Wise Words

One of the best parties I ever attended took place because some friends were moving to Germany and they needed help finishing off the contents of their liquor cabinet. Moonshine tastes like what I would imagine rubbing alcohol to taste like, btw.

J.Crew Style Guide, February 2013 - Finally Some Pretty Things!

It feels like forever since J.Crew has updated their website with anything new, and practically an ETERNITY since I've seen anything that I really like, so I was really pleased to see a lot of pretty things in the February 2013 Style Guide that came in the mail today. I'm just posting pictures of the pages that I really personally like since A) I'm pressed for time and B) I'm selfish.

Liberty print rash guards - adorable. All I do at the beach is read under an umbrella, though, so that would be money wasted.

Punching myself in the face over those Windowpane Cashmere cardigans, but they're featherweight and I've found those to pill like WHOA. Maybe if I could weave another sweater from all of the pills I shaved off, then it would be worth the money.

Oh, heaven help me, I've never met a pair of sailor pants I didn't like!

Or a sailor skirt!!!

Green. Silk. BUTTERFLIES. How adorable!!!

New items should roll out online this Thursday, 1/31 (I think).

Wise Words

That's good stuff. Especially if you're the kind of person who usually sees failure as an indication that you suck and you don't deserve to own cashmere.

*raises hand slowly*

White Jeans in Winter

So you're rolling along, middle of  winter, secure in your belief that white denim is not appropriate from September to March when BAM!:

This picture of Emmanuelle Alt, Editor in Chief at French VOGUE, pops up on your Pinterest feed and, out of nowhere, you decide you gotta get summa them white jeans asap. Here are more images of Alt in her white skinny jeans:

These pictures aren't new, they've been floating around fashion blogs for the past year, but I guess I didn't really pay much attention since the voice in my head was saying "She's the only person alive who can pull that off." But then her influence started trickling down the fashion food chain, first to the Voguettes in Paris, NYC, and Milan...

...and then to various gorgeous fashionistas everywhere.

The secret to pulling off white jeans in the winter appears to be combining them with dark boots on the bottom and dark layers on top. I love the white/black/gray combinations most of all since I have a lot of black and gray in my wardrobe to begin with, but I also like this lady's biker/bohemian take in earthier tones:

And then, when the weather warms up, you have your white jeans that transition perfectly from Winter to Spring or from Summer to Fall.

I bought a pair of J.Crew cropped white denim pants last year, but they lost their shape in the butt and thighs after 2 wears and looked awful, so I donated them to Goodwill and planned to shop for another pair this Summer. However, inspired by these images and a stretch of 75 degree weather, I decided to take advantage of the recent sales at Madewell and bought a pair of their white denim Skinny Skinny jeans at nearly 60% off the original price.

Madewell Skinny Skinny Jeans in White Wash

The only size left available was 2 sizes bigger than my own, but I ordered them anyway because a) Madewell has a free shipping/returns guarantee on jeans, and b) I had planned to go up a size in any pair of white jeans I might have found to try since white pants have the potential to be VERY unflattering if they are too tight. 

I tried them on immediately after they arrived and they were definitely too big all over, but I decided to use the mistakes I've made with denim over the years to my advantage. That's right: I washed them on hot and dried them twice on the super hot speed dry cycle. When I pulled them out of the dryer and tried them on again, they were an absolutely perfect fit (and smelled like fresh mountain air)! Now I just need a date night with the BF or a day trip to Atlanta to properly show off my winter whites.

What do you think? Would you wear white jeans in the winter? Have you already been wearing white jeans in the winter for years and are rolling your eyes like, "Whatevs, Emmanuelle Alt"?

All images pinched off of Pinterest.

Madewell Review: Texting with My Mother

Mom was slow to warm up to texting ("Just call me!"), but when I pointed out that I can't call her from work but I can text, she embraced it like a 14-year-old cheerleader and we text almost every day, sometimes all day long. Often our discussions turn to fashion. Here is a conversation from last week.


Me: Hi. Madewell just rolled out this shirt this morning:

Silk Rose Print Boy Shirt

Silk. It's loud but I think I love it. Or maybe I just love the print and the shirt would look stupid on me. What do you think?

Mom: Very interesting. Pretty. If paired with white or navy (I think it's navy?) it would be great.

Me: I think it's black. I'd wear it with black pencil skirts/jackets/cardis for work and black skinny jeans + ballet flats on the weekends. Is it TOO MUCH for my personality?

Mom: No. It's very femme.

Me: That's what I mean, haha. Is it too Laura Ashley? I'm hoping more for Dorothy Draper/Carleton Varney. Or maybe I should just buy a scarf :p

Dorothy Draper/Carleton Varney, Fazenda Lily

Laura Ashley, Wiseley Floral

Mom: It's more Dorothy Draper than Laura Ashley. I really don't like what they have done to The Greenbrier, though. Dorothy Draper on crack!

Me: That's because of the casino. Nouveau riche gamblers don't speak "subtle". I imagine that Carleton Varney was given the the order to combine Dorothy Draper w/ Vegas, so this was actually a pretty good outcome. Could be worse.

Casino Club, The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs, WV

Mom: Ya think? Look at it.

Me: It could *always* be worse.

Worse.

********************

Well, I knew that the Rose Print blouse was one that I'd have to try on to know for sure if I would love it or hate it, so I used Madewell's free ship over $100 promo and it arrived in the mail today.

I'll be darned - I love it (note presence of nosy dog at lower left). I'm not sure why I love it, but it might have something to do with the fact that I'm a child of the 80's and, now that I live 90 minutes away from Atlanta, this blouse is the closest I've ever been to becoming one of the cast of Designing Women:

"...the night the lights went out in Georgia!"

I ordered the Medium, which is my usual size for Madewell's silk Boy Shirts (I also have the Horseplay Silk Boy Shirt, naturally). The print is LOUD, and I'm usually not drawn to loud prints. Once when I was ironing my shirts during study abroad in London, my flatmate said, "Don't take this the wrong way, but I've never seen so many plain black tee shirts in my life."

The blouse has a beautiful, fluid drape. Knotted at the waist with the sleeves rolled up, it helps to lessen the impact of ALL THOSE ROSES. I love it with my faded black skinnies, but I can definitely see it with white shorts or cropped trousers and espadrilles in the summer.

It looks great under a tailored black blazer (note presence of nosy dog in lower right corner). I feel like I should wait until Spring to wear such a punchy floral to work, but I have a huge urge to wear it tomorrow! That's how I know I really love something; I can't wait to wear it someplace. If you ever see me at the grocery store and I look a bit overdressed, you can be sure that whatever I'm wearing is brand new. Obviously I need to work on the whole "instant gratification" thing.

Or...maybe I should wait a day or two before I decide to keep it, just until I'm sure that I'm not just feeling the emotional high that comes with buying new clothes.

What do you think? Too much? Too much in a good way?

My Favorite Outfits

Ahh, lazy Sunday. I was playing around with the Paper by 53 App (super fun) on my iPad and thought I'd do a few illustrations of my favorite outfits.

Sunday Brunch

1.J.Crew Metallic Gold Leather Headband 2.Ray-Ban Wayfarer Sunglasses 3.Madewell Striped 3/4 Sleeve Tee 4.Men's Timex Metal Watch 5.Modalu Pippa Grab Bag 6.Madewell Skinny Skinny Jeans 7.J.Crew Cece Metallic Gold Flats

Thanksgiving Dinner

1.J.Crew Selvedge Chambray Shirt 2.J.Crew Bow Collar Necklace 3.J.Crew Cashmere Long Sleeved Tee 4.Men's Timex Metal Watch 5.J.Crew Wool Flannel Buffalo Plaid Miniskirt 6.HUE Opaque Black Tights 7.Frye Harness Boot

J.Crew Reviews: Collection Embellished Raglan Sweatshirt, Bow Collar Necklace

Intrigued by the idea of a sweatshirt with some sparkle, and appreciative of the fact that the sparkle wasn't smack-dab in the middle of the model's chest as usual, I decided to buy this sweatshirt when it rolled out on the J.Crew website last week.

Collection Embellished Raglan Sweatshirt

Cute, right? I love the way that they styled it online, with jeans, white collared shirt, red flats and red lips. I thought it would be great to wear this sweatshirt to my friend's Christmas party, or maaaaaaybeeeee I could even get away with it to work with last year's Cafe Capris in Wool Check during the week between Christmas and New Year's Eve when everyone will be out on vacay.

My first impression from seeing it through the plastic was that the gray color was darker than pictured online, and less heathered in appearance. Once I had it on, I was disappointed in how short and boxy it was. I liked the weight of the shirt, but the cut just made me look thick.

Side view. Size M. The bottom sort of hangs straight down from my chest, and the sleeves are just a touch short, although not really enough to bother me.

I do love the placement of the beading and the open crewneck. I think that you could size down if your chest is on the small side, and you'd get a more fitted shirt with bracelet-length sleeves.

Close-up of the beading. The crystals are a smoky color, which gives them a more subtle antique look as opposed to stuck on with a Be-Dazzler. The knit could stand to be a little softer, and it would soften in the wash, but how many times are you going to risk washing the shirt, and how soft will it even get with a few light hand-washings? I'd hate to ruin the beading.

 Here's a color comparison with another J.Crew sweatshirt that I bought a few years ago - I think it's one of the Haya sweatshirts but I can't remember (ETA: silver_lining let me know that this is actually the Jaspe Boyfriend Sweatshirt from 2009).

 The Jaspe sweatshirt is one of my favorites, and after I changed into it to walk the dog I knew I'd be sending the Embellished Sweatshirt back. As you can see, a longer length, slimmer fit, and lighter weight is much more flattering on my figure. I'm a little bummed out, but I'm glad that I got to try it on in person.

To change the subject, I had a birthday in October and my awesome mother bought me the Tory Burch bracelet I had been coveting:

Tory Burch Fox Head Hinge Bracelet

 Well, it arrived in the mail after a long backorder, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that it was a cheap piece of crap. It was about as heavy as a wad of tinfoil, and the hinge that allowed it to open and close over my wrist was set on an angle so that the fox's face was skewed to the right. It had cost my mother nearly $250.00 at retail plus tax and shipping, which was appalling to me once I saw it in person, so I said "Eff this!" and immediately called my mom who told me to ship it back. I'll think twice before ordering any Tory Burch jewelry again.

Mom suggested this necklace as a replacement after I pointed it out to her online:

J.Crew Bow Collar Necklace

 She said that it reminded her of a necklace that my grandmother used to wear in the 1950's (my grandmother later told me that her necklace was actually gold leaves with rhinestones, but the style was very similar to the Bow Collar Necklace). Mom was able to buy it on promo as well, making the total less than half of that overpriced bracelet.

 I LOVE it. It's the perfect counterpoint to some of my more tomboyish outfits, and also adds glitz to a simple solid-colored sheath dress. It's adjustable, so you can wear it sitting high over the collarbone...

...or dipped lower over the top of the chest, which is the perfect length to wear on the outside of a collared shirt. I wore it this way on Thanksgiving Day and got tons of compliments, so - in the end - I'm glad that the Fox Bracelet didn't work out after all!

Have you tried any of the items from J.Crew's most recent rollout? What hits or misses have you experienced lately?