Brooks Brothers Books

I posted yesterday about some of the clothing offerings I had found (and loved) at Brooks Brothers. This post is about their series of books. About is one titled "50 things Every Young Lady Should Know". I gave it to my daughter on her 10th birthday and both my son's received their own copy of "50 Things Every Young Gentleman Should Know" on their 10th birthdays as well. There is a lot of common sense stuff in these books that somehow seems absent from life today such as how to introduce a friend to your parents and how some basic internet skills. There are several other books in the series but I have not read them yet. How about you?

Brooks Brother Fall

I've been looking wider a field for fall as J Crew hasn't been making my heart beat faster and ended up at Brooks Brother the other day. They have an amazing new flag ship store in Union Square, if you are in the area, check it out! Anyway, I have always bought clothes for Hubby and my boys there. My youngest loves their bow ties! But until recently thought their clothes seemed to, well old, for me. Maybe I'm more mature or they have updated their style, or a little of both but I loved a lot! Their stuff is pricey but incredibly well made. It fits better with my idea of investment dressing, that is fewer clothes of higher quality rather than tons of cheaper stuff. 

 

I love both of these looks and plan to at least copy them with stuff in my closet!

 This plaid wrap is to die for and looks great!

 Love this structured green satchel.

This ruffed plaid scarf is fun too. With navy or camel pants and an ivory turtleneck it would be a great accent.

I guess what I have discovered is a return to the really classic look is for me. I've always been more tailored and conservative a dresser than my sister or mom but my observations this fall confirm it! What about you? Do you shop Brooks Brothers?



Two Trends I'm Not Trying

I have posted about some of the things I am liking for fall so I though for a change of pace I would go with some things I am not trying. First off are printed skinny pants. The ones showcased here are J Crew but they are big pretty much everywhere. You can find them at all price points and prints in both pants and denim but the look just isn't me. It's not my body type so to speak, I'm tall and reasonably trim. I just cant do it for some reason. I'm 43, not 23 and maybe that's why? 

These two pairs I find particularly awful.  The top print is just ugly and the bottom pair are embellished jeans. They look more like something you would see at Justice or the Limited 2 aimed at 13 year old girls than something a grown woman would pay over $300 for.

 The second look I'm not doing is the critter sweater. Again, these are J Crew pictures but you can find this look everywhere. Again, I think maybe it's just too young. I could see my 10 year old daughter in one but not me.

 This top picture combines both the trends I'm not trying this year and the Bulldog (and the hen, the fox and French lady) just make me feel silly.

I'm not knocking these trends for everyone, so if you love them, please don't be offended. I'm just offering them as examples of something I've decided isn't for me. What do you think? Is there a trend you can't get on board with?

Time for Tartan!

 

 

One of my favorite things about fall and winter, especially the Holiday season is the ability to wear tartan, a fancy word for plaid as my Fancy Nancy obsessed niece would say, with abandon. Somehow it doesn't look right in the summer. Unless of course it's madras. But I'm talking about full on tartan. I personally am a black watch plaid fan. My family's barn is called Blackwatch Hill and all the horse blankets are blackwatch plaid with red monograms. I have to credit the lovely blogger over at Suburban Charm who has a great post about plaid today too which inspired me and even has a Mad About Plaid board on Pintrest.

 

 This is a collection of totally cute plaid things I would love to own. My current house is more southwestern inspired but one day I am going to have one that embraces this look.

 Isn't this Ralph Lauren dress cute? My daughter had one just like this when she was smaller

 Now that she is a little older my daughter love kilts and knee socks. She is very tall and long waisted and hate tights because they don't stay up.

 Of course the J Crew tartan shirt is on the list. I wear this shirt at least once a week in the later fall and winter!

 The plaid blazer is also a winter staple. Mine is actually a Brooks Brothers boys blazer in a size 16.

No one does plaid interiors like Ralph Lauren. I love this look. Makes me think of hot chocolate and a roaring fine!

Apples in the Autumn

First of all, my apologies for my absence this week. AGB took an elbow to the lip on Tuesday at school playing basketball and knocked out 2 front teeth. They are back in and stable now but his face is still rather swollen and painful. Eating lots of soup and smoothies. To add to the fun, he and his buddies downloaded some game over the weekend that came with a huge virus thing so my computer spent the week at the cleaners. All better now but don't you love 13 year old boys?

There is a feel of fall in the air right now. The kind that makes you think of boots and sweaters and maybe a fire. For me, fall is about apples, even more than pumpkins. My parents live on a huge apple orchard and press their own cider. Most of the acreage is leased to a larger corporate farm but there are always plenty left over. As a result, I love to cook with apples, even though I am not much of a cook. I found some amazing recipes at the blog called Baked by Rachel. My favorite is the apple cinnamon pull apart. I'm totally going to make that next! Check it out here. But there are also apple cheddar biscuits, apple cheesecake shortbread cookies and a bunch of other ones I can't wait to try! Yummy!

Talbots for fall?

As I continue to be uninspired by J Crew this fall, I have been searching for alternatives and recently ended up on the Talbots web site. I have a few things from them but nothing all that recent. i have to say I was impressed. as with An Taylor, it may be that the models speak to me as well as the clothes. They look like me and I can see myself going about my life in the clothes. I don't see that in J Crew, at least not right now and that's key for me. What about you?

 Love this blue blazer witht he green button down, bangles and belt. I also love the clean smiling model with normal lookinging makeup1

 I need a new weekend jacket and this could be it. More than that, I feel like I could buys everything she has on and love it. Especially love the bag. 

This is another great look and would be so easy and comfortable. 

Fall Neutral Color Story

The lovely blogger at Shopping with M did a great post about neutrals for fall. You can read it here. Anyway , it inspired me to look long and hard at my closet and I found much the same trend there. Navy and camel are the backbones of my fall wardrobe, much like navy and khaki are for spring and summer. The set above isn't very good but it gives you an idea. The trench coat gets a ton of wear. Here in the SF Bay Area, it isn't often cold enough to really need a heavy coat. Skinny jeans, navy slim pants, camel trousers, tippis and turtlenecks and a few skirts round it out. My red heels I just can't resist and they get use regardless of the season. Do you have a fall color story? Neutral or colorful?