New York & Company is promoting its new arrivals with a $30 off $75 coupon. This is a pretty common coupon for them, as I swear I get them at least once or twice a week. This coupon is good in-store and online, through May 25.
The Limited is promoting their new "exotic" arrivals by offering a coupon for $20 off a purchase of $60 or more, and $30 off a purchase of $100 or more. It says you can get this deal in-store and online - for online purchases, use the code 158 at checkout, and for in-store purchases, print out the coupon below (click the graphic and print), or click here.
Gap is running a promotion right now where you can save 20% on your new purchase, and 25% if you use your Gap, Banana Republic, or Old Navy card. The e-mail was promoting Gap's new arrivals, but luckily the coupon can be used on your entire purchase, including sale items. Gap has some really cute new arrivals out, which I will post about soon!
J.Crew Factory Outlet is offering "special savings" on their new summer arrivals. This is super tempting, as I love the outlets! I think they are (usually) very good deals, and I have never had a problem with quality.
J.Crew released their new arrivals to the website today. They released a number of new pieces, some that I love, and some that I don't. There are a couple of Collection pieces that I am super in love with, and have already e-mailed my online Personal Shopper about them! Happily, they aren't ridiculously expensive, which is always nice.
This is the Watercolor Floral Pencil Skirt. I love the pattern on this skirt, but the description says it's 24", so I'm hoping it won't be too long.
This is the Garden Dress. I simply love the petals on the bodice, but I'm really interested to see how this dress fits IRL, as it seems to be a tad shapeless on the model. The Boyfriend hasn't seen this dress yet, but I can almost guarantee he will say it looks like a nightgown.
The Boyfriend will probably also make fun of the Bouquet Sash Belt, but I think it's whimsical and feminine. Plus I love flowers!
I love the Cashmere Croquet Cardigan. I love love love these shades of purple, especially the contrasting shades. I'm not as crazy about all those pockets, and I'm especially not crazy about the price.
I already have the Solid Silk Garland Cami in breeze, but I love this purple color (I love pretty much all light purples).
This is the Embossed-Cotton Printed Lorelei Dress. I love this shade of green as well as the print, but I have a ton of dresses!
I love the Harbour Oxford Capri pants, but they have a 26.5" inseam, which is about half an inch to an inch too short for me, so I'd have to have them hemmed to get them to be true capris. I would definitely want to see this in person.
I love these Floral Sparkle Earrings. They seem like they could really dress up an outfit, while still being casual and cute.
I also love this Crystal-Flower Ring. As I've mentioned, I love flowers, and I think this ring is super cute.
Today, Gap announced the arrival of its newest brand, Athleta, right on the heels of Express's introduction of their new yoga line. Athleta makes/sells sporty and active apparel and footwear for women (sorry, guys). Gap acquired Athleta last fall, and has just now added the brand to its online stores. Happily, the same shopping and cardholder perks that exist for Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, and Piperlime merchandise also exist for Athleta.
The Limited is promoting its Eco Chic collection in conjunction with Earth Day. This collection is made from organic cotton that is grown without pesticides. There are a number of offerings, including tops, bottoms, dresses, and fabric accessories.
Express has introduced their new yoga collection, which includes tanks, pants, crops, shorts, and hoodies. In addition, exclusive sizes (including XXS) are available online. Select pieces are available from XXS to XL, and are available in short, regular, and long lengths.
Victoria's Secret is introducing their latest bra offering, the new Biofit 7-Way. This bra can be worn seven different ways: strapless, one-strap, halter, classic, v-front, crisscross, and crossback. This bra reminds me of VS's Very Sexy 100-Way, but obviously with much fewer options.
J.Crew is offering a sneak peek of upcoming May arrivals for "cardmembers" only. I say cardmembers in quotes because I got this e-mail at two accounts: one that is associated with my J.Crew card, and one that is not (although more and more, I'm thinking maybe the second was at some point, and never updated). Either way, there are 4 items featured in this promotion:
J.Crew is promoting their cotton ripstop cargo pants, which retail for $69.50, and according to the e-mail, are J.Crew's favorite thing for spring, summer, and fall.
What do you think? Do you like cargo pants? Do you like the cotton ripstop?
Gap is offering 30% off of new arrivals at their family of stores (Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy)! Use the code NEW30 at checkout. This offer is good for 4 days, April 6 through April 9, and is online only.
Gap is also offering free shipping on orders of $150 or more.
This is American Eagle's Slim Striped Camping shirt (item #0355-5064), which retails for $34.50. It also comes in a pink and blue stripe. AE describes the search as such:
Lightweight, versatile and perfect for your summer wardrobe.The shirt fit me true to size in my regular AE size, and the cotton was pretty soft. The stripe is also a nice, thin striped pattern, which I also like.
• Soft tissue cotton poplin• Slim fit silhouette• Two small button pockets• Color stripe pattern• Full button-up front• Rolled button-tab 3/4 sleeves• Pop color interior trim
The shirt is a little bit thin for my liking, and I probably wouldn't wear it without a tank or a shirt underneath. It also has cute tabs for holding up the rolled sleeves, and two front button pockets.
I think the shirt looks a little nicer from the back, just because I think it looks more fitted from the back.
I would definitely wear this just as styled - untucked, with the sleeves casually rolled up. I think it is a great, casual shirt that you can also dress up or down depending on the accessories. I left this one behind because I already own a few "camp" shirts from other stores (from past seasons) that I like better than this one.
J.Crew's latest arrivals showed up on their website today, although several pieces had already popped up in store.
Some of the pieces I reviewed earlier this week are now available online, so here is an update on those:
The white emroidered dress and patio dress are not available online, at least from what I could tell.
There are also men's new arrivals.
J.Crew also announced Crewcuts new arrivals with an e-mail. I love the dress on the left - I picked up a very similar one (I don't think it has pockets) for the Boyfriend's goddaughter at the Outlets not too long ago.
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?
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?
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.