Thursday, November 17, 2016

JCA "Help Style Me!" Weekly Post

This is the weekly "Help Style Me!" post, where we can share items we are having trouble putting outfits together with. Elaine (in this post) says it best, "You know, that thing you bought because you love it and you keep pulling it out and then putting it away without wearing it?"

Please share your J.Crew item (either that you own or are thinking about getting) that you would love help creating an outfit with.

Also, please help out by offering your styling advice. Feel free to include links to your blog (where you incorporated that piece) or to Polyvore (where you showcased an outfit with that piece). Thanks in advance! :)

16 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. OT - I thought I put my wool Madewell cape scarf in a bin, which I spray inside regularly with cedar & lavender spray. But no. One of them was hiding in the back of my closet. It has 3 little moth holes in it.

    Would you just wear it as-is? They don't seem to be so noticeable. Try to have it repaired? Relegate it to go on top of a cabinet and put picture frames on it...?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm a fixer, so I'd have a go at mending it.

      Delete
    2. First get it dry cleaned to remove any loose dirt/food. Then get it fixed. Some dry cleaners know of a tailor that can reweave, if it's in a noticeable area. Otherwise just have a regular tailor stitch it to get the threads tied back together.

      Delete
    3. I vote for mending, either yourself or Dry Clean Diva's way! Stitching the holes together should be less noticeable than flat-out holes. (This happened to a beloved Banana sweater of mine a long time ago. I stitched it and because of the dark color, it wasn't terribly noticeable -- if your scarf plaid, it might be a similar situation.) Good luck, G!

      Delete
    4. I would probably hand wash in dr. Bronners peppermint or lavender soap, dry flat or hang outside, and use matching thread to stitch the holes. From what I understand weaving is really $$$.

      Delete
    5. Thanks for asking the question @gigisGoneShopping! Appreciate all the tips. I've given up buying Tippis because they get moth holes no matter what I do. I hadn't heard of Dr Bonner's soap.

      Delete
  3. Hi. Any thoughts on what to wearr with the cherry print midi skirt F5482 F5855 beyond the plain black sweater/top? They styled it with the black and white cherry print skirt but I have wide shoulders and those flutter sleeves make me look like a line backer so that's not going to work for me. (I probably should not even keep the skirt because I am short and those pleats do not do me any favours but it's hard to say no to the print.) Any shoe suggestions? Finally - the tag says machine wash. I would love to save money on dry cleaning (I think lots of cleaners charge extra on a per pleat basis because it is such a pain to deal with pleats) but does anyone have experience successfully washing a pleated skirt? Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm no expert but I hand wash a lot lately. I'd dip it, swoosh it around, and hang to dry. (I use a gentle Castile soap like dr. Bronners usually.)
      Have you considered hemming the skirt to knee length? I like midis on other people but J.Crew's right below The knee length on me doesn't work well for my frame, although I do actually think it's slenderizing. If you like the length, the skirt is adorable and I love the colors. You could wear a white button down, a black and white or red and white stripe, maybe even a chunky black sweater with a button down underneath when it's cold and you want to layer up.

      Delete
    2. You can wear black, red, white, chambray, a striped top in any of these colors, or even a moss green to match the cherry stems. It could also be cute with a sequined top for the holidays.
      I am allergic to drycleaning so I handwash or machine wash everything. I have machine washed all of my pleated skirts with great success, in lingerie bags and hanging to dry from the waistband. Good luck!!

      Delete
    3. I have the Tippi in that print & I paired it with camel wool Cafe Trousers. The camel from the pants made the stems of the cherries look camel too. I love the idea of pairing it with black & white stripes on top!

      Delete
    4. I had paired it with the cherry tippi when trying it on, as well as a white turtleneck sweater. I'm thinking of light blue denim shirt, a black and white stripe tee, polka dots sweater (black/white or red/white) and a plain black sequin top

      Delete
    5. Anthro Blogger - have you tried hand washing printed silk midis (for example F4965 the double pleated skirt in vivid paisley or anything like that)? I am intrigued by the idea of washing all my skirts at home but I wonder if the colors would run? Thank you

      Delete
    6. @Torontomodern I always hand wash my silks. The only thing I don't wash are wool coats and wool blazers, and anything that may bleed. The way to tell is to put a damp paper towel on the inside of the hem (right side of fabric but not visible in case it bleeds) and if color comes off on the paper it will bleed. If not, it's a go. Do at your own risk though! Be careful with water stains on silks as well. They always come out but be sure to soak the garment evenly.
      Also be careful with anything structured made out of virgin wool, and anything lined in acetate because it will shrink. Rayon shrinks like crazy as well. If you need any advice, feel free to reach out via email.

      Delete
  4. Thank you, Suz Has, Anthro Blogger, Taylor and ebelandi.com!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sorry but I have another question on the subject of machine-washing. I bought the ruffled button up in stripe item e7779. This shirt is labelled machine washable. Have any of you bought and washed this shirt or a similar shirt (like the white ruffled button up e9523)? Now that it's arrived in the mail, I'm looking at the pleated ruffles on the cuffs, the collar and the front (and there are a lot of them!) and wondering how would they survive a washing. The shirt is very cute (although slightly wide in the body). I'd like to keep it but the thought of having to iron all of those pleated ruffles gives me pause. Can anyone speak from personal experience as to how the pleated ruffles hold up to washing and how much ironing is involved? Thanks very much.

    ReplyDelete

Dear J.Crew Aficionadas & Aficionados: Please feel free (and encouraged) to share your thoughts and opinions. :) However, please note that this is still a personal blog. So comments that are considered inappropriate (e.g. obscene, racist, homophobic, personal attacks, rude, and just plain mean) will be removed.

And now back to J.Crew! :)