J.Crew February 2016 New Arrival Store Try Ons

Hello! I know it’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted …work has been nuts, I was sick for a few days and I’ve not even been posting on Instagram. However, J.Crew had their new rollout for February this week, so despite not having a full price promotion on the new items, I ordered a few items and stopped in the store to try some items on as well. This rollout is usually that mid-point of winter when we’re ready to look at spring items but not quite ready to wear them.  Or at least I can’t wear them in the northeast!

20160129_171634

From a color perspective, everything looks pretty cohesive (or perhaps I gravitated towards a certain color palette when choosing what to try!) Even so, it seems that navy and white is a mainstay for the first early spring rollout. I will apologize in advance for the poor lighting in my J.Crew’s dressing room. First up, the Long-Sleeve Multicolored Tweed Dress with Fringe.

20160129_171515_Fotor

Shoes: Prada Half D’Orsay Pumps (sold out, similar here)

I have a black and white tweed dress that similar to this from a few years ago and I LOVE it. It is incredibly flattering and I always feel amazing in it. This dress is a mix of grey, white, navy, and a little bit of coral which is tough to see in this photo. The waist sits higher and the waist band is somewhat thin so while I expected to have my shape enhanced a bit, the higher waist caused me to lose a bit of my curve. I felt like this dress managed to make me look straighter than I am, if that makes any sense. This is a size 12, which is my go-to for most dresses and it fit well overall, with a little room up top, which isn’t uncommon for me since I tend to need the size for my hips. Here’s a closeup of the colors and the fringe. It wasn’t a perfect fit for me, and I already have a similar one so this was a pass but I can see this being popular. Hooray for it hitting my knees as well and not being too short!

20160129_171358

Next up is a skirt that I haven’t seen online yet and I unfortunately forgot to snap a picture of the tag. I liked the A-Line shape of the skirt and again, liked that it hit right at my knees (tough to see in the photo but it hit me about mid-knee and I’m 5’8″). I have a few striped pencil skirts but I would consider this one on sale. I’m wearing a size 12 which is my usual skirt size.

20160129_171755_Fotor

Blouse: J.Crew Silk Clip Dot Blouse / Watch: Michele Signature Deco Watch / Ring: John Hardy Dome Ring

Next up are the much talked about new Teddie Pants in Navy, which looked somewhat similar to the Campbell Capris, with a similar flare at the bottom. I am also wearing the Silk Clip Dot Blouse in Neon Dahlia. I am wearing a size 12 in both the blouse and the pants. I am a 12 in most of the cotton stretch pants – the Minnie, Campbell Capri and Trouser as well as the Martie pant. In most of the wool suiting pants, including the stretch wool, I tend to take a size 14.

 20160129_172133_Fotor (2)

For me, the pants are a tad short at an inseam of 25 1/2″, so I would like to try the tall version of these which would get me another 2 inches in length – which is what I preferred in the Campbell Capris. The flare on them is more pronounced than the Campbells and I liked the rise on them – not too high but they’re certainly not low on the waist. And they have belt loops which the Campbell Capris do not. I will be sticking to the darker color of these pants, I tried the dusty pink on as well and they showed every lump and bump in my less than perfect legs. The blouse was a surprise love for me – I liked the color a lot and I don’t have any blouses in this color, so I will be adding this to my list.

Next up, the Sleeveless Drapey Silk Popover in Deco Floral. This is not really in my color wheel, but I like the shape of the blouse and I think a lot of people will like the pattern. I’m wearing a size 12 in this blouse. The pattern also comes in a front-slit skirt , “dressy” shorts and a scarf. I don’t wear a lot of shorts but I like this pattern in the shorts!

20160129_172909_Fotor

Next up is the Lightweight Wool Tunic Sweater in spearmint white which others have stated isn’t really a tunic sweater, but more of a boyfriend sweater. I tried the smaller of my two sweater sizes in a medium in this. The large looked sloppy. It is also hard to tell that this sweater is mint. My store only had about half of the colors in this, but I would consider the grey to replace another grey sweater I had from last year that I lost to moths over the winter.

2016-01-29 22_Fotor

Now, on to more stripes…this is the Tippi Striped Sweater with Shoulder Buttons in the Navy/Ivory colorway. It also comes in a peach/twig and pool/persimmon color ways, neither of which really caught my eye. I’ll be honest, I took several photos with this sweater on before I realized my hair was covering the buttons. They seem like an odd addition to the sweater…put them on the shoulder but to me they look odd on the neck and unnecessary. I would have liked this sweater much more minus the buttons. I’m wearing a large, which is my go to size for the Tippi sweater lately, especially since I wash them at home and find they shrink up a tad when doing so.

20160129_172324_Fotor

Watch: Michele Signature Deco Watch / Ring: John Hardy Dome Ring

And another striped top, the Rugby-striped T-shirt with back zipper. This looked short to me, so I tried a large, I’m usually a medium or large in the tees, depending on the length. I might have liked this in a smaller size if it were a tad longer. The back zip has a long leather string hanging off it which I found to be annoying but it’s a little different for a striped tee, and I have always liked the wider rugby stripes.2016-01-29 22_Fotor

And last up, the Ruffled Button-Down Shirt in Stripe. I really liked the button-down online and was disappointed to see that this shirt had no shape and the collar didn’t lay right when you kept a few of the buttons undone. I tried it tucked in as well and while that looked a little better, this shirt could stand to have better darts and not be so straight. I also sized down to a 10 from my usual button down size of 12 and this was still roomy.

PhotoGrid_1454264993182

Close-up of the collar.

20160129_173252_Fotor

So, there you have it, a selection of the latest J.Crew new arrivals! I have a few other items arriving in the mail this week so I will post those when they arrive. What were your favorites from this rollout? What didn’t you like so much? Would love to hear what you think and thanks for visiting!

signature

 

Work to Weekend Stripes

I’ve had every intention of posting a work week outfit round up and have not had the time! Hopefully once work settles down a little bit, I can get in to a more regular posting schedule. And next week we have new J.Crew arrivals which will hopefully mean some try-ons!

It’s no secret that I am a bit stripesick…I have my fair share of striped t-shirts and turtlenecks, and sweaters…I can’t seem to get enough. Here’s a few of my outfits from last week – two work outfits and a weekend outfit!

First up…a work day outfit.

PhotoGrid_1452617918826Sweater: J.Crew Tippi in Colorblock Stripe (old) / Blazer: J.Crew Tipped Hacking Blazer / Pants: J.Crew Wool Cafe Capri (similar here and here) / Shoes: J.Crew Calf Hair Everly Pumps

And my Friday work outfit. I purchased the J.Crew Collins Patent Loafers in Bright Cerise last week and was thrilled to find they were more of a lipstick red than an orangey-red as the name would suggest. I paired them with stripes and a chunky grey cardigan both for work and going out for dinner/drinks with family on the weekend.

20160115_083931_Fotor

Sweater: Banana Republic (old, similar here) / Turtleneck: J.Crew Tissue Turtleneck / Pants: J.Crew Paley Pants in Italian Stretch Wool / Shoes: J.Crew Collins Patent Loafers / Lipstick: Stila Liquid Lipstick in Fiery

20160115_083942_Fotor

Saturday rolled around and I had to wear the loafers again! So I did a not too creative switch up for with jeans, a different striped shirt (I started with a tee and ended up with another turtleneck) and a different grey cardigan (yeah, it’s probably not necessary that I have two similar grey sweaters but I liked the longer length of this J.Crew one for wearing with my Pixie pants.

20160118_144842_Fotor

Sweater: J.Crew Open Cardigan Sweater / Turtleneck: Old Navy (old, similar: here) / Jeans: J.Crew Reid Jeans / Shoes: J.Crew Collins Patent Loafers

And a close up of the shoes…because they’re gorgeous!

20160115_083951_Fotor

Not a very verbose post but it’s a peek in to a few outfits from the last few days! I’ll get up and running on the work wardrobe roundup soon. So, how about you? Are you stripesick or can you resist all things striped? Would love to hear what you think and thanks for visiting!

signature

Work to Weekend Fair Isle

So I admit, I’ve had a thing for fair isle lately. So much so, that last weekend I wore it two out of three days of the weekend (yeah, let’s consider Friday night the weekend). Being that our winter waited until January to show up, I’ve been a little slow on my sweater game this year. My latest sweater purchases have been of the fair isle variety and after receiving the J.Crew Fair Isle Crew Neck Sweater in ivory, I knew I could wear it to work on a chilly Friday.

20160108_083755_Fotor

Sweater: J.Crew Fair Isle Crew Neck Sweater /  Blouse: J.Crew Silk Pocket Blouse / Pants: Banana Republic Drapey Pants / Shoes: J.Crew Contessa Snakeskin Bow Flats (old) / Necklace: J.Crew Pearl Twisted Hammock Necklace / Watch: Michael Kors

I almost didn’t post these photos because these Banana Republic pants are too big on me. It was of those things where I tried them on, thought they looked ok and then when I took photos I realized they were big and as the day went, on, I got increasingly annoyed about how big they were. So yeah, while I love the color and that they have an elastic waist, they’re a size too big. By the time I take photos in the morning it’s too late for me to change without totally losing my mind. But, from a color standpoint, while I think it’s really brown in this sweater and not burgundy, I had an easier time pairing it with burgundy pieces. I have since re-ordered the pants in a smaller size (12) and they are perfect! I love that there’s some pink in this sweater as well. And with it currently being $30 with the sale, it’s a classic piece that I know I will wear for years.  I think the sweater runs  a tad small, as the large was a perfect fit.

20160108_083942_Fotor

Necklace: J.Crew Pearl Twisted Hammock Necklace / Blazer: J.Crew Tipped Hacking Jacket (old)

After a full week of work, we had a low key Friday evening, walking to a local restaurant for dinner (in chilly, rainy weather) so I switched it up to a vest and flats (flats also being a poor decision with the later rain; luckily it wasn’t so bad). I affectionately call this my Marty McFly vest because…well…you can see why. I also tried this with an ivory vest and liked the look of that as well, but liked the contrast of the burgundy vest.

PhotoGrid_1452295721081

Jeans: Paige Skyline Ankle Peg Jeans / Flats: Tory Burch Ambrose Flat (similar here) / Vest: J.Crew Shiny Puffer Vest (old)

And lastly, I wore the J.Crew Sequined Fair Isle sweater on Sunday for a family party. I’ve said it before, one of the perks at shopping at primarily one retailer (especially J.Crew) is the uniformity of colors across seasons and the ability to coordinate. This sweater was a PERFECT match with my necklace and shoes, both purchased in the last year. We ended up with more wintery weather later on Sunday so these shoes were strictly for indoor purposes – don’t be fooled, I’m in socks and boots when I venture outside!

20160110_152038_Fotor

Sweater: J.Crew Sequin Fair Isle Sweater / Jeans: J.Crew Vintage Straight Jeans in Old Relic Wash (old) / Necklace: J.Crew Crescent Floral Pendant Necklace (old) / Shoes: J.Crew Jeweled Gemma Flats

Both of these sweaters are on sale right now and the sequin sweater has been popping back regularly in all sizes. Would love to hear what you think and thanks for visiting!

signature

 

J.Crew Fair Isle Classic Turtleneck Sweater

Happy New Year! Sweater weather has finally arrived and it’s back to work after a week and a half off. I’ll be honest, aside from dressing up for the holidays, I didn’t spend a lot of time planning outfits and my go to outfit of the week (which I didn’t photograph) was all J.Crew – Black Shrunken Wool Turtleneck, Black Chelsea Boots, Lookout high-rise jeans, Rib-Stitch Cotton Cardigan (old, similar here), and Excursion Vest.

By this time of the season I’ve usually stocked up on new sweaters but with the milder weather, that hasn’t happened. I did pick up the J.Crew Fair Isle Classic Turtleneck Sweater after the latest price cut. I went with the larger of my two sizes, since it did look like the sweater was on the shorter side, and that was the right call. The turtleneck itself is fitted and the body is looser. I did choose to wear a tank underneath. It wasn’t bad without one, but I did feel it was a little shorter in the back than I would have liked.

20160102_111032_Fotor

Sweater: J.Crew / Jeans: Paige Jimmy Jimmy Skinny Jeans / Boots: J.Crew Chelsea Boots

The sweater is a wool, nylon, cashmere blend and the nylon definitely causes the material to be it not as soft as it could be. I’m not terribly sensitive when it comes to these things and I didn’t find it scratchy per se, but I could see how some people might find it uncomfortable or want to layer long sleeves underneath. The knit is nice and tight though so I didn’t have an issue wearing it with just a tank top. I would have liked it to be a smidge longer but overall, I like the different fair isle design and since I can’t seem to have enough grey sweaters, it’s a keeper for me.

20160102_111305 (1)_Fotor

And of course, since it was snowy and blowy last weekend when I wore this outfit, the J.Crew Chateau Parka was the perfect top layer. I bought this coat at the end of last season on sale and tucked it away – I’ve only worn it twice so far with this weather! I do have to say, I wish I had tried it on right away when I bought it because I did go with a 12 in this coat and with the swingy body in the coat, I may have been able to size down to a 10. But it is still a nice coat and kept me warm (even if I was an idiot and wore destructed jeans outside on a really cold day – holes in jeans, not so great in the bitter weather).

20160102_111231_Fotor

I’ll admit, the jeans got swapped out later in the day when the sun went down and I had to run more errands after meeting up with some girlfriends for lunch.

Lastly, another look from the week – nothing new, just some pieces that I am reaching for over and over again. I have rediscovered my love for my J.Crew Pixie Pants and seem to be reaching for them on the weekend more than jeans.

20151228_123718 (1)_Fotor

Sweater: Old Navy (old, link to similar)/ Pants: J.Crew Pixie Pants / Shirt: J.Crew End On End Button Down (old, link to similar) / Vest: J.Crew Factory Quilted Vest / Boots: Tory Burch

Have you been buying less winter clothing with the lack of winter temperatures? Holding out for good sales? Would love to hear what you think and thanks for visiting. I’ll be back to posting about work clothes soon!

signature