Elizabeth Suzann wool harper sweater (gift for review) | one size
3×1 high-rise jeans
Rag & Bone Aston booties | couple years old
Shopping
We returned from SLC last night and of course, one of the first things I did was try on the new Elizabeth Suzann wool harper sweater that arrived while we were gone (they sent it to me to review for you). I LOVE it and wanted to keep wearing it, but it was in the upper 70’s yesterday in DFW so I got hot pretty quickly, although I would definitely consider the sweater a “lightweight” wool.
It is NOT ITCHY at all and woven very tightly so that I imagine it will pill less. The one size is very large around my waist/hips/etc., but perfect in the arms/shoulders. I decided to get the one size based on my experience with the one size minus in the linen harper tunic: I found the tunic’s neckline to be somewhat restrictive and the sleeves to be a little shorter than I’d like, so wanted to avoid that with the sweater.
Overall, I’m incredibly pleased with the sweater. I’ll do a more thorough review once I’ve worn it more (I plan on taking it with me to Atlanta next week for Thanksgiving to wear non-stop), but at first glance, I’m very impressed. The wool is from Imperial Ranch in Oregon, and the sweater is woven in Tennessee, so it’s 100% American made.
The only “issue” with the sweater is that it’s not easy to layer under a traditional coat style (it would work under a large cardigan or oversized coat better) because of the size and dropped shoulders, so it will have to be more of a top layer for days that aren’t quite so cold. I layered it over a turtleneck, and that works well, and it’s brilliant with an infinity scarf, or something wrapped around your neck, but I wouldn’t necessarily consider it a sweater for VERY cold weather. It will work for me, in Dallas, but it’s something to keep in mind if you live in a very cold climate, or want something you can wear in the dead of winter.
And did you see the new knits collection at Elizabeth Suzann? I love the pieces, but need another sweater like a hole in my head, and some of them are alpaca blends, which I’m no longer so sure about (itchy…but sustainable) for myself. This Billie Sweater dress tho……
What do you think about Everlane’s E2 “party” capsule collection? I love the pointed slide and the silver oxfords, and the ribbed tank dress looks like a good, interesting basic. I appreciate that this capsule has a “theme” as opposed to the last one, and the pieces look like they’re just more “special” tweaks of some of their regular collection.
Of course it’s Thanksgiving/Black Friday next week and there will be some good sales for those of you who are shopping. I will be posting about them here, and on Grechen’s Codes, so stay tuned!!
Doing
Wait, it’s Thanksgiving next week?! I don’t know why it seemed to sneak up on me this year, maybe because we were traveling this week? Anyway, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it’s all about family, and we’ll be spending it in Atlanta with LOTS OF FAMILY!! We’re driving over on Monday and coming back the following Saturday. I can’t wait 🙂
What are you doing for Thanksgiving?
See below for some pictures from my visit to Salt Lake City. If you follow me on instagram you already saw some, and will know that I walked 18 miles in two days. It was SO BEAUTIFUL on Tuesday, about 70 degrees, so I walked and walked…Then on Wednesday it was a lot cooler, but not raining early in the day, so I took off again to go visit the Tracy Aviary and see their Andean Condor. It snowed overnight and Thursday morning was beautiful with the snow piled up on the mountains, but we left rather early so I didn’t get a chance to walk around again. But I’m pretty sure I saw most of the city.
And yes, I did wear my new Patagonia coat. It was pretty warm most of the time there, but it was perfect for Wednesday evening and Thursday morning 🙂
If you’re doing the wardrobe audit (I’m doing mine this weekend), I’ll put up some more details for following along on Monday.
Reading
Here is a good basic primer on Cashmere from Racked.
Rent the Runway at Neiman Marcus? – this is very interesting, and a great idea I think – in theory anyway. We’ll see how it works out for them.
I’m re-reading the Dance of Anger, which I read not so seriously many years ago at the advice of a therapist. I’ve been dealing with a lot of anger issues lately, along with anxiety (ugh…) but this book is very enlightening and helpful (I’m taking it much more seriously this time). Interestingly, most of my anger is directed at myself, which in turn leads to my being angry at other people, and then of course at myself again…what a vicious circle. It’s time to break it.
The Temple
View from Capitol Hill
In Memory Grove Park
The Andean Condor at Tracy Aviary
View from the hotel room Thursday morning
But what about your coat? Did you wear it in UT?
yes!! i did wear it thursday morning and wednesday afternoon a little bit – most of the time it was quite warm, actually…
Enjoy your family Thanksgiving! We’re off on a foreign vacation and traveling Wed/Fri -Thanksgiving dinner will be on Delta (packing this weekend though I’ve been working on my packing list for ages) . After this trip I’ll be able to put my summer clothing away finally….(we’re going to Asia – hot & humid places)
What a beautiful Condor! We live in CA, and are driving north to the eastern part of the SF Bay Area to see my family and my fiancee’s grandparents. We’ve started househunting too and after getting approved for a loan, we quickly realized how astronomical CA’s housing prices are. SO — we are taking an impromptu trip to Seattle this weekend to see if it’s a place we could see ourselves living. I’ve always loved Seattle but it would be a big move and it needs to be a joint decision. Worst case scenario is that we don’t like Seattle but have a fun weekend there anyway and have to figure out another place we’d like to live, but I’ve got my fingers crossed that it works!
Also — I’m wearing the L/S Harper Tunic in the raw silk today, and I’m completely obsessed with this shirt — and the wool sounds incredible and looks great on you! I agree about not working under traditional coats though. It’s cold here (“cold” = 45 degrees in CA!) so I decided to layer mine under a jean jacket and alpaca scarf and it works, but the drop sleeve + the traditional sleeve of my jacket makes for restrictive movement. I bought the mock neck knit with credits from returning my Cecilia pants, so I’m excited to get that and see how I like it. They were sold out of the black by the time I got to the website, so I’m challenging myself by trying it in white!
hey Grechen, love your all black ensemble…very polished!
I’m so tempted to buy something from the ES winter collection but need to save up beforehand. But…I did buy a few items from the Everlane E2 capsule collection which I was rather impressed with overall. I bought the patent slides (been looking for a good pair at a decent price), the ribbed tank dress, several tops (cropped rib, tanks, turtlenecks), also got the black jacket and really wanted the pants with the ankle zipper but they didn’t have any in stock…I will give some items as Christmas gifts most likely(that idea always lessens the guilt of over-buying!) Oh, and today I finally bought the modern loafer!
Thanksgiving this year: just hanging locally in So Cal, will have dinner at my cousin’s house and bringing my boyfriend to meet the relatives 🙂
I almost bought the stretch tank, but I hesitated because it looks like it might be difficult to wear with a bra – like the straps would be showing all the time. Has that been your experience? But I did like this capsule way better than the last one, and thought it had some good pieces that caught my eye.
Amy, you might have to wear it with one of those bras that are a “T” in the back so the straps won’t show. I got the tank in both white and black. Will see how these look in real life but I’m optimistic!
You are so lucky to have the ES wool Harper sweater! I ordered it in camel when it first became available however I was informed that my order was canceled because they had issues with the source of the wool. However, check this out, not only ES gave me a full refund in cash, they also offered a $500 gift card for future purchases! Now that’s customer service! I’m still hoping to order this sweater when it’s available again; just love the camel color this year from ES!
I really love, love, love the Everlane party collection. Won’t be buying much, as black and white are not good colours for me near the face, and that’s where many items hit. However, I appreciate the styling, and that almost anyone could use any of the pieces to add to the heavy rotatable section of their wardrobe. And if you are just starting out post-school or post-pregnancy and looking to to put together a highly usable wardrobe this is certainly a good place to start. Note that the u-neck longsleeved ribbed sweater is nearly identical to a sweater I had in the early 1970s. It only frayed after a year long pack-packing trip that involved two pants, two tops, one jacket and three sweaters (this one, cardigan and turtle neck.) And I washed the clothes on rocks or beside sinks with a scrub brush. You can literally wear this style anytime in any situation.
Wouldn’t your Lauren Manoogian coat work with this sweater? Love it! I’m going to check out ES’s site again.
Beautiful photographs, Grechen!