Xmas photo with J.Crew Lady Day Coat

Merry Christmas! I'm finally out of my "black" streak (black pants, black blazer, black trench, black tee, concert black!)

Mourning is over folks! I'm bringing back color and joy to the world, haha! Thanks to being inspired by the colorful llama print loungers from Anthro :)

For me, black means seriousness, and "color" means happiness!

When it comes to good photo-taking (ie. to send to your grandma for Christmas), vivid colors always stand out the best! My favorite colors happen to be orange and purple...

Featuring:
Old J.Crew Double-Cloth Lady Day Coat (size 0 petite), mentioned here.
Recent Anthropologie Rokin Dress (size 0 petite), detailed review here.

J. Crew Double-cloth Metro coat review

J. Crew is having a 30% final sale right now, and I noticed there's still quite a lot of the Double-cloth Metro Coat in size 0 Petite left. Thus, I thought I'd post a review in case anyone is hemming and hawing over the size 0P....especially since the sale is final (no returns).

My current height: 5'1", bust: 30", waist: 26", hips: 33.5"

Here's how the J. Crew Double-cloth Metro coat size 0P (in hthr caramel) fits:

This is the regular Metro coat (without Thinsulate), and it fits well overall. The only fit problem that I can think of is that the sleeves can be a bit tight if one wears lots of layers underneath. I feel comfortable with only 2 layers underneath (a short-sleeve tee and a mid-weight long-sleeve sweater...although I think I can add a vest or tank underneath, since the torso is roomy enough).

Another possible complaint is that if you like to put your hands in your pockets, this might not be the coat for you. The high placement of the pockets with the flaps makes it quite awkward to do so. For those who live in freezing cold climates, gloves are a must with this coat.

Another thing I'm not too fond of are these metal hooks at the neck. I'm not sure what they are there for, since I don't think they add any warmth when hooking up further at the neck. It's actually annoying to feel the cold metal hooks when it brushes against my neck area, or have hair/scarf snag on it. 

Yet I still love this coat for the good quality, petite-fit, and the unique double-cloth wool material. I actually bought this Metro coat as a gift for someone special, since I'm already satisfied with last year's orange Double-cloth Lady Day coat size 0P. If you currently own last year's Lady Day coat in size 0P, you will definitely fit this Metro Coat size 0P. I found they are almost the same measurements. The Metro coat has maybe slightly shorter sleeves. Hopefully these pictures show you how they compare (I placed my orange Lady Day coat right on top of the Metro):

I find the Metro coat a bit roomier in the torso compared to my Lady Day coat. The roominess could be because I have the Lady Day with Thinsulate (which has a bit extra puffiness in the torso area). Now if you are debating on Thinsulate or no Thinsulate, I really can't tell the difference. I do feel like my Lady Day Thinsulate coat fabric is a tiny bit puffier in the torso/length area, but my regular Metro coat felt just as warm (with  ~45 degrees F climate). Weirdly, I actually think my Metro coat feels heavier than my Thinsulate Lady Day coat. So if you ask me, I would pick the non-thinsulate for the cheaper price (and gives same warmth level).

Some more pictures of me last year in my Lady Day Thinsulate 0p coat for comparison of the style with the above (also featured this coat in this post). 

FYI: laying flat and buttoned, my lady day coat measures: 14.75" across shoulder seam to seam, 17" chest width pit to pit, 14.5" waist width, 33.5" total coat length, and 21.75" outerseam sleeve length.

Below are more helpful reviews of J.Crew coat sizing/color comparisons:

All About Fashion Stuff - Metro coat in size 00p review

Extra Petite - noted 00p is similar to 0p

Fast Food & Fast Fashion

Sew Petite Gal
Sydney's Fashion Diary - 2015 versions

Target suede wedges and Talbots driving gloves

I went to Target today in hopes of finding the Mossimo Vilda Smoker Flat in Turquoise (love the color online).  Unfortunately, my local Target has not stocked many spring items yet. I did however, found the black version in my size and thought it was very stiff and uncomfortable.

Of course the clearance rack always beckons me. I took home these Merona Milena Suede Wedges in Grey size 6 instead. They fit TTS and the 2.25" wedge heel is a very comfortable height. They are on clearance sale in-store for $14.98, not bad for genuine suede leather.

The grey and the red ones are darker in color than they appear in the stock photos online. I don't really need another grey shoe, but it's a versatile color, and I'm thinking of maybe painting these wedges my "ideal turquoise" color after reading this post from See Kate Sew (... if I don't find the ideal turquoise shoe first, haha). 

I like these wedges for the comfortable heel height. The padding at the ball of foot really works. The flexible rubber sole is good. The only thing I'm not fond of is the little hard plastic heel-thing because it does make some noise on tile/wood flooring (but not self-consciously loud, thank goodness). The top back rim of the heels might dig into the ankles a bit, but a heel liner can fix that.

Here's me styling the wedges with my J.Crew Double-cloth Lady Day coat in last year's orange version (sz 0P) and my new Talbots Driving Gloves:

I bought the black ones, but it's not a true black since it has a slight brown tinge to them. The size 6 1/2 fits okay (maybe a bit loose and there's still space in the tips of the fingers). The bad part about these gloves is that the finger tips are ugly-looking, especially the thumb (due to the flat outside stitching). The leather also makes a slight squishy-squeaky noise. I'm keeping mine, despite ugly fingers, because I actually love the off-black color, and the silk-lined, perforated leather is perfect for mild winters in my area (lightweight leather gloves seem rare at regular department stores).

 These driving gloves are currently on sale for $24.99 (from original $79), not bad for genuine leather, silk, and made in Italy!