Tag: J. Crew

Travel Wardrobe: Cold Weather in a Carry On

No Friday ReBlog today because I haven’t been reading enough (any?) blogs over the holidays to find good stuff for ya.  It’ll be back next week; in the meantime, send me your favorite thrift- or style-related blog posts at leah AT thriftshopchic DOT com or leave ’em in the comments.

We went to the Great White(ish) North for a week over the Christmas holiday and I had to figure out how to pack for cold weather in a carry on. The limited parameters on my wardrobe were not as dramatic as this trip when I packed my stuff and my kid’s into a tote bag (which I promptly forgot), but I did need to think practically about how everything would go together since warm clothes take up more space and thus afford fewer slots to play with.  Everything is thrifted unless otherwise noted.

Using the template from the How to Pack a Travel Wardrobe post, I’m factoring in:
-length of trip (6 days);
-weather/activities at destination (cold; family time + church + exercise); and
-laundry facilities (check!)

Knowing it would be cold, I started off with this wool/cashmere/angora sweater from the Loft, which is as cozy a garment as you’d hope to find:

img_4229

Then I picked out tops to go underneath:

img_4234 IMG_2782 img_4240 wp_20161102_16_55_01_pro

4 tops, with plans to either rewear or wash depending on how many living room dance parties were to be held.  L to R: Coldwater Creek, Piazza Sempione, Loft, J. Crew

I also tucked in a sleeveless undershirt in case it got REALLY cold – didn’t need it but was glad it was there.  And I wore leggings (see below) under my pants when were going to be outside for a significant amount of time.

Then pants that picked up the colors in the sweater and would serve as great neutral bases:

img_4472 wp_20161222_16_45_47_pro

L to R: Banana Republic, IT! Jeans

I wasn’t keen on the grey at first, since I had a grey turtleneck; doing too much grey because it’s just depressing when it’s dark and cold. But the corduroy on the dark grey ones is almost like velvet, making them so chic I knew they would dress up my otherwise comfy outfits.   I thought about bringing my navy cords, too, but since I couldn’t justify 3 pairs of pants (no room!), I decided to keep the grey and just not wear it with the grey top.  (Look for a post next week introducing the caramel velveteen pants.)

Jewelry:
Same ol’ earrings every day, plus one pendant necklace, the cream and dark taupe of which would jive nicely with my sweater:

wp_20161226_11_01_23_pro

Necklace DIYed from Goodwill parts.

Shoes:
I went for one these two, to cover church (bronze flats by Clarks – retail) and everything else (navy Pumas):

img_4801wp_20161027_16_08_08_pro

Plus sneakers for running (retail).

 

Workout clothes:
Luckily my sister-in-law is pretty devoted to her running schedule so I knew I’d get a chance to run with her – motivation!

I packed a silk undershirt to layer and keep me warm:

WP_20160826_15_20_36_Pro

And a bamboo tech shirt to layer on top:

wp_20161205_14_24_53_pro

It wasn’t cold enough to need more than that – I just had to run about 5 minutes to warm myself up and the silk kept me nice and snuggly.

I also brought bulky but oh-so-worth-it track pants from highschool to keep my legs warm while running.

I brought two pairs of leggings, one for sleeping and one for layering under the track pants, both American Apparel (retail).  Here was my shirt to sleep in (and to wear one day before I slept in it):

IMG_2824

Faded Glory.

Sadly, I discovered ANOTHER hole in it, so it’s hereby consigned to winter sleepwear with no daytime cameos:

wp_20161226_11_04_17_pro

 

Outerwear
I wore my trusty red wool peacoat on the plane (well, used it as a blanket) and packed my freshly thrifted winter accessories in the outer pocket of my carry on so I could get them out first thing after landing:

IMG_2747

J. Crew

6tag_241216-123751

No tags.

Here are my outfits.  There’s not a lot of variety, but I liked the formula.  Furthermore, I had no one to impress and just wanted to look put together and feel WARM.  Mission accomplished:

wp_20161222_12_21_55_pro
(worn twice)

wp_20161226_11_02_50_pro

wp_20161227_16_19_43_pro

wp_20161226_11_00_48_pro

 

wp_20161229_15_31_51_pro

(worn twice – except for the bowling shoes, those were just worn once)

 

What are your strategies for packing sufficient cold weather clothes into a small space?  Do you ever just pick one simple outfit formula and wear variations of it to keep packing super simple?  Scroll down to comment, and Happy New Year!

 

 

Summer Wrap Up

Time for a quick retrospective on the summer wardrobe before we turn the corner into fall – or, more accurately, before y’all turn the corner into fall. It’s gonna be hot here in Atlanta for awhile yet but I’ve worn these clothes four and a half-ish months already and I’m probably just as ready to put them away as you all are ready to get your autumn on.

So. Summer review today, and more on what I’m thrifting and wearing for fall tomorrow and next week (including how I’m incorporating little tastes of autumn while still dressing for highs in the 90s). Continue reading “Summer Wrap Up” →

What I Wore: Office Sick Day

Yesterday I had a head cold from Hades. (I still have it, but now it’s from, say, Hoboken.)

I spent a good 15 minutes in bed trying decide whether to go to work or stay home.

But yesterday was my boss’ first day back after 4 weeks out of town. And a new program year is breathing down our necks. And I had 3 meetings scheduled. And someone had to drive the kiddo to daycare regardless.

So I went to work, but in the most comfortable work-appropriate clothing possible, which I had most fortuitously thrifted over the weekend due to my inability to say no to comfortable dresses and stripes (and this shade of blue!):

IMG_3910

Continue reading “What I Wore: Office Sick Day” →

What I Wore: Flared Blue Dress + White Denim Jacket + Leopard!

It’s been awhile since I’ve done an outfit post… I’m going to chalk it up to a combination of moving most of my outfit photos to Instagram and just plain falling out of the habit.  But today – lucky you! – I shoved the camera in The Spouse’s hands and asked for a quick pic before we headed off to church.

IMG_3725 IMG_3726
 IMG_3727

IMG_3728 IMG_3729 IMG_3732

Dress: New York & Co., 100% cotton, thrifted – love the color and the pockets!  Fit ‘n’ flare is not my favorite silhouette, thought, so it’s my placeholder summer blue dress while I look for something a little more fitted on the skirt.  (Plus it shrunk in the wash so it’s a little shorter than I’d like.  Turns out when they say “tumble dry low” they mean LOW.)

White denim jacket: J. Crew, thrifted – perfect for air conditioned spaces but definitely a bit heavy for our outside Atlanta heat these days

Leopard print belt: J. Crew, thrifted – the perfect touch to pull it all together and put a smile on my face

Sandals: Clark’s, bought with birthday money lo these many years ago

 

I love this royal blue + white combo – how summery it looks – and the unexpected leopard that makes it interesting.  Good thing I took these pics before church since my toddler proceeded to smear sunscreen all over the dress while getting her pre-church energy out running around outside.

 

What’s your go-to summer combo?  And do you long for the return of the outfit post?  Happy to do them more frequently if y’all miss seeing them!

 

Grand Opening Finds

I talked Tuesday about how much of a circus, shopping-wise, the Goodwill Grand Opening was.  I got there about 2 hours before the doors opened to tour the store and check out the merchandise, so I had spotted a few things I was interested in, but by the time I got around to shopping, a few of them were gone (I’m looking at you, blue dresses).

However, I did nab a stellar J. Crew white denim jacket, which, while not on my current thrifting list, will serve as a great thrift upgrade for the Calvin Klein jean jacket I got on sale for $25 in college:

IMG_3625

The blue color means it reads decidedly casual, which limits its versatility a bit.  But more importantly, a decade and a half on it now has a tear – sad day:
IMG_3621

This baby, however, spruces things up considerably:

IMG_3627

It’s work appropriate, and a perfect layer for our Southern climate where it is sultry all summer long (starting with 90 degrees at the end of April) but we insist on air conditioning the living tar out of our interior spaces.  You better be prepared to cover up that sun dress, Sugar.

 

I also found this lovely top, which, while unlined and probably not stellar quality, put a smile on my face.  The bold colors and the plump little birds just make you want to sing, no?

A photo posted by LeahLW (@thriftshopchic) on


The sleeves are long (to the beginning of the elbow) and fitted, which is a different and cool detail, and the shoulders fit great, but the rest of the top is sort of swingy – much larger down below.  I’m debating whether to have it tailored to a more boxy silhouette (a la this top).  Having the armholes altered will probably cost a pretty penny… curse my lack of sewing skills!  If I can’t make it work tailored, I very well may hang it against the back of my closet as wall art.

 

Last but not least, The Grouchy Ladybug, a childhood favorite, in toddler-friendly board book form:

IMG_3620

We probably own 10x my child’s weight in children’s books.

 

What delicious finds have you discovered in thrift stores lately?