A Visit to Ann Taylor LOFT

Since I’m on a shopping ban, I feel like I’ve been doing more of these fitting room reviews to compensate.

Everyone’s been talking about LOFT lately and I’ve only recently started looking at their things. Since there was a promotion on pants, I asked the SA about the pant styles and cuts. She told me that there were primarily 2 cuts, the Julie and the Marisa. Online, there’s the Ann, but they haven’t been getting them in the store recently.

I took a pair of each style in 00P to compare the fit on my body.

The Marisa.

Modern Fit. Sits lower on waist. Wide-leg silhouette.

The top is in XXSP and though it fits decently, I don’t think it’s for me. It looks much better on Petite XXS.

I like the idea of the silhouette, but it’s totally unflattering. My hips are too wide for this style with unsightly bunching in the crotch area. There is also a fairly large waist gap by 2-3 inches.

Would I buy it? No. But it would work on someone with a thicker midsection and slimmer hips.

The Julie.

Curvy Fit. Sits slightly below the waist. Contoured to flatter the hip and thigh. Wide-leg silhouette.

The tee is in XXSP. It’s cute, but not really my style. It’s a bit too snug over my chest, so I would go with an XSP instead.

The pant fits perfectly with no waist gap and there’s more than enough room for my hips. The silhouette is more of a bootcut than a wide-leg look, but it’s not bad. From the back, I have a serious case of pancake butt…and that definitely killed it.

Would I buy it? Not really unless I take it to the tailors to fix the back part. Would fit someone with a more sizeable bottom half.

So I guess these LOFT pant styles are not for me.

How about you? What styles fit your body shape and how do you like LOFT pants?

Peplum Blazer Revisited

The Urban Outfitters peplum jacket has gotten a lot of press lately from the petite blogging community lately.

Check out their posts: Alterations Needed, ChloeConspiracy, Extra Petite, From Head To Toe , Petite Little Girl , PetiteXXS, Vicky’s Daily Fashion Blog.

Everyone styled the blazer to match their personalities and I enjoyed looking at all the different outfits.

Whenever I come across a clothing item, I try to think of three outfits before purchasing it to make it worth my money. Aside from the casual look, I wanted to glam it up for the office.

Taking some cues from the latest Fall’s trends, I created a look that’s fun but work-appropriate. Recalling the 50’s full skirt look, I pulled out this ochre colored skirt from J.Crew. The peplum blazer and skirt exaggerates the “smallness” of the waist creating a nice hourglass shape. In the photos, I love the side silhouette best!

This is my second outfit with this blazer.

Outfit Details: Urban Outfitters knit peplum jacket – XS, Topshop lace peplum tunic – 0P, J.Crew skirt – 00, Urban Outfitters belt, Express  braided headband, random amber necklace, Aldo pumps

Review: Banana Republic Dresses

I was looking for dresses the other day and I stumbled into Banana Republic.

Though Banana Republic isn’t really my style, I saw a lot of 00P dresses in stock at the store so I wanted to try them out and save the trouble of ordering them online.

I want to find more office dresses but there too many options at other stores given my size so I took my chances with BR.

In 00P, this dress has a lot of movement and it feels as comfortable as wearing a jersey tee. I love the neckline, but it’s a tad loose and shapeless. Plus, I’m not a fan of the smocking.

To make this dress better, a nice chunky belt can give it better definition and shape. If it was one size smaller, it would be more flattering and harder to put it back on the rack.

Would I buy it? Maybe as a casual walking dress.

This dress was already reviewed by PetiteXXS. It’s an interesting print but the dress is too loose and the v-neck is too revealing when I move around. It definitely needs a belt to make it look more put together.

Would I buy it? Not really, unless it was one size smaller.

This work sheath has a great neckline again and it minimizes my bust so it doesn’t look too revealing despite the v-neck, which is something I want. But the rest of the garment doesn’t fit at all. It’s too long and too loose.

If I could alter it, I’d take in the waist by 2+ inches, shorten the sleeves, shorten the hem to be above the knee, and make the waistband thinner. Cher from a.fashion.deliberation also reviewed this dress.

Would I buy it? Maybe, if it’s on sale and a trip to the tailors.

I thought this dress would make a good layering piece since it has a tank already attached to a tweed skirt. However, instead of a stretch tee, this top has no stretch and comes with a size zip. The top fits pretty well, but the skirt over-accentuates the hip area with an awkward shape that makes me look really bottom heavy.

Would I buy it? Not likely since the skirt looks so unfortunate.

Overall, the dresses at Banana Republic in 00P are too loose and ill-fitting on me. Either they size inflated or I lost weight (which I doubt) but the dresses don’t fit right from the bust down.

Compared to the average BR shopper, I guess I have smaller waist(by 2+ inches) and smaller hip girth(by .5 -1 inch). If they start making XXXS/000P dresses, I’d probably shop there, but as of now, I don’t think I need to go back this season.

How about you readers?

Where do find work-appropriate dresses that can do well for casual and more formal occasions?

Review: Gap Perfect Trouser Pant

Gap just started making suit trousers, so I decided to try it out.

I know, it’s the same company as Banana Republic, but I thought their styles might look and fit better on me. So, I ordered the Perfect Trouser Pant in 00p in grey.

• Sits at the waist.
• Straight through the hip and thigh.
• Flared leg opening.

Here’s what it’s supposed to look like.

It seems like GAP put a lot of thought into the design of their new premium pant collection. There are several different cuts and styles for different body types. So, there’s bound to a fit that works for me..at least, in theory.

The perfect trouser pant has angled pockets so they don’t pucker out and the back pockets are flush to the body. Though the pants aren’t lined, the construction is pretty good. Plus, the suiting material looked decent and not cheap.

But how does it look on me?

Umm….is it just me or does it look like my hips are huge?

The length is just right, but the fit is pretty bad. The silhouette from the back isn’t bad, but all the other photos don’t lie. I guess I’m curvier than I thought.

At the waist, it’s loose by a couple of inches so it can sit lower on my hips, but then the rise would be too low and look saggy. The rear end area is also unflattering because it flattens my bum and there’s extra fabric bunching. In fact, from the side, it looks like my bum is 3 times longer than it should be, which is not what I want.

These pants are not perfect for me.

Return!

My suggestion:

The perfect trouser pant would work better for someone with slimmer hips and a thicker midsection.

What do you think about the GAP Premium Pant collection?

My New Blazer and No More Shopping

I mentioned on Monday that I got a blazer from Zara. I wasn’t planning on buying it, but it fit pretty well and I love how it looks.

The fit is actually pretty good. The sleeve length hits right at my wrist and the blazer sits higher on my hips than the ones I own. So all in all, a good purchase.

I’ve been trying to experiment a bit more mixing prints and patterns. The latest endeavor involves stripes, lace, and faux-cheetah print…I’m not sure if it works, but I like it.

Outfit Details: Zara blazer – XS, Urban Outfitters striped cami – XS, American Apparel lace bodysuit – XS, Ann Taylor Loft skirt- 00P, random amber necklace, Aldo pumps

For the rest of the month, I will not be getting anything new. It sounds simple enough, but I’ve gotten into the habit of buying at least one thing a week. That’s not a good habit to start having, so I need to break it before it truly becomes an issue. I need some time to get acquainted with my new items and assimilate them into my closet so I can make pretty outfits out of them.

Additionally, I need to stay away from shopping malls and online shopping sites because it makes me want to spend more money! Oh those tricky tricky advertisements and email coupons!

Boo.

Review: Fred Flare – Amelia Top

Taking some cues from Emma Pillsbury from Glee, Zooey Deschanel, and all other retro-styled characters/celebrities, I decided to take my chances and create a look that nods to the past while maintaining a contemporary and modern aesthetic.

I saw this adorable button back Amelia top at fredflare.com and thought it would make a great addition to my wardrobe. It’s in a print, not low-cut, and has a nice matte look to it that caught my eye.

In XS, it fits well overall without any strange bunching or sagging.

Review: Theory Ibbey Pant

Just like finding a great pair of jeans, a great pair of trousers is just as difficult to find.

I wanted a pair of slim fitting pants in suiting material that was of good quality and fit me perfectly. I had marginal success with Banana Republic but I didn’t buy the pair because it didn’t make me feel special. They fit decently, but they were kind of…eh.

Thus, I wandered into Theory and tried on a few pairs of pants. It seemed like AlterationsNeeded and PetiteAsianGirl from ExtraPetite had success with jackets and skirts, but what about pants?

I tested out two pairs of pants in size 00 since last time I tried on size 0 pants, they practically fell off me.

At first glance, the Cerdwin K pant had good potential since they were considered “drainpipe” leg elongators. However, in size 00, the pant felt loose overall and had a gap in the waist area. It looked unflattering on my frame. Plus, in the Cupid fabric, the material composition was 71% viscose, 23% polyamide, and 6% elastane which meant that it had a stretchy, knit-like quality that felt a bit strange. I had to pass on this style.