Closet de Jules

I attended a friend’s wedding in San Francisco a few weeks ago. Typically, the thick pacific fog always creeps in when I stop by SF. Surprisingly, during a somewhat chilly September afternoon, I saw the clearest and bluest skies I have ever seen in the city!

Despite the fact that color blocks and solid pastels are trending today, I have always been a big fan of patterns. I wrote about this dress two years ago with a woodsy backdrop. This time, I felt it was appropriate to bring it out again since coral does better with a seaside view.

Both the dress and the scarf are from Lilly Pulitzer, a name you rarely see on on the West Coast. It may come as a shock to some but YES - I recently moved from DC to the Pacific Northwest, where the scale favors the hipster rather than the preppy. This outfit is a perfect representation of me styling in between the two - preppy East Coast floral prints plus hipster Northwestern retro ankle boots. I don’t think I will abandon my East Coast roots, but I’d like to refine my traditional preppy style with some new PNW elements.

For those of you who live in the United States, this week has been one of the coldest in years. Many cities in the East Coast are dropping to single digits, while the Mid West is well below 0 °F. To give you some hope. I want to remind you that Spring is only 2 months away. And to melt away the icicles you got from walking outside, I’ll share some hot details about my recent cruise trip to the Caribbean Islands and a very exciting announcement.


My trip started the day after Thanksgiving - that's right, I was busy packing and traveling while everyone was out shopping. It turned out to be the best decision I made this holiday season, because I got to avoid the cold and the crazy Black Friday!

I fell in love with cruising ever since my first sail. This trip was my second cruise to the Caribbean Islands in two years and the second cruise this year. Growing up and still living fairly close to the coast, I enjoy simply just staring at the sparkling endless ocean for hours.

The underwater picture above was taken by my smartphone with a waterproof smartphone case.

I try to pack at least one Lilly Pulitzer dress every time I go on vacation. The dress I wore has my favorite Lilly print in their 2014 collection, Watch Out. I love how Lilly prints always remind me of water, and remind me of summer.

That leads me to the exciting news announced by Target this week - the company is introducing Lilly Pulitzer for Target starting April 19! Hundreds of apparels, accessories and home goods will be available in Target stores and and their website. Historically, Lilly Pulitzer has only a small number of stores in high-end malls or sold in certain boutique stores. The partnership will make the brand more easily accessible to a greater demographic and will certainly help increase brand awareness.


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Dress: Delia Dress in Watch Out - Lilly Pulitzer (similar here and here)
Sunglasses: Original Wayfarers - Ray-Ban
Straw Hat: J.Crew Factory (similar here and here)
Waterproof Camera Case - Amazon (for the amazing underwater pictures!)

How was everyone's summer? Can you believe it's already September?!

This summer, I took a trip to the beautiful Napa Valley in California. It is home to some of the best wineries in the world. My favorite, and most atmospheric winery to visit, is the Castello di Amorosa, the famous "castle winery". Their tour consists of a wine tasting and a guided walkthrough of the castle where you will learn about the history of the family and the castle, the winemaking process, and how they store the wine. It’s a great way to get immersed into the wine making culture, especially for families or those first timers to Napa Valley. During wine tasting, I discovered my new favorite wine - Il Passito. Its sweet, fruity and floral aroma makes it a great dessert wine to cap off the end of a meal. Definitely a must try if you are visiting the castle!

Now on to the dress. I had this J.Crew dress for a while but was never able to find the right occasion to wear it without standing out too much. However, today it turned out to be the right choice for the occasion, as the dress not only showed a nice contrast between the dark bricks but also blended in with the vast field of grape vines. The silhouette of the dress is almost perfect in my opinion. The waist is a tiny bit on the wider side so I might put on a belt next time. I have read about negative reviews on the material being too thin but I thought it is very breathable and perfect for summer/fall season. The lace is well made, and the material overall is on par with other J.Crew dresses.

Oh, and this will be a perfect dress for raves, EDM lovers! :)



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Dress: Lace Sheath Dress: Day - J.Crew  (currently on sale!!)
Sandals: Ann Taylor
Sunglasses: Aviator Classic RB3025 - Ray-Ban

Despite the perception that they make you look “wider”, horizontal stripes have been getting very popular this year. My first take on this trend is this nautical maxi dress.  








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Dress： Maxidress - J. Crew Factory (similar)
Sandals: Madewell (similar)
Necklace: J.Crew (similar) 

Happy new year everyone!

What better way to enjoy the sunshine with a cool tropical dress? When I first saw this Lilly dress, I knew it just said “tropical paradise.” Just imagine... you are in a dense jungle full of vibrant green leaves. Poking through the green sea are lovely pink flowers! I’ve been looking for the perfect day to wear it. Now look, here I am lounging and relaxing in the subtropical region of southern China.

The weather is hot and humid here. My favorite part of the dress is the lace design near the neckline. It does make the dress feel more “breathable”. It replaces the need for a necklace as well! Besides the lace on the dress, I also paired it up with a clutch sporting a cut out leather design and scalloped edge. For the shoes, I have the essential travel footwear - Toms, using crochet fabric for even more room to breathe!

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Dress: Lacina Dress - Lilly Pulitzer (similar)
Clutch - Kelsey Clutch - Tory Burch (here)
Bangle: J. Crew (similar)
Shoes: Natural Crochet - Toms (here)
Sunglasses: Original Wayfarer - Ray-Ban (here)

Corals or Forest? Sea or Land?

I purchased this dress just the day before America's legendary fashion designer, Lilly Pulitzer, passed away. This post is to honor Lilly. Thank you for inspiring generation after generation in your own special bright and happy way.




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Dress: 'Wendy' Embroidered Coral Pattern Tunic Dress - Lilly Pulitzer (similar)
Blazer: The Limited (similar)
Pumps: Ann Taylor (similar)
Sunglasses: Original Wayfarer - Ray-Ban

After wading through spring snowstorms, some lovely weather finally arrived this weekend. It’s time to throw those heavy winter jackets in the closet and put on a splash of spring colors! I haven’t kept up with my blog posts lately, since I was spending most of my time in the office for the past month...but I couldn’t resist the 70+ degree warmth this weekend and just had to go out for a short break. While I was enjoying the weather, I snapped a few pictures with this J.Crew Jules Dress. 






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Dress: Jules Dress in Scroll Print - J. Crew
Sunglasses: Original Wayfarer - Ray-Ban
Crossbody Bag: Kate Spade (similar)
Flats: Elsa Pointed Toe Flat - Banana Republic

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: