T-shirt: gifted Jacket: C&C California Skirt: Velvet by Graham and Spencer Boots: Cydwoq Deck
Hope your Memorial Day went well.
Would I have worn this shirt back home? smirks I was feeling sentimental, thinking about my math tutor today. He was a Vietnam veteran, and one of the nicest people I can remember from Norfolk. Always wondered what happened to him.
I tried the Leather Honey out, on the above boots and on Cydwoq Art, and the soles of my Cydwoq Extreme boots. I didn't do the entire Extreme boot because, ah, they were just polished.
Hm. First of all, it does darken the leather some. It showed more on the Art shoes, which went from a sort of greyish brownish green, to a deep rich greenish brown. I can admit I like the new color better. The Deck boots went slightly deeper...they'd already darkened some the first time I started messing around with some Meltonian shoe cream. Can I confess I like playing around with this stuff? If you've got black shoes, it's fine if they look new, but brown shoes are far more elegant aged.
I poked at the shoes after the requisite two hours had passed, wasn't particularly impressed...the real beauty appeared the following day. By then the Leather Honey had softened the leather. Ah...and if you'd applied gobs of it, supposedly your shoes would ooze Leather Honey, but these poor desiccated babies had drunk it right up. Only a slight bit of residue, to buff off with a cloth.
The Deck boots had always been kind of stiff, to the point I disliked walking in them for any appreciable length of time, but now they feel much more flexible. The Art shoes are softer now as well.
Which is great...and it's supposed to be water-resistant, but not water-proof...my remaining question has to do with extending the wear of leather soles. If this stuff can do that, it will have more than paid for itself.
This definitely runs big. Interesting, eh? The last several J.Crew tank-style tops I tried...the Silk Pocket Tank, Eyelet Embroidered Tank, Lace-over Tank, and now this...required sizing down at least one size, possibly even two.
The new "tank top sizes" don't appear to correspond to anything else J.Crew sells—but they do seem consistent.
Oh well. I still haven't seen the other two colors, Mauve Morning and Navy. The white is a beautiful top. The sole complaint I could have—it's nit-picking—would be to have a tiny drawstring instead of the gathers. If you get the bust to fit, the waist is a touch big. But then, who cares; it's a summer top, not meant to be tight-fitting.
I'd like to see the other two colorways, and will likely try to hit another b & m this weekend. I still find it annoying, the idea of not stocking all of the shades. What's up with that? I suppose it's a cost-cutting measure... But the same item can appear very different in a different color. Just saying.
J.Crew Linen Island Cardigan in Sea Salt
I inspected this more closely, and decided against it. It's pretty, but its fine, relatively loose linen knit is too impractical. It's like a big ol' snag magnet.
J.Crew Perfect Shirt in Suckered Mini-Gingham
I tried this on a whim. Ah! The fabric is amazing. Feather-light, but not sheer. Perhaps it's the "suckering." I'm not drawn to gingham though, the way I am to plaid—wish there was a "perfect shirt in suckered plaid." Still it's quite lovely...I tried the blue, as I don't generally wear bright colors ("neon kelly" is indeed quite bright in person). If gingham is your thing, I would highly recommend this incarnation of it.
Maintenance
posted by Colleen Shirazi
on
Thursday, May 26, 2011
at 10:12 PM (Pacific)
It's—cornstarch! I posted ages ago about trying to remove an old oil stain in clothing using this. The cornstarch sucked up some of the stain...after that I tried flour, and that worked better...but only Dawn dishwashing detergent actually obliterated the stain. Yup, plain old Dawn liquid, the kind you use to hand-wash dishes.
Run Free Hosiery Repair
From another old post...I finally got some of this, but haven't tried it yet. Supposedly you can not only use it to stop runs, you can apply it on high-stress areas to prevent holes/runs in the first place.
Leather Honey
Been meaning to try this for a while...apparently it was developed as a conditioner for leather saddles (and was known as "Harness Honey"), but it's supposed to work on any leather product (except suede). I was particularly intrigued by the idea of using it on leather shoe soles; some guy claimed his soles lasted way longer that way.
Top: gifted (Felix the Cat tee shirt) Jacket: C & C California Skirt: Velvet by Graham and Spencer (also worn here) Sandals: Cydwoq
Went 'Crew-diving; was a bit underwhelmed. Oh well. I suppose my wallet can thank me. sighs
J.Crew Chambray Tuxedo Cami in Blissful Blue
This was indeed...blah. Too conservative, perhaps that's what I mean. It just seemed boxy, and the straps appeared a tad too long. The trick with making a chambray tank top would be to render it feminine and cute; otherwise it's, ah, your mama's chambray tank top?
J.Crew Sandstone Linen Swoon Skirt in Natural
This seriously reminded me of a basmati rice bag—a tad thick and slightly stiff, with an obvious weave. Scarlett O'Hara could have fashioned this, had she had a bag of rice on hand rather than curtains. The deep bright blue version fared better (less sack-y because of the color), but I was not overly tempted.
J.Crew Indie Dress in white
Saw this in both the black and white colorways. It was too young for me, but I do think it would look nice on someone in their teens or twenties. The detail was lovely.
J.Crew Alyssa Top in Mauve Morning
I spotted the white version; is mauve of those "online-only" shades?
J.Crew Linen Island Cardigan in Indigo
Now this...mmmmm...the navy blue rather appealed. The other colors were actually quite good—I seldom "want one in every color," but here I can kind of see it. The navy was special from the contrast of delicate sheer linen and deep tone, and navy blue always goes with gold buttons anyway. Could it work, for work? Would it snag?
Hm. I checked out the white version first...but can you really own too many cute pink tops? I didn't think so. Wonder if it's too young for me, with the gathered middle? Do I care?
Honorable mention:
J.Crew Jacinta Cami in white
Not even sure I like this (though the eyelet paisleys look kinda fly), but feel it deserves mention, since a.) straps are sufficiently wide to conceal bra straps and b.) "White is fully lined."
J.Crew Chambray Tuxedo Cami in Blissful Blue
At first blush, seems a bit ordinary, despite the florid copy: "We're absolutely smitten by the indigo hues of authentic chambray." But I like the tuxedo detailing, wide straps (spaghetti straps are nice but difficult to wear), mellow blue...it even looks work-friendly, with a light wrap of some sort.
J.Crew Indie Dress in white
This could go either way...you'd have to see it in person. J.Crew dresses are unpredictable; off the top of my head, I don't think I've ever bought one without having tried it on. The back is nice:
J.Crew Sandstone Linen Swoon Skirt in Natural
This doesn't look like much, but then I've gotten a lot of mileage out of my colorless linen J.Jill skirt. When it's hot—if it ever gets hot this year—natural linen totally works.
Has anyone seen the cardigan version of this shade? Is it a screamin' neon yellow? I fancy a yellow top, but the exact yellow is key (so easy to go wrong).
Idly craving:
A dress with triangles on it
Mmmmm...along with the navy blue, there's a turquoise version, and a grey, and a black.
Oddly, only the turquoise is tie-less. I could've done with a removable tie (gripe, gripe) but it's not a deal-breaker. The black is least appealing—how often do you want to wear a black dress? The grey would be pretty, but probably best for someone into colorful scarves.
Does Macy tell Gimbel?*
posted by Colleen Shirazi
on
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
at 8:18 PM (Pacific)
Top: C & C California (also worn here) Cardigan: Sundance Catalog (worn many times; it's pretty handy) Skirt: Stewart + Brown Pendant: gifted Grey fishnets Shoes: Cole Haan
Closer pic:
Sometime I will have to take some actual jewelry photographs; the pendant's a nice piece.
It was originally an earring, so I made a bail for it from a piece of heavy sterling silver wire. The bail looked kinda bare that way, so I took some very fine-gauge silver wire and wrapped it around and around the bail to cover it. The "earring" itself looks a bit antique; it's missing a few stones. I could probably find something to fill in the empty spaces, but then it would lose its uniqueness.
* Sorry for all the silly question-mark titles. I caught this line from an original episode of The Addams Family tv show and couldn't resist, though I suppose many readers were born after Gimbels closed down.
Dress: Eddie Bauer Pendant: gifted (single black pearl) Cardigan: J.Crew Jackie in "Pearl" Sandals: Cydwoq
I see Eddie Bauer has gotten back into selling dresses (surreptitiously eyeballs the Eddie Bauer site). Sweet! The trick is to not buy rayon dresses from them. I tried some, and the dresses were pretty, but they wrinkled way too readily. This model is cotton lawn; you can actually toss it in the dryer on low heat, remove it and hang.
Bueller...?
posted by Colleen Shirazi
on
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
at 12:40 PM (Pacific)
Top: J.Crew Jackie Shell in Pearl Cardigan: J.Crew Jackie in Dried Orchid Pendant: gifted (single black pearl) Earrings: made by me (tiny pearls on gold chains) Skirt: gifted Shoes: Cole Haan
As you can see, it's my day off. :) Actually I had a bunch of stuff to do...but thought I'd take a moment to experiment (super old camera + glare + self-timer + no tripod).
Me, drink the Crewlade?
posted by Colleen Shirazi
on
Monday, May 2, 2011
at 9:37 PM (Pacific)
Hermmmmm...yeah.
J.Crew Stripe Button-Back Tee in English Saddle Ivory
Placed serendipitously on the sale rack, in my size and in the coppery shade I'd eyed (universally flattering to blonde, brunette and redhead alike—the stripes are slightly darker/browner in real life than on my computer monitor).
J.Crew Maritime-stripe Hoodie
Got this too, in my size, though it wasn't for me. Drat! this style is a tad too young. I was surprised it fit, actually; those side zippers look kinda scary, but it's cut fairly generously at that point.
J.Crew Raglan Babydoll Tee in Smoldering Brick
Now I'd seen this full-price, hadn't thought to try it on, but hey, there it was, I was already trying on other items, yadda yadda... Turned out to be next to weightless on, and the bricky color was more practical than the off-white, which I found sufficiently sheer to require "something under it" (counter-productive in a warm-weather top, particularly one with sleeves).
