9 Pieces, 9 Ways

I have to admit that when I first viewed J.Crew's October new arrivals, I wasn't very excited. My first thought was "why so much gray?" As a whole the collection felt dreary, but when I started isolating the pieces I liked, I began realizing the beauty was in the collection's details. And don't even get me started on the Dutch Floral pattern, just gorgeous!

One of the perils of online shopping is that you often miss the details - intricate herringbone and houndstooth become a sea of muted grays. Fortunately if you click on the color swatch for any item on J.Crew's website, a detailed image of just the item, sans-model, appears. I often find that I like a particular piece a lot more when I view it this way. Of course there is always the option of visiting the retail store in person, but if your J.Crew is anything like mine, I am often frustrated because they never received the items I loved online in store!

So today I am highlighting my favorite pieces from the collection with a 9 X 9 post -- nine pieces styled in nine different ways!

cropped floral sweatshirt // tweed skirt // striped top // floral pants // navy tee // dress // tee // cardigan // mixed media sweater

When paired with the vibrant Dutch Floral print, the gray plaid, tweed, and herringbone patterns make perfect sense and really allow the pattern to pop. I love it because it reminds me of the beautiful still-life paintings of the seventeenth-century Dutch Golden Age, which I am sure inspired the print. Fun history fact, three Dutch women made a name for themselves in this genre on painting, which was no small feat in the 17th century (and their work is my favorite!). These pants will be a must the next time I am strolling the Dutch painting section of the Uffizi lol.

Which new arrivals are you loving?

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