Giveaway Winner is........

Katie,



Katie,  please be sure to contact me (my e-mail is at the bottom of this blog) so I can get your goodies sent out!

Thanks again to all for being supportive readers!

OOTD: 3/1/12 -Dressing with a Secret

Sweater: J Crew Cambon Cardi, sz. Xs

Tee: Target Merona, sz. small

Skirt: random find from T J  Maxx

Shoes: Bandolino

Bag: J Crew (old)

Necklace: H&M (old)

I have a secret about this skirt: it has a huge ol' zipper going all the way up in the back.

I have another secret about this skirt: the zipper is actually supposed to go in the front and I'm wearing the thing backwards.

Shhhhh! Don't tell!

I found this skirt at T J Maxx a few years ago, I think. I was looking for a black pencil skirt at the time, and this one caught my eye. The honkin' zipper caught my eye too. When I found this skirt, I think it was around the time 'exposed zippers' were starting to make an appearance at J Crew. Since the skirt was from T J  Maxx and under $20, I figured it might be a cheap way to try out the trend. The thing is, I wanted a cheap version of the trend-- not to actually look cheap. And sadly at my age, I personally feel a big old suggestive zipper up the front of my skirt wasn't quite appropriate for the profession I'm in.

Now I know the tag of a garment should go in the back (duh), and the tag for this skirt was on the zipper-less side. But I found the cut on the skirt allowed me to easily wear this skirt with the zipper in the back. I don't know if it was cut that way on purpose, but this skirt fits the same front ways or backwards. Nice. Two looks in one--Professional pencil skirt with a little edge, or streetwalker glam. Oh, the options!

Because the skirt is a little risque in design, I tried to keep the rest of my outfit rather plain and straightforward. Maybe if I was out clubbing (yeah, because I do that so much) I might pair it with a bright neon blouse or cami. Either way, I rather enjoyed my little secret. Perhaps a bit juvenile, but I was chuckling to myself all day that I was wearing my skirt backwards.

Oh, and don't forget my Giveaway! It ends tonight!

OOTD: 2/29/12 -Anchors Aweigh

Sweater: J Crew Cashmere Sweater (old) sz. small

Pants: LL Bean Signature Wideleg Trousers, sz.2

Shoes: Nine West

Bag: Kate Spade

I feel very much like Gene Kelly in 'Anchors Aweigh' in this outfit. All I need is beret with a red pom-pom and a cartoon dancing Jerry. I promise, that wasn't the intention. I didn't realize it until editing the photos. Oh well, I'll take it---Gene Kelley was hawt. Mmmmmm.....tight dancer muscles.......

I do think I should have opted for flats with these pants though. Unlike Gene Kelly, who purposely wears his pants short so you can see his snazzy feet tapping away, I have no logical reason to be wearing too-short pants. Because of the wider leg when I looked down at my feet, it appeared there was enough material for me to  pull of a low wedge--you know to lengthen the leg line. But seeing the full length photos, its clear any type of heel puts these pants in the 'tapdancing pant' category for me. And a dancer I am not. (I fact at age 7, my dance instructor suggested to my parents I should 'explore other interests' as clearly dancing was not meant for me.)

Lesson learned. I should clearly take more care to actually look at the photos I'm taking of myself before heading out of the house, and not days later after the unfortunate fashion incident has occurred and is too late to be averted.

Don't forget my Giveaway! It ends Friday night!

Casual Pants by J.Crew
Necklaces by Forever 21

OOTD: 2/28/12

Sweater: LEC Cableknit Sweater, sz. XS

Skirt: J Crew Neapolitan Pencil skirt, sz. 2

Bag: Talbots

Shoes: Franco Sarto

Pearls: from Husband

Wearing this, I thought I liked the idea of tucking this sweater into the pencil skirt. But upon review of the pictures, I'm afraid it looks rather thick and bulky. Hmmmmm.......

I am totally a tucker. 9 times out of 10, I'll tuck whatever I' wearing into my bottoms. Fortunately I'm blessed with not carrying my weight in my midsection (although my thighs and rear would feel otherwise) so I don't have  hang-ups on that account with tucking.  I don't have a very defined waist as it is, and somehow I'm hoping that tucking things in will give me more definition.

I was totally set on wearing this LEC sweater with the J Crew Neapolitan pencil skirt because the purple in the skirt matched the sweater so perfectly. Perhaps leaving the sweater out and belting would have been better? I'm still a little leery of the whole 'belt on the outside' thing. Plus, most of my belts are fitted to sit lower on my hips. I don't think I even own any belts that go around my natural waist. Maybe I should be putting smaller belts on my spring wish list?

What about you? Do you belt? Tuck? Or just let comfort dictate?

Oh, and don't forget my Giveaway! It ends Friday night!

Giveaway Time!

Spring is finally here, and I thought it would be nice to celebrate with a Giveaway!

The goodies are:

1. A lovely Animal Print Scarf from Scarves.net:

2. A pair of nautical inspired rope earrings from Banana Republic Factory:

3. and just for fun, a nautical Anchor pendant necklace from Forever 21:

How to enter ....

Required Stuff:

Please be a public follower of Egyptomaniac the Shopping Maniac (with Google Friend Connect or Google Reader or Bloglovin') and leave a note in the comments section with your name and email address.
Oh also, I do moderate all comments so if your comment doesn't show up right away,
don't worry-- it will get there as soon as I get it approved!

(So sorry to any of my international followers,
but I have to keep this giveaway limited to US residents.)

Want an Extra entry?

Just re-post about this giveaway on your own blog, if you have one. Please comment here again with the link to your post so I know to give you an additional entry.

When will the goodies be doled out?
This giveaway will finish at the end of the day (11:59pm) on March 30th 2012. I'll choose a winner using Random.org on March 31st. I'll announce the winner in a separate post, so please make sure to check back to see if you've won (of course I'll e-mail you too!). If you do happen to be that lucky winning gal, please be sure to contact me within 24 hours so I can get your goodies sent out. If not, I'll pick a second winner.

Thank-you to all for being such fantastic readers and
thanks again for stopping by!

OOTD: 2/27/12

Sweater: LEC Heritage Cardi, sz. XS

Top: Banana Republic Factory 'Bird' Blouse, sz. small

Jeans: LOFT Factory Modern Trouser Jeans, sz. 0

Shoes: Franco Sarto

Bag: Talbots

It seems I can't stop wearing this camel cardi from LEC. Apparently it goes with everything. I got this top from the clearance rack (along with a few others) from Banana Republic Factory recently. I'm not usually one for prints on the top half, so I'm trying to break out of my comfort zone and challenge myself to wear more prints. I've noticed that animals have appeared a lot in prints this season, so I thought I should at least try the trend. I figured I wasn't risking much considering the top was under $15.

I did have to do some alterations to the ruffles though. It seemed the whole clearance section (the whole store actually) at BR was exploding with ruffles and riff raff. Why does it seem like stores tend to go overboard with one particular trend, only to have shoppers OD on it, get bored, and then drop that particular trend just to go overboard on something else? Not that I'm picking on BR. I've seen LOFT and J Crew do it too (sequins or embellished tees, anyone?). Hasn't anyone heard of Temperance before? It seems the 7 deadly sins and virtues need to be revisited in the fashion world. Too much of something, even if it's good, is called gluttony folks.

Anyway, this little birdie top clearly had too many ruffles going on. It even had ruffles under the arm-pits. Eeek. Who wants a ruffle there? So I took my trusty seam ripper, and took out a layer or two of the ruffles. Now that did leave some unfinished edges, but fortunately BR Factory is cheap with their fabrics and the material was poly. Poly melts. I just took a lighter and gently ran the flame along the raw edges to seal up the frayed fabric. It was underneath the top layer of ruffle, so nobody will be the wiser.

You know, thinking now--- it might be fun to do a 7 sins and virtues in fashion series. Yes? I'd be open to suggestions on examples of each of the 7 sins and 7 virtues in fashion. I could think of a few J Crew is guilty of anyway.......

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Shop My Closet!

Shop Egyptomaniac's Closet

Just wanted to mention I did some updating to the 'Shop My Closet' section of the blog today.  I've listed mostly NWT or very EUC clothes and accessories from J Crew, Talbots, Banana Republic and Gap. Sizes are mostly sz. 2 to 6, XS to Med, and shoes are sz.8-8.5.

Stop on by!

PSA: LL Bean Signature Stacked Heel available again!

L L Bean Signature Stacked Heel

reg. $129.99, on sale for $69.99

in spruce, vintage rose, and midnight in most sizes

I just noticed that one of my very favorite shoes ever is available again in limited sizes and colors on the LL Bean website! Yay!

These are the most comfy, walkable, well made heels I've ever had! They remind me very much of J Crew's Juliette heels, but at a fraction of the cost. I originally reviewed them here. Highly recommend!

While your at it, check out the LL Bean Signature section on the regular LL Bean website. I noticed they have quite a few popbacks from previous seasons that are just darling! BTW- LL Bean Signature fits more modern than regular LL Bean--actually I'd say it runs smaller than J Crew or Lands End Canvas.

And right now LL Bean is offering a $10 giftcard for every $50 spent. And might I remind you that LL Bean offers free shipping on all orders, at all times with no minimum.

Oh, what to get, what to get? I already have the stacked heel in 3 colors......can I justify a 4th?

The Art of Tying Shoe Laces

This is rather incredible. I had no idea there were that many ways to tie a shoelace.
I saw this on Pinterest a while ago, and though if any of you have a hour or so you want to waste, this might be a good way to do it. ;P

OOTD: 2/24/12 & Review: J Crew Factory Ruffled Gamine Jacket

Sweater: Lands End Canvas Heritage Cardi, sz. XS

Top: J Crew Natasha Top in Wildcat, sz. 2

Pants: J Crew Bi-Stretch Wool Minnies in black, sz.2

Shoes: Libby Eddleman

Bag: Talbots

Coat: J Crew Factory Ruffled Gamine Jacket, sz. 2

This is what I wore for my birthday lunch last month with Husband.

--I know. I am almost a month behind here in OOTD posts. Whatevs. I'm telling myself it's because I know I'll be taking a two week trip to Europe at the end of May so I'm building up a backlog of scheduled posts for that time (that, or I'm just lazy and getting behind.)

Anyway, it's the Minnie's again. Speaking of trips to Europe, I think I'll definitely be taking these along. I've been trying to slowly build in my mind what type of outfits I want to pack for our cruise. Maybe I should be asking some of you experienced European traveler's for advice.  I haven't been to Europe in 5 years. The last time we went, it was for a cruise of the Baltic and I froze the entire time. The cruise was in June, but I definitely didn't pack warm enough. I don't want to make that mistake again.

This May, we're going for a cruise in the Mediterranean. Italy, Greece, Sicily, and Turkey. I want to be warm enough, but also 'Euro chic.' Mostly, I just want to blend in. I don't want to stand out as an American Tourist. Blech. So maybe I need to get my butt in gear like DaniBP. She always does such a through and excellent job when preparing and packing for trips.  I think I need to do a few posts on outfit preparation and solicit advice in the near future.

Anyway, on to the J Crew Factory Ruffle Gamine Jacket review.

I bought this with the intent that I'd be taking it along on my cruise. I don't own a lot in the way of jackets, and I wanted something basic that could be dressed up or dressed down. I think this is going to fit the bill.

(Again, I apologize for the bad picture quality. The fingerprint smudge was still there on the lens marring my photos.)

Anyway, the fabric is nice. Very nice. It's made of the same heavy material as the double serge cotton pencil skirts. Construction seemed very good too. The jacket is fully lined and well made. Don't let the fact that it's Factory dissuade you. It's better that a lot of the things you'd find in J Crew retail these days. The ruffle along the waist band is just the perfect touch to elevate a plain jacket. I'm not one for overly ruffled, 'girlie' clothes, and I found the extra detail just right.

I think with sales and promos I paid around $60 for it. For what I paid, it exceeded my expectations. I would have been just as happy if I had paid full price. My only complaint in this area is that the buttons seemed loose and I needed to re-enforce them. But again, that's true on many of my J Crew retail items as well. No biggie for me.

As to fit, I ordered a sz.2, which is my typical size in J Crew tops and jackets. The sz.2 seemed TTS for J Crew. A caveat: almost everything tends to be tight in the shoulder for me as I am very broad in that area, and this was the case for the Ruffle Gamine jacket. I don't usually size up, because then everything is too loose in the waist, but I felt I should mention. I'm used to tops and jacket being tight thru the shoulder, so it wasn't an issue for me. Also, I don't plan to wear anything heavier than a J Crew Jackie cardi underneath. But, if you're broad in the shoulders, between sizes, or plan to wear a few layers with this jacket, you might want to size up.

All in all, I'm very happy with this jacket. You wouldn't find this quality at such a low price point at J Crew retail, that's for sure.

Sleeveless Tops by J.Crew
Pumps by Beverly Feldman