It's still hot here in GA, so I've accepted the fact that I will just have to ignore all of the lovely woolens that have appeared in stores for Fall until perhaps early October, when most of these shiny new items will hopefully have started to hit the sale rack. In the meantime, I picked up a few wardrobe items that I needed and/or were on sale at J.Crew.
Tortoise Button Sweatshirt in Stripe
I'll start off with something that I did not need but bought anyway: the Tortoise Button Sweatshirt in Navy/Red Stripe. Navy, red, and tortoise-shell will always get my attention. It's cotton, so I can wear it all year long whenever I am cold. It's more like a heavy-knit tee than a sweatshirt, similar to my Saint James mariniere, so it looks durable and should last me for a long time.
Bought a Medium and it fits TTS. A little boxy, but the length is fine as long as it doesn't shrink in the dryer. The fabric is just a bit stiff, but - again - this is how my Saint James tee was when I bought it and it softened up nicely after a few washes.
Boy Shirt in Classic White
I know that what I really need is a tailor so that I can buy large shirts and have them altered to fit me and my big chest, but I am a silly human and continue to buy button-downs and expect them to fit right out of the box. Happily, J.Crew's Boy Shirt in Classic White did just that.
Size 8. I will never understand why the only J.Crew button-down that really fits me is a boy fit without stretch. Weird. Most of the time if I size up to fit my bust, the waist and shoulders are huge. If I size down to fit my waist and shoulders, the buttons gape like crazy over the chest (ah, the mournful tune of the busty girl's lament...). There is a little more fabric around the middle than I would like, but it's not nearly as sloppy looking as some others I've tried on. The fabric is thinner than both J.Crew's Stretch Perfect Shirts and a traditional Oxford button-down, but I had no see-through issues wearing it to work with a nude bra underneath.
Here is the shirt as I wore it to work last week, pictured with J.Crew's
No.2 Pencil Skirt in Neon Tweed. I picked it up on Final Sale since the No.2's are pretty consistent in the way that they fit. However, this skirt fits small. I ordered a 6, but it fits like other J.Crew pencil skirts that I own in a 4. If you are between sizes, definitely take your larger size. I've been wearing it at work all day in this picture and it does show some wrinkles, but they seem to relax quickly after you stand for a bit. You can see more images of this skirt on other bloggers
here,
here, and
here.
Side view. I'm really happy with both of these purchases, especially the Boy Shirt since it looks great for both work and play. Probably the nicest dressy white blouse that I own is one from
Emerson Fry, and that is one that I DO plan to take to a tailor so that I'll have at least one button-down shirt that fits me perfectly.
The Edie Pursette from Holiday 2011 - Popback Score
After taking stock of my handbag situation, I realized that I was in need of something small that I could take with me on casual outings for day or evening. Giant envelope clutches are really "in" right now, but I'm not even interested in trying to deal with a strapless bag at, say, the grocery store. No thanks. I checked a few online sites, almost going with
this bag from Fossil or
this one from Madewell, but then the Edie Pursette popped back into J.Crew's Sale section one morning. In RED. The online copy for the item read:
"Trade your slouchy, shoulder-crushing carryall for this pretty, pint-size purse that packs all your essentials."
Exactly what I was looking for.
The Edie leather is really nice - so smooth and fine - and the colors are fabulous. And it held so much more than I expected!
Here is an image of everything that I am able to fit in the Edie Pursette, minus my phone, which fits nicely into the little front turnlock compartment. The fact that it is big enough to hold my wallet is a HUGE plus, since now I don't have to empty out my ID, cards, and cash if I'm just taking the smaller bag out for the day. The wallet is from
Levenger. I've been buying my wallets there for about 10 years now and they are the best.
Here it is hanging on my shoulder - perfect size for errands or a day trip.
Stripe Silk Cami
Another Final Sale purchase, I bought this top to wear to work under blazers and cardis. Size 8, fits TTS. You can also see it on AJC
here. It's 100% silk, lined in polyester. I like this cami but I don't love it, and I think that might actually be due to the fact that I have to wear a racerback bra with it. My racerback bra is not super comfy and the straps rub red marks where my neck meets my shoulders, so I'd probably like it a lot more if I could wear it with a regular bra.
That's all of my reviews for now...what have you purchased from J.Crew lately? The big buzz around the new Fall rollout has been all about the
French Hen sweater, which is very cute, but I passed because it's made from Dream yarn (yuck) and also because I don't think it's really "me".
