Andie chinos vs Café capris – Advice needed

 Hello everybody! I have promised you a review of the new Andie chinos from J.Crew in my last post. I was going to publish it over the weekend but I have been having problems a lot of problems with Blogger and 'errors on page'. My mac that I have been using for blogging has died and my when I tried to post from my PC it would not work, I think due to Internet Explorer or Windows 7 or both. I am also having problems with posting comments, so sorry about that and please bear with until I figure it out, I will eventually...

I have never been a big fun of the chino look as they tend to be generally unflattering on me. I associate them with those admirably sturdy gals that could not be bothered with makeup and would usually 'style' them with a pair of sneakers and t-shirt they got at the Cisco training class. But I was tempted by the pair of pants that promises the look and comfort of skinny jeans and be as office appropriate as a pair of trousers without the need to dry clean them. Hey, I thought, if they can do that, this might be the Holy Grail of the office bottoms.
So with that in mind, I have decided to try the Andie chino. Now, I did not have super high hopes because I have previously had the some hopes for a few recent iterations of café capris without much success. I mean, I do own few pairs of them and they are OK but nothing to rave about. They look OK in front but they do sag in the butt and upper thigh area. Well, this is mostly due to my lack of booty curves but a girl can dream (and hope for the miracle), right?

Andie, size 4 Tall

After asking for an advice from the JCA community, I decided to order them in my old size 4, as there seemed to be the consensus that they run smaller than café capris. I have actually confirmed that by asking for measurements and yes, size 4 in Andies seem to have similar measurements as Café Capri size 2 with the hips measurement proportionally narrower, which is usually good news for me.

Andie Chinos on the left (size 4 regular) and Café Capri (size 2, regular) on the right

My current café capri size is 2 and even that is not too tight, but I don't think I can size to a zero. Actually, I quite like them in this new size. They seem to be a little longer than my black version from 2 years ago and a little looser in calf, but maybe they will shrink? I do like the desert color, kind of dark camel shade, which looks very nice with black and white/ivory, but it is not so great with pretty much every other color. I can live withthat because these are my colors of choice anyway, although I did contemplate them in natural but decided that it may be too boring. Not that desert khaki is that exciting, lol.

Andie Chinos size 4R, Andie Size 4T, Café Capri 2R

After asking for an advice on Andies from the wonderful JCA community, I decided to order them in my old size 4, as there seemed to be the consensus that they run smaller than café capris. I have actually confirmed that by asking for measurements and yes, size 4 in Andies seem to have similar measurements as Café Capri size 2 with the hips measurement proportionally narrower, which is usually good news for me. The fabric on Andies is thicker and less refined than on Café capris, it feels much more utilitarian. The waistband is narrower and they close with a set of double tabs and buttons. Actually the tab closures are almost difficult to undo but maybe this is just me or lack of dexterity.

OK, so despite the claims of slim fit, they are not that tapered in the leg and no, they don't fit like skinny jeans. But they do fit closer in the tight and seem to enhance my usually, ahem, unconspicious rear view.

Andie Chinos size 4R, Andie Size 4T, Café Capri 2R

The Tall Andies are supposed to be 3 inches longer and have the same other measurements. Well, I can hardly see the difference in length so it cannot be full 3 inches but they bunch up a little more. I think I prefer the regular version.

Is it me or the full length veers too much into the hiking pants/Cisco t-shirt direction?
So which ones should I keep? In the pictures, surprisingly, I actually like the café capris the best. Maybe it is the color? Or the more refined fabric? And how about that rear view?

 

And here is the basic silk cami in black. I have quite a few of these but I have been buying them in Small and this one is an Extra Small and it does look so much better now. Btw, this might be tmi, but to my great delight I have discovered the perfect strapless bras and I have been wearing them non-stop this summer. I got four of them when they had them on sale. I like them so much that have been wearing them with regular tops! I never thought that would happen but it is just so much easier when you don't have to deal with the straps. Halleluiah!

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I am curious what you think about Andie versus Café Capris and which ones should I keep.

I am a little confused myself, so please share…

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Update: I listened to your advice and tried on Andies in size 2, in different color.

What do you think? I think they look much better now. Sorry for the picture quality but just wanted to make it quick.

Andie Chino in 2R

Camp Popover In Stripe And Other Fitting Room Reviews

I was in J.Crew last weekend to return couple of things from my recent online order and I decided to try on a few items.

Camp popover in stripe

I love button downs and menswear inspired shirts.  In particular I have a weakness for the blue stripes, so naturally I needed to try on the camp popover in blue stripe.

Unfortunately, they did not have a 6 or even an 8, so I picked up the blue one in a 4 and a 6 in pink, to check if this would be my size, in case I decided to order it online.

size 4 and too small

Size 4 was too small (too short and pulling across the chest). I would say this fits TTS.  It was very comfortable and I loved the feel of the fabric. I prefer the fit of J.Crew button downs to their popovers, but it was still fine.  The pink color is not me but it is very pretty and size 6 was a good fit.

Size 6

Slightly see through

It is slightly see-through, I believe the effect is exaggerated in pictures. I would still like to order the blue one in 6, but I will wait until it goes on sale or until we have a FP promo.

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Bennett chino

I know, I said multiple times that I will skip the colored jeans/pants trend, but I was tempted by the color of these Bennett chinos, since it would look so good with all the blue striped shirts and my elephant necklace.

Love the poppy color

I took size 6 in them, which is bigger of my two pants sizes, so I would say they run small-ish. I did not like the fit, very blah, and they were bunching up in the hip and rear and did not do me any favors. I was almost relieved by that, this way I can stick to no-colorful-pants-for-me rule. I did like this color combination, but I just could not imagine myself actually wearing them. 

Size 6

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Café capri

This is much more my style. Again, they did not have a 4, so I tried a 6 and they were slightly too big but other than that I liked the fit. I would even consider getting them in bigger size, one reason is the sheerness factor and the other is that they felt much more comfortable in the calves, while my black pair, although it fits me well in hips, always rides up in the calves area and feels restricting.

capris size 6, TTS

simple and classic

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Jersey maxiskirt

I have a similar maxi skirt that I bought last year from Anthro and I was curious to try this one:

Size Small, TTS

The skirt is very soft and comfortable and fits TTS, but it tends to show every lump and bump. It is long and I could only wear it at the high waist without stepping on it. If you are shorter you would have to hem it but it may be good news if you are 5'8" or taller. 

It is long (I am 5'6)

And yes, I bought the Tillary purse, I love it!  With 30% off the price was great. I reviewed it previously HERE.

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Lace placket tee

 

I have reviewed this top HERE in cerise but I wanted to try it in navy. I could not remember which size I tried, so I went with Medium but it was too big and cut too low. I would definitely stick with your smaller size and I would buy a Small for myself

Too low cut in Medium

I like it in navy, but it is overpriced

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Overall, The only thing that went on my wish list is the blue striped popover.  I though everything else was either more of the same (white capris), blah (chinos and maxi skirt) or overpriced (placket tee). Most of the items were both.

I think I am pretty much done with my summer shopping.

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That's all folks!

What is on your wish list?

Are you done with your summer shopping or are you just starting to stalk the sales?

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