Nudist.

     I've been running out of outfit ideas lately. For one, it's still too hot. The temps have cooled down a little bit, but humidity has still been hanging around. Lest, you forget, D.C. is built over a swamp. Secondly, my days have been consisting of going to the gym and studying with the occasional trip to Starbucks to read. I've had no need (or desire) to get dressed in more than just cut-offs and a tank. As a result, my blog has been suffering a little bit, but I'm trying. 


     This  outfit has more of a fall color scheme, but I love the classic and pared-down look of it.

Top: Jacob Cap-sleeve Drape Neck Top (Camel, size XS).

Skirt: Jacob (Black, size 0).

Belt: Ann Taylor Perfect Patent Leather Belt (Black, size XS).

Shoes: LAUREN by Ralph Lauren Zabrina Pumps (Black, size 6).

Clutch: Botkier Charlotte Clutch (Black).
Necklace: Target.
Bracelet: from my grandmother.

    I was at Yorkdale mall a few days ago when I was in Toronto and saw the new J.Crew store. I wasn't going to go in after hearing about the insane Canadian pricing, and living in the U.S., I really didn't have much a reason to go in. However, my friend was late meeting me, so to kill time I went in to check it out. I didn't bother paying too much attention to the price tags, but I looked at the items that they had because this store is big. Probably the biggest J.Crew store I've ever been in. They had lots of items my own local J.Crew store does not have. They even had shoes and bags. And let me tell you, the shoes seem to be pretty impressive with respect to quality despite being a bit on the pricey side. I tried on the Mona, and I actually didn't walk out of them like I normally do with pumps! With a discount code, the shoes could definitely be worth the price. What I wasn't impressed with were the Schoolboy blazers. I've been eyeing them in the catalog for months now, but for the American price of $188-98, I was expecting a lot more. The material seemed to be very thin, flimsy, and cheap and I was expecting much more structure to the jackets. On super sale these blazers *might* be worth it, but for their regular price, I wouldn't even consider it. I also saw a really great chambray shirt, that I didn't recognize from the catalog. The material seemed much lighter  than the Selvedge and the color was a really nice medium blue. The Canadian price is $98, but I can't seem to find anything online that might correspond to something similar. I'm starting to think it's the chambray popover, but I distinctly remember double checking to make sure that it was a full-button down. If anyone makes a trip to the store and can check this shirt out for me, please let me know!

   On a side note, I met one of my readers at the wedding I went to on the weekend! Hi Julie! LOL. My blog has been a secret from all my friends until now. My cover is now blown. Ha ha. If anyone questions my true height, Julie can now vouch for the fact that I'm truly (not quite) 5'1! And yes, the wedding was beautiful! If I find some good shots on my camera, I will post a few in the coming days. :)

H&M Fitting Room Finds.

     I have a few H&M gift cards that have been burning a whole in my pocket since Christmas. I make a lot of trips to H&M, but if you take a peek into my closet, very few items actually come from there so I'm not really sure why I even asked for H&M gift cards in the first place. Nonetheless, I have them now, so I'm looking to spend them without settling on pieces just because I can get them for "free". Not an easy task.

   I wasn't really impressed with what I saw, but I managed to pick up a few pieces to try on in the fitting room that I thought could have potential. Please ignore the slightly unruly hair, I left the house in a little bit of a rush:

   This vest is the piece that I actually liked the most:

     Somewhat of an equestrian vibe, and it is just so cute. This is a size 4, but I think I probably could have gone down to a 2 since there was no sleeves. Price is $29.95CA (which probably means its probably around $24.95US--just subtract $5). I own a vest already, but I rarely wear it, so I had to pass on this.

  I think I saw this sweater in an H&M ad, and I kind of liked it (blurry sweater but in focus camera lens, go figure):

    It was OK. Nothing spectacular about it. It felt pretty cozy, but it didn't grab me. I also saw a hole in the seam where the sleeve met the shoulder, so that kind of turned me off. I'm wearing a size 4, and it's regular size is $34.95CA.

    I saw so much potential in this little jacket.  I could totally envision it with my Lovestory jeans, but once I had it on, it just didn't hang right:

     The back is a little bit cropped which is a nice detail, but overall just meh. There was just not enough structure to it (maybe I need a size 2 for a better fit?). It also comes in a light grey color. This is a size 4, and its price is $34.95CA.

    The last item is a little comedic. Recently, I've been a little bit drawn to oversized sweaters.  I found a sweater that I thought might give me an idea if I could pull it off. I could only find it in a size small, however, but I went with it anyway:

    Yea. LOL. I'm not sure that an XS would be much better, but this was pretty ridiculous. I could fit four of me underneath there. This sweater comes in a multitude of colors, if you're interested--black, blue, and grey, I think. Price is $29.95CA.

    Failed trip at H&M again. I'm sure one of these days I'm going to get frustrated and just buy a bunch of their leather belts. But of course, as soon as I spend all my gift cards, I'm going to find something that I actually *want* to buy.

   I have a wedding to attend this weekend! Wish me good vibes that I don't trip on my bridesmaid dress and fall on my face! :D

'Til Death Do Us Part.

     Do you a piece in your closet that you can't part with even though you never wear it?  I do. And I actually have no problem purging my closet multiple times a year. I purchased this Le Chateau skirt around seven years ago and have worn it once:

     An Indian-inspired, embroidered, knee-length skirt. It's A-line, and too dressy for every day wear, but it is stunning. The photos don't do it justice. Honestly, it's one of the prettiest pieces I own. I don't wear it, but I can't bring myself to give it away either. So it just sits in my closet (at my parents' house, no less) waiting for me to make use of it. And yes, it still fits, so I don't have much of an excuse either way. Maybe you'll see me one of these days try to make use of this skirt. Maybe. 


     Do you have any pieces in your closet that you haven't worn in years, but can't part with? Please share!

Chambray: A Fashion Lesson.

    I didn't think I was going to be one to jump on the chambray fashion wagon, but one day I realized the incredible versatility of a chambray shirt, and I just *had* to get one of my own. But before I introduce you to my first outfit, let's begin with a quick fashion lesson. 


     What is chambray? Contrary to popular beleif, chambray is not necessarily a lightweight blue denim shirt. Of course, that is what comes to mind when we think chambray, but its actual definition is a lightweight fabric (usually cotton) that uses a colored warp (down) weaved with a white filling yarn (across). The colored warp is usually blue (which is partly why we think denim), but it doesn't have to be. And although it is usually plain, it can also be in stripes or checks or other patterns. The end result is something is generally something that seems to be like denim, but you may actually come across some items that are chambray, but don't look or feel like the typical denim-like chambray at all.


     Now that we have that out of the way, a little background on this particular shirt. I splurged on this J.Crew Selvedge Chambray shirt. I'm still debating as to whether to keep it because compared to what all the other petite ladies have spent on theirs, this thing costs a bloody fortune. It's regular price is $98, but I bought with 20% with my J.Crew credit card and 4% cash back from ebates, which brought it down to about $75. Yea, I know. Ouch. But I've searching for the *perfect* chambray shirt for MONTHS. Everything was either too light or too dark, too sheer, had some sort of weird details on it, or fit was too big. This was truly only one of two chambray shirts that I actually liked (the other one was a Ralph Lauren Cristo Chambray Shirt, which turned out to be much too big even in XSP). This J.Crew chambray is an XXS and it fits fairly well and the color is a perfect medium blue. I have a few complaints, one being  it's a bit too wide in the shoulders and even though you can't see it in these particular photos, it's actually too long which makes for weird proportions when the shirt tail is not tucked in. The material is a medium-weight. I actually find it difficult to layer things over this (sweaters and blazers) because it is a thicker material.


     Here is my first outfit incorporating chambray. I decided to do something more work-appropriate because I've been slacking on those types of EOTDs lately.


      I'm having an angry face day.

Shirt: J.Crew Selvedge Chambray Shirt (Coastal blue, size XXS).

Skirt: H&M Lace Skirt (Black lace, size 4).

Necklace: Tommy by Tommy Hilfiger.

Shoes: Ann Taylor Signature Pump (Black patent, size 6).

Clutch: American Apparel (Reptilian Poppy).

    I've been *dying* to try out this combination just to see what it would look like IRL, as opposed to in my head. Because as I'm sure some of you have experienced, sometimes an outfit should work theoretically, but in actual practice, not so much. Of course, if your office is extremely conservative, I wouldn't try this. Because hey, the shirt does look like denim. I also did some crazy experimenting with textures in this outfit.

     Betcha thought you'd never see those giant baubles again, huh? Actually the vision I had with this outfit was a necklace that looked more like this:

Kate Spade Cascade Short Necklace, $78, from Piperlime.

...but orange. But since I don't have one of those, I thought that this would be the next best thing. 


   Help me decide, ladies! Is it too expensive for chambray even though it's the only chambray shirt I've found that I actually like? I'm having a little buyer's remorse over this thing, so I'm leaning towards sending it back. =(

      See the lace skirt remixed here:

The Boyfriend. [Review: Talula by Aritzia Exeter Blazer]

      I wasn't going to review/post about this blazer for another few weeks (because it's so darn hot still!), but since the petite community has been wondering about this jacket, I thought I would do a quick review now.


      I love blazers. I've worn them since I was ten years old at my mom's insistence because she thought they were stylish. I used to argue a lot with her about fashion when I was a child, but this one of the few things we agreed on.


      I have quite a few blazers, but if you are petite like I am, it's more than likely that most of your blazers are the short or "shrunken" fit to help "even out" the proportions of your body. You can't deny that if you are petite, small jackets pretty much never fail. So when the "boyfriend" blazer suddenly made its entrance into the fashion world, I was pretty hesitant. I wasn't sure it was one of those trends I wanted to get into, and I for sure thought it was going to pass. A long jacket on a petite? 'ell no! 


     But now, a few years later, it seems like a mainstay, and I decided that my jacket collection needed to expand outwards with a different cut.  I also knew that it had to fit well so I wouldn't look overwhelmed by its length, which probably meant that this boyfriend blazer would likely have to come from Aritzia if I didn't want it to cost $300. And I found it. It's called the Exeter. It's a little bit longer in length than my other blazers, with big pockets and gold buttons. It also comes in five different colors. The fit on me in a size zero is looks pretty great (it also comes in double zero in all the colors that I tried on). It is probably a little borderline tight in the back of the shoulders (the shoulder length itself is fine), but going up a to a size two would be slightly too big on me and big in the waist. That's typical of all my Aritzia blazers, so go with your regular Aritzia size if you are planning to buy this jacket. The regular price for this blazer is $125, which IMO isn't *that* terrible given that it is fully lined, well-structured in the shoulders like a real suit jacket, and made of a light wool blend...and no alterations needed! Although, admittedly, I won't be buying two at this price.  I also had a $40 gift card to spend from last Christmas, so this cost me $85 plus tax. Something I'm not totally crazy about is the oversized pockets, I'd much prefer welt or small flap pockets, but it's not a deal breaker given the fit. Jean from ExtraPetite, isn't a fan of the gold buttons, but I like them as it gives a more casual look to it, which is how I'll be wearing this jacket (as opposed to the office). After trying on three different colors, black, charcoal, and navy, I decided on the black and I'm super happy with it! I can't wait til the weather cools down so I can actually WEAR it instead of staring at it all day. 



     I've also been trying to figure out if I can wear these GAP Broken-in Skimmers in a more dressed up way. And this is what I came up with (I added a few extra photos in this post so you could see what the blazer looks like up-close):

Blazer: Talula by Aritzia Exeter Boyfriend Blazer (Black, size 0).

Top: T. Babaton by Aritzia Jersey Slub Pocket Tee (Red, size XS).

Bottoms: GAP Broken-in Skimmers (Cement, size 00P).

Shoes: LAUREN by Ralph Lauren Amaya Pump (Black, size 6).

Watch: Michael Kors Runway Watch (Silver).

Belt: Ann Taylor Animal Print calf-hair Belt (Leopard, size S).

Handbag: Olivia Harris (Dark Teal Patent).
Bracelet: H&M Men's Leather Cuff (Dark Brown).
Necklace: Dogeared Mantra Necklace (Silver).

    This  jacket also comes in a shorter, shrunken version--it's kind of more "office-y", but if you are shorter than I am, it might be a better choice. The key to the fit of the boyfriend blazer is to make sure it fits in the shoulders and the length doesn't go past the bottom of your derriere. Anything longer will be overwhelming (and matronly).


   Now that I look back at these photos, I'm not sure I'm crazy about the proportions down below my knees. Capri pants are so difficult to pull off, especially if you're not built like Charlize Theron. Next time I'll try a higher heel and see if that will fix it.


     I'm going home to T.O. for a week and a half for a wedding (if you follow me on Twitter, I've been posting random tweets about this). I'm not sure if I'm going to have anything to post in the meantime (possibly just some fitting room posts). But don't be alarmed if you don't see a post for a few weeks!


   Skimmers remixed:

Blocked.

    My first color block!...I could almost say that this is also my first Zara purchase, but it's not. A few years ago, I purchased a pair of linen pants that I proceeded to return the same day. LOL. I think this may be my first *successful* Zara purchase, though. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you probably know that I love the style of Zara, but the fit and the quality generally don't agree with me...or I don't agree with *it*. I do like to look though, and a few days ago I dropped in for a quick peek before my CLE class and saw some gorgeous pencil skirts. I'm a sucker for royal blue. It is my favorite color EVER. Even my Clarisonic brush is royal blue. No joke.


     So when I saw a royal blue pencil skirt laying on the table, I made a bee-line for it.  I took it into the fitting room, and there began the debate/confusion. On the table it looked royal blue. In the fitting room, it looked like an old man's trouser blue. Do you know what shade I'm talking about? Blue, but not a deep navy, but kind of gross looking. Then I was on the fence. It looked great. The fit was great. Quality seemed pretty darn good, for once. Cute exposed zipper in the back. But what color *was* this? I was also debating the purchase because I already have a blue skirt, and girl doesn't really need multiple blue skirts, does she? I then took it back to the table and compared it to the the other skirt they had in burgundy (it also comes in black). I didn't really like it. It was much more brown than I would have liked. If it had more of a red tone to it, I would have taken that one, no question. But then given the lighting in that store, I really couldn't be sure what color it was.


   Anyway, after staring at it for a while, I just went ahead and purchased the blue one. And I think I made the right choice. What do you ladies think? Is it royal blue or old man's blue? 

Top: Rachel Roy Ruffle Halter (Fuchsia, size XS).

Skirt: Zara Sheath skirt (Royal blue (purple?) size XS).

Shoes: Boutique9 Thomsina (Nude, size 6).
Bracelet: Express (Gold).

     From these photos, I'm starting to believe this skirt is actually PURPLE!


    If you're wondering, how much the skirt costs, it's $49.90US. The sales associate also reminded me that Zara will go online on September 7th. Rumor has it though, that they will not ship to you, but rather to the store for pick-up. Kind of strange and a complete disappointment if you don't live near a Zara, but kind of cool if you actually do live near a B&M store and you can only find what you want online.

On Second Thought.

   I was also also one of those women who got caught up in the Ann Taylor sale last week. 40% off plus an extra 20% off with code? Who could resist? I received them in the mail a few days ago, and surprisingly (or not so surprisingly), it was an utter fail.


   Firstly, I ordered this skirt:

Due to user error, I ordered a 0 instead of a 0P. However, it actually fit in the waist. The hips? Not so much. It was quite horrid. I didn't even bother taking a photo, but you can use your imagination. I actually did like the feel of the tropical wool material, though. Return (obviously).


   The piece that I was most excited about was this Drape Neck Cardi: 

     I missed out on it last fall, but I loved how it draped when it was open so I jumped at the chance for this one. It doesn't come in petite, but I thought that taking it in XXS would do the trick. Again, not so much:

    It just didn't sit right open. And when buttoned up, it was just much too wide. Way too boxy. Return.


    I purchased this silk Layered Shell in 0P. It looks really nice online, and I've been absolutely obsessed with silk blouses lately (actually, I've always have, but it's only in the past year that brands have been feeding this obsession):

     It had so much potential (Sorry, strap showing even after I tried fixing it).

It looks better tucked in:

    And for a 0P, the armholes were a little bit too small. WTF? I think it's nice on super sale, but at the price that I got it for (~$37), I wasn't fully convinced.


     Finally, I purchased this rayon Striped Tee in XXS. I figured it was a nice basic to have just to layer under cardigans:

     It actually flares out ever so slightly. It's actually the one item that I thought about keeping out of this bunch, but I really didn't it enough to say that I *had* to keep it. So this is going back too.


     Did anyone have better luck than I did?

Sunday Deliberations: Bordeaux.

  One of the hottest colors for fall? Bordeaux. That deep, dark blood red color. LOVE. Here are my pre-fall picks:

1. Jessica Simpson Elley Pump @Piperlime $70.  I generally try to avoid Jessica Simpson brand for no other reason than it says "Jessica Simpson" (LOL), but, I can't deny these pumps are pretty hot.
2. Vince Twisted Infinity Scarf, @Neiman Marcus, $475.
3. Jacob Tie Waist Dress, $79.90.
4. OPI Mrs. O'Leary's BBQ Nail Polish, $7.50.
5. Marc by Marc Jacobs Bianca Clutch @Endless, $228.
    and my most favorite piece yet:
6. Elie Tahari Brenna Blouse, @Shopbop, $178.


     Do you have something bordeaux on your fall wish list this year?

Fashion Fixation: Tucker Side Ruffle Dress

     It's a little bit out of my own personal comfort zone, but I have to admit, this dress is stunning. Such a classic shape with a little bit of a vintage feel. And it's 100% silk, so not only does it look like a dream, it feels like it too. The tie belt looks like it would be easy to move up on the waist, if necessary. Find it @Piperlime for $347. Quite a bit out of my price range, so I'm on look out for something more affordable.

Endless.com Sandal Sale

     I know we're all itching for fall fashion right now. I've already crossed a few things off my fall wish list. But it's also that time of year where you can find great deals on summer clothing and shoes! So I just wanted to share that Endless is having an extra 25% off sale sandals (discount taken off in cart) PLUS, it is 13.6% cash back at Bigcrumbs. This is my referral link here. Free overnight or two-day shipping and returns in the U.S. and they also have free international shipping now! There are some great deals to be had! HAPPY SHOPPING!