of course you can wear it with a black/navy/ivory turtleneck/tee and call it a day but I wanted to let the imagination free and try some more risky combinations.
I have to say that in this case I find that the styling on the website/catalog is right on spot and contributed to my falling in love with the skirt. I find the pairing with the Blythe in apricot mist really lovely and probably something I wouldn't have thought of.
The first (easy) thing was try to recreate the look with what I have, which isn't that much right now because the heavy stuff is tucked well away for at least two more months and I wasn't going to take everything down just to try on.
I don't have the Blythe in that color, so I substituted with something else, a tee (which I think is apricot something) and a cashmere sweater. The colors immediately made me think of my old bubble necklace in soft violet, so I added it:

Below, an alternative with the same tee and necklace but a printed cardigan (in this case the cardigan is the bronzed leopard from two winters ago). I have to say, I really like this one:

I do have a Blythe, in extravagant green. The color combination here is one that would look great in a JCrew catalog but can be a bit too much IRL:

As a SAHM though my challenge is not to look like I am going to the office. A pencil skirt in a solid color will never be something particularly extravagant but I wanted to try to make it a little more like me, so to speak.
What about a bohemian tunic? You will probably remember this one:

As you know I love peter pan collars. This blouse by Calypso has one of the biggest peter pan collars that you will ever find:

I have this Marni blouse that I am a little bit tired of but hang on to because it is the only Marni that I have, along with a trench that I cannot wear anymore because it ripped completely in the back (I know, must take it to the tailor). Anyway, I immediately thought of this blouse with this skirt. I added a big belt to create some interest at the waist and a little peplum effect:

When I bought the skirt I had in mind two things that I had at home and always give me styling headache. First, I was hoping that it would work with the floral indigo top, that is another item from a few years ago that came out late in the summer but really has a fall vibe. I don't wear this top that much because JCrew has a little bit forgot the family of the browns and there is a lot of brown in this top. Well, unfortunately the brown in the top doesn't work at all with the color of the skirt so that was a bummer. The other item that I wanted to try with the skirt is the goldenrod brocade top from 2010. I haven't given up on this top yet, I still like it and I am always looking for stuff to wear with it. Because I don't do well with purples (and the top has purple in it) I don't have many options besides jeans and champagne so I thought that this color could be a good alternative to purple. In this case I think they work quite well together:

I am not sure that belting the top is an option but I tried (I know that this belt in particular is too casual but I wanted to try a big belt with it):

And last, with a jacket. Now, the jacket must have something special about it (a ruffle, a zip in the front, something) IMO otherwise the whole thing will look immediately like a suit. My big-splurge jacket came to the rescue (I tell you, this jacket could save any outfit), even if I am not completely sold on the navy-burgundy color combo for some reason (I would wear navy shoes with this, probably):

That's all I could think of and try on today. I have a few more ideas (like the Lucinda blouse in spice gold and also the scoopneck blouse in wildcat print) but they would have involved too much effort. I hope that you enjoyed the show and you got some good ideas if you have this skirt.

What's your favorite among the outfits that I put together? If you have tried this skirt and you have any styling suggestion please share!

PS
Thank you for all the advice on the Terrazzo jacket. I think that I am going to return it and try to catch a size 2 on sale or just forget about it since I don't need it. As someone mentioned if the fit feels wrong I am never going to reach for it.

Summer Tweed

I need some advice. A while ago I ordered the elusive Terrazzo jacket as a birthday present from my parents (sorry, I am Italian and I can't push myself to replicate the typo in the name of this jacket. If you look for it on the website you should type "Terrazo" or it won't come up). I had tried it months ago in store and loved it but since I have my share of tweed jackets and needed this one like a bullet in my head I decided that I would wait for it to go on sale. The thing still hadn't gone on sale at the beginning of July so I used my parents money to order it to at least see if I still liked it, since it was long gone from the stores. I ordered the same size that I had tried on, a 0, because I remembered thinking that it was perfect, even if usually I am more of a 2 in blazers and coats.
The jacket arrived and I am a little bit on the fence about it. Maybe it is because I can't see myself wearing it with anything else than jeans, maybe it is because I have too many tweed jackets already that I don't wear that much and maybe it is because it fits a tad smaller than I remember it fitting. I couldn't reorder it in a size 2 just to see if it had a better fit because in the meanwhile it went on sale and final sale kicked in. It did pop back the first day of the 40% off in a size 2 for $199, so it would have been a very good deal and I almost ordered it but since I wasn't 100% sure I didn't want to be stuck with it.
This is one of the fitting room pics back in March. I am sure that I tried a 0 because I was trying it for a friend. As you can see, I could button it easily and it doesn't look small in the shoulders:

And here it is the 0 that ordered:

I don't know if I am biased by the fact that it does feel a bit small in the shoulders and I can't recall if the one that I tried on did (who knows, maybe it did and I forgot), does it look smaller in these pics to you?
I do think that it is a very modern take on the classic Chanel tweed jacket. The chain trim gives it a twist and unlike the ugly exposed zippers on other similar jackets I don't think that it will look dated anytime soon. I also like that it is a v-neck style instead of a crewneck.
Look, I love the chain trim so much that I even found a chain belt at Intermix to wear with it:

In any case I wanted to try it with other things than jeans, even if to me this is a jeans jacket. I tried it with my navy Mila mini and my ruffled Zara blouse:

As an aggravating factor in my decision, the other day I got to try the neon tweed jacket, that just went on sale as well and could be an alternative. This one is really a summer jacket because of the short-sleeves and it is also a lighter tweed than the Terrazzo, which is more suited for spring. I always admired this jacket but could never find it in store. This is a 0 as well:

The short-sleeves are adorable but could be a very bad idea for our weather. I think it would look great over a little black dress but then I also think that if I need a topper I probably need a long-sleeved one. It also seems to be less my style if styled differently than in these pics (I really don't need a jacket to wear with cropped white jeans) than the Terrazzo.

So here is my dilemma: should I keep the Terrazzo in a 0, try to catch a 2 on super-duper final sale and pray that it would fit or just return and forget about it? Any advice is appreciated, I value your opinion!

JCrew Sale Picks

It is that wonderful time of the year when you can get very good deals at JCrew. The 40% off final sale doesn't come along very often (I would say twice a year) and the best part is that it is valid both online and in stores. Even if the stores in general offer better sale prices than the website, the 40% makes it worth it to order online, not to mention that the selection at this point is better than in the stores.
The downside is of course the dreaded final sale, so I decided to post a few picks of items that I ordered or tried on recently.
First I wanted to show you pics of the Collection dress below because I haven't seen any reviews in the blogosphere. It is called luxe crepe something and it looks like it is sold-our right now but I saw it this morning in sale sale section (I think for $119 but don't quote me). Let me tell you immediately that this dress is better suited for very small chested women (A or B cups maximum) because it is virtually impossible to wear a bra under it (you could wear a tee or a cami but it isn't the same look). I would have loved to see this dress come in black, it was a mistake in my opinion to offer it only in this orange (I have the Cecelia dress from last year and one orange dress is more than enough IMO). This is the XS and as you can see it is scandalous, even my European self wouldn't go around like this:

The next one is another dress that I tried on but I don't personally own, the dizzy anchor dress. I tried this one ony for the blog. I tried both a 00 (couldn't even zip it) and a 0. It is too high-waisted on me but the arm-holes are too big. Definitively a pass:

And now a few items that I actually own. First, the Frances dress in lifesaver print. I love this dress and I bought it when it was first marked down. I wore it recently to a lunch that a few of my friend moms had organized for my birthday. I have it in a 0 and fits perfectly:

A more recent purchase was the Talitha blouse in belvedere red. I love the wreath one so much that when the red one popped back in my size durint the last 30% off I decided to order it even if I had never seen it IRL (this color was never offered in stores).
Warning: put your sunglasses on before reading further, this blouse is BRIGHT. If there is something as "neon red" this is it, in fact the color is closer to the neon rose that was offered in the Blythe and the pencil skirt than to the true red that the model is wearing on the product page. I had planned to wear it during the holiday season but this color doesn't read as a holiday red at all. I am also concerned that when my tan is gone the blouse will look too bright against my face. I think I could make a case of "color not as depicted" and return it but I do love this blouse so much that I am tempted to keep it. In any case I was dreaming of wearing this blouse with the Cavalry skirt, so here it is:

My pic from the jewelry section is the golden cabochon bracelet in navy (it is on sale on the website for $49.99 but it is $39.99 in stores). I had initially ordered this bracelet full price in the kelly green colorway but decided that I wouldn't wear it enough for $70. In the meantime I changed my mind on the color and thought that I would get a lot more of wear out of the navy one, since I have a lot of navy in my closet. Here it is on me, I have small wrists and I am usually sized out but this one is OK and you can get rid of the fastening loop to make it smaller (I love this outfit BTW, I wore it last Friday):

I haven't ordered anything with this promo yet, except for two dresses for my daughter that were very cheap. I am waiting for something that I had in my cart this morning to popback, otherwise I think I am done with the sales. I have still something to show you but I will have a dedicate post because I need some advice.

Happy shopping! Are you going to take advantage of this sale? Anything that you are stalking? Any question let me know.

OOTD: Coral Madness

Good morning! We are having a very lazy weekend here, my husband had a stressful week at work and needs to relax, so I am keeping him company. We spent the afternoon watching the DVD of Fitzcarraldo yesterday and then we went out for dinner iin the neighborhood. I suddenly remembered this morning that a couple of weeks ago I took pics of the same outfit that I wore yesterday night to show you my new necklace so I am going to post them now (sorry for the typos, I am writing this post on my phone).

The dress is an old Lilly Pulitzer that I got on ebay last year but the necklace is from JCrew and I bought it on sale recently to wear with thiss dress (the pendant is a coral in case you can't see). I have been eyeing it for a while and I got the last one in my store for $17 something which is a really good price
I haven't seen it in any other store and I am not sure if it ever came online but I am sure there are some other ones around.

That's it! Hope you have a great Sunday!