Join the Cardi Party - Including J Crew Merino Ocelot Cardi

I loved GingerSnap's post yesterday about having a Cardi Party. I feel like I go for long stretches in a Cardi Party. And this is a fab way to catch up on some outfit posting, too... And I get to show off, once again, that I finally downloaded Picasa to my desktop so I can do collages. You'd think I'd get more creative, but I'm pretty pleased with myself thus far.

So yesterday, day before that, day before that, and 2 other random September outfits that I actually photographed.

Moving from left to right (thought I added text to the pic but apparently I'm not as good at Picasa as I thought I was...):

First up from waaaaay back on September 10, classic J Crew - misty lavender Jackie, white vneck tissue boyfriend tee, and khaki cafe capris. Twisted crystal necklace and Target sandals that are way comfy. Very basic J Crew. Next?

September 17 - finally wore IRL the merino Ocelot since it was cool enough. I had been waiting ever since our Tysons JCA event to wear it. Like Patina, I really just love this cardi with jeans...plus the usual bf tissue tee for me, natch. The cardigan (#19006, orig $88) is sold out - no surprise there - it's gorgeous. Maybe it will pop back one of these days. Gigi actually reviewed it in this post earlier in the month, and she & quite a few others preferred the Target version. Me? I really love the colors in this cardi - so pretty. I find the fit to be pretty much like the Jackies - which does make sense since it's pretty much the same cut as the Jackies (although we all know how wacky their fits can be...).

September 27 - outfit for church - cotton-cashmere bouquet cardi plus...once again, white bf tissue tee and jeans. Ooooh, think I need some new under-tops. Anyway, I heard mixed reviews on washing this cardi - but will vouch for the fact that it irons like a dream since, um, mine was at the bottom of a pile of cardis and was all wrinkly. Wore my new cutie cap toe ballet flats, too - loving these shoes!

September 28 - Kids off school for Yom Kippur, which we don't celebrate, so...fun chill day at home, some errands, lunch with dad. Actually the chilling out at home was huge - M & E have been fighting off colds just like me, so we needed an extra day of rest. And I actually didn't wear a bf tee that day. Love the linen cardigan - great layering piece and great on its own. It's still available online on sale for $29.99, if you are interested. Plus Minnie pants, confetti necklace and cap toe ballet flats again.

And that brings us to yesterday, September 29 - Hello my dear old friend. 1st wearing of the season for the Library Shawl Cardigan. I love this cardi today as much as I did the day I bought it. Like that lovely striped sweater I had in my last post, it was worth every penny of full price - and that's how you know you made the right purchase. (ps - if *everything* feels like it's worth full price, you may need to put down the Crew-lade...just sayin'....) This cardi just feels like a hug every time I wear it - and yesterday was so blustery, it was perfect. Jeans and a tee...again...I know.

When you look across the board at how many times I'm wearing a ponytail (even in not-hot weather), you will understand why I actually got 2 inches chopped off my hair yesterday. Oh, it felt so good! Pics later today or tomorrow.

So now we are pretty much caught up through yesterday. And here's the Polyvore-o-rama to go with the outfits above:

September 10:

9/10/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew


September 17:

9/17/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew


September 27:

9/27/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew


September 28:

9/28/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew


September 29:

9/29/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew


And the Cardi Party rocks on...

Short Sleeve Cardis This Week

Catching up... let's start with 2 outfits this week - both with short sleeve cardis. Here's today's outfit - the new linen short sleeve cardi that I got at the Tysons JCA event and my new (totally on sale) cafe capris in golden hickory. I am very glad I kept these capris, they are such a fun, offbeat color for a neutral. This cardi is going to be such a fantastic transition piece; right now it's perfect for going over all the tissue bf tees that I have...and today it was a white one. Plus the confetti necklace for more white/cream tonal...whatever. Eh, I felt like wearing it. And I have on my JC fleur de lis flip flops from 2007, I think, which happen to match the pants perfectly.

Yes, me, wearing flip flops and my feet miss being strapped in, especially when I walk Lucy. I am recovering from some major blistering on the back of my left heel that I got Tuesday and then exacerbated yesterday...so flip flops for a few days. Of course, most of my JC flip flops are a couple of years old, so not to be found in PV. No worries, I'll just have barefoot PV sets for a few days.

Polyvore for today:

Wearing Today-9/3/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

Here's the other short sleeve cardigan, from Tuesday. I wore my nave blue one with a white shirt underneath. I liked how it worked. A little something different. I paired this cardi with a long sleeve white tee last spring, but hadn't done it with a shirt.

Add in simple matchstick jeans and Danielle flats, plus fireball necklace.

I *started* the day with my Clarks pink peep toes - they started the blister, which yesterday's pre-flip-flop shoes exacerbated. The things we do to ourselves, ugh. Maybe I just need to start buying expensive shoes.

New nail polish on toes - Give Me Moor. Need to post this one - fun color! perfect for fall.

Polyvore from Tuesday:

Wearing Today-9/1/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

I only have 2 short sleeve cardis, so that's it for this post. And I promise to get nail color pics up soon.

J Crew Embroidered Flowers Tee, Minnie Pants, and Linen Cardi

New Outfit day! I love new outfit day...when you wearing all new things and not just 1 piece. All 3 of these pieces were part of my apparently cream-gray-themed purchases at Tysons at the Sunday JCA event. Lots of wordiness here, but that's what happens when I wear 3 new things at once. Bear with me...

First up, the Slub Cotton Embroidered Flowers Tee (#18527, $42.50). First of all, with the design, I love that there is enough "space" at the top of the tee to wear necklaces with this tee. You could also easily wear a great scarf. I love that the design is not perfectly symmetrical - I think that makes it more interesting. A lot of other JCAs have reviewed this tee. I would like to thank RatsOnParade, because I think I first saw it on her blog, and as soon as I did, I thought "Mine!"

I got the tee in champagne, which is what is available on the website. AppGal got it in both champagne and buff pink at her B&M. I only remember seeing it in the champagne color at Tysons - although, like I said, when we had our shopping event, I had not been at the Crew since July, so I was a bit overwhelmed in trying to take in EVERYTHING. I will say again that this tee does not look like that great just laying on the table. It just looks kinda ok. But pick it up and try it on, because it looks so much better on, I promise.

I have included my front and back pics so you can see that you really do need to wear a cami underneath this as it is quite sheer, unless you are pairing with a jacket/cardi that you swear you will not take off. With a jacket/cardi, I think the flowers give you enough coverage in front.

Fit-wise, I took an M, so I would size down-ish in this. Usually in sheer tees, I size up a bit so I don't get the bulgies, but this one was just fine without doing that. I wore with the linen short sleeve cardi in natural yesterday and it was a perfect match. I will be wearing this with my black cashmere Jackie, my black BR swing jacket, my charcoal BR Michelle-look-alike on top, and jeans, Minnie pants, black cafe capris, stone linen pants, black skirt on bottom. Lots of options.

Next up...the Stretch Twill Minnie pants (#18850, $79.50). Given the feedback in blogland (some major fans and some non-fans alike), I was a bit apprehensive about the bulgie, sausage-effect in these pants but I loved them. I think the key (much like the pixie pants, and this is so counterintuitive to how I usually try on sizes, but I swear it's the key) is to get them so they are truly fitted. If you get them too small, you get the extra fabric in the crotch and it is just awful. Fortunately, I had Dina in the fitting room, so I didn't even bring in a size 10/L (except for the sherpa hoodie, but that's another post). I took an 8 and the fit is fab. The fabric has a nice weight to it to help with smoothing.

I got the pants in coal, since I have been wanting gray pants. Can't wait to wear with my tangelo cambridge cable turtleneck, putty library cardi, star cable popover, cream cashmere cabin popover, plus all the other assorted random cardis/jackets. I believe I will be living in them this fall and winter. When it is not as cold, I will wear them with flats and when it gets colder, I will actually put on socks and tuck them into boots.

The pants are also available in black and british khaki (both of which I have in cafe capris, so that helped the decision to go with the coal). But I will probably be looking to add another pair later this fall. Summerilla and I were discussing whether or not you could wear them for work and decided that it was definitely possible, depending on your environment, with a jacket and sweater/shirt. So they are potentially office-worthy. (Isn't she adorable in them?)

Last item - the Classic Linen Cardigan (#15131, orig $69.50, curr $39.99). Dina has this piece and loves it. I had seen before and never got around to trying it on, so glad I did now. I got it in a medium. I love that it has short sleeves, so it's a great layering piece for summer. I can picture wearing this with many summer ensembles for little warmth, since I almost always freeze inside if there is A/C. Can't wait to wear with just a white tee & matchstick jeans when it gets a bit cooler with some fab shoes & jewelry. Great piece at a great price (plus that 20% off, of course).

And here's my actual outfit for the day. Flowers tee, linen cardi, and minnie pants. Had no idea the cardi & tee were the exact same color until I happened to hang them on the fitting room rack right next to each other. Love the pieces separately, but I really loved them all together. I actually felt kinda hip in this ensemble - a bit more downtown that I usually skew. I think it's the pants. Anyway, just added my usual Kenneth Cole black flat sandals, stud earrings, and the cha-cha bracelet I made several years ago. And the Cocteau tote, which I really need to snap for Polyvore one of these days.

If you have seen Summerilla's latest blog post, you know what I did yesterday (other than physical therapy/chiropractor in the evening). Kiddies & I met Summerilla, Dina, and Dina's adorable kiddies at Tysons to Starbucks and play. Yes, I am using Starbucks as a verb. Don't you? So it was our last chance to hang out before Summerilla departs for NYC, given everyone's crazy schedules this week. And then we headed to Pure Beauty to play with (and buy, of course) nail polish. Dina had to go and 3-Penny Princess joined us for lunch at Nordstrom Cafe where M went through 2 bowls of tomato soup and E loved coloring with Summerilla. What a fun day we had! M & E were really good. They loved Dina's kids (who doesn't?) and they are totally bummed that Summer is moving away. Summerilla - we will miss you!!

Polyvore for Today:

Wearing Today-8/26/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew