J Crew Molten Metallic Tank

On the list of items I did not purchase on my Mardi Gras shopping outing... the J Crew Molten Metallic Tank (#13616, $62). Very pretty, comes in gold and silver. Both great colors which have a lot of sheen but aren't shiny/icky. Molten really is the best way to describe them. Would be fantastic with white jeans (my summer fave) or a cute little skirt. Also good with shorts, trousers, etc. In short, I think it could pretty much go with anything. Great under a jacket, under a cardi, over a tee.

Very slouchy silhouette, which, I think, offsets some of the formality of the metallic. Right on trend with the mix of evening/metallic into day. The length is nice and long, but not too much. I love how open and round the U-neck is - shows quite a lot of clavicle, which I found flattering. Not sure how it would work if you were really curvy, since that's not the figure I was given. Sorry, can't remember which size I tried - medium or large.

So if it's so great, why didn't I get it? Well... see how it kind of grabs my midsection? (by the way, still working on the dressing room pics) And actually does the same thing on the model in the pinned/styled/photoshopped picture? Ok, in her case, it's really grabbing onto the shorts, not her tummy. You would think they wouldn't want that to show (or would minimize it as much as possible). I debated whether or not it would be worth it to wear a cami of some kind underneath to minimize that.

But for $62, did it rock my world? Not so much, although it definitely nudged it. Maybe later, on sale, and after a few more weeks of training with Mary Beth. In that same trip, I tried on the broadcloth scalloped shell which did, in fact, rock my world - and without some "help" underneath, so I opted for that one (see post here).

What do you think?

J Crew Broadcloth Scalloped Shell

Mardi Gras Purchase #2, although it could definitely vie with the white cashmere long sleeve tee for #1 on my list because it is just smashing! Remember how I said I didn't get the gray zebra tee because it just didn't make me feel like I could conquer the world? Well, in this, I feel like I can conquer the world and then sit to have some tea afterward. Yes, I would have loved it on sale (ok, I did use my 10% off gave-them-my-email-card), but it was worth the full price to me. That's how good I felt. And really, shouldn't all of our clothes make us feel like that?

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the J Crew Broadcloth Scalloped Shell (item #12548), price $69.50. I love love love the black and navy combo. So chic, just gorgeous. The shell is navy and the scallops are 1 row of black topped with 1 row of navy. I tried to get a picture to show the color difference, but it just didn't work. But take my word for it, it rocks. The buff, on the other hand, was just not that flattering on me at this time of the year, but would look great with the right skintone or a tan. Slastena had a great review of this top in the buff on here blog; check it out here.

The fit is perfect on this, not too tight, not too loose. The fabric is nice and crisp but soft, not at all stiff or scratchy. The slit in the neck is a little low, but there is a hook & eye closure toward the bottom to keep it decent. I think it's fantastic, and can't wait for it to be warm enough to wear. I may try to sneak it in on one of these not-too-frigid days. Right now a black jacket and jeans would be my top choices. And I can't WAIT to wear it with my white jeans. Maybe a cute skirt. I really should start to Polyvore one of these days.

Mary Beth - lots of arm work tomorrow, ok?