The Sisterhood Of The Stay-At-Home Jacket

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I opened up the bag that had come from Anthropologie. I sat there on the floor. Stunned. Staring into the wrapping.

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My daughter looked up from her cell phone, “Whadja get?”

This jacket,” I replied in a surprisingly monotone voice. The tremors in my soul not vibrating yet to betray my vocal cords. I held it up for my daughter to see (and definitely not to worship, as I held it above my head… on my knees… with my eyes closed).

“Oh. My. God,” was her reply.

“I know right?!”

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I immediately slipped it on. Its buttery softness engulfed me. I stood and looked into the mirror. I ignored the flannel pajama bottoms and oversized stained t-shirt I was sporting. My hair was piled on top of my head in a greasy four day old mess. The jacket was the star. The scenery did not matter.

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“Here. You try it on,” I generously proclaimed to my daughter.

She put it on and I rolled the sleeves for her as I had seen another blogger do earlier in the week.

She turned to face the mirror. “I love it! It is soooooo soft.”

“I know. And it is not real leather. It is fake leather. No animals were hurt making it!”

My husband piped up from the corner of the room. “Were any fake animals hurt in making the fake jacket?” He quipped.

He knew I would ponder that all afternoon if I let it get to me, so I ignored his question and turned my attention back to my new favorite purchase.

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“We can share it!” I proclaimed. This is kind of amazing because I am a size 6-8 and my daughter is a size 0-2. But the size medium fit us both perfectly (on me it is more fitted and on her it is looser). It was just like that book/movie with those traveling pants. Minus traveling. And pants. But you know what I mean.

I actually was going to break my cardinal rule and let her be on the blog for this post. She had been wanting to. But when I asked her if she wanted to take pictures with me for this post (I thought it would be funny to have pictures of us fighting over the jacket), she vehemently declined. Why? Because she did not want anyone to say that she looks like me. Sigh. And so it begins continues.

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I will still share the jacket.

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Now, before you think I am the most giving person out there. That I am sharing my most favoritest (my most favoritest not-a-real-word word) of jackets out of simple selflessness and not greed. This is what I told my husband:

“If we both use the jacket then technically it is only half price for each of us. Technically my clothing budget is only moderately affected.”

“Is that how it works?” Deadpanned my husband.

“Yep.” I like to use my fake logic on him.

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Do you own a leather jacket? Or a fake leather jacket? Or a traveling pants kind of jacket? If you have a fake pet, please do not show it this post. It would scar it for fake life.

*I shared this on The Pleated Poppy and Reasons To Dress.

*this outfit was inspired by Tifforelie on Instagram. I love how she paired Anthropologie’s Vegan Leather Jacket with Anthropologie’s floral tights. The colors match perfectly. The cream Free People slip is combined with a dress from Forever 21.

Forever 21 Buy One Get One Sale

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Okay. I promised myself I would not do too many clothing posts. I wanted to commit to no more than two to three a week. I wanted to spend more time on funny stories, like the one shared today.. That is where my heart is. But darn these sales! They are messing up my rhythm! ; ). And, also, well, I love me some clothes. Especially clothes for a great price!

I got an email today about a sale Forever 21 is doing. Most of their sale clothes are buy one get one free, for a limited time. And guess what is still available, as of the time I posted this in every size (I bought a medium)?!

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My Forever 21 Utility Jacket that I love. It is currently on sale for $29.99. But if you buy something at a similar price, that would make both items $15! Man, that is a great price for this jacket!

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Sorry! I had to share! Be careful with sizing, because most of the items are nonreturnable!. To see more pictures of the jacket on this human, you can click here and here.

Tomorrow at 10:00 in the morning I will be posting about my Modcloth Stylish Surprises I received last week! : )

Have a great day!

Anthropologie Spring Reviews Part I

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I was on my own in Las Vegas and decided to go shopping and try on some of Anthropologie’s newest offerings. This is what I wore to Anthropologie and on my trip out by myself. It is an H&M lace top, Free People Lydia Maxi Skirt, Simply Livly Turquoise Necklace, and a more recent sale belt from Anthropologie.

Oddly, this outfit made me feel braver.

I think it was all the darn ruffles.

Don’t ask why.

I’m weird.

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The first dress I tried on was one of the two items I added to my wishlist (the other being a pair of jeans). I really, really like this Ijada Stitched Shift dress.

I really, really disliked the price tag. At $248, I will have to wait for a good sale. I have a size six on in the picture. It zips on the side bust and I could not zip it all of the way. Since, I was all ready there. In a dressing room. At the store. With a size eight. Just a few steps away. I…

Decided not to try it on.

Yep.

It is more fun guessing.

Or more lazy.

So, now I imagine I am a size eight in this dress, but I have no idea if it is true.

Aren’t my reviews helpful?

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I also tried on this Cissie Embroidered Dress. I thought it was okay. I really like the pattern and everything. But there was just somethin’ that did not call to me. This was a size six. I thought it fit fine.

I have so many similar items to this dress in my closet all ready. And the hi-lo thing is just not doing it for me. An unfortunate no for me. I am sad about this one, because it is cute.

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I also tried on the Grafton Marled Jacket with the dress. Because I liked the pattern in the store. I would not really wear these two items together in real life.

Well, unless I was in a closed room. And the other cardigan I wanted was ten feet away. Then we all know what my choice would be.

I am wearing a small here. If I purchased this, I would buy a medium. But this cardigan did not make it into my wishlist, so I will not be purchasing it. It was too bulky for me. Now I am seeing that they call this cardigan a jacket. I could examine the whys of that further, but I won’t.

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I love the Savant Swing Dress. It has been on my wishlist for what seems like forever. I had not seen the grey version of it in real life before this picture (I own the black and white striped version). Can you feel the love?

I am wearing a small here. The sleeves were impossibly tight. The store did not have a medium. I definitely need a medium. If they would have had it to try on…

Wait for it.

This will be shocking.

I would have.

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I had loved this Patula Maxi Skirt on Morgan from See Mo Go a few weeks ago. I could not wait to try it on myself.

Morgan rocked this skirt. It is so pretty on her. I was not in love with it on me. I am wearing a small. It fit fine. This was the only shirt I had in the dressing room that I thought might work with it.

Which means it did not go with it at all.

It never occurred to me to use the shirt I wore into the dressing room.

Again, not examining the whys of that further.

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Let me distract you from my pasty legs (and insanely messy contents of my purse) by telling you that this white shirt is the same Anthropologie Flounced Tee I tried on with the skirt above. And that is why the skirt styling will make even less sense to you.

Kind of like myself.

I really hate shorts. Like hate them. With a fierce passion. I think very few women can pull them off. Without cutting their legs into frumpy stumps. But these Finchley Pleated Shorts had elephants on them. In a gorgeous olive pattern. I am wearing a size eight here. The shirt is a small.

And I wanted to forget my shorts-naysayer in my head.

These were not good on me. They did not make it into my wishlist. But they are adorable.

I think. Gosh, I cannot believe I am going to say this.

But, I think many women could wear these shorts. And it would be cute. And I would like it.

Groan! That last admittance did me in.

Have you tried on anything you love lately? Added anything to your wishlist? Please tell!

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P.S. Two nights ago I went to San Diego and while I was there I tried on even more pieces at Anthropologie. I ended up purchasing this Songbird Skirt in my usual size six. The review for this baby is behind two more review sets, so it will probably be two more weeks before I get to it.

But I knew some ladies wanted to see it. And when I want to see something, I love when someone shares. So, here is one of my pictures of the skirt. The waistband is super stretchy. But the sides are not. I do not think I would size down in this. However, if you are inbetween sizes, I would probably take the smaller one.

Sorry about the lack of smile. I thought this was the picture that best depicted the length of the skirt. Hope this helps! : )

P.S. I also did Anthropologie Spring Reviews Part II and Free People Spring Reviews.

Style S.O.S. Sketchbook Dress

Two of my favorite bloggers, Liz from With Wonder And Whimsy and Gwen from London Preppy have teamed up together to do a special feature entitled Style S.O.S on their blogs. I was thrilled that they decided to do this as I have a ton of items in my closet that I don’t wear because I have no imagination when it comes to them. In their collaborative posts, they will style an item for readers or for each other by creating some style boards around the item the person would like help with.

For free!

Yes, please!

They’re awesome!

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Here is a picture of Liz in an outfit Gwen styled for her.

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And here is a picture of Gwen in an outfit that Liz styled for her.

They both look beautiful.

This is such a great endeavor for them, because Liz does perfect feminine styles. And Gwen can think of combinations for pieces that no one else has thought of. And it works. And their different styling plays perfectly together for an idea like this. I highly recommend checking out the last two weeks on their blogs as they helped each other with different pieces.

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I chose my Sketchbook Dress from Anthropologie to get help with. Because it was such a unique piece, my brain had shut down when it came to styling it. This is how I originally styled it months ago.

Gwen and Liz each sent me two style boards to play with. It was so exciting!

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This style board is from Gwen. In it, she paired my Anthropologie Corduroy Vest (first styled here) with my layering necklaces. I have mustard flats, but I could only find one of them on this day. So, I improvised with my mustard wedges.

This look is so fun and different. I felt like a fashion blogger! Doh!

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Liz sent me this style board. I had to do some creative substituting with this board. I do not own very much pink in my closet. Although, I have about four princess maxi dresses in pink. Those weren’t going to help me here. I also own very few scarves. They scare me. I only usually buy infinite scarves because I know how to style them.

I decided to wear my silver flats to pair with the silver earrings. And this scarf was the closest to the pale pink that I had.

I love this outfit. It is out of my comfort zone. Which is always good to step out of.

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Gwen took my new Forever 21 Utility Jacket that I had recently styled here. And I would never, ever have paired these two pieces together. And I love it. The jacket in the inspiration board is being modeled by Elsie of A Beautiful Mess.

Gwen called it when she noticed my sly smirk in this picture that this was my favorite style outfit. I think I was also smiling, because I could not believe how well this worked. And I had a secret about the belt. I do not own a plain black belt, so I flipped my Kissing Bunnies Belt from Anthropolgie to the back.

You would be smiling, too, if you had secret bunnies kissing above your bum.

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My last outfit was from Liz and I had almost everything to style it like the board, except for a gold bracelet. Now a chunky gold bracelet is on my must get list for April. This is also one of my favorite pairings. I felt like myself in this. I love it! It was a fun chance to wear my star earrings I had scored last month from Nordstrom Rack for $3.

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I had such a good time styling this dress with Liz and Gwen’s help. I decided to be brave and try a new way to style it myself. I figured a shirt dress also makes sense as a shirt. I paired it with a white maxi skirt that I own and a fun belt.

Thank you Liz and Gwen for your inspirations! They were so useful. I appreciate it!

Do you ever get stuck in a rut with one of your favorite pieces? Do you own this dress? Any other styling options you would like to share?

If you are stuck, I recommend going to either Liz or Gwen’s blog and letting them know in their comments. They will very sweetly help you out.

* P.S. I shared this on The Pleated Poppy!

And