New JCrew: Solong Tunic Sweatshirt

For a while I have been wondering why JCrew does not have more long, tunic-length options. These days there is a trend to wear leggings and skinny jeans/pants, and even their famous Minnie pant fits in this category--yet they don't have many tops or sweaters that hit below the butt to wear with them. Each year they have a couple sweaters that fit this mold (Long Alpaca Open Cardigan from last year, for example) and they seem to sell quickly. I would love a Merino chunky sweater coat, or even cashmere, and I am sure customers might be willing to pay for it. Similarly, they could do a tunic length Perfect Fit Tee as a great layering piece in fall/winter.

The Solong Tunic Sweatshirt caught my eye for this reason...I also just generally need more casual type clothes these days.

Sizing:
I ordered the Large to avoid clinginess, I would say right now I am almost always a Large in tops. However, I found the sweatshirt to hang on me a bit and was baggy under the arms, I might try the Medium but I want to make sure its not tight around the booty area. I'll have to look into it. I would say you might be OK sizing down for a fitted look , or your usual size for a slouchier feel.

Feel:
Very cozy, definitely thicker than it appeared online. I would say the web images make it look more like a thick slub Tshirt material, but it was definitely a heavier fleecy feel--I would say its very similar to the Jaspe weight on the Jaspe sequined sweatshirt from a while back, a midweight sweatshirt material. Good drape but not too thin at all. Would be great for layering or with a cozy scarf.

Color:
An oatmealy gray...not too exciting but a warm color that isn't too "workout" looking.

Price:
Pretty good for a longer piece in a heavier weight at $78, especially if you can get it with a promo. I really picture getting a lot of wear out of this if I can find the right fit.







What do you think? Would you consider the Solong Tunic?

Target Missoni: Coming Soon

Oh dear. Now that my Target trips are at least once a week (Ella's Organic Kitchen baby food, Wheat Chex, new Sippy cup) I will be eagerly awaiting the new line of Missoni at Target. Look at the great colors and stripes!







Word is the collection hits September 13. I would love a cosmetic bag or that fabulous blanket!

New JCrew: Hacking Jacket

I am a sucker for color, blazers, Fall, things that are long, and wishful thinking, so I ordered up the JCrew Hacking Jacket with the recent Cardholder promo.

Sizing:
I ordered 3 sizes to try in this blazer. I am still working on figuring out my current size at the same time as trying to get my pre-baby body back. Its definitely a moving target. My previous size for blazers was 6 or mostly 8. I ordered the 8, 10, and 8 tall in this jacket. I usually try to grab tall versions if I can because I have a longer torso and like to have the length to balance proportions. I would say this blazer runs true to size and definitely does have a longer length as advertised, but I didn't find it too long. I am 5'9" though to keep in mind. I loved the longer sleeves and body of the Tall version, but I think I would pick my bigger size 10 for buttonability. If you are between sizes and like to layer, I would say select the larger size. This means I probably need the 10 Tall, the only size I didn't order, go figure.

Feel:
The wool is a little scratchy. It feels thicker and stiffer than the schoolboy, but not uncomfortably so. The sleeves have striped lining and the jacket has an acetate lining that feels ok on. Honestly it was too hot for wool so I didn't have it on long to feel! It also felt a bit "old JCrew" in that it was a colorful fun take on a classic. I could see this with a great scarf this fall, and would be really excited to wear it.

Color:
I decided to go all out and ordered the Vibrant Flame. This color is BRIGHT. It is also fabulous. Of course, it turned out to be really hard to photograph. I mean, I look like I am radioactive. I am going to try and get a better photo in daylight, but the true herringbone is like a deep red orange woven with a orangey pink. The underside of the color is like a fawny gray brown. Note: it is not as bright as these pics. But man, knowing it photographs this way means don't wear where you might look like a traffic cone next to others in a group shot...?

Price:
I love this jacket and can see wearing it often with jeans, cognac boots, or navy. But I need a sale I think. Even with 20% off I feel like it is too steep and I know it will come down. Fingers crossed!

Size 8 Tall (little more length):


Size 8 Regular Length of Sleeve/Body:


Size 8 Regular:


Size 10, Buttoned:


Back of Collar, Popped:


Attempt to Capture Color:


What do you think of the jacket? I will post a color shot tomorrow in daylight!

A New Addiction

Hello friends!

Have you heard of this new (ish, maybe I am behind the times?) website, Pinterest? Oh my goodness, I am totally hooked. Basically it is like a web bulletin board, a journal, a stack of post-its, and a million "Save Image As"favorites all rolled into one.

Behold my Pinterest home page...


In a nutshell, Pinterest is a place you can collect images from the web quickly and into Boards or categories you create. Right now I have Boards for the home, Baby Stuff, Wedding Planning, and just other marvelous things. I was always trying to drag images onto my desktop when I loved something, or worse, keep Firefox tabs open endlessly so I wouldn't forget to "followup" on a certain lovely item of the day. Now I can track them all--Pinterest has a simple plugin that is on the top of my browser now so I can "Pin It" whenever the mood strikes me.

I had to signup for a Pinterest invitation and wait for an email, but let me know if you are interested in an account and I will see if I can send an invite your way!

I'm back off to Pin til midnight...

Happy Weekend!

This guy...


is keeping me very busy! But I have to say, the smiles he gives make it all worth it.

What are you all up to this weekend? My in-laws are coming this evening to love on JB and we will hopefully get to grab dinner out and get some projects done around the house. I'll be posting more over the next couple weeks, stop back and say hello!

Back to clothes for a minute...

I may have a closet of clothes I haven't worn in months, a plastic tub slowly claiming the maternity clothes I no longer need in my hallway, and a daily wardrobe of yoga pants and hoodies (and bleary tired eyes..)...BUT that doesn't stop me from appreciating some new offerings debuting this spring.

First, Boden is launching a Limited Edition line. I haven't ever bought anything from Boden before, but I think I need this darling top for spring...


I am also really intrigued by the launch of BHLDN, a new line from those behind Anthropologie specializing in all things wedding and occasions. The pieces look beautiful and unique...great to see a new point of view for this kind of market! They have a starter website here and there is some GREAT info on Anthroholic, which you can find here. They are offering everything from wedding dresses, party dresses, shoes, stationery, hairpieces, housewares, etc etc. So so pretty!


For now, back to my yoga pants...but a girl can start to dream, can't she? Hope you all are well!!

Happy. New.

He's here! Our new beginning came a bit early when James arrived on December 21. We have had a great couple cozy weeks getting to know the little guy and introduce him to family and friends all while the magic of Christmas and a blizzard cocooned us.

More to come soon, but wanted to let you all know what we have been up to! Happy New Year!