Monday, January 31, 2011

28 for 28 - The Items!

Sorry for the lack of sales posts today...I shall forgo the excuse and work-related melodrama for your benefit. Suffice to say that if I had to sum up my work day in one word, it would be "AAAARRHRGGGHRHHHHH!HHHHH!!!!H!!!!HHHHH!"

But I digress.

I bring you the 28 items that I shall be remixing into 28 outfits for the 28 days of February, which begins tomorrow!





The pictures were snapped haphazardly in about 12 minutes total, so please forgive their general crappiness.

Shoes!

* Purple flats, New Look, £8
* Studded black flats, Dolce Vita for Target, $14
* Wedges, Payless, $22
* Burgundy heels, Target, $18
* Boots, Dolce Vita for Target, $18
* Lace oxfords, Torrid, $28


 
Outerwear!

* Mac, ASOS Curve, $65
* Denim Jacket, Old Navy, $29
* Cropped blazer, Torrid
* Black knit long sweater, Old Navy, $30



Tops!
* Green striped button down, Old Navy, $12
* Yellow striped tank, Old Navy, $6
* Red striped tank, Target, $2(!)
* Old Navy black tunic
* Black long-sleeved polo, Macys, $10
* Bonjour tee, Torrid, $16
* Ivory Shirt, Macys, $3(!)
* Beaded pink shirt, Old Navy, $17
* Pink 2 layer shirt, Casual Plus. $18


Dresses and underthings!

* Peter Pan collar dress, ASOS Curve, $35
* Black tank, Old Navy, $5
* White polka-dot dress, Casual Plus, $17





Bottoms!

* Black tutu skirt, ASOS Curve, $36
* Yellow shorts, Old Navy, $12
* Jeggings, Lane Bryant, $22
* Trouser Jeans, Old Navy, $26
* Black Trousers, Evans
* Pencil Skirt, ASOS Curve, $21


YAY! Can't wait to see what I come up with! I threw myself a few curveballs in there just to keep it interesting for myself :)

Is anyone else participating? Comment or email me your blog link if you are so I can let others know.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Inspire Me Friday - Shopping Shenanigans!

A few things before we start:

A) Sorry for the late post, seeing as it's Saturday. I hope you'll forgive me ;)
B) I hope you like the alliteration in the title lol
C) I am not and have never been compensated for a SINGLE opinion or review on this blog. If it ever happens, I will absolutely disclose that. Know though, that regardless, my honesty shall never be compromised (that being said, I'd love to review items from ANY of the stores mentioned in my blog! email me at frugalistafatshionista[at]yahoo[dot]com)

Moving on...

I wanted to add another segment in the rotation for Inspire Me Friday...this segment will be dedicated to reviews of places to get your fatshion! I'll be looking at online stores, boutiques, independent labels...but no matter what, it'll be places that I have personal experience with. People are always asking me where to buy certain things online, how easy it is to actually purchase from a particular retailer, whether lines tend to run true-to-size, so this will be my platform to get all that information out there, one retailer at a time.


This month, I'll be talking about the first plus-size retailer I ever truly embraced, Torrid.


Some of the looks I've rocked with Torrid apparel:

Torrid Graphic Tee
Torrid Tube Top and Blazer
Torrid Corset Belt
Head to Shin Torrid (cuz the shoes are Old Navy lol)
What To Buy Here: I like to get damn near everything here, actually! LOL They don't have much in the way of basic tees, but they have all sorts of pants and jeans...Source of Wisdom jeans in particular are probably my favorite thing on earth right now. SO comfortable and they come in 5 different inseams! I love Torrid for casual and cocktail dresses, though their selection of the latter tends to be limited. Every swimsuit and board short I own is from Torrid, as well. I especially like their range of wide width shoes and boots, though I had to return both a pair of knee high and thigh high boots because they were too tight around the leg for me.

Website: The website is very well organized. There are different categories for types of apparel, what's new to the site, and a clearance section. Each section is organized into subsections, which can be further broken down into different price points and by size. I love this, because there's few things worse than seeing something amazing and realizing it cannot be yours because they only have the smallest size left...With this feature, out of sight, out of mind LOL You also get to keep an infinite wish list which lets you know when something is out of stock, but leaves it to you to remove the item at your discretion.

Prices: To be perfectly frank, I buy from Torrid literally 2-3 times a month...but only when something is on clearance, or better, when clearance is half off. I stalk the items on my wish list until they are discounted, then pounce. I don't recall EVER buying anything full price on Torrid. This can be tricky though, because once an item in on clearance, it cannot be returned, so this might a strategy best left to someone that has been shopping Torrid for 5 years like me (LMAO or maybe not quite as long as me, but someone that is experienced with their sizing, etc).

Sizing: Basically, if it's so cheap that you won't cry if it doesn't fit, or if you KNOW it'll fit, clearance all the way. If you're unfamiliar with Torrid, you should probably order a regular priced item so that if it doesn't fit, you can return or exchange it. In my experience, Torrid runs true to size, and they will usually let you know in the description of an item if it tends to run small, which is AWESOME. As with any online shopping, know your measurements and compare them to the size chart before ordering, to make sure the items are for you. Torrid runs from size 0-5, which is an equivalent of 12-32. Again, check the size chart for conversions.


Delivery: I've never had a problem with Torrid being crazy late with a package, or getting a package lost, in the 5+ years I've been buying from them. I don't have a Torrid near me for over 300 miles, so every single thing I've ever bought from them has been online, and it has been A LOT over the years. They send you email alerts when your items ship, and a tracking code so you can follow your package all the way to your door.


Returns: I've only had to return those boots I mentioned earlier, and since I had never gone through the return process with them before, I decided to send an email to a customer service rep. She got back to me within a few hours and explained the process to me very nicely. You do have to pay for return shipping, which is taken out of the refund amount, but the process is very quick. I got my money back 2 weeks after I initiated the return, which is way faster than any other return I've done elsewhere. I have had just this one experience, so it might have been a fluke, but I was satisfied with it.


Quality: The only problem I've ever had with quality at Torrid has been with their shoes, a pair of which broke in half upon first wear a couple years ago. The top of the wedge completely came off mid-step. I had gotten the shoes on clearance, so they were unreturnable. Other than that though, I've never had a complaint about quality in all the years and all the orders Torrid and I have had together LOL Then again, keep in mind that I DO NOT pay full price for Torrid garments EVER, so I am comparing quality for what I get them for. If you pay full price, you might be expecting more. Again, if you are unfamiliar with Torrid, try them out with a non-clearance item so you can return it if you aren't satisfied, but once you are familiar with your size there, you'll find you can order boxes and boxes of clearance things and never be let down :)





 So, there's my review! I hope this helps anyone out there that is newer to fatshion or online shopping, and if you have any questions regarding Torrid, please let me know and I'll do my best to answer them or to find the answer for you.


If you have a fatshion store/boutique you'd like me to review, or if you would like to be a Featured Fashionista, please contact me at frugalistafatshionista[at]yahoo[dot]com

Friday, January 28, 2011

Torrid - $20 Off for Divastyle Members!

All Divastyle members (a reward system for Torrid) get $20 off an order of $100 or more! Use code 20OFFDVSONLY at checkout. If you aren't a Divastyle member...WHY NOT?! LOL You get 5% off every purchase on top of whatever discount code you might get from me! ;) Check out  Torrid here.

In related Torrid news...

I have been DYING for that blue floral dress on the right since I saw this banner weeks ago, and yet I've looked ALL OVER the site and can't find it!!!! HOW CAN I MAKE THIS DRESS MINE?!

/endfreakout.

That is all. LOL

Jessica London - Black Friday in January!

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Ashley Stewart - 25% Off!

Go here!!!! :)

Catherines - 30% Off!

Anna Scholz - Up To 80% Off Sale Items!

H&M is going to start shipping to the US!

Granted, they won't start until late 2011/early 2012...but it's a start! Who knows if maybe someday we'll see the B.I.B. collection in the US, too!?

Sometimes, bitching pays off! LOL

Boutique Larrieux - 75% Off!

Yes, off EVERYTHING!!!! They're making room for their spring line, so hop to it!

Enter code 75OFF at checkout...head here to check out the store!

I just had to break my shopping ban...cuz I got my first Monif C. dress for $50! WHAT?!??!

Yeah, I don't feel so guilty about cheating, cuz I'm sure most fatshionistas would for that deal ;)



Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Newport News - Free Jeans With Every Purchase Over $100!

Torrid - 50-75% Off Outerwear! (til 6pm Eastern ONLY!)

Avenue - Up To 75% Off Clearance!

I'm back! And I need to vent, so sorry in advance...

After A LOT of thinking, then crying, then thinking some more...I've decided to leave grad school.

I was very torn because I have never quit anything in my LIFE, especially something academic, which has always been my strength, but after lots of soul-searching, I realized that at least for now, psychology is not what I want to do with my life. I love it, I love to learn about it and study it, but it's just not want I want as a career.

So what DO I want to do? I don't know. I'm happy where I am right now, and I know this type of job suits me, so I'm going to develop my skills more in insurance and financial services and see how it pans out. I'm just super tired of being unhappy due to something that I'm confident I don't even want.

When I enrolled in grad school, I was actually just calling to get information, and that three hour phone that developed turned into me being accepted. I never thought I'd be accepted to grad school, PERIOD, so that was awesome. Checkmark for me on my list of life goals.

Then, I was terrified because I'd have to take graduate level statistics. I'd already taken 3 statistics courses (twice each), just barely passing each time. I would NEVER be able to pass graduate statistics!

But I did. With an A-. The best grade I've gotten in a graduate course yet. Another checkmark for me.

But then, what? I realized I accomplished things I never thought I would, and I was proud of myself for that, but there was no longer any appeal. When the going got tough in undergrad, I would say to myself "stick it out! you'll have your bachelors soon enough! Then it'll all be worth it!" and it was. I wanted it, so I stuck it out, and I got it. But I don't want this. So why waste any more time being stressed and miserable when there's not even that prize to be won at the end? That thing that will make it all worthwhile in the end just doesn't exist for me.

My husband says I'm brave. It takes guts to recognize when something is not making you happy and then doing what you can to change it, even if it's scary, he says. I can see what he means, but I don't feel it. Not yet, at least. Hopefully some day.

All I feel is shame that my parents worked so hard to get me an education up to finishing my bachelors (which I did with a 75% scholarship all the way through, but still, it couldn't have been easy for them) only to take my education into my own hands and decide it's not for me. I feel like I will be letting them down. I'm also scared I will regret it later when I have children and it's not easy to return to school should I decide I'd want to. But I have to do what's right for me, and the moment my husband told me he supported me completely and thought I was brave for doing what I was doing, I immediately felt a relief I couldn't even describe.

Since just before we moved into out own place, I've been doing my grad school program. Right after I graduated, we were planning to try to start a family...so when would I have time for me? When I'm retired and too old to do any of the things I want?

Leaving something undone is one of the hardest things I've had to do. Don't think for a second that "quitting" or "dropping out" is easy. It's not. I've been in the game for 2 semesters since finishing stats trying to convince myself that it'll all be worth it, and each day just made it more apparent that I started this whole thing just to prove to myself that I could, not to make me happy in the long run.

It's my life. I might regret this choice later, but it's my choice. And I have to do it. 


Again, sorry to vent, I know I don't usually get this personal on the blog, but I had to put that out there into the universe.



On to your regularly scheduled sales posts :)

Friday, January 21, 2011

Inspire Me Friday - Style Icon!

 In this installment of Inspire Me Friday, I want to bring the focus to everyone's favorite Fatshionista, Beth Ditto! (ok, so idk if she's EVERYONE's favorite, but she's totally mine and definitely an inspiration!)




 Speaking for myself, Beth Ditto in bodycon outfits and out-there ensembles has totally given me both inspiration and courage to try out styles that I otherwise might not have ever even tried on, let alone rocked!


omg I need this dress in my life!
Then of course, there are her ranges for Evans...um, LOVE! She started her first line in collaboration with Evans in 2009, and I regret to say I wasn't "IN" the fatshion community back then, because I really missed out! When her second range dropped in 2010, I was all over it!!!


I'm DESPERATELY ISO this dress in a UK22 or 24, if anyone is willing to part with it. KTHX!
One of my favorite dresses (and I have A LOT of dresses) is one from the latest range, seen on me here!

Beth Ditto...talented singer, outspoken goddess, and STYLE ICON! Keep rocking it, Beth! This Fatshionista hearts you 4EVA!!!! :D



Sources: one. two. three. four. five.

Alloy - up to 30% Off!



OneStopPlus - VIP Secret Sale!

Take an extra 40% Off Clearance with the code OSPWEEKEND40 at checkout.

The clearance section can be found here.

Happy shopping!