Calling all Readers: J.Crew at Work

Mar 10, 2009 By Shann in Misc chatter

Since I have started blogging about J.Crew, I’ve received a few emails from readers inquiring about J.Crew at work. They usually ask for sizing on JC’s suiting and what my favorite basic work pieces are. Unfortunately, I don’t have much advice to offer in this area because I work from home. My “work” attire is usually some variation of jeans, tee, and a cardigan. This outfit seems to be the best choice for looking put together while running after my 5 year old.

I do not have much experience with the fit of J.Crew’s cotton pants either. I usually pass them by in the store because in the past, I have had a real hard time finding a good waist and hip fit in their capris and cords. I definitely need some lightweight pants for spring though. The Chinos and bistro pants look promising.

I have bought or tried on several of J.Crew’s pencil skirts. The wool herringbone, double-serge, silk, cotton suiting to name a few and I’ve found that most of them are true to size and very flattering. In fact I love them all. Once dd starts kindergarten I may look for a job outside the home just so I have a reason to buy up all the pencil skirts.

But back to the post topic..
What are your favorite wear to work pieces from J.Crew?
Which J.Crew colors do you find most versatile for a work wardrobe?
If you can include brief info on the sizing of your favorites, that would be wonderful!

J.Crew: The best of what’s on sale

Mar 10, 2009 By Shann in All J.Crew, Sales

I am trying to resist the urge to do a little mid-week online shopping. But J.Crew has some great items on sale right. Here are my sale favorites..

What are your top picks from J.Crew right now? Or are you saving your dollars for the next roll out?

NOTD: Aurora Borealis

Mar 1, 2009 By Shann in Jewelry

I was going to post an OOTD but my camera refuses to focus, so now this post is a Necklace of the day. My camera is a 6 year old point and shoot that does okay on close up shots but as you can see from my JC dressing room pics below, it is terrible in low light. It frustrates the heck out of me and is about to get thrown in the river. We have a stream across the street from our house, so anytime technology fails us it “gets thrown in the river” Well not really but dh did throw our old DVD player into the street. It skipped. A lot lol.
But I digress.
As this necklace was coming together I thought the colors looked like the Northern Lights over an ice pack, hence the name. I am wearing it today with a spearmint tank and long heathered grey cardigan. The necklace is made with rainbow Flourite gemstones, icy flake quartz, and silver stardust beads.

From the dressing room: J.Crew spring

Mar 1, 2009 By Shann in J.Crew reviews

Although the new March arrivals did not have me very excited, I made a quick trip to J.Crew to see them in person. My store seemed to be missing most of the best items from the catalog, like the Bow dress and Soiree jacket. Here is what I did see:

Silk-linen Vneck sweater- This has been out for awhile but the first time I tried it on. I love the fresh mint shade. The fit and length of the sweater is nice. Fyi: the arms are quite snug. But the material is so thin, while not see through it shows every lump and bump around my stomach. I do sits up for no sweater

Ripple ruffle slub tee- I meant to try on the Ruffle scoopneck tee but got distracted by the pretty blue and picked up this one instead. The shade is much more saturated than my pic shows. I tried the XS and this is too big. It is especially full under the chest down to the natural waist. The scoop is also to low in this size. I recommend sizing down. I am going to assume the Ruffle scoop fit is similar and pass on both.

Sanur dress- The only dresses I saw at my store was the Sanur and the Pique pavilion shift. The shift looked to run huge, so I grabbed the Sanur for the dressing room. It doesn’t seem to be listed online today but if I remember correctly it is sized XS-XL and this is the XS. The fit is great, true to size. I like it as a dress but as a skirt I think it is a little long and full for me. Hopefully I can pick one of these up on sale later this year.

Cocktail & Cafe Capri- I tried on the Cocktail and Cafe capris. I have a Cafe capri in petite 2 from last year and the fit in is pretty good except that the waist is a tiny bit too big. I tried on the 0 regular in store and they were more fitted but too tight in the thigh for my liking. I could size up to a 2 and have the waist taken it but I think I will just hold out for a better fitting non-jc pant. I tried the Cafe’s in the Warm blush which was not sheer to skin but did show through the back pockets, didn’t like that either.
The Cocktail capri were just awful on me. They made me look wide in the hip and squat. The material is nice and they felt true to size with a roomy leg.

Atelier jacket- The Atelier jacket runs big in my opinion. This is the size 0 and it feels big all over with probably enough room in the shoulders to size down. Of course this is meant to be a swingy jacket like the Aubrey. But the Aubrey in this size felt smaller and did not sit as far away from the body as this jacket does.

Staying true to my attempt to only buy unique or specifically needed items, I did not buy any of these. I did come home with one thing which I will review later this week.