Catalog scouring: Cool winter finds on the cheap
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The woman who lived in my apartment before me was on the list for nearly every apparel catalog in existence. So try as I might to stop junk mail from entering my home, I still get the occasional Spiegel or Newport News tome delivered to my door (the J. Crew and Anthropologie catalogs are rightfully mine.)
I equate these old-school, B-list catalogs to Marshall’s or Ross stores. There are killer deals (and even cute looks) within, but you have to ferret them out carefully, avoiding cheap-looking fabrics and creative tailoring.
But a recent scouring of these inherited pubs yielded a surprising array of wearable -- heck, even fashion-forward -- garb perfectly suited to L.A.’s mild winters.
Behold a few choice picks:
* Pumpkin-hued cap-sleeved cardigan from Newport News, $39. This cozy, slouchy belt-tied knit would look adorable over a pair of thin or wide-legged jeans, a stack of gold bangles dripping from a delicate wrist.
* Keegan plaid coat from Delia’s, $79.50. Channel Ali MacGraw in ‘Love Story’ with this fetching plaid coat that’s part prep-school, part ‘90s grunge. A.P.C. sells something similar for roughly five times the price.
* Fuzzy white angora sweater from Newport News, $49. On L.A.’s chilliest days, only a fuzzy turtleneck sweater will do. And this one is perfectly proportioned to wear with both pencil skirts and trousers. Love the slightly belled sleeves.
* Five-pocket Fabulous Legging from Spiegel, $34. You could invest a car payment into J Brand’s ‘jegging’ (half-jean, half-legging), or you could forfeit a solitary meal for these sleek, skinny pants best worn with a blousy top.
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