Fresh Fall Finds of the Weekend

A big part of C.'s and my weekend was taken up by, not shopping, but browsing, which was torture. We sampled the fall collections and discovered that we loved just about everything. I was looking for staple collegiate pieces for the upcoming chilly Berkshire months, and C. was looking for pieces that would fit into her Paris wardrobe for her upcoming trip. Here were some of our favorite indulgences and steals:

Funnily enough, we both agreed we seemed to find more to love in the Gap Fall Collection than in J. Crew, which is funny since we're both confirmed J. Crewiphiles. But the J. Crew fall collection is, in C.'s term, "very delicate," and I agree--I could get a lot more use of some of the pieces from Gap in my Massachusetts-college-town Fall. The Gap collection definitely integrates the delicacy of the styles this fall but does so in more robust and wear-a-ble pieces. I'll probably pick up some staples that seem sturdier (and cheaper) from there and accentuate them with some J.Crew splurges.

C. and I both really loved Gap's boyfriend sweater, seen here in "plymouth rock," which also came in a mustard color that tempted me. (I resisted!) It's made with cashmere ("with" being the operative word) so it's supersoft, but cheap at only $39.50. C. tried one on and walked around the store for a bit, while I admired a royal blue colored-version, but ultimately neither of us got one. C. needs to break out of a navy, black, grey, blue color pallate, while I need to adventure past (mustard yellow?) a predominantly brown, cream, and black one, but I do really like this color.

I also eyed the Gap sailor boy T, although both C. and I have a problem with an over-affinity for nautical strips and really don't need to acquire any more. But I couldn't help but think that this T, which is short-sleeved, would be a great partner to my mustard-colored cardigan this fall. It's only $15.00 online although I thought I remembered it being around $19.00 in store. And who doesn't love yellow accents on navy nautical stripes? C. found a black double knit hoooded jacket for $88.00 that would be perfect for her Paris trip and I have to admit, I really liked it too. She put it on with a lightweight scarf ($24.00) and looked tres chic, as usual. I have a problem with coats in that I never want to shell out the money for them but then end up with the same boring one all season long. Ugh!

I'm also currently obsessed with this supersoft heather brown/purplish robe at GapBody, but it's not available online! There go all my dreams of stalking it down from its current $50.oo price range to a more reasonable price...

I really, really loved this berry-colored ruffle-lined cardigan and it was on sale...so why didn't I get it! Don't you hate when, in the moment, you convince yourself that not buying something is a wise decision, only to obsess over it for days afterward? Luckily it's still available online and so I still have some time to man up and not cry over the $39.99 (steal? steal!) and just get it already because I know I'm going to keep thinking about it. Plus, I go to Williams. Purple is always called for in the wardrobe.
Speaking of purple things, this finally brings me to the one thing I actually did buy this weekend! I'm really happy that I controlled my impulses long enough to find this...it's perfect. It reminds me exactly of the purple dress that Ginnifer Goodwin wore to Justin Long's party in He's Just Not That Into You (did anyone else notice that purple comprised 97.8% of her wardrobe in that movie?)I found the belted party dress at American Eagle and, since it was on a rack that proclaimed $24.95, I thought it was a steal and snatched it up immediately. There were only a couple left, and one was my size! C. said it looked great and I actually agreed, amazing as that is. It has removeable straps so that it can become strapless (like Ginnifer's!) and really it was just all-and-around perfect, so okay, thought I, I'm getting it!

I marched up to the register with my find and laid it lovingly on the counter, only to be horrified when the price came up as $44.50. Ironically this had just happened to me in Old Navy, where I found an adorable green dress with a frilly neckline, brought it up to the register and sadly walked away from it when I learned it was $11.oo more than I had thought. I didn't think I could handle leaving another dress behind and so I sucked it up, put it on my American Eagle credit card and have since decided that it was a marvelous decision. And I already have an occasion in mind to which to wear it-- one of the nights of my play I'm directing in November! Also, as a note, the pattern on this dress is amazing, and makes the whole thing. It's fuzzy diamonds in navy--they are much more bold than shows up on the picture above. And hey, it's not brown, light brown, black or cream! I did pretty well, I think. It was also available in navy but I think my distress at not having bought the berry-colored ruffle cardigan led me towards my decision on the purple.

Ahh, but how much more there was before I made my decision about the purple dress! Pre-purple dress C. and I went to see the fall collection at J. Crew. (I actually just got an email from J. Crew enticingly advertising an additional 20% off their sale and "free" shipping--on, you guessed it--orders over $150).

I'm currently in love with the tissue beaded necklace tee, which is the softest cotton with a beautifully intricate beaded neckline set on tulle. Plus, the name (heather oatmeal) has "heather" in the title, which I've already established is my go-to color. I'm toeing the line of waiting for it to go on sale, which I know it must soon, or just snatching it up now before it's gone. C. isn't much of a tee-wearer and even she agreed that it was gorgeous, although delicate. Still, I can't justify spending $49.50 for a tee, especially when my GapBody robe is exactly the same price and I'll get a lot more use out of it (like, every day). But it's probably my favorite piece of the day from J. Crew.
Also, it would look amazing with the berry-colored cardigan. Why do I torture myself this way?

Since it is fall and that means chilly, crisp New England weather, I could almost justify picking up a sherpa hoodie for myself--they're oh-so-soft and gorgeous. The antique stone color is so feminine and pretty. I'd feel bad actually wearing it to any fall activities--homecoming, tent parties, football games--because at $69.50 I wouldn't want to get it dirty. That's why C. and I feel that the collection is too delicate. Especially the ivory-colored one. Where could I even wear that? Inside, doing work. That's about it. I've also started to notice that everything in my highlights of the collections seems to be in the same color family. In trying to break out of my usual color traps I've just slipped into another one. Typical. I think I'm also attracted to it since L. has one in a faded green that's really his trademark clothing item. When I think back on when I first met him I can't picture him without his J. Crew sherpa-lined faded green hoodie. It's actually in my possession now but if I were to get my own antique stone one he could actually have his to wear (what a concept!) Solid reasoning, I think.

In other, related news, I'm starting to forget what being around my boyfriend is actually like. Not cool. I know this because he has this laugh that, despite the fact that I always mock him for it, I actually really love. He does it at the end of almost everything he says that's not serious. For all my fun-poking, I'm really starting to forget it and therefore miss it. Three months is just too long! Only two more weeks of this nonsense...

[Images from Gap, J. Crew, American Eagle, About.com]