Aida ~

Well I didn't know what else to call this, so feel free to fill me in on the actual issue name :) Another alteration question (I really need to learn more about what is and isn't commonplace alterable *sigh*). Please pardon the bed head ^^

Ok! I bought this pretty sheathe with a long exposed zipper, and at the end it puffs up and creates a very unbecoming pucker, all sticking out and whatnot. I tried to show it in #2-4, not sure how well you can see it though. Is the zipper too long? My bum sitting too high, or too much or the-far-less-likely not enough? I'm curious what causes it and if it's alterable because I see this all the time with dresses, honestly both with and without the long zippers; I always figured it was a darting issue due to swayback, but this dress is seamed very nicely and shouldn't otherwise need darts. I think, but hey what do I know! Would love to hear if anyone knows if this is an alterable issue or if I have to send the dress back. Thank you!

Hi ladies! Sorry I've been MIA; I'm still sick, work is busy, and I've got a cruise coming up on the 19th complete with a wedding and wedding events. Which is what I am asking for help with today :) This is a week long cruise to Alaska from Seattle (but unfortunately we don't stop anywhere near Una!), so the attire is probably going to be different from most cruises. I'm planning to just dress like I normally do for the cruise (haven't even started looking at that part of the packing yet), but do have questions about the wedding+events. Please pardon sick face/hair ><

#1 : Wedding outfit. I have only been to a couple weddings, all 5+ years ago, so I am a little murky on what's appropriate to wear. The wedding itself will be on the ship and in the evening, so I am assuming this means formal but not black-tie. The invitation just says the time (6pm) and then "Cocktails and formal dinner to follow". Please picture these outfits both with these gray pumps and with white pointy pumps which are on their way to me. I'll be adding a skinny white belt to the top (also in the mail).
Questions:
- Will the white pumps be too "wedding party"? They are a plain, matte white.
- Is this too much white, period?
- As much as I'd like to just wear the outfit as in the far left, I'll likely need a topper. I like the middle option with the blazer but am pretty sure hubby will not. So is the option on the right with the black kimono cocoon too jarring against the light colors?

#2 : Brunch outfit. The day after the wedding there will be a wedding attendee brunch. I am thinking this outfit should be fine as-is, so unless anyone has glaring concerns I'm set with this one.

#3-5 : Cocktail hour outfit. The day before the wedding there will be a "cocktail hour". I do not know exactly what this means, nor the dress code (club? lounge?). This group isn't super dressy, so I am guessing that #3 will be sufficient. But if not, I also have a proper cocktail dress shown in #4-5, which is several years old. It is not solid black, but has an upper mesh layer with gold threads woven in; not sure if you can tell in the photos, but the lower half of the skirt is all mesh and it's very ruffly. I'd wear this with pearl studs and no other jewelry as it's a lot of dress.
Questions:
- Should I bring both cocktail options or just stick with the more versatile look in #3?
- Does the dress in 4/5 still look OK? It's waaaay more bombshell than I normally wear, but I do skew bombshell for dressy events.
- Is #3 too casual for "cocktail hour"? I'm confused on this one.

#6 : Jewelry. Just a close up of all the jewels I'm wearing in the above outfits. Sparkly things on the left in the wedding outfit, mint cuff and silver necklace in brunch outfit, and bracelet stack in cocktail outfit.

Whew! I know it's a lot to ask, so I really thank everyone who can give me feedback on these. Am I on track or way off base? Does anyone have any other advice on packing for a weeklong Alaskan cruise? Thank you all so much!

I have been enjoying watching your pins from all the fashion shows! Aside from the balloon sleeves that seem to be present all over the place, I did notice another shape that I am curious about.

For example, this top from Jil Sander's show.

The shoulder seam is a bit exaggerated and wide set, and the sleeve arm holes have very low bottoms. Is this A Thing or just a result of the super oversized trend running through everything?

I happened to have just bought a (expensive for me) sweater with this shape, though it is less exaggerated (tanish-cream with cream silk arms and inset stripes, very luxurious feeling!). But I'm waffling a bit on it because the sleeve shape is very different for me, and really the whole sweater feels almost laughably oversized although it doesn't seem to come across that way in the photos. I promise it's quite oversized! Would love to hear your thoughts about this! Thanks <3

... Is it possible? Is it all in the cuts of the clothing, the accessories, the attitude of the wearer? Or is black an essential element to the vibe? Would love to hear thoughts on this!

Literally. On a whim last week I tried on a pair of my hubby's 527s and lo! They're pretty much exactly what I would want in a boyfriend style jean: Baggy with drop crotch? Check. Low rise? Check. Super faded wash and super soft denim? Check. No stretch? Check. Tapered leg? Nope, these are (unfortunately for me) bootcut as that's what hubby likes, but when I roll them up they're pretty much perfect because they're a slim cut. It makes me giggle to wear hubby's jeans ^^

I thought these were my husband's gardening jeans, so I asked if he'd give them to me. But apparently he does actually wear these so he said I could borrow whenever I wanted, though he phrased it as "Sure, but you know they don't look good on you right?" (Pff, husbands.) My sister, who I run most of my fashion stuff by, is NOT a fan of actual men's jeans for this look because of the crotch cut; she would very much prefer that I get a women's boyfriend cut jean instead of these.

So! What do you all think of these, ladies? Please pardon the "I just woke up" hair (I'd really just woken up), though I suppose it does add to the look ;) Yay or Nay on these jeans for me? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

... I bought cropped pants. Well, they should be cropped on a taller gal, but on short little me they hit the top third of my ankle. Part of me really loves the nerdy-and-too-short vibe as they are without modification, and the other part of me says to be sensible and make them, at the very least, a non-leg-shortening length. Problem is, there are zippers on the inside hem openings which I expect would make shortening tricky and expensive?

#1 - Pants as is. They are straight from the knee down, but I have very slim ankles so they appear to flare out. The shortie in me finds this almost-too-short vibe amusing, I'm sure if I was taller I wouldn't ;)

#2 - Detail of the print (LOVE) and fabric (a nice weight twill, probably a spring/summer/fall weight for me).

#3 - Because of the zippers, the easiest alteration option would be to have the outer seam taken in so they are skinnier at the hem opening. Shown here are super skinny (ankle hugging) and slim skinny, and with a longer shirt for more normal, non-nerdy proportions :) This is my top choice.

#4 - The other option would be to shorten them as proper crops, which would add a horizontal seam in the print because I would need to leave the bottom several inches with the zipper alone. Not sure if that would be problematic visually. Longer length on the left (my preference), shorter length on the right. I wouldn't want to go bermuda length with these.

Difficult, I know! But the pattern sings to me in a way that almost no other this season has, so I would be so happy if I could make them work. Thoughts and opinions?

So after the general consensus in my previous post about the JCrew orange linen shirt was that I size up, I did as suggested and ordered the next size up. It feels SUPER DUPER big and boxy, so I am really looking forward to it draping better once the linen softens up (this was straight out of the package). The second button there isn't gaping, it's actually unbuttoned but the linen is still too stiff for the collar to lay open. And the back isn't tight at all, unlike how it was with the smaller size.

This size was final sale (the smaller is returnable), so hopefully this fit meets approval. I have a hunch that it will :) So ladies, what do we think of this size?

:D

I bought the JCrew linen shirt and the fabric is fabulous! It is quite boxy on me, which I am still on the fence about. But the real issue I have is the back of the shirt. You can see it in the side view of #2: there are seams up the back which is wonderful for my swayback, but then they stop and the shirt completely puffs out on top of the seams. It's like a muffin back, except it's all the fabric and none of me :p I was hoping that it would resolve itself as the fabric softened, but so far that's not really happening. Is this solveable via alteration, and if so what is needed?

I was also debating having the side seam taken in just a wee bit so it's not so straight (like on the right in #2), but still loose. After Angie said that the shirt will soften, I'm okay with waiting to see how the shirt drapes after that happens before deciding on that one. But the puffy back thing just isn't working for me. Thoughts?

I am happily at a good place in regards to my body image, but of course we all have those days when something is "too this" or "not enough that". Yesterday morning I pulled out a pair of skinny pants I hadn't worn in a month or so, and found that they were too tight; they looked like they were painted on, and not in a good way! I lamented how large my thighs were, how I hadn't gotten rid of the holiday weight yet, how bad those pants were making my legs look....

For all of 30 seconds, then I made a decision. I took the pants off, folded them nicely, placed them right on top of my jeans pile, and immediately put on something that SHOWED OFF my legs and made them look as fabulous as they are: winter short shorts, tights, and high heels, all in gray (miles long!). So that every time I passed my reflection I'd see those pretty legs and thighs, and be confident that these feelings were true. My bad legs day turned into a good legs day, and all I did was wrap them in flattering clothing. Sometimes you just need to show off a little, and that's okay.

Thank you, YLF, for helping me to have the knowledge-of-how-to and the wardrobe-with-which-I-can flatter or detract from whichever little part of me I feel like on those days when I feel I need it. But even more so, thank you for helping me realize that sometimes the best option is, in fact, to give those parts a little extra love, and that a little flattery goes a long way <3