LOFT New Arrivals & Gap Final Sale Reviews

I'm happy to report that 23 days into the year and I am still doing well on my clothes shopping resolution.  I went to the mall today to visit F21 for some colored tights - namely burgundy and olive green.  I'm often tempted into ordering enough stuff to hit the free shipping threshold and this was my way of saving myself from ordering an excess of "stuff".  But alas, the F21 in my mall is undergoing renovations so they only have a very small portion of their regular offerings.  No colored tights :(

Soooo, seeing as how I was at the mall anyway, I went to check out LOFT & Gap for their respective additional 50% off sale items promo.

No shopping outfit pic today - I was geared for comfort so imagine long skirt, thick tights, and flats - warm, but not cute.  We'll start with LOFT.  I was actually a little disappointed in their sale section which is probably a blessing in disguise so I spent more time checking out their regular price items.

Cotton Metal Zip Front Skirt, Fall Olive, Sz 0, $59.50

This runs a bit big and is not available in petite sizing.  I will say that this fits very nicely (no waist gap) after my giant dim sum outing earlier in the morning :)

Verdict:  Waiting for sale

Nautical Stripe T-Shirt, XSP, $49.50

I really liked this in the yellow stripe I have on above but only SP was available and it was huge.  This fits much better in XSP especially considering that this isn't meant to be a fitted tee.

Verdict: Will wait for sale - but prefer the yellow

Blazer - can't find online so have no idea about the name, 2P (smallest size available)

Too big - it actually makes me look so much heavier - boo.  I'll try to find a 0P or 00P for comparison.

Verdict: Definitely not

Sale racks:

Cowl Neck Sweater, Green Melange, XS, $15

OK, so I know the fit on this isn't wonderful (a little too spacious in the torso) but I really love the cowl and the green.  I'm imagining wearing this with skinny khakis and tall black boots.

Verdict: Buy

Lace Scallop Dress, 2P (smallest size available), $35

This was sooo cute on the hanger, but I think a 0P or possibly a 00P would have fit better.  It just looked like one straight, shapeless tent.  When I pinch off a little of the fabric, it looks much better.  I suppose I could slim it myself or add a belt but I try not to buy things that I need to "fix" unless it's a "must-have" item.

Verdict: No, but would love to try a smaller size

Now on to the Gap sale:

Navy Blue Cardigan, XS

Too boxy and SUPER itchy!

Verdict: No

Zip Front Sweater, Cream, XS, $4

This looks cute in the photos and fits relatively well but the material just attracted all sorts of dust bits and was already starting to pill.  Bad sign, so despite the amazing price, I had to put it back.

Verdict: No

So I made it out of the mall with just one item, the $15 LOFT sweater.  Pretty good, eh?  :)  Any shopping adventures this weekend for you?

Gap Give & Get Sale Purchases and Last Day to Enter Giveaway!

Last day to enter the Mixed Media Pearl Necklace giveaway!  I'll choose the winner using Random.org tomorrow night around 10 pm EST and post on my blog :)


As you know, I'm rather weak at resisting sales :P  I wasn't planning on participating in the Gap Give and Get Sale (30% off everything at BR, ON, and Gap) but figured there was no harm in buying another pair of Gap skinnies since I love (and wear) my first pair so much!  It was on sale for $24.99 before the discount so I was pretty happy as you can imagine, but then...I started browsing...and adding stuff to my cart...and checking out before I really realized what I was doing LOL.


Anyhoo, these are my purchases - they should arrive later this week and I'll review them then.


My favorite are the skinny jeans of course!

Gap Always Skinny Cropped Jeans, Dark Wash, Sz 4 Tall, $17.50 (my 2nd pair and for a great price!)

Gap Embossed Floral Belt in Honey (real leather), $17.50 

I love this color and actually bought it in S instead of XS so I could knot it.  

Old Navy Sequin Stripe Cardigan, XS, $24

Sequins on a cardigan?  How could I not try this?

ON Skinny Ankle-Zip Trousers, Sz 2, $21

I feel like I've been looking for skinny khakis for an eternity.  I really want to create an equestrian look with khakis tucked into tall black boots.  Hope these work!

Reviews to come!  Did anyone else purchase anything during the Give and Get promotion?

Old Navy Outerwear Reviews

Like Curls-and-Pearls, I was intrigued by the 50% off outerwear sale at Old Navy and checked it out online.  I found 2 jackets that looked cute - a purple moto-style sueded fleece and a navy blue pea coat.

First, the moto jacket.  I was pleasantly surprised by the sueded fleece material - it's incredibly soft and feels a bit like a cozy sweatshirt.  I am sooo very glad I ordered PXS, because even this is a smidge too roomy.  This probably isn't a good choice for smaller petite ladies.  It looks great unzipped because the shoulders, arms, and back fit well...

Jacket: Old Navy Sueded Fleece Moto Jacket, Crowning Achievement (Purple), PXS, $25 

Floral Cami: Old Navy, XS

Jeans: Gap Always Skinny Zipper Jeans, Dark Wash, $27.50

Booties: Born B.O.C. Tonya

Geode Necklace: F21

It looks a little boxy when zipped because there's a large space in the tummy area (not sure why).  This middle poofiness is not the most flattering thing, but it's not a deal breaker to me.  What do you think?  Keep and only wear unzipped or return?

Next is the Navy Pea Coat.  The reviews for this said it ran small, so I decided to get XS instead of PXS.  The top / torso fit well and best of all, it doesn't poof out in the middle.  The sleeves are a bit long but this is easily fixed.  PXS would probably fit well on most of you petite ladies :)

 Jacket: Old Navy Wool-Blend Prep Coat (out of stock online), Navy Blue, XS, $29.75

All in all, these were great deals (though not as great as the $12 coat C&P scored!).  The online inventory seems rather depleted but when I was in the store last week they had plenty so check it out!

A Cozy Burberry OOTD

I've had this Burberry check shirt for a while now, but I've never known what to exactly wear with it.  By itself, it seems a little too in your face, "hey, I'm wearing Burberry!"  Plus, today's high is a balmy 41 degrees so I definitely needed to make it cozier.  I thought about pairing it with a black crew neck sweater to just let the collar show but I wasn't feeling that preppy today so I went instead with a thick knit camel vest.

How would you wear this shirt?

Top: Burberry Check Button Down, Sz 2

Vest: Camel Thick Knit Vest, (old from Dillard's), XS

Leather Belt: DKNY (old), XS

Jeans: Gap Always Skinny Cropped Jeans, Dark Wash, Sz 4 Tall

Leather Booties: Born B.O.C. Tonya

I love the floral detail on the back!

Petite Fashion Challenge #3: The Look For Less

Petite Fashion Challenge #3: The Look for Less is being hosted by the lovely Sydney @ PetiteLittleGirl.

The challenge:

Who is your celeb style icon? Pick an outfit from your favorite celeb and show us how to recreate that look for less. Usually, your style icon reflects your personal style and also your body type. In this challenge, your style icon doesn’t have to be a petite.

My inspiration came from Charlize Theron.  I loved her ease and elegance in this look and decided to try to recreate it.  The picture I initially found of her cut off her legs so I improvised on the footwear.  It wasn't until later (after I took all the pics) that I found out she was wearing Gray Cardi Boots (which I also have - excuse the dated expression, but DOH!).  Oh well!  :P

 Black Blazer:  Banana Republic, Sz 2

 Top: Old Navy Striped Boat Neck Tee, XS

Jeans: Gap Always Skinny Cropped Jeans, Dark Wash, Sz 4 Tall (explanation below)

Black Leather Boots: Born 

Bag: Balenciaga Twiggy, Anthracite 

I wanted to keep the outfit pretty close so I even have a scarf peeping out of my Bal bag like Charlize's - yes, I'm THAT anal LOL.  Her bag is Balenciaga Weekender in Black with covered hardware whereas mine is a Balenciaga Twiggy in Anthracite with regular hardware.  So I wouldn't necessarily say the bag is part of the "look for less" portion unless you count that the smaller Twiggy is less expensive than her large Weekender, but everything else is!  :) This is my first posting with accessories and I have to say that it lent a certain feeling of completeness to the photo.

So why did I get jeans in Tall?  These jeans were actual crops (mid-calf, rather than ankle - see stock photo below) and I really wanted them to be regular jeans rather than short ones.  So I took a gamble and ordered Tall - they are the perfect length.  And they were on sale for $29.99 with 30% off!  The only bad thing about them is that they seem much darker than pictured, but that's not a huge deal because I love the fit so much.  Thanks PAG and Curls-and-Pearls for re-introducing me to Gap denim!!  :)

Sewing Project: Belted Capelet

Though we had highs in the low 60s just a few weeks ago, we are now back to high 80s!   Nevertheless, I am gearing up for cooler weather projects.

I saw this DVF capelet at CUSP and fell in love with it!  The price is $395 and I didn't want to spend that much on something that I considered relatively trendy (versus say a classic trench) so I set off to make my own.

I knew I wanted something pretty neutral so I chose this black and white specked suiting material from Fabric.com for the project.

I found a pretty close pattern from McCall's - M5764 using View D (on model).  I would recommend this pattern to anyone who's interested in replicating it.

                                   

I think it turned out pretty decent!

By the way, the jeans in this picture are those Gap cropped skinny jeans with zippers I bought on Columbus Day.  They are the perfect under-boot jean!  I've purchased jean leggings before for this purpose but they did not look like denim at all.  The only bad thing about them (like all of my jeans), they get looser and baggier as the day progresses so I might purchase a pair in a smaller size next time around.

My next project will be a peplum jacket using McCall's M5936 so stay tuned :)

More Columbus Day Sale Finds - Gap, BR Extra 40% Off

When I got the Gap email saying they were having a 40% (45% if you have their credit card) off the entire store including sale items, I knew I had to go check it out.

Here's what I got:

Gap Always Skinny Zipper Jeans, Dark Wash, $27.50 (in store, 45% off entire purchase with Gap Card)

No fitting room pics today due to an uncharged iPhone (sorry!)  These jeans are supposed to be cropped (I guess for ladies at an average height), but fall below my ankle so they look like regular skinny jeans on me.

Gap Striped Sweater Dress, $25 (in store, 45% off entire purchase with Gap Card)

The smallest size they had was S, so it's a bit baggy but it can pass as just a slouchy tunic.

While I was at the mall, I saw that BR was having an extra 40% off their sale items as well!  So I wound up getting the Pleated Fan Tank I had been eyeing in XS.  The top is a little big and low cut, but it's fixable for the sale price.  I love the pleating!  Sale price was $11.50!

Sigh - showing some shopping restraint is difficult around all these sales.