Inspire Me Friday - Trend Alert!

Good afternoon! It's Inspire Me Friday, which means it's time for Trend Alert!

This week, I want to talk about a trend that I am LOVING...stripes!

I've been known to rock the stripes every now and again...

And if you're a bigger girl who's not quite sure if you can rock horizontal stripes, this article might surprise you! :)

Here are some of my favorite striped styles this spring! As always, click the photo to go to it's source! Happy shopping, Fashionistas!!!

Faith 21

Old Navy

Torrid

Faith 21

30 for 30 - 20/30

The Usual Suspects:

* Brown Jacket
* Blue Dress
* Black Heels

The Accomplice:

None today.


I really don't like this dress. Rather, I like the dress, I don't like how uncomfortable I feel in it. I just feel like it's so short, though the yellow skirt is about as short and I feel fine in it for some reason. Maybe if I wear it with tights, I'll like it better?

Have you guys noticed the different background? I've been taking my OOTD photos in our bedroom lately, since my home office is such a warzone right now. 

Forever 21 Plus - 10% Off Sweaters!

Use code COZY at checkout...check out the wares here!

30 For 30 - 10/30

The Usual Suspects:

* Black Button Down
* Blue Patterned Dress
* Black Sandals

The Accomplice:

* Black Bangles, $6 for a set of 6 at Torrid


I'm not used to wearing such short hemlines, especially for work, but I thought this was a cute combo, and it's nice to see that wearing the dress as a skirt wasn't difficult. Yay for finding new ways to wear things! Next time I wear this dress though, it'll probably be with some tights, at least when wearing it to work.

30 for 30: The items!

After MUCH deliberation, I finally picked my 30 items!

Here they are:

from left to right:
1) Torrid heels
2) Old Navy ballet flats, approx. $12 on sale
3) Torrid wedges
4) Target sandals
5) Torrid booties, $38 on sale

6) Alloy - yellow skirt
7) Loop 18 - black skirt

8) Beth Ditto for Evans -  floral dress
9) Faith 21 - Woven Surplus Dress

10) Torrid - Gray Shrug, $8 on sale
11) Old Navy - Khaki Trench
12) Torrid - Blazer
13) Old Navy - Brown Corduroy Jacket, about $24

14) Torrid, Black Leggings
15) Old Navy, Blue Khakis
16) Torrid, Cuffed Jeans
17) Torrid, Gray Skinny Jeans
18) Evans, Black Trousers
19) Torrid, Black Capris

20) Old Navy, Graphic Tee, about $12
21) Old Navy, Black Tunic
22) Dorothy Perkins, Striped Button Down
23) Old Navy, Black Button Down
24) Casual Plus, Grey Top
25) Old Navy, Graphic Tee, about $12

26) Torrid, "Muggle" Raglan Top
27) Alloy, Nautical Tank
28) Old Navy, Gray Ruffle Tank
29) Old Navy, Blue Button Down
30) Old Navy, Dark Gray Boatneck Top


Project starts tomorrow! Can't wait to see how I do!

Forever 21/Faith 21...I WANT to love you, but you make it so difficult!

I went to the mall last week and was pleasantly surprised to find that the Forever 21 had moved to an anchor position in the mall in order to make room for their Faith 21 department. The store was CRAZY huge! The section of the store was small compared to the size of the overall store, but there was plenty to choose from, and it was great to SEE and FEEL the fabrics before deciding what to buy.

My sister (who is nowhere NEAR plus sized) even had her own little shoppers discrimination moment, as I call them (LOL), where she found something she LOVED (a beige sweater with puppies painted on it, in this case) in the plus size department, and after frantically asking 3 different employees if they had it available in straight sizes and getting resounding NOs, she said to me "so this is what its like for you to shop!" LOL YES MA'AM! Sucks to be in a straight size store, find something really cute, and know it will never fit! Now the shoe is on the other foot! She has a newfound appreciation for my shopping experience, and she made me proud when she said "whatever! I'm gonna make it WORK!" and bought it in an XL anyway, deciding she'd belt it and wear it oversized. Good girl!

When I got home, I realized that one of the dresses I bought didn't fit quite right in the chest area (damn these larger than average breastases! LOL) and that one of the other dresses I bought, which I had been coveting for weeks (its no longer available online, but it's the cute dress that had a purple plaid sheer top and a high waist black skirt) was RIPPED. I'm talking a rip that I could fit my arm through, right across the chest. Completely unfixable and unwearable!


CUT TO THIS WEEKEND...

At the earliest I could, I went back to the store with my sister to get my money back for the above mentioned dresses. Receipt in hand, I walked up to the counter and explained my situation. The douchebag Pauly D. lookalike tells me they can't take back the purple dress cuz it's ripped. Um, no shit, Sherlock. Didn't you hear me just tell you that's why I'm bringing it back? Well, they can't resell it in that condition, so they can't give me my money back. OH! SO SELLING IT THAT WAY IS COOL, BUT NOT RESELLING IT, HUH?! Basically, the guy told me in his own way that I could shove the dress up my ass for all they care, but that they didn't give a crap that they sold me a faulty product.

When I ask about the other dress, the guy has the BALLS to tell me "Yeah, that one I'll let you return." OMG THANK YOU! Fucking asshole, as if you're doing me a favor. But it gets better! He busts out with "so what do you want for it?" Excuse me? "Yeah, what are you exchanging it for?" Um, your JOB in a minute. I told him "straight up, with the service you're NOT giving me and the piece-of-shit quality of these clothes, why the FUCK would I want anything else from here?" I made sure to say it nice and loud too, so all the other shoppers would be made aware of this ridiculousness. I keep it classy, but I am NOT ABOVE causing a scene to get a point across.

They refused to give me cash back so I settled for store credit. To use online. I still haven't heard anything back from THEIR returns department, but I FOR SURE am not giving that store any more of my money. Fuck that.


So, yeah. All you Miami-ans, for top notch service as described above, go to the Forever 21 in Dolphin Mall, and give 'em a big UP YOURS from me. Thanks.

OOTD 10-17-10

1.Denim Jacket, $29, Old Navy

2.Woven Surplice Dress, $22, Faith 21

3.Wedges, $22, Payless

I hope everyone has their purple on today!!!! 

Faith 21 wish list/review

They seem to have posted some new stuff between yesterday and today, and although my experiences with Faith 21 have been very hit or miss, there's some stuff I just love and would love to try out in store soon!

Metallic Beaded Tube Dress
$27.80

Drape Front Top
$19.80

Abstract Empire Dress
$19.80

Bundled Up Cardigan
$24.80

Longline Cardigan Vest w/ Leatherette Belt
$24.80

As far as my last online purchase from them, I'm sending 2 of the 3 things back, and that third thing is sticking around by a very narrow margin. The printed belted dress was ALMOST kept, because I loved the length and the front, but the belt doesn't go all the way around (it's just stitched on the front) and that makes the back look weird. The woven surplice dress is the keeper, because I managed to find a bra that wasn't visible due to the low cut. The classic ponte dress is the one I was most excited about, but the one that most undeniably needed to go back. There wasn't enough room in the top for my boobs, and that made the whole thing look awful (an empire waist giving you four-boob is NOT a good look, no matter what size you wear).

So, yeah. I'm waiting on all these returns before I bother shopping there online again, unless something phenomenal because exclusively available on the website.

Faith 21 is changing it's name?

to Forever 21 Plus Sizes. Wow. Cutting Edge stuff right there.

On one hand, I guess it's a nice idea because it shows that plus size and straight size girls are on the same level, so they should be under the same brand...

BUT...

If that's the case, shouldn't it just be Forever 21, available in size 0-3x? If you're going to try to homogenize it so that big girls lose their identity, do it properly.

I personally am a little more than just irked by the impending name change, especially considering that the straight sizes have several brands to themselves (Heritage 1981, Love 21, Twelve by Twelve, and of course, Forever 21), and we can't even get one stinkin' brand to ourselves.

Thoughts?

OOTD 10-6-10

Sunglasses: Bass Pro, $20
Tunic: Old Navy, < $20
Belt: Torrid, but I took it off the dress it came with, so idk how to put a price on it...
Leggings: Faith 21, $5.80
Sandals: Target, $22

I don't know why, but I REALLY liked this outfit. I think the belt made it. The leggings kinda suck (I like the navy color and the length, but they're a bitch to keep in place) but they're not awful.

AND there's nothing in this OOTD that's a new purchase, so it just goes to show that there might be something to this remix challenge...

I do need new shoes though, fo' realz.


I got a BUNCH of packages in the mail today and yesterday, but grad school is currently kicking my booty, so hopefully I can catch up with both my review posts AND my homework tomorrow!

OOTD 10-4-10

To commerate the "Autumn" weather we had this morning...it was 75 degrees and breezy til about 11am, and it is currently 89 degrees out even though it's damn near sunset. Yay, Miami's bipolar weather!

with cardigan

without, duh.

Sunglasses: Bass Pro, $20
Cardigan: Old Navy, approx. $20
Tunic: Faith 21, $22.80
Camisole: Old Navy, probably between $7-$12 (I wouldn't have paid more for it, but I can only guess cuz it's a billion years old)
Leggings: Faith 21, $5.80
Sandals: Target, $22




Plus an outtake from this OOTD LOL

Exchange?

Items I'm exchanging for the Faith 21 things I'm returning, so it totally DOESN'T count as a violation of the shopping ban ;) right?

Printed Belted Dress, $19.80

Woven Surplice Dress, $22.80

Classic Ponte Dress, $24.80
 

I'm telling you, I REALLY want to love this store! One more chance, and that's all!

OOTD 10-1-10

Upon further inspection, I realize that the leggings were a bad idea with this dress, but it was cooler out today (75 degrees...that's cold in Miami!) so I wore leggings and I was even wearing a black cardigan from Old Navy earlier in the day!

And of course, in true Miami form, I was wearing open toe shoes, because you can always tell a Miami-an from their naked feet no matter the weather!

Dress: Faith 21, $24.80
Leggings: Faith 21, $5.80
Sandals: Target, $22
Brady photobombing the picture: priceless


I still really need that haircut. And a necklace to wear with this dress.

Faith 21 hits the runways

I'm excited for what it represents (the idea of bringing plus size models to the mainstream), but I really don't know what to expect...I hope there's some place where we'll be able to see the show, or at least some of it.

Faith 21...hit and miss, as is the concensus

I ordered 7 items from Faith 21, and when the order arrived yesterday, it was decided almost immediately that half the items would be going back :sad face:

2 of the items that I'm keeping are leggings, and it's pretty hard to mess up leggings, so maybe those should be excluded...3 of the 5 legit garments simply did not make the cut.

Funny enough, the one item that I figured I wouldn't like (the woven cap sleeve dress) is one of only 2 garments I'm keeping. I'm actually wearing it right now, and I'm a bit upset because I think a Pumpkin Spice Latte fiasco this morning might have ruined it (damn you, Starbucks!) and if that is the case, I'll rebuy this dress. Promise. It's THAT cute. It's the perfect length, just above the knee, the material, although a little rough, is heavy duty stuff, and the exposed zipper in the back is ADORABLE.

The other item I'm keeping is the floral trim tunic. Very cute, but VERY low cut, so I'm going to need to wear it over something.

The grommet trimmed dress felt like it was made out of burlap and the shape did nothing for me (I should say "what shape?", but I digress...), the button trimmed tunic was completely see through, which sucked cuz I REALLY wanted to love it, and the slit goes up to your belly button so idk what the hell I'd wear it with even if it weren't so crappily made. The electric stripe top I almost kept, because I love the belt that comes with it SO much, but the top was made of this really unflattering material that served to show off the curves in all the WRONG places, so back it goes. I'll miss you, pyramid belt.

So yeah. The first (and only other) time I ordered from Faith 21, I ordered 2 tops, one of which I LOVE and the other of which I didn't but kept anyway because it wasn't worth the hassle to return...so based on my experience, one is expected to hate 50% of the things they order online from Faith 21 LOL I'm packing everything up tonight so I can make the return hopefully on Monday.

If anyone has a favorite item from Faith 21, I'd love to hear about it because against my better judgment, I'm really really trying to LOVE this store.

I've been shopping WAY too much!

Floral Trim Tunic
$22.80

Grommet Trimmed Dress
$27.80

Button Draped Tunic
$17.80

Woven Cap Slv Dress
$24.80

Electric Stripe Top
$22.80

My latest purchase from Faith 21...which is the plus size department of Forever 21.

I've only shopped here once before, and I loved both tops I purchased! One of those tops was supposed to be a a dress, but one thing I've heard (and witnessed that one time) is that their dresses are REMARKABLY short and not for the modest! That being said, I also bought a couple pairs of leggings and dug up my tights from We Love Colors in preparation for these tunics and "dresses".

I'm pretty sure that if I'll be disappointed with anything, it'll be the Woven Cap Sleeve Dress, just because I have pretty crap luck with thick empire waist bands making dresses look more maternity than plus size...I usually love empire waist dresses/tunics and I own a fair amount of items with that silhouette, but it all depends on the material of the garment. We shall see!