Barneys Finds

I guess I missed most of the deals while I was in England, because there was very little stock in Barneys. The entire Mayle and Lyell remnants were on a single rack--and it wasn't full. Julie at Barneys was great, collecting all the size 8 and 10s for me, but there wasn't much to deal with. She said Mayle had sold quickly once it had gone on sale as it was the final collection. I have a feeling the Elizabeth Street store won't have huge reductions and will be pretty picked over, but there may be some items left. I'll post what I find when I go there, maybe later today on the way to meet Evan (we have to go to Macy's to get a new comforter) and he has to go into work. He knows I am watching my spending because of the IVF so I don't want to look irresponsible.

First of all, the Eunice pants run very large--I tried on a ten and could have got them on and off without unbuttoning them. I needed maybe a 6. It was a shame because I imagine they would have looked great otherwise. The fabric has quite a bit of stretch in it, so maybe a 4 may have even worked. It was disappointing but that's sale shopping.

Olympia is a great dress--on the hanger. I am tall and flat chested. It made me look stocky as there is so much draping around the chest. Enough said. I think you have to be a model to carry this one off. Certainly, I rarely look stocky or chunky on top.

The only other items in my size was Penilope (size 8) which I bought. It is soft, fits and drapes really well and I can imagine it will work well in the summer as it isn't silk. Also, for $109, I couldn't say no.

Basically, I missed the boat. I imagine these reductions were in place over the weekend when I was so jetlagged I thought I was in England and tried explaining American TV to Evan (who is from Long Island) as I was surprised to see American commercials. Maybe it was for the best I didn't go shopping then.

As for other sizes, if you are a size 4 or 0, the white pre-fall top is in stock. There are blue Gia camisoles. Size 0-4 Rex pants from resort are also plentiful and Miho tops. One Ebba in black, size 8 (this dress didn't work on me as it was too baggy in the chest and too narrow on the hips).

I did break my vow and spend some money, though. I tried on two Lyell items--the black silk A-line skirt with scalloped insert detailing from holiday (reduced from $435 to $129). It draped beautifully, has great details and will be a great basic. It was one of those pieces I didn't want to get--I wanted to save the money for Mayle, but it worked so well it made me rethink my recent disappointments with Lyell. As did the top above. It is less silky--I think it is a medium-heavy silk-wool crepe--and it drapes beautifully. It was $179, which is a lot, reduced from $585, but I loved it and will wear it forever.

I will post pictures of these and other finds as I get my camera to work (still trying to work out the logistics of taking my own photos as I cannot turn off my flash).

So, I am beginning to resign myself to getting very little from the last two Mayle collections. I hope I can pick up a couple of pieces and it would be great if Hera, Zora, Melia and the Rex pants were among them, but I'm not particularly optimistic about this. Still, in a week I have my first appointment to see if I can get IVF, and a baby is a far higher priority than clothes. At this point, I'm trying to be positive and thus enjoying my body and clothing while I can. Hopefully, I'll be pregnant soon and living in Steven Alan shirts and maternity denim.