Try-On: Madewell Balloon Jeans

Top: H&M Linen Tee (old, similar in other colors) 

Jeans: Madewell Balloon Jeans in Corson Wash, 28P 

Shoes: Kate Spade Croc-Embossed Loafers (old)

I've mentioned a few times now that I've recently become inspired by the way Amy Smilovic - the founder and head designer of Tibi - describes her personal style and the concept of personal style in general. (She discusses these topics on her Instagram stories and through "Tibi Style Class" live sessions on the brand's Instagram, also available on YouTube. Many fundamental parts of Smilovic's "Creative Pragmatist" personal style and her suggested approach to shopping and personal style are also summarized in this Coveteur article, which Kathy recently shared.) 

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I haven't yet had the chance to sit down and articulate what my personal style is using Smilovic's approach, which focuses on a list of core adjectives. Hers are "Chill, Modern, Classic." (I do like "Chill" and "Classic" for myself, but I think the way I interpret them is a little different than how she does, and I'm not sure either or both would make it onto my list of primary adjectives.) But I do know she has inspired me to think more creatively and expansively about what I might like to wear. I'm slowly becoming a bit more willing to think about designs or silhouettes outside my somewhat conservative and "safe" personal style comfort zone.

Separately, because people have been talking more vigorously for a while now about how skinny jeans may be on their way out for good - finally? I'm actually somewhat surprised skinny jeans remain so ubiquitous; I felt like I was already a late adopter of skinny jeans back when I first started wearing them in college in 2009, and obviously there have been many rounds of different jean silhouette trends in the decade since - I was already becoming interested in trying different, wider-leg denim styles, even before I first learned about Amy Smilovic. 

But because of the no-jeans, more "formal" business casual dress code at most of my workplaces, I simply don't need more than two or three pairs of jeans in my closet. (And the third pair is solid black and exists solely to sneak around the no-jeans rule on casual Fridays, hah!) Plus, because I'm quite short - 5'3'', but with shorter-than-average legs for my height - finding jeans that even fit properly off-the-rack is a major chore no matter what, before even starting to factor in more interesting, wider-leg silhouettes that definitely won't fit all body types the same. 

I've dabbled somewhat with looser-fit straight-leg jeans. In fact, my Uniqlo jeans (old, worn here) are technically straight-leg cigarette jeans. But in practice, I personally feel like most straight-leg jeans still look and feel quite skinny-fit or slim-fit on me. The Uniqlo straight-leg jeans may technically look different from my Gap skinny jeans (similar, worn here) in photographs, but they still feel like the serve the exact same function in my wardrobe. When I look at them in the mirror and compare, they both feel like interchangeable slim-fit jeans to me. (It doesn't help that I bought both pairs in near-identical dark blue washes.) 

I think I'd need an intentionally very slouchy-fit or wide-leg design for me to notice they're a different-enough silhouette from my usual to be worth keeping. And I'd also like this new pair of jeans to be in a medium blue or light blue wash to add some variety to my current set of dark blue and black jeans. 

Summer Dress Shopping

(Left) Dress: J.Crew Point Sur Flutter-Sleeve Dress, printed cotton voile, Size 8P

(Right) Dress: J.Crew Point Sur Flutter-Sleeve Dress, printed cotton voile, Size 8

Shoes: Fitflop "The Skinny" Sandals (old, similar or in gold)

When I put on this dress, my first thought was: "Darn, I look like a cupcake." I'm definitely sending it right back! Among other things, the dress is definitely a bit too frilly and dressed-up looking to really go with my summer shoes of choice, the super-casual and flip-flop like Fitflop "The Skinny" sandals (similar). And it doesn't fit me quite right, either.

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This particular J.Crew "Point Sur" flutter-sleeve dress in printed cotton (also available in solid colors) has been selling out remarkably quickly on their website. They've already taken the petite sizes off their website entirely, and the regular and tall sizes are almost all gone as well. I'm maybe a bit surprised that it's selling quite this well. It's very eye-catching, of course, and that's why I rushed to order it to try on. The store photos make it look pretty and appealing, and the fact that it's lined and still all-cotton is a huge and necessary plus, as I absolutely refuse to wear anything with a polyester lining in the summer if I can help it. However, although this doesn't fully come through in my photos (the only other try-on photo I've seen of this dress is here on Instagram), the proportions are off when it comes to the sleeves. The sleeve ruffles are way too exaggerated, and I found this to be true for both the petite and regular sizes. I think one might need to be a fair bit taller than me (at 5'3'') for the sleeves not to look silly. This particular design also doesn't suit my busty figure, as it ends up looking almost like an empire-waist dress, which is definitely not the intended design.

I probably could have predicted that this dress wouldn't have worked for me. If you look at my various purchases over the years, you might notice that my summer dresses tend to be fairly simple in shape and design. (Though there's an occasional ruffled sleeve here and there, I'm clearly not 100% opposed to that feature!) When one starts adding in more design details like elastic waists, ruffled or tiered skirts, and the like, dresses in lighter, floatier summer-friendly fabrics start being more and more likely to look awkward on me. 

For the coming summer season, I have a few other possible ideas for new dresses that I'm currently thinking about, and most of them are much simpler in look. The only more interesting design that's caught my eye recently is the polka-dot print A.P.C. "Clare" dress in cotton-linen blend, though in practice, I don't think I'd like the ruching and tie details at the shoulders, so I don't think I'd ever actually try it on. It's mostly just a nice idea, but I'm much more likely to try one of those other dresses I'm thinking of. Basically everything else on my list, whether from Elizabeth Suzann or one of the linen shops on Etsy, is made to order, so I might have to get a move on if I want to have a new dress in time for summer! 

Shopping Life Lately

Coat: Halogen Drop Shoulder Wool-Blend Coat, green storm, size S (not kept)

Tee: H&M Premium Quality V-Neck Linen Tee, old

Jeans: Uniqlo High-Rise Cigarette Jeans

Shoes: Sam Edelman Lior Loafer, gold glitter (sold out, similar)

Although I initially thought I might have enough feelings about Black Friday to dedicate an entire post to it (among other things, I was grouchy about the elitism I perceived in anything that sounded broadly judgmental and superior about anyone who has ever shopped any Black Friday sale ever), that has turned out not to be the case. All my feelings have long since dissipated, and any thoughts I had are certainly no longer timely or relevant. Instead, let me point you to Luxe's and Adina's thoughtful posts about various things to do with Black Friday and also a little bit about larger themes related to consumerism and personal finance. I very much appreciated having the chance to discuss my thoughts at their posts, and also on my own November shopping post.

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Well, maybe I'll point you to one more Black Friday-related thing, though it may seem a little silly, namely the aftermath of the sheer chaos with J.Crew's website throughout Black Friday weekend, seen in the comments threads here and here on their official Twitter accounts and here on their official Instagram. Because I don't often go looking for, er, customer service-related brouhahas on social media, I'm personally a bit taken aback by the volume and, shall we say, the intensity of some of the comments. I do empathize with their frustration, J.Crew's website really was close to nonfunctional that entire weekend, and the 50% off almost all items was somewhat special (typically the best discount is 40% off), especially given their new sales strategy of the past few months, which pretty much always excluded large and seemingly arbitrary categories of items, including the only item I actually wanted all that time, the Juliette collarless sweater blazer. I am a little taken aback, though, by how grouchy people got in a public way, particularly when they're mostly using accounts that appear to have some identifying information. (Not quite related to the J.Crew website outage situation, Elle has some good thoughts about recent business happenings at the company, the general takeaway being that they're continuing to go through some troubled times.)

As for this forest green Halogen coat I posted about, even though it was not discounted in any way for Black Friday, I still decided to order it around then because Nordstrom claimed to be running out of stock in what I thought might be my size. As you can see in the photos above, this will never be the coat for me. What is this, a coat for giants?!* All kidding aside, I was a bit shocked. Despite being on the shorter side at 5'3'', it's not actually that common for me to feel so dramatically swamped by regular-sizing coats. I suppose I should have anticipated this because it was clearly an intentionally oversized coat on the model, and the model must, of course, be significantly taller than yours truly. I sent this coat straight back.

*This is an attempted Zoolander reference. 

Please follow the link below for some thoughts about my recent window shopping for black leather ankle booties and fair isle sweaters, and the sources of inspiration for each, one of them rather incongruous.

MM. LaFleur Lenox Skirt and Kait Top in Swipe Print Review

Top: MM. LaFleur Kait Top in alpine green swipe print, size M

Skirt: MM. LaFleur Lenox Skirt in alpine green swipe print, size 6

Shoes: Sam Edelman Tristan Pump in black

Though I had realized I probably wasn't going to find a new formal dress that fit all my many criteria, and that K and I don't have that many more weddings to attend in the near future regardless, so I didn't need one anyway, my interest in this MM. LaFleur Lenox Skirt and the Kait Top, both in matching alpine green swipe print, was probably still inspired by that goal. The right set of separates could work for formal occasions, and also has the added benefit of versatility. Had this skirt and top worked for me, they could also be split up for various outfits for the office (or even worn together there, if I was so inclined).

I became very interested in this set after seeing MM. LaFleur's official photos promoting their swipe print collection (as well as from seeing some tagged photos on Instagram). Sadly, most of the swipe print items are only available in navy, which doesn't appeal to me as much, since I already have plenty of navy blue and black items (both for work and special occasions), and I think the navy print comes across a lot more subdued, it doesn't jump out at me as something I'd like to add to my rotation of items for formal occasions (even if the alpine green version is also quite understated). I don't know why I find the green swipe print so appealing, I guess its interesting while not being loud, which is what I had in mind for my formal dress shopping. (Plus I quite like pine green as a color for my wardrobe, and would love to see it better-represented.) 

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Alas, I probably should have realized from seeing the Lenox skirt photographed on various blogs, including MM. LaFleur's own, that the Lenox skirt would be too long and the wrong design for someone on the shorter side (5'3'' in my case) and with shorter than average legs for my height. That draping detail is lovely, but combined with the length it probably makes the skirt a bit overwhelming on my frame. Plus, it strikes me as being a potentially difficult (and in NYC, expensive) skirt to get hemmed. If only they had the Noel Dress in the alpine green swipe print, that might have stood a better chance of working for my height and body shape!

It's hard to tell from my photograph, but the Kait Top has a draped pleat hanging across the front, which can look lovely (and is more apparent in the store photography for the navy mixed print version of the top), but is definitely not the right design detail for my body shape. I'm busty enough that the draping doesn't look right, and the pleat can't lie flat across my chest and look as it was designed to. If I were to photograph this outfit from the side, the top sort of balloons out from over my chest down to where its tucked in at the waist. It's definitely not the right top for me, especially when paired with a skirt that's also a little too long.

Do you have any separates that you wear as one formal outfit? I've seen a lot of people wear really stylish separates for weddings and other fancy occasions, generally something that makes more of a statement than this matchy-matchy outfit would. 

Everlane GoWeave Short-Sleeve Mini Wrap Dress Review

Dress: Everlane Japanese GoWeave Short-Sleeve Mini Wrap Dress, size 6

Shoes: Sam Edelman Tristan Pump

Today's review may be a surprise, as I've been upfront about being... grouchy about Everlane, thanks in large part to a customer service snafu last time I shopped there, years ago. Then came their underwear campaign. I detested their use of faux-feminist "this is what all women secretly wanted" messaging to market a product that was, just by looking at it, absolutely not designed for all women. (The idea of someone my size wearing their bra is laughable. While I'm a bit of a size outlier, it's not that rare a demographic!) 

Except that I also secretly knew that if they made an item that looked great and if I didn't think there was anything else like it in my general price range, I'd probably still buy it. If I never ended up finding that Cuyana Tall Tote, I totally might have tried the Everlane Day Magazine Tote as a substitute, despite having misgivings about the leather texture. Seeing photos of this Everlane GoWeave Short Sleeve Mini Wrap Dress elsewhere made me think it might also fit that bill.

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Does anyone else remember mid-2000s fashion magazines telling us that wrap dresses, particularly the silk jersey Diane von Furstenberg wrap dresses, were universally flattering? That turned out to be a lie. I think the implication was that the sizing was forgiving because the dress was so adjustable, and it'd be easy to size up to accommodate curves and tie it to make it fit at the waist and hide the extra fabric in how the dress wraps. I bought one on The RealReal (easy to find for good prices), and it is definitely not an easy item to wear. It's impossible to make it work-appropriate without a slip despite sizing way up for my chest and it's generally fussy and needs frequent adjusting throughout the day. I still like wearing mine out to a fancy restaurant or other special occasions (it's a fun, distinctive print), but wrap dresses are a challenging genre for me. 

Everlane's really hit it out of the park with designing this wrap dress, at least as far as I'm concerned. There's a separate inner tie that helps the dress stay put, and makes it easy to tie correctly with minimal fussing and effort. With the DvF dress, it takes a lot of adjusting and repositioning whenever I first put it on to try and figure out where I want the waist tie to sit and how to get it to cover the chest better. With this dress it's so much easier, and only takes one "try" or a few seconds. While I only tried this on at home and can't vouch for how it wears throughout the day, it feels secure and like it'd stay put. I also thought this was a very flattering fit, especially from the waist up, and this is extremely high praise coming from me for just about any dress, much less a wrap dress. The skirt length is work-appropriate on my 5'3'' height, hitting a bit above the knee. Between Elaine, Renee, and so very many others besides just yours truly, I think it's clear that this is dress can work well for a lot of different body shapes! (Some of those photos are of Everlane's longer length short-sleeve wrap dress, but from the waist up, it seems to be the exact same dress.) 

Sadly, I discovered this item long after it was released, and they don't have any size/color combinations left that I like. Yellow's not a great color for me, and they don't have my size left in blue or black. The material also doesn't feel breathable, which, to me, isn't a factor that's disqualifying by itself for a dress that I'd generally wear to the office. Most of my work dresses are synthetic blends that aren't particularly breathable, and it's not too bad even in summer if they're short-sleeved and a bit relaxed in fit, like this dress. So I didn't keep this dress because of size/color issues, though if I had the chance to get it in blue or black, I'd have seriously thought about it. I do think the $100 price tag feels a little high for the fabric, as I don't really love the GoWeave texture. The design is great, though, so I'm sad they don't have any size/colors left that I would want!