Thursday, February 8, 2018

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! :)

34 comments:

  1. Hi JCA's - I had $25 in rewards on my account. You could see them when you hover over the "My Account" tab at the top of the page. I saved the number and PIN in an e-mail because I like to be able to copy and paste them quickly if I see something I want to order.

    This morning, my account says my rewards are $0. I tried a mock checkout with the number and PIN and got a message that it was an "invalid" gift card. I have not ordered anything in weeks, so I'm sure I didn't use the number. Anybody else have a similar issue?

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    1. When you click on the menu icon my Jcrew credit card rewards status said that I had $0 in rewards when before I had rewards expiring April 30th. I had taken a screen shot and tried a mock checkout and those rewards are still valid. I did notice recently that the holiday rewards that expired 1/31 still showed up on there with a balance remaining long after I used them and I thought that was very odd.

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    2. HI Silver Lining, Please see my response below. Apologies having internet issues the A.M.!

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  2. Styling the lace Easy Pants, silk stretch bodysuit, and beaded tassel earrings on the blog today.

    Heather
    Partial to Pink

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  3. Out of curiosity, how do you guys store sweaters with beads on them?

    I almost took out two sweaters this morning by yanking out a cardi with a beaded patch on it from my sweater pile. It's beads attached with metal prongs instead of sewn on. Luckily everything's fine but now I'm worried about doing damage in the future. I have cloth shoe bags that I've never used... Maybe I should fold the sweaters in them?

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    1. I wrap my beaded sweaters in tissue paper and store them folded in a drawer.

      Heather
      Partial to Pink

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    2. the beads don't rip the paper?

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    3. Never had that happen to me. I don't use one ply of paper. I use a few sheets.

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    4. Tissue paper. Some say to use archival/lignin free paper, but... I haven't gone that far.

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  4. Could use some advice about ankle boots. I bought the suede ankle boots with buckle H1882. Embarrassed to admit that I bought them in both the onyx and black during one of the many Jan 50% off promo (but was lucky they were not final sale). They cost me $90 Canadian which I was very happy about (although I know that I am not supposed to be so fixated on getting a good price).

    I am slightly stumped. I am having problems styling them with anything other than skinny blue jeans. I've tried J Crew pixie pants and J brand skinny cords and various colored/patterned slim fitting (non blue) jeans. I've looked online and people suggest that that the pants have to be either rolled up above the boots or be short enough that there is some ankle exposed but it doesn't look quite right to me except for the blue jeans.

    I can only wear jeans on Fridays (and even then I often choose not to wear jeans on Fridays) and I have other boots so I am thinking that I might have to let them go.

    I am very short (5 ft) so maybe it's my individual proportions?

    As a fitting note - I have wide feet and had to go up half a size. Sometimes when I go up the half size the shoe becomes too long and slips - but this issue did not occur on these boots and the half size up works well.

    Would appreciate any suggestions. Thank you!



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    1. Ankle boots + tights + dress/skirt = my go-to when I want to wear ankle boots but can't wear jeans (it depends on what audience I'm teaching that day). I'm a shorty, too, and the proportions seem to work out!

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    2. I second a dress/skirt with tights! I'm wearing an A-line skirt today with black tights/ankle boots. I'm taller though but I think you can pull off the look at any height.

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    3. I had a hard time with ankle boots for a few years because of this! Skinny jeans are easy, but my favorite way to wear them so far is my leather Ryder pants which are slightly less skinny than toothpicks. I cuff them once so a sliver of ankle shows.
      I find the ability to wear them with skirts really depends on how high the boot goes up and how it works with the shape of my legs. I think a higher shaft works better in this case, at least for me, more like the Hadley boot. .

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    4. I also think a simple pant like the easy pant in velvet or crepe could work. I forgot I've also tried an ankle boot with my turner crepe pants (kind of like joggers) and they looked pretty good.

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    5. Thanks, everyone! I had not thought about the dresses/skirts possibilities. Will definitely experiment this weekend.

      Much appreciated.

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  5. Hi Silver Lining, Had the same issue this morn. I do exactly what you do for quick check out. Tried to resolve but nothing worked! Called Comenity. The Rep could see my points even though I couldn't. Ended up having points applied to my "early" morning purchase.

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    1. Thanks Carol! I so don't feel like dealing with this - mainly because there's nothing I want to order right now. JC is the only retailer where I have to take screen shots of everything...and of course, the rewards page was the one thing I didn't capture. I'm glad Comenity could take care of it, but I'd just rather have these technical issues with JC resolved directly instead of having to deal with an IOU.

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    2. Mine also went to zero. I hope they fix this. Thanks for the heads up. Argh.

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    3. Hi Laura - mine showed back up in my account this morning. So strange. Hope yours came back!

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  6. I have a rather odd "styling" advice request. I own several large canvas bags (LL Bean, Lands End) that I'd like to use more. I currently use one to store and carry my sewing machine and it works very well for that. I have a small one with a zipper that I sometimes use as a casual handbag. I also use them for travel, to carry books to/from the library and for shopping, to carry my purchases and returns, but I feel like I'm not fully utilizing them. Does anyone have any other creative uses for these bags?

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    1. I was gifted one of those very large LL Bean totes when my son was born and we store pool towels in it by the door so they're easy to grab on our way out. Would something like that work (it would need to have a sturdy enough base)

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    2. I have a large grey felt basket from Target that's a similar shape to those bags, and I use it to hold my winter scarves. I roll them up like towels and place them vertically so that when I'm looking down I can easily see what I've got (they look like a bunch of plaid cinnamon rolls!).

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    3. Keep out of season clothes dust free on top of a closet,
      or if you like to keep your closet areas neat, use to store anything that doesn't look pretty rolled or stacked (papers, receipts, etc).
      Use as a laundry bag/sorter. My laundry is also my mud room and our main (family) entrance so I encourage my family members (we all do our own laundry) to only bring down what fits in one wash and we use a lot of those reusable shopping totes as laundry bags.
      If you have children they're great to hold assorted dolls/toys/stuffed animals.

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    4. Also, as a designer, I use one to hold my folio with notes, some color swatch books. Tape measure, etc.
      Can be used to keep any type of project separate.

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    5. Thanks so much for the ideas, ladies. If you think of any more, please be sure to share. I'm determined to make good use of these bags.

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    6. Blankets in the living room, logs for the fire, anything that’s too formless or large to properly stow away, really.

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    7. Agreed, smaller items in cabinets or storage benches, etc...

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    8. I often use tote bags to store other bags/purses. This will depend on the size of the tote and the other bags/purses/small knapsacks and works best with the bigger totes. I keep separate paper bags in my closet for "maybe I can chin myself up to tossing", "tossing for sure", "needs repair", "needs cleaning" and if the totes have some "body" and can stand up on their own you could use totes for these sorts of purposes.

      I've also seen jumbo totes used to store firewood (but it would have to be a tote made with heavier canvas)

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    9. We are all a special kind of 😜! Love my fellow JCAS!

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    10. Winter gloves, winter hats.

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  7. I posted a bunch of try ons on Instagram. @wearthislikethis
    Recent pics include the Madewell landlord wide leg crops in metallic which I'm wearing to an event this weekend with the JCrew embellished velvet Mary Jane pumps and an OLD velvet blazer, I have a necklace from last year I think that works great with the pants and shoes.
    Next I have a pic of the wide leg pants in wool from two years ago that I had cropped, I'm wearing it with either a Rhodes or Ludlow blazer and the merino turtleneck with side slits I just got. I decided to wear my old faves the Landford two tone high heel oxfords. I LOVE this outfit.
    I also got the cotton canvas high waisted/wide leg crops and I'm trying them all layered up with a Madewell denim shirt and the subtle boatneck sweater, which I just got. I like but don't love this sweater. I have to try it a few different ways. The pants are also not an Immediate love but I think washing/drying will help.

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    1. If you request to follow I will add you. (Too many people I know IRL were able to follow me because of FB so I wanted to make this account private!)

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  8. Most Cece fans know that the Factory Anya is a pretty good substitute and probably better than current J Crew Retail flats. I have always wished for more colors in the Anya and the new arrivals this week included a red color. Got them today - very happy, they will be cute with neutrals and the Parisian looks this spring.

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