TBMD

Today's look is about subtlety. At first glance, a black blouse paired with jeans is a pretty simple outfit. Upon a closer look reveals a black on black palette with varying textures and prints. I took a relatively busy blouse with polka dots and ruffles and offset this with a plain makeshift tie. The outcome? My favorite aesthetic, a little feminine meets a little masculine.

Until Mon. July 30th, Old Navy is having a 25% off sale on almost everything. Print out in-store coupon here (if link doesn't work, go through oldnavy.com to download) or use code ONSAVE25 for online purchases.

1) Drawstring-tube jersey maxi dress in charcoal stripe, size XS (sold here) - This maxi has been on my wishlist for a long time. Small sizes sold out quickly online and in stores, so I've been patiently waiting for returns. I lucked out and found a lone XS hanging on the rack. The material is kind of thin but comfortable. The fit is pretty decent overall, but XS P would fit me better, especially the length. I can only move up the drawstring waist so high before I start to look ridiculous. Since petite sizes are all sold out, I brought this home with me and plan on taking it to the tailors for a hem. After the promo, the maxi is $22.46 in stores and $24 online.

2) Ruffle-trim tie-belt dress in white hearts, size XS (sold here) - I was drawn to the printed hearts of this dress after missing out on J.Crew's heart throb items. Besides the print, the length is about the only thing I like about this dress. The torso is roomy, neckline a bit low, and armhole is too big. I passed. The dress is $22.46 after promo online and in stores.
I didn't see any more prints online besides the hearts, but in stores I also saw two polka dot versions, black/white and red/beige (below).

3) Whatever J.Crew releases, it's a pretty safe bet that Old Navy will soon follow, at a much more affordable price point. A perfect example is this polka dotted boat-neck sweater in sea salt, size XS (sold here), which happens to also come in a heart print much like J.Crew's Tippi in heart me. The sweater is thin and pretty much on par with Old Navy quality. The fit is pretty decent on me, but I worry it may shrink due to the material being 100% cotton. I did end up taking the sweater home with me to think about it some more. I'm not sure if $18.71 after promo is worth keeping or if I should wait for further reductions.

4) Rockstar super skinny jeans in sea salt, size 2R (sold here) revamped for 2012 in a rainbow of colors. I tried on last year's version in the same size (2R) and found the front to fit well, but the behind to be baggy. This year's version turned out to be the exact opposite, looks nice from the back but too many creases in the front. I strongly recommend trying on various pairs in the same size because I've seen Old Navy clothing to differ by a couple centimeters all around.

Both last year and this year's length is comparable, hitting just above the ankle bone on me. I felt last year's white color is more of a true white while this year's is more ashy. I passed. The jeans are $26.21 after promo online and in stores.

5) Rockstar super skinny jeans in honeycomb, size 0R (sold here) - Just for kicks, I also tried on the same pair of jeans a size down. I remember I had trouble zipping up last year's version. This year's? I got it to zip up but didn't feel and look at all comfortable. Yuck.

6) Printed cuffed shorts (3-1/2") in blue plaid, size 0 (item #: 143133) featured below left is a sale item, which I don't see any more of online. From my experience, Old Navy's shorts sizing is pretty consistent. This one fit as expected, with ~1 cm waist gap, which is fine with me. Not that I need any more gingham items, but I couldn't decide, so I did bring it home to think about further :D The shorts are $11.25 after promo.

7) Patterned chambray shorts (3 1/2") in green stripe, size 0 (sold here) featured below right is a new release. I heart stripes and the green is such a cheery color. I felt this pair fit exactly the same as the blue plaid version, with a similar waist gap. I passed on the shorts because for $17.21, they're still a bit pricey.

Along with the green, the patterned chambray shorts also comes in a pretty navy stripe version.

Happy shopping!

Hosted by Amber, Petite Fashion Challenge #18: Impress Your Date has us creating an outfit to impress our date. Generally, we wear what makes us feel good, regardless of what other people think. But what is your secret for making your outfit a little more memorable? Bonus points for pics taken with your dates or on a girls' night out!

Sorry I didn't try for bonus points this time, so instead I'll take a trip down memory lane...

DH isn't going to let me forget this, but I believe for our first date, we ate lunch at Silver Diner and then played a round of mini-golf afterwards. I'm positive I remember lunch correctly because I thought it was a splurge for two broke college kids. The ironic thing is, as we started to make money in our careers, our dates progressively became cheaper, lol. My memory's fuzzy on the mini golf portion because I don't remember why I dressed casually. I'm pretty sure I wore my typical teenaged summer uniform of a polo, denim skirt, and flats. I either said to myself 1) this is me, so take it or leave it, or 2) my competitive nature rears its ugly head when I mini-golf (every millimeter counts if I want to make that hole-in-one! So dressy clothes and teeter-tottering in heels simply won't do).

Fast forward a few years, I can confidently say that my secret for making outfits more memorable is playing up my best feature, my legs. I could argue that I subconsciously knew it back then too, but truth is, I was easily influenced (A&F ads, anyone?) and just wore the shortest skirt possible.

For mile-long legs, I pair short shorts with heels (preferably nude, not too tall but enough to achieve better posture, hence illusion of slimmer legs). My skirts nowadays are longer and somewhat (?) more age-appropriate. Typically I wear shorter skirts with flats and longer ones with heels. But for a night out, anything goes. In general, skirts won't make my legs look as long, but they're a great alternative for when I want to feel more feminine.

For this challenge, I went the skirt route and started with a blank white slate. I like wearing white because of the contrast against my naturally darker skin tone. Bright lip color and lots of jewelry later, I'm all set for a semi-casual night out.

Be sure to check out all the other participants' entries!

The third time's the charm for these adorable striped flats (if I may say so myself). The first pair fit much too small. The second pair was bought on sale, waiting to be worn with the right outfit. As it sat there, J.Crew decided to discount the flats even further, so back goes pair #2. Say hello to pair #3, bought during the recent final sale (which for once I didn't dread over fit).

That's my Goldilocks moment of the sale season.

Have a great day!

Alright, even I might be reaching my limit of wearing pinks and blues together. Here's to one last pairing for awhile the week.

Have a great Monday!