Accidental Outlet Shopping Trip: Part I

Next week, I'll be starting an away rotation at another hospital, so I took a day off to go get my badge and various paperwork done yesterday.  And surprise surprise, the place I had to go to was literally down the street from an outlet shopping center!  Now I don't know how I made it to this age without ever going outlet shopping before, and this almost felt like some kind of divine intervention lol... I had to check it out!

There weren't as many stores as I thought, and I only ended up going to a couple of familiar names.  First was Banana Republic, which has been a major snoozefest lately... and to add insult to injury, I feel like they have been inflating their XXSP and 00P sizes compared to a few years ago.  But I gave them a chance and did manage to find a couple things to buy.

First was this top which fit surprisingly small in XXSP ($20):

I could've sworn I saw something very similar on Kelly from AlterationsNeeded a while back, and a quick search through her archives showed that while hers was also from a BR Factory store, the style was a little different.  This top also came in several different colors, but this was the only one that was still available in XXSP.  I'm not completely in love with the print, but in the end the slim fit won me over.

Next was this jacket, also in XXSP ($50):

I initially tried it on in the XSP size, and really liked the sweet and feminine style with the ruched shoulder detail, slight bell sleeves and cropped length.  But it ran big and was boxy on the side view (not pictured).  And even though it was fully lined, it was a little more expensive than I wanted to pay (LOFT totally spoiled me!).  I mentally told myself that I'd get it but if only there were an XXSP... and as I went to put it back on the rack, I discovered an XXSP that I had somehow overlooked!  How could I say no then? :)

Another item that I liked in XXSP was this jean jacket ($60):

The fit was pretty darn good... the sleeves were a tad long, but not terrible.  I was so tempted to get it, but it wasn't on sale and I couldn't convince myself to fork over the full $60.  I even texted pic to hubby to ask for opinion, and he responded that jean jackets are so 90's lol.  After much deliberation, I left it behind... but I'm kinda having some second thoughts!

Some other things that didn't work out include this print wrap dress:

I had it wrapped so tightly that I couldn't really move my shoulders/arms, and still it was cut too low for me and the length was also too long.  But with a hem job, I can see it looking great on someone like AN since I know she loves her wrap dresses.

This knit dress was also a bust:

The length and armholes were good, and the material was a substantial thick knit.  But it made me look so boxy and shapeless, and may be better suited for curvier gals.

The last BR item I found in XXSP was a miserable fail:

I don't know how they could conscionably call that an XXSP... baggy armholes, wide and boxy shape, and waist ties squarely on my hips!  Tsk tsk.

That's it for BR... I also got a couple things from Ann Taylor, but will save it for the next post! :)