The Fab Life

Making every day fabulous

J.Crew New Arrivals – June 2017 Style Guide

Hi! Another month, another round of new arrivals at J.Crew! I’m going to have to split this up in to two posts since I feel like I tried on everything in the store. My store was just upgraded to a new tier so it was more full than usual this month and I felt a little overwhelmed with my dressing room full of stuff. I went in the evening whereas I usually go first thing in the morning and I am on the tail end of my annual spring cold so I was probably a little more tired than usual  but I pushed through. I got the style guide for June and I honestly didn’t see a ton that I had to have but once I tried a few things on I definitely have a few things I’ll be keeping an eye on and depending on your lifestyle, there are definitely items to love. I’m usually looking for workwear items and a few fun weekend pieces. The off-the-shoulder, ruffle, one shoulder trend is still strong and while I’ve more or less hit my saturation point with these, I caved and ended up with another ruffle in my closet for the summer. Enough of my rambling, onward to try ons!

First up, the ruffles I had to have. The lightweight striped off-the-shoulder ruffle sweater.

 Shoes: J.Crew Factory

The minute I put this on I was sold. This sweater also comes in a solid version in black or dried thyme (read: olive) and is a viscose/poly blend. I tried a small which is my go to t-shirt size/Tippi size these days (I’m a 6 in blouses / 32E chest). What I liked about this vs. other off the shoulder tops is that it has a strong elastic and with the material of the sweater, it seemed like it would really stay off the shoulder without much adjustment. I did wear it around the house as I debated wearing it out last night (ended up being a little too cold) and it seemed to stay in place. I know it’s trendy, I know I probably won’t get more than two summers out of it, but it made me happy so it came home with me.

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J.Crew New Arrivals – May 2017 Try-Ons Part 2

Hi there! I am popping in quick with a few pics of some items I ordered online as well as a few of the items from the small rollout last week. I finally got around to taking some photos of the online order so figured I would share everything at once!

First up is the Tie-waist skirt in seaside floral which I paired with the New perfect fit t-shirt in neon petal.

I’m wearing a size 8 and it was a little loose so I would say it runs a tad big. This print also comes in a tie-shoulder peplum top. It is the same material as the Ruffle top in clip dot. Again, I appreciate the length of the skirt but I don’t want all my skirts to tie at the waist. The colors will work with a myriad of options. I went with pink but I also contemplated something in the more olive family or aqua and all of those seemed to work. This was a pass for me. This t-shirt is a love for me – I already have it in a few colors. As you can see, the neon isn’t quite so neon but the darker pink in this tee, the neon brilliant azalea is pretty bright. I like the longer sleeves on the tee. This is a medium which is good for every day wear.

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Early Spring Fab Workstyle Roundup

Hello! Spring is officially here and as I am working to get back in to a more regular posting schedule. I thought I would share some of my favorite work outfits for the month of April. First up, is a polka dot dress that I think will be a centerpiece of my spring and summer work wardrobe. I was torn between the dress and the skirt but I have a fair amount of pencil skirts and I liked the layering options for the dress, whether it be with a blazer or button down underneath the dress. I could keep it more toned down with neutral shoes, but…why would I do that? My first thought was to give the dress a kick of color with a pair of hot pink pumps and a coordinating J.Crew inspired fan necklace from a few summers ago. For the office, I added a navy blazer with gold buttons.

And, how perfect is this mural as a backdrop for the outfit? I (finally) recruited a few friends to help me take some photos around our beautiful city over the weekend and plan on making it a more regular thing. I have gotten so used to doing my photos “on the go” in the morning and sticking to Instagram which subsequently means that the blog gets somewhat neglected if I’m not re-posting my Instagram mirror shots or doing J.Crew try-ons.  I’ve been wanting to incorporate other photos in to my posting schedule and give the blog more love so this was a good way to help set that up. I think I’ll still re-post prior Instagram content for these monthly posts but I’ll be trying some new things over the next few weeks and trying to get more “on the spot” outfit photos on the weekends when I tend to slack! So…bear with me and I welcome your feedback. READ MORE

J.Crew New Arrivals – May 2017 Style Guide

Hi there! I’m back with some new arrivals from the May 2017 style guide. I have to be honest – this rollout isn’t one of my favorites. As I’ve said on other online platforms, while I’ve purchased a few off the shoulder tops, I’m hitting my saturation point. These tops aren’t office friendly and well…how many does one really need? But, I still found a few things that I’ll be wishlisting and I ordered a few things online that weren’t in the store. I have to remind myself constantly how short our summer season is and as I rebuild my wardrobe I am trying to be more calculated about what I’m purchasing for summer. However, I was curious to try items on because sometimes I am surprised. So, let’s get started!

First up, the Tie-Waist Skirt in Puckered Morning Floral which I’ve paired with the On Island Time Tee.

This skirt comes in petite, tall and regular length. The material of the skirt is exactly as the name says – puckered cotton. The tie on the skirt is only on the front of the skirt, unlike some of the other tie waist skirts that have been out recently. I appreciated this because you don’t have to undo the bow when you put the skirt on which is helpful when it can be difficult to achieve the perfect bow. I thought there was a little too much bow on the skirt. I am wearing a size 8 in this skirt which seems to be the smaller of my two skirt sizes these days. It fit in the waist but it still puckered in the hip area in this odd way that was unflattering. I like the colors – it’s fun, summery and has a fun retro feel. And there were other people at the store with me who tried it on and looked fantastic in the skirt, it just didn’t totally work for me. The length was below my knees on the regular length skirt. As for the t-shirt, I’m wearing a medium but it runs small. The tee is short and it was a close fit whereas most medium tees are on the loose side on me these days.

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Runway Fab

Hi! I know it’s been a while, and don’t fear, there are J.Crew new arrival photos coming soon. I’ve been in major brainstorm mode when it comes to the blog, so watch for some fun additions and changes coming soon. In the meantime, I wanted to share a few photos and my look from the Buffalo State College Runway 10.0 fashion show last night. My good friends Emily and Holly at Lace & Day invited me to join them for the evening and I immediately accepted the invitation. I could write a whole post about how much I love these two women and how they helped change the way I look and feel in my clothing (for the better). If you live in Buffalo…go visit them. Trust me. I’m somewhat ashamed to say this was the first local fashion event I’ve attended but I don’t intend for it to be my last.

Shirt: J.Crew / Skirt: J.Crew (sold out, similar here ) / Shoes: Nine West / Necklace: J.Crew (sold out, similar here and here) / Bag: Banana Republic (sold out, similar here, here and here) / Lipstick: Christian Louboutin (similar Bite Beauty lipstick)

Naturally, as soon as I said yes to the invitation, my next thought was, what to wear?! Since I’m still transitioning the majority of my closet, I went straight in to online shopping mode. And well…let’s face it. Even if I had a full closet, I probably would have gone in to shopping mode. I was poking around the J.Crew website and saw this skirt in the sale section with only my size available and well…the rest is history. The website photo showed it with a light blue top and beige/black shoes. I knew I had nude colored sandals and I had a button down chambray shirt that would work for a blue shirt. A statement necklace and some red lipstick would finish off the look.

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J.Crew New Arrivals – April 2017 Style Guide

Hi! I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted but here I am again with some of the latest J.Crew new arrivals. I’ve been a bit busy cleaning out my closet and attempting to donate/sell items that don’t fit me any longer. I never thought I’d be at the point where I was faced with not fitting in to 75% of the things in my closet but…here I am. More on that in another blog post. My local J.Crew had a new arrival event on Saturday trying on clothes was the perfect way to spend a snowy Saturday morning. I also had the pleasure of meeting a few very sweet ladies in the dressing room who follow me on Instagram and read the blog so that was pretty fun too. It’s not the first time I’ve had that happen to me but when it does happen, it’s always a little surreal but also flattering. And I love chatting J.Crew with others who love it as much as I do!

So, enough of my rambling and onward to some try-ons.

First up, the Sheath Dress in Polka Dot Textured Tweed

Shoes: Suede Colette D’Orsay Heels

This was an absolute love. There’s a matching jacket which my store didn’t have and there’s also a pencil skirt in the same style which I also didn’t have the opportunity to try on. I tried both the 10 and the 8 in this dress and probably could have done either – the 10 was a bit loose so this is the 8. It’s perfect on top but it’s just a smidge tight in the skirt area so I’d say if you’re curvy go with your larger size. This is at the top of my wishlist. As soon as those temps get a little bit warmer it will be mine. The material is textured but the dots themselves are a solid fabric. This dress is why I keep coming back to J.Crew!

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