Black Shoes for Spring #1 - LL Bean Coastal Rain Skimmers

Realized I have a couple posts I've been mulling that fit this category. Today's Black Shoes for Spring are my new LL Bean Coastal Rain Skimmers. (#TA261027, $69, but I only paid $59 - thanks for the $10 Bean reward certificate, Mom!!)

Seriously, best set up ever - Mom has the Bean credit card. I get to order online with free shipping & monogramming and she gets the points. Win-win. I *do* pay her back, of course. In this case, she specifically gave me the reward because she knew I had been mulling over these shoes.

*****Update on 3/26/10 - Bean just announced yesterday that they are now, like Zappos, offering Free Shipping.  Period.  Free Shipping...that's it.  As they say now on their home page "No minimum order, no end date, just free."  Could somebody please cue the applause? 

According to the Bean website, these shoes were featured in O magazine in September 2010. Ok, so apparently I missed them this fall, otherwise I would have been all over them. It's a perfect marriage of the duck shoe and the ballet flat. So it pretty much suits me to a T. You all know how I love my ballet flats. I know J Crew has the cute rubber ballet flats but they are just too narrow for me, and show a bit too much toe cleavage for a well-functioning "rain shoe".

I got a 9 which...oh, I don't know, I hate shoe sizing. Let's just say I run between 9 and 9 1/2, so if you're worried, size down. Or get 2 sizes? I don't know...that's why I went ahead and tried them on in store. I do usually take a 9 in Bean shoes.

It's a really comfortable shoe. They are weatherproof, but leather so they breathe - no stinky feet, yay! And...well...here's their blurb:

Ideal for wet trips to the office or around town, these casual weatherproof shoes combine comfort and style with protective coverage for inclement weather. Pliable patent-leather upper is seam-sealed to keep water out. Thickly padded insole and a flexible rubber outsole give you much more cushioning than traditional skimmers. Rubber outsole adds traction on wet surfaces. Imported. Best with lightweight socks.

(right....like I wear socks unless I absolutely have to, i.e., with boots)

I was tempted by the blue but I just got a pair of navy patent mocs, so these looked too similar in the navy and I ended up with the black...which I wore today...yucky rainy day. So they were perfect.  (They also come in nautical red, bright yellow, and dark brown.)

I wore the skimmers with a JC black long sleeve tissue tee & cami, Loft denim mini, and black JC leggings.  I see now why Summerilla is always raving about her JC leggings.  Per Summerilla, she wears hers weekly, washes with no holes or fadin.  Love! Then accessorizing with above shoes, black scarf, ponytail & hoops, and topped off with my BR trench. 

It was a full day - mani/pedi in the AM (courtesy of gift certificate from Xmas - yeah, didn't use it when I had the cast on my right hand), then chiro visit working out an issue with my left rotator cuff muscle, and then up to school to help in M's class and in E's Jump Rope for Heart session.  (and back up to school to pick up some left-behind homework...sigh...)  A good outfit for my day.  Comfy for mani/pedi, yet still presentable for afternoon at school - and when I was helping M's teacher pull out pieces of "parchment" the kids made out of the tea they were soaking in, I was glad I had on dark colors. 

Definitely a perfect spring shoe!

J Crew Sherpa Hoodie

The camera is still in the trunk of hubby's car from soccer games this weekend. What is it, Wednesday? So no outfit pics this week so far. (And hubby is getting irritated enough at my constant borrow, take pics, download, toss camera back in bag routine that he suggested I ask for a pocket-size camera for Xmas since that's what I'm getting. Silly hubby... Of course the camera is, technically, "his"...) But I realized in my haste to post new arrivals on Friday that I completely blanked on my originally intended post about the sherpa hoodie. Without further ado...

J Crew Sherpa Hoodie (#17590, $69.50). Is this a lot to pay for a hoodie? Um, yeah. But for me, totally worth it, as I had nothing like it in my wardrobe. I got this back at the August Tysons outing, so I did have the 25% off. But I have worn it a ton since then. Admittedly many times as a top layer with yoga pants and a tee, but it makes them look nicer, I swear. It's also a great top layer for any other combo as well.

I got the hoodie in ivory (I love warm white). Even before you put it on, it just *looks* cozy. I did size up to an L because I wanted it to be a bit roomy. The sleeves are plenty long on the hoodie, and the overall length is at low hip (longer than previous versions, per the website) - so it covers a bit more than a traditional hoodie. Summerilla loved hers so much that she got a 2nd one at the Tysons outing.

Did I mention the sherpa part? That's the best feature! Per the website - "extremely cozy poly sherpa lining." Oh yeah, baby, it's SO cozy.

Last Friday, I wore the hoodie with a coal tissue bf tee (crewneck this time, woo!), black Minnies, my cap toe ballet flats, a pile of necklaces, and my new Gilded Daisy Ring (#19497, orig $50, curr $29.99 and totally worth it, IMO). Closeup ring pic below. As you can see, the glass stones are actually clear - they looked a little gray in the online pic. The sweet Tysons JC SA loved the necklaces with the hoodie. Well as you can see (top right), I totally cribbed that idea from the online pic...

Is there a downside to this hoodie? Yes. The fleece is so cozy and thick that this sucker just does NOT fold flat. My plan when traveling will be to wear it so that I don't have to pack it. Otherwise, it's pretty much dead-on perfect in my book.

Back to the price question...I can't tell you if it's worth it for you to spend that on a hoodie. Like I said, it was a definite yes for me. But I would most definitely wait for a sale to possibly get another. Even if you aren't crazy about the price, I would highly recommend nabbing it on sale later. Is it better than cashmere? Hmmmm, will have to think on that. If not, it's definitel close.

Polyvore from Friday:

10/2/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

Another outfit idea - it's fantastic with the dressy jersey strapless dress (never got pics, though):

9/14/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

More Cardis...Matchy, Matchy...

Let me tell you a funny story. Once upon a time there was a nice girl who liked clothes very much. She married a wonderful man and then had an adorable baby boy...and then she got pregnant with a baby girl and that wonderful husband laid down the law: "No matching outfits." I think it may have been said even before the actual labor & delivery.

This is much funnier when you're not the mom. And clearly that was me, and I have pretty much paid heed. Hubby doesn't ask for much in terms of attire from us. But then....what happens when you get 2 fabbie hand-me-down Lilly Pulitzer cardis from your sister-in-law for your darling little girl and they happen to be the exact shade of 2 cardis that you happen to have in your closet? You got it - matchy matchy time.

First up, the muted aqua faux-Jackie from ATL. I love these cardis just as much as my JC Jackie. Fit is a little different, but different is good, right? I wore this aqua-ish one on Monday since E was wearing her mini-me version for the 1st day of school. That's right - the 1st day of school - you would have thought I would have been blogging more, huh? Yeah, me too. (Work deadline, what can I say?)

E loved that she and I had on the same cardi - just as she loved it when I got similar Target shoes to hers...of course I'm not wearing them since I'm still trying to heal my heel. (Flip flops through the weekend and them I'm done, my feet are tired!)

I wore the cardi with a white tissue bf tee, outlet matchstick jeans, and an ATL scarf that matches the cardi. My daughter loved it, so it was a good outfit. 1st day of school went well for everyone, except that M is bitter that he has had homework all week and E hasn't. I adopted the twin message of "Life isn't fair, deal with it" and "Wait until next week, she'll have homework every night, too."

Such a good mom I am. At least neither one has asked for purple hair...yet. (Kathy - I especially loved the dual perspective on your post, it was hilarious. I have been on 1 side and anticipate being on the other side very shortly.)

Polyvore from Monday

Wearing Today-8/31/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

The weather has been gorgeous this week, did I mention that? Not too hot, not too chilly. So I've been loving the chance to wear sweaters this week and not swelter in the heat. Wednesday was not exactly matchy matchy, as I was sporting the cardi color that E wore the day before. Give us time though... So glad I got the spring daisy Jackie - I just love this color. I'm quite sure it will look ghastly on me mid-winter (I mean literally, it will totally wash me out and make me look like a corpse or zombie), but it's fantastic for now and fall, when I still have a little wore-SPF-but-got-some-color-anyway. Plus it's perfect with my Cocteau tote.

Under the cardi, I wore a tissue bf tee - but a *crew* neck one. I really should grab 1 or 2 of these next time I order online. Love them as much as the vneck, and it's nice to have another option...especially when the weather gets chillier. This one is dark slate or charcoal or whatever.

And then white jeans. Patina had a fun post yesterday about wearing white outside of Labor Day, and I say wear it as much as you want. I love white jeans with thick, cozy sweaters - I think they chic up some sweaters and give you a different look. White outside of summer is all about fabric weight. Linen = no. Thicker denim, wool = yes. Simple.

Totally neglected the accessories on this one. Ah well, what can you do? I think this was day 1 of flip flop wear, so I was focused on the feet and the gaping wound on my heel.

Polyvore from Wednesday:

Wearing Yesterday-9/2/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

Update from Yesterday and J Crew Sale Purchases

My parents were in town Wed night through Thurs night/Fri morning, so we, of course, hit the mall on Thursday for the day. (not so much shopping at the river - but that means we shop when they visit, yay!)

Of course, I had to stop in at J Crew to take a little peek around and do a couple of returns. The ripstop utility pants were just awful on me, so they went back. They looked so fab on dinagideon earlier this week. I am wondering if they were just too big, but ah well...back they went. Instead, I snagged a pair of cafe capris. They are just a basic black but I am ridiculously excited by them because I tried these on in way early spring and the 10 just looked awful on me. But yesterday, I tried an 8 and they were perfect. Yay!! And my current black cropped pants are really on their way to the dustbin, so it was a good buy. But I have to say I was rather disappointed in my B&M as there really wasn't much sale merchandise or new merchandise either. Here's my PV set of my JC 20% off purchases.


Final Choices from Latest 20% Off by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

So you can see that I did re-purchase the confetti necklace in champagne quartz. For $45, it's worth it. I love that they a solid color and not iridescent, like pearls - just a fun change. I love the longer length of this necklace too - it will work with so many tops. And it won't snag my sweaters like the beautiful but evil twisted crystal necklace. And I love that it's the necklace shown with the tissue bf vneck tee, since I am such a fan of that tee. And I did branch out...to the tissue bf *crewneck* tee. BTW, love the neckline on this as it has a bit of a scoop, so it's not strangling you. I may see what other colors I can turn up.

And I did get the pearl garden bracelet in clementine, which I have been coveting ever since A Bigger Closet posted it - love this color! I had it in my cart last week before checking out, but took it out since I figured 1 pair pants, 1 necklace & 1 tee was enough. But it was actually in the store, so it was a sign.

And this is what I wore for the shopping outing. New confetti necklace - yay! And tissue bf vneck tee. And my linen-cotton seaside pants. But I have to say, the pants are making me sad. I think they are too big for me now (ok, I have lost about 10 lbs since I got them). And the linen does stretch out a bit. And you know I practically refuse to wear belts. But they are so loose, flowy, comfy. I think I need to take a couple darts in the waist so they actually stay up and don't fall & give me saggy-bottom. And I really should be wearing it with more fitted tops, actually. Ok, lecture to self on pants over - anyone got anything else?

Polyvore from Thursday:


Wearing Today-7/16/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

And here's the Polyvore from Thursday night when we went to the Nationals game with my parents. We had a fantastic time and had great seats! Fun evening out. (Kiddies had a fun evening with their beloved babysitter.) Mom left from the game to head back to the river, Dad spent the night (don't ask, long story involving schedule/calendar mixups). And oops, not enough time for IRL pics. I will get one sometime when I wear the harbour Oxford capris - but I will say they were perfect for the ball game.


Baseball Game-7/16/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

My other fun purchases from Thursday were makeup, so I'll save those for another post as this is long enough. Good night!