An Even "Skinnier" Alternative, plus Pics of the Knox

As I have mentioned time and again, I am a big fan of Chico's jeans. Even at JC, I find the waistband is too low plus too big leading to muffin top plus big gape at the back. Sure, I could get jeans tailored, but I'd rather find a pair that fits really well to start with. I blogged about the Chico's Platinum Denim Slim Leg Jeans a couple of months ago. And I have been loving them...but when I ordered, they no longer had the blue washes in the 35" inseam, so I just grabbed the regular inseam in store and have been wearing them cuffed with flats or tucked into boots.

New Find - even skinnier jeans from Chico's. I'll admit right up front that I was bold enough to try these because (1) they actually had my size - 0.5 - in the 35" inseam in the "Rinse Wash" - now of course, they are sold out and (2) I had a 50% any item if purchase is $50+ - usually the threshold is $100 - so I got these for half price. Behold..Chico's Platinum Denim Ultra Slim Leg Jean ($69). I think even my sister would be impressed at how skinny these jeans are.

Speaking of my sister - a huge Happy Birthday to my twin & birthday-mate. I can't think of anyone I'd rather share a birthday with, other than Donny Osmond, which we do - and when we were 10 years old, that was just so cool. And since I can't sleep, it's 2:34 am, which is about 2 minutes after you arrived, and 1 minute before I did. Those blissful 3 minutes when our mom thought she would only have to deal with 1 baby. Ah, the days before ultrasound...

Back to the jeans...I am very happy with the fit. I like the higher waistband because it kinda holds everything in so there's no muffin top or gaping. I do realize that on some, this waist would be too high, but on my rectangular form, it works. I took a size 0.5, which is supposed to equate to a 6 (yeah, whatever), but I find in their stretchy jeans & pants, it's best to size down because they will stretch out.

I still need to experiment with which tops work best. A long cardi is kind of a no-brainer. I had on the tango top with a long sleeve tee layered underneath and just wasn't feeling it this morning. The biggest pitfall to avoid is the Stacy & Clinton ice cream cone effect, aka ICE. (ICE where the top part of your bottom half is really wide, and your pants narrow down to really skinny at the bottom - your ankles may look tiny by comparison...but your behind - by comparison - looks huge. ICE is best managed through trouser or straight cuts.) But I think these are workable by choosing the right top half. And even if I only wear these with long sweaters & tees, hey, they were under $40 - so I'm not complaining.

Yesterday, I opted for my BR Michelle-twin, a white open neck painter tee and then piled on some gold/sparkly necklaces including the should-have-picked-one-that-doesn't-snag twisted crystal with my dangling crystal shapes bracelet. Simple, yes...but it really suited my mind frame and you know the drill - toss on the yellow Winnie coat and the outfit goes to fab immediately.

Polyvore for today:


12/8/09 - What I really wore... by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

Items in this set:
Women's Merino Sweaters & Cardigans - J.Crew, $88
Women's knits & tees - textured knits - Open crewneck painter tee -..., $30
Head to Toe with Heidi: Winnie Love
Chico's - Platinum Denim Ultra Slim Leg Jean, $69
Mossimo® Desta Ballet Flats - Black : Target, $20

And on the subject of charcoal sweaters...melissa molasses asked for an IRL pic of the J Crew Knox sweater jacket (#18172, orig $132, curr $49.99 in store). This sweater is sold out online, but still pops back. Most stores seem to have a number of them back in the sale section. I stalked this one for a while, waiting for the price to drop.

I haven't yet gotten a pic when I've worn it as an actual outfit - but here's the pic from just after purchase. Love the sweater - very warm. It's a very tight knit, so it's less likely to snag. And (not pictured) even though it's double breasted, it still looks very cute open. I was paging through the JC Oct catalog and the model was wearing it open...but I can't quite remember what else she had on though.

I took an M. It's not tight, but I feel like it's streamlined enough to not be boxy. The sleeves are plenty long. You could consider sizing down in this, depending on your shoulders. I think the sweater is very versatile and plan to wear it a lot this winter. The only thing that I'm still working on is the best neckwear when the sweater is closed. A regular "shirt" would be great. But I feel like it needs something extra when wearing with a tee - but I haven't figured out which necklace works well, or if a scarf might be better. In fact, the last time I wore it, that was vexing me, so I just wore it open. Ah well, plenty of time to experiment.