J Crew TALL Minnies and the Long Beach Cardi

My lovely little UPS package arrived yesterday afternoon and I could not wait to tear into it. It has been a while since I've been *this* excited for a package. And what was in my package???

Well, for starters, as I mentioned in my Wednesday post, my beloved Minnie pants are now available in Tall. ($24646, $89.50) And that means a 29" inseam instead of the usual 26". The Talls are offered in sizes 0 to 14. And the regular and petites start at size 00. (GingerSnap and Rosa in DC - think the petites in 00 might work finally?)

Yes, I know the Minnies are supposed to be cropped, but they were a little too cropped for bare 45-degree weather wear. They were great at 50 degrees with ballet flats and they were awesome in boots. But sometimes, even when it's in the 40's, I get tired of wearing boots all the time and want a change.

These are fantastic - still definitely an intentional crop but with a bit less skin showing. And I can always wash and dry them once to get the length to shrink up a bit if I think they need it. Honestly, I ran into a situation with my current Minnies and needed to machine wash them several times to get Lake-smell out of them and they definitely appear a wee bit shorter (but that probably was due to the dryer).

In any case, now I have 2 pairs of black Minnies and I'm positively thrilled.

But don't even get me started on the next item or I just won't shut up. I have been lusting after this cardigan ever since it came out in January. And imagine my disappointment to see the dreaded phrase "jcrew.com/catalog only". So annoying...


I present the J Crew Long Beach Cardigan (#20796, $138). I ordered the navy in M. Right now, it looks like all sizes of the light pewter and XS & XL in navy are backordered until 5/17. (But we all know that JC usually ships early, right?) I got the navy, and as it shows on the website, it's not a solid color - there are some gorgeous color striations in it. Just lovely.

On to fit...um...perfect. It was so comfy that I didn't want to take it off and put on my day's outfit. The sweater is a nice and chunky linen & cotton blend. Just thick enough, but not bulky. I was impressed with the streamlined fit of the cardi. The collar is a great detail - a generous width. Haven't tried buttoning up the collar yet to see if it works, will have to try that.

From the pictures, it certainly seems sheer, but IRL, it doesn't really seem that way. Interesting. I guess it's like when starlets get photographed on the red carpet with all kinds of things showing - the flashbulb makes a lot of things show up.

How am I going to wear this? To begin with, I doubt I'll be pairing it with the black Minnies. Forgive the styling here...they were in the same box. I had the camera out. Trying to keep it easy (on me) here...

In reality - I will wear the cardi with jeans - lots of jeans - boyfriend jeans, skinny jeans, white jeans. All of them. Probably my khaki cafe capris. Maybe a shorter pair of khaki shorts for fun. Top-wise, this could be the main event with a tank/cami, or layered over a tee or pretty much any other shirt.

For a cooler-weather spring look, a tissue turtle would totally work with the cardi. And it would be great over the right dress. Not sure I have that dress. If only JC had made the Playa in tan linen like I wanted them to, that would have been perfect. In any case, I'm quite sure I'll be sporting it often this spring and summer.

And I'm sitting here trying to figure out when "not too early for linen/cotton" is. Of course, we are getting our storm of the century with 20"-30" of snow right now, so what on earth am I thinking?

As you can see by the pictures at left, I tried it open, closed, and with the top 2 buttons only done. And they all worked. You belters out there will have fun belting this with a myriad of underlayers.

I'm sure you're wondering about the price, huh? For me, is this full price worthy? In a word...absolutely. Here's the thing...for me, it replaces not 1, but 2 sweaters.

The first is a navy linen/cotton longer hooded henley sweater from Banana Republic that is about 4 years old and most definitely shopworn. Bye bye to that one.

The second is the library shawl cardi which, much as I love it, is showing its age because I've had to get 2 small holes repaired (1 totally my fault, the other only partly my fault and really Lucy's, but seriously, who wears a good sweater around a small puppy???) and even more so because of my weight loss. When I got the cardi in an L last year, 15 pounds ago, it totally worked. Now, it's just kinda too big for me. (won't be getting rid of the LSC, though, as it will be perfect for wearing around the house with yoga pants).

Could it be my perfect sweater? Hmmmm, I don't know that anything can truly replace the Jackie, but this is pretty darn close. It definitely makes it into my sweater hall of fame.

J Crew Spring Arrivals - Dresses & the Rest

First of all, I will note that I did not get any of these dresses I have posted. Good to clear that up to begin with.

Dress #1 - Retail Only and I didn't get it, so I'll make this up - the Flutter Front Dress (#21811, $69.50) in black, also available in SGR (soft green? sage green? souper green?)

This was another piece that was available in the first spring release, but I just hadn't posted it yet.

I took an M. It fit fine. This seems repetitive (well not to you, but I'm writing this post in reverse order) - I liked it, but I didn't FP love it. A cute dress. Very versatile for the summer.

The other reason I didn't get it? The color. I have enough black knit dresses right now. And the soft green color was very pretty, just not for me.

But if you are needing some more knit summer dresses to add to your summer wardrobe, definitely give this one a try.

Dress #2 - Gabriella Dress (#24330, $69.50), which I tried on in an M. And Pamela tried it on here. I was cracking up as I read her comments because I was like - exactly! It's exactly what I was thinking. I tried this dress on because of how much I loved my dressy jersey strapless dresses last summer. And, as Pamela said, definitely for $19.99 or $29.99. Not worth FP for me.

First of all, it's strapless, with no add-on strap. I don't think I ever wore my dressy jersey strapless dresses without the strap last summer. Second, one of the reasons I wore the djsd so often is that I could wear it without a bra due to the double layer of fabric plus ruching over the bust. This dress...like the Sanur convertible dress, only has the double layer of fabric, so I'm not sure I'd feel so secure wearing it without a bra. But it would be a fab bathing suit coverup (which is actually what I plan to do with my djsd's when they start to fade out of everyday wear...but that's how I repurpose all my little knit summer dresses.)

Dress #3 - Rumpled Meron Dress (#22748, $132) in Black Fog. Loved the color of this. Just gorgeous. i have on a size 10 here - I find that in the shift dresses, I really need a 10 at J Crew to accommodate my hips.

I liked the dress...but I didn't love it. Or at least I didn't FP love it.

The fabric is what really makes this dress - such a gorgeous color. The fabric has such a rich color and sheen IRL.

Pear warning - this dress has a loose fit (which you can see on me as well as the online pic where it's belted). The online copy even reads: "Shift silhouette. Loose fit." Those of you who like something very fitted at the waist will probably want to steer clear.

Dress #4 - Ruffled Carly Dress (#21494, $98). Not sure why I'm even bothering with a pic of this one - it's SO much better on dinagideon here and A Bigger Closet here...and then again on A Bigger Closet where she re-fashioned it as a tunic. Most impressive.

Bottom line...too short on me. I took an 8, I think. I love the ruffles. I love the weight of the fabric. There just isn't enough fabric covering my thighs. Plus, let's be honest, it may be machine washable, but am I really doing to want to iron this sucker? You know how much I hate to iron. So it's really all for the best.

I would love to see something similar in a slightly longer length however...hint, hint J Crew.

Fitting room tip - if you are concerned about whether or not a skirt or dress is too short, just sit down in it. If you are not comfortable, it's too short.

Now this...this is the dress I want to see. Alas, like many of my other spring release faves, it's catalog/online only. Has anyone tried this one yet? I like the sheer lilac color, but I really LOVE the pewter.

Jersey Promenade Gown (#23480, $118). I've been trying to find a maxi dress that really works on me. You would think that being tall would make it easy, but it seems to make it worse. It's just so much fabric. I think this dress could potentially work because (1) it has a more defined (and longer) waist than many maxi dresses, and (2) it looks comfy but not overly flowy.

The only thing that concerns me is the bodice - I worry that I wouldn't really fill it. And what kind of bra do you wear with this? But oh the possibilities this dress has...{le sigh}

And here's the Minnie update. Apparently Minnie is quite the success. The beloved Minnie pant is now available in denim (#23559, $98, yes, almost $10 more than the regular Minnie). No IRL pic from me because honestly, the denim Minnies were just not good at all on me...to the point where I couldn't wait to take them off as soon as I put them on. They just did not work. And my fave SA and personal shopper, Jill, told me they were the same on her. (I love the honesty - she never steers me wrong.)

The Minnie is also now available in wool, as a Collection piece (#17347, $168). Shoot, I'd consider going there. But maybe not at FP unless I really really really thought I'd wear them that much.

But the best (to me) Minnie news is that the Minnie is now available in Tall (#24646) and Petite (#24645), both $89.50 - same price as regular Minnies. I have a pair of Tall Minnies on the way that should arrive later this week (with the long beach cardi), and I'll post as soon as I can. Here's the thing...I love my Minnies, but with a 26" inseam, I have to wear boots unless it's a good 50 degrees outside. So I had gotten out of the habit of wearing them a bit in early winter. But I think the extra 3" of length will make them even more versatile. Maybe even office worthy?

And again, if you've posted on the above, please let me know and I'd love to update with your link. Thanks!

Old Navy Sweater Coat Sadness and Today's Outfit (yes, they're related)

Well, this was a big screw up. The Old Navy Sweater Coat (that I mentioned earlier this week). Yep, my F&F package arrived. Camis good. Sweater bad. Should have paid more attention because it is offered in a TALL, hello????? And it's the same shipping no matter how many items you order? And it actually says "hits at the waist"? Yeah, I messed up.

The medium (here on left) looks like it belongs to my 6-year-old daughter in terms of length, and the large (here on right) is really too big. I took pics and was trying to convince myself that I could maybe go ahead and keep the large, after putting it to a vote here, but as I look at it, it really is a bit too big. I think the Tall Medium would be perfect. Unfortunately, no more F&F, and I don't want to pay the shipping just for the 1 sweater. It's $24, shipping & tax puts it over $30, when I paid $20 for the other two. And I am planning to return in store, so they won't have the tall for me to exchange. Dang.

And I really made the definite decision to return after I saw the pics from today's outfit - my BR sweater jacket from last year (plus trusty Chicos jeans and Payless flats - are you tired of seeing them yet?). I love this sweater jacket, it always evokes a Chanel-esque feel in me, and I always feel great in it. But it's a little on the bigger side also, like the ON one. So I don't want 2 sweater jackets that are on the large side. Although the BR one doesn't usually look this wide, maybe it's the way I'm standing (whereas I think the ON one actually looks wider IRL). Anyway... What do I do? Should I go ahead and pay 50% more the M Tall sweater coat that seems like it would probably be perfect? Should I wait until after the DC JCA outing this weekend, because I've had my eye on the cricket cardigan and they may be too similar? What do you think?

Side note about today's outfit: This was my first piece of J Crew jewelry - the dog charm bracelet from Fall 2007. Love it!! Lucy thinks it's the most marvelous toy, so I am taking it off when we play. Luckily, it is sturdy.