Black Friday in the park

We had a beautiful weather on Black Friday and last thing I was thinking about was shopping. In fact, I never go shopping on Black Friday and I avoid malls between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The crows and the difficulty of parking scare me away. Anyway, I don't quite believe in so called 'special deals'. Somehow, I never had regrets and when I hear about what people bought, I rarely, if ever, wish that I had gone, after all.


Don't take me wrong, I love a good sale like any other woman but I just don't need a big screen TV and the stuff I like is never particularly discounted, or at least no more than at the other sales. I also never clip grocery coupons because I feel they make me spend more, not less. I do use those 20% off coupons at Bed, Bath and Beyond but that's about that.

I spent the Black Friday morning sleeping it off, after eating and drinking too much over the Thanksgiving. My friend made wonderful turkey and thousand side dishes. I brought mozarella and marinated peppers salad, sweet potatoes casserole with pecans and another casserole of roasted vegetables. I finally figured out that roasted vegetables need a marinade made of olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette, fresh thyme and rosemary.

I used this recipe and I will now swear by it. I roasted mine for 45 minutes, stirring the veggies after 15 and then 30 minutes. I bought all organic vegetables and added some carrots, just because I had plenty on hand. There was not a single bite left!

 

In the afternoon we went to the park. It was very warm and I had to take my coat off. I walked quite a distance in my new navy McAlisters and they were still comfortable.

I love this chambray polka dot shirt (review HERE) but the only issue with it is that it does not go with jeans. Everytime I put it on, I wish I had a pair of red or orange denim. I did wear it to the office with a wool pencil skirt in persimmon, it was a great pairing.

Cashmere sweater and necklace from BR

But the sexy boyfriend cords (review HERE) worked too. I love the combination blue, gray and yellow, it is one my favorites.

After the sun started setting, I needed to put on my peacoat, it suddenly got so cold...

I really like this time of the year, it is so beautiful! We probably only have couple more weeks before the leaves fall completely and the cold weather will settle in. Boo... 

I am wearing the Majesty peacoat from last year. The cut seems identical this year but this year's version has a beautiful pink lining (see my review HERE). I had to reinforce the buttons before I could wear the coat because they started to come off. I hate sewing buttons on coats but I managed somehow.

 

The last picture was styled completely by my daughter, she is bossing me around these days. You should hear her yelling 'Don't make a sour face! Turn to the side! Look away!  Unnatural!'. Then we argue about selection and she complains 'So I took all those garbage can pictures for nothing???' 

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How about you?

Did you go shopping on Black Friday?

Or are you waiting for Cyber Monday?

 

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

The tale of three peacoats

Collection leather-trim peacoat.

I liked this peacoat when I first saw it in the Lookbook. I could not justify it, because I already own the Majesty peacoat in navy, but I almost regretted that I do (even if I love it), since I thought this would be a more stylish alternative. This coat is not available in most store but I spotted it in size 0 and 2 (only), which were probably returns. I decided to try on the 2, just to get an idea how it looks on me.

Size 2

Size 2 was too tight, as expected, I am usually a 6. But it was not very tight or too wide in the shoulders, which makes me think it runs big.

I was not impressed. The leather trim is nice but of course it would add to the price of dry cleaning. I liked the buttons better than the brass ones on Majesty. But the wool is more felted and fuzzy which I did not care for. The lining is navy and with no special details, while the Majesty this year is done in contrasting hot pink.
 

I did not realize until I tried it, that is is much more cropped shape than Majesty. I prefer the longer length.

Other than that, it fits nicely but I would have to see in in my regular size. I am afraid it would be much boxier then.

It looks good open, but that may also be due to being a smaller size. Overall, I don't think the coat is worth the extra money and I am back to loving my Majesty with no regrets. Yay!

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Tipped peacoat

The Tipped peacoat is a victim of pretty horrible styling on the website, at least imo.

This coat has the same shape as the Collection leather-trim peacoat. 

Size 4

Size 4 fit about the same as Collection leather-trim peacoat in size 2, maybe just a smidge tighter. It was almost good, but I would like a little bit more chest room, so I would say it fits TTS. They did not have the 6 for me to try.

I don't like the high contrast of the trim. But I have to admit, I don't really like the tipping effect, both on blazers and coats. There is something very 'uniform' about it and the peacoat shape makes it worse.

See it also on my pal Ema, here.

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Majesty peacoat

I already own the Majesty, so I only wanted to compare 2012 version to the one I own and I would say it is about the same. I liked the pink lining, which is new this year. Mine has a navy lining. I had an attack of the prickly shoulder pads last year, but I just got them removed by the tailor and J.Crew picked up the bill. It was surprisingly inexpensive (because my tailor is 'ouch pricey'), I think it was no more than $15, maybe even $10. The coat looks about the same after the removal and I know some JCA's did it themselves. I do hope J.Crew fixed the issue but I would not count on it, despite their claims of being 'obsessed with quality'.

2012 Majesty in size 6

As you can see, this is a longer coat and has shiny brass buttons. I think it has a tighter fit than the tipped peacoats. You can see my review of last year's version HERE.

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That's all folks!

Are you a fan of J.crew peacoats? Do you own any?
Do you like/consider the tipped peacoats I reviewed?

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

J.Crew New Fall Arrivals - August 2012

I have stopped at J.Crew concept store yesterday and they had some of the new fall arrivals on the floor. I have tried a few items on and I am working on the review posts, but in the meantime, I have some display pictures for you.

Sorry about the glare but I could not find a good angle to take better picture. I think this is a new pencil skirt in crimson maple. Very pretty color that is quite tempting. I have a persimmon skirt from I think 2009 but this one is more of watermelon red with some pink undertones pink, not the J.Crew's favorite color, persimmon/modern red/flame (aka orange).

Fuchsia/berry pink Majesty Peacoat, yummy.If I was looking for a bright coat this could be an option. I was not crazy about the gold buttons though. I don't mind them on my navy Majesty Peacoat but they seemed a bit jarring with pink. I like the puffer vest too but I never know when to wear them.

They must have been reading Dani's color story posts because there is a lot of pink with brown and camel here. The pants are actually very nice, 100% wool and fully lined in poly. They are modern version of grandpa pants with modern slim cut but full length, thank you!  

Classic fall color combination in shades of Autumn leaves, crimson and golden yellow grounded by some neutral jeans, very eye pleasing, even if slightly predictable.

 

Pinks and  burgundy with camel again.

New pencil skirt. This is the one I missed  photographing a while ago.

The sweaters were already available but the skirts were only on mannequins. Interesting to see a bold graphic skirt for the fall/winter.

 Not sure how much you can actually see here as the glare was horrible but it is a new burgundy and blue sweater embelished all over with some mettalic squares.

And finally, a rare neutral outfit in sea of color all around.

Of course, since I was in the store, I took several items to the fitting room. I tried on French hen sweater, Look#16 sweater from Fall 2012 Lookbook, brown check wool trousers displayed above, couple of new pencil skirts and  much more.

I also stopped by Madewell and tried on Flowersketch Peplum top.

I will have reviews of all these items coming up.

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That's all folks!

What do you think of the new arrivals?

Do you like J.Crew color stories?

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

Coat weather

We have had an unusually mild winter this year in the North East.  Saturday was the first time this year that we went skiing.  I don't like the cold weather but I do love to ski and this is the only reason I get excited about the snow.

Few years ago, I realized that the ski wear I owned was working well as far as protecting me from the elements, but I was feeling very unattractive while wearing it. Since nothing makes me more excited about any activity than something new to wear while doing it, I got myself not only a new ski jacket and pants, but also few cute tops to wear in hotel room or ski lodge.

Do you do that? This is how I trick myself into enjoying other functions as well.  Get a new dress and suddenly you are dying to go to the company's picnic or a wedding of the she-always-annoyed-me younger cousin.

Half zip from Athleta

Since the weather got cooler I thought I would do a post featuring my favorite winter coats. Some of them are current, so it may help somebody hunting them on popbacks.

First is a Stadium cloth Majesty Peacoat in Navy. I already had a navy peacoat (from LLBean) when I bought it, but I wasn't entirely happy with it. This coat fulfilled my expectations of simple, classic, navy peacoat that is warm enough to wear in our average winter temperatures but is not too heavy for late fall/early spring. I like this shade of navy, not too dark and not too blue anad I like how this coat nips in waist and does not flare too much in the hips. It is also a perfect length in my book, hitting me at low hip. The fabric is soft and it does not seem to attract lint like a magnet, which is my pet peeve and which was the biggest issue I had with my LLBean coat.

Stadium Cloth Majesty Peacoat

Size 8

Next up is the Elements Coat. I wanted to have a casual wool coat that I can wear while running errands but that would still not look out of place over pencil skirt, since I wear them a lot. I like that is has a hood that actually stays on when you want to put it up. I also wanted a bright color but something that I will not get bored with very quickly. The fabric is similar to Majesty Peacoat and I like the shape of it.  It is more fitted that I woudl have thought and I am wearing my bigger coat size.

Stadium Cloth Elements Coat

Size 8 Nordic Blue

My warmest wool winter coat is a stadium cloth Boulevard Trench coat. Mine is from last year but this years version seems identical, only in slightly different colors. I woudl love this in Maraschino Cherry, which is a perfect shade of red. The color of my coat is lighter than this year's saddle  and more heathered. This coat is very warm and it is also the most elegant. I think this is a great classic shape that has been around forever and I hope to wear it for years.

2010 Boulevard Coat, this year's version here

Size 6

For the really freezing days I also have a J.Crew down puffer from 2009. It is not the most stylish (OK, it is like wearing your down comforter and it makes you wider than taller) but it is really toasty and when the temperature drops below 20 degrees it is the only option for me.

2009 Puffer in Medium, current version here

Now, I know there has been many discussions on JCA about declining quality of coats and the fact that 'they don't make them like they used to'.  Somebody will always cite examples of past season coats and how they are still going strong and are not even comparable to current offerings. I, for one, am happy with my recent coats. I have owned the famous Alpine Green Gramercy coat from 2007. I liked it all right, but I never wore it because the green was too bright, double cloth fabric was too lightweight to be practical and I just could not get over the empire waist shape.  So last year I sold it for a fortune on Ebay. I could not believe how high the bids went, ironically, it ended up being almost triple of my initial BIN price, go figure. Hope it found a great new home and somebody is enjoying it  now.

2007 Gramercy Coat, shoes by Coach

To wrap it up (haha, pun unintended), below is a Crewcuts coat that I bought for my daughter this year and I am very happy with it and so is she. Warm, with added thinsulate lining, simple and classic. Plus, check out the bow in the back, so cute. 

That's all folks!

What is your favorite winter coat? Did you buy a new cat this year? Are you planning to? Do you like your older coats better? Please share!

The importance of looking good in the pictures

I always thought of myself as of only-recently-fashion-evolved. I had this idea of my ugly duckling past firmly embedded in my self-image, even as I was always hoping to become this stylish confident woman when I (finally) grow up.

"Why did I waste my youth wearing ugly track suits, ill fitting jeans and cheap sale dresses?" I complained once to my long time friend.
"I don't know what are you talking about, you never wore track suits" my friend sounded genuinely puzzled.
"I didn't!?"
"No, you had those cute blazers, awesome combat boots (!) and what ever happened to that hat you were always wearing?"

I started to think about it. Maybe she was right. I remember that cool black leather trimmed blazer I had (from the Limited). Oh, and the Calvin Klein dress I really liked, and yes, the newsboy hat. I tried to ignore the combat boots part. I remembered that the coworker once said I was "the best dressed person in the whole department" leaving me shocked and embarrassed.

Hmmm, maybe I did not look so bad, but why do I remember it differently? Part of it was that I grew up in the shadow of my fashionista mother (see here). I was poor and could never afford things I liked. I was very focused on my career and I didn't want to admit I was even interested in fashion. I thought I was a tomboy.

But then it hit me. It is because of the pictures!

My family liked to spend our vacations camping, hiking, swimming and sightseeing.  And, of course, taking tons of pictures while doing it. Since I always prided myself on being able to pack in a small single suitcase, I ended up taking only practical, durable clothes, shoes that were meant for walking etc.

Wrong! Those clothes ended up looking really ugly in the pictures. My mother was onto something, after all. With her multiple stuffed suitcases, amidst my exasperated father huffing and puffing (but secretly feeling proud of her), she is always beaming in our vacation photos.

Elegant women, like DaniBP,  are wise when they plan their color story inspired vacation wardrobe. Dani always has the best packed suitcase when she goes on vacation, and I have learned a lot from her. Actually, I tried to pack Dani style on our recent vacations and I was much happier with the outcome. Finally, I came of (fashionable) age!

I never liked to spend too much on my special occasion outfits. You only wear it once, I thought, it is a waste of money. So there I am, attending weddings and First Communions, wearing dresses that were 'good enough', but never what I really look good in.

Wrong! While the cost-per-wear is still atrocious, the memories-per-wear are pennies. For my daughter's First Communion last year I bought the dress that was more expensive than my wedding dress (which was very cheap). I felt pretty and confident. I never wore it again (but I will have the pictures forever). I have no regrets.

Then, there are all those goofy pictures, taken by surprise by my talented photographer husband. "Mom, you have to see it, you look soooo awful" my daughters are always in hysterics when going through the evidence.

Why didn't anybody take pictures of me at work, I wonder?  That would show them. Remember my wise coworker? Well, nobody usually does, unless, of course, you do it yourself. So there is another purpose of this blog! 3o years from now, I will be able to pass those pictures to posterity without shame. Ha! I have outsmarted the system!

See children, even in the bathroom, grandma was a-stylin

As for the goofy business I found a solution too. I am buying my lounge wear and work out/hiking/skiing gear with the same amount of thought as my occasion dresses and work clothes. They can be comfy but at the same time still 'give me the feeling', ykwim?

After all, you don't need more than one 'painting the basement' outfit, right?

Go ahead, take a goofy picture now

Hope you are having a great weekend. 

How do you see your style evolving over the years?  Do you see yourself as fashionable as you want to be? Do you like looking at your old pictures? Please share.