PFC #6 - Dress Up Your Basics

The sixth Petite Fashion Challenge is being hosted by Jess of Stylepint!

The Challenge: 

Jeans and a tee is a classic outfit starter. 
 Start off with a jeans and tee basic look and dress it up to show off your personal style.

I cheated a little and started out with a striped tee (but forgot to take a plain "before" picture, sorry!)

Top: LOFT Painted Stripe Boat Neck Tee, size XXSP
Jeans: A&F Kids Maddy Skinny, size 12 
Necklace: Charlotte Russe (similar)

I'm terrible at remembering to accessorize but am trying to improve... and here I added a newly-acquired long drapey chain necklace to balance out the boatneck of the top.  The attached flower on this surprisingly inexpensive necklace makes it almost like two accessories in one!

And since I easily get cold, I almost never leave the house without some sort of cardigan or jacket.  I decided to add a spring-appropriate blazer on top.  I usually prefer my blazer sleeves scrunched up, and here I thought that the effect of the striped sleeves peeking out underneath kind of gives the idea of a striped jacket... but without the commitment! 

I love that the flower on the necklace serves double duty as a faux flower pin on the blazer too!  Please forgive the feet-less pics... I had on flats but they were a baaad idea.  I was going to change to pumps at the time for a lil' more sophistication, but hubby came home with dinner and I was starving so that was the end of my photoshoot.

Not the most creative effort I have to say, and the attempt ended prematurely before I could try again with different shoes, a belt, etc. due to an unexpected injury.  But at least it is a casual look that I can wear without feeling like I'm trying too hard.  Don't forget to check out lots of other outfits from this Petite Fashion Challenge here!

My First Theory: The Gratian Blazer

Ever since Kelly of AlterationsNeeded first wrote about the Theory Gratian blazer, it seems like virtually every petite who managed to get their hands on one has absolutely loved it.  And even though several other Theory blazers have come onto the scene since then, I still secretly wished for but had given up hope on ever finding my very own Gratian.  They simply weren't available even if I had the $$ to pay the hefty full price (which I don't!).

But I must've been a VERY good girl last year because not only did the style resurface over the holidays in a black textured version, my Secret Santa also helped me track down the ever elusive size 00!

This was my very first Theory item and I love it.  Since Jean of ExtraPetite already did a thorough post on it here, I won't go into too much detail.  I knew it ran small from seeing it on other petites, but was still quite surprised at the shrunkenness of it in person.

 

It's slightly boxy on the side view, but because the length is cropped enough, I think it's still do-able.  And the best part?  A very reasonable price tag for a Theory blazer since it was an outlet find!

Thanks Santa!!  You're amazing and I'm so glad we wear the same size! :)

Abercrombie Short Shorts

This summer I'd been on the search for shorts that fit.  The search was pretty unsuccessful (see previous attempt), but I guess I wasn't looking too hard because this SoCal summer never really got that hot except for a few random days.  Of course as soon as summer was over, I stumbled upon these!

I was really hoping to avoid kids sizing, but it was inevitable... how could I pass up these Abercrombie Kids shorts that fit better than anything else I've tried on, and for the bargain price of $15!  These are no longer available online, but are pretty similar to this pair that's the same price and still available in many colors:

Mine has cuffs at the bottom and comes with a belt, which I got in the above khaki and also this light gray, both in size 12:

They fit relatively well, but hubby is concerned that they're too short lol.  I actually would've gotten the other pair above without cuffs/belt, except that one is almost an inch shorter!  I think the ones I got are already pushing the limits, so that other pair would've been too indecent to wear outside.

I would probably wear them untucked, but here they are tucked so you can better see the details:

The belt is purely decorative since it's loosely fitting even on the tightest hole, but it's removable so I'll probably do without to reduce bulk.  Sadly the weather is now too chilly to wear shorts, but I will be saving these for next year!

Loving LOFT!

I swear my closet is starting to resemble the racks of the petite section of LOFT, because it seems to be the only place I'm buying from these days!  The latest addition is the Pleated Fan Front Stone Mosaic in XXSP:

I was actually surprised by how much I like this top.  Neckline and armholes are perfect, and the fit is a relaxed blousson style.  I think black and white prints tend to be more versatile and can go with almost everything.  The price wasn't too bad either since I got it during the BOGO sale with an extra coupon.

I'd also ordered the V-neck Long Cardigan in XXSP in several different colors to decide (since my local store didn't carry this sweater).  Here's the Vintage Blue and Feather Green:

Skirt: A&F skirt in XS from this post

I also got it in the Oak Brown Melange and Wild Berry, and I have no idea which one(s) I'm going to keep yet.  Any opinions on which colors you love or hate? :)

This cardigan is actually on sale right now for $25, and those with a savings card from their recent promotion can score two for ~$18 each after tax + shipping!  Otherwise free shipping is on again for $125+ and they're also offering an extra 25% off sale items.

Ann Taylor Pleated Trim Tank

This is going to be a quickie because I've got lots of reading to catch up on for work/school aka residency.  And because I promised I would in the last post, here's an "outfit" with the A&F print skirt:

I actually mainly wanted to share this petite-friendly top from Ann Taylor, the Pleated Trim Tank, which is now on sale for $28 with the 40% off discount and is still available in XXSP in several colors.  The fit is actually very decent, and the armholes are perfect as you can see in the second pic.  I originally wanted it in this port color, but it's always been sold out in XXSP online:

The material feels great, but I have no experience with Ann Taylor tops so I'm not sure how well it'll hold up over time.  And even though I like the idea of the front ruffles, I'm not entirely too sure about the execution on this one.  The price is also on the expensive side for me even with the 40% off, so I'm still considering whether or not this is a keeper.

Belated Labor Day Finds

I've been studying night and day for weeks to prepare for a board licensing exam, and finally got it over with today.  Yay for freedom!  And although I was supposed to be studying during Labor Day weekend, I made a quick trip to the mall anyway to pick up this LOFT Ruffle Trim Wrap dress that I'd tried on earlier and was now on sale for $30:

Luckily there was still one left in 00P!  And while I thought that was a pretty good deal, I also found something else that's probably my best bargain buy to date... this cotton dress in 00P:

It's no longer online so I'm not sure what it was called, but was originally $80, on final sale for $14, and with the additional 40% off it came out to a grand total of $8!!  The dress is nice and fully-lined.  The straps are a little long and will need to be taken up a bit, but no biggie... did I mention it's $8?? :)

On impulse, I also grabbed the Flutter Silk Dress in 00P, on sale from $128 down to $48:

And while Vicky loves it and it looks great on her, this shade of red doesn't look the best on my skin tone and I have some small issues with the fit.  Nothing major but I'm not in love with it, so I think I'm probably going to return.

Right across from the LOFT store at my local mall is an Abercrombie outlet store which was advertising an extra BOGO 50% off so I took a quick look... and walked out with these in size XS:

The print is really lovely in person, and the blue is actually more navy than in the picture.  The skirts are soft, lined, are a good length, and came out to ~$15 each.  Although they were definitely an impulse buy, I think I'm going to keep them!  Will try to show them in an outfit in the next post.

It seemed like this Labor Day was rather disappointing for a lot of people, but there are still good sales to be had!  I believe LOFT is continuing their 40% off sale items promotion online and in-store, and Ann Taylor is offering 40% off 3 or more full-price items with free shipping on $150+ (code ANNSTYLE or SEPTCC).  Finally I can re-order this ruffle blouse I've been waiting patiently for since this post... and probably a few more goodies as well! :P