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Fall haul: the reckoning

Greyscale

Veteran

I've been shopping a lot, without clear goals, and I'm not sure which things I'll really use. My vague list is: a pair of boyfriend jeans, high waist vintage-y jeans, some silk tees and tanks, a "weird shirt" (e.g. deconstructed poplin shirting) and a cropped, loose jacket. And maybe something pink and/or dark floral. But here's what I ended up with, and decision time is here.

1+2: Uniqlo men's selvedge jeans. I love these! The only question is length: should I hem them to full length and roll? Wear long? Crop to ankle length?

3+4: Helmut Lang blazer I've been stalking. It looks great and my Theyskens blazer is sadly deceased but... these days I only wear blazers for job interviews (which I do hope to have this winter). I am really torn on this. It's a good deal at $200 but that's substantial.

5+6: Uniqlo cocoon sweater. Checks all the boxes: avant-garde shape, nice cotton fabric. But maybe more boring than I thought? I have a lot of tops, and pullovers get much less wear than tees and buttoned shirts.

7: Gap denim jacket. Expected to love it but I don't - something about the shape. This one is going back.

8-11: J Crew funnelneck top (showing sleeves at different lengths). A contender for "weird shirt" that I've wanted since I saw it in their fashion show months ago. I wish the sleeves were tapered and had buttoned cuffs. Otherwise I like it - but I have to say the quality is really disappointing. Seam threads hanging off all over, even some messed up tangled seams.

12: Equipment tee. I think I love it. I hope I can get a price adjustment down to its new sale price. Fits the dark floral theme I've been enjoying recently. I need to figure out if I would wear it often. There is a similar cami but with some pink in the flowers that I also love... (edit: Nordstrom adjusted the price! Hooray! I will definitely keep it at $75 even though that's a lot, but $113 was a stretch. Also, cami option added in Finds.)

Writing this post helped me realize I do have a clearer sense of what I need. Not all of these fit it, but some do. And please do chime in with opinions on how I should hem the jeans.

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Helmut Lang Helmut Lang Cropped Shrunken Crepe Jacket, Black

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3

Funnelneck shirt

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5

Women Cocoon V-neck Sweater

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1

Equipment Brynn Silk Tee

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5

Equipment Ivana Floral Silk Camisole

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1

Shopping

23 replies

Latest reply was from The Cat

Style Fan

Veteran

Great shopping haul!!

I can`t comment on the length of the jeans. It takes me forever to hem anything. I failed PPL 101. The jeans look great though.</p><p><br>I love the blazer. The cropped length is fab on you. Are you sure you don`t need it?
I can`t tell what the sweater is like from the photo but it sounds like you would not get much wear from it.
I agree that the GAP jacket is underwhelming.
I am not sure what to think about the J Crew shirt. It certainly ticks the boxes but the quality may not be there.
Love love love the T shirt. So cool.

Greyscale

Veteran

Hm. For the blazer, maybe I should style it with my various interview pants and see if it would work with those. And maybe see if I can style it with jeans in a way that I'd wear? Or maybe that's unlikely to happen. (I just threw it on with those boy-cut skinnies and tucked in tee, and that's not really how I'd wear it.)

Elle

Veteran

The jeans are amazing on you. I personally love full length rolled jeans now but that's me. What length would you wear more often? I also love the floral tee on you and the cami is wonderful.

About the J Crew top, it looks cute on you but I'd think about exchanging for another one. Maybe a different one would be better quality

LaPed

Veteran

Well, the selvedge jeans look great! I'd probably leave them full length and cuff them as needed, especially if the cropped trend has indeed reached its zenith.

LOVE the silk tee. I can see why you're tempted by the cami (which looks like a great way to add some pink).

I'm not sold on the shirt or the sweater. The neckline of the sweater looks a bit too narrow to me -- which has happened to me with Uniqlo v-neck sweaters -- that neckline doesn't seem to work for broad shoulders or something. The J Crew shirt is a cool concept, reminds me a bit of a classic fisherman's smock -- something to look into if this silhouette speaks to you? FWIW, I like it waaaay better with the cuffs turned up -- so maybe with the sleeves shortened it's a winner?

The denim jacket is maybe a bit too large? I'm not sure I'm sold on this whole "boyfriend denim jacket" look -- I prefer the classic fitted ones even though I'm usually all in on boxy/oversized!

And yeah -- I want to see the blazer with dress pants!

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Coming back later to say more but WOW, that Equipment tee! Keep that for sure!! Jeans look great, too.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

ETA -- style blazer with interview pants to see if it works.

Send back denim jacket, yes.

For the funnel neck top -- I really like it on you. If quality is poor on this one maybe check another, and also if you are hemming the sleeves you could have them tapered a bit, too.

I don't know what to say about the hemming of the jeans. Will they be daily wear items? If so, what length would be most practical for you?

Greenjeans

Veteran

More pink!

Greyscale

Veteran

LaPed, you're so right about the narrow v neck. Back it goes.

(Edit: in fact, I think I've bought two previous Uniqlo v neck sweaters where the v was too narrow and too high. Neither gets worn often.)

Laura G

Veteran

The pants look great on you--perfect fit. I'm no help with hemming, since to me there's only full-length and wrong-length.

Love the floral tee, adds a nice spark to the achromatic solids. Yay for price adjustments!

The cocoon sweater looks like a standard V neck that's a little less fitted in the body. If avant-garde shape is what you're after, it's not coming through in these photos, anyway.

I love the cropped blazer, but like you I'd think twice about spending that much just for interviews, even if I can afford it. Just seems like the need could be filled for less, with money left over for things you'll get more wear out of. If you'd actually wear it on the new job, that's another story.

Not sure the white top really ticks the boxes in person, and I think the reason is what you noticed--the sleeve shape. The wide body plus wide sleeves looks less weird/avant garde than just oversized to me. If you are going to get it, maybe you can exchange it for one with straight seams.

This sounds pretty negative, but a) I can only judge by what I see in the photos (could be different in person), and b) my intention is to be helpful. When I try something on, I actively look for reasons *not* to buy. If those reasons exist they *will* show up in the wearing, so I try hard to spot them in the trying-on. Anything that survives that is more likely to actually get worn.

Greyscale

Veteran

When I try something on, I actively look for reasons *not* to buy. If those reasons exist they *will* show up in the wearing, so I try hard to spot them in the trying-on. Anything that survives that is more likely to actually get worn.

That is such a good point. I am sure that my annoyance at the loose sleeves will come up every time I put it on. I really wish it weren't true -- but barring reworking the sleeves entirely, it's just not for me. And I don't think I could get them altered enough to make a difference, especially with the fairly cheap construction. Sleeves are hard to get right, and if they're wrong they really don't move correctly. I guess I'll keep an eye out for my perfect weird shirt. Too bad, since this one was so much more affordable than most!

(I suspect it could look great on someone taller and with longer arms than me.)

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I LOVE the jeans. Keep the length as is. KILLER on you.

Fab floral tee and V-neck pullover too. I like the narrow V.

I vote send the rest back. Fits aren't great.

Kate

Veteran

I like the jeans a lot, and think the length as is is just fine. I do love the funnelneck shirt, but if the quality problems are going to annoy you, send it back. I also quite like the V neck.

rachylou

Veteran

I like the jeans and floral tee. I *do* find the black sweater strangely boring...

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

The jeans are super fab, and so is the silk tee. Definite keepers. And I vote full-length for the jeans. You could check out Angie's recent forum post on her dark full-length straight-leg jeans for inspiration.
I like the Helmut Lang jacket. If you've been stalking it, I think it's worth trying it in the ways you're likely to wear it. I, too, had my eye on a HL black jacket for a long time; it was kind of a tux style, very sharp, and I envisioned wanting to wear it for dressy occasions and maybe holiday parties. Alas, I never found it on sale in my size, and my desire for a piece like that has passed. Plus, I did find a similar Loft jacket on super discount that would serve the same function, if not as stunningly. But that's MY story, not yours. So I'd say give the jacket a chance, and if you decide not to keep it, at least you can stop stalking it.

Oh, and my thoughts on the JCrew shirt: you seem very attuned to quality. To me, anyway, you seem to curate a wardrobe of fewer but better pieces, and I think this shirt could be a disappointment each time you went to put it on, even if you like the style.

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Jeans look great as they are. I totally get the obsession with the HL jacket, but am wondering if it is a size big? I am looking at the shoulders here. Love the shape of the Uniqlo sweater and probably would have ordered one, but my Uniqlo/Lemaire sweaters actually didn't last very long and got pilled up fast. Perhaps this is a better fabric though. Waiting for JW Anderson to decide. Tee looks great. Not sure about white blouse - definitely prefer it in #11 but is that how you want to wear it?

K.M.

Veteran

Another vote for the tee and jeans--they really stand out.
I saw the Uniqlo cocoon on their site, and it looks more avant-garde on their model. I had the same experience with a boat-neck tee that looked so striking and geometric on the model, but just plain on me. Perhaps a size bigger would do the trick? Also I just ordered a sweater from them that shrunk so badly even though I followed instructions (different fabric though).
Sad to hear about the quality of the J.Crew shirt. I'm pulling for them and hoping they can get their act together. I saw those shirts on their catalog and they looked so interesting. I love the idea of having a weird shirt, but I suppose it needs to be flattering weird and not just weird. As a small person I find that it's really hard to get these things to fit me right.
Love your photo sequence in any case--front, side, nice lighting, hair variations, and what a beautiful house.

Greyscale

Veteran

Shevia, my Uniqlo U and Lemaire sweaters also got holes quickly, though luckily they were easy-to-repair holes where the seams came undone.

Interesting question about the fit. I thought I'd tried on the smaller size but maybe I never did. I will try it again (with various trousers) and see how it looks. There's still a smaller size available but just one left in stock, so I'd have to order it right away to compare.

Greyscale

Veteran

Firecracker, thanks for noting that about quality. I don't think I'm so successful at the "fewer" part of "fewer, better" but I think I've done a good job with quality and style the past few years. I do have a lot of tops, so I should be extra selective about these.

KM, good point - this is already a small rather than XS (I bought both but the XS wasn't relaxed enough, though interesting in a differrent way). I might be lost in a larger size but I think the oversized drape is really key to this look. Maybe I'll try on the M when I return this one.

lyn67

Veteran

Great haul, but OH My Gosh, I keep comming back to your nr 1, those slippers are the most awesome I ever saw (weird me, I know:-)).

skylurker

Veteran

You look overwhelmed by #3, 7, 8, they all look too big to me.
I like the v-neck but wonder if it's too short : does it ride up? I ask because it's something I find super annoying with knits.
Love the jeans - I'd keep the length as is - and the floral tee.

Stylefan cracked me up with her "I failed PPL 101" comment

Jenni NZ

Veteran

Greyscale I like the jeans, the blazer( but maybe too big in the shoulders) and especially the Equipment tee which is FANTASTIC. You know how once I said our styles were opposite? I don't think that any more with pic 12... What does this mean?!

gryffin

Veteran

Greyscale - great haul. Love the jeans as is. You can always roll or cuff them to swap it up. Adore the floral equipment tee. Wonderful. I like the HL jacket. I can't comment on fit but I have a sugar eye for old HL the tailoring is superb. I never understood how much construction mattered until I tried on the brand. I have the gala tux jacket. There is also a long sleeve knit version of the gala jacket. If you can still find one highly recommended. But I thought the above jacket looked really nice on. Just do hard tell in a photo. You'll have to make the call. I like the denim jacket. I just actually bought the same jacket during the gap sale. I don't have a denim jacket. I'm going to keep it. It's not a big outlay so I'll see if I wear it. Were you looking for something more cropped? Fitted? Oversized? Can't see detail on sweater but looks like you are sorted. On the top I think you look amazing in architectural pieces but agree I don't think this is fitting you well. Drooling on the tee. Wish I had seen that when it was still available. I must look for tops. Hate shopping tops. Blazers are so much more fun...sigh

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The Cat

Veteran

i vote wear the jeans long or make one big roll/cuff like the one Angie showed a few days ago.

I love the floral tee.