Don't we have enough sweaters?

The last thing I need is another sweater.  My drawer is full of them. Jen and I have pinky-sweared "NO MORE SWEATERS!" this season.  Problem is I fell HARD for Fisherman cable knits this fall.  

Images from habituallychic.blogspot.com.

The texture of a cable knit is the perfect partner for jeans, waxed or leather pants.  There are lots of style and color options out there in stores. But no pink cable for me.  Just the preppy, classic, gorgeous ivory color that goes with everything.   The search began in earnest.  Candidates must be:

• Not too heavy but heavy enough to be warm with just a cami under, scarf and jeans.  And ankle booties. Or riding boots.
• Not too bulky.
• Somewhat refined so I could wear it to work with trousers... 
• Yet cool enough to work with ponte leggings or waxed jeans 
• An interesting, classic cable pattern.
• Wool blend, not cotton.

My search turned up these...

525 America, Tusk cable sweater.  It's super cool and the loose turtle is a bit of a spin.

Image from cusp.com.

The Theory Innis Cable Knit sweater.  This is a gooood one. Sometimes I throw on a denim shirt underneath and Theory's sweater can handle that.

Image from cusp.com.

This Gap cable knit. Gap has great basics and they are doing their own version of cable knit.

Image from gap.com.

At Zara there is this short sleeve cable.  Short sleeve is a nice twist on the classic.

Image from zara.com.

Zara also has this ribbed cable.  It's cute, but it's short in length, so it might be belly-baring which no one, including me, wants to see out in public.

Image from zara.com.

Ahh.  The Vince cable turtleneck.  Very warm and cozy. 

Image from vince.com.

The Barbour Beckwith sweater.  Barbour is the classic.  I like the trim fit.

Image from madewell.

And the new addition to my sweater drawer? Which one made the cut?  This little lovely from Madewell.  Already sold out in store and on-line! 

Image from habituallychic.blogspot.com.

Clearly, I am not alone in my cable admiration.  Move over Eric Bompard, you have a new neighbor. ~ LB

W2WW News Flash - CUSP section open in Neiman Marcus Natick.

Wandering through Neiman Marcus in Natick this week, I was thrilled to discover that an 'in store boutique' of CUSP was being completed.  CUSP is an outpost of Neiman Marcus featuring a contemporary and well-curated collection of young and emerging designers.  I love CUSP; there are lots of different price points and designers' pieces are mixed together. In the Boston area, we are fortunate to have one of the 6 stand-alone stores in Chestnut Hill.  

Now, in Neimans in Natick, I can simply wander up to the second floor and check out all the fabulous fashions CUSP has to offer, including their own line of accessories.  Just look for the totem poles! (And thanks to Neimans for allowing me to take photos.)~ JH

Love their accessories tables!

Images by Jennifer Houston.

...it's Fall 2012: Printed (or Embroidered) Denim

I thought I would pass on this trend for sure.  I really did.  But then today I had more than a few hours to troll around a mall (Chestnut Hill), and I was attracted to some pairs of rag & bone jeans with embroidery while digging through Bloomingdale's.  These were all cute, but a little too 'young' for me.  

Image from bloomingdales.com.

Images from rag-bone.com.

Having tried on a few pairs, I found myself completely obsessed with hunting down a pair of embellished or printed jeans.  I tried these ikat corduroy pants, also by rag & bone.  Not kidding.

Image from piperlime.com.

They weren't bad, just not me.  Maybe me at 25, but not me over 40.  I made my way out of Bloomingdales (empty-handed except for a great navy Theory blouse, for which I'd attach a link if I could find it online anywhere!) and headed down the corridor to CUSP.  For those who are unfamiliar, CUSP is an outpost of Neiman Marcus and they tend to carry younger and emerging designers.  And, on a table in the back part of the store, were these pants:

Image from neimanmarcus.com.

By Sold Denim, a relatively new company to the jeans market (started in 2010), they fit like a dream, were completely comfortable and happened to be paired with great, rust-colored Vince sweater (and you know how I l-o-v-e Vince).  At $138, they were a lot less than the rag & bone ones (which were near $200).  I tried the outfit on, took a pic, and texted it to Lisa for comment.  

Image from Jennifer Houston.

When she didn't respond immediately, I called her.  Here's how the conversation went:

Jen: "Lisa, where are you?  Did you get my text?"

Lisa: "My phone was in the car; hold on.  Let me look."...

Lisa: "Ok, I see. Looks good. Is that a Vince sweater?  I was just looking at that one!"

Jen thinking: "We share the same brain."

I think I love them and maybe I'm just so desperate for something different.  Unbeknownst to me, Lisa has been eyeing printed denim too and thinks it's a good investment for the coming year.  There's a lot out there this year and wouldn't it be so nice to have something other than blue denim and black pants in your closet this fall?  Here are some other favorites.  I love this Chantilly Lace Print Joe's Jean - totally cute with white or black blouse, right?

Image from piperlime.com.

How about these python print ones from CJ by Cookie Johnson?  Lisa says she's over snake-print, but I think these might be a great neutral addition to a wardrobe.  What do you think?  They come in black too.

Image from nordstrom.com.

These Madewell 'Tiled-Up' jeans are another cute neutral with a twist.  Love it with a denim blouse.

Image from madewell.com.

For me, it's kind of like the non-t-shirt-t-shirt; I really needed something new and different to inspire me.  Next time you pass a table with some printed denim, take a moment and try some on.  You might be surprised.  ~ JH