So...I shopped up a storm, apparently, in the last two months of the year!

I sent all the M&S order back.

Re the Boden: I changed my mind and am sending back everything except the plain t-shirt and the skirt, but I have also ordered the skirt in a different size to compare. I decided the sweater is just a bit too oversized and too warm for my purposes, and the sweatshirt feels a bit too "cute" for my style.

The skirt is borderline too large so I want to compare the size down.

Next up, 2 items from Club Monaco. I love them both and intend to keep so my question is about the length of the pants.

They are meant to be cropped but on me are almost but not quite full length. There is a huge seam allowance so they could potentially be let down but I think I'd wear them more cropped as intended. Thoughts?

1-5 at the current length with various footwear. My sense is that they are not quite right at this length.
6-8 shortened a little.
9 sweater and skirt with taupe booties as per Angie's suggestion.
10 detailing on sweater. It's not pure white -- more like an ivory, but I think it works.

Reviews: the sweater is gorgeous soft merino. When I said that M&S merino was thin, I meant it was a bit scratchy, almost see-through. Recent J. Crew merino is one step up from that, but still not as good as it used to be -- and after three seasons it looks very tired. (Admittedly, I wear my merino tops hard all winter.) None of that nonsense here -- this is a lovely quality knit.

The pants are a light, all season wool blend. In this colourway they are not lined but they do not require a lining. There is a tiny bit of stretch. Nice pockets. Wide, but not overly wide. The check is very faint -- it is white or cream and also a very faint green or aqua -- I am thinking I might look for a shirt with that colour in the pattern for spring. They work with white, ivory, almost all my greys, some navies, reds. I really like the quality.

Thanks in advance for thoughts!