Factory Commendatory

Before I could say highly recommend, the Factory classic button-down shirt in jeweled oxford sold out oh well and the Factory skinny cord in polka dot is just about gone. The polka dot cords are part of the Fall Essentials Sale of 40% off selected items good through Sunday, Sept. 29. If you use the SEPTSAVE code (10% off $75+, 20% off $125+, 30% off $200+) at checkout, there are some gems of a good deal.

Close-up of the "jewels" on the button-down.

The thin wale corduroy jeans are skinny. No need to size down.

In fact, I'm afraid of what might happen when I wash and dry them. Wearing size 25 here and thinking I should grab the size 26.

The material is 99% cotton, 1% spandex.

They don't get baggy saggy during the day ... yay!

But you cannot get undressed in a hurry, I had a tough time getting the leg opening over each foot pulling them off. 

Did I say they are skinny?

The Factory skinny ankle jean in classic rinse are not as skinny.

They're what I'd consider a comfortable, favorite fit and could very well become my go-to jeans. I don't have to worry whether it's one of my skinny days. I know they won't ride up or droop down.

They won't cut and bind (you're supposed to hear Brett and Dale Jr. say this).

And they're not distressed to look too casual.

I even feel tall (ha) when I wear them.

They're rough and tumble, earthy, sturdy and substantial.

I won't even care if I spill on them or sit on a dusty park bench.

Heck yeah, I love, love, love them. Especially for $33.25.

The Factory skinny jean in black can also be had for the same price. They have the same fit, and just like the classic rinse, they're

98% cotton, 2% spandex, but feel just a tad thinner.

With black stitching instead of the usual contrasting thread used for

blue denim jeans, they don't read as obvious jeans.

I think they're quite versatile and make great traveling pants.

The above were on the travel days for my recent business trip.

(The giant sequined heart is to cheer up the grumpiness that can be the airport crowd.)

(Better pics of the black skinny jeans since they're not off a hotel mirror.)
The shirt is the Factory two-pocket chambray shirt that has been around for at least a couple years, now better for me because it comes in XXS. Though it's not the fine, silky chambray of the selvedge chambray shirt, the rough and tumble, earthy, sturdy and substantial shirt has earned some love in blogland. What some said.

I've reviewed a few more Factory shirts that are part of this double whammy SEPTSAVE on top of Fall Essentials Sale. Just click on the Chambray-Denim Shirts tab at the top to see.

Happy shopping and happy weekend!

Happy Wednesday

Look at this glorious painting God made a month ago.

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.

Bling Chambray

With my love for chambray shirts and sparkly things,

you know I had to have this -- the boy shirt in beaded chambray.

Good thing I got it during a recent promo since the 00 is now sold out.

 IRL, the shirt is a greyer blue than what's showing on my monitor.

It's nicely faded, thank goodness without the drastic contrast between light and dark I dislike. 100% cotton. Very soft. No pockets.

The shirt would not be particularly remarkable without the bling.

The "hand-applied clusters" are sewn-on rhinestones, see a close-up.

 Some have noticed each cluster looks like an angel

or guardian angel jewelry. What do you think?

I think it's a very good thing to have 20 angels providing protection.

I need all the help I can get.

Wearing with Liberty toothpick jean in June's Meadow floral and Valentina mirror metallic pumps.

 And it's a really, really good thing I did not buy this shirt from a store. Because I would have compared every shirt in my size looking for perfect angels to drive myself insane. (Do not go shopping with me for a stuffed animal if there are 78 of the same teddy bear available.)

Most of the clusters are a bit askew like this.

With a single shirt in hand, I decided they were OK slightly flawed.

Kinda like us humans.

 

P.S. See Gigi's excellent review of the shirt here.



Peplum Problems and Revealing Details

I think Gigi is right, the print on the printed eyelet top looks like cabbages but I like the top enough to think of them as cabbage roses.

Dare I say I love the top? 

I'm thinking the details are reminiscent of JC's glory days.

Here's a close-up of the fabric. I put bright yellow behind it so you can see the parts that are cut out, one could try interesting things

layering it over colors. Starting as 100% white cotton,

the top is printed, it's textured and pierced, and finished with

scalloped neckline and sleeve edges. The only bothersome thing to note was some discomfort with the material, some call it itchy and I say it's irritating. Not nearly as bad as the lustre lace mockneck tee (that one I could not take off fast enough) but still a little bit abrasive.

I wore it with a buff colored cami and the collection classic schoolboy blazer in tipped linen; remember thinking the top breezy and great for a hot sticky day when you'd really appreciate some air flow.

Why is it whenever I accessorize it never looks right but whenever I don't, think I should've worn a necklace or something?

For the sake of SHOPNOW on knits and tees, thought I'd show you the ponte peplum top in stripe, see the ivory and navy ponte peplum tops in this post. I have a lot more to say about this but I must get some sleep now; will be back tomorrow to finish up. But one thing for certain is trouble with a good cover for the peplum top. Any suggestions?



Hangdog

Though I have a dozen brilliant posts written by that
prolific writer who lives only in my head, IRL I am lazy.
Thus, I am resorting to pics from months ago,
when this adorable sad faced puppy won me over.

The baby bulldog sweater was my first and only
ModCloth venture and I don't regret it one little bit.

It was inexpensive, it's 100% cotton and

has a cute critter that makes one smile.

Could use one, working like a dog and a zillion hours last week.

OK not a zillion, but more than 60, including one night morning

when I didn't leave the office until 1 a.m.

Feeling as sick as a dog by then.

Tomorrow, I'll have to be in the office by 6 a.m.

It will be brutal.

I won't be a cheerful early bird.

I will be a grump dog.



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?