Closet de Jules

Living in the Evergreen state, Washington, I knew I had to hand pick a Christmas tree this year. I stopped by the beautiful McMurtrey's Red-Wood Christmas Tree farm 30-minutes away from Seattle over the weekend. Trekking through the farm with my sawblade in hand, it took me a while to spot this fine tree. It’s not so big that I needed a delivery team to get it to my tiny downtown apartment, but big enough that I had a nice tree to decorate. The trunk of the tree was surprisingly soft, so chopping it was no problem. After one final shakedown to remove the debris, I was off home with this fresh-cut Christmas tree!

Wearing this short J.Crew Stadium-Cloth Majestic Peacoat was super convenient for me to walk in the farm and bend down to cut the tree too. All of J.Crew's Majestic Peacoat are on sale now with an additional 30% off. I've always had a thing with shorter coats in the winter (therefore having warm pants are very important!). I was pretty happy to add such a "cheerful" color to my short coats collection this year. Below are some of my winter short coat favorites:

How was everyone’s Thanksgiving? This was my first Thanksgiving in Seattle and I felt really thankful that I had the opportunity to move to the Pacific Northwest and experience the new adventure here. I am also thankful for all the people who have helped and supported me to make this move happen.

My trek across the country plus my newer yet smaller Seattle studio made me realize that I need to tidy things up. I was in sort of a rush when I moved, so I let the movers pack up all my belongings from my home in the East Coast without cleaning up. As a result, the post-move mess put a damper on my Black Friday shopping this year... However, I did get a new J.Crew trench coat recently that I’d like to share with those of you who still have room in your closet. There are many promotions going on with J.Crew during the holiday season. Follow my Instagram account (@heyjuliary) and my blog for more sales alerts. There’s no better time than now to get their coats (that are never really on sale, even after winter is over!).

When I first received this wool trench coat, I thought the material was a bit too crisp. But after a short break in period, it started to soften up. My favorite parts of the coat are its design details and silhouette - you can easily look like a Burberry model wearing this coat. If you order online, I have to say J.Crew’s coats are usually true to size - I have been consistently ordering size 2 over the years in different styles. Trench coats are the kind of pieces that never go out of style. If you do not already have one, it is time to invest in one this winter!

Here are some alternatives that are also worth checking out while the holiday big sales are on:

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Coat: Icon Trench Coat in Wool Cashmere - J.Crew
Scarf: gift from coworker (similar)
Boots: 5050 Over-the-Knee - Stuart Weitzman

Double-cloth Metro Coat with Thinsulate - J.Crew (similar here,  here and here)

Originally from the 2011 winter catalog, this J.Crew Metro Coat has been one of my favorite winter coats over the years. Its vibrant color and the well tailored silhouette cheers me up every winter, not to mention its 3M Thinsulate inner lining that keeps me warm despite the frozen weather outside.




Not sure if it's just me, but I am a bit disappointed by J.Crew's coat selections this year. Where did all the beautiful well fitted winter coats go? As much as I love these boy-inspired looks, all I see are the oversized baggy coats, or chester coats, as the industry defines. We still want to look slim while bundling up with layers after all, right?

Although the metro coat has been long gone in J.Crew's catalog, you should still be able to find them on eBay or other third party retailers. Alternatively, try the Lady Day Coat, which consistently comes back every year, with a wide range of color selections.

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Sunglasses: Original Wayfarer - Ray-Ban
Coat: Double-cloth Metro Coat with Thinsulate - J.Crew (similar here,  here and here)
Sweater: Ribbed Raglan Sweater - Gap - currently 60% off!
Pants: Danie Pant - J.Crew - currently 61% off!
Boots: Tory Burch (similar here and here)
Watch: Burberry (similar here and here)

Update: Julia's Picks on 2015 Winter Collection:

UPDATE -- Additional J.Crew Coat Reviews:

Review for the J.Crew Tipped Peacoat
Review for the J. Crew Thinsulate Double-cloth Metro Coat
Review for the J. Crew Double-cloth Slim Trench

Mint is undoubtedly the color of this spring, and my closet must be prepared for that! After the two J. Crew winter coats I have reviewed previously, the Double-Cloth Slim Trench and the Double-Cloth Metro Coat, it is time to feature my favorite winter piece from the closet, the Double-Cloth Funnel Coat. It has a very minimalist design, just like all the other J. Crew coats, less is more. What really says “I’m ready for spring” is the minty color, a nice balance between the cooler winter nights and the greener spring days. The mint is not too green, not too pale or creamy. J. Crew really spent a lot of time looking for the perfect hue of this color, and I couldn't be happier with it.

As far as sizing goes, I normally wear a 0, but this one is actually a size 4 with some tailoring work done to better fit my torso. The sleeves are still a little bit loose, but not to the point where i felt like I needed to tailor them. I couldn’t complain about the length of this jacket, which falls perfectly 1 inch up from my knees with my 5'5'' height. The sleeve length and the shoulders can be a little off - when I purchased the coat, the only other size available was 0P, with the sleeves ending at least 2 inches above my wrists; although I went two sizes up from usual, the shoulders on this size 4 coat fits my narrower than average shoulders surprisingly well. Therefore, I recommend trying it on before making the purchase or order at least one size up and do some small adjustments after.


Update: Julia's Picks on 2015 Winter Collection:

UPDATE -- Additional J.Crew Coat Reviews:

Review for the J.Crew Tipped Peacoat
Review for the J. Crew Double-cloth Funnel Coat 
Review for the J. Crew Double-cloth Slim Trench

A few months ago, I did a review for J. Crew's Double-cloth Slim Trench. Now that we are officially in the coldest month of the winter, I thought I should do a quick review for my favorite winter coat from J. Crew, the Double-cloth Metro Coat.

This coat is made from 100% wool, meaning it is much warmer and softer than the slim trench. The size is relatively bigger than most of the other J. Crew coats, to accommodate a thicker sweater inside. I am wearing a size 00 here, one size down from my normal 0 - 2 size for J. Crew outwears. As to the design and fit, I have no complaints. The coat lacks a belt, but it manages to fit my body perfectly when I button it up. The royal blue color was only released in 2011. I wish J. Crew would continue to sell this color since it looks great on a lot of different types of skin tones. Plus, the vibrant color can add some much needed cheer to your outfit and help you forget about the freezing cold!


Which coat do you like better? This one or the Double-cloth Slim Trench?

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Coat:  2011 Double-cloth Metro Coat with Thinsulate - J. Crew (2012 style sold here)
Sunglasses: RB3025 Aviator - Ray-Ban
Sweater - Banana Republic (similar)
Necklace - Francesca's 
Leggins - Hollister
Boots - Amanda Riding Boot - Tory Burch

Update: Julia's Picks on 2015 Winter Collection:

UPDATE -- Additional J.Crew Coat Reviews:

Review for the J.Crew Tipped Peacoat
Review for the J. Crew Double-cloth Funnel Coat 
Review for the J. Crew Thinsulate Double-cloth Metro Coat

The east coast is hit by Ms. Sandy this week. As I look outside, holed up in this house, I know Sandy isn't playing around. The wind is gusting pretty hard and I’m afraid my car is going to get totaled by a tree! I even saw a couple of guys on CNN scuba diving / canoeing in their own back yard this morning... Compared to Ms. Irene a year ago, Sandy is definitely more of a heavy hitter.

The colder nights (and of course the J. Crew coat ads that spammed my mailbox literally every other day) reminded me it’s time to pull out my winter outwear again. If I remember it correctly, the Double-Cloth Slim Trench was the first winter coat J. Crew featured on their homepage this season. At first glance, I was not floored by it when i saw it on their website mainly because of the color pink. When I saw the same coat sold in store, my curiosity got the best of me and fell in love with the fit after trying it on! 

J. Crew Double-cloth Metro Coat from 2011

I owned a few winter coats, including a J. Crew one I got last year (UPDATE: review for the coat), but none of them were slim fit. The color of this coat is nothing out of ordinary. My winter fashion quest this year was to search for a yellow coat, not bright yellow, but more of the color between yellow and gold. However, the fit of it totally caught my eye! I have tried both wearing a thin dress and wearing sweater plus jeans inside; the coat fits perfectly on either way. The only thing I would not wear inside is a dress/skirt that is below your knees. As you can tell, the coat is on the relatively shorter side (3”- 4” above my knees).

J. Crew is really big on their colorful coats this winter, but I don’t think I am ready for a vibrant green or orange coat over my everyday business look yet. Not sure what to do, start with black or blue! That’s what I always tell myself.

Just discovered the joy of taking bokeh photos. I was trying it tonight with the street lights and rain...
 








My friend forwarded me this email from American Apparel earlier. What a clever marketing strategy! I was browsing different online stores today and we sure are bored. However, if you have no power and no internet, maybe this is the best time to catch up on some much needed sleep!



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Coat (2012): Double-cloth Slim Trench - J. Crew
Dress: Jules Dress in Snowcat - J. Crew
Pumps: Perfect Cutout Pumps - Ann Taylor
Coat (2011): Double-cloth Metro Coat with Thinsulate - J. Crew (2012 sold here)
Scarf: from street vendors when I visited China last year
Bag: Oxford Cross-body Bag - Kate Spade 
Old Boots - Cole Haan (similar)

Update: Julia's Picks on 2015 Winter Collection: