Privilege Blog

Jigsaw London Brings Polka Dots To Stripes

I first discovered Jigsaw London when my Artsy sister gave me this wonderful navy top as a birthday present.

Which I liked so much I bought it in olive as well. Twice, in fact, because I put the first olive purchase in the dryer. Oops. Hate that. Mini-shirts.

Lo and behold, the people at Jigsaw saw the 2012 post and now we get to do a giveaway. One happy reader will receive a $100 gift certificate in exchange for the few small gestures listed below.

Jigsaw also asked me to wear something to get us in the mood. “You bet,” is the appropriate exclamation of enthusiasm, don’t you think? I chose the Jersey Boyfriend Jacket, because a) I’ve been looking for a lightweight jacket to wear in the office and b) polka dots.

The jacket’s made, as the name so politely points out, of jersey. It’s not remotely structured, not even softly, as would be knits or ponte in particular. This is lightweight modal/cotton navy jersey, and it hangs and flutters. The lining, which shows when you roll up your sleeves, is gray with little bitty black polka dots.

I was possessed by the idea of wearing it with stripes, low and high.  Unfortunately Target was stripeless that week, so I fell back to J. Crew and their Vintage Cotton Tee. Jigsaw has a striped top too.

Jersey jacket, street style.

Just had to go find the original grape wall again. I provided enormous amusement for San Franciscans making their way to Peet’s for morning coffee. I am unsure why the retired Marine was carrying his fishing pole, but he was nice enough to counsel me about a nearby rotting banana peel, so I didn’t ask.

For High Stripes, I saw no option but to succumb to Comme des Garçons Play via Saks. That little fierce heart.

Jigsaw-London-Boyfriend-Jacket-With-Commes-des-Garcons

A few points from the Boyfriend Jacket’s Operating Manual. The pretend manual, that is, the one we all wish for. This piece will work best on someone more of an O-shape, rather than my V. To fit my shoulders I had to take a Medium, which makes for rather more fabric around the middle than strictly necessary. You can see the wrap capacity here.

Brrrrr! Jigsaw London, via AmidPrivilege.

On the other hand, the wrappability is quite comforting. This is the sort of clothing you don’t want to take off, and manages to cover a) upper arms in short sleeves b) lower backs revealed by bending down to plug in your laptop. Double duty. Unless you want to show off your tattoos.

You might take a look around the goods. Clearly I’d recommend the Henley, but I also like this silk peplum top.
silk-peplum-ivory-still_1Jigsaw themselves run a blog with outfit posts featuring their gear worn by real employees and bloggers. Now one of you can play along. Academic Sorts, Artsy Sister says that Jigsaw is all the rage on California campuses.

As always, please comment below. If you have a story about polka dots, literal or symbolic, that’s a good thing. But we also need you to either like Jigsaw on Facebook, follow them  on Twitter, or sign up for their mailing list, at the bottom of this page. Extra points for multiple acts of connection. I’ll announce the winner Monday evening, with appropriate fanfare.

nb: Jigsaw London offered me a piece of choice to style. I had never realized I styled anything at all, since Sturdy Gals just wear stuff, but as my mother always says, A Simple Thank You Will Suffice.

51 Responses

  1. i’m tempted to buy another of those CdG tops. i mean, mine has black stripes; navy wouldn’t be redundant at all, now would it?

  2. When I lived in England for a year and was a shlump (Mary and I wandered around the city for hours every day with nowhere to do and nothing to do) I used to go into Jigsaw and try the occasional beautiful dress on. I LOVE Jigsaw.

  3. Looks yummy….perfect over a sleeveless top in the summer to ward off over zealous AC. And I LOVE polka dots-they’ve been sneaking onto all my clothes. A shirt, a scarf, a pant…what’s next!?

  4. As I suspected, they do not sell clothes for those of us with a, er, Rubenesque shape. But I bought a red and white horizontal striped shirt the other day! I wore it rather furtively yesterday; I kept imagining my mother spinning in her grave.

  5. Thank you for introducing me to Jigsaw. I have liked them on FB and now will be getting their emails…I do not Tweet!
    The jacket is very versatile and I do like it with your stripes…I just bought another striped top, go figure, and me who usually shuns prints of any kind but has invited stripes in multiples now!

  6. Love the jacket. I liked Jigsaw on facebook and i follow them on twitter. About to sign up for emails
    :)

  7. I really like this jacket. I have always enjoyed jersey clothing and the idea of a soft jacket is appealing.

  8. I wondered about a “10” being the largest size. A review of the sizing guide suggests that their sizes are different than many. Looks to me like their “10” has the same measurements as a US “12.” The British are nearly as rolly-polly as most of us Yanks!

    The peplum top is nice. It looks like a nice “stand-alone” blouse for when the weather heats up and a jacket isn’t appealing.

  9. Thank you for making this giveaway possible. I have liked Jigsaw on Facebook and signed up for the mailing list. Love the clothes.

  10. Polka dots are wonderful. I wonder why they are mostly for springtime and I don’t see much of them in the winter months. Hmmmm.

    I could use a new scarf to go with a navy jacket. :)

  11. Thanks so much for introducing me to Jigsaw…I looked on their website and love their dresses…some that a middle-aged gal like me could wear!! Then, I was so happy to see that there are stores in the Bay Area…yippee! I have liked them on FB as well.

  12. seems like a great time to jump in here….I LOVE those stripes ( especially the fun Comme de…) with that wonderfully polka dotted lined jacket!
    I never heard of Jigsaw…thanks and will now, dutifully like,follow & sign up.
    I have been lurking for a couple of years…I’m a Russian/Italian artist and follow your blog with interest….as a tourist to another country sometimes…but almost always finding common ground.
    Cheers, best etc, W

  13. I love how the jacket looks wrapped on you. In the Fall and Winter you could easily pair a suede skinny belt at your natural waistline to cinch it together. Might be fun!

    I followed them on Twitter
    Liked them on Facebook
    Signed up for their mailing list (cannot believe I hadn’t already done these things, whoops).

    I love their multi stripe silk dress and the green label The Fabulous Short Print Tie Belt Kaftan! Both are wonderful.

  14. Really nicely styled. Didn’t know if I could stand another striped top, but it all works. There used to be a Jigsaw store near me in LA, but it closed awhile ago.

  15. Oooh that reminds me I have not been to Jigsaw in ages! You look great in your jacket by the way! S x

  16. Just found your blog, and I am enjoying reading the posts. I joined the Jigsaw email list. Love the polka dot jacket.

  17. How did I not know about this brand? It’s so ME! Thanks for the intro. I followed on Twitter and liked on Facebook.

    As far as polka dots go, I picked up a black and rainbowy dotted umbrella last minute before my trip to London in 2010, and I’m still happy every time I open up that thing. Dots make me happy!

  18. I used to love Jigsaw, but their stuff was not doing it for me a few years ago, so I haven’t been into a shop for ages – must swing by next time I’m in the city. You look great – stripes & polka dots are my favourite (only) patterns.

  19. Followed on twitter and signed up for email. Love polka dots. No great stories, but I do have an old navy and green polka dot umbrella from ll bean that brightens up a rainy morning.

  20. Not familiar with Jigsaw – glad to find out about them (not a fan of “like” on facebook, and don’t tweet, so doing the e-mail list option)

  21. of COURSE i love your CdG striped shirt, one day i’m going to get me one of those. the heart makes me happy – i wore my CdG play X converse low tops today, which always makes me smile :)

    and so pleased to find out about jigsaw, i like a lot of their pieces, they seem to fit into my flowy, breezy, eileen fisher-y aesthetic nowadays!!

    i completed all the steps to enter the giveaway. which says a lot for this giveaway; i don’t normally do that!!

  22. thanks for introducing me to Jigsaw- I was not aware of them. I enjoyed poking around the website and imagining myself in a number of things, but decided that the studio 54 dress is the one for me. And I liked them on facebook and joined the mailing list.

    I had a totally favorite polka dot dress in the 90s during my “advanced grunge” days. I had gotten it at the thrift shop up the street from my apartment in Philadelphia for about $2 and it was the. perfect. dress. Navy blue with white polka dots, able to be worn year round (depending on tights/sweater/boots/etc and of course, best of all, it was super flattering. I eventually wore it to shreds. Fast forward about 10 years and I moved to NYC and saw the exact same dress at a vintage shop (Screaming Mimi’s?) for $50. I didn’t buy it, but it did make me smile to see my old friend again.

  23. Dear Privilege: Please check out our blog this week where we have done our two part Building a Wardrobe From Scratch posts – beginning with our Oakland Hills fire story. Greatly enjoying your blog.

  24. You look great in the polka dot and stripes combo. The CdG stripes are my fave. Thank you for the introduction to Jigsaw, loved that cute little navy dress!

  25. I signed up for their email list, but sadly don’t have any stories about polka dots. I can say I love an irregular micro dot, as it matches the dots on my face :D btw, love your sturdy gal style.

  26. I’m a little wary of Jigsaw now . Yes , the styles are good but the quality doesn’t always live up to the price , especially the woollens . We have a Jigsaw & Whistles almost next to each other & I usually choose Whistles .

  27. Haven’t paid attention to Jigsaw before, Lisa, but now I think this is love! Their pieces look great on you (and I like that extra fabric on your Jacket above). I give in: liked them on facebook, twitter, mailing list, the whole shebang. One more sales newsletter can’t hurt, right?

    This Cotton Voile Fan Tee is particularly making me die, with its gorgeous draped detail and perky coral hue. Perfect intersection of Sturdy, Artsy, and Dame. I only wish it weren’t on sale (!) so I might’ve snagged one before my size ran out…

    http://www.jigsaw-london.com/cotton-voile-fan-tee-shirt
    (Sorry for the naked url, couldn’t remember if you allowed html in comments so decided against.)

  28. Jigsaw is a juniory brand cut for thin juniors. The styles are cute but the line will not fit those with much bust or hip, or women who don’t like their skirts on the short side of short. The sizing stops around US 10 and it’s a narrow 10. I agree with Wendy re the quality.

  29. Following on twitter and signed up for email list; I love Jigsaw’s aesthetic; getting in the mood for my UK trip this summer!

  30. ok, so I’ve never actually worn polka dots and stripes together… I’m more of a solid color (read: black or navy) with either super chunfy jewelry or a crazy scarf or both. I suppose this big round birthday coming up is making me feel a little more adventurous, clothing-wise, than usual.

    Love the jacket & shirt. And, in this new era of semi-sensible footwear, I appreciate your comfy-chic picks. Sign me up for stripes and polka dots! (but hold my hand for a while…it’s scary.)

  31. I remember coveting Jigsaw clothing when I passed their store windows as a starving study abroad student in 1985. Good to know they are still in business and I love the jacket you are sporting! Right up my ally. Now I’m off to “like”, etc. BTW, I love your blog…just discovered last week.

  32. Great styling!! I love the pieces together. It’s weird because one of my outfit posts this week includes a much loved navy silk shirt by Jigsaw I bought in the 90’s! It’s a great British label and deserves much more attention.

  33. My mother always tried to make me wear polka dots when I was a teenager but I resisted fiercely. Now I find I’m starting to see the appeal, maybe because I’m 5000 mikes away and would love to be able to go shopping with her.

    I’m not a fan of Facebook or twitter, but have signed up for Jigsaw’s emails.

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