Notes From the Dressing Room: Notes from the Dressing Room-J Crew Skirts Edition

After indulging ourselves in a sushi buffet, my friend and I walked the mall this weekend and somehow I ended up at J Crew, as usual. I loaded up on a plethora of skirts and had some fun playing dress up.

Is it my imagination or is Mr. Panda there staring down my shirt, lol?

Microspun cowl neck tee, Blush Stone, $39.50

Goldenrod Jacquared mini, Midnight?? (tag has MID for color, only saw in stores), $128

This top is not usually something I gravitate towards, but thought the color would make a nice complement to this fancy skirt. I racked my brain trying to think of a way to make this less dressy and something that could work for any ordinary day (we even solicited advice from a sales associate), my friend was not convinced that you can make this skirt more casual.

The tee is really soft and I like the draping in front. I'm just not sure it is special enough to make a home in my pile o' tees in the closet. The skirt has a fun pattern, wonderful shine and festive attitude about it. The issue I had was what the heck would I wear this with, why is it so short, and is this weird poofing in the front just this skirt or a problem with the others? Also, I'm almost certain it wasn't lined. This skirt was cute, but not a home run, so it stayed at the store.

Flecked Callista cami, Ash, $98

Double-Serge pencil skirt, Bright Dahlia (call customer service to order), $118

I saw this skirt lying on a table and was instantly drawn to the color. I thought that it looked just like my new vintage wisteria pencil skirt, but a lot brighter; apparently it is brighter because this color is different. I absolutely love this skirt, the fit was great (tried on my normal size), but again too long for me.

The cami had a nice print, but way too much going on down the front and around the collar. There were two layers, one of pleats and one of ruffles and it wasn't the best combination. Another blogger described it as looking like a Venus flytrap and that would be about right. This is a pass, despite the reduced price.

Heathered microrib Jaspe henley, $39.99 (disappeared off the website, was on sale rack)

Notte tweed pencil skirt, Black, $128

If I spy tweed anything, chances are I'm trying it on and this was no exception. I was trying to do the whole casual dressy mix that J. Crew likes to display in their catalog, but this wasn't quite right. This skirt, however, was all kinds of right. I love the weight and appearance of this tweed. I think it had a slight sheen to it too. My only gripe is the length (too long, what else). I would gladly add this piece to my wardrobe, but not in this trip since I was only browsing. This will be added to my wishlist.

The top was nothing exciting, but extremely comfortable and soft. If you can find it in the store, it would make an excellent weekend casual piece.

Cord Atlee skirt, Navy, $59.50

I thought to give this skirt on the sale rack a try, especially at the $35 price. It's a cute little cord skirt, but as you can tell it is on the short side, the two front pockets aren't functional, and it was a bit on the snug side.

Sequin pencil skirt, Brown sheen, $138

Stripe pocket tee, Warm taupe, $39.50

Jackie cardigan, Dark rosewood, $49.60

My friend, the lover of all things sequin, insisted that I try this skirt on and I must admit this is a fun and sophisticated item. The length was fine for once, the fit was okay in my normal size albeit a tiny bit snug, it had a lovely shape and the color was a nice brown with a hint of purple. However, the numerous complaints in the blogoshpere of loose threads and frayed hemming on the sequin skirts seem to be the case with this stores selection. They even separated the skirts with a piece of tissue paper, that spells trouble to me. I wouldn't want to spend $100+ dollars on something that is already starting out with issues.

This was a simple, soft cardigan that I tried on with the skirt and thought the colors looked really nice together. It was a deep burgundy and had me thinking that I'm in need of my millionth cardigan. :)

Now I have the dilemma of whether to keep my vintage wisteria or get the bright dahlia pencil skirt, be happy with the one I have because it is a beautiful color too or be crazy and have two skirts similar in color (yet still different!). What should I do? Perhaps stop buying so many skirts?