J Crew Reviews - The UPS Man Cometh and the last day of Christmas!

Okay - before we begin:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LR, she of the wonderful blogspot manificentoregregious!!!  Hope it is a good one!

Which also means:  Happy Half-Birthday Ema!

Blow out the candles and go get yourselves something special on me.... :-) 




Now that we have eaten some cake, we can down to the serious stuff!

Well jeepers creepers!  I got 4 J Crew boxes on Friday.  I think everything was from the 30% off sale which was over before Christmas and in some cases, well before Christmas.  And the Purolator Man has been replaced by the UPS man.  I am worried about my Purolator Man - carrying too many boxes to my house?  Has he fallen on the battle field, only to be replaced by a brown van?

But never mind.  For once, I think I am keeping it all, and that is not a bad thing since all of it was 30% off already very low prices to begin with!

As per my friend Dani, I am going to do this post in colour stories.  OH they won't be as nice as hers, but is an homage, not perfection!

The first will be called PERFECTLY PINK. 

I want you to know that I realize how goofy that is.  I really do.  I am doing it anyway!

So the thing is, I looked at the pink wool herringbone pants for many months.  I had admired them originally in the Fall 2012 lookbook:

This is one of those looks that you see in Septemmber and you think - how cute!  Pink in the winter!  The colour is described as "Romance Pink".  But I just kept thinking "I bet they are an ugly pink in person".  And you know why I thought that?  Because of all my colours misses this past year, that's why.  J Crew should have a sign that says "colours on your screen will look NOTHING like real life"!

So I resisted the romance and I ordered the black/ivory version, which fit well and I was happy with.  But they were always there in the background, waiting for me... Finally they went on sale for 30% off of the sale price of $70 CDN and I thought "Come one old girl, if they are that bad you can wear them when you are all alone.."  So I hit the "submit order" button and wondered.

At the same time, I went back to the Chiffon Blouse well (you didn't know that there was a chiffon blouse well?  Well there is, heehee!  It is located right near the neon well, which J Crew keeps returning to and with very mixed results if you ask me!) as I really liked the chiffon blouse in pewter which I had recently purchased (see Boxing Day if you want another gander at that one!).  The only colour left in my size was soft fuchsia so I threw that in with the pink trousers.

Full disclosure here:  I expected to go nuts for the chiffon blouse and be so-so for the trousers.  But my reaction was just the opposite!  I am not 100% positive about the blouse, although I will likely keep it and I love the trousers!  They are a romance to me:

I did not style these much - just threw on a pair of nude heels.  And I have NO idea why my picture is so fuzzy - there is some ghost in the machine in blogger and I am having to do things through the backdoor...Yes - my hair is straight in this photo - I do like to do that now and then!  It is a lot of work and it doesn't last, kind of like my attempts at sit-ups.  The pink is a sweet pink on the trousers, not at all bubblegum pink, which had been my concern.  The chiffon blouse was a little brighter than I had hoped, but I think i will keep it as it is a nice underpinning. If you want a pair of the trousers, grab them here! 

Now my conundrum!  I want the darn jacket!  So I will watch for popbacks!  If anyone sees that pink schoolboy in their store in a size 8, by all means, let me know!

The pink blouse appears to be sold out but keep checking back here.

So that was pink.  Now, we go to the Land of VIOLENT VIOLET!

I really liked the shape and length of this skirt.  But it was the dreaded polyester.  So I left it alone.  And then a few weeks ago I had the chance to pick it up for $30, could think of a few ways to style it, still loved the colour and could not afford the fantastic suede one that the lovely blogger Will Work 4 Shoes has and which you can see here.

If you want the poor cheap cousin, it can still can be found here. :-)

When  I was placing the order I decided to throw in the bling bling cardigan in deep violet as well as the little matching bracelet.  They were all so inexpensive that I felt they were worth a try!  I see that the cardigan is currently sold out in violet, but this is JCrew, so keep checking back here and for the bracelet as well.

Again - sorry about picture quality - once blogger has cleaned itself up, I will clean this up.  I would wear this skirt with black tights and pumps or boots.  I really like the colour.  It is NOT byzantine blue, it is a true blue violet.  I am going to try to do some things on polyvore with this re: other colour combinations!

I realized once I was wearing it that in fact it is the perfect match for the mirror tshirt.

You can see the pieces together below:

 This is the frustrating thing about J Crew.  The colour of this tshirt is simply "Ivory".  But wouldn't you think they might have also said "Ivory, plus that cool deep violet we used elsewhere?"  Would that be so hard???

And below, with the bracelet:

This is a lovely bracelet.  It is called the wild side and has a leather-like texture.  You can see a similar bracelet in leopard print here.  Again - this will likely pop back!  Unless you are desperate for it - I never did get a popback on the giverny pencil skirt in 2008!

My last purchase was a lucky popback of the wool houndstooth scarf in currant and grey.  You can see it on the lovely Gigi of the fabulous blog Gigi's Gone Shopping, who blogged about this scarf here.

I wanted it for the new winter coat I received for Christmas.  Actually, I have now only worn that coat once as it has been -20 for a week and frankly, at -20, I only wear my Lands End Down Coat,  It is not elegant, but it is warm!

Here it is with the coat:

And a closeup of the pattern:

It is currently (no pun on currant unless you want it to be a pun on currant and then help yourself!) sold out but will likely pop back.  I think it is lovely and I will wear this other items in my wardrobe - will put together a few pairings and post them back later.

So all in all, I am quite pleased with these purchases.  I do not mind the polyester skirt as it is heavy and lined and if it only looke great for one winter or two I will be happy given how little I paid for it!

But now I want that darn blazer.  sigh....

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On the Twelfth Day of Christmas WMM gave to me:

The Gift of Joy!

I was thinking long and hard about what picture I was going to put up for my final gift to you all today.  Over the last six months that I have been blogging, we have discussed clothes, houses, families, current events, whatever.  Over the last twelve days, I have really been focusing inwards as I make some decisions about what I want from the next 50 years of my life.

I came across this photograph and I knew it was the one to end with.  This was taken the first night I was in Paris.  We are sitting in the outdoor cafe immediately to the right of the Shakespeare and Co. bookshop.  I am drinking a glass of good wine.  In the back you can see an artist painting.  If we could pan out wider, you would see Notre Dame behind him.  I am feeling, and looking, completely joyful.  Every moment in life cannot be pure bliss.   You don't recognize the highs if you haven't seen the lows.  But still... If you are mostly seeing lows, it is time for a change.

In 2013, I am going to be seeing that face more often.  I hope you will all stick with me as I continue to stumble along.  And I hope to hear of, and see, your joys as well! 

As a good disciple of L.M. Montgomery, she of my beloved Anne of Green Gables series, when I think of the word joy I am always reminded of the verse from the 30th psalm:

weeping may endure for a night,

but joy cometh in the morning. I wish you the most joyful of years and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for stopping by!  I said recently that you had made me brave.  You coming to visit me has reminded me of how much I love to write and has reminded me that I need to pursue my creativity.  I might never have come to that realization as quickly without you all.  I have decided to take a short sabbatical from work and finally rest and get rejuvenated.  I have worked so long and hard, even through my dad's death, that I am more than tired and haven't been feeling well at all.  This break will give me lots of time for reflection and i am grateful for that time.  I will still be here though - hope you will be too!  Much love, Wendy