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Weekend Update

1. I’ve been shopping a lot at J.Crew lately – four orders in a month! – and have been really impressed. I wanted to share one of my favorite items so far, which I stalked for a week to find in my size – these chambray shorts.

I don’t know if it’s just me, but lately I not only have been liking a lot of J.Crew items – a bunch of items seem to be sold out! Is the brand finding its mojo again? These shorts for example, were almost entirely sold out – but I recently noticed that they’ve been able to restock most sizes.

These shorts are like dressy denim to me, and I really like the little fringe detail. What would have made them perfect for me was a slightly shorter inseam – these are 4”, which means that I’ll only be wearing them with heels since I’m a shortie. But they still are a winner from J.Crew. The shorts also look awesome paired with the matching chambray scalloped top (also $42 with code SCORE).

How about all of you – have you been liking J.Crew more lately?

2. An economists rules for being a “foodie”, via The Atlantic – Six Rules for Dining Out.

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3.  A very interesting article, via The Daily Beast – Has Luxury Fashion Priced Itself Into Extinction? I love these types of articles since I completely agree that a) a lot of luxury is overpriced these days, and b) a lot of quality has gone down, and c) the combination of a + b is ridiculous. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

4. I don’t necessarily agree with all the points made in this article, via The Washington Post, about how Americans aren’t as open to “ethnic” foods as we might think we are…but it’s still an interesting debate. Read it – The Great Ethnic Food Lie.

5. Better was this interesting article, via The NY Times, of travel’s new “velvet rope” economy, where multiple levels of privilege now exist within the same cruise ships, hotels, and more.

6. This week I finished Red Sparrow, by Jason Matthews.

Red Sparrow

I absolutely love a good spy novel – the problem I’ve found though, is that many of them are just…quite bad. The plot line is too implausible, the characters are one dimensional, the dialogue is cheesy. The protagonist is uber smart and sexy ladies just keep throwing themselves at him, even if they happen to be the female President of the United States. No seriously, I think I’ve read that exact plot before.

Luckily, Red Sparrow is actually pretty great. I really enjoyed this classic spy novel, set in modern day Russia. And the author, Jason Matthews, came from the CIA himself (where he spent over three decades), so I felt like there were lots of interesting tidbits from his own spy game experiences that could be found in the book. It’s actually pretty amazing that this was his debut novel….he deserved his Edgar Award! There were some small things that stuck out, but overall I couldn’t put Red Sparrow down.This is the kind of novel where you be both entertained, and actually learn something new. Recommended for any fan of John Le Carre, or just well written thrillers.

10 Comments

  • Reply
    Kristen
    April 29, 2016 at 9:24 am

    I just ordered the shorts; thanks for the suggestion. I think they will be quite versatile. I’ve been wary of JCrew for the past 2-3 years but I agree that they have had a few lovely pieces this spring.

    • Reply
      Katherine
      April 29, 2016 at 8:20 pm

      Enjoy Kristen! I’d consider the matching top too – it goes really well!

  • Reply
    Glenda
    April 29, 2016 at 9:32 am

    Hi Katherine,

    Re: #3 in your list above, I came across the following site this morning, luxury meets organics/sustainability/fairtrade, interesting list of brands.

    https://www.positiveluxury.com/brands/?view=index

    Glenda

    • Reply
      Katherine
      April 29, 2016 at 8:20 pm

      Thank you so much for sharing, Glenda!

  • Reply
    Anonymous
    April 29, 2016 at 4:00 pm

    Love the shorts you recommended but sadly my size is sold out. Have always been a fan of Jcrew though the quality has been inconsistent and the vanity sizing is confusing.

    • Reply
      Katherine
      April 29, 2016 at 8:20 pm

      Keep checking back – same thing happened to me, and they eventually came back in stock.

  • Reply
    Tracy
    April 30, 2016 at 5:00 am

    I remember a year or two ago Mickey Drexler being reported as saying that there’s too much merchandise produced, point blank. Recently, I’ve also noticed how everything seems to be sold out at J. Crew whenever I’m tempted enough to check something out, so I assume that Mickey D is coming through and practicing “capacity discipline?”

    I like observing the luxury market and I’ve recently been tinkering with the idea that part of the problem of luxury goods not exciting even alienating customers is that the companies and their goods are trying to be everything for everybody. When I check out NAP and see 50 grand dresses and 12k bags, like its no big deal, I wonder who buys them and probably–not trying to be offensive but– people in Mainland China and the Gulf states. Good for them to be able to buy what they want conveniently, but for retailers and manufacturers, pursuing that tactic has consequences.

    • Reply
      Katherine
      April 30, 2016 at 7:24 am

      Yes – so many items seem to be sold out at J.Crew recently. I even wondered if it was a gimmick, lol.
      You’re probably right about the high priced items on NAP – I don’t think its offensive, just logical 🙂

  • Reply
    Victoria
    May 1, 2016 at 10:37 pm

    Just went to look for those gorgeous shorts and they’ve been sold out:(

    • Reply
      Katherine
      May 2, 2016 at 3:44 pm

      Keep checking back! I think J.Crew restocks fairly often.

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