Wednesday, February 15, 2017

reviews: a few good finds and a few good laughs

When we came back from Montreal a week and a half ago, there were several packages waiting for me at the door (the best kind of welcome home present!). A few of them turned out to be great...and a few others were sent back immediately. 

 striped-ruffle-bib-shirt
Let me get this out of the way for everyone:

HAHAHAHAHAH

Okay, hear me out on this shirt. Online, it looks super cute. The ruffle didn't seem as overwhelming, the fit was better, and it looked very much less Amish. On me? HAHAHAHA. I could not stop laughing at myself wearing this shirt because it looked so ridiculous on me. I actually think the shirt is still pretty cute, and I bet on the right person it would be perfect under a blazer with some ripped jeans. The reviews actually are all pretty positive, so maybe this is more of a "me" thing rather than a "shirt" thing. For sizing reference if anyone has fallen in love with this blouse, I'm wearing a large.

 LOFT - Tulip Lace Shell

The next item from that Loft order is this amazing lacy shell I've been talking about for over a month. I ordered it in a white large (it also comes in navy). The front of this top is lace (with lining underneath) and the back is a soft t-shirt material (ie. the lace doesn't go all the way around). The lace detailing is actually very beautiful - I love the hem! As you can see though, it runs large - the middle pictures shows how much extra fabric there is, and the right picture is me holding that extra fabric back. I immediately called Loft and did an exchange for a medium (doing an exchange rather than re-ordering it means I get the original price I paid for it and I don't have to pay for shipping again). The medium should be here any day, so fingers crossed it works because I really love this shirt!

It looks like this striped cardigan may be sold out now, but I wanted to discuss it anyway because we had a lengthy discussion about it on Snapchat! When I first put it on, my initial reaction was: bathrobe. This just looked like a shorter version of the robe I wear when I get out of the shower! I liked it a bit more when I took the original belt off, and I liked it a whole lot more when I put my own belt on it. The thing is though, I liked the idea of the cardigan with the belt with those jeans with cognac shoes because it would be a cute blog post. I know that it wouldn't be one of those pieces I wore all the time, especially because I can't wear it under a white coat. For something like my cognac blazer (seen here), I know that I can't wear it all the time, but it's so versatile. This cardigan was just cute (in the right situation and blog post), so I passed because I buy clothes for real life and not my blog. Trust me, there are many times where I want to buy something because I know it would make for a good blog post, but my goal has always been to dress for my life and not for the internet.
 Striped maritime dress
Here's that striped dress from JCF I mentioned a few weeks ago too. I've wanted a navy with white striped dress for years now, but for some reason, could never find one that didn't cling to every curve. I'm wearing a large here - it fits slightly loose, but sizing down to a medium would have made it too short. The darting at the bust makes it fit my shape a bit better than some Old Navy versions I've tried. The fabric is a heavier cotton that is very comfortable. I can't wait to take it along with me when I go visit my mom in Alabama in a few weeks! It's currently on sale, and it's white with red striped version is even more inexpensive (plus it's so cute!). 
 Caslon® Layer Look Drawstring Neck Tunic
And last are a few pieces from Nordstrom. Caslon is quickly becoming one of my favorite brands carried at Nordstrom, so I'm always willing to try out their cute clothes (just right now I have my eye on their perforated sneakers and navy open cardigan). First up is their layered sweatshirt. You can see why I was initially drawn to it - grey, stripes, a cowl neck - I love all three of those things! In reality though, this didn't work on me. It kind of hits at an awkward spot - if it had been a bit longer, it could have been a cute tunic, but this just looks a bit awkward. Combined with the extreme drop shoulder going on (hellllllo, clothing designers, dropped shoulders look good on exactly no one), it went back pretty quick. For reference, I'm wearing a large. Can't win them all, Caslon. 

Next is their cowl neck sweater that I've mentioned in the past. I love this sweater!!! I wore this basically the whole time we were in Montreal because it was both comfortable and warm. I'm wearing the ivory tweed color in a large. As you can see in the picture, it has side pockets, which a lot of the time is not very flattering, but these lay pretty flat, so they don't ask a ton of weight to your sides. If you're looking for a warm sweater for the rest of the winter, I highly recommend it!
 Women's Cotton Emporium Mock Neck Tunic
This sweater is from Cotton Emporium, and I ordered it because it looked so cute and versatile on Aubrey. On me, it looked like I shrunk a sweater and tried to squeeze into it anyway. The sizing suggestions said to size down, so this is a medium - if anything, I should have tried this in a large. This apparently is a tunic but I would not say this looks like a tunic on me. The dropped shoulder is doing me NOOOO favors here - those of you with thicker arms know where I'm coming from! This was just not flattering on me all the way around. Back you go!

 Sam Edelman 'Petty' Chelsea Boot
Last item I waned to mention was the Sam Edelman booties I had talked about last week. I don't know you guys, a lot of you said you liked these on Snapchat, but I think they look really strange on me. I wear a 9.5, so maybe it's just because it makes my feel look really long, but these just didn't work on me. I just really want a pair of shoes I can wear in the winter with socks, but aren't full length riding boots. My size just came back in these Louise Et Cie boots, so they are headed my way now to see how they look. I never thought I'd try a Chelsea boot, but maybe it's exactly what I'm looking for!

ps. the jeans worn above are 7 for all mankind (sooo comfy!) and the white tank underneath everything is this shapewear camisole I posted about a few weeks ago. Highly recommend!