to everlane, with love ( + giveaway)

silk tank | mules

Everlane was one of my first blogging discoveries back in the day. Back then, they only made one item - a t-shirt. And I fell for it hard.  I've reviewed it, I've worn it, and now I own at least 15 of their shirts. I wear one every single day (my home uniform is always black leggings, Everlane tee, and a drapey sweater). It just hits me in all the right places, it's not see through, and it holds up so so well.

Over the years, Everlane has added more to their collection of clothing, always staying true to their "radical transparency" tagline about knowing where your clothes come from, how much they cost to make, and where the money goes. I own probably a dozen of their items besides the tee - I carried their backpack for all of first and second year of school, I wear their dress pants, their pocket tote is my gym bag, and I own several of their silk blouses and dresses. Not every piece they make works on my frame - some items run boxier than others, but they now have such a wide variety of items that I always find something I love in their new arrivals. Check out a few of my favorites below - that back zip tee looks just like my beloved BR tee, and the silk v-neck blouse would be perfect for the summer.

silk v-neck | back zip tee | trench coat

sweater | blouse (already on the waitlist!) | silk dress

Basically, I'm a huge fan of Everlane, and have been for years and years. To celebrate my "blogging anniversary" this week, I want one of you to experience and love Everlane as much as I do, which is why I'm giving away a $100 Everlane giftcard. You can enter the giveaway below - open to US, Canada, and Australia only as that is where they ship. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

everlane ryan tee review

Ever since I purchased my first white Everlane white tee (see the review here), I've become a total convert, to the point that I'm refusing to purchase a tee from anywhere else. Through their reward program, I've been able to accumulate a little collection of tees that I wear non-stop. Once they came out with their Ryan Collection, I "purchased" one as well. I ordered the white, and it's been my go-to shirt every day when I get home from school. Everlane was so gracious and offered to let me review another item on here, so I choose to get the Ryan tee in grey. 

Let me say that going in on my first purchase of this tee, I knew this would not be the most flattering shirt on me. These looser, drapey, round neckline shirts are not meant for someone who is more busty and hour glass shaped. We need something that adds a bit of an angle to our shape (with a v-neck) and something that comes in at our waist, but the longer sleeves and soft fabric were calling my name. 

So as you can see, not the most flattering on me. I'm 5'9'' and pretty proportional in the torso/legs ratio, and I find this shirt just a tiny bit too short on me. The model online is also apparently 5'9'' but she may be more legs than torso, which is why it looks longer on her. The sleeve length is great - I love having a bit of a longer sleeve that isn't tight on my arms. The little pocket on the front varies between shirts - on my white shirt it's very loose and flappy, while it's a bit tighter on this one. The rounded neckline again isn't the best on my shape, but it hits right where my cleavage starts (just like the v-necks) which is nice if you don't want to wear a tank underneath it. 

But you guys...I love this shirt. I love it for hanging out around the house, for wearing under blazers, and for studying. I seriously wear one or the other just about every evening. I personally probably will not wear this alone like I would the v-necks because it's not a flattering shape on me, but if you are all clavicles and wispy-ness, this shirt will look awesome on you for all occasions. If you don't care what it looks on and just want to wear the most comfortable tee ever, order one pronto. I would love if Everlane made a similar style (looser, longer sleeves) but with a v-neck instead - hint hint! ;)

But for anatomy studying all night every night? Amazing.

Thank you to Everlane for providing me with the credit to receive this shirt. I'm a big Everlane supporter, and can't wait to see what all they come out with next! If you would like to try it out for yourself, you can sign up here. If you purchase within the first 24 hours of signing up, you get free returns (if you want to return!) and I receive a $20 store credit.

grey sweatshirt, you fancy: everlane sweatshirt

I've been sick for the past three days, but with limited PTO left at work, I had to go in. The thought of putting any effort into my outfit, hair, or makeup was just not going to happen, so I was happy that my new Everlane sweatshirt came in last weekend.

I've wanted a "fancy" sweatshirt for a while now.

Hear me out!

I've seen Dotty wear this thinner red "sweatshirt" numerous ways over the past few months, and it was always the perfect combination of comfortable and somehow still appropriate. I felt having something similar in my closet would be great for when school starts. I'm sure there will be numerous days where the last thing I want to do is put on dressy clothes, especially for eight hours of lecture, so having a similar dressy sweatshirt would allow me to look pulled together but be secretly wearing a comfortable sweatshirt. so sneaky. 

After my Everlane tee review, several of you ordered the shirts, which is awesome for two reasons: one, you guys get to try them out for yourself (are you loving them as much as I am??), and two, for every person who orders, I get a store credit. I had several store credits saved up, so I decided that it would be a good time to try out their sweatshirt. I decided to get the graphite version because I felt it would be the most low-key, but I'm kind of wishing I had ordered the mustard instead just because the color is a bit more fun (and especially because my mustard cardigan gets a lot of wear).

Anyway, so Monday when I was only going in for a half day after having to sleep 5 more hours in the morning, I was happy to have this to thrown on along with the minimum amount of makeup, and the maximum amount of dry shampoo. The material is thin but very dense and soft - perfect for a day when you want nothing more than to put your pajamas back on.

I may have worn pretty much the same outfit today too.

Sweatshirt: Everlane

Jeans: American Eagle [exact]

Shoes: Tory Burch [exact]

Watch: Fossil [similar]

Purse: vintage Coach via Etsy  [current version]

please excuse the mess behind me. I'm starting to slowly pack - it's obviously not going well!

P.S. Do you have 2 seconds to spare? I'd love for you to vote for me here! all you have to do is click the heart :)

everlane v-neck tee review

In recent months, I've been working through the items in my current closet, taking a mental inventory of what I have, removing pieces that are no longer worn, and thinking about the pieces I'd like to add. One of the big staples that I was missing was a white tee shirt - something so simple, yet apparently so difficult to find the "perfect" version for me. There were certain things I wanted in this tee:

• I didn't want it to be semi see-through. I wear these tanks under everything I wear, but I don't want them to show.
• I don't want a clingy material. I have enough going on in the torso area that I don't want wrinkles to be added
• I want a full sleeve, not a capped sleeve. Shorter sleeves tend to cut across the thickest part of the arm, which only emphasizes the thickness. I also don't want them to be skin tight.
• The v-neck needs to be deep enough to elongate the upperbody, but not too deep that it shows too much cleavage. I also didn't want the tank underneath it to show out the top.
• I would prefer there wasn't a pocket on the front. My chest is fairly large (for reference, I wear a 36D), so a small little pocket on the front would look comical.

Seems like a lot of wants in just a plain tee shirt, but I'd rather have one shirt I am comfortable wearing than five where I only like parts of it.

I first heard about Everlane from Jess about a year ago and was intrigued by what they were offering - simple and classic basic pieces with designer quality at not designer prices. I don't really like ordering clothes online that I can't return easily, so I didn't order them right away. Over the last few months I tried on several tees from a variety of stores. I didn't alway takes pictures because they were pretty disappointing, and only fulfilled a percentage of my requirements. For example, the J.Crew Factory tee on the left (sorry about the terrible picture quality) has long enough sleeves, but the neckline was too low, and the fabric too clingy. The J.Crew version on the right had the right neckline, but was see-through in real life, and also too thin/clingy.

Eventually I was sick of trying on a bunch of tees that just weren't working, and ordered two shirts from Everlane - the v-neck tee in white and in muted black. I ordered them Wednesday evening, and I received them today, Saturday.

These tees fulfill all of my preferences - the right neckline, the sleeves are longer and not skin tight, the fabric is soft, not clingy and not completely transparent, and best of all, they are appropriately priced at $15 a piece. I would prefer about 1.5 more centimeters of fabric on the sleeve, but overall I am very very pleased with this t-shirt. As a reference, I'm usually between a medium and a large in tops, and I ordered the large from Everlane.

As far as longevity, I obviously do not have any personal experience yet. Lauren, whose opinion on clothing I highly respect, swears by these tees and can speak to the longevity of the quality.

If you are interested in testing these tees out for yourself, you can create an account here. You get free shipping if you order 2 or more items, and they offer more than these tees so it's definitely worth taking a look around (I kind of love this tote bag, and maybe eventually will try this silk shirt).