Wash and Wear

I won't say why or how, except I didn't cause it, but this icon trench was filthy. At first, I thought I'd relegate it for dire circumstances ... like if I knew I had to be packed onto a bus with a football team

that for some reason could not shower after a sweaty game.

But the coat was grungy enough I doubt I'd wear it even then.

Oh, I thought about taking it to the cleaners.

But I don't love the idea of spending a zillion dollars on something that may not come clean and I don't love the idea of dry cleaning chemicals. And since the football team scenario was unlikely, made one of those "what do I have to lose" decisions and threw it in the wash. Delicate cycle, cold water. Tumble dry low.
Surprise, suprise. It came out just fine.

And while it's not as crisp as before and should be lightly pressed,

I now happily wear it for the best situations.

I wore the washed trench over the above outfit when I went to:

With some good friends and we had pre-theater dinner here:

I ate every bit of:

British Columbia King Salmon

eggplant purée, soy bean, tamago, Thai curry and jasmine rice

Carried this:

Kate Spade book clutch.

And was not disappointed in any way. 

The evening far exceeded every expectation.

 

Many have wondered, some have asked and I said I'd try it so

I washed the minnie pant in bi-stretch wool.

Same way: delicate cycle, cold water, tumble dry low.

I measured before and after, the width shrunk by about 3/16".

Like jeans after they're washed and dried, they felt tightened up. 

Still quite wearable but more legging-like.

The bigger difference was the length, they're shorter by about 1/2".

 

 If you study the above carefully, you'll notice the more snug and bunched up washed minnie pant on the right. Slightly shorter.

For reference, I'm 5'2"-ish and wearing the regular length size 00.

Not sure if I prefer them before or after the wash and dry but I sure wish there was a way to shrink the waistband by about 2".

Then they'd be perfect. Like my recent evening out.

 

So have you had wash and wear dastardly disasters or surprise successes?

Twinkle Toes

When lovely Shopping with M posted about the Bijoux bow ballet flats, they looked so pretty on her feet I started stalking them endlessly though I hadn't noticed them before then. After a couple months of absolutely no luck, imagine finding these:

 Yes, this is one of my infamous handbag dust cover shots.

Look at the bling:

Ha! My shoe has more sparklies than yours.

And no cheaping out beneath the top layer ... love that.

They even made wearing Vera B-ish jeans kinda cool:

Well ... maybe not:

But I could not help but stared a lot at my feet all day:

Here's the best part: nice leather shoes, quality bling, wide enough and comfy out of the box ... and costing only a fraction of the price of the Bijoux even on sale with a big percentage off.

 

I know, I know. You're singing "tell me more, tell me more!"

(That song from Grease, silly.)

If the blinged-out ballet flats aren't to your liking, what about these (leather upper, lining and sole) for $45?

Or these suede cuties, also $45?

How about these very ladylike lambskin lovelies for $55?

Or these all-leather lace-ups for $59?

 

Like my friend, Blue Booby, you could hop over to yoox.com and go crazy ... they have 132 pages of shoes, showing 120 pairs each page, ranging from $18 to $2,795.

 

I kidded BB about being her personal shopper but note the Yoox friend-referral program ... for example, if you send your email address to me at tiffanyrose57@gmail.com and you (if first-time shopper) bought something within 60 days, accessing through the email link sent to you, I get $35 credit in my account. Isn't that great incentive?

 

But that is not why I'm telling you this ... I LOVE that site for pretty or funky or fun or needed shoes that are quite affordable, especially when they have the big sale like they do now on Spring-Summer shoes. And! Until Sept. 10, you get another 10% off of sale prices like those above by using YOOXSALE10 in the YOOXCODE box when you check out.

 

Yoox delivers to more than 100 countries around the world, free shipping on orders of $150+. Most of the brands are unfamiliar to me but then, I'm not really up on brands designers. I've loved everything I've taken a chance on, including discovering how wonderful Daniele Ancarani (and a few others') shoes are for my wide feet.

 

The scary thing: I could end up the poster child for

Gigi's A Thousand Sixty Pairs.

For Your Eyes Only

No way would I be seen out in public in this getup. I'm only putting myself out there for you, my bloggy buddies, as another public service.


The ponte peplum top is OK but I'm talking about the girls' everyday leggings in big dipper. IMHO, wearing leggings as pants can be nearly obscene and here I am wearing them as crazy pants. Please know I'm only doing it to work in as many items from the Instant Gratification Sale as possible. Wearing girls' size 14; I'm XXS in women's leggings. They are plenty in the rise, the waistband is just a tad below my natural waist, and they're more than long enough as the hem is rolled three times here. I'm thinking you may see them with a red-and-white striped tunic come next July 4. Just warning ya.


Anyway, I got the leggings mostly to wear for doing housework with a work shirt. IRL, I'd have the sleeves of the selvedge chambray shirt rolled up. Again, the PSA is to show how long the unbuttoned sleeves are on somebody 5'2". For less dorky looks and more details on the shirt, see this post.

Back to the peplum top, think I remember quite a bit of blog love for it. Agree I like the substantial material, I like the fit. I like how the peplum is probably just right. But I don't like how I'll probably never wear it without something over it. Would the peeping peplum be a problem? What would you pair with it instead? While the arm hole is not too low, see how it lifts at the shoulder? With no bra strap holders that would've been a nice touch, I'd constantly fuss with it and drive myself crazy. BTW, the top has a heavy-duty full zip covered by a placket held down with a small hook in the back. It will take some blind luck to hook up or you'll need the help of someone with nimble fingers.

Nope you're not going to see me wearing the silk cami or the stretch suiting tee by themselves in pics or IRL. My favorite thing about the cami is the adjustable straps. The cami is great under sheer tops and as sleepwear for hot nights. As for the suiting tee ... anyone wearing it to work as a standalone top should be sent home, at least if wearing the white or mineral pink. Holy smokes it's extremely close fitting and the knit is sheer. It's fine and silky and feels like lingerie. I'm thinking it's a good layering piece for itchy sweaters or wearing under bare tops like this and this.

OK, I've got to get a move on if I'm ever going to finish ... a review/discussion/IRL of the keeper chambray shirt and faded chambray popover is at this post. More talk about the keeper is here. Next up is the oxford boy shirt in polka dot. It's a white shirt with subtle polka dots. I'll confess I have two of them. I wear it a lot.



Another classic is the merino tippi sweater, it's the sweater version of a basic T-shirt. I like it best with a basic T-shirt. See here.

 

 

It's late and I'm running out of steam, does anyone else do this ... hurry up and finish with a weak ending?

Girls' sequin-pineapple stripe tee and Nolita jacket in white pictured above. The 1035 trouser in superfine cotton chatted and pictured here.

 

I'll come back tomorrow to fill in some details. And show you the 1035 jacket in superfine cotton, classic ballet flats and western denim shirt.

I know, I'm such a tease. :)

--------------------------------

 

I'm back ... and if you didn't notice yesterday, they snuck in a few more items into the Instant Gratification Sale. One was the western denim shirt. I had planned to cover that in my never-ending chambray/denim shirt sMaCkDoWn, but I'll make a few comments now if it helps you one way or another while it's on sale. I know, some don't care for the western details and some worry about the snaps unsnapping too easily for a wardrobe malfunction. Personally, I love them and found the snaps to hold tight. Recall a western denim shirt a couple years ago getting complaints about it being shrunken and too short, that's not the case now. See SU 11 on left and the current one on the right:

Though not quite to the same scale, you can see it's now a darker wash and cut longer and roomier.

Speaking of shirts, here's the stretch perfect shirt. Especially for folks needing special sizing such as petite or tall, this is a great time to get it in basic colors that rarely go to sale. If you're wondering, the boy shirts are cut straighter (as the name implies) and the perfect shirts curve in at the waist along the side seams with vertical darts in the back to further trim the shirt.

I'd not likely have chosen my navy blue 1035 jacket in superfine cotton to wear with the crazy jeans and white shirt but for you, I had to today. It does wrinkle but I love the superfine cotton. The fabric is 100% cotton and woven in such a way you'd swear it contained elastane or spandex. I also love the heavier weight and drape of the material. One thing, because my mother taught me well, I rejected the white jacket since the lapel notches were not symmetrical.

It's now the classic leather ballet flats in a foot race to the finish line, ha! I'd ordered two pairs of the same size and while the admiral blue *seemed* to be the correct fit, the dazzling sun were definitely too big as I stepped out of them with every step. I say the blue seemed to be the right fit but I worry. Here's a tell-tale pic, see how shallow they are? Not much to wrap around your feet.

They do remind me of what I can remember of real ballet slippers from when I took lessons as a little girl. The real ballet slippers fit tightly so they mold to your feet as you dance, the better to point toes or feel the floor. As the leather stretches, the string that ends in the bow can tighten the shoe so it becomes like second skin. Well, the bows on the ballet flats are decorative and thus I worry I'll eventually end up stepping out of the blue ones as well. I'll try some a size down ... we'll see how that goes.

 

P.S. I wiped out at least an hour's stuff, either Blogger crashed or I clicked the wrong button. Think this is the last time I'll try a long and complicated post. Do these zillions of pics take forever to load too?

Whiled Weekend

Lest you had notion mine is a fashion blog ... here's a true reveal:
This fashion-don't is as dressed up as I'm likely going to get on weekends.

The rugby-stripe sweatpant may be the ultimate weekend crazy pants.

There must be a reason why no one (I know of) has been seen wearing them.

Are they really sporty chic? Or bozo-the-clown goofy?

The "glammed-up" girls' Converse glitter sneakers reminiscent of this

just make it more so (the quotes are properly used as intended, unlike items for this blog).

Let's focus on the boys' denim two-in-one pocket workwear shirt, shall we? 

If for no other reason than my continuing saga with denim/chambray shirts.

The rough-and-tumble distressing and triple stitched seams along with vintage workwear details make this a rugged looking shirt.

To be expected (from a boys' size 14), the workshirt is a boxy fit.

Which would be appropriate wear for a weekend of household chores.

And I will may get to that after we while away a few hours having coffee

in the morning. Out on our patio. With this view.

We may even probably will split a beer (I know, we're wild) out there around sunset.