Victoria's Secret is offering a coupon for 20% off any in-store purchase now through May 10, 2009. You must present the coupon above to take advantage of the offer (click and print the graphic above). This offer is good in-store only.
Victoria's Secret is offering an in-store coupon for $10 off any full-priced bra, and a free cotton undie with any purchase. This offer is good until May 3, but you do need to have the coupon with you to get this offer. To print the coupon above, click the graphic and then print. If that does not work, you can e-mail me, and I will forward the coupon to you.
Victoria's Secret announced their first VIP cardholder perk - a free beauty gift of a deluxe sample set (worth $15) of VS's new fragances, Parfums Intimes. If you show your VS VIP card in-store from April 9 until April 21, you can take home this free sample. No purchase is required!
Express is offering their Express Cash promotion again. From now until April 26, 2009, for every $50 you spend, you receive a $25 coupon off a future purchase of $50 or $75 (apparently depends on the store where you earn the Express Cash). Express Cash can be redeemed from April 27 to May 17, 2009. This offer is only good in-store.
Victoria's Secret is offering select bras for 2 for $49 through Monday, April 6. This offer is good in-store only.
Additionally, VS is also offering a coupon for a dollars off promotion: $10 off $50, $15 off $75, and $25 off $100. To take advantage of this offer, print out the coupon (click the picture and print), and present it in-store to get the dollars off. This coupon is good until April 12, 2009.
Gap Factory Outlets are offering their cardholders 25% off a purchase of $75 or more when you use your Gap, Old Navy, or Banana Republic card. This promotion is good from April 2 - 12. Just present the coupon above at the register. (To print the coupon, click the image and then print. If that does not work, you can e-mail me, and I will forward you the coupon.)
I am super excited about this offer - the Gap Outlet has such great pieces (in my opinion), and most of the store is on sale most of the time.
Will you use this coupon? Do you like Gap Outlet?
This is another tube top from American Eagle (item #0363-9371). I cannot find it online, but it retails for $24.50, and was available in other colors, including solids, in the store.
This tube top also fits true to size, and I like this one better than the previous tube top I reviewed.
I think that the lack of ruffles keeps this tube top nice and simple, and I prefer this floral print to the other one. The banded bottom keeps the tube top in place without being tight or sitting awkwardly on the waist.
This tube top has a built-in shelf bra, and I think is a fairly flattering shape. I think it blouses nicely without creating a belly or adding extra weight. The fabric is nice and light, and would be great in the spring and the summer.
I still don't like the back view, which is probably why I normally wear sweaters with tube tops. Like the other top, I left this one behind, mainly because tube tops just aren't really my thing.
This is J.Crew's printed mini skirt (item #13?51), which originally retailed for $78, and was on sale at my local store for $49.99. It came in a variety of prints, including the grey deco dot print.
I picked this up in my usual skirt size, and I think it fits true to size.
It has diagonal on-seam pockets, and I think the buttons on the pockets are a nice touch. It also has back welt pockets.
It is made of a nice stretch cotton, and I thought the print was nice and fun. I also liked this skirt because I don't need to worry about VPLs with it.
I didn't get this skirt because I'm not really comfortable wearing mini skirts (and I can't imagine how short this would be on a taller person). I prefer longer, just-above-the-knee skirts, so I left this one behind.
What do you think? Do you own any J.Crew mini skirts?
The last item I'm reviewing from my last J.Crew trip was this embroidered white dress (item #13660). I saved this one for last because it's my favorite! The dress was marked $128, and also came in a darker grey color, with white embroidery.
It is a simple strapless sheath dress, with a very pretty allover embroidery, which was a cream color on the white dress.
The dress fits true to size, and I think is probably one of the better fitting things I've tried on from J.Crew lately. It hugs and forgives in all the right places.
It has a back-zip (which makes tailoring easier, or at least that's what I've been told by my tailor), and the band at the waist is a nice detail.
The dress also has on-seam pockets at the hip.
Here is a close-up of the embroidery pattern.
I just love this dress. I think it is a nice, classic silhouette, and the design is versatile enough that it can be dressed down or up with the right accessories. I think it is one of the best all occasion dresses I have seen in some time. This was one item that the Boyfriend actually had a very positive opinion about (as opposed to the usual "Sure, it's okay" or funny comments when he dislikes an item), and I did end up taking it home.
What do you think? Do you like this dress? Have you seen it or tried it on?
J.Crew is offering a spring break coupon for their factory outlet locations. From today until April 12, 2009 (a long spring break!), you can save 15% on any purchase of $75 or more.
Simply print the coupon above (click the graphic and print), and take it to your nearest J.Crew Factory Outlet. If clicking and printing does not work, feel free to e-mail me, and I will forward the coupon to you.
Do you plan on using this coupon? Is there anything you're looking for for spring break, or spring in general?
Victoria's Secret sent out an e-mail announcing the Naturally line that I mentioned in this post. To get you to try their new line, they are offering two promotions!
The first is for a free mini body lotion. Just print out the coupon above (click the graphic and print), and bring it to your nearest VS store! This coupon is good until April 12.
The second promotion was also the one mentioned previously - you get a free cotton tote with some beauty samples with any Naturally purchase of $25 or more. This offer is good until April 6.
The Naturally line is available now in-stores, and is available online starting April 1. I love the new line - they had several scents, and I had difficulty picking which one I liked the best.
Will you check out VS's new Naturally line? Have you seen it already?
J.Crew has wonderful work pieces, and it looks like are branching out with a new line, called Haberdashery.
This is a stretch-cotton work short, with some interesting pleating and sleeve detailing. I do not know what it is called, but it is item #13326. It was marked $59.50, so very comparable to J.Crew's other work shirts. I could not find it online. In-store, it was available in additional colors, but like most of the other new arrivals, I picked it up in the lavender color. :)
This shirt fits very true to size, and is not tight at all. I probably could have gotten away with sizing down in this shirt, but I like to be able to move my arms, so I stayed with my regular size.
The fabric is the nice, light cotton stretch that J.Crew uses for their other work shirts or more formal button downs. The collar is a stand-up collar, with a sort of ruffley pleat all around, tapering to a more narrow width in front.
The shirt was a little blousey around the middle for me, but not enough for me to consider sizing down. I would also pair this with a pair of work pants if I were to consider purchasing it, just to see how it looks, and especially if it stays flat while tucked in. Because of the slight puff in the sleeves, I would want the shirt to stay flat around the midsection to avoid too much puffing.
Here is a close up of the collar detailing. The collar is nice and soft, so no need to worry about stiff pleats poking you in the neck all day.
Lastly, here is a close-up of the label for the new line.
So what do you think? Do you like this shirt? Do you like the new Haberdashery line (I just like saying it)? What colors would you like to see this shirt in? 
I have seen J.Crew's ringspun ruffle short-sleeve painter Henley (that's a mouthful) mentioned on other blogs, but I wasn't aware that this is what I tried on in the store until I searched for it on J.Crew's website (item #12678). I'm not sure if this really qualifies as a new arrival, but here are my thoughts anyway.
I do like the length of this shirt though. I am a fan of longer shirts (but not too long), and I thought the length was great.
My main reason for not taking this shirt home was the ruffle down the front of it. I put it on, and sort of instantly disliked it. I can't describe it any better than the Boyfriend did:
You look like there's a snake climbing down your shirt.
The picture below is his attempt to capture the true snake-i-ness of the ruffle. I may have liked this shirt better in a size up, but as with the previous shirt, I didn't feel like going to get another size.
I think the shirt could be super cute in the right size, and with some nice fluffing of the ruffle down the front. Below is a picture of the shirt in tea rose, from J.Crew's website. It shows the ruffle detail a little bit better than the modeled picture does (maybe that is why she is wearing the white tee).
What do you think? Do you have this shirt? Do you like it? How is the sizing for you?
This is a square-neck top from J.Crew (item #13621). It was marked $39.50 in-store, but I could not find it online. I believe (but don't hold me on this) that this might be slub cotton, but I'm not totally sure. It comes in a nice variety of muted colors. I picked it up in the lavender color, which is the same as the zebra shorts reviewed earlier.
I think it would be best to size down in this shirt. I picked it up in my regular top size, and as you can see, it's pretty loose. I didn't feel like trying on a size smaller, but I think that would be the best way to go if you like this top, and don't want it too flowy.
The neckline has some contrasting fabric and topstitching detail, which I think is a nice touch. It saves the shirt from being a boring, square-necked top.
I didn't get this top because the one I grabbed was too large, but I may end up picking it up in a smaller size during the Boston JCA outing.
This is a pleated skirt from J.Crew (item #14531), which I could not find online. It was marked $70. They also had this skirt in white or grey (cannot remember exatly) - maybe both. I really, really wanted to like this skirt. It looked very nice on the mannequin, where it was paired with a white tank top and a cardigan.
Below the pleats, the skirt has even more pleats, which make the skirt fuller and gives it some movement. I wasn't crazy about the "panel" of pleats on the waistband. I think I could have gotten behind them if the pleats were either all around or only on the skirt. As it is, I feel like th is skirt has a bit of an identity crisis - it wants to be a pleated skirt AND a nice, airy A-line skirt at the same time.
The skirt was also a bit too long on me. I made the mistake of buying some J.Crew summer skirts that were this length last summer, and I hardly ever wear them. 
I was disappointed that I didn't love this skirt on, but I think it would look great on pretty much anyone. It doesn't create a lot of volume on any trouble areas, and the pleating is a nice touch - it just wasn't for me. 
What do you think of this skirt? Do you like it? Would you get it in another color? 
J.Crew's new patio dress (item #14270) was available at my local store, and is also available online. It is only $48 (you'll see why soon). J.Crew describes the dress as such:
The chic cowlneck on this dress makes it a warm weather must-have forSo I'm not sure how new this dress is (it was at the back of the store, which isn't always sale items), but I have never noticed it before. J.Crew's website lists it as a new arrival, but you have to search for it by item number or name.
après-beach days. Cotton. Short sleeves. Seam under bust for support.
This dress is alpha-sized, and it's hard to tell if the dress fits true to size, because I'm not exactly sure how it is supposed to fit. I picked it up in my normal size, and it certainly doesn't look like it does on the model (but does it ever?). I don't like the "seam under bust for support" - first off because it is elastic, and I don't like the way it looks, and secondly, because this dress reminds me of the way some grandmas (mine included!) wear their pants - with their waist hiked up to right under their busts. Now I know some people (like grandmas) can pull off that look, but I can't.
Aside from the bust issue, I didn't like the fabric either. It is fairly thin, and I can see why this would be marketed as an "apres-beach" dress. As for other details, the cowl-neck was not styled as it is the modeled picture, but I imagine if you put a little time into it, you could get into to do more than just sit there.
I would have liked this dress with a little heavier fabric, a more polished neckline, and a different waist. As soon as I put this dress on, I wanted to take it off, so needless to say, I left this one behind.These are J.Crew's chino "critter" shorts (probably). They are item #12886, but I could not find them online. These shorts were with the rest of the chino shorts, and I believe they are a 3" inseam.
These shorts fit true to size, and are the nice, soft, chino fabric that J.Crew uses in their other chino shorts. They are a medium lavender color, with embroidered grey zebras.
I really love these shorts. I love the color purple, and I'm so glad that it's making so many appearances in fashion this spring. Note that this lavender color is a bit darker than the "misty lavender" color that some of J.Crew's tops (Jackie cardigan and some tees) come in.
I think the zebras are so cute, and I am glad they are grey - I think it complements the lavender color nicely. Here is an up close shot of the zebra.
These shorts were $49.50, which I think is fairly standard for J.Crew's chino shorts. I did end up getting these.These are J.Crew's new print shorts (item #12390), which I could not locate online, but saw in-store. I think they are about a 3" inseam, and have an allover print, with bright coral tones throughout.
These shorts fit true to size, although the fabric is a little stiff. I think it might soften up a bit after additional washes. As you can see from the side view picture, the pattern is all over, and has quite a bit of the coral-y pink in it.
I didn't notice this until I was writing this, but I'm not crazy about the way the back (and front, see above) patterns are the same panels side-by-side. I think I would have liked it better if shorts had the pattern more randomly.
Here is a close-up of the front pattern.
These shorts cost a whopping $68! I cannot wait to read J.Crew's description of these shorts to hear why they think these are worth $68 (I am guessing something about the fabric and the design). Because I wasn't crazy about the stiffness of the fabric and I didn't completely love these shorts (a requirement if I were to buy), I left these at the stores.