Sophia Webster for JCrew Jaquard Caged Shoe, with a tangent on Birkenstocks

I'm sorry I can never remember exact names... You'd forgive me if you knew the life I lead. If you do need an item number, just drop me a comment.

Sizing: run half size small. I picked up the last 36.5 and it fits perfectly. Normally I wear a 36 in European sizing. 

(Which reminds me that Birkenstock 36 posing as a US 5.5 or 6 is totally misleading. If you're a US 6, you need a 35 in the Birks).

Pros: lovely craftsmanship. The glittery gold is a jaquard fabric, backed in leather, leather sole, suede piping, buttons, and suede covered heel. The heel is 3", not more, and supremely comfortable.

Cons: these are statement and mildly space-y shoes. Heck, Princess Leia might wear them to a space-bar. So the question becomes, where would a mom living in a small suburb (albeit full of social events, that she does not partake in) wear them? The other con is that the shoe-models for most caged shoes have cankles or smth.  Never do I find a well-fitted shoe that has a zip opening. It's like the knee high boots that don't fit exactly on scrawny calves (another of my personal crosses). 

So, gorgeous as these are, what should one do? Trust me, I already have a shoe museum, that I giddily add to in moments of insanity. When sober, though, I'm beginning to feel appalled and a little suffocated. 

Help me, my friends.

And some styling inspiration from Net a porter:

Talk about expertly dressing them down!

JCrew fishtail anorak in PXS and the skinny cargo pants, Spring 2015

Fishtail anorak:

I love the whole fishtail look and saw a really cool trench on someone at a mall last year, so I was excited about this one. 

Pros: well-made in terms of attention to detail e.g. Inside of zippers is covered in matching twill tape, double zipper, buttons and zippers to fasten. The coat is also cut to fit the current oversize trend, and the coat has drop shoulders. The cuffs of the sleeves have no openings, and are sewed with a slight a scrunchiness. I don't like it, but Intermix is featuring an anorak with identical details by Rav and Bone in their current catalogue. The whole thing only looks really cool if you scrunch the sleeves, or maybe if you pair it with leather or very short shorts. Oh great - I just thought of pairing it with my white leather jeans and now I'm more inclined towards the coat! The colour is nice, but...

Cons: the fabric is oddly shiny and makes me think of nylon a bit, thought it is actually cotton. The coat is whisper thin and light, bring entirely unlined. I have no idea how it would do in a downpour. No question the swing trench will be a better raincoat. It is also a bit balloony, given the oversized silhouette.

Sizing: if you're petite, definitely order petite. I did my usual XS in the petite, which felt right and will allow for layering.

Verdict: now I'm thinking of pairings with things in my closet and I'm tempted to keep it. But it's otherwise an expensive "statement" piece.

Easily accommodates very bulky layers underneath.

Not the cool fishtail hem I saw in that person in the mall. Hers had buttons or zippers and the fabric was more substantial. The whole vibe was tougher and cooler, of the order of Chloe.

Fabric details 

Thoughts?

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Skinny cargo pants, size 24.

Sizing: I took my normal size this year in jeans, which has been 24 for basically all jeans. I tend to think I'd still take a 25 in jBrand, for instance, so this night be vanity sizing at it's best. Just go with your normal JCrew jeans size.

Pros: amazing stretch, amazingly soft fabric; truly skinny cut. Most skinny pants are still not skinny on my chicken legs - but these are terrific. The material is so soft and gripped the leg so well that I actually felt very warm wearing them. They were instantly comfortable and I didn't want to take them off.

Cons: another generation of awesome casual pants that I now think I should hoard in all colours!

I'm wearing them under the anorak in almost all pics above. Here's two more detailed shots.