I was actually glad to get to the dentist!

Wednesday was a crowded day, but somehow I was early for an appointment on 51st Street. I hate sitting in lobbies or reception areas for more than two or three minutes, so I was not unhappy to realize that I was only steps away from the corner of Anthropologie and J.Crew. With 12 minutes open, I opted for a fast lope through J.Crew, where to my STUNNED SURPRISE, I saw: striped shirts, plaid shirts, flowered shirts, checked shirts, spotted shirts.. All were cut on one of two bodies, the Perfect and the Boy. The originality of this concept was staggering. And Capri pants, solid and patterned. Enough with the ankle fetish.

the Max Mara version of the
Fatigue Jacket
Saw some cute striped cardis in a lightweight cotton-nylon blend which made my fingers itch while I was looking for the content labels.

Saw two floppy, unpressed "fatigue" jackets which would have been wonderful had I been planning to be a camp counselor this summer. I finally figured out while I was typing who could get a lot of use out of them: Honey! (of Doonesbury?) This is Max Mara's version of a fatigue coat, lighter crisper treated fabric, much nicer on. Given what JC is charging for their versions, the price of the Max Mara version didn't shock me. I bet we'll be seeing many more versions this Spring, too, these things hunt in packs.


While at JC, I tracked down this shirt that I'd thought I might like, it had vanished from the website but it might easily reappear. It is silk.

Those pale pink-or-lavender pockets have a lot of droop to them, which gives an unfortunate look. Update: Kind of the opposite of  Anne Hathaway's Oscar dress. The collar doesn't quite meet when buttoned. Also, on all 14 (I counted) of the shirts I examined, in the finishing process the front placket had been pressed down so hard that little round ridges in the fabric showed where each button had been. This was too bad, because the buttons are on the inside of the placket and are not supposed to show. I'm dubious about steaming those marks out. Left the shirt there.

I also had wanted to look at the microcheck cashmere twinsets. They had the shell in all 3 colorways, but none of the cardis. The biggest disappointment was the navy/red combo, in my photo it looks navy/pink, and in real life it looked more like black/salmon. I am tired of salmon. I'd like to say something profound and witty about swimming upstream, but I'm drawing a blank, consider it said. The bright pink/purple combo also missed, in my opinion, because the two colors are so close that from more than a foot away the pattern vanishes. And I saw a navy/pale blue combo, which was nice, but as I said I had wanted to see the twinsets, not just the shells..

The store also had a kind of retro, kind of Mondrian cashmere pullover which flickered briefly on the website and disappeared. I thought it  missed also, again, the colors weren't sufficiently distinguishable from one another from a short distance.

 I loved the windowpane cardigans, but would have to do some serious pre-purchase outfit planning for these, since I didn't think the shells were a great color match. Of course this was before Mrs. O. was seen in a windowpane cardi with shell. I probably no longer have time to wait and think before they vanish.



I also liked a quilted cotton cropped jacket, which I envisioned with jeans and possibly also with a Favorite Tank over a long cotton skirt.






Finally, I liked a blue-and-white striped silk blouse - I know, I said I'm bored with stripes, but I could easily see this one with white jeans this coming summer, which means there's plenty of time to wait out the price.


I thought that for the right person, this sweater with sewn-on necklace would be a dream come true. To me, it screamed "Hand wash!" I also worried about getting water in the interstices of the necklace.




like everyone else, I loved the Hummingbird accessories, and so I have tabled a decision on their practicality - spills? fingerprints? - until markdown/popback time.


Speaking of birds, am I the only one who's been wondering why, with all the birds and critters around,  the flamingo hasn't surfaced for Spring or Summer? Well, it has. There's a flamingo-print silk blouse on Macy's third floor, not far from the elevator! Did you know that Macy's give a 10% welcome discount to people with non-US passports?

I breathed a sigh of relief and headed for the dentist.

41 comments:

  1. I liked the quilted jacket int the catalog- haven't seen it up close. Agree about the preponderance or ubiquitousness of Perfect/Boy shirts and capris/Minnies. That flamingo shirt is really fresh. I would worry that the sewn on necklace would catch on everything. I hope your teeth are all better.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, KnitYarns, it was just a check-up. I just don't get the sweater with the sewn-on bling, I envision an overly medicated design meeting.

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  2. i really liked the gem necklace sweater..until i saw the sleeve length. oi.

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  3. I just got whiplash from the time travel back to my high school years with that pastel Mondrian-ish thing.

    Does it comes with complimentary stirrup pants and a home perm kit?

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    Replies
    1. Ni, it arrives unaccessorizes. I thought different colors, or even blocks of different intarsia patterns, might have helped, although the shape is on the baggy side. Well, it is baggy.

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    2. Lol, Raina Cox! Spot on!

      I love stripes, checks, plaids and even flowers but you are so rights WFF. The fabrication, the prices, the F21ish workmanship - I'm over it. Always love it when you take us to the store with you

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    3. Hi, mommydearest, glad to see you! I'm surrounded by stores, so they're my inclement weather shortcuts as I go from one thing to another.

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  4. I don't have cable TV so have missed out on Mrs O's latest fashion sightings/commentaries. Bummed out, as with you, that she's sported the twinset, so I'm sure I'll never get my price-conscious-shopper hands on them. When will JC correct their colour representations online to be closer to real life?

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    Replies
    1. Hi, CC, it's really annoying to look for something you think you've seen, and then learn that it's right in front of you, but the color of the thing you're looking at is not the color you thought you'd see. If that makes any sense at all.

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  5. Sadly my experiences at J Crew lately have had a lot of quality control issues. That blouse sounds like a total disaster. And Fatigue jackets just tire me out. Bad pun there, sorry.

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    1. Hi, AWS, a kindred spirit standing next to me at the blouse rack remarked "Isn't two droopy sick pink bags exactly what you don't want on your chest?" Well, that summed it up.

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  6. Anything which could make me glad to see a dentist (and mine is a very nice woman) is BAD. Very bad.

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    1. Hi, The Elephant's Child, there's something about a dentist appointment that makes me feel that I deserve a treat. That wasn't it.

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  7. Uh oh - I think my J crew money is safe...

    I have kept so little of my J Crew purchases in the last few months that it is scaring. I am sure i spent a $100 mailing things back - highway robbery! I do not understand why J Crew cannot fix their website so things look like they look in real life!

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    1. H, Wendy, I had visions of you & entourage arriving in town with suitcases full of JC returns and leaving with goodies.

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  8. The potential pain of a visit to the dentist, is nothing compared to the pain of having your hopes dashed by J Crew. And the dentist is probably cheaper.

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    1. Hi, Sulky, well, this was just a check-up, but I still felt virtuous to have arrived on time.

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  9. I would have missed my appointment for sure!
    I actually like the microcheck twin set in that colorway (tried the cardi, not the shell) but I will only buy on supersale.
    I also don't get the jeweled sweater at all. Rugby stripes and rhinestones is overdoing it IMO. And yes, merino + short sleeves = no use for it.

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    1. Hi, Ema, I loved the microchhecks on the website, I just hadn't expected the disconnect in real-life colors. I'm pretty sure that at least one of the cardis will be mine before long.

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  10. My J.Crew drought continues although I did purchase another suiting dress recently but that is all. Their fashion offerings lately have me saying Gees: garish, gaudy, g0dawful and g0d no. I think a lot of people will look back on this period and be embarassed about what they wore. I'm embarassed for some of them myself. Not that I don't make mistakes but on the whole I think fashion is currently in the dumper.

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    1. It's mainly the neon colors that irk. It's impossible to make those colors work with my "good" clothes. I remember complaining about too much beige and ochre relatively recently, but I'd have loved those tones had I known that the replacements would be bubble-gum pink, safety orange and glaring chartreuse.

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  11. I don't really do button down shirts, because they are restrictive and they have to be ironed! I have one or two liberty print ones, which get worn, washed, and then sit in purgatory waiting to be ironed for months. Also tired of the capris. Meh. How about some fabulous full length pants? We aren't asking for the moon here.

    The white/blue striped shirt looks very pretty!

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    Replies
    1. Hi, JCrewJD, I've been pining for a nice pair of tailored pants, the Stovepipe would do, in black or dark grey silk twill or linen, lined, please.

      When the weather improves, I plan to try on that striped blouse. Right now, dealing with winter and rain gear in a fitting room holds no appeal.

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  12. Thanks for the reviews. Nothing appealed to me this go around with J Crew, I had a quick look at my B&M and was not impressed enough to buy at FP.

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    1. Hi, JRSConifer, I'm still thinking about the little cashmeres, but I'm not in a rush.

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  13. Hi Fred-I love to virtual shop with you at the Crew! No kidding about the neon overload-simply bilious! I'm still waiting for them to name colors what they really look like-Romano cheese mold, industrial toilet cake pink and toothpaste teal. I agree, a nice pair of tailored pants in a {lined!} silk twill would be loverly.

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    1. Hi, David, you forgot Safety Vest Orange. I tried on that quilted vest that generated so much excitement and Himself got all charged up because he hoped I was going to take up deer hunting (they're a plague out at Flintstone Manor, and bold and nervy with it). I returned the vest. I'm looking now at some of the minty stuff, it's a color Mom would have called Chlorophyll Toothpaste.

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  14. Fred, tell Himself he needs to rethink this "The Wife Is A Lonely Hunter" fantasy. Here in the Bluegrass, in order to get "in character" for the pursuit of Bambi, the successful deerstalker is wont to anoint himself with doe tinkle(but maybe wearing a skunk print blouse would suffice?) and normally that's not the first vaporisateur I reach for when I want to spend some sweet quiet time with DH at the lake house.

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    Replies
    1. Our deer are almost tame, they come right up to the windows and peer in. Sometimes if you go outside to holler at them to stop eating plants and shrubbery. they look up for a minute and then get on with their snack. Others are just wild enough to run away in a hurry, lurk, and come back when you've gone back inside. I could probably hit one that was standing still, if it didn't fall over laughing first.

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  15. Yes as I can attest no one likes to have the droopy boobs. I do like that pastely stripey sweater though, a less pricey riff on that Stella Mc Cartney one. Yes as I have three passports I am always tempted to go in (all the stores offer the discount, think Saks offers even more - is it 50%???) but I would feel guilty when they ask about my vacation.

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    1. Wow, your retail principles are higher than mine, I'd have real trouble resisting temptation. To me shopping has become the 21st century blood sport. I guess if I were a cavewoman I'd be out gathering and sniffing at berries every daylight hour.

      I saw the green version of the blouse in the Collection store today, and the body of the blouse is such a thin silk it's transparent. Looks amazing with the saggy pockets, amazing that anyone would wear it, that is.

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  16. Oooo, thanks for all the real life pics. That Quilted Jacket is intriguing.

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    1. Hi, maryeb, I really liked the look and feel - tag said 100% cotton. Didn't try it on because I'd have had to deal with coat, scarf, hat, sweater....

      Delete
  17. Thanks for the insight on the pink and purple check shell/cardi. I was wondering if the colors were too close to be really noticeable. You saved me a return and since I have to return by mail by bank account also thanks you! I agree on the cashmere check sweater worn by Mrs. O....it will likely fly off the racks now, unfortunately. Thanks again.

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  18. I am so relieved when I am tired of what's new or have reason to dismiss a fresh take on what's old. Thanks for your post, my bank account will be better for it.

    ReplyDelete
  19. hi, tiffany rose, tired is the word.

    ReplyDelete
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  21. Best title ever Fred! You can't count on anything on the website: the colours or the fabrics, between the lighting or whatever is causing the problem and the CFS it's just disaster all around.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hi, Dani, thanks! I'm not sure where the problem lies, probably a combination of factors with no central responsibility and no final approval anywhere.

    ReplyDelete

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