FYI, Everlane is currently Pop-In@Nordstrom.
I am a fan of the idea of Alex Mill, by J.Crew’s Mickey Drexler’s son. Most pieces are simple, a little boxy, and certainly too simple to pay full price. Nordstrom has some items on sale; I kept the balcamaan jacket and textured dot shirt.
COS dainty earrings on my list.
Yup, still catching up on my 2018 thoughts. Previously: 2018 thoughts on bags and self-care.
In general, I think I have a better sense of what works for my body and lifestyle. I also think I spend less on clothes than I used to, but I have not backed this up with credit card statement analysis. I have gotten better at returning things on time. Earlier in the year, I was better at reselling whatever didn’t work. I need to get back on that.
I work in New York City. Companies have gone more casual. My office has a business casual dress code with most women veering on the casual end and it saddens me. With that said, women dress for other women and I’m pretty demotivated to dress nicely! Of course, it is a personal choice on how to dress, but I still prefer to dress nicer. Even outside of the office, when I do go out, people don’t dress up. And it’s not because we’re going to a KBBQ. I prefer to buy clothes that can be worn all the time.
I still love neutral colors, especially black and navy. It’s versatile. I used to really like red as an accent color. Now, not so much. Perhaps forest green is the new red for me?
I. Clothes
Brands I can’t quit
Uniqlo. Still my favorite for basics and the occasional collab. I consider it affordable enough that sometimes I buy at full price. I also had no problems with their e-commerce this year. I prefer to pay through PayPal (and they refund return shipping). My 2018 faves:
Sulwhasoo: I have some Sulwhasoo products (the two overnight vitalizing and radiance energy masks and the clarifying mask) but recently got more products. I’m a big fan of the First Care Activating Serum EX in the limited edition plum blossom (review) and the Sulwhasoo Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Emulsion (light moisturizer with a ginseng hanbang smell). These two products achieve that elusive glow.
I tried samples of the Snowise serum (love but the price!), cleansing oil and cleansing foam (meh primarily due to smell and I have tons of cleansers), Bloomstay line (verdict is out, the entire line smells amazing, but the serum is too sticky, the water and cream seem ok). I love gifts with purchase and I had maximized the samples or free minis through my purchases from Korea (or got a really good price). I think samples are the best way to test before diving into a pricey purchase.
I also refer to this very comprehensive overview of the Sulwhasoo products from a Redditor and for Korea airport duty free prices as a baseline.
COSRX: A budget friendly, no frills brand. Sadly many of these products are out of stock and beautytap doesn’t filter them out. (Dermstore has 20% off all COSRX and ends up being a teensy bit more expensive, Ulta has some products. Otherwise I occasionally place a large order at SweetCorea, where the collection is complete but you will need to pay overseas shipping.) I currently don’t use any of their products every single day. I recommend the overnight masks (rice and honey) and use them in the cold winter days as a moisturizer. I also like the Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence for repairing skin or extra moisture. Their pimple stickers, A-sol, and centella cream are for pimple maintenance, which is rare but still necessary. The mister on the other hand uses the One Step Moisture Up Pad in his daily routine and it’s gotten rid of all his flaky skin.
The COS summer sale has started. The selection is alright. Expect popbacks. I like some of their regular priced items (like the High Waist A-Line Dress) and worry if they will stay in stock long enough to hit the sale prices.
FYI: They recently redid their website and it’s disappointing how there is no longer a wishlist to track sold out items. I also saw items sold out on mobile but in stock on the desktop.
A-LINE TOP WITH SOFT NECK (runs big)
A-LINE DRESS WITH GROWN-ON NECK (runs big)
(1) I love bringing Suja Mighty Greens juice to work in a S’well bottle, since it stays chilled. The extra large bottle from Costco is reasonably cheap and it lasts us for a few days. We grab a few bottles every time we go to Costco. You can find the S’well bottles here and here. I have a 9 oz for juice and a 17 oz gold one for water, which always gets comments.
COS has a sale at the end of every season. It’s currently an extra 20% off (price as marked), which means it’s on its last leg and can disappear at any time. I rarely shop COS at full-price, especially since COS opened in the US, but they have a lot of LBDs that are well priced compared to Ann Taylor or J.Crew. Generally, I prefer to COS fit over an awkward J.Crew fit (you know what I’m talking about). I also love how there are no final sales, because I do return a lot. Sizing for lettered sizes tend to be more generous than numbers. And read the descriptions – they will indicate if it is an oversized fit.
Image source: COS
(L to R) Sale colors may be sold out (they recycle designs and will change the color each season) and was overall at least 60% off.
COS and & Other Stories are in their former sister’s H&M space at 42nd St and Fifth Avenue and opened in late October 2015. I was crossing Midtown one evening and conveniently ended up at 43rd and Fifth. How could I resist the new COS? COS occupies most of the ground floor and is laid out like any other COS store. It has women’s and men’s. My guess is that this location is larger than the Soho location (not that I have any inclination to visit).
I quickly skimming the store. I saw iterations of a prior season item, like this a-line wool coat in two new colors (I have it in black, it runs big) and the dotted wool dress (substantial weight). Also saw a men’s mac jacket that was half price online two weeks ago now being sold at full price. No sale in progress here or online. The dressing room corridor looked spacious.
I absolutely adore COS (Collection of Style) — it’s up there in my top 3. I’ve gotten a ton of wear from my collection of navy or black dresses from the spring to roughly about now. If this keeps up, I will need to sell the rest of my closet — my collection of COS dresses get pretty close to a capsule wardrobe and since it’s pretty neutral, I don’t get sick of it. Also, almost all of the dresses I bought are washed in the machine on delicate cycle, then hung dry. There’s only one that needs pressing… so gets a little less wear. Low dry cleaning bill makes me a happy camper.
Continue reading “to shop / {sale alert} cos mid-season sale at 50% off”
Image source: Nordstrom
Image source: COS
Some of these items come in other colors, but of course I picked my favorite colors to display here.
Split Back Dress ($63) / Pleated Shirt Dress (back shown) ($38) / Dress with Caped Back* (back shown) ($27) / Tie Back Dress** ($27)
A-line Dress ($30) / Oversized Jersey Top ($15) / Striped Cotton Top ($30) / Silk Front Jersey Top ($50) / Layered Dress ($30)
COS has marked down its sale items! COS is one of my favorite stores, yet I’ve never blogged about it. I discovered it in Munich back in ’08 when I was on vacation and dragged my friend there for an hour every night (after sightseeing) until closing time. Why an hour? Because I like completeness and I needed repeat trips to fawn over everything. I consider the style to be clean, relaxed, and casual elegance. While their US online store has been open since May, I find their sizing inconsistent and prefer the in-store experience, and have never ordered online prior to this sale. Items in the store are organized by color and nicely styled whereas the online store takes a Zara approach. Everything looks so boxy and miss some defining details! I wouldn’t have considered some of the dresses below had I not seen it in person and specifically looked for it online. I make it a point to visit a COS whenever I’m out of town — Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Paris, London, Barcelona, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore — and am happy to see some of the styles I was fawning over in April and July in Asia have been drastically reduced. The US store is scheduled to open in December in NYC.
