Embrace your preppy side

What do you wear when summer comes? How about Madras?

I was never one of Them, were you? OK, secretly, I wished I was.

Madras is not for a faint of heart. It is an explosion of color and pattern all in one. Without an irony, it is not easy to style any other way than very casual. Of course, I am not from New England and I never thought of myself as  'preppy', or even a 'prepster'. In fact, I never bought anything madras before I shopped at J.Crew, so what do I know?  

I have only two madras items, Bermuda shorts and a perfect fit shirt. When I wear either of them, I keep everything else very casual and simple. I don;t see a way to dress it up too much. Maybe if it was a dress or a skirt? I don't think I can do madras blazer. I'd run out of irony, I am afraid.

J.Crew shirt has the advantage of being fitted so it does not look too borrowed from (preppy) boys. I like it with jeans. That's about all I can think to wear it with. I always take it camping.

I also tried it with denim pencil skirt. I am not sure if it works. What do you think?

Will you wear a madras dress? I would, if I was about the age of the girls in first picture. Which, sadly, I am not. Or luckily. Or so I try to convince myself of my questionable luck. But now I will probably end up looking  like this:

Not one of Them and no envy this time

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How about the seersucker, another quintessential preppy summer fabric? Did you know that the name is derived from Hindi and Persian words meaning 'milk and sugar'? Something about smooth milk and bumpy sugar. I here I thought it came from 'sheer' (or 'sure') and  'sucker' ;)

Will you wear a seersucker blazer? Pants or skirt? How about a dress?

Aww

I have to admit, I like it. But please, do not attempt seersucker suit while being male. Unless you are over 60. And a Senator. On Seersucker Thursday. 

Huh?

Otherwise stay away. The fabric is cool but you will be not.

Guess who made this ridiculous thing? Yes, they did.

As for me, I tried the dress, as you may remember.

I would buy it if the fit was right

And I have a pair of seersucker pants from Banana Republic that I really like. I wear it quite often every summer.

And I think the reason I really like the striped camp popover is because the fabric is in fact a wider stripe seersucker. 

Of course I had to buy the seersucker pencil skirt once the price dropped and the 30% off came along. So here is my OOTD starring seersucker pencil skirt, vintage cotton v-neck and Soludos espadrilles.

Skirt size 4 (TTS)

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That's all folks!

Do you wear madras or seersucker? Or both?

Will you let your husband/boyfriend wear it?

Do you consider yourself preppy?

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

J.Crew New Arrivals Fitting Room Reviews (Part II)

This is a continuation of my J.Crew New Arrivals Fitting Room Reviews.

No. 2 pencil skirt in seersucker

 

Size 4

The skirt fits TTS, I took my regular pencil skirt size 4 and the fir was perfect. I loved the pockets and the skirt felt very comfortable. The zipper in the back is hidden. If you scroll down you can see this skirt tried on with few other items which should give you a good idea how it will look.

Ring-around eyelet top

The blue grotto color of this top immediately caught my attention, it is so pretty. I tried on size Medium which is bigger of my two t-shirt sizes but I think it would have looked better in Small.The fit is rather boxy and not very flattering (at least in Medium) but the eyelet texture adds interest , I think this top would look great with a pair of white capris.

Top size Medium

Navy Paisley shorts

Shorts size 6

The navy paisley shorts are not yet available on the website but thought they were very nice. I absolutely do not heed another pair of shorts but if are in the market for longer shorts these may be just the thing for you, The paisley print seems similar to last year orange paisley skirt only in navy. Not sure how long those shorts are but I would say maybe 7 inches. I might be wrong of course, I would swear the Porcelain Paisley skirt was at least 24" but kikky cee says it is only 21-22 inches :(

I took size 6 in shorts to try on and it was a good looser fit, I did not want them too tight.

$69.50 98% cotton, 2% spandex.

Whisper Gauze Peasant Blouse

Size M and huge

They did not had size Small so I took the Medium but it was huge. I should have tried XSmall. But truly, I should not even show you those pictures, I think this is the worst fitting top I tried in along time. I actually thought it was cute on a hanger, but after trying it on I wouldn't wear it if they paid me for it.

It. Is.Just. Hideous.

$69.59, 100% cotton

Another unidentified top with lace/embroidery detail.

Now, this top I really liked. I thought the fit was great and I liked the neckline. It was not too low. It came in other colors, I remember the lighter blue and white I think. I thought the orange one looked great with the shorts.

Top size Small

$52, 60% Cotton, 40% poly. Lace 100% cotton, lining 100% silk

Funny, I don't remember it being lined, maybe it was only the front? I remember that I thought it felt good against the skin.

Vintage cotton V-neck tee in bold stripe

This was another of my 9yo picks, and again I was surprised that I liked it a lot. Like Gigi said, I have to pay attention to the youth. I was afraid it would be too neon but it wasn't super bright, just flattering.

T-shirt size Medium

I took a Medium so I would say it fits TTS to small.  It is rather thin and see through but still , I liked it.

$34.50, 100% cotton. Nice but overpriced.

Lemlem scarf that I don;t see on the website

Add caption $125

This scarf has pretty color but it was too bulky, especially for summer. It was just way too much fabric  and it felt a bit rough against the skin. Definitely not my thing and for this price I much rather get a DVF scarf (with 25% off that you can probably score somewhere, sooner or later).

I liked the seersucker skirt and the lace orange top the best. I wonder if the same top in blue would go with my Raj Paisley skirt...

I have ordered the Altuzarra for J.Crew Patricia dress and Featherweight cotton cardigan in colorblock ( in yellow and pink) to try on and review.

I also ordered some items from Madewell and I have visited Banana Republic, where I bought couple of items with my 40% coupon (thank you Gigi!) and I have to say their new arrivals were very interesting.

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That's all folks!

Do you see anything you like?

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