A big "thanks!" to Desert Flower, who not only let us know about several J.Crew items being spotted in the April 2010 issue of Ladies Home Journal, but also scanned the image for us to view! (Click on the image above to see it larger.)The pieces from J.Crew in the "makeover" outfit include the Merino Maya Cardigan (Item 17854; $88.00) in Dusty Blossom, and the Tissue Stone Necklace Tee (Item 18528; $125.00).
Desert Flower raised a good point by saying it was "interesting that the magazine used items that have been sold out on the website for so long". I am not sure why either. Especially since most magazines showcase new arrivals. As for the outfit featured in the article, I think it looks quite lovely altogether.
Several JCAs have one of the pieces and featured real-life images and/ or reviews over at their {amazing} blogs. The following is just a sampling of posts to refer to:
- Midwestern Cliche— "J.Crew Merino Maya Cardigan"
- bonjour its jinah— "Subway Stairs, Remixed + J. Crew Shopping Halp!"
- Musings by Jacquelyn— "Review of J.Crew Maya Cardigan"
- Gigi's Gone Shopping— "J Crew - Maya cardgian"
- Simply JCrew— "Merino Maya cardigan in dusty blossom"
- Huddyma— "J Crew Maya debut!"
- MissMasala— "OOTD with Tissue stone necklace tee"
- Patina's Confessions of a Shopaholic— "What to wear when returning Jcrew's Tissue Stone Tee"
- Sum Sunshine— "Weekend Away to Maryland!"
"Mom outfits don't require any thought"? ...I wonder what the mom's think of that?
ReplyDeleteInteresting, this whole housewife anxiety fashion mags have acquired, very similar to the dump and stir method of "mommy cooks" on Food Network. Apparently, women have forgotten how to dress, and need to be told a cardigan and pencil skirt are work appropriate 9 out of 10 times?
Dressing yourself and feeding your family should require a bit of thought and effort, and that's nothing to be ashamed of.
Tastymoog: LOL. You know how I feel about that! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat I find interesting is that where I sub, often the subs will be dressed more professionaly than the teachers. I guess it's the whole "dress for the job you want thing." I don't know what that says about the teachers, though. There is no dress code where I work, and I am 100% behind that (personal freedom and choice, etc.), but I do wish that some of the teachers paid a *tiny* bit more attention to their outfits, if not for "the man," then at the very least for the students. I know from very real experience that they kids paid me more respect when I put effort into my outfit, even if it was just a simple cardi/pencil skirt/heels combo. It stinks that we are judged from our outer appearances, and in a perfect world this wouldn't happen, but even kids are susceptible to judging...and teachers are judged by the kids a lot!
As far as "mom" wear goes, I appreciate you saying that it is a job to be a mom, and that dressing yourself and your kids can take some effort. Totally true! I want to stay in my pjs all day, and every once in a while I do, but I know that when I can and do make the effort to get ready and get the kids ready in the AM, we actually do more with our day. It's all mental, you know? I could potentially do a lot in pjs, but I don't. Too darn comfy, or something!
I appreciate the article using older pieces...she looks stunning in them, and unlike the new stuff, if these pop back at jcrew.com, it will be on sale (with the 30% off)! :)
Heidi: Those new arrivals, as few as they may be, are lovely. Nothing I need to have right now...but I will save my pennies for the Claudette tote. That is a beautiful bag!
Can't say for sure, but while flipping channels yesterday, I think I saw Kelly Ripa wearing clothes and jewelry that looked a lot like J Crew.. She had on that fluffy skirt from Christmas (?), a top that I can't date, and the colletto.
ReplyDeleteI never watch tv, and look what I find in 15 minutes while getting ready. :-)
It always bugs me when mags use clothes that are so out of date in terms of availabilty - esp when they have brand/price info included...as if you could really purchase that item. Come on...don't they have large enough closets??? If you are going to use a piece that is more than 3 months old, it should be footnoted.
ReplyDeleteOT
ReplyDeleteAny thoughts on the Polished Slub suiting? It's listed as a cotton/rayon blend. I don't generally like rayon, but I love the jacket design.
Thanks.
Does anyone know what skirt she's wearing? TIA!
ReplyDeleteFor those who like the polished stone tee, Loft has a dead-ringer in cream, slate & a pretty pale plum/gray color for about $50. I almost bought the plum but will wait for a promo.
ReplyDeleteCheryl: Loft is having a sale day this Saturday -- 30% off entire purchase. Saw the advertisement in the Chicago Tribune this morning.
ReplyDeleteI bought both the maya cardigan and the stone tee. I returned the maya cardigan b/c it was pilling horribly after 2 wears--apparently many JCAs had this problem. Much worse quality than other JC merino, which is usually pretty good. I waited for the stone tee to go on sale for like $46 and purchased it, but when it arrived it had at least 6 stones loose in the bag/falling off. When I returned it to the store stones when flying all over the place and the SA was def embarrassed about it. Then when it went down on super super sale I decided to take a chance again since I really liked the tee. I got it for $22 and it arrived in good condition; I have worn it twice and it has held up but I am very careful with hanging it in my closet, etc. which I normally don't do even for my embellished tees! My only other pet peeve with the tee is that the stones are so heavy that they "sag" in my cleavage a bit and it tends to stretch out the top! I wear the tee with a plain cardi over it--there is so much going on already I don't know why they would pair it in the mag with another "interest" piece like the maya cardi.
ReplyDeleteI got the email about the 30% off at Loft that shopalot mentioned. The code for online use on Saturday is 106020132.
ReplyDeleteHi All! This is Sue Erneta, the Fashion Editor of Ladies' Home Journal and I styled that makeover. I too am a JCA and I'd love to address some of your comments/questions. First of all, I apologize if any moms took offense to the line about "mom outfits don't require any thought". As a working mom of 2, I can honestly tell you that I think that being a stay-at-home mom is without a doubt the hardest job in the world and I have complete respect for all moms who make that sacrifice for their kids. But - let's face it - it's not a fashionable job, nor should it be. When I'm home with my kids all day, I wear whatever I slept in and my hair is in a ponytail. What I meant to imply is that when you're focusing on your kids all day, you don't have a lot of time to focus on yourself.
ReplyDeleteAs for shooting out of date styles, there's a simple answer for that too. When we are shooting models for fashion stories that will appear in the magazine in a future issue, we borrow one-of-a-kind samples from J Crew. And they're small - really small. In fact, we almost just had to take a pair of J Crew pants out of our fashion story for the June issue because the sample was a size zero and several of the models we were considering couldn't get into them. (We did manage to get our size 4 model to squeeze into them and they will appear in our June issue!) When we shoot "real people" (not teeny tiny models) like the woman pictured here, we get clothes from stores. This woman, though fit and slender, was in fact a size 8 and never would have fit in any samples - certainly not the tiny ones from J Crew.
Thanks for taking an interest in our story and check out LHJ for more J. Crew. As a JCA, I try to shoot it as much as possible! In fact, there's a top featured on page 30 of our April issue - on newsstands now - and in our upcoming May issue, there's even a love letter to J Crew from one of their biggest fans - me!
Sue, good for you and LHJ for using larger than size 0 models and boo on J.Crew (and I'm sure many other designers) for only making size 0 samples!
ReplyDeletelhjFashionLady: Thank you for taking out the time to explain the "behind the scenes" of the fashion shoot and why the clothes were selected. I also really appreciate LHJ using "real people", in addition to models, when featuring clothes. :)
ReplyDeletelhjfashionlady
ReplyDeletehow exciting! thanks for posting a reply/response.. appreciate the explanation re: mom fashion. and who knew lhj was following! excited to read your love letter!yay for us and alexis!
alexis, your blog is great!
ljhfashionlady, thank you for the explanation! Love the magazine, I've been a subscriber for years. I'm also an avid J. Crew shopper and I spotted those pieces right away :)
ReplyDeleteThose of you with Mayas, I am sorry to hear you have issues with pilling. I have the Maya in 4 colors and I've worn all of them a lot, not a pill to be found. I don't wear them under coats or jackets, though, maybe that has something to do with it. I seldom find an item that I obsess over enough to buy it in multiple colors. This particular cardigan gives me a shape that almost appears curvy despite the fact I'm built like a ruler :)
shopalot & cass, thanks for the Loft 30% off tip! I'll be checking out the polished stone tee in the grayish/lilac color to go with the vintage zebra skirt I just bought!
ReplyDelete