Over the Top Valentine: Three Valentine's Day Outfits Featuring the Beaded Rose Necklace

I haven't bought JCrew jewelry at full price in a VERY long time, such a long time in fact that I can't even remember when the last time was. My costume jewelry drawer (actually a box) has reached full capacity, meaning that I have to carefully choose the pieces that I am going to add from now on so as to not replicate what I already have. And let's be honest, after a while all the JCrew baubles start to look the same.

But the Beaded Rose necklace looked very different from everything I have and a true statement piece that 1) isn't gold-toned and 2) isn't sparkly, so I took the plunge and ordered it without seeing it IRL (a rarity for me!)
Let me tell you, this necklace is stunning and totally worth the price IMO (in fact I don't even think that the price tag is excessive compared to other pieces that cost more without having the same impact). My reserve when ordering it was that the color would be too neon-y and not wearable on a day-to-day basis and that the roses and size of the necklace would overwhelm me. But I was surprised that the color goes with a lot of what I have and that the roses, while definitely on the big size seem to frame my face instead of overwhelm it. I would describe the color as a very bright coral, a little bit more orange and it would have been neon-y but in my opinion it manages to stay a true coral. it is perfect to brighten up a plain sweater in a neutral color, like my cashmere turtleneck in heather dusk and I couldn't resist wearing it yesterday just to pick up my daughter at school:

With Valentine's day fast approaching I put together three outfits that are candidates for my Valentine's Day outfit and that you can copy if you have the necklace. Keep in mind that I will probably celebrate Valentine's Day a day later and in warm weather, as I am going to reach my husband in Miami on the 15th (I know I haven't mentioned this on the blog yet but a post on my Miami trip is coming soon). It would be fun if you could vote for your favorite outfit as I will take the winner with me!

Outfit #1: Collection persimmon sequin tank, curator pants, Valentina slingbacks

Very strangely last week the Fifth Avenue store had plenty of the Collection persimmon sequin tank (that I never really noticed or seen before) on the sale rack with 50% off to boot. As you know this kind of saturated orange is one of the colors that is most flattering on me and I don't have any top in a similar shade so it was a no brainer (this is a XS). The necklace, while slightly more pink IRL complements it perfectly:

In Miami I would probably wear the tank and necklace with white pants but I wanted to show you a Northeast-friendly version that you can wear here, especially since the shell is available on the website!!! I just want to show you that the shell has a sexy V-neck in the back, perfect for the warm weather (that you can cover with a cardigan or shawl in the city):

Outfit #2: Hearthrobe shirt, curator pants, bright papaya cashmere cardigan

OK, I won't bring this one to Miami as it reads very wintery but I am probably going to wear it (with different shoes) at my daughter's Valentine's Day breakfast at school next Thursday. I actually fantasized about wearing the hearthrobe shirt with the necklace before buying it but the colors aren't a match as I had hoped, the brightness of the necklace makes the red in the shirt look faded (and in this case the necklace looks much more orange and clashes with the red in the shirt):

However, I think that the bright papaya cashmere cardigan kind of pulls everything together: the color, while not exactly the same as the necklace, tones it down and the differences are leveled out. What do you think?

Outfit #3: Perfect shirt in Ashbury floral, café capris in cerise and Nolita jacket

This one is probably my favorite pairing, even if it is a casual outfit. The colors just go so well together and it is such a fun outfit. My only reserve is that last year I wore this shirt non-stop in Miami and I have all the pictures in it. OK, I wore it with the festival green toothpicks and without the necklace, but still. In case you have the Jules in Ashbury floral, that would be awesome with this necklace and perfect for Valentine's Day if you are in warm weather (my pants are a tad small and probably a bit too heavy for Miami but I also have the Oxford shorts in cerise that would fit the bill):

And with the Nolita jacket in Great lakes Wash, a vacation favorite:

The only con that I can possibly find about the necklace is that it has a matte finish, like it hasn't been coated with a glossy (and protective) layer. Difficult to explain and its part of its uniqueness but the paint "could" chip easily and you have to handle it with care, probably (making sure for example that you don't throw it with other jewels). Also, when you move dometimes it makes a little noise like a mechanism that hasn't been oiled but I personally can live with it! Besides that, I really recommend it if you are on the fence.

And now, please vote for your favorite Valentine's Day outfit!

A Few New Arrivals (Brocade Top, Tilda Top and Toothpicks in Liberty Print)

As you might know the stores across the nation have received the new arrivals and put them on the floor yesterday. I stopped at my local store after a school meeting followed by a moms breakfast (it was the perfect timing because I was at the store literally when they were opening. I think I was the first client, which I like because you receive more attention especially on new arrivals day when it can get very hectic).
This season I am trying a new thing, which is to work with an online VPS. This might seem silly since I am so close to one of the best stores in the city but I am a little upset at the 30 days store return policy and also I tend to impulse-buy when I am in store. Of course when it comes to sales the prices are much cheaper in store but for full price items I don't really get any advantage buying in store versus buying online, except for not paying the shipping which is waived anyway if you use a VPS.
Soooo I went in not with the idea of buying anything but to see the new collection IRL and then ordering at home. I did place a small pre-order a day before release for the tweed-front tee, that I saw today in store and didn't disappoint (but I didn't try on to keep a little bit of excitement when my order actually arrives). But that was the only thing that I really had to have after looking at the Catalog.
The first impression after browsing the new arrivals is that things look much better in person than online, especially the metallic tweed pieces that are much more vibrant IRL.
It is usually the opposite for me, I usually see things in person first and then see them online/in the catalog but this time around it happened the opposite way as the catalog has been released ahead of the collection hitting the stores.

Anyway there were only a bunch of things that I wanted to try on. I could have tried more for the blog but I didn't want to be tempted to buy stuff that I am not immediately drawn to. For example, I really like the pixelated houndstooth skirt but it isn't my style at all (you know, ladylike and channeling a mid-century housewife is not me) so I left it there (it is very nice though if that is your style).
Something that wasn't on my list but impressed me negatively are the sailor pants. They are very structured and the fabric is very synthetic. They probably thought it was a good idea to use that fabric so that they keep their shape but I think that people won't put up with it.
So, on to the try-ons. I uploaded the pictures directly from my phone and for the life of me I can't rotate them but I wanted to put them up before the weekend is in full swing. I apologize for the neck gymnastic that you will have to endure to look at them!

I really wanted to try the Tilda rhinestone collar top. I really like the look of it, even if it doesn't read super-springy to me. When I first tried it on I wasn't blown away but it looks really sharp under a blazer. I tried a 0 and it fits TTS to slightly big (but not enough to go down a size):




This is how it looks under a blazer. In this pics you can also see the toothpick in one of the new Liberty prints. These fit like the ribbon bow print ones, skin tight. I would probably go up a size if I were to buy them (don't worry, I am not). These are the 26R (I think they don't come in short):

The next thing that I wanted to see, mainly to checkout the colors and the weight of it is the brocade shell. To me brocade reads very wintery but I am attracted to that aqua color. Well, this one is really beautiful and the fit is perfect in my regular size, a 0. It has a (concealed) side zip and it is lined in (I think) acetate (the pants in the first pic are toothpicks in a 26 (I don't know if I put weight on my legs but I find that all the toothpicks fit very small as of late):




While I was at it, I tried the matching pants. The two together read pajam-y but maybe with a sash to break the brocade it would work. I tried a size 2 as I usually size up in heavy fabric pants but they were a bit big so I would say TTS:





What do you think of these new arrivals? Is there anything that made it to your wishlist or you bought? Please share! Any questions let me know, I saw much more but didn't try on so I might be able to answer.
Have a great superbowl weekend!

Cozy Pants

It snowed a bit this morning, which is very good news because it was much warmer than it has been in almost a week. I have the feeling that when I first arrived in city (almost ten years ago, time flies!) winters were much colder than they have been in more recent years. I remember freezing on my way to work and having to wear stockings under my pants pretty often. I don't know if I simply got used to the weather or it has been really milder but I am almost certain than in the last two years the temperatures never fell around 10 degrees like they did last week.

Luckily for me this time around I didn't have to wear double layers around my legs. My camel plaid café capris kept me warm on the way to and from school and the gym (basically the only activities that involved walking in the windchill). These pants are really thick and the lining provides total insulation from the cold.

The plaid in the pants has some red and some orange-y coral and I have even contemplated buying a cashmere sweater in those tones to pair with it, since I don't have a red sweater. I did buy the cashmere cable in heather poppy before the holidays but I returned it because I wasn't 100% in love (it is also less plush than my "original" cashmere cable in camel).
It turns out that I had the perfect orange sweater but it didn't cross my mind to pair it with the pants until last week, when I was pretty much desperate to find something clean to wear with them (for those who haven't seen my previous post on these pants I am wearing a 0 and they fit TTS):

The sweater is the cashmere bateau from a few years ago in a color that I think was called cinnamon spice. I almost threw this sweater away after wearing it on Halloween because it had a lot of pilling and I was a bit tired of the color (as a matter of fact in the last two years I only wore it on or around Halloween). However, after washing it with the Laundress cashmere wash it came back to new life. The pilling is almost gone (without me actively de-pilling it) and it is much softer than before. I joked with a friend the other day that it looks like it went on a cashmere beauty farm. Anybody else noticed an improvement in the appearance of old and ratty cashmere sweaters after washing them with the Laundress cashmere wash? I have been washing my sweaters with it for almost a year and this season in particular they are all coming out GREAT, I mean better than before. Maybe it is because I use really cold water or the fact that I try not to be lazy and iron them right away but I noticed an improvement. In any case I am happy that my tendencies to be a hoarder and never throw anything away in this case resulted in my finding the perfect sweater for these pants.
In case you are wondering about the bracelet, it is a present that my friend (the one who threw the party Saturday night) gave me for my birthday last summer. Isn't it beautiful? It is more of a summer bracelet but I love it with this sweater.

That's it! I think we saw the worst because as I said it was much warmer today and it is supposed to be in the 50s later in the week. As much as I love these pants, I am glad that I can wear the rest of my wardrobe again ;-). Stay warm.

Do you have a pair of cozy pants that protect you against the cold weather? Anybody else is using the Laundress cashmere wash and had miracles happen to their cashmere sweaters?

OOTE: The Beaded Mockneck Goes To Party

First of all, I really enjoyed reading your comments and advice on the paisley pants even if I didn't have the time to comment back to each of them. I will surprise some of you but I have decided to return the pants, in fact I already returned them. I think I wasn't feeling good about paying that price, especially compared to the SW boots that seem such a better purchase as some of you pointed out, and as Gigi said I would probably have felt guilty and tried to "avoid" them instead of wearing them. It looks like it was the right decision because I didn't feel any pang of regret while I was returning them, as sometimes happens. In fact now that I think about it, it could be a good test to see if you are really in love with something, to try to return the item (aka physically take it to the store) and see if you can actually DO it. I understand that this doesn't work if you are nowhere near a store and you have to return everything by the mail but it is something to think about for those who live near a JCrew!
I also did it to give myself some kind of limit, like reminding myself that in my world, it is not OK to order $300 pants. If I start to order $300 pants without blinking I will soon be ordering $700 designer shoes and so on. Anyway, thanks again for the insightful comments and let's move on.

My dear friend threw a party yesterday night to celebrate the New Year. She loves to throw parties and she is always trying to come up with some entertainment and this time she had a trivia contest. She had all the guests grouped in five different teams and we had to answer 50 questions (5 sheets of questions pertaining to different areas, like geography and music). It was a lot of fun! She also wanted us to bring to the party a piece of paper with our answer to these two questions "Who is the person you want to be like the most this year?" and "What's your resolution for this year?" and at the end of the party we read all the resolutions (some of them were serious and some were more of a joke). I answered "Claire Danes at the Golden Globes" to the first question (because she has it all) and "Find the secret of happiness" to the second one. I wanted to answer "Start to fight my natural tendency to acedia" (inspired by interesting WWM post about this) but I thought nobody would understand so I went to the more vague search for happiness. So now I turn these questions to you!

Of course I was excited to go out and wear some of my evening clothes that don't see much the light of the uhm.. moon these days. It is freezing cold here so I thought it was the occasion to finally wear my beaded mockneck. I always thought that this sweater would look awesome with a pair of slouchy velvet pants (something refined in terms of fabric but cool in terms of style) and I found the perfect pair a couple of weeks ago at Zara for $39 (which reminds me that one doesn't necessarily need to spend $300 to solve wardrobe shannigans). These are a bit high-wasted, which is exactly what I was looking for. They remind me of the JCrew "a href="http://www.jcrew.com/womens_category/pants/novelty/PRDOVR~35509/35509.jsp">Collection cropped velvet pants
that I would have probably bought if they came in other colors (I really wouldn't know what to do of a pair of mushroom velvet pants) except that they are black and not cropped. I tried them with my black pointed pumps to take pics even if this is not the look I was going for yesterday night (I would wear them with booties for a more casual vibe):

I also found a satin pencil skirt at Joe Fresh as an alternative to the pants. This was like $15 on sale and reminds me of the JCrew satin pencil skirt, which costs much more and it is ALSO poly (so why pay more?) It has an elastic waist and I think an awesome fit:

In the end I didn't wear any of these because the occasion was more casual. I actually wore another pair of Zara pants that I bought before the holidays and are "coated". I couldn't take a pic of the outfit before heading out but here is a pic of the pants (this is an outfit that I have worn a lot in December but didn't get to post. The sweater is the Theory one that I bought at the sample sale):

Just try to imagine these pants and booties with the beaded mockneck, it was very rock chic and very me!

So, you would you like to be like in 2013?

Product Review: Collection Silk Cafe Capri in Pewter Paisley (And Advice Needed)

Last weekend I read an interesting article in the WSJ "Off Duty" section about the so-called "New Boho" wave in fashion and how designers and style-setters alike are incorporating bohemian prints and styles into a more traditional wardrobe (like pairing a banker shirt with a skirt or pants that have an ethnical vibe). You can access the article here but you need a subscription to read it (there is also a video-interview about the new "grunge" that you can watch even without a subscription and misses the mark completely IMO). The article mentions brands like YSL and Victoria Beckman but looking closer to us I think that JCrew and Tory Burch do a very good job at the new hobo.
The unforeseen effect of the article is that it made me look at the Collection Café capris in pewter paisley in a new light, probably because I saw them in store the same day. In fact it made me look at them to start with, as I had completely ignored them when they came out. Even when Jenna showed up in pewter paisley head to toe I didn't have a second glance at the pants. But all of a sudden after reading the article I started to fantasize about them. As you know JCrew put out plenty of "crazy pants" this season but none of them attracted me, simply because they all seemed superfluous (not to mention the price points).
So why these are different? Well, because they are grey and I "need" grey pants to pair with my grey schoolboy. I ordered the herringbone café capri back in the Fall but returned them because they didn't go with the schoolboy. At all. I looked intensely in the eye of the grey café capris but they would look too much like a suit with the jacket. I tried a pair of Theory grey herringbone slim pants but they didn't fit well. Who knew that grey was such a difficult color?
Not only these would pair well with the schoolboy, I thought, but they are seasonless because of the silk fabric so I can wear them now (well, not really now with the temps that we are having but in normal winter weather) and later in spring-summer. In the summer I thought, I could try to pull off a "new boho" look with a tee or a paisant blouse on top. Also, I have that heather lace shell that maybe some of you will remember that I love but can only pair with white pants and I thought that they would look great together.
So to the store I went to try them on, the plan being to buy wait for a sale. They had none left in my size, in fact they only had one pair left. What? These are $300 pants! Same thing at the other store. I go on the website and again, only one pair but this time they are a 0. At that point you probably know the "I have to order them this minute before they sell out completely even if I have to sell my liver to pay for them" feeling and I call my new VPS and we place the order. He assures me that I got the last pair (not true, because I had a pair in my cart and it was still there after we placed the order).
I received them yesterday afternoon and tried them on immediately because I wanted to return them (and get my $300 back) ASAP if I wasn't blown away.
Now, I had seen them in store so I wasn't disappointed in the fabric but from the Jenna outfit pics and also the catalog pic you might be wrongly induced to think that they have some texture, like a silk jacquard. They have none. This is plain silk twill. Also, something that I knew is that they are not lined. I am one of the few who like unlined pants better than lined pants because I think they fit much better on me but I agree that for the price they could be lined. Let me put it this way: I have no idea why these pants cost $300, they are completely overpriced. However, they sold out at this price so the market is sort of saying that they were right to price them so high because people bought them (I guess many took advantage of the pre-holidays 30% off promos, but still).
When I put them on, I was surprised by the fit. I was expecting them to pull a bit in the thighs, as the cafe capri, especially the silk ones, usually do, but they fit TTS and GREAT. I also appreciate that they are uncuffed and a bit more tapered on the leg. They also look a little bit shorter than the regular café capris but maybe I am mistaken and it is only because of the silk:

As expected they look great with the grey schoolboy (I know, I know, the golden buttons ruin the total-silver look but I am going to replace them one day):

At first when I tried them with the heather lace shell I was disappointed because the greys are different and clash a bit. However, this outfit grew on me, the pattern of the lace on the shell is almost a textural counterpart to the paisley print and I like the effect:

I also tried them with a white silk blouse, just to see the effect. This blouse (the Harlow blouse from a few season ago) is more ladylike than boho and could give the pants an old-ladish vibe but it is a classy outfit for a cocktail or an event:

So I do like a lot how they look but I am torn for a few reasons. First, the silk seems very snag prone. Like a bad manicure could ruin them. Second, I am afraid that I am going to crack them at the seams when I sit. Not that they are small but I feel like sitting could put a lot of stress on the seams.
Third, well they are $300 and last year I regretted buying the fresco floral for almost the same price because I didn't wear them that much. Fourth, while they pair perfectly with the schoolboy blazer and I ultimately like them with the shell, I don't see that many other styling options than the white shirt and I am afraid they will generate more purchases. Now I know why Jenna wore them with the coordinating popover: she didn't know what else to wear with them! I am kidding, I know she wanted to make a statement, but there is a bit of truth to it. So for all these reasons I am wavering. I am tempted to keep them and try to play the repurchasing game when they go on sale but if for some reason they don't go on sale that fast or they don't popback, I am stuck with a $300 pair of pants. As always, I don't mind to pay full price if it is something that I actually start to wear right away but if in two months they are a third of the price and I haven't worn them I will be mad at myself. Ah, the Crewlette!

What do you think of the Silk Café Capri in Pewter Paisley? Are they on your watch list or anybody else has them? Do you think I should keep them at full price? Anybody else read that WSJ article?

The Perfect Boots

So I am still singing "Red and Black" this morning and I will admit to downloading it from iTunes, along with "One More day" , but Les Miserables is not the only movie that I saw recently in a movie theater. One day last week (it was Wednesday if I am not wrong) I was feeling depressed and under the weather (literally, it was raining and gloomy) so I decided to go and see "Silver Linings Playbook" on a whim to lift my spirits. I really liked the movie and it worked as a pick-me-up but I won't bother you with another movie review today as I don't want to alienate the readers who are here for the fashion (but if you have questions about the movie or you have seen it and you want to share your impressions leave a comment). I want to talk about the outfit that I wore to the movies that day.

You have probably noticed that I rarely wear knits in winter and by knits I mean knit dresses. I only have two and it is because I hate wearing tights and while a majority of ladies find knit dresses very easy to wear, I find the whole thing very complicated. I seem to never find the right tights and even with the right tights there is the problem of the footwear. As you know I am petite and I don't like how I look in tights and flats as I always had muscular calves that are accentuated by the tights and without a heel I just feel stomp. Wearing pumps during the day simply doesn't happen in my life so I end up wearing pants most of the time in winter (the same goes for pencil skirt and it is generally too cold to wear minis).
As I said the other day it was raining so I had an excuse to put on one of my few knit dresses because I was going to wear my rainboots, which are by L'Aigle and look like equestrian boots. A new pair of boots to wear with skirts and dresses was on my buy list this fall (as every fall) but I have a love/hate relationship with boots. While I love them on other people, most of the time I don't like how they look on me. Ideally I wanted a heel, but a walkable one and not a stiletto; I also dislike any sort of hardware on boots (including blingy zippers). So while I love shopping, as you know, I find shopping for boots a chore and as a  result I gave up on the task (as you will probably remember I bought a pair of Enzo Angiolini that I think were amazing for the price but I ended up returning because they looked too much like my rainboots and did nothing for my legs being completely flat). I also didn't know exactly what color I was looking for. I have an old pair of black Nine West in tumbled leather that I don't wear anymore for some reason but is still in good condition and my rainboots are black so another black pair seemed superfluous. I have too little brown in my wardrobe to pair with dark brown boots, so that leaves cognac (that I like but doesn't go very well with black and can be a bit too sporty) or a more "trendy" color like burgundy that can easily fall out of fashion. After spending hours and hours on various websites trying to decide if this pair or that pair were worth a try but , I decided that maybe I am not a boot person and moved on. 

Then one day I was walking on Madison and I saw a young lady wearing an amazing pair of boots (actually the entire outfit was quintessentially French chic and I am almost sure that she was French). They were classic but sexy at the same time, the heel was  manageable and straight, the color wasn't the usual black nor a dark brown nor a cognac but a brown bordering on burgundy. Leather looked amazing and no buckles or zippers. The funny thing is, I knew exactly what they were, for spending so much time on the website, or at least I thought I knew.
Once home I opened the computer and typed in "Stuart Weitzman Toujours". I had noticed these boots when I was looking for a pair because they looked gorgeous but they were uber-expensive (as almost all the Stuart Weitzman boots) and the shaft was said to be very high and fit very snug around the calves (my weak spot) so I had never really considered them even on sale. They were now half the price so I decided to give them a try. I was actually very surprised that they hadn't sold out immediately for that price but I took advantage of the situation and ordered them in two sizes since the reviews said that they run big. I ordered them on Zappos (here) because of the easiness of the free shipping and free returns but they are actually even less expensive on Piperline.com if you can still find your size.
I didn't expect them to work because pull-on boots never work on me and because of the supposedly high shaft but when they arrived I was actually surprised that I could put them on easily and that they didn't hit ackwardly the cap or the middle of my knee. They just looked beautiful and I felt like my legs just had plastic surgery. This was the 6H, which is half a size down from my regular size. The 7 was considerably bigger and the shaft at least half an inch higher and just didn't look so good (I was also feeling a bit unstable in them because they were too loose at the ankle). Granted, I can't wear them with my pants tucked in but I didn't buy them for that purpose, I bought them to wear with my knits and skirts.

Demonstration. This is the dress that I wore to the movie. It is a Talbots wool dress actually that I picked up when they had a crazy sale in the summer. I think I paid less than $12 for this dress so I thought that it was worth the final sale risk and the fact that I probably wasn't going to wear it that much. It is one of the two knit dresses that I was talking you about, the other being a Hilfiger in a camel colorway that I bought last year and barely wore once because it is very thick and warm and last year we didn't have a cold winter (I will wear it soon).
Let's not make a big deal out of the fact that without the belt this dress almost hits my ankles (really, Talbots, this is supposed to be a XS PETITE?), I think it looks terrific with my new boots:

See how the shaft keeps going straight on the leg and doesn't open up at the top? That's what I love in these boots and the reason why they are so flattering. This is typical of pull-ons but as I said it is difficult for me to find a pull-on pair that I can actually pull-on, usually they are made for models with the thinnest calves (not that these are big but the leather is so supple that it stretches out a bit. Also the fact that they are fully lined helps):

The other thing that I had in mind when I bought them is that knit skirt that I bought in Italy and just love but didn't know what to wear with, in terms of shoes. Well, now I know:

I can say that I finally found the perfect boots for me, they are exactly what I wanted and they are exceptionally well made so that they should last a lifetime (if I don't run in the mud in them of course). I guess I should thank that lady on the street. Now if only we could go back to normal winter temps, I could start wearing them with my skirts!

Are you still looking for the perfect pair of boots? Anybody has the Stuart Weitzman "Toujours"?

Vive la France, Vive la Revolution!

This is a late night post so let's take a (short) break from the OOTDs and shopping-related posts to talk about Aaron Tveit. Never heard about Aaron Tveit before? Well, me neither, until this morning when I went to see Les Miserables (I know, I know, a movie at 11 am on a weekday is for retired people but I didn't have anything more important to do and my friend could only do 11. Plus, it was only $7??? I must investigate if it was a Tuesday thing, an incentive reserved to those willing to skip lunch to endure a three-hour musical set in post-revolutionary Paris or some exceptional discount because if this is the regular price of a matinee I can certainly make room in my schedule for more morning movies, now that my daughter is in school until 3 and later).

Anyway, while I could certainly appreciate the singing of Anne Hataway (if not Russell Crowe; I don't know if I can use the term "miscast" for Russell Crowe but boy, he was hard on the ear, especially at the beginning!) and the performance of Hugh Jackman, I wasn't really overwhelmed with all that emotion that everyone who has seen the movie or the musical was talking about (I wasn't that moved by Anne I must say). I was actually borderline bored until Enjolras, the leader of the revolutionary students, appeared on screen (making Hugh Jackman disappear to my eyes). I was completely transfixed, I didn't have a "who is this guy and why I don't know him?" moment like this one since probably the appearance of Brad Pitt in "Thelma and Louise". He made me want to jump on the barricade and die for the revolution (until he actually died himself. That was a tough toll to pay for viewers). I knew his face from somewhere but I couldn't place it. I still can't place it even if, as I learned after, he has played a major character in Gossip Girl (that I never watched. And I don't say this with proud, I think I have actually missed on something but it is just too late now). Anyway, I am talking about this guy:

Not only he is hot but he can also sing, as you know if you watched the movie.
I kept thinking that he reminded me of someone and then all of a sudden I saw it: a young Robert Redford. He has the same eyes and smile.
Look at these B&N pictures of a very young Robert and Aaron. You would almost think it is the same person:

And even if Robert Redford was much older when he played Brubaker, the resemblance is startling:

I hope that this a groundbreaking performance for him and that we will see more of him (and singing). Anyway, to me he was the highlight of the movie and thanks to him and the other actors playing "the friends of ABC", all excellent, I came home singing and wanting to watch more period movies set during the French revolution. It actually uncovered memories of a movie that I saw years ago in Paris and that for the life of me I couldn't remember how was called (or who directed it). Well, I finally found it, after an hour of web searches. It's Eric Romher "Lady and the Duke". This is a great period movie with a very unique approach to set décor and if you liked the Miserables you will like it, I promise.

So, anybody else who watched the movie noticed the performance of Aaron Tveit? If, like my friend, you were loyal to Hugh Jackman and you want to share your impressions on the movie, please do!