Aida ~

Haven't seen any of these in person. The first two are petite (I think both also come in regular too). The third is regular but could be hemmed if you're not super petite, and look interesting because they're trousers and not denim.

Well I'm still recovering from this weekend's festivities, but for now I thought I'd share my purchases.

I started in on the shopping on day 2 (Saturday). First off, I have to say that shopping with a group as large as ours was Quite The Experience. I really enjoyed watching and helping others shop, as crazy as it was! I stuck with Angie's group (20+ of us?) after lunch for the Nordstrom run (great for the big group, as we could sort of split and re-meet as needed). Ann and I scoured the entire handbag department and had fun looking at all the pretty bags (and I managed to only knock over one display ;) ). After that, it was back to shoes to see what others were trying on. Once the group moved on from shoes, I popped over to Topshop and found myself a cozy black and white plaid coat (finally!!). I also ordered cream cropped pants, which Sveta also bought, as my size wasn't at the store. They look proper culotte length on Sveta, and I've got fingers crossed that they work out for me as well -- although I will be chopping off quite a lot of length.

After lunch we hit up several more stores (Ann Taylor, Loft, Club Monaco, Express, Nordstrom Rack, Zara... probably others that I'm forgetting). For the first time I didn't buy anything at Zara (!), although there was a cream quilted jacket that came very close to following me home. At Ann Taylor, several of us tried the marled short sleeve sweater which also comes in cream. Two sizes fit with different vibes, but in the end I chose to buy the shorter length specifically so I could wear it with my flares and skirts since I have less options there. Of course, I just had to wear the sweater immediately the following day for oysters. Mary and I also both bought a sandy tweed moto, though it's not really a need so I'm thinking it over.

Managed to be quite reserved on day 3 (Sunday) and not purchase anything, although the taupe booties that Mary bought were very tempting. Ultimately I decided that the toe shape just wasn't quite pointed enough for me so I left them. Also found BJ1111 a pair of navy booties, which was something she was looking for (I was tickled to have spotted them ^^).

On day 4 (Monday) we went to a different shopping area to start off, University Village, which included a stop at JCrew where I picked up a mixed-plaid scarf. At another store I also tried on the white/navy plaid shirt Angie recently featured, but unfortunately they didn't have my size there. Then we headed back to downtown where we stopped by Macy's; there I got some much needed sock liners, along with a taupe gold-studded belt (couldn't get a Find for it, but it was a total steal).

All-in-all, I'm very pleased with my purchases! Except for the tweedy jacket, everything else was on my f/w shopping list and fill various holes, plus they all make me very happy. Overall a bit darker than I normally go for, but they should all work quite nicely with the f/w pieces already in my wardrobe, particularly the lighter colored pieces. Looking forward to playing around with some new combinations!

UPDATES:

• Tweedy Jacket - After wearing it around the house all
  morning, I've decided that I will take it back. It saddens me not to be
  twinnies with Mary, but I tried it with many of my tops and the body/arm
  lengths just weren't working quite  right.
• Culottes - Arrived this morning and fit very nicely! I ordered a size up from my usual. Super duper long though, to my ankles, so they'll need to be massively hemmed before I can wear them. Now to figure out what length I want them.....

Hi ladies, I had a quick question about how the stores are handling the mech for this year's NAS. I didn't hit last year's in person so I'm not sure if they stuck with it, but are they doing the thing where they have only some of the items at a store (minus the flagship which has it all) in sizes you can take home that day OR are they doing the thing where all the stores have all the stuff to try on but you then order to ship what you'd want? Thanks :D

A dear friend of mine is looking to step up her work wear, and I was scratching my head trying to remember what stores and brands are best suited to rectangles; she's also tall and long limbed. All I could think of was JCrew and maybe Banana Republic? No brands came to mind. Clearly my rectangle knowledge is lacking!

We're looking at lower-to-mid range for now. She doesn't have huge shopping stamina, so I'd really like to be able to just take her to places that we know ahead of time are rectangle friendly. Once she gets some essentials then we can branch out, but for now I think limiting where we go will be a huge help to her.

So over to you gals, what stores and brands fit our lovely Racy Rectangles best? I'd love to hear any suggestions you gals have, either for work or casual wear!

OK I'm finally biting on the Okalas. I know lots of us have these now, and have a question on the sizing. I'm sometimes 7.5 and more often 8; I kept the 8s in the Bella Vita 'Wow' pumps for reference, though they're a wee bit large. Which size of the SE should I get? I'd much rather not order two sizes. Thanks!

I'm thinking of asking for one of these as a birthday gift and was wondering if you (or anyone else) have seen either in person. From the various reviews across this bag's colorways, it seems that the leather is soft and not stiff which is a big plus for me, but there was a couple complaints about the snake stamping looking cheap. If the quality is good, then I'm torn between which one to get. I'm leaning towards the white/cream because that's a wardrobe hole and the all light tugs at my heart strings, but the orange/gray seems fun. Tough problem to have, I know ;)

(OK my last post for the day and I'll quit being such a forum hog!!)

Hi ladies, if anyone has these red pants in a size 4 regular or tall length at their GAP and could possibly purchase for me please let me know :)

http://www.gap.com/browse/prod.....=349597012

Unfortunately I will be sending the JBrand Love Story jeans back tomorrow :( I loved the way they fit me but if I get them hemmed the 1.5" I need I just lose too much of the flare. I'm pretty set on having a 20" leg opening. So so bummed, because the material and wash are perfect if only I could keep the leg line and wide opening! I'm thinking a long pair with a 22" flare would work so that when I hem them they drop down to 20". What other brands, premium or otherwise, have a similar fit model to JBrand? Besides my BF jeans and the white KUTs, I haven't bought new jeans in *ahem* several years and have no ideas whose cuts are like what. Or maybe you know another faded (distressed could be OK) pair with a bigger opening that I could try. Thank you!

One of my goals this year is to try and focus my style more sharply, and be stricter about achieving a more cohesive urban/punk/70s look. I know I haven't posted any recent WIWs (working on that) but I think I've been doing OK with what I've already got in my closet (not all of what's in there jives with this for one reason or another). So the prime area of focus for this idea has been on new items I bring in, coupled with how I put them together each morning.

However as a somewhat eclectic dresser, it is sometimes difficult for me to figure out when a purchase that steps outside of my desired style vibe is worth getting and whether I can successfully work the piece into my style. I have been trying my best not to use the "I don't really wear cardigans and I don't have any other purple, buuuut I should really keep this no-longer-worn flyaway cardigan in case I ever want to wear purple" idea both while shopping and while closet editing. Very hard for me, but I'm improving!

So, along with some very Aida-like spring purchases (e.g. cream moto vest, boxy light-wash denim shirt, white slouchy clutch...), I also recently purchased two dark horse items: A sleeveless button-up blouse with a teacup blue floral print (#1), and a baby-blue-bordering-periwinkle kitty-print boxy button-up (#2). I had been waffling on whether to keep these and determine if they are in-line with my style goals. Ultimately I decided that while they aren't exactly an obvious choice for my urban/punk/70s style, I will be keeping both items because:

1. Even though these aren't colors I normally go for, these mid-tones actually work quite well with the rest of my wardrobe, and soft blue is my current color crush
2. I can already think of so many ways I would wear them
3. And most importantly: they just make me so happy to wear!!

Using the happiness factor concept for these items has, much to my surprise, helped keep me more focused on the rest of my purchases: by making the oddball item decisions easier I find I'm spending a LOT less time worrying about whether or not to keep those types of items and can instead focus more of my energy on the things that are more in line with my overall style goals. What a revelation!

And yes, I do need those few oddball items :)