Seen About Town: New BR Concept Store

I was in the SF Westfield mall last night, and I noticed a new store under construction across from JCrew. Behold:



It says "Introducing Edition by Banana Republic: An extraordinary new accessories boutique defined by exquisite craftsmanship and timeless style, Opening May 2009".

Ok. BR has really been doing NOTHING for me lately, but I am intrigued by this concept. Is is the best time to be testing a high end accessories boutique? Perhaps not, but I like to see brands trying new things and I think the store could be cool. I am envisioning Handbags, Jewelry, Shoes, Scarves, Sunglasses, etc.

Sidenote: Does anyone else remember a few years ago when BR had an intimates line, with great underwear and pajamas? The stuff was soft, pretty and really well done. Then it disappeared completely. What gives?

Have you heard of this new Edition boutique? Will you visit or keep an eye out?

My Item to Watch: Crocodile Cocktail Jacket

This jacket was my favorite piece from my local scouting trip.






The jacket fits very nicely in the shoulders and has a slight swing shape but not too triangulary. It hits at the top of the hip. The cotton feels hefty but not too stiff. The sleeves are 3/4 but not too flared or tight, just a nice fit on the arm. One thing made me a bit nervous, the round buttons feel a little loosey-goosey, maybe its just because I am not used to a round button but I felt like if I fumbed too much it might come loose.

I tried the 6 in this jacket, where I wear an 8 in the Victoria Cami and often a Medium in Tshirts.

I really liked the contrast between the darker gray and the white of the pattern. While the Canvas Atelier jacket (in the same cut) is a really great basic, this crocodile pattern had a really nice subtlety to it that made me think it wouldn't feel too noticeable or trendy on a given day, while offering a little bit of personality.

The price is still $168 but I am hoping this unique piece finds its way into a promotion or a sale. I think it would go well with jeans, white pants if worn with a dark top (slate rolling ruffles tank?), navy, or even a fun colored short in the summer.

Hope this is helpful! Really like this jacket!

JCrew New Arrivals IRL

This evening I visited a B&M store on a whim and found they have received many new arrivals...but no catalog! I tried to take some pictures of what I saw. Granted, not all of them worked for me, but I thought it would be nice to see how the items looked on a real person.

I will try to note what size I tried on. My standard size is 10 on the bottom, 8 on the top but lately I have often been sizing to a 6 on top if I want something really fitted.

Merino VNeck Ruffle Cardigan $118, size Small for really fitted
This is cute. But is everything gray? Seriously. No other colors at my store. And not for $118. But I like the length on this.


Jayne Dress in Tea Rose, Tried in size 10.
Eek. I don't love showing this pic...I had high hopes for this dress but it seems to fit me wrong...the bottom seemed dangerously clingy but the top far too drapey. The real reason I wanted to show was because the color was different than I expected--I had envisioned more of a dusty rose, but this was brighter or even coral-ly?


Gateau Skirt, Tried an 8 with the A-Line Shape.
Gah. Not for me. A-Line Skirts just make my pear shape look too much like a triangle. I did like that the skirt had a nice feel and sleek horizontal pleats.


Charmeuse Pencil Skirt, Tried an 10.
OK I am starting with the funny items first haha. This skirt sorta baffled me. It has the feel of comfy silk pajamas, but its like a tube of fabric with the elastic waistband. It is comfortable, but I just don't know if I am cool enough to rock it. Was also a bit longish.


Vintage Slim Distressed Jean, Tried a 30R.
These are cool--I have not had light or distressed or slim for that matter, jeans in a long while. And I love the idea of rolling these. But I just keep thinking that I don't want to pay $100 for jeans that will be just for fun or a trend...I do have my gears turning about maybe distressing a pair of jeans I already have, will keep you posted!



Sateen Pencil Skirt in Pink, Tried Size 10.
This skirt was on the sale rack for $29.99 (?) already. I really don't know why. It was really cute but the light color made me worry a bit about showing lumps and bumps. I left this one but a nice springy piece.


Slub Cotton Ruffled Scoopneck Tee, Tried on M
Nice Tee, love a scoopneckline, but this will have to wait for a sale. Overall I think the tees are really nice.


Boyfriend Miliary Jacket, Tried in Small (sized down from medium)
This jacket is cool, but a bit big and boxy. Even the small and later the XS were too square on the body, but I really liked the concept.

Here is the SMALL:



Here is the XSMALL: (note I have never worn an XS in anything)



Keegan Trench in Coal, size 6.
This jacket is still on my mind....I just keep thinking that it will get lower and it might be a bit too short. Jury still out, but I really like the coal.



Canvas Atelier Jacket, Tried on in Size 6.
I really liked the cut of this jacket, but the color was a bit pale on me. I ended up liking the Crocodile Cocktail jacket better, which I will review in a later post.



Scalloped Shell in Size 6.
This is so much cuter in person--I love the satiny finish of the scallops. It fits well and is not too short or revealing. It does seem a bit wider in the shoulders--not cap sleeve, but wider than a regular shell. Thumbs up, I have my eye on this one!



I'll post some more later! I like some pieces, but none that I need right now--I had one favorite that I will post about soon.

OOTD February 26, 2009

Here is what I wore today:


Martin + Osa U Neck Cashmere Sweater in Navy
JCrew Bria Cami in Champagne
Paige Premium denim Robertsons
Luchesse Cowboy Boots in Tan Mad Dog Goat
Burberry Scarf

This isn't a remarkable outfit, but I have been trying to wear some of the pretty camis with the U/scoopneck sweaters and it works pretty well. Sometimes I don't think the cardigans look good with the ruffles underneath, so this is an alternative. The sort of peek out of the scoop, adding detail at the neckline.

The picture below is a washed out example, but hopefully you get the idea. I look so odd staring at the iphone screen--must work on photo solution this weekend!

O.M.G.

LOST is just ridonkulous. News at eleven.

A Good Book = A Better Week

I have always been such a bookworm, I can't deny it. As a kid I would have a book in my hand almost anywhere I went; I would read a book at the dinner table if my parents would have let me (they didn't). This drove my sister crazy as she would have rather been involved in playing or generally driving each other crazy rather than watching me read the latest Babysitters' Club or Young Adult mystery book.

As an adult though, I find it really hard to keep up the habit of reading books on a daily basis. I still love to read, but I find that since I stare at words on the screen all day and then unwind by watching TV all night, that I am not as often found reading a book late at night. Exceptions: Harry Potter, Jodi Picoult, etc.

However, I notice that when I have a book to read, I generally feel better, like my downtime is more my own. I pull out the book at night, I pull it out on the commute, I find myself reading it instead of planning my outfits in the morning (see earlier posts). My love of reading has stuck with me and once I get into a book, I really can't put it down.

These days I am reading Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States by Bill Bryson. Its a non-fiction book and really interesting and amusing. I love Bill Bryson's books and often find myself chuckling out loud.

Next up though, I would love a good novel page turner or something recommended by you all! Please post a comment with a book you love that you have read recently or long ago. My taste involves all genres but I have been definitely guilty of choosing books right off the Borders Bestsellers shelf.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

Please Vote: Victoria Cami

Hello all....

So I love the Victoria Cami, as previously stated. I am interested in getting another more vibrant color since I currently have the Ivory. Right now, the colors on sale are:

Cerise


Golden Olive


Which one do you think I should go for? I want something that will work with white pants in spring and go into fall with chocolate brown. I know this is silly, but any suggestions will help!

So far I have asked 2 very important style consultants and have one vote Cerise, one vote Olive. Help break the tie!

Outfit of the Day: Tuesday February 24, 2009

Getting the hang of this!

Of course, I didn't plan this last night..I SHOULD have, but I didn't. This came together this morning as the clock was ticking. I realized that I should have written everything that was in the outfits previously, so I will start today:

JCrew Wool Twill Academy Pant ( Love these) in Navy
JCrew Sun-Bleached Applique Crinkle Flower Ringspun Tee (New, longest name ever)
JCrew Dream Open Cardigan (Great for Layering, and WARM!)
Converse All Star Slip-on, for commuting
Jessica Simpson Waldorf Pump in Brown/Wine, bought at Nordstrom
Martin and Osa Herringbone Scarf
Don't Actually Own that Bag...
..and my own daily jewelry

A few of you asked about yesterday's outfit, which I will put down here:

JCrew Straight Denim Skirt from 08
Martin + Osa Men's Tattersall Shirt in Small
JCrew Jeans Belt in...Cognacy color?
JCrew Gray Ribbed Tights
Hunter Huntress Boots in Hunter Green

More to come today! Have a good one!

Outfit of the Day: Monday Feb 23, 2009

OK, I think I am getting into the swing of things!

I wanted to wear my Men's shirt from Martin + Osa, and I realized it was going to be rainy (again), so I thought it might be cute with my Hunter boots. Here it is in Polyvore:


And here is a view in the mirror:



Sorry, I have to take these pics at work and I know its not ideal (at all), but the mirror is big enough to take a photo in. I like the shirt, very comfortable!

One thing I struggle with is the whole winter/skirt issue. Should I wear tights every time? Should they match the outfit, be dark? I need to crack the code. I like the gray ribbed tights, but sometimes I feel like they sort of "stand out" too much, being light in color.

What do you wear with skirts in the winter?

A New Leaf

Well. You guys sure told me. I had NO IDEA that all over the country, you all were planning your outfits in the evenings or even WEEKS before you were going to wear them. Who knew? Not me. For years I have been throwing together bleary-eyed haphazard outfits at the last morning minute.

Well no more. I made my first attempt at Polyvoring an outfit and then putting it together this morning. I just didn't manage to pull off the night before thing. I will definitely be working on that over the next few weeks. I so so appreciate all of your tips. I am a listmaker at heart, and so I believe I can definitely modify these ideas into an organized system I can use. Thank you for your help!

Here's the outfit on Polyvore...

The sweater is supposed to be the Heather Wheat one that was in stores only, but they don't have that one on Polyvore--that is one problem I always seem to run into on that size--I can't find something comparable, so I have to work on that. Also, the messenger bag is not a fashion statement, it is a necessity for carrying my heavy laptop back and forth on the commute.

Here's my top half IRL:


Thanks AGAIN for all your input. I am committed to making my mornings more fashionable and stress-free! I will keep you all posted on this endeavor.

How Do I/How Do You?

I am really working on shopping my closet, going through things that I need to wear in different ways, but I run into a frequent problem with this endeavor.

I am not a morning person.

Let me repeat that: I hate mornings.

The alarm goes off and I hit snooze. I want to slumber in bed as long as possible. Somehow I lack the motivation to bounce out of bed and style a perfect outfit. There are a few things at work in my lack of motivation: 1, I work in a very casual office and can wear almost anything I want, and 2, I usually throw something together with just one source of inspiration, and 3, Snoozing costs me valuable minutes.

Do you do this too? I find myself basing what I wear on one thing. Sometimes its the weather, sometimes its that I want to wear jeans, sometimes its that I have been wearing jeans for days and I want to NOT wear jeans, Sometimes its that I want to wear flats cause my feet are complaining. When I look at other people's outfits on blogs, it looks to me that they put together an entire look, not that "I don't feel like wearing heels today". This makes me feel inadequate, but its just a truth of my mornings that it has to come together at the last minute based on one fact that I latch onto.

Today I had this thought process:

Blah. Its morning. Not enough coffee.

I want to wear my new Martin + Osa bootcut jeans.

These jeans are shorter. I will need to wear flats.

It has been raining for a week so its cold. I wish I could wear cherry blossom tee but too cold. Hmmm. More coffee needed.

Husband is pacing and wants to leave. Thinkthinkthink.

OK, sweater. What sweater is on top in closet? Oh look, Lori Cashmere Henley. Slight worry that this washes me out. Oh well, will apply more blush?

Put on sweater. What about a bright belt? That might even make it look NOT like a jeans and sweater uniform. OH! And new Target flats! It might work! I'm ALMOST ready!

Hey! I'm dressed! Not bad!

Here's the result. Please excuse this picture. How do people take such nice pics of themselves in outfits? A remote control? A huge mirror? A self timer? I need like a training class on this. Also I need to have my room always look clean.


I would love to know how you all put together outfits. Do you plan them the night before? Do you have things grouped in your closet? Do you have a bright eyed, bushy-tailed half hour to waltz around your closet because you get up early enough? Or do you have a step by step process? Whats your get-dressed strategy? Any answers will be helpful!!

LOST Day Special

A big THANK YOU to EWOnline for their ridiculous amount of LOST content. And thank you especially for these pictures that made my day.

The boys of Party of Five have had my heart since about 1994 when I watched my first episode, and Bailey and Charlie will be the names of Scott Wolf and Matthew Fox forever to me. This was definitely tricky when LOST began and Matthew Fox=Charlie but did NOT equal Charlie Pace. These days Jack/Charlie sometimes gets on my nerves (WHY do you have to run off into the jungle without talking to everyone first?) but he makes it hard for me to chose Sawyer over Jack, I am always torn.

Love the gray at the temples on Matt here. Love these photos. Can't wait for the episode tonight!!

RockBand Widow

I adore my husband. I really do. But one thing thats frustrates me about him is that anything he tries, he picks up really quickly and becomes good at. This is a true blessing in life, DON'T get me wrong I know this, but there are about a thousand examples over the nearly 12 (!!) years we have been together that show this and it sometimes gets under my skin. Examples include:

--His getting into the college that was BOTH of our favorites Early Decision while I had to wait for the waitlist--I swear I will hold this grudge to the grave....no, no, I'm over it.

--I started training for a 5K hugffing and puffing for weeks, and he had no interest, 2 months later he started with an ipod Nike+ and was jogging along with Tiger telling him he had a personal best...

--I get my dream camera and so far some of the best pictures come from his tinkering...

Anyway--the latest. DH got RockBand for Christmas and though a series of events, he only got it in his hands on Sunday. Since then, he has been playing when any available minutes arise, which has been extra challenging as my parents are in town and staying nearby so we have been hanging out with them. He of course got my mom and dad on the instruments, but thats for another post.

What I am talking about here is the spring in his step as we head into the apartment, and I know what that means--an hour of drum solos that he has seemed to learn overnight. I woke up Monday morning, a holiday, and I could tell he had been playing for about an hour. As I speak he is working on Drum technique to "Float On".

Now I love RockBand too, its really fun, but I knowingly am medicore at best. These songs are already haunting me in my dreams and now I have a new lovely piece of furniture for my living room, a plastic drum set that is about knee high and multi colored. Though I love that DH has such instant muic passion and ability I ask you...

Whats a girl to do?

Rain Rain Go Away

It has been raining here for four days straight. Even though it is a part of Spring, this rain has been cold and windy and makes me want to just bundle up completely.

The rain does give me a chance to wear my new Hunter wellies. Funny story about those--I love rubber boots and I had latched on to the Hunters as something that looked timeless and classic while that "Hunter" brand had just a small element of style. I was cruising Zappos.com when I realized that they now make a Hunter "Huntress" style that is for wider calves. Since I usually take the Extended Calf in JCrew boots, and I wanted to tuck jeans in to the boots. I decided to give them a whirl.

So the box arrived, and they were great! Pine green color, and they fit around the jeans as I hoped. But I looked closer for the cool cute modern "HUNTER" logo, and I realized these wide calf Huntress boots were branded "HUNTRESS" on the front. Hmm I thought. Is this an advertisement for "Hey I have fat calves" or "Hi, my boots might be knockoffs" or "I like to traipse through the woods with a bow and arrow"? I realize this is total shallow thinking, I mean they are just rain boots to keep water out. But it did give me pause. In the end, I ended up keeping them because they are comfortable, protect my feet, and look cute! Love the green.


I may end up traipsing through the woods with some bow and arrows though if the occaision comes up...I have got the boots for it! :)

Whats your favorite rainy day outfit?

Deal of the Day: Target Merona Moccasins

I am really hard on my shoes. For some reason, I am always wearing heels down to the metal pegleg, or scuffing, or smudging, or dirtying, any pair of shows I own. I am "that girl" who gets her heel stuck in a crack in the sidewalk, trips out with bare foot hopping, and pulls the shoe out to reveal a tear in the leather on the heel (this happened last night). I don't know what it is, I just know that shoes will never remain pristine in my care.

Because of this, I never spend more than $100 on shoes--I just know I won't be able to do them justice of fine care. Its almost a game, what are the best shoes I can get for under $100.

Today I reached new heights in this goal when I received a box from Target with my $5 Pearl Cluster necklace (so cute) and the Merona Micaela Moccasin.

The Mocasins are HERE for $17.49 and they are so comfortable! Like a slipper. I am sure they will fall apart eventually but at least I will get my money's worth!

Here is a pic, excuse the ugly carpet at my office:

Martin + Osa Delivery

This evening I arrived home to a box from Martin + Osa. Of course this meant an immediate try-on session. I was excited cause I had ordered a mix of work and casual wear. I ordered the:

Campfire Fleece Hoodie:
Cute zip up fleece, I ordered this is a Medium and it fits great and is the perfect go to hoodie for after work.



Men's Tattersall Check Shirt:
I have this funny thing where every once in a while I think a men's shirt would be great to have. I took a chance and ordered this shirt in a Small because it was about $11 after discounts. I also ordered one for my husband haha, with the commitment to never wear them at the same time! I plan on wearing it with either a slim pencil skirt or breezy pants. Please excuse my goofy face, I was happy because I think this experiment just might work!





Stripe VNeck Cashmere Cardigan in Brown:
Again, I ordered this in a Medium and it fits slimly but in the way I like cardigans to fit--also has a longer length good for layering. Its a chocolate brown with a orange striping. Even though the colors are fall-y, I think this will be cute into spring. Wearing it here with my wide JCrew jeans belt.

Osa Boot Jean:
After so much talk about the Osa Straight jeans, I decided to try the Boot fit jeans as well, and the same size fit, the 30s for me. I usually wear 31 in Paige and my Citizen (wider leg flare), but for some reason the Osa cut fits me really well. I recommend these jeans!!




I also got a silk cami but no pics of that. The best part is with the sale prices and a promotion code, I got all the items for around $100. Considering the cardigan started at $170, I would say thats a good deal. Kind of ridiculous, but a good deal!

LOST Brain Buster of the Day...

Just read this on the message boards, I didn't notice it myself when I watched...

Doc, I can't believe you missed the biggest Easter Egg of all. That was Hurley's voice reciting The Numbers on the transmission Danielle's crew was following.

!!!!

When the Frenchies are on the beach right before they ask Jin about a radio tower, you can hear the numbers through the radio. If that is Hurley's voice doing it...well, I just, I ....

THIS SHOW IS AMAZING!

Spring is in the Air...

...and I am Dreaming of this:



Green grass, long summer shadows, and the crack of the bat! Pitchers and Catchers report today! That means Opening Day is just around the corner.

Of course, this has to equate to clothes somehow. My spring/summer "uniform"...




White jeans, navy sweater, trusty Rainbow flip flops and weathered belt, Starfish necklace, and my perfectly faded Sox hat.

Play Ball!