My back is slowly on the mend, but it has seriously hampered my blog time, boo. Anyway, I've had a box come in with a several items that were on my wishlist, and thought I'd share. (Plus one eBay find.) Also, just a note that apparently J.Crew has changed the end date of their current 25% off promo (code GOSHOP) and it ends today. I wonder what will be next? The new holiday catalog is at stores, and they have posted sneak peeks on Pinterest (here). What do you think? I love the location shots. I'm not seeing anything I need, but who knows. On to the reviews!
Collection Double-Faced Cashmere Tee -- If you're buying this straight from J.Crew today, it's going to be a crazy extravagant purchase, even if you got it for half off. I was able to snag it via ebay for a fraction of the price. (I'm not sure why it was priced so low, but I'm guessing it was a warehouse purchase? Dumb luck on my part.) Anyway, just in case it comes down in price and you can get an additional discount, and you can use rewards/giftcards on it...I'll give you a review. First, the double-faced cashmere is sooo wonderful. It's thick but not in the manner of a thick sweater -- more like a thick cashmere suitcoat (does that make sense?). It's beyond soft and warm, and truly fits the Collection label. I knew what it would feel like because I scored a sample jacket in the same fabric from Ebay last year. The gray is a perfect heathery gray, no strange undertones to it. It fits TTS, and is a boxy fit. Snugger in the shoulder/underarm area, but not bad at all. I think it can be dressed up or down, and would be work appropriate. I paired it here how I personally would use it on a daytime basis, with a striped tissue turtleneck and some jeans.
Here's a close-up of the fabric:
The New Balance 620 Sneakers in dusty beechwood are great. Love the colors, love the fit. I went with my normal-outside-of-J.Crew size 8.5, which is what I normally wear in New Balance, and it's still the right fit. They make my feet look narrow and small, always nice. (If you have wide feet, they might not fit great I'm thinking. Not sure.) The colors are just as depicted online. I also like the other Pebble colorway, which is selling out fast. Keepers!
Fair Isle Leggings -- I missed out on these last year, and I sort of kicked myself for it. They would not be used for out-and-about, just for winter loungewear. Hmm, a little pricey, even with discount, for loungewear. I went bright with the orange/red one in a size small. The fit is on the bigger size and I could have sized down, but figured that it's loungewear, and don't need anything too restrictive. (Especially around the holidays.) I love how they feel, and they're cute and cozy. Buuuut, dang, I saw myself in the mirror and couldn't get them off fast enough. They really just made me look bigger than I am. Nope, packaged up to be returned. I will only share this much of one picture with you:
Linen Rose Tee -- I have the peony tee, which is really pretty close to this one, so I definitely didn't want to pay full price for it. But sale plus extra discount makes it a bit more palatable. There are a lot of colors in here to work with, which makes it pretty versatile. That said, no clue why it was introduced in fall. I think it's cute, but it's just too close to the peony tee to justify, so back it goes.
Boys' Puffer Jacket -- My son thought it would be fun to model for me, and I thought maybe moms out there might appreciate some Crewcuts reviews. Let me know, and I'd be happy to do more. (I'd prefer not to put his face out there, however, so sorry about missing out on his cute little face. :)
When the munchkin was a little tot, we went for the Land's End 3-in-1 system jackets (they seem to have a sleeve issue these days). Then he saw more fun Boden Snowboard Jacket, and requested it. We were hooked on those jackets, and still are. They are awesome. This year, we again went for a stripey Boden Snowboard Jacket (use DDUS for 20% off!), and it's wonderful, yet sometimes he doesn't feel like the bulkiness or "not-softness" of it, especially just going to a store or whatever. Fine, so I thought I'd give the Puffer Jacket from Crewcuts a try in a sharp emerald green color. On sale and with extra discount, the price is still a bit high, but more reasonable, about the same as the Boden coat. He always likes my "soft, poofy" down coat, so he liked the idea of his own.
I ordered his current size 6-7 (he'll be 6 in a couple months and is on the upper end of the height spectrum), and it's a perfect fit. There aren't a lot of bells and whistles, but I appreciate the elastic on the hood and the fleece-lined pockets. Inside is navy, and it says Crewcuts, and weirdly it says Made In China rather large. It's machine-washable of course. As a main winter coat, it wouldn't work, because it's not waterproof. And if I'm comparing it against the Boden coat, it loses because Boden's has way more to it (waterproof, detachable hood, zipcords, extra pockets). That said, it's still a nice coat for anything other than snow-play. (BTW, in the pics below, you can see the stripey Boden coat.)
What do you think of these pieces?
BTW, Bloomingdale's is having their 20% Friends and Family sale right now, using code BFAM or SLICKDEALS20, with free shipping through 12/21. (Remember that Nordstrom will usually price match!) I might hint to my husband that I'd like the navy Hunter boots...
Have a great day!