Sublime Look for Less: T by Alexander Wang Pleated Skirt in Neoprene

I am going crazy over this neoprene inverted pleat skirt by T by Alexander Wang.  Unfortunately, it's selling for $230.  $230 for a skirt?  Love it, want it, but you have got to be kidding me.

$230; T by Alexander Wang

The good news is that you can have one of your own for considerably less.  Lots of clothing makers are offering scuba skirts for the fall.  Fortunately, I found a lower priced version of the Alexander Wang skirt for $38 at Nasty Gal.  It has pleats and a sexy back zipper and it comes in black, violet and pink and you can get it HERE.

Charlotte Russe also makes one for $22.99.

Review: J. Crew Excursion Quilted Vest in Herringbone

J. Crew's Herringbone Excursion Quilted Vest was at the very very top of my wishlist.  It's definitely not an understatement to say that I was feverishly lusting over this vest.  To me, it seemed like the perfect fall piece.  It would have matched so many things in my closet.  I was planning on wearing it with jeans on the weekends and with sweaterdresses or a bright top and kicky black skirt for work (fortunately, my workplace is business casual - emphasis on the casual)

The reality?  So not lustworthy.  In real life, the herringbone is a black and tan, not black and white as it appears on the J. Crew site.  It's printed nylon, not a three dimensional herringbone and it's not sophisticated.  It's basically a printed puffer vest.  Nothing spectacular and certainly nothing out of the ordinary.  You could find a doppelganger for this vest hanging listlessly on the rack at TJ Maxx or Old Navy.

Quality: It was ok.  Probably not worth the $128 price tag.  As you can see in the picture above, the edges were beginning to fray a bit.  I returned the vest, so I cannot comment on whether these little frayed bits would grow, or not.

Fit: Fits exactly the same as the J. Crew quilted vest that I bought last winter.  Same fabric, same quilting pattern, same exact fit.  I compared it to my vest from 2011 and it's an exact carbon copy.

Review: 2012 J. Crew Collection Cashmere V Neck Sweater - Neon Fuchsia

I wanted to take a moment to review this year's J. Crew cashmere.  I recently ordered a v neck in the Neon Fuchsia with a 25% off coupon (yay to 25% off promos at J. Crew). 

The good:  Neon Fuchsia is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.  I was inspired to order this sweater after seeing it on display in the J. Crew window with the No. 2 Double Serge pencil skirt in Crimson Maple.  Take my word for it, Neon Fuchsia and Crimson Maple is a fantastic color combination. 

The not-so-good: Immediately after removing my sweater from the bag, I noticed that the sweater had a little bit of a fuzzy halo.  I returned my sweater for a refund, so I can't speak to how the sweater held up, but I can only predict that these fuzzies will develop into fully formed pills after one or two wears.  Not worth it, even on a promo.  I snapped a close up shot to try and capture the fuzzies:

The bad: This sweater is supposedly from the J. Crew collection, but the cashmere felt extremely rough.  If I didn't know better, I would have thought that they had thrown some wool into the yarn.  It definitely did not feel like 100% cashmere.  I compared the feel of this sweater to cashmere tees purchased from J. Crew in the winter of 2011, and there was a palpable difference.  Last year's cashmere tees felt softer and significantly more velvet-y to the touch. 

Perfect Fall Fashion: Olivia Palermo

Olivia is a master of putting together the perfect outfit.  This lovely fall getup is no exception - it's casual yet quite glam.

 
You know what else is pleasing?  Olivia's sweater is affordable and available to us mortals.  

SWEATER:  BB Dakota - (click here) (or here)
JEANS: Current Elliott (click here)
BAG: Mulberry (click here)
CAMI: Love that scalloped edge cami peeking out underneath.  Topshop? (click here)
SHOES: Similar (click here)
COLLAR PINS: Etsy (click here)

Sublime Eats: Skinny Bitch Roasted Sugar Snap Peas - A Completely Guilt Free Treat

I whipped these up in the kitchen recently and now call these the Skinny Bitch Roasted Sugar Snap Peas: no doubt, eating these will help you get into a pair of size zero white skinny jeans and fool you into believing that you are noshing a huge bowl of fattening Chinese take out. These sugar snaps are virtually guilt free and have become my edible kryptonite.  These are TO DIE FOR and low in calories, carbs and fat. 

You will need:
8 ounces sugar snap peas
1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
1-2 teaspoons ginger paste (usually found in the produce section)
1 large garlic clove, crushed
1 teaspoon soy sauce, or Maggi Seasoning, or Bragg's Amino Acids (your choice)

Preheat broiler.  Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Wash sugar snap peas and tear off any funny looking ends.  Place sugar snaps in medium sized bowl.  In a separate small bowl, mix together 1 crushed garlic clove, olive oil, ginger paste and soy sauce.  Stir until combined (mixture should be lumpy) and dump sauce into larger bowl.  Toss to coat sugar snaps and spread coated sugar snap peas onto cookie sheet in one layer.  Place under broiler for approximately 2 minutes. Remove from oven, flip sugar snaps over and broil for another 2 minutes or until sugar snap peas are lightly browned in spots.  Enjoy immediately.   

Nutrition Total (entire recipe): 174 calories, 15.5 grams net carbs, 7 grams fat

 Get ready to wear skinny jeans!!!

Today Show Fashion: Stacy London's Bird Print Peplum Top

When I first started working from home, I was told that there would be disadvantages.  For a while, I was hard pressed to find any.  Nothing beats working while chilling in Old Navy yoga pants, drinking homemade coffee, and watching daytime TV.  Now, daytime TV is pretty awesome, but very, very dangerous for a lover of high end fashion....I find myself coveting most of the gorgeous clothing worn by the hosts.

Stacy London was on the Today Show this morning wearing the most fantastically flattering outfit - a bold chinoiserie inspired bird print peplum top, a burgundy pencil skirt, and leopard pumps. 

 I don't know about you, but I NEED that top!!! Want Stacy's look?

PEPLUM TOP: Get Stacy's exact peplum top here - and here's a lower priced version for $24, if you're not too keen on the $285 price tag...

BURGUNDY PENCIL SKIRT: To recreate the look, this one's definitely my favorite and is already on my fall wishlist- and I think that this one for $13.80 is also pretty fab.  

LEOPARD PUMPS: So many options, all at different points along the vast price spectrum.  I'm partial to this haircalf version by Jessica Simpson - but you can spend as little as $29.99 for a decent version - or throw all caution to the wind and splurge on these beauties!!!!





   

Sublime Look for Less: Jennie Garth Level 99 Jeggings

I'm drooling over Jennie Garth's beautiful blue jeans.  My copy of US Weekly (yes, we're all into guilty pleasures here at Quite Sublime) identified these as the Level 99 Janice Skinny Jeans in Helium Blue.

And, of course.....these are sold out.  Darn.  But, if you're into a shimmer version by Level 99 in the same colorway, you can get those here.   I also found a somewhat similar skinny version for only $14.49 here.