Sale season starts early?

There seem to be many deals going on right now.  Many offers 30% discounts.  Gap just finish their round of Give and Get promotion.  Right now JCREW has save extra 30% on sale items promotion using the JCREW promotion code. I didn't see anything particularly stand out for myself but did get to score something for my son.  Many are gone instantly like the military jacket for $38.   Still available is the Boy's Sherpa hoodie

Jcrew's Sherpa hoodie is of very good quality.  I have bought other brands of similar product, such as Crazy 8 and Gap, none has the quality that would remotely compare.  It is very warm, enough for the winter here in SF bay area and is super soft.  It withdands many wash without getting thin out.  Of course this is a gender neutral piece that can easily pass down to my daughter.  Highly recommend it for its quality.  With the discount it came out to $30.24.  It is still expensive.   Considering boys don't get to have many cloth,  I felt it is worth the splurge on a few piece he constantly wears.

Ann Taylor also has the friends and family 30% off promotion.

I strongly recommend the Luxary Drape Wrap.  I have a thing for unstructured wraps.   This is such an interesting piece because it can be wear in so many different ways  and is very soft and warm.  I got the gray color after drooling over it for sometime  and loved it.  The current addition of carmel color adds lovely warmth to the tone.   It is slightly itchy so I would wear a long sleeve inside though.


I have also noticed that the store sometimes have the sale item cheaper than online so if you have time it is probably better to go to the store.

Kindred Spirit Sweaterdress - a sale review and request for styling suggestion

Apparently my taste is quite different from the rest of the Anthro-loving population.  Kindred Spirit Sweater dress although went on sale for half of its original price, still have plenty left around.   Why is that?  I think the deviation of my taste also explains the lack of followers.  Ha!

Back to the topic of Kindred Spirit Sweater dress.   This is one of the two piece hubby pick up with me during my birthday (which is in the middle of the summer) and I didn't end up returning.  The other one is the acting out skirt.

There are two types of cloth.  One is so beautiful and fancy looking that it is like a piece of art.  I think Anthro has plenty of those items.  However the fanciful detail sometimes took all the attention away from the person who is wearing it. On another word,  the cloth is wearing the person. The Kindred sprit sweater dress does the opposite.  It is of an almost dull color of green, but the dark color also helps with sliming the figure as well as making it a bit more work appropriate.  It shas enough detail such as the gathered collar with the buttons.  The neckline is just lovely.   Low enough to be flattering, but not so to be revealing.  The material is soft, no itchy at all, thanks to the cotton and cashmere blend.  The dress drapes very nicely.  It  does not show lumps and humps like some sweater or jersey dress do.  The cut is superb.  It is so figure flattering that it really makes you felt you had trim down 10 lbs.   I did not find it clingy even though it is unlined.  Worth mentioning is that this dress run slightly larger than the  usual size.  For your reference, I am wearing a XS here.  In comparison, I wear XS in the popular camellia dress but a 4 for Botanical Stroll dress.

The biggest draw back?  The belt.  I think it has received enough complain.   It is attached, so I am not really sure what to do with it.  I felt this dress can use a somewhat more defined belt to dress up a bit more.

So why I haven't wore mine?  It wasn't cold enough.  Now it is cold enough, I don't know how to layer it.  I end up with this Simple J CREW V-neck Cardigan.   Any other suggestions?

And can you guess what my daughter is doing?  Don't answer putting her arm up or taking a picture :-P That would be too obvious. A penny for the correct answer.

The disappointment of the Pinafore Pullover

I had ordered the Pinafore Pulloever as a gift for myself for taking care of two kids by myself while hubby is in China for the whole week.   This is sweater is so sweet and romantic looking.  I really love how it looks in the catalog.

Before I got my order, Cat from Anthrosdottir did a review on this sweater and I thought "oh, no".  And She is right on with the sweater. Here is the result.  Front is pretty sweet although the sleeve is a bit long. For reference, I am wearing a S.

Here comes the problem.  I think this just invites question like "when is the due day...."

I am not sure sizing down would make this problem go away.  On line has sold out on this sweater, but I am sure there will be pop-backs. At least mine will go back.

This is what I wore that same day with the same side profile.

This outfit is more than 10 years old and I still love it.  I had gotten the sweater the skirt as well as the boots when I visited Hong Kong.  Hong Kong is really a shopping heaven.  This outfit and a pair of wool tight are among of the favorites I have.  Some how the color is very off in the picture, the sweater supposed to be grey and skirt and boots are supposed to be deep purple.  I had wear this in response to Cindi's purple request and in recognition of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month after reading Cindi's post.  I guess I'll have to come up with something more purple than this.

Oldie but goodie

Don't you love seasonal changes?  It is like you had a whole wardrobe of new cloth again because you haven't wore them for a long time.  I have been so addicted to shopping that I need to remind myself that I have A LOT of cloth that has been sitting in the closet instead of looking at the new sale session of the Anthropologie. Here is something I haven't  wore for a long long time.  It is not really my style,  so no wonder hubby was somewhat surprised by it. Ha, At least I caught his attention.  When you have been married for more than 10 years, that is a good thing :-)

Cami - Old navy cotton empire waist tee and Old navy ruffle blouse
Cardigan - J CREW Merino wool ruffle cardigan
Pants - BR cargo capri
Shoes - Söfft peep toe heel

Men's wear fashion?

Men's wear inspired clothing has always been around.  There is the boyfriend chino, or boyfriend cardigan, then there is Men's suit inspired dress.

I myself was never really into any of those trends, mainly because I had such a straight figure and the slouchy pants usually make my already petite figure even shorter.

On the other hand,   I totally love it when Crew cut uses boy's cloth on their girl models.  They are so cute!

Oh, and how I love when my daughter wears her brother's pass down cloth.  Maybe because most of the time she is such a girly girl, wanting to wear a dress and be pretty all the time. It was a new fresh look she is still too young to appreciate herself.  So what is my daughter wearing? Top: Gymboree turtle neck sweater, Bottom: CREW cut boy critter chord pants (pass down from my son). Hat: Gap Shoes: Hello Kitty glitter ballet slipper from target

I think at this age, they can pull off wearing anything.

Beauty and the Bird and the Haloween horror

Photo taken at school Halloween parade.  Dress: Southern Bird Dress, Cardigan: J CREW Cashmere Vneck Cardigan, Vest: JCREW puffer vest, Belt: Via Spiga Studded Belt (buy it here)

Hope everyone all had a blast during Haloween weekend. This is a catch up post from the Halloween. Hubbie has been out of town for a week. Without me spilling my complains like crazy, I tell you this much, taking care of an autistic 6 year old and a needy 4 year old by myself is very exhausting. Every early morning of last week, one of them gets a nightmare and cries.

So what is a halloween without a horror story, right? Well, our horror story was -- actually a gross one. Remember the cute Mickey pumpkin we had?

Mickey's ear fell off on Halloween!

Hubbie had put it on top of the fridge before he left for China for a week. He was worrying the kids will mess with it. There were nails used to secure mickey's ear to his head so we didn't want them to accidentally get hurt.

The room temperature is too high. Mickey melted into a puddle of water and the ear falls off because of the main pumpkin gets so soft. We didn't notice till my daughter screamed. Of course clean up is a bit troublesome with some water leaked into the freezer session and froze.

Despite the little misfortune with our pumpkin head, we had a pretty fun Halloween. My daughter is her usual princess.  Last year she was a fairy.  What else? Disney marketing team should pad themselves in the back.

Here is a Maryln Monroe post.

Here is my handsome transformer at his school parade.

Anthroholic Outfit Styling Challenge: Rushing Ruffles Dress

Kim from Anthroholic is doing a styling challenge.  It is rather interesting.  This is such a versatile piece I felt it can be style a million different way. I am exited to see what people would come up with. While I am not particularly creative, this is the two ways I came up with.  One way is probably my lust list,  which may not necessarily be her style, was to do a cozy comfortable set with sweaters and hats and boots.  I would even put on a scarf that is thick and textured.

Anthroholic Outfit Styling Challenge: Rushing Ruffles Dress by inkmark

Another idea is to accessorize it by simple jewelry.
The strand pearl necklace Kim already own and the shoes I believe she has also. I'd layer it with the sweater coat (she already own) with a coat like this one from JCREW to give it extra warmth considering she is from Chicago and it does get quite cold.

Anthroholic Outfit Styling Challenge<2>: Rushing Ruffles Dress by inkmark