Talbots Shetland Blazer & More

Long time, no see! Hi to everyone who is still reading :D

I stopped into Talbots last night on my way home from work to try on a few items on my wishlist. Anything I like will be purchased much later on super sale, of course!

The item I was most excited about was the Shetland Blazer.

Talbots - Shetland Blazer | Jackets | Misses   (clipped to polyvore.com)

I mean, look at that adorable shirring at the back, it reminds me of J.Crew's 2008 Maggie jacket:

Talbots - Shetland Blazer | Jackets | Misses   (clipped to polyvore.com)

Love. I had the teal on my wishlist and the color is just as pretty in person. Unfortunately, I was disappointed in the jacket in general. It is pretty thin and flimsy, which would be ok if it was about half of what they are asking for it. The styling was boxy, but I guess I shouldn't have been surprised - this is Talbots we're talking about. I am really spoiled by my J.Crew Lexington jackets which are so structured and flattering, it's ridiculous. Anyway, here is what the jacket looked like on me in a size 6:

I wanted to try a 4 badly but they didn't have a single one in the store. Actually, alot of the items I wanted to try were sold out in a 4! Talbots is HORRIBLE with vanity sizing. I could even wear a 2 there sometimes, which is completely ridiculous. So I think that's why the smaller sizes sell out so fast... they are really middle of the range sizes at every other store which I think are generally the most common!

So, the 6 was definitely too big, while at J.Crew I could never wear smaller than a size 6 blazer. Keep in mind I am 5'9". I might order this on sale (over 50% off) in the teal if I can get it in a 4, but I won't shed a tear if it slips by me. It would probably be too short in a 4 anyway.

I also really liked the bird sweater, so I tried that too.

Talbots sweater   (see more talbots tops)

Look how cute! The colors in this sweater allow for endless outfit possibilities. Here it is on me in a small:

Sorry, I was on my way to work out so yes, those are spandex tights I am wearing. Try to ignore them :) This was very fitted, surprisingly. I always wear a small in Talbots sweaters. I'd probably still get this size because this sweater could easily veer into frump territory if it was too large. Closeup of the bird to show the semi-crappy job they did of knitting in the bird:

See the line right by the bird's chest and another by the twig? Well I guess it's better than most of the cheaper intarsia sweaters we see at Old Navy and the like. The blend was slightly itchy and reminded me of the blend used in the J.Crew Factory intarsia sweaters, only this is a tighter weave. I will definitely be purchasing this on sale, it's just so cute!


I also came across this adorable vest, reminiscent of a plaid used by J.Crew back in 2007:

Talbots vest   (see more red plaid vests)

Doesn't it remind you of the Bridget shirtdress?

Paris Catalog J. Crew Vanessa Bridget Shirtdress September 2007   (clipped to polyvore.com)

Anyway, it was so cute I had to try it. I do not own any vests because I find them highly impractical, but the plaid sucked me in. And it looked so cute w/ the bird sweater!

This is a small. Very cute, a little short, but that is normal for me. This is VERY thin. Thinner than the J.Crew excursion vests. I'd say it is for looks only... very little warmth!

Even after finding a few cute things I may buy later on, I left the store disgusted at the horrible service I received. 5:00 on a weeknight, Talbots is not exactly bustling at that time. I was ignored by all of the sales associates and when I approached a woman who looked like maybe she worked there, to asked if she worked there/for help, she acted so annoyed! She checked for a size 4 in that jacket and then came back out, announced they had none, and that was it. No offering to order it on the phone, which you think she would have at least tried since they were having the BOGO 50% off sale. Nope. I said Thanks, she said nothing and scowled, and I left. This store is usually terrible with the service. They seem to go out of their way to help older customers and ignore/act downright rude to younger ones. I don't get it. Why not just be polite and warm to everyone? Isn't that your job!? Ok, rant over.

Have you tried anything from Talbots lately?

A spiffy outfit

OOTD 10/3/12 by jcrewjd featuring short heels

J.Crew Lexington Jacket (2007)

J.Crew Telegraph Pencil Skirt in Super 120s, size 4, Summer 2012 (size down to your smaller skirt size)

 J.Crew perfect fit tape boatneck tee, size medium, Summer 2012

Talbots heels, Fall 2011, size 10.5 (thank you, Talbots, for making my shoe size)

I was inspired by this photo from J.Crew's Holiday 2007 collection. It is gorgeous, isn't it? Wouldnt wear this particular outfit but the colors are so pretty. I miss that green background; it made everything feel festive.

I was told I look spiffy while wearing the above outfit. I am choosing to take that as a compliment.

How I came up with my silly, cheesy blog title

Judicious Shopaholic. Seems like an oxymoron to me... and yet it describes me so well.

From dictionary.com:

judicious:  

having, exercising, or characterized by good or discriminating judgment; wise, sensible, or well-advised

shopaholic: 

a frequent shopper, especially one who is unable to control his or her spending.

  

That about sums me up. I am an extremely frequent shopper (My shoddy income does a nice job of controlling my spending for me, though) but I try to be extremely discriminating in my spending. My rules are: never pay full price, never pay for shipping, and if you miss out on a "must have" item, there will (almost) always be an even better item that comes along. 

Last week, I broke the most sacred of my rules: never pay for shipping. A full price item can always be returned. If an item gets away, it will pop back. But that money you just wasted on shipping, you will never see again. Talbots sucked me right in with their $45 wool pencil skirts. I am not sure why I had such a lack of judgment but I did, and before I knew it I was paying $8 shipping on a $90 order, or almost 10% of the total cost.

It turned out well because I (painfully) reminded myself why I never pay shipping, under any circumstances. The skirts came, and they were nice, but one was defective (ran an entire size larger) and I just wasn't wowed. In other words, they weren't J.Crew Double Serge Wool Pencil skirts, the holy grail of pencil skirts. So I had to trek to Talbots to return them and eat the shipping charge. The cheap part of me really, really hurt. Especially since two days later, there was a free shipping no minimum promotion. Grrrrrr. 

I showed a clear lack of judiciousness (is that even a word?) when I bought those skirts, but it was a rare lapse and totally out of character. Thankfully, I am back on track now. I will stalk a popback until the cows come home, and then I will promptly add $150 of ride-alongs to meet whatever the shipping minimum is as I rush to checkout. I am the customer that every retailer hates, but it's my money, gosh darn it!

So the moral of the story is: I may have all five colors of the Lana cami (a bit much, some might say), but they were on sale, I got free shipping, and they were the even better thing that came along after I missed out on the Joelle cami four years ago. And that is why I am a judicious shopaholic!