Ding Dong...

That's the sound I'm looking forward to hearing all this week thanks to the wonderful internet and lots of super duper good after-Christmas sales. You see, sometime last week it hit me that I'm really not wearing a lot of my winter wardrobe anymore. I had this same feeling this past summer, but local women's clothing stores such as Downeast Outfitters, JC Penney, and Old Navy are just NOT doin' it for me right now. 


So, I sorted through my closet (again).


Below is a list of my criteria: 

• Pills- I cannot stand fabric with pills!
• Faded fabric- not going for a Batik look unless it's on purpose.
• Misshapen fabric- certain cuts/styles are just no longer flattering. Period.
• Sweaters- keeping them, but moving them to the top of my closet. I've come to the recent realization that I HATE wearing sweaters while caring for two small children. They're too hot. Too restricting. Too dry-clean only.

Then I did what any rational mother of two young kids would do....I strapped them in their car seats and declared to my husband that we were going to H&M in SLC. He gave me a look. It didn't matter. I felt destined for a new winter/early spring look (on a budget of course). Benjamin whined a bit about missing Sesame Street. Grant hinted that he may be hungry. I didn't care- I was a mom on a mission! The garage door started to rise...I put on my sunglasses, then my Dad called me back. Childcare at my parent's house wasn't going to work out that day. So, I said I'd take them with me. Then I thought about it...I mean REALLY thought about. Did I really want to drive 1.5 hrs., arrive at a mall, strap 2 kids in a stroller, shop around at a crazy, busy, loud H&M, then drive back 1.5 hrs. in rush hour traffic?...Nope!

Instead we did a quick cruise-in at TJ Maxx and Ross and ate Jimmy Johns in the car. I came away with 3 nice, quality name brand tops: SCORE! (funny FYI: dressing room attendant said the average # of items working out is 3/10). 


Later on that night when staring into my somewhat sparse closet, I realized how I had quite a bit from JCREW. I found this odd since I hardly ever shop there...then I realized that these tops were all 10+ years old. I couldn't believe how well the color had held up. The shape was still perfect. The style- still in! This is all because their clothing is CLASSIC and MADE WELL. Plain and simple. Yes, it can be more expensive up front, but when my job requires lots of playing, lots of lifting, lots of creating with paints/markers/food?, QUALITY is key. Plus, when you can get hooked up with extra good sales, and lots of free shipping offers, it became a real no-brainer to me: I should stock up ONLINE with clothes that can live up to my day-to-day lifestyle here in shopping-less Logan.


And that's just what I did. 


Let's hope my recent clicks on LandsEnd.com, JCREW.com (btw- did you know you can buy things from their FACTORY store online too?), and BananaRepublic.com do not disappoint! Even with this late onset of winter, I'm really looking forward to the feeling of anew that I believe January has brought/bought me! :)


p.s. top image of 40% off is from you guessed it, here.
p.s.s. this is the site I use for awesome online promo codes!
p.s.s.s. JCREW has the BEST customer service I've ever encountered. I called their customer care line desperate for a top that was sold out online, and they found it at a store in Iowa for me.  It's called their "We Will Find It For You Service." Love it.