Back to School in the Crew...with some Loft Love

Today's post is dedicated to My4Boys - have you seen her new blog, Tweed and Toile?  And it's not just the cute pic of her 2 pooches on the sidebar that makes me like it...although admittedly for me, cute puppy pics always make it more fun.  She's always had such great Polyvore sets, and now we get to see them in person. Check it out!

Anyway...a month ago or so, she had a way cute Polyvore set with one of my all time fave tees, the J Crew navy/white striped tissue tee from last fall with cuffed jeans and a pair of adorable red sandals - from Loft (the Bridget thong sandal).   I might not have stopped to look that closely at the shoes at Loft, but the next time I went in, I moseyed over to the big huge tower o'sale shoes, tried them on, and realized that they actually were as cute as I thought they should be (note the large amount of projection here - it disappoints me when something doesn't live up to all the outfits I've created in my head).  And not only were they cute, they were on sale and 50% off, so they were mine for $17.49.  I was impressed with the padded footbed for comfort, and the fact that it meant my other sandal requirement - that I could  slide the strap over the back of my heel without having to unbuckle it.  Lazy, I know, but it works for me.

I'm viewing these as the perfect summer alternative to my patent peep toe flats - it's a great pop of color for all the neutral - white/tan/gray/navy/black - that I wear. It works with all of them.

And so to the outfit...I wore it, ironically, much earlier in August - about 2 weeks before the kiddies went back to school, but the JC Nicky skirt always has such a schoolgirl vibe for me (maybe because of the navy color?), so it really reminded me of back to school.  So whenever I wear it, I'm usually trying to downplau the schoolgirl feel and skew it more to the resort vacation vibe..which is why I probably never wear it with sweaters.  But colorful sandals really help with that. 

The Bridget thong sandals were the perfect finishing touch to the navy skirt and white (open crewneck painter) tee ensemble.  And a chunky pewter locket for some visual weight.  I liked the nautical feel of this outfit. Admittedly, I could sub in most any of my colorful sandals and they would work with this outfit.  I particularly look forward to utilizing the Bridgets for the 4th of July, when I'm usually wearing navy with or without some white, because I just don't do red clothing in the summer - doesn't work on me with my coloring.  Speaking of the 4th, I could replicate this outfit...if only it weren't so hot every year...oh well, food for thought.

Does anyone else have the Nicky skirt from Spring 09?  I wouldn't mind finding it in in the hot pink or orange color they had.  Size 8...let me know.  Maybe I should really be posting on the JCA exchange.  (see note above on laziness)

Polyvore from 8/16/10:

8/16/10 by HeidiGblog featuring ray ban shades

Women's knits & tees - textured knits - Open crewneck painter tee -..., $30
Women skirts Cotton taffeta Nicky skirt, $78
Bridget Thong Sandal, $44
Heloise metallic shoulder bag, $860
Sterling Silver Earrings, Cheap Silver Earrings, Silver CZ Earrings at..., $102
Grandpas Pocket Watch Necklace, $28
Amazon.com: Essie Nail Color Over the Top ES-624: Beauty, $5.14
Ray Ban sunglasses sidestreet 4068
COLOURlovers :: Color / EFF2DB / Steam

And since I mentioned cute puppy pics above as well as back to school...this is Lucy's back to school picture...since the only way E would consent to get a BTS pic with her brother was if Lucy was in the pic as well. (yes...the kiddies needed to go back to school this week and get out of the house...)

Hope you are enjoying your back to school season!!

Banana Bracelet

Ba-Ba-Banana, Ba-Ba-Banana.... yes, I'm back to singing my favorite Elmo Banana song. This was yet another piece uncovered earlier this month while jewelry bin diving, as I discussed in this post. It's a double strand gold chain bracelet (all gold-toned, the silver-ish look in the pic is from the flash), and the clasp is actually just a loop of the bracelet that hooks over the flower at the end. So pretty. This will be a great layering piece, but also works well on its own. And it's pretty neutral in that it will mix with many pieces. And...it was $15.99. Oh how I love you, Banana jewelry!

So that will be the thread that ties together this outfit post since I wore it for the first time on Thursday and then again today. And of course, it's so on sale, it is nowhere to be found online, so I used yet another sub for PV.

Thursday...pulled out the dream taffeta sash cardigan, size L - i'd probably get an M today, don't shoot me, dina. (or at least that's what PV calls it - this was just before I joined the cult and became a JCA, so I wasn't so up on the names). I really need to wear this sweater more often, it's just so darn cute with the ruffled neck and the ribbon. And it is warm too. Like the canvas atelier jacket last spring, it has that mod swingy shape I love. So perfect with jeans and a tshirt. That would be Chicos slim leg jeans (size 0.5)and a JC open crewneck painter tee (size L)

And then of course, the cute new BR bracelet - and my grandmother's pearl/crystal necklace that I swiped from the junk jewelry passed to E and the JC twisted crystal necklace. And then the Me Too cap toe ballet flats. I'm not sure they really worked IRL with the cardi but they work in the picture, so let's just pretend that they were that good in person.

Polyvore from Thursday:

1/21/10 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

Items in this set:
Women sweaters Dream taffeta-sash cardigan, $60
Women's knits & tees - textured knits - Open crewneck painter tee -..., $30
Chico's - Platinum Denim Slim Leg Jean, $69
Me Too Swann Cap Toe Ballet Flat
Women's bags - leather bags - Selby satchel - J.Crew, $275

And then today...started with the gray Minnies, put on a white short sleeve perfect tee, changed cami underneath and got lipstick on tshirt, switched to long sleeve gray striped Flora tee, decided that original choice of light gray Jackie-esque cardi from BR wouldn't work with all the gray so switched to black cashmere Jackie. (did you get that?) Gray Minnies...gray striped tee...black cashmere cardi. Ok, we're caught up.

And then, gold hoops, new BR bracelet, and black flats. Oh my black flats are in really, really sorry shape. I need a new pair. They are so sorry-looking, even when I polish them. But shopping for the basics can be the hardest to do. But that's for another post...

I felt very Parisian chic in this outfit. As I commented in my PV set, I felt almost gamine...and when you're 5'10", you don't usually feel gamine, that's for sure. By the way, this looked AWESOME with my yellow Winnie when I ran out to do a couple of errands with M earlier today. And if it had been chillier, I could have just thrown on my black boots. Easy.

But speaking of my Polyvore set...here it is:

1/23/10 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

Items in this set:
Women's Cashmere Sweaters & Cardigans - J.Crew, $160
Classic-stripe tissue tee - J.Crew, $33
Women - tanks - Perfect-fit tank - J.Crew, $18
Women - wool - Wool tweed Oona coat - J.Crew, $90
Mossimo® Desta Ballet Flats - Black : Target, $20

By the way, the divine Gigi and others are noting that BR has 40% off sale items in store. A great time for jewelry bin diving, no?

A "Skinny" Alternative

Ok, this post is not for you 00's out there and you girlies fit enough to majorly rock skinny jeans. Well, maybe some of you. But this is primarily directed at the "Skinny jeans? Me? Never!" population. As you know I have 1 pair of Crewlet matchsticks that I really like, but I have always had difficulty with the whole skinny jeans thing. (Important note - JC's Minnies are totally exempt from that because they are awesome and I love them and they are so much better than skinny jeans, at least to me, but I can't wear them *every* day. Speaking of which, I actually *gasp* machine-washed my Minnies today - will post on outcome soon.)

So...jeans...I have been a fan of Chicos jeans for a while. Not that I am hung up on numbers, but you have to admit that there is something cool about getting a size 0.5 or 1 in jeans when you are used to an 8 or 10, right? They have a new cut called the Slim Leg. So it's not quite "skinny." But definitely a long, lean line. The official name of this jean is Platinum Denim Slim Leg Jean ($69). I usually order my Chicos jeans online to get the Tall inseam of 35"(which, by the way, with Passport membership, meaning I've spent over $500 at the store lifetime, always gives me free shipping and 5% off purchases - take that, J Crew). I couldn't get these in Tall in my size in either of the 2 blue washes that I wanted so I finally went into the store and picked up a pair of 32" regulars to wear cuffed or tucked. (And I need jeans since mine from last fall/winter need to be hot-water-washed to shrink them each time I wear them because they really are too big.)

These make a great alternative to a skinny jean if you just aren't comfortable with the skinnies. Close fit, but not sausage-inducing, if you know what I mean. And they tuck into boots very easily as you can see from the pic below. Lots of different perspectives of the jeans below, including the oh-so-NOT-flattering dead-on pose, but I suppose it's helpful. Should have included a cuffed-with-heels pic, but eh, take what you can get.

The last pic is how I wore the jeans today, with the JC wool cardi from last fall - anyone remember the name of this one? Loved it last year. Love it this year. Can't wait to wear it again. The tee is an Open Crewneck Painter Tee (#17390, orig #29.50, curr $19.99 online, love the neckline) that I just got on sale + 20% off - yay. I think I may have to pick up a few more of these because the fit is great.

I liked the outfit with the boots (which would have been fab given all the rain we are having), but opted for the loafers since I spent most of the day running around the house and to the grocery store getting ready for hubby's family to visit this weekend. And loafers just work better than boots for that. Same logic for the jewelry - cuff link earrings and twisted rope rose gold bracelet. Some shine, but no dangly necklace to get in the way.

Polyvore for today:


10/16/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

So if you've been afraid to take on the skinnies...give these a try.

***Update - I forgot to include the Chicos discount (by the way - ALWAYS look up coupon codes for them online - they always have them) - Using code 6710, everything is 20% off through today (10/17). There's also a $10 off $50 code, 6654 through 10/25.

PS - (meant to do this last post) Huge thank you to snaphappy who showed me how to modify the html so that links open in a new window - you are awesome! XOXOXO