Word of the Day

squirrelly (skwûr'ə-lē, skwŭr'-) adj. Slang
1. Eccentric.
2. Cunningly unforthcoming or reticent. 
(Source: 2006 American Heritage Dictionary)

It wasn't the first time I'd heard this word, but I was recently reminded of how awesome it is by a patient I was helping to admit a few weeks ago. He said that he had a drug allergy to morphine. When asked what, exactly, happens when he takes morphine, he replied, "It makes me get real squirrely." This made me smile. And vow to use the word "squirrelly" more often in my everyday conversations.

New Arrivals at J. Crew: Hits and Misses

Okay, so this is like my millionth post in a row about J. Crew, but whatevs. It's keeping me blogging, so that's good, right?

Anyhow, J. Crew has updated their website with some new arrivals for the holidays. There are a few things that I'm excited about, some things I wish I was excited about, and some things I'm not too excited about.

Let's bring on the cute, shall we?:

Metallic Houndstooth Marie Jacket, $425.

If only I had a man to take me to some fine establishments so I could get some use out of something like this! Or if only I lived in a place where people walked further than the distance from car to building and back so I could show this baby off. I love how effortlessly sophisticated the model looks in this picture. This is a jacket that could definitely be dressed up or down. Want it. But still have zero use for it.

Liquid Gold Sequin Skirt, $250.
Once again, another item I have no use for but absolutely love. If only I had some fancy holiday party to go to! And for a full skirt that is entirely covered in sequins, I'd say the price is just about right. With the insane prices J. Crew has been charging for their Collection items, I'm surprised they didn't price this item higher.

Merino Sequin Chiffon Shell, $148.


More sequins, but this is a piece I could actually fit into my generally non-dressy lifestyle. It would look cute with with some dark jeans and heels for a night out. I would have to try this on in person, however, because the shape on the model looks a tad suspect.

Morgan Cozy Cardigan, $198.

If I had to sum up my winter style in one item of clothing, this would probably be it. I live for this kind of stuff. Plus, it is made from baby alpaca wool, which is insanely soft (but does have a tendency to shed).

And now for the pieces I'm not so pumped about:

Sanibel Crawford Blouse, $160

Don't get me wrong, I adore the print, but as you can see in a previous post, I am not a fan of the shape of the Crawford, at least not on me. I would love to see this pretty print on something different! And an extra $72 for the print on this blouse (as compared to the solid colored version) is a bit extreme.

Cashmere Chunky Cable Sweater, $450.

Wow, this even makes the model look puffy. That's saying something.

There's nothing else that really catches my eye and makes me say, "yuck," but I will say that I am disappointed in the lack of new dresses that J. Crew has rolled out with this time. I'm not sure exactly what I've been looking for, but I do know that J. Crew does not have it. There are a few okay dressy dresses, but nothing that wows me. And there aren't enough casual cute dresses either. I wish J. Crew made some more cozy sweater dresses, or some shirt dresses like they did last winter.

And of course, there are many more things in this latest roll-out that have caught my fancy, but it would probably take me the rest of the night to blog about them!

Has J. Crew been reading my blog???

Haha, doubtful!! However, I did find this cute little notebook amongst the new holiday arrivals on their website:



Coincidence?

Disappointment.

Don't you just hate it when you are really looking forward to receiving a piece of clothing that you ordered online and then it does not live up to your expectations?

Meet Crawford. A huge disappointment. And she looked so cute on the model!



What isn't readily apparent from the picture online is that the cinching in at the waist is accomplished by a self-sash that ties in the back (or the side or wherever you would like). Being that it is made of silk chiffon, it doesn't stay put, and makes the shirt look sloppy. The cinching effect would have better been accomplished by some elasticized stitching at the waist. Or by a false sewn-on, non-tying sash, and the shirt could have a side-seam zipper.

Another aspect that contributes to the sloppiness of the blouse is the fact that it is button-down all the way to the bottom (which you also cannot tell from the picture). Which means that the two halves of the shirt just kind of hang open at the bottom. Which wouldn't be a problem is the shirt was made of a material that wasn't floppy like chiffon. If the buttons only went about halfway three-quarters of the way down the shirt (like their "popover" blouses), the look at the hem of the shirt would have been much neater.

And while I'm busy picking apart this poor shirt, another thing that bothered me were the cuffs. I have pretty slender wrists and forearms, and I could barely fasten the hook-and-eye closures at the the cuffs. I felt like I had sausage arms!

So there you have it. If you can find a way to make this work, then more power to you. I am jealous!

Fug.Ly.

Are you kidding us, J. Crew??? Do you think your legions of admirers are actually dumb enough to shell out $500 for THIS????????!!!!!!!!!!!!:




The description is laughable:

Extra-luxe, ultraplied-up Italian cashmere in a 3 gauge knit—transformed with dramatic feather trim to create the ultimate statement piece. We only have a few (and know they're going to fly).

Ha. Ha. This looks like something that an overweight, frumpy, middle-aged woman from Oklahoma school teacher would wear to church or a holiday open house. (Hey, I'm from Oklahoma, so I can say that!!). It would be her "spunky" wardrobe piece that she would wear when she wanted to be the envy of all of her friends.

Seriously, though. It looks like something SteinMart would have carried in the late 1990s. What were you thinking, J. Crew? Even without the detachable feather collar, the color, the shape, the knit of this cardigan is just wrong and extremely dated. Look forward to seeing this gem in the "Final Sale" section very soon.

Item of the Week: The Wide Patent Leather Belt

Ugh, so sorry for being a lazy blogger! I've been a very lazy, tired person in general, lately, what with the new job and all of the partying a newly single person does on the weekends!

Anyhow, I thought I would take this time to praise a very simple item that has really added a lot to my wardrobe as of yet. It is the wide patent-leather belt from J. Crew in Dusty Rose, $55:



Normally, I hate spending money on belts. Or accessories in general. I would rather spend the money on a shirt or something. I'm slowly but surely starting to see the light, however. This recent purchase has already done a few useful things for me. On a sort of casual night out on Friday, I used it to cinch in the waist of a simple, flowy black tank top from Old Navy. Not to brag, but I got several compliments on this outfit. I love how the right accessories can add a bit of interest to otherwise cheap and boring items.

I also wore the belt on Saturday to a wedding with my Watercolor Floral Madison Dress from J. Crew. The almost neutral color of the belt worked well with the deep blues and aquas of the dress. I pulled together the look with some patent-leather platform pumps in nearly the same color as the belt.

One of my favorite things about this belt is its lack of holes/grommets. This means you can always adjust it to fit you perfectly. I always seem to have issues with belts that are made to go around your waist; they are usually either too big or too small. Problem solved with this belt. I am so pleased that I am going to pick one up in black as well. I think it would look great to tailor the look of a bulky grey cardigan. Besides, I'm such a sucker for black patent leather!

A Case of the Mondays

I was planning on a fun, superficial, shopping-related post (finally), but this whole day just turned out awful. The fall allergy season has not been kind to me, causing sleepless nights spent hacking up boatloads of post-nasal drainage. And I got rear-ended on the way to work this morning. By a deaf woman with whom I could not communicate. It was rainy and dark, which made the situation even worse, so I ended up only getting her license plate number. I think this is just going to end up going on my uninsured motorist coverage. Why is it that the only people who run into and/or damage my car(s) happen to be uninsured or unwilling or unable to fork over information? Grrr. My poor, poor car. I think I have lost count of how many times stuff has happened to it. And it is only 4 years and 33,000 miles old. Sadness. I am so cursed when it comes to cars. I'm starting to think it is because I never name them...