Thank You, Internet

 Top: Gap / Sweater: LOFT (Buy here, currently 50% off, for $22.50! Small sizes unfortunately sold out, though) / Pants: LOFT  buy here, $59.50) / Flats: Target (similar with cap-toe, here for $19.99) / Necklace: bought in Italy / Glasses: Coach

 

I wanted to say a quick "thank you" to the internet today, and primarily to the style blogging community out there.

Overall, I have been AMAZED at the kindness, love, and support that flows through the style blogosphere; I have met some truly lovely women whom I greatly admire, and I completely enjoy making those connections. We all know that the internet (and, obviously the world), is full of not-so-nice people, but what this community has taught me is that it is even more full of kind, creative, and loving people, from whom I draw endless inspiration and support.

So, that's all to say a great big "thank you" to those of you who follow, comment, or just stop by for .01 seconds, and to those of you who put yourselves out there on your blogs every day and face the big scary Internet with humor and grace. You all inspire me to do it, too.

Hope your week is going well, and thanks, as always, for stopping by. :)

Fitting Room: LOFT 40% Off Sale

LOFT is having a 40% off store-wide sale right now (online, enter code FRIENDS at checkout), so I popped in and used up a gift certificate that had been sitting in my wallet for months.

It's been sitting there because I haven't been very taken by LOFT's recent offerings, but this time around, I found so many things I liked! Their prints seem more youthful than they have been as of late (lots of dots and stripes, so I'm happy), and they have some fantastic skinny colored jeans (in petite, regular, and curvy reg/petite fits).

Polka Dot Print Short Sleeve Tee, xs ($23.70 down from $39.50) / Modern Straight Jeans, 0P in white ($30.00, down from $49.99)

Tee: I love this tee! The print is cute, the material is soft (85% rayon, 15% linen), the boatneck is flattering, and the drape fits nicely. Verdict: purchased.

Jeans: The white pants were close but not perfect. They fit well through the waist and legs with only slight pulling around the knees. I have kind of muscular legs (years and years of dancing), so it was great to find a pair that both fit at the waist and didn't suffocate my legs. Verdict: passed, I can't trust myself to keep white jeans clean. :)

 Colorblock Wedge Short-Sleeved Sweater, xs ($29.70, down from $49.50)

Top: This sweater was cute, but didn't do enough for me to buy. The color (excuse the horribly-lit iPhone photo!) is a light grey in front and a darker heather shade in back (I kind of wish they were reversed). Well-fit and soft. Verdict: passed.

 

Cotton Textured Open-Stitch Sweater, xs (can't find online) (found it, hidden in the lounge section!) / Petite Color Pop Modern Skinny Jeans, 0P in Teal Night ($29.70, down from $49.50)

Sweater: I wasn't sure about this sweater in-store, but looking at it in photos, I'm so bummed I didn't get it. I think I'm going to go back for it tomorrow! The open-knit was soft and comfortable, and the sweater was still quite warm. Size xs fit in a loose, comfy sort of a way. Verdict: passed in-store, but want to go back to buy tomorrow.

Jeans: I have been looking for another pair of affordable colored skinny jeans (to add to my collection of one so far), but had not had luck in almost a year. With the plethora of options out there, I know that seems absurd, but my problem has always been finding jeans that are small enough to fit my waist but loose enough to not constrict my legs, which are on the muscular side of average, I guess. I am so glad to have found these LOFT jeans, which definitely seem to do the trick! The material is a bit lighter than my Gap Always Skinny jeans, and a bit stretchy, too. The waist, hips, and legs fit great, but there is a tiny bit of pulling at the crotch, though not enough to keep me from buying. Length is great, and would still fit any petite shorter than me well, as the hem hits right at the top of my foot. Verdict: purchased, happily.

Let me know if you get anything at the sale!

O Denim, Where Art Thou?

Tee: Gap sz s / Cardigan: Forever 21 sz m / Jeans: PacSun Bullhead Black Denim sz 1 (on sale for $32.00, buy here for $49.50) / Boots: thrift store / Necklace: farmer's market
 

One of the drawbacks of taking your own photos is thinking they look awesome until you later realize that, no, 97% of them were out of focus. But three were kind of ok!

I bought these PacSun Bullhead Black jeans a while back on sale in an effort to satiate my desire for colored denim on the cheap. They get the job done, but unfortunately have some drawbacks. Since my review, I've realized that they have a kind of strange fit. They are incredibly tight all throughout the legs (I like wearing them with boots to hide how suuuuper tight they are around my calves, but then again I have dancer calves), but pretty loose around the waist, like stretchy jeans that you haven't washed in a while.

My attempt to find a better pair at Gap, in the form of the 1969 midweight legging jeans (I love the "Russian Red" color) also, unfortunately, was unsuccessful. Those jeans actually had the exact same fit issues: too tight in the legs, too loose in the waist. I think that's what I get when I'm trying on "legging jeans."

Alas, I am still on the hunt for the perfect pair of cheap colored denim. Any suggestions?

Merry Christmas Eve!

Loosing the Light

 
 Top: Forever 21 sz s ($17.99) / Cropped Blazer: H&M ($34.99) / Jeans: Pac Sun / Boots: Urban Outfitters (old) / Necklace: bought at a farmer's market

Sorry for the wonky light/color quality of these pictures.... I ran outside to shoot them just as the light was beginning to really fade. You know...at 5:00. How in the world to bloggers have full-time jobs and still manage to take well-lit outfit photos in the winter? I'm at a complete loss...

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Review: ASOS and PacSun Colored Denim

I have been more than a bit obsessed with the colored jeans trend going on right now. I don't usually (read: never) hop on trends, tending much more towards sticking with classic/simple thing that I know work for me. However, in my efforts to a) add more color into my wardrobe and b) create more interesting outfits on the daily, I thought a pair of colored jeans would be an awesome addition to my wardrobe.

However, I was having the hardest time finding a pair that both fit and didn't cost an arm and a leg. My inspiration was something along the lines of these AG Stevie Ankle Jeans from Anthropologie, but there was no way I was paying $158 for a pair of colored jeans!
Anthropologie AG Stevie Ankle Jeans, $158.

A bit of help from the wonderful Alterations Needed Forum led me to two pairs which I thought were worth a shot, both from brands I'd never tried before:
ASOS PETITE Exclusive Blue Skinny Jean, $60.34

These are definitely on the higher end of what I was hoping to spend, but the pair I end up keeping will actually be part of a belated birthday gift from my parents, so it was kind of ok. ;-) I was also impressed with their free shipping and free returns policy (on everything!), which definitely helped with convincing me to give them a shot.

PacSun Bullhead Black Colored Leggings in Burgandy, $39.50 or 2 for $65.00

These are definitely a bit less jarring in the color department, and I love how I could easily wear these into fall and winter. In reality, I guessed these would be a bit more practical and versatile than the OHMYGODBRIGHT BLUE of the ASOS jeans. PacSun has free returns and online orders can also be returned to any PacSun store.

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In reality...

ASOS:
Pros: Free shipping. Free returns. That's unfortunately about it. Because...

Cons: I couldn't even get these jeans on! Not even kidding. I ordered them in a size 2, and there was no way I was getting them over my calves, they just didn't fit. Unfortunately, any size bigger and I'm pretty sure the waist/hips would be far too large. Too bad. These could totally work for a tinier petite than me, but I guess I have pretty muscular calves (years and years of dancing), so they were a no-go. Plus, in person, they were really quite bright, perhaps a bit too bright for me. The boyfriend will be happy. He was a bit scared of them.

Verdict: Return.

* * * * * * * * * *

Pac Sun:
Shirt: Forever 21 sz s / Pants: Pac Sun sz 1 / Shoes: Stolen borrowed from my sister, sz 7 / Necklace: Gift

These were much better in the fit department (i.e., I could get them on in the first place!). I ordered both a size 0 and a size 1, and the size 1 (which I'm wearing here) fit great in the hips and tush, but damn are these some skinny jeans. They are advertised as a "denim legging," after all, and I fear that that actually means they are a...*gulp*...jegging. That word makes me shudder. I don't want to own "jeggings." "Denim leggings," it is then!
Dang, they're tight....
Pros: The color is beautiful, and I could obviously see these working very well in fall and winter. The material is nice and soft and stretchy, and the fit is generally quite good, especially in the waist and hips, and the length is perfect. No tailoring needed! The price, at $32, is pretty reasonable.

Cons: They are so tight! More like leggings than jeans. The fit in the calves is what makes me think they're too tight. But maybe I could get used to that? The front pockets are fakes, which is a bit annoying, but the back ones are real. I feel like you can see every outline of my legs, which is a bit weird? Not sure.

Verdict: I'm not completely sold on these jeans as of this moment. They're just so...tight. Maybe they'll work if I think of them as leggings and not jeans.... What do you guys think? To keep or not to keep?

Also: These shoes:Love.

My sister bought them when she was in Dubai, where she's been living for the past few months. She's home now, and so is her closet. Which effectively means I've doubled the size of my closet. :) I love being (almost) the same size as her!

* * * * * * * * * *

Anyone have any cheap colored denim they'd recommend?