Frame Denim Le Grand Garcon jeans | $143 at Nordstrom (these are a slightly wider and more distressed version of the Le Garcon jeans I love so much)
Emerson Fry linen caftan (imperfect) | $95 at Emerson Fry Outlet
Inhabit cashmere short sleeve crew tee | $68 at Inhabit
James Perse open henley tank dress | $195 at James Perse (free shipping)
James Perse gauze shirt dress | $75 at the JP Outlet this weekend (scroll down for more details)
First, in case you don’t visit Already Pretty regularly, Sally featured my Minimal Closet series today! Please check it out. I have been so humbled and grateful for all the attention my minimal journey has received since I started. First, the WSJ, now this…Wow. Just knowing that my words have had an impact, and have maybe helped – just a little – take the edge off coping with an overflowing closet and emotional shopping makes me so happy and grateful that I can do this everyday.
Thank you Sally, and a million times, thank you to all of you, who come here to read what I have to say everyday. I cannot express my gratitude enough.
Now. On to the Sales. I won’t talk too much about them here, posting mostly over at Grechen’s Codes, but there are a few things I want to mention here.
First, drop everything and get over to the Emerson Fry outlet. Then come back and tell me what you ordered…hopefully everything’s not already gone by the time you get there. I ordered the charcoal crinkle caftan, because I couldn’t NOT order it for $95. I’ve been wanting an Emerson Fry caftan forever, and this one was already on my list of things I wanted for summer, and a little imperfection never hurt anybody. So…without much thinking, I snatched it up! We’ll see how it works on me.
Also, James Perse is still offering free shipping on orders over $150 with code MEMORIALDAY15. There are so many good dresses there now; I’m crushing on all of them.
The James Perse outlets are having an additional 30% off sale items in store this weekend. I have pdfs of the items available in the San Marcos, TX store and a contact there if you’re interested. There are VERY limited sizes left in most items, and all sales are final, as usual, but there are some gems: the gauze shirt dress (as seen on me) would be about $75 and it’s available in all three colors, casual tees in a few colors for $17 + extra 30% off (!!!), long cashmere/cotton skirt for about $60…
I can forward you the pdfs and my contact there if you’re interested. Just send me an email (grechen – at – grechenscloset.com) ! FYI, they charge $10 for shipping.
Finally…it’s the Nordstrom half-yearly sale! After a look-see this morning I didn’t find anything I couldn’t live without, but there are some really great deals. I think the Nordstrom sales are the best times to score denim at around $100, and there are some GREAT Eileen Fisher & Vince pieces on sale. In addition to James Perse, obviously.
Some of my favorite Nordstrom sale finds:
[show_boutique_widget id=”255620″]
Are you getting anything from the Nordstrom sale? Are you set for summer shopping? What’s on your list still??
I totally bought that EF caftan too. 😉 FYI I had purchased another “imperfect” caftan from them that had no noticeable imperfections. But I guess if you are charging $300 for a caftan you had better make sure it is totally perfect.
And I bought some sneakers from the Nordstrom sale–the Converse reptile print ones. I couldn’t decide if I liked the lo-top or hi-top better so I ordered both and will return one.
THAT IS IT for my shopping for the spring / summer. Especially since the drycleaner was able to rescue my Rag & Bone blazer that I accidentally put in the dryer with a lip balm (don’t even ask why I was putting it in the dryer) I don’t have an excuse to replace that either.
I bought an Eileen Fisher dress, a couple other dresses,3 pairs of shoes (won’t keep all, will depend on what dress I keep) and a Tumi wristlet from Nordstrom – still trying to find a dress for my high school reunion 😉 I got my Saks Off5th order yesterday – sadly the Eileen Fisher tank was too big, the sequin dress was also a little big (though the next size down would not have fit/hung properly) and it just plain looked bad on me, and the other cute red knit dress I got to try was too short so I’ll have to bring them all back. But the short sleeve print maxi I got – very 70s vibe – I’m keeping!
I’m a longtime reader, first time commenter. I like your blog and sense of style. Sally McGraw is the last person to commend a minimalist wardrobe approach. Already Pretty is an online site for shopping addicts. She should follow your advice, though, and clean her crowded closets. (You probably won’t publish this, since it’s not popular to criticize other bloggers.)
I finally ordered the Perse long terry gray-and-white-striped cardigan that I’ve been looking at for months (missed the last sale when they ran out of my size). I’m paying for it with money from clothes I’ve consigned. The price is a little higher than I’m used to paying but in the last year I’ve had success with buying fewer things that I truly love instead of amassing cheaper things that I end up tossing. That’s one of the lessons I’ve learned by reading your minimalist blog — thank you, Gretchen! Keep on keepin’ on!
Hi Andi,
In the past, I absolutely would have agreed with you–Sally talked constantly about her overflowing closets and basements and excessive wardrobe. However, about a year ago she started paring down her wardrobe dramatically and focusing on having a smaller set of clothes that reflected her personal style. I was honestly glad to see it, as I’d really gotten tired of her super-matchy outfits that came in every color of the rainbow and the idea of purchasing multiples in ever color. I never really enjoyed that part of her site anyway–I mostly went for the body image topics and political commentary on clothes. Anyway, I’ve seen a big shift away from that mass consumption mentality, and she’s mentioned Grechen’s series in other posts.
I just responded to you but it didn’t appear. So if this is a double post, sorry. (Grechen, please feel free to delete it.) I appreciate your comment, and agree, to an extent. I don’t think Sally has made that much progress in culling her clothing, and coping with her obvious shopping addiction. (She’s even admitted it in previous posts.) I disliked her matching outfits and glaring rainbow colors, too. I also find her writing disingenuous and annoying. She doesn’t have a scholastic background in either psychology or sociology, but writes like she’s an expert. Fortunately, this site is more “my cup of tea.” Vive la différence!
i don’t know…i’m sort of an OG online shopaholic (sure to have fed into many online shopping obsessions over the years…) and only recently “reformed” or am trying to anyway…look, we all have our opinions about bloggers we like don’t like, whatever, but since when does a person not get the opportunity to change and grow? i did. after nearly ten years of emotional over-shopping (and blogging about it), i decided to try and pare down, minimize, and share my journey.
sometimes i feel like a fraud. sometimes i feel like i’m still shopping too much for a so-called “minimalist” (good thing I don’t often refer to myself as one! i just write about it LOL). but we’re all human, and make many mistakes on our journeys. sally and i just choose to write about it – to make it public. which is really hard to do.
every day is a step, a chance to do better, be better. and sally has been talking about shopping less and transforming her style for quite some time now; she has shown significant change. it’s a long process with a lot of emotion involved. you don’t just wake up one day and everything’s changed…give her a chance.
Thanks, Grechen. That makes sense. You have a lot of fans for a good reason, ’cause you write authentically and are a true shopping and style expert. Sally rarely responds to comments and heavily moderates her site. I know she’ll read what we wrote, but I’ll bet that she won’t chime in. Her “above it all” image is aloof and will continue to cost her clients and popularity.
Life’s too short, Andi. Try to get over this hatred you have for Sally. She’s just another blogger on the internet.
She might be “just another blogger,” but she preys on women’s body insecurities with her contrived issues. I don’t “hate her.” I do despise her mercenary methodologies and faux feminist posts.
ok. this is stopping right now. enough already.
sally is not just another blogger – she is a person, with actual feelings. like all of us, she is doing the best she can.
i approved your comments, andi, because i always approve comments, even the negative and critical ones. but it’s clear at this point that you’re just a troll with a mission to get your opinion about sally out there. for what reason, i have no idea, and don’t care to speculate. this isn’t the place for it.
That James Perse gauze shirt dress is haunting me! I resisted during the online sample sale back at the beginning of the year (and by the time I was ready to give in it has sold out in my size), and now it’s reaching out to tempt me again… How much wear have you gotten from yours? Is it worth the hanger space, or will it be in the out pile before it has earned its keep?
i have already worn it a few times, alone when i was in florida a couple months ago, and since then over jeans (which is the way I like it best, honestly). as it gets warmer and i’m too hot to care about baring my legs, i’m sure i’ll wear it quite often. i think it’s worth the space, and it’s something i’ll always have around – i don’t think i’ll ever get tired of it that i won’t want to wear it ever again – i may not wear it a TON, but i’ll wear it enough to make it worth the $100 i paid for it…
it is sheer though – so keep that in mind – if i wear it as a dress, i wear a long slip tank underneath. it would be a great beach dress…
I’m just FINALLY finishing my closet purge project! Having a minimalist wardrobe is a hell of a lot of work, at first, at least. I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to get some money out of consignment and ebay-ing a few items.
Grechen, I don’t know if you experienced this after getting rid of so many items, or if any of your readers can speak to this issue…but, I’m finding that with a lot of things gone, I’m wanting to shop for the “perfect” replacement items and I’m making a lot of mistakes. I guess the upside is that I realize they are mistakes, so I’m doing a lot of returning. But I think I haven’t quite learned to be PATIENT and wait for the right pieces for me. It’s a learning process!
yes. i did that. for a long time, but i think i’m over the idea of “perfect” now – i just keep telling myself there’s no such thing, and over time, it actually sunk in! that, and lots of trial and error. it’ll happen for you, i promise!!
Thanks for your constant, patient encouragement! I keep reminding myself, “This is a marathon, not a sprint”!