Teal dress – Prabal Gurung,
necklace – John Lewis, blazer – Nick & Mo, pumps – Andrey
Brooke, scarf – Liberty, denim jacket – Comptoir des Cottoniers,
flats – Gucci
necklace – John Lewis, blazer – Nick & Mo, pumps – Andrey
Brooke, scarf – Liberty, denim jacket – Comptoir des Cottoniers,
flats – Gucci
I’m over at Tish’s today, extolling the wisdom of buying one perfect dress, and wearing it constantly…
And as for what I’ve been up to:
you can’t tell how great this J.Jill shirt is from this photo…
This is the winner – from J.Jill – NO breast pockets, princess seams, 100% cotton – but not bulky or heavy. AND it’s available in Misses, Petites, (yaaaay, no sleeve shortening for me!), Womens and Talls.
Why can’t more companies provide a wider range of sizes?
Honestly, if I needed new clothing in a hurry, J. Jill might be the first place I would go, if only because I know that I could buy things that would not need to be altered. Petite clothes are THAT rare, and save me a lot of time and alteration money…
I went to the J Jill site and looked at this shirt. Is it very long? In your photo, it doesn't look particularly long, but in the online photo, it does look quite long. The color and fabric is pretty! i may have to go to the store and take a look.
Mine isn't particularly long – but the photo on their website looks really almost tunic-like. Not sure why they chose to make it look so long…
Perhaps yours isn't tunic-length because you bought the shirt in a petite size? A great classic shirt, whatever the length. Thanks for sharing this with your eager blog-readers, Janice.
No pockets, that's a score! I adore my denim shirt but it has bold buttons and pockets which makes layering it a challenge sometimes. Necklaces smack against the buttons.
I'm 5'6" and I've bought petite at J Jill because I have a limited use for tunics and it's worked out well. I love their clothes!
I wera petite too because I am so short!
I love not having to alter things as it adds to the cost.
J Jill sounds like a great shop.
Congrats on your new shirt, it looks very versatile.
It's always worth celebrating when you bag something you've been hunting for so long. I can't wait to see how it's going to be accessorized. And I LOVE that dress!
http://www.aspireinspireblog.blogspot.com
The perfect shirt is backordered until January:(
Kathleen
I happened to be at the mall here in Dallas today and went in and tried on this shirt. It IS very nice, but I am in between sizes (!) with one size slightly small and the next size way too large. I am 5'8" tall and the shirt was definitely tunic length on me. That was the issue with size as I am a bit hippy. The size medium fit, but for being a bit tight over the hips. I should have looked around for petite sizes, but I never wear petite sizes.
If anyone needs this shirt in a regular size (which is long) J Jill at Northpark Mall in Dallas has them in all regular slizes.
I wish it came in dark denim rather than washed. Years ago, I had a dark denim shirt with inconspicuous snaps instead of buttons. It was made by a local company. I wore it out, even having the collar turned. I finally gave it away because it was too big after I lost some weight. I still miss it, though.
Thanks for this! I didn't think to look in J Jill for a denim shirt!! I buy all my jackets from them – they are well made and the petite size fits me sooo well. I will order this shirt as I've been looking for a nice one without breast pockets – better for layering. I sew, so if it's tunic length, I'll just shorten it. Lovely shirt and the teal dress – be still my heart! I love the color and the cut! So love your blog, Janice, I've learned so much from you and still working on minimal wardrobe with my two neutrals – Navy and taupe–thanks to you!
Yes, I have a burgundy/dark mulberry (?) velvet jacket/blazer, very unconstructed and casual but, I swear, I get compliments on it every time I wear it, no matter if I slip it over jeans, a skirt, a dress, etc. If a jacket has good lines, a good cut, decent fabric…this is almost a swing jacket…it's timeless. My only regret is that I live in a warm-weather climate so there's only a very few months of the year that I can actually wear it; thankfully, my size hasn't changed in the years since I bought it from J. Jill.
Glad for the tip on the shirt; I like J.Jill well enough and have bought several things over the years from them, notably a black linen sheath I've mentioned before that, had I known how much I would like it and how well it would hold up, I might have bought three to last me over the ensuing years, as I've never found anything since that I like or which was as versatile.
Oh boy, can't wait to get to Tish's as I have been waiting for the capsules with dresses. Thank you, Janice!
J. Jill sent me a complimentary pair of their Tried and True Fit Bootcut Jeans, in my size (don't know how they knew my size, I never ordered from them), and they fit like a dream, they are well-made, and they are my favorite pair of jeans! For the record, I'm a women's plus-size, and I usually buy Lane Bryant jeans. In fact, I bought a pair of Lane Bryant jeans (sale, plus coupon), and I still prefer the J. Jill jeans! They might just become my go-to women's plus size company.
I'm glad you found a denim shirt you like. J. Jill has good quality clothing.
I haven't purchased from J. Jill in about 5 years. Today, the J. Jill catalogue came and I was pleasantly surprised with their offerings. Your capsules have enticed me to purchase a dress or two for the spring/summer. I haven't worn dresses in awhile because I always thought of them as a "dress up" option, not a daily option. Your pairings with sandals and casual jewelry or a scarf made me rethink dresses for daytime/anytime. J. Jill has some great sheaths on sale and I am contemplating buying one to put away for better weather. Thanks, Janice
I'm catching up with some back posts but wanted to say how beautiful the romance accessories were…and the Renoir in the garden colors and ensembles were really, really nice. And, OMG, the teal ideas at Tish's are so gorgeous! I love the way how you incorporate the dresses in wintertime schemes, turning them into a skirt, with a warmer top over it! Teal–the turquoises "family"–works for so many of us, and love how it can go four seasons; luv-luv what you put together!!! And, to start with, it's such a nice dress, hardly basic, completely lovely. I have all kinds of possibilities swimming around in my head right now (as to what I've got on hand).
Janice, a favor…and forgive me if you've posted about this in previous months or last year and I missed it, but how do you organize your closet?
Heretofore, I've had a variety of padded hangers and a big mish-mash of store-hangers (which I've requested along with whatever outfit was hung on it) plus dry-cleaner hangers and, of course, any other types of hangers I've bought, especially skirt hangers with clips.
I've read repeatedly about the value of all the same kind of hangers for uniformity, so I got a large combination of those rounded-shoulder hangers that are suedy-covered, many different colors…and they're supposed to be so great…but I'm hugely disappointed with the rather expensive investment of them because they still pooch/bulge out the tops of the shoulders of my tops which, for me, is a neverending and unsolvable problem IT SEEMS (I tend to hang a lot of stuff other women probably fold…I'm a hanger, not a folder). True, these suedy-velvety hangers are definitely thin (kind of spindly when I'd rather have something more sturdy) so take up less room.
Then, I read that the best thing is wood, mens-wear, suit-type hangers. So, I bought those, too, primarily for my husband, but I've still got them in boxes because NO WAY can I get to my husband's closet yet before my own (one project at a time!!). I live in a doll's house from the 1920s with no closets and I have to get very creative, so I do have hooks and bars and whatever to hang belts, scarves, jewelry, plus over-the-door shoe bags, etc. (no room for shoeboxes). I'm wondering if I should ditch my flimsy new hangers for the wood ones (what a waste of money!).
ANYWAY, what do YOU do? As we transform our thinking, our clothes and literally our closets, I need help on the organizing as much as I do the weeding-out/procuring (well, procuring of the RIGHT stuff). Maybe in a future post? Or direct me back to one you did before? Many thanks.
Well, I have all matching wood hangers. Some of them have the clippy things for hanging skirts/pants, and some don't. I can't have any more clothes than I have hangers – that's the rule. At the time, I think I might have spent $50 or so for the hangers, but I'll have them forever, they're better for my clothes, and they look GREAT…
Okay, thanks, I'm going with the wood. I got a pretty-good deal on them last year with an online discounter. Wish I'd gone with them first.
Okay, the rule…no more clothes than what I have hangers for…wow…this will come slowly for me and I'm sure I will have many attempts, but I'm determined. That's like what those organizer-people on TV do, like when they're making you declutter a home and you've got 10,000 books. That one guy…I like him, he's Australian and I can't remember his name at the moment; I think he was on the OWN channel, Peter somebody?…would mark off on a tabletop what the width of a bookcase was and he'd tell the stressed owner that they could only choose as many books as would fit that marked-off area on the table. I'd probably faint on the spot if I had to do that…although I'm realizing this is what it will take if I don't tackle this myself first. Ugh. Well, actually NOT ugh, because this is going to keep feeling like a relief…eventually…
Oh dear, I just saw on the web headlines that Chicago's lakefront might get 20-ft waves from Perfect Storm Sandy et al; hope you're high and dry somewhere, Janice!!!
I live on the 6th floor, and have a pretty excellent view of the lake from here – literally just across Lake Shore Drive! And the city, in their INFINITE wisdom, started clearing EIGHT HUNDRED trees from Grant Park, so when the water washes up across the drive, there are no trees there to hold the soil in place. This city is run by rocket-scientists, I swear…
To anybody affected by this storm – we are thinking of you with love and concern. Do all of the smart things; err on the side of caution. The world is crossing their fingers for you all…
I see that you can wear that dress many different ways.
But, how often would you wear that dress to work? The color makes it distinctive.
Jora
I'd wear it once every two weeks. If people remember it… well… I don't know how that affect me. If I love the dress, I'll wear it!
Love the shirt, but I have to say my one experience with JJill was not a good one: bought 2 wearever tanks (on sale, thank heavens). They looked ok, but then I discovered the fabric at the back of one looked puckered (as if burned). Too late to return….I took them to Europe: they stretched out after handwashing, pilled, and emitted great quantities of dye when cold water washed–even after multiple washing.
Hi Janice,
I commented on Tish's blog, too. Could you post the link to this dress? I'd visit even more if I knew where I could find more of your recommendations!
Thank you!
Nancy
http://www.thecorner.com/us/women/short-dress_cod34300144tw.html?tp=40548
It's not something just all of us are going to rush out and buy! But there are dozens of teal dresses available right now…
Definitely true, but thanks for the quick response. Love reading you and I'm trying to implement your ideas for mixing and matching and shopping my closet more. Thanks for the inspiration!
Very pleased to see comments about denim shirts without pockets—this is one of my pet peeves, esp as I am well endowed and feel that flaps and buttons on my boobs is just one more invitation to stare!