/ Uncategorized

Happy Halloween everyone! The Boy is “too old” for trick-or-treating and he also has soccer practice so we will be missing the neighborhood kids this year. That’s kind-of good because all that candy around the kitchen is so tempting to keep for myself. I buy the good stuff – chocolate, Willy Wonka candies and chocolate.

The stores received the first roll-out of Holiday items last week and my PS emailed me to let me know she had some items on hold for me to try on. I was able to head in there on Saturday for a little while to do some try-ons.

Crochet Lace-Front Tee – White, M, #58195, Runs Small
Either this tee runs really small and short or I tried on a defective one. The Medium was short in length, barely reaching my waistband on my jeans and tight across the bust and arms. Pass

Dream Dolman Sweater – Heather Cypress, M, #54574, Runs Big
This is a soft sweater with Dolman sleeves and a loose fit. I’d size down in this one. Wishlist

Hadley Sweater in Stripe – Navy Henna, M, #49365
Cute sweater that’s great for jeans but didn’t really “wow” me in any way. Pass

Colorblock Minimalist Mockneck Sweater – Flame/Acorn, M, #55765, TTS
Great little sweater to pair with Minnies or the Viridian Green pencil skirt. It’s a 7-gauge merino and a little too thick for me. I would prefer to layer with thinner sweaters or cashmere in my milder winter climate. If you are not a fan of the colorblocking but like the mockneck it also comes in solid colors. Pass

Shimmer Bow Sweater – Sparkle Pebble, M; Sparkle Charcoal, S, #57105
This has a cute little black bow in the back and is very sparkly. The gold/pebble has gold threading throughout while the Charcoal has silver. I think this sweater will be great for holiday parties. I immediately pictured the gold with the Golden Bubbles Pencil Skirt from Holiday 2010. I also have the Degrade Swing Skirt that the Charcoal will pair nicely with. The Small (charcoal) is a better fit on me especially in length but if you want to layer something under this you might want to stay with your regular size (my RS is Medium). Purchased Charcoal

Kendor Cardigan – Dusty Cedar, S, #54540, Runs Small
A nice thick cardigan that I’d probably use around the house as loungewear. I’m sure I can find something similar elsewhere for that type of use that is not as expensive. Pass

Fanfare Jacket in Peacock Tweed – Turquoise, 6, #56794, TTS
Like the Rialta Tweed jacket, this has a “matching” skirt but it was not in my store to try on. The skirt is a mini, 18 1/2 inches, according to the online description. I really like the tweed and color on this jacket and would be interested in seeing the skirt. I would have preferred trying on the size 8 because I was unable to button this one and it was a little snug across the shoulders. Pass but like

Always Wrap Cardigan – Vermont Pine, M, #57955, TTS
Very cute, lightweight, soft cardigan. Again, I’d purchase for loungewear or quick errands. Wishlisted

Sequin Shawl-Collar Cardigan – Black, #62289
I saw this IRL but didn’t try is on. This is similar to the Holiday 2009 Sequin Shawl Collar Cardigan, that you can see on me here and here. This cardigan is longer and the sequins are sparse and not as filled in on the collar but if you did miss out on the 2009 version this one is still a good option. Pass

Jester Turtleneck Sweater – Navy/Acorn/Ivory, M, TTS, #55734
I didn’t take a pic but you can see it in some of my pics in the background. This fit TTS. Wishlisted

Colorblock Stripe Long-Sleeve Tee – #57762, This is a cute jersey (poly/rayon) tee IRL but I didn’t try it on. It’s very soft and lightweight so it better for milder climates or for Spring. Wishlisted

Classic Mini in Felted Wool – Decadent Red, 6 & 8, #51732; Ivory, 10
I liked the color and length of the Ivory in a 10 but it was too loose on me. There was only a slight difference in the 6 and 8 in width and length. I’d probably get the 8 and would wear with tight so the length on this mini is not an issue. I have a camel felted wool mini from years ago still NWT so I should probably wear that first before thinking about getting another. If I did I would like the Ivory and the Vintage Violet. Wishlisted

Silk Scoopneck Blouse in Seine Stripe – Navy Stripe, 4, #59612, Size Down
As you can see, I am wearing a 4 in this blouse and would have to say this runs a size small. I’m usually an 8/M in tops, depending on the shoulder/sleeve cut but this size wasn’t too bad. There is no pulling at my bust but I would buy a size 6 to have a little more room in the arms. Unfortunately, my store had 5 of these left (but not in a 6 or 8) so I’d have to order online to try the fit in my size. The Viscose/Rayon feels a bit like a rough chiffon or silk. Wishlisted

Elsie Skirt in Nightfall Floral – Eggplant, 6, #55784, TTS to Size Down due to elastic waistband
I like this skirt but two things about this skirt disappointed me. First, it’s cotton and I think it would look better in a silk/chiffon like the Soiree Skirt from the summer. Second, the waistband is elastic, so it’s pull-on only. The length is perfect for me at 19 inches and I don’t think the full-shape overwhelms me too much. I could use this now and then again in the late Spring and Summer. Wishlisted

Talia Blouse/Silk Scoopneck Blouse in Royal Paisley – 6, #60333, TTS
I really have no idea what the name of this blouse is. I keep seeing it two different ways online.
No. 2 Pencil Skirt in Royal Paisley – 6, #57494, TTS
This skirt is a longer length on me but is the “normal JC” 23 1/2 inches. I’ll hem this up an inch or two but I love this skirt. I like the pairing of the top and skirt together too but I think I would get the Blouson Dress if I wanted a full body pattern. The top will be great with my Viridian Green Pencil Skirt, Camel Cafe Capri’s, and casually with jeans. See the same styling on Rose from One More Shopping Blog. Blouse Wishlisted, Skirt Purchased

Cafe’ Capri in Harvest Tweed – Olive Mint, #55822, 8, TTS
Love. Love. LOVE! these pants. I wasn’t interested in them when I first saw them online but IRL they are gorgeous. I returned my Maraschino Cherry Cafe’ Capri’s and got these instead. I know I will wear these more. I plan on hemming them so they are true capri. I tried on the size 6 too and that size fit well except for the slight pulling right at my hips. Purchase

AND, I was able to score the Biella Heeled Loafers for $50. My PS saved them for me! 

Cafe’ Trouser in Wool – Maraschino Cherry, 6, #49982, TTS
I would prefer an 8 in these because there is just some slight pulling at the hips with the 6. These are gorgeous trousers and I’m tempted by the black since I do not have a basic black pant. These would have to be hemmed up at least 5-6 inches. I’m wearing the Biella Heeled Loafers and still have about 3 inches in length dragging. Wishlisted

Overtime Neck-Tie Top in Bird’s Eye Tweed – Navy, 6, #52356
I am so mad at myself because I tried on the Interoffice Skirt in Bird’s Eye Tweed with this top and looked like I came right off the “Mad Men” set but the picture came out really blurry. This top was a little snug and I think the 8 would fit a lot better overall. The tweed is actually wool but so fine and gorgeous and I love the little tie-neck bow detail. Another thing I like about this top – It has a side-zip that zips down, making for a smooth seam line. Skirt & Top Wishlisted

Blouson Dress in Polka Dot – Black, 6, #61022
I am a big fan of the Blouson Dresses. I have the Striped and the Black and Cream Lace dresses. But if I had to choose, I would get the Paisley Blouson dress instead of this one. Wishlisted

What do you think? Anything that’s peaked your interest now? Are you already waiting for the second Holiday roll-out to use your rewards card?

/ Uncategorized

Here are some OOTDs from last week. The first is from Wednesday where it was still 80 degrees outside. This was perfect for our outdoor dinner that night at a local pizza restaurant (outdoor seating only). The shoes were a great casual match for this skirt.

Shirt: Short-Sleeve Selvedge Chambray Shirt
Skirt: Origami Mini in Toile Jacquard
Shoes: Steve Madden Madee in Glitter Multi

By Friday we had received a shift in temps and layering was required. Oh, how I wanted to wear boots and a scarf but even though it was chilly outside the sun was out trying to make you warm. We had a dinner that evening and Husband’s boss’s house so I added my Bella blazer to keep warm that night.

Shirt: Boy shirt in Quincy Tartan (tried on here)
Sweater: Tippi Sweater in Heather Dark Grape
Jeans: GAP Essential
Shoes: Cece Ballet Flats in Sapphire (Shoes-day here)

Blazer: J Crew Bella in Riviera Blue

Question for all you “Bella” owners out there…How do you keep your collar to stay up? Mine is sort of in-between and sometimes one side is up and the other is down. Do you steam it or lay something on it with the collar up?

Have a Great day! I’ll have some J Crew in-store reviews posted tomorrow.

/ Uncategorized

My order finally arrived today from the 25% off at J Crew last week. As much as I wanted to order more, I didn’t NEED to order anything. Even now, I’ve perused the sale section and there’s nothing I need, have-to-have, or like/love. It seems kind of blah right now. I’m sure once more Holiday arrivals come in there will be another big push to sale.

Anyway, here’s what came from my Brown Sancho (aka the UPS man).

Two Jackies – Pacific and Maraschino Cherry – I didn’t like the Pacific blue color IRL. I don’t have a color like it in my closet but nothing came to mind when I tried to style it in my head so it will go back. As for the Maraschino Cherry, the red is pretty and I’ll think about it for a while. Naturally, it will be great to pull out and wear during Christmas and Valentine’s Day.

Vintage Matchstick Cords – Vintage Violet – Such an beautiful color.

And then I stopped by my other B&M today and found these.
A scarf I have had my eye on since I first saw it in the store. I was able to snag this on sale plus 30% off.

A new Natasha blouse in a Leopard print. Love it! – $98, Color SAV, #60637

Stretch Vintage Bootcut Cords – $69.50 (promo), Color DAT Deep Atlantic, #50025 (This color is not online.)

No. 2 Pencil Skirt in Royal Paisley – ABC was so right about this skirt. It has so many colors and goes with so many things. See her posts here and here about styling and colors. And I love that both the skirt and lining are cotton. I can wear this into Spring and possibly early Summer.

My PS has put away some more Holiday 1 new arrivals so I should be checking those out tomorrow.
Have a Great Evening!

/ Uncategorized

Do you ever pair the same print together and wear them at the same time? I have done that for the past two days.
Exhibit A

Cardigan: J Crew Factory Vintage Zebra Stripe Cardigan
Skirt: J Crew Factory Vintage Zebra Stripe Mini
Tank: J Crew Perfect Fit Flower Tank in Gray
TOMS Glitter Shoes

Exhibit B

Cardigan: J Crew Factory Evening Primrose Cardigan
Skirt: J Crew Factory Evening Primrose Belle Skirt
Tank: J Crew Perfect Fit Flower Tank in Burnished Olive
GAP City Flat in Purple

But I’m not alone in this. J Crew has matched the same print together as well. The first time I saw this image I thought “What an interesting dress?” But it’s actually the No. 2 Pencil Skirt in Royal Paisley and the Talia Top in Royal Paisley (either that or a sweater in the print that hasn’t reached online yet.)

Have you ever dressed in the same print, as separates, top and bottom? 

/ Uncategorized

I have been intrigued by Jewish Girl’s “Use it or Lose It” challenges recently. The gist of it is you wear items in your closet you haven’t worn in a while or never within 30 days. If forces you to figure out how to wear that pencil skirt or embroidered blouse and let’s you ultimately decide whether or not it’s a keeper.

Her first challenge was skirts and her current challenge is Cardigans/Jackets and Shoes. To keep herself on track with what is in the challenge she added a green mark to those hangers holding those items. It would be interesting to participate but I don’t dress for work like those who work in an actual office so I’d probably “use” 2 of 10 skirts or something like that. It seems like a good way to purge your closet one or two clothing categories at a time. To be honest, any more than that at a time can be too overwhelming and you’ll want to keep everything.

I am blessed to have a closet that allows me to have ALL my clothes out all year round. I store my cashmere and heavier sweaters in boxes during the off season that I keep on the floor or top shelves of my closet. Unlike most ladies, I do not have to switch out Summer to Fall or Winter. Unfortunately, seeing everything at once also causes me to 1) be indecisive on what to wear and 2) think I don’t have anything to wear. To help with that I re-arranged my closet again, moving around the shelves, placing the shoes up front-and-center and, my purging trick, turning all my hangers around, which I probably saw on Clean House or some HGTV show years ago.

Logically, you place all your hangers so you can retrieve them from the front. As you can see, I reversed the hanger so the curve of the top of the hanger is to the back wall. If I wear something I hang it back with the curve to the front. At a glance, this shows me exactly what I’ve worn and what I need to wear. Then, after each season, I can assess what I have not worn and decide if it really is a keeper or if it finally needs to go. The only things I don’t use this for are classic items – the white button-down shirt, LBD, black pencil skirt, wool trousers, etc.

Another idea I looked into was a “Wear-Minder Tag“. You place a tag on a hanger and each time you wear that article of clothing you remove a “petal”. You would have to give yourself a cut-off date so you don’t have clothes in your closet with three petals missing in three years. They also look like they are easy to make, with some scrap-booking paper, a design, and scissors. By making them yourself, you can also add the article of clothing to the center of the flower so you know which hanger it goes back on.

I don’t have a definitive way to purge my shoe portion of the closet yet but right now I am just doing a once-over every few months. I finally purged some shoes that were too cute to let go but that I hadn’t worn in over two years. Because of this, as you can see, I now have a front-and-center shelf for my sweaters. Maybe if I have them out Mother Nature will notice and keep it cool for a while so I can wear them.

Jeans are another issue I have. I don’t hang them so I only get rid of them when they don’t fit.

My question to you is – “How do you purge your closet?” Especially shoes. I’d love to hear your ideas and tricks on what you do to keep your closet from exploding. Do you participate in the “One in, One Out” concept? Are you participating in Jewish Girl’s “Use it or Lose It” challenge, even secretly? Do you purge at the beginning of a season or re-assess what you haven’t worn when you change seasons and purge then?

Go check out Jewish Girl’s blog, if you haven’t already, and read up on her “Use it or Lose It” challenges.

Have a great day!