J.Crew Pencil Skirt in Purple Tweed and My Wishlist Crisis

I haven't posted about this skirt because there was another skirt I saw on display and I wanted to review them together but when I went back to the store, the skirt was gone and I suppose we will not see it for another month or so. It was a deep tone large floral design with a lot of dark green some raspberry pink and I think brown, at least this is how I remember it. It was reading very Fall-ish and bold in a good way. I wanted to take a picture of it but I was rushing and there was a bunch of designers in front of it, setting up a display, so I thought I will snap a photo next time, but it never happened.

Anyway, enough about the phantom skirt, instead let's look at a new tweed skirt that I did try on.

Size 4

I know when the fall comes we are all waiting for the new tweed and jewel tones so this will definitely fall into this category. It fits TTS, I took my regular pencil size 4 and the fit was perfect and not too tight.

TTS

It is a thicker fabric so it may add some bulk if you are concerned with that.

$148, and closeup of the fabric

As you see there is some blue, purple, white and pink in the tweed but the overall look reads purple. It is thicker and looser tweed weave and it may snag. It don;t have a picture of a fabric content but I remember there is at least 25% acrylic in addition to wool an maybe some other fibers so there is a risk it may pill. I miss the times when J.Crew made all wool tweed, it was not so long ago.  It is also snag prone but you get that with all tweed. 

I am not into purples and while this skirt is nice it is nothing special. I think you can find something similar in a department store, in fact I remember owning similar skirt years ago that I deemed too grandmotherly at some point. I think it was from  Liz Claiborne or similar label.

I have no plans to acquire this skirt, although after reading DaniBP's post, I thought it would work nicely with raspberry pink, navy and camel color story. But I must stay focused and this would be an orphan item for me, making me buy several new items to make it work. I am trying to be more focused this year, having been inspired by FFM and this post. If you haven't read it, rush over to it, because she has some excellent advice to give.

On this topic, I am having trouble making my fall wish list. It seems like there is nothing I need and nothing I desire. Of course, there are many pretties that I could acquire and have fun with. But for some reason, it feels empty to me, like I am running in circles, always chasing after something and not enjoying it enough. So I am tempted to just shop my closet and only buy when I see something I really love, but I am afraid that not having a list will pull me in all directions, making unplanned and unnecessary purchases.

There are also some basics that I don't have, but since I have been managing fine without them, do I really need them?  For example, I don't have a simple navy pullover which seems such a basic and must have item, but I have been doing fine without on, between navy v-neck t-shirts and dark blue cashmere v-neck. Maybe it was because we had very warm winter last year and I hardly wore my cashmere at all? And should I buy it from Brora for close to $300 or should I settle on $100 version from say Lord & Taylor? I don't consider J.Crew, not because of the quality this time, but because I want more basic shape than they are offering in their cashmere v-neck.

I have about 8 Brora cashmere sweaters and while they are very nice I am not 100% convinced they are 300% nicer.  Maybe I would be able to tell you after 10 years? Some I bought off ebay and they seem to hold up very well but with everybody complaining that the quality is 'not what it used to be', how do I know this year's version would be any better? I don't know enough about cashmere to be able to tell...

For more discussion on timeless versus fast fashion see Gigi's excellent post prompted discussion around Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion by Elizabeth Cline, recommended by Hexicon. Also check today's follow up to this discussion here.

Cashmere Classic V Neck Jumper

I also thought of getting the double serge wool pencil skirt in heather acorn since I missed out on the last year's version, but I am turned off by the reports of lower quality. And I certainly have enough pencil skirts in my regular rotation, it is not like this skirt would make my other items work...

No. 2 pencil skirt in double-serge wool

Another wish list item are cap toe Everlys, but the price of them hurts me too much. And wouldn't other retailers make similar versions of this shoe??  After all, it is not like J.Crew is known for the quality and comfort of their shoes....

Everly cap toe leather pumps

Everly cap toe leather pumps

I think I am also afraid that J.Crew has becoming too popular and too instantly recognizable. Some of it is too much for my taste, quite sophisticated but too much of a statement and too fashion conscious. I was never drawn to high fashion labels. Besides the fact that they are out of my price range, they seem too flashy, too stylized, too much of a 'girl with the IT bag' , that I never was. And then the other part of J.Crew is just too bland, too 'mall store selection', with a quality to match.

Fantasy style

If I want to make a reference to the kind of style I aspire to, I  think of something like Emerson Fry. When I say that, you may remember  I have bought few thing there and they were not exactly magical, but I am smitten with an idea of timeless and trend-less but chic and modern at the same time.

It may just be the fact that when you are young, tall, thin and beautiful it just takes minimal effort to look great, but trying to recreate this vision is more like chasing the figments of my own imagination.

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What do you think?
 

Do you like the new tweed skirt?

Are you suffering from the wish list crisis (is there such a thing)?

Are you disillusioned with current J.Crew offerings or are you still excited about fall rollouts?

Have you made a list for this fall?

Should I buy the cashmere from Brora and acorn pencil skirt from J.Crew?

Do you say buy the Everlys or look for similar shoes from other retailers?

Please share, It would be no fun without you!!!