Current favorite things at J.Crew. (Could also be entitled: Demystifying Personal shopping - Part 6.)

Yes, we are getting carried away with ourselves.  In the name of research (and desire to support a local organization through a shopping benefit), Lisa and I set up personal shopping appointments at J.Crew in the Natick Mall.  It was also someone's birthday (ahem, Lisa, ahem) and what better way than to spend the day - shopping with friends!

We contacted Sylvia Gesell and arranged our appointments for the same time, giving her our sizes and ideas of what we were interested in.  I was looking for summer tops (still) and white jeans and Lisa was interested in finding white jeans and some transitional looks.

I arrived at the mall to meet Lisa at J.Crew, only to find a friend in the parking garage and encouraged her to come along.  The more the merrier, right?!

We all arrived at J.Crew at 10:00am, and Sylvia was there to greet us and usher us into the dressing room area.  Sylvia had pulled this for me (in the way of tops).

Additionally, there was a dressing room across the hall for Lisa and Sylvia started right away to pull items for our friend from the garage.  We started digging through and found some great things for spring!

With bright colors being one of the recurring trends this spring, Lisa found herself in love with a pair of red pumps.

Not something I would have pulled off the shelf on my own, but look at how they weave their way through the next few outfits.  I might have to consider a pair myself.

Next up, a lace top, another spring trend.  Please comment and tell Lisa how fabulous this looks on her! (Note the red pumps too!  Gives a great color-blocked effect.)

I really took to the Tabitha blouse.  It's a very easy cut that looks great on a multitude of people and came in both solids and a print.  I couldn't resist the paisley print - how great will this look with white jeans and a gold pendant necklace?  Very easy for dinner out or a casual meeting.  Throw a navy blazer over it when it's still cool out.

Photo from jcrew.com

A striped sweater looked great on our friend - layered with a bright tank underneath, it's a steal at $69.50, and will be worn to death over the next few months and on cool summer nights.

Photo from jcrew.com

And speaking of stripes (again), this is a great, relatively inexpensive knit jacket at $128 - navy and white striped, with a hint of orange from a tank layered underneath.  (Again, red pumps!)

Sylvia was great, pulling additional sizes, making suggestions, and giving advice on fit.  We had a great time!  A big thank you to Sylvia and the team at J.Crew for not only a fun morning, but for acknowledging Lisa's birthday with flowers, a little breakfast, and this.  Why can't all shopping experiences be this great? ~ JH

Unless otherwise noted, images are Jennifer Houston's.