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I was able to stop by the J Crew Factory Store on Saturday and try on a few things. The store was a little bare but only because they are expecting a lot of Spring arrivals this Wednesday. Not sure when the update to the website will be for those items, or if it’s already happened. All sale items, ending in $0.97 cents was an additional 30% off, final sale.

Factory Perfect Shirt in Printed Cotton – #23871, Gallery Green, M – Fits TTS, like a 6/8. The green was really pretty which is what caught my eye. $59.50 w/extra 30% Perfect Shirts off in-store. Online price $34.50.

Factory Couplet Dress – #46975, EVE Evergreen?, 8 – The top was a little too blouse-y but the bottom fit well, not too tight. $59.97 plus 30% off Final Sale. Online price $69.99

Tinsel Lace Dress – Retail item found at the Factory Store – #58522, Black, 8 – This fit TTS for me as I am an 8 in the strapless dresses. Unlike the Tinsel Tweed Pencil Skirt, I did not feel the metallic threading poking through the lining. There are still several online available. $39.97 plus 30% off, final sale…yep…$28 bucks! This is $49.99 online.

Factory Siren Dress – #61911, Black, M – This size was a loose fit on me. I like the casual jersey feel of the dress. $29.97 plus 30% off final sale. Online price $49.99

Charcoal, S – This fit a little better, especially in the top.

Charcoal, XS – I could do this size but the look and fit of the small suited me better. They also had the Pale Wisteria in-store but not in the XS when I asked for additional sizes.

Factory Maritime Dress – #53854, Sail Blue, M – There wasn’t a Small for me to try on but that would be a better fit. The material is a little more soft than the retail version which is a tiny bit thicker. $74.50 plus 30% off Dresses

Factory Cotton V-Neck Sweater – #32714, Vivid Aqua, S – I could use a Medium in this so I would say TTS.  Lots of colors available online and in-store. $42 plus 25% off. Online price $34.50.
Factory Printed Cotton Sateen Mini – 27112, Red Topaz,6 – Cute print but an 8 would have been better for length. The 6 fit well through the hips. $29.97 plus 30% off final sale. All FP skirts were 25% off. Online price $34.50.

No. 2 Pencil Skirt in Double-Serge Cotton – #37415, Byzantine Blue, 6 – I loved this color as soon as I saw it. It is only online in the Black and Neon Rose, both of which I saw in-store. This fits TTS and as you can see, the length on me is right at the knee but the waist is sitting just at my natural waist. This one came home with me, as you saw from my earlier post.  $75 plus 25% off Skirts. Online price $65.00.

Factory Printed Pencil Skirt – #37532, Wisteria Multi, 4 – Oddly enough, the 4 fit me well, maybe a teeny bit snug through the hips but not bad at all. I like the print and it looked nice paired with the Cotton V-Neck Sweater in Vivid Aqua. There are three other colors offered online but I didn’t see them in-store. $79.50 plus 25% off Skirts. Online price $49.50.

Factory Skimmer Pant – #37033, Modern Red, 6 – This was the item I was most anticipating to try on. Unfortunately, there was no size 8 to try on in this color. The 6 was quite snug in the waist and hips. $59.50 I think there was a % off but I can’t remember what it was. Online price $49.50.

Dark Beechwood, 8 – This was a much better fit. The length on both the 6 and 8 hit me right below the ankle so it was not cropped at all. I would have this hemmed so that it would be a true skimmer pant.

Factory Dotted Shorts (online as the Factory Flora Paisley Lily Short) – #37569, FrostyMint, 8 – These were so cute. I wish they had been a 3-inch inseam. $49.50 plus 20% off (online price is $44.50)

So what do you think of these Factory offerings? 

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I have had a really busy weekend and it’s not quite over yet. Husband left for India for 16 days on Friday and left everything to the last minute, including checking his departure time which was 2 1/2 hours before he was supposed to leave. Luckily he had just zipped up his last bag so he was packed. He made his flight, due to some super-speedy/no-traffic-on-the-way driving by me and is now safely in his hotel in India.

And, since “checking what time you are supposed to be somewhere” seems to run in the family, The Boy missed his bus Saturday morning by getting the words “be there” and “leaving at” completely confused. As we were driving up to the school we passed by the bus at the traffic light. He called his teammates who were on the bus and they confirmed that, yes, they had left. So, since I had nothing else to do but run a 15 year-old all over Central Texas I drove him to the game, an hour away.

And it gets better.

We got to the fields and his team wasn’t there. When we left we were about 5 minutes ahead or behind the bus. I even stopped for breakfast so if they were behind us they would have caught up to us. Turns out the bus broke down about 20 minutes from the school. If I had gone the same way as the bus I would have 1) met up with them and 2) handed over The Boy. So, we killed about 45 minutes waiting for his team. Luckily, we were in our old hometown of New Braunfels, from 5 years ago, so we stopped at our favorite German bakery, Naegelin’s Bakery, for some donuts, I grabbed a Starbucks, we drove by our old home and we drove by Schlitterbahn aka “The Hottest, Coolest Time in Texas” and was the top water park as deemed by the Travel Channel.

Whew! So, once The Boy was handed off, I decided that since it was only a 15 minute drive I would go to the outlet mall. I hit up J Crew, of course, so be on the lookout for a review later today. They said new Spring arrivals would be in on Wednesday. And, once I left, since I apparently wasn’t done shopping, I came back home and went to the mall and Ann Taylor. So look for that review soon too. They have some colored jeans that are similar to J Crew’s Toothpick jeans in the new bright colors but they fit much much better, IMO.

Of course, after all that driving and shopping I needed a night out. I met up with some friends for dinner at Perry’s Steakhouse, which just opened. I had a wonderful time and some fantastic food. I knew I wanted to wear my Giraffe Cuff so I planned my outfit around the peachy colors in it. I originally had on this skirt, which I found yesterday at the J Crew Factory.

Sweater: Ann Taylor Extrafine Merino Wool 3/4 Sleeve Sweater, Cameo Pink, Small
Skirt: J Crew Factory Double-Serge Cotton Pencil Skirt, Byzantine Blue, 6 (Black and Neon Rose are online)
Shoes: Valentino Patent Bow Pumps

But when I walked outside it was just a little too cold to go bare-legged so I changed into these plaid cashmere pants I found on ebay late last year. They were a sample and fit like a dream. I had them hemmed to wear with heels. I added my Ecole Blazer in Brown Velvet for a little extra warmth on top.

You can kind of see that the peachy-pink tones of the bracelet go well with the sweater. It is such a statement piece. Our waiter even noticed it and commented on it.

I also stopped by Ann Taylor Loft on Friday and they had some very cute things for Spring, so I’ll be posting those items too. The only place I didn’t stop at and do try-ons was at Anthropologie. But maybe I’ll do that today or next weekend.

Have a Great day and look for my review posts soon.

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I think I’ve been doing pretty well with my “one in, two out” closet purge. I’m not quite even but I have sold 32 “loved but not worn” items from my closet to others who will “love AND wear” them. Not bad for 13 days. Today, I went by J Crew to make two returns – the Jackie Pullover in Canvas and the Stripe Sweater Dress. I was just going to return both items but I did walk around the store to see if there was anything that peaked my interest to try on but I didn’t find anything…except for this.

Enameled Giraffe Cuff

Isn’t she just the cutest thing? It was the last one in the store and I was told this is an in-store only item so it may not show up online. It’s $98 and the Style # may be 74693 from what I can tell on the tag attached to it.  The Frog Necklace was sold out and so was the Bubble Necklace in yellow, which I never saw. It has a hinge where it opens, which you can see in the second picture.

What do you think of the Giraffe Cuff?

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I’m off to a Board meeting. Over the summer, I was “talked into” joining the board of our HOA. A margarita might have been involved. But it’s interesting but, my goodness, sometimes there are just complainers, both at the meetings and on the board. I say “Be happy you have a nice home in a great neighborhood.” We don’t ask a lot of the homeowners but you’d think we were going to peoples homes and inspecting everything. I usually just sit and listen mostly.

Tonight is our annual board meeting, where all the homeowners should attend. And I’m finally wearing my Viridian Green No. 2 Pencil Skirt. How long have I had this? Oh, since it came out…in August!

No. 2 Pencil Skirt in Double-Serge Wool, Viridian Green, Sz 6
J Crew Cashmere Tee, Snow
Corso Como Boots
Oh, and does this count a color-blocking? I was unsure since the top is white. Just curious.
Have a Great evening!

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Before the new year, J Crew updated their site with some new arrivals for Resort/Spring 2012. I was anxious to see the No. 2 Pencil Skirt in Warm Jade along with the new Jackie Pullover. My store won’t be receiving anything until next week and I didn’t want to wait that long so I placed an order.

Here are my first reviews of Resort/Spring 2012.

No. 2 Pencil Skirt in Double-Serge Cotton – #59369, $110, Warm Jade, Sz 6 – I quite like this color IRL. Online, the color did not look like the little sample color in the catalog so I was worried it wouldn’t be as lovely as I hoped. But I didn’t need to worry. I love the color. It’s vibrant and a very pretty green, maybe a little darker than the pictures below. This fits well in my normal size 6. The cotton is nice, a little thick (double-serge) and sturdy. It is unlined, which I believe is how they were last year too, and that’s ok with me. I added some heels to get a better idea of the length, which is 22 inches long. I don’t think I’ll have this hemmed as this hits just below the knee on me. This one is a keeper, even at full price.

 

Jackie Pullover – #65341, $65, Canvas, M –  I ordered the Jackie Pullover in Canvas and Byzantine Blue.  I thought about ordering the Warm Jade and Bright Violet but I was immediately drawn to the Blue in the catalog and I also wanted to see a neutral color in this new item. I have to say I am a little disappointed in this pullover. Immediately, even while still in the plastic packaging, I could tell this was a different texture and was thicker than the Jackie Cardigan. I was expecting something a little more lightweight like the cardigan. I don’t have any of the Jackie Shells so I can’t compare the two.

The Canvas color is a nice neutral and goes well with the Warm Jade pencil skirt. I just couldn’t get over the texture of this sweater. The Cotton V-Neck Sweater is a much lighter weight than the pullover. My normal size Medium fits perfectly.

Here I have the Jackie Cardigan in Pearl (from 2010) on top and the Jackie Pullover in Canvas on the bottom. I tried to capture the texture I’m seeing so I hope you can see it too. As far as material they are both the same Cotton/Nylon/Spandex but with slightly different percentages.
2010 Jackie Cardigan: 66% Cotton, 29% Nylon, 5% Spandex
2012 Jackie Pullover: 66% Cotton, 31% Nylon, 3% Spandex

Here is the Byzantine Blue. This is another vibrant color and I originally thought it wouldn’t pair well with the Warm Jade pencil skirt but I think it does. I’ll look for this color in another cardigan or top. This is the color I was hoping the Jackie Cardigan in Pacific would be. I honestly do not like the Jackie Pullover but I know a lot of you will so I hope the review and pics of the colors will help you. I’ll be returning both colors.

Now, Whitney, has a completely different view of the Jackie Pullover. Go to her blog, Only Boring People are Bored, to read all about it.

Before I knew my store would not be receiving any Resort/Spring 2012 until next week, I stopped by to have a look. There was nothing new that interested me other than this skirt.
Gimlet Skirt in Coaster Stripe – #55688, #118, Dark Blue, 6 – Here’s what J Crew says about this skirt.


A festive fan of pleats along the waist renders this classic A-line skirt a sophisticated pick for all your invitations of the season. We can’t get enough of its ladylike length (it hits right at the knee for that fabulous swing). The best part? We fashioned it in alternating transparent and opaque stripes, just like the vintage dress one of our stylists sported around the office to rave reviews. 

I saw this skirt and immediately thought of how I would stroll around Paris and Italy wearing it with a lovely linen blouse and sweet little wedge sandals. It’s very organza-ish but is actually Cotton/Nylon. The close-up of the pattern and material does not do it justice. The size 6 fits well on me. This skirt is meant to sit at your waist or just a tiny bit lower. It hits right at the knee (perfect for the times we’ll be sight-seeing and walk inside a church).

I kept this skirt in the bag, in my truck, for a week before bringing it inside but I could never get it out of my head. See, here WAS my dilemma. I have a Banana Republic Seersucker skirt that is similar in style to this skirt. I immediately thought of that skirt, after my strolling around Paris/Italy thought, when I saw this skirt. But I decided they are both two different skirts and I don’t have strolling visions with that other skirt. The only negative about this skirt is that it doesn’t have pockets. That would make this skirt absolutely perfect in my book.

What do you think?

Stroll on ladies, stroll on.