I'm warning you now that there is going to be very little new about this post; I've always been obsessed with J.Crew (which you know, if you've read TWT even once before) and the lookbook of the Fall/Winter 2012 J.Crew Collection, from which I took these photos, came out in February. But I think it's worth posting about anyway, because the clothes and the styling are just too beautiful. It would be a shame not to.
The J.Crew Collection is basically standard J.Crew on steroids; more expensive and finely made, it's the brand's answer to the high-end fashion houses with a longer history. The Collection show was the one show I didn't get to go to when I was at NY Fashion Week that totally bummed me out. I therefore felt a little better when the catalog showed up at my house last month and these beautiful photos spilled out onto my counter; if I couldn't go to it, at least it could come to me. You can pre-order pieces from the collection at the J.Crew website now, and I'm having sit on my hands to keep from clicking "buy" on entire outfits (more after the jump).
I've been so impressed by J.Crew in the past few years. My wardrobe philosophy has basically become "everything J.Crew except for a few special pieces." And by few special pieces I really mean mostly Isabel Marant with the occasional Rag & Bone, Vince, and Marni thrown in (except for jeans; I'm very particular about my jeans). This method works well because while J.Crew definitely does have a signature streamlined look, they aren't afraid to play with texture, color, and prints, so one can't always tell that a piece is from there. Outfits can still look natural and mismatched (in a good way) even if every piece came from le Crew itself.
So here, without further ado or any more gushing, are my favorite looks from the fall collection:
Dying over these pants. And that bag? I'm green with envy (har har).
I love that this look is styled with all pink items. Could look stupid, but instead I think it works really well. I also love the sort of chic apres-ski look it's got going on. I'd wear this to the lodge in a heartbeat...except not, because I hope I'd have my ski boots and snow pants on instead.
Be still, my heart. That sweater. Yum.
I love the glove thing J.Crew has going on in these images. They look so dapper, so charming, so old-school. Not sure I could pull them off, but I'm not afraid to try.
It's the coat. And the pants. Okay, it's everything.
While long skirts tend to make it difficult for me to walk (no lying allowed on TWT), I'd love to wear this outfit. I'm crazy about the masculine jacket, and the way the look is styled with the gloves and the scarf. Almost Downton Abbey meets Mad Men. Oh man, now that I say that, I clearly see why I like these looks so much: they're my two favorite TV shows rolled into clothes. Mystery solved.
