Out of the Shadow with Black and Blue

Ok, I get it...much like wearing white after Labor Day, the navy and black combo is no longer the fashion taboo it once was. Done right, it's actually very, very chic. But it's not a combo that I find easy to pull off, unless the black & navy are combined in a single garment. But I think jeans make it work pretty well. And so does the J Crew color "shadow". You know I am a huge fan of navy blue. And I love J Crew's dark grays. Shadow falls kinda right in the middle. It's a navy, but a grayed navy...it actually reminds me exactly of the OPI shade from this fall, Suzi Skis in the Pyrennees - dead-on match. Someone asked the every-stylish & wise A Bigger Closet about it on a recent post which reminded me that I hadn't posted this outfit yet. (like so many others...)

A couple weeks ago, I met dinagideon for lunch and a little Crew time. New DC JCA Rachel joined us - and it was lots of fun. Her kiddies are adorable and she was so great. We look forward to seeing her at DC JCA outings to come. And I enjoyed being the only one without kids.

Um yes, I did just say that...hey, I shopped with my 2 darling angels for quite a number of years until I unloaded, I mean sent, them to school. don't shoot me. My kid-shopping triumph will always be the time I went bathing suit shopping with both of them and actually came home with a suit - and it was quite fab if I do recall. Ask my mother about the time she took M shopping and warmed up the bottle under the hand dryer at LL Bean. Which, incidentally, is a great place to feed a baby because they have those really comfy rocking and Adirondack chairs. And I look forward to E being able to shop with me on a regular basis soon - she's almost there...

Actually, when I do these outings during the school day, I end up being like the grandma since I get to do fill-in kid-less adult tasks. Or I'm the really cool aunt. I think I like the aunt title better.

So back to the whole black & blue thing. I wanted to (a) wear the Winnie since dinagideon was, of course, the kind soul who found it for me at the clearance center and (b) show off the new BR chain necklace since she is such a fan of BR jewelry herself. For a chic background, I went with my Chicos ultra slim leg jeans and the JC shadow perfect fit long sleeve tee (size L, which I always take in the perfect fit since I don't like them toooo tight, picked up for $10 at post-Xmas sale) for the blue and a black cami and boots for the black. So...black and blue altogether. I think the shadow really knits it together. And it was great for showing off the necklaces (BR mixed chain with JC antique finish constellation locket) as well as the Winnie jacket.

Really, with that jacket...do you need anything complicated underneath? Or at least that's been my excuse all winter. And then this pic shows off the supercool fun new scarf-trying trick (hacking knot) that I picked up from Cate's blog - Confessions of a Shopoholic Medical Student...she had picked it up from Sweet Tea in Seattle who tried it with a wrap as well as an Hermes scarf (which I had somehow missed even though it was just the day before, but she is one of my fave blogs to read). Bottom line...vlog instructions for scarf tying here - and I love how she showed it with the skinnier scarf, too.

So yes, I wore my Woobie/Blankie that day, too. This BR cashmere wrap is addictive!! And speaking of cuddly things...it's been a while since I posted a Lucy pic (she's 13 months old today), so here you go...this is the "are you seriously bothering me with that camera?" look.



And this is the "oh, am I not supposed to play with this?" look. And *that's* why I get my FUggs at Target. (FUgg - Fake Ugg. Get your mind out of the gutter. Ok, your first reaction may have been accurate, but they are the best bus stop shoes ever.)