Missoni for Target meets J Crew

Back in Sep, Missoni for Target came out. For us Canadians, we are not fortunate to have Target here(well, it's coming in 2013). But fortunately, there was Ebay.

Yes, there were lots of complaints about people going into Target stores, clearing their shelves in hours and next thing you know, they were all over Ebay, selling at much increased prices.

I was very busy on Ebay for a few days. I had a few pieces that I really want but at the same time, I didn't want to pay 5 times the retail price.

I ended up getting a couple of cardigans, a shirt, a few scarves and hair accessories.

This is the zig-zag shirt I got:

This is how it was styled with Missoni for Target black sweater on their website

I have worn this shirt many times. I worn it with a black cardigan. I also like to wear it with my J Crew cowlneck poncho:

I love this poncho. All lined and not bulky. Perfect for fall weather.

I worn this with J. Crew weekend bout town leggings ( I think that's the name)

I love these leggings. So comfy. I wear them at home lounging and out too.

J Crew is tempting me AGAIN!!

After yesterday surfing online for Cyber Monday deals, didn't find anything. Oh, well, if you count the Land's End $10.50 fleece(see, I can justify all my purchases!). I thought I'm done buying for a while. I'm almost done my Christmas shopping. Just need to get a few little presents to finish it off. But since my birthday is approaching, all my purchases from Oct on are counted towards birthday presents to myself. How sick am I?

Well, this morning, J Crew is putting on ANOTHER sale. Sweater promo. All 30% off. Why are they doing this to me?

I'm big into sweaters. Sweaters, cardigans, turtlenecks are my winter uniform. Living in Eastern Ontario, Canada, our winter is LOOOOOOOOONG, miserable and cold. If I have a few extra sweaters, that would make my winter sooooooooooooo much better, right?

So, here is my list: (yes, I haven't hit the checkout button yet........)

Dream dolman sweater. It doesn't look too warm though but I like the style.

Dream aryle. I have always loved this style. This is timeless and you can wear for years and years.

Honeycomb cable. I love this color. But I already have the cashmere cardigan in this color. Decision, decision, decision......

Jester sweater. Again, this style. But they don't have my size. So that may help eliminate my wide selection.

Land's End

First time to order from Land's End. They have a very good deal now with 30% off and free shipping. I am looking for a turtleneck to layer up. Most of my turtlenecks are thick cotton and I have a grey one from Banana Republic which fits snuggly but not too tight.

Originally, I was looking at the tissue turtleneck from J. Crew. But since I'm only wearing to layer with a 3/4 sleeve cardigan, I really don't see the point of buying one for $35.

While waiting for Cyber Monday deals, I was surfing the net. Came across Land's End and just happened that they have a good sale. If your order is less than $20, don't even have to pay duty and tax. Makes it even a better deal.

This one is $24.99, on sale for $19.99, with my 30% off and free shipping, no tax and duty, shipped to my door, only cost me $11 something. What a great deal! Just hope it will fit nicely on me.

I have always wanted the J. Crew Jackie cardigan. With the indoor heat, I thought I can always wear that year around. But whenever it goes on sale, all the color I like is gone or the sizes unavailable.

Found a look-alike cardigan at Land's End.

This is the Heritage cardigan. I got it in cardinal red. Picture shown here is the rich red but unfortunately don't have my size. 

This one is $39.99, on sale for $19.99. With my 30% and free shipping, no tax, no duty, comes to $15. Can't go wrong with that price. 

Since I'm new to Land's End,  not sure about their sizing. But they have a lot of customer reviews which help me decide on my size. Can't wait to get my orders. Yes, 2 orders placed separately to take advantage of the no tax/duty on orders under $20. 

p.s. It's Cyber Monday and I was once again surfing the web to look for deals. Went back to Land's End and grabbed one of these:

I ordered it in dark grape. Just can't pass this great deal. On sale for $15, and I paid $10.50 shipped!!!!! Who would think you can get something shipped to you with this price??!! 

Festive additions

Can't believe it's a month away till Christmas. Guess this year we're not in the Christmas mode as it is very rare that we don't have any snow on the ground yet. Lawn is still green and doggie is still enjoying his daily play time in the backyard.

This morning did a quick run to Canadian Tire. Grabbed a couple of miniature Christmas trees for the porch outside. Debating on whether to put up the Christmas tree inside ( yes, extremely not motivated to do that this year). It's Friday and not a holiday here (Black Friday for U.S.)and just can't believe how busy the store was at 820 am.  People are grabbing Christmas gifts, Christmas trees, extension cords, Christmas gifts etc.

Whether you like it or not, Christmas is fast approaching. Every year is a dread. Dreading to put Christmas decorations up, dreading to get Christmas gifts, dreading to plan anything for the holidays.

When you are not in the mood of celebrating the holiday season, retail therapy sounds like a plan?

J. Crew metallic foil jacquard top

Not overpowering. I don't really like a lot of sequins. This top is subtle and I like how the model is styled with a plain white shirt and black pants.

Glitterati ballet flats in gold. Not particular crazy with the gold but for now this is the only color on sale. Other colors include black and red. 

September sweater in heather moss. Unfortunately don't have this in my size. May have to pop back to the site later to see any more sizes available. 

Necklace

This is my shopping pattern. I placed an online order yesterday with J. Crew. I would stop going to the web site for a while(a few hours but that's it). Then I start to search for new items to be put in my wishlist.   Rarely do I see some new item right away and I would want that immediately and buy impulsively. Instead, I would put the items on my wishlist and let them sit there for a few days.

My wardrobe used to be extremely boring. Clothes are all of the same color group, same style. In other words, nothing exciting. However, those are the pieces I would keep for a long time. They rarely go out of style and I can wear them repeatedly.

Lately, I have decided to add pieces to my wardrobe to add a few zest. Started to wear color and try different styles. Some may work and some may not work. But at least I could say I tried.

Received the J. Crew Christmas gift catalog in the mail. Saw this beautiful necklace with the cardigan and blouse. Fell in love with it. I don't usually wear red but this tone of red is very nice and not overpowering.

Cashmere

I have always loved the softness of cashmere. My Mom always tells me a good cashmere sweater can last a long time. She has one which was bought a couple of years before I was born and she is still wearing it.

Mentioned in my last post that I tried on the cashmere crewneck cardigan at the Yorkdale store in Oct. Found my right size and paired it with the navy polka dot silk blouse. I have always loved polka dots. 

But for $114 for a silk short sleeved blouse, I think it's overpriced. Kept those 2 items in mind and walked out of the store without buying anything. Went home and saw J Crew online was running a sale promo. The top was $114, but was on sale for $98 and additional 30% off. So I could buy the blouse for around $68, that's more reasonable. I was so glad I didn't impluse buy at the store.

So bought the crewneck cardigan in heather indigo and the silk polka dots top.

Parcel came and loved my new purchases.

When you get one, you would want another one. So off I go, browsing through the cashmere section and found the cashmere boyfriend cardigan. $230??!!!! I know it's cashmere but does it have to be that pricey? I FORBIDDED myself from buying impulsively. Just wait for the sale.

I buy online from J Crew all the time and notice once in a while, the boyfriend cardigan would pop up as sale but when I clicked on it, nothing would show up with the sale price. I decided to give them a call. The sales associate was so helpful, telling me because those are very low in stock and may not let customers put them in their shopping carts but they could try and do it for me. Since I browse constantly, I knew all my colors and asked them if they had the plum orchard for sale. Sure they did and even had my size (S). Even better, she offered to give me 10% of the sale price (from $230 to $146) and waived my shipping fee. So I got this gorgeous boyfriend cardigan for approximately $163 ( with the tax) shipped to my doorstep 4 days later.

J Crew Obsession

Ever since J. Crew opened its first store in Canada (Yorkdale shopping mall in Toronto, ON) in August this year, I have been shopping there. Oh, well, not physically there since I don't live in Toronto anymore. I shop online.

A lot of my friends are reluctant to shop online, worrying about the sizes and quality of clothes they don't actually see and touch before they buy. As an experienced online shopper, I have learnt to shop strategically. If you can go to the actual retail store and try on the outfit you like, it's perfect. But some of us don't have that luxury. Speaking from somebody who lives in a small town in eastern Ontario where Walmart is where everybody go, I don't get to go to the stores that often. But if I go, I would try out different clothing items and make sure the sizes fit. I can be a size 4 for Banana Republic but for certain pants and sweaters, I may be a size 6.

I have been eyeing on the J Crew cashmere crewneck cardigans for a while. Went to the store at Yorkdale last time when I went home for a visit. I tried on the cardigan and pair it up with a polka dot silk blouse. Fell in love with the look but not the price. Rarely do I go in the store and actually spot a sale there.

I find there is more sale promo online and the shipping fee is reasonable. Yes, you have to pay the tax but it's shipped by UPS and you can track the order online and know exactly when it will arrive. I buy enough online and I know my UPS/Purolater courier carriers well ( isn't that great?)

Doggie woke me up at 6am and I couldn't go back to sleep. So what did I do? Turned on the TV and watched Breakfast Television and browsed on J Crew website. I had a few items picked up earlier in the week, hoping to get a sales promo any time. As a lot of J Crew online shoppers know, the sale items are sometimes difficult to snatch. I have joined a few J Crew shoppers' forum and knew that U.S. Thanksgiving black Friday is going to start any time this week, so everybody is advising each other to hold off. Indeed, this morning, there comes the new sales promo: 25 % off $150 order and free shipping.

I have been eyeing on the waverly chino with flannel lining pants for a while. I love the warm and cozy feel of these pants. Not sure if they would look bulky on me. Checked out a few fellow bloggers on the review and they look great on them ( of course, they are either a size 0 or 2, anything would look good on them!) Also grabbed the minimalist mockneck sweater in purple. I have the new obsession of purple/fuscia color lately and would like to add more pieces to my boring black/grey/brown wardrobe.