Sveta's Blog

Remember my new KUT Mia plaid skinnies - Angie's top pick which I got at NAS past weekend?
The tags are off and I wore them to work today - Team Wear all the way!
I LOVE these jeans! They are so much fun and in the same time surprisingly versatile. Bonus - they fit me :-)
They relaxed more during a day of wear but did not bag out. They fit very similar to Banana Republic cream skinnies from last fall ( 1" shorter and more fitted on the calves but not calf-sucking way).
Per my "one in - one out" rule I am purging these KUT Catherine white BF jeans from last year. I loved them but they are just too baggy on me now (see pic 3-4). They may look OK but I don't feel fab in them anymore. I may get another pair of white BF jeans for the next summer (hopefully they will be still on trend then). This is the second boyfriend I am ditching this season! :-(

Oh, I just noticed - this was EXACTLY the same outfit but for the different bottoms.

Sorry the pictures are a bit dark: my son went away for a week and took my camera so I am trying to use my hubby's camera but have not learned all ropes yet :-(

Following my footwear NAS post here is the part 2.
I was very restrained with clothing for this NAS so I only ordered 3 things.

pic 1-3 - KUT plaid skinnies - wild card with potential to become a workhorse?
I was sure they were going to stay behind. This was such an impulse buy! However I was really surprised how much I liked them when I put them on. I have ordered 3 sizes. 30 fitted like regular skinnies which is not what I am after. Size 31 (these ones) fitted like relaxed skinnies  - enough room in the waist and hips so I would need a belt to keep them in place but not so much that they are baggy. The fit in the thighs was good too - not tight but not flopping around them either. Actually I compared them to my Banana Republic cream skinnies is size 12 and they are exactly the same size. BR jeans are 1" longer and 0.5"  wider in the hem.
The biggest con is the length - I wish they were at least 1-2" longer, they just cover my ankle bone and no scrunch. I guess I can wear them rolled for warmer weather and full length with booties in the fall.
My biggest surprise was the color. When I looked at it online I was not sure which colors can work with them. OK, cream should work, maybe grey and camel - but surely these muted warm colors are going to be a beast to style with my  - on the cool side - wardrobe?
As you saw in my other post I was wearing a printed blue shirt - and I was amazed how well it worked with these skinnies. I did not expect that! Then it dawned on me: these jeans have pale muted yellow background - and blue is a classic partner for yellow. I tried them with ink, navy, indigo, medium blue - all seem to work! How cool is that!
But yellow is also a complimentary color for purple so I tried my purplish orchid pink sweater (pic 10) - and call me crazy but I like the combination!
So unless you tell me I look like a plaid sausage in them or they are unflattering and I am kidding myself they stay. Most likely I will not wear them with a shorter top like in these pictures - just wanted a shorter top to show you the fit.
The only thing is that  I wanted fun skinnies to wear with tall boots and I don't like those with tall boots very much (I tried black, grey and cognac)...which means I may need to shop for another pair of skinnies for winter! :-)

pic 4-6 Trouve long sleeveless jacket
I think it is going to be very handy i winter and allow me to wear my blouses and shirts more while keeping me warm. This is size M, I have not even tried L as M is a bit big on top - see pic 11. On the other hand it will allow to fit it over a thicker sweater and a fit below the waist is good so S will be too tight. I think it can be altered on the top if needed.
What do you think? Does it make me look too big? I can see a lot of styling possibilities with it but is it flattering.
And Angie was right saying it is for tall gals - I am 178cm tall and it hits me just 2-3" above my knee! This does not happen often when something fits tall gals better that the average height so it is a reason to celebrate for me! :-)

pic 7- 9 Halogen striped skirt
I have ordered this skirt in all colors but as Angie predicted (she is always right!) brown-black stripe was my favorite. Unfortunately the smallest of the sizes I ordered (10) was too big (see pic 7 how it sits on my hips instead of the waist) but there were no skirt in any color in size 8 in the whole store. How weird is that - all sizes were there but 8! Anyway I decided to try on size 6 and it fitted. There was even some room left in the waist area so it was not tight. However the fit kept bothering me, especially on the back. See it in pic 9 how the pleats stick out a bit on the back and compare with pic 8 of a bigger size - how pleats skim the rear smoothly? It was just slightly snug on the lower hip but enough to bother me. SA told me the fit was good but it was not good enough for my PPP mantra so it was left behind.
(and do I get bonus points for my socks matching the skirt in pic 7? :-) )
I really like this skirt  - the pleats look crisp, the fabric has a slight sheen and nice weight, it is lined - I think it is a great skirt for this price and a fun one to play with. For it would be fall / spring skirt and possibly winter under a long wool coat or puffer (as long as temperatures allow to wear skirts at all). 
It was a bummer that I could not find my size in the store but  still want to order this brown stripe in size 8 - judging how 10 and 6 fit me size 8 should be the right one. Wish me luck!

This is my NAS #5, matching my 5th year on YLF. For those who hasn't been a witness of my prior NAS adventures a little pre-history. I live in Canada and shopping NAS is not easy. Shipping is expensive, taxes and duties are mind blogging and returns are cumbersome and expensive. Luckily I live 1 hour away from the US border and only 2 hours from the closest Nordstrom so I just drive there for a day of ""all out" NAS extravaganza.
After a couple of years I developed a NAS strategy for myself: I order everything I am considering  to the store, then coming over when it is delivered, try everything on, keep what I want and return the rest. This works for me even if creating quite a stir at the store :-)
Anyway this year I was very restrained with my NAS shopping. I have ordered just 9 pairs of footwear ( for comparison there were 24 pairs in year #2!) and 3 items of clothing. NAS is mainly footwear for me as I have a hard to find size. 
Pic #7 is where you can see what my fitting room looked like with the loot. Sorry I forgot to get a regular picture of the boxes but they were already in the room and unpacked for me. 
So this is what got away:
##1-2  Attilio Giusti Leombrini booties
They are one of the top Angie's picks for a reason. The leather is incredibly soft and they look amazingly on. Alas - they were too narrow for me in the forefoot so it was a no-go. If you have regular or narrower width foot and looking for dressy booties give those a try - they are gorgeous!

## 3-4 Aquatalia Obsession tall boots
They made me cry! Again - the leather is amazing and they are perfect in any sense! After reviews I was sure that they would be too narrow in the calf for my 15.5" calves - but they were a perfect fit, both in height and circumference...but once again - too narrow in the forefoot! Before seeing them I was not sure I want to pay $360 for them but after seeing them and trying them on there was no doubt in my mind that I would - if only they fit :-(

##5-6 Aquatalia Sweetie mid-calf boots
Surprisingly these were wide enough for my feet and a serious consideration. 
I was not sure if they look too stumpefying with tucked in skinnies or skirts but my main objective for those boots would be to wear them with slouchy trousers which would fit over the top I think. The fact that they are waterproof, warm and slip-resistant was a huge bonus - it is not easy to find dressier boots with those criteria. However in the end I decided to pass - mainly because my left foot was not 100% comfortable in them: it felt like the top of the boot was pressing on my big toe and I was afraid it would be quite uncomfortable on long walks. For this kind of price my boots have to be perfect, right? 

##8-9 Sam Eldeman (left) vs. Stuart Weizman (right)
I was resolved to get an expensive but amazing pair of boots on this sale if this would be my single purchase. As both Aquatalia and AGL boots were out it left SW "Strapduo" booties. What was suspicious for me in the first place that they were not on Angie's top pick list.
There also was Sam Eldeman "Pacific" to consider. 1/3 of the price of SW booties but amazingly soft and nice leather for this price. Actually the leather felt nicer to the touch than on SW booties. Fit was good on both and both were comfortable so it was left to looks.
Here I am wearing both of them for comparison. They looked quite similar actually with the same heel height and straps. SW are about 2" higher in the shaft and I thought it makes them unflattering, especially with skirts. Too bad I forgot to take pictures with the skirt! The main problem was the width of the shaft though which was not close to the ankle because there was no zipper in those boots. You have to undo those 2 straps before getting them on and then fasten them again. This not only makes a wide opening but also is quite cumbersome to put them on or take them off. So - you guessed it - they stayed behind. I decided that for this price they have to be perfect and they were not.

I also was not 100% sure about SE booties but they came home with me. I am going to play with them both for comfort and style and see if I like them enough. I was looking for a pair of black low heel booties last year in vain. My old black Clarks are too high in the heel for comfort and feel too clunky for my style. I like that SE booties have a nice almond toe and look quite refined - more so that SW booties - aside from the wider opening and a  strap.
I also ordered UGG Chelsea booties - really the style I want - but they were backordered and won't ship until September 25. I decided to keep SE booties for now until I get UGGs. If UGGs work for me I will return SE; if not -then if I see that comfort and style wise SE works for me they would stay. 

I also tried some other tall boots - Vince Camuto Finella in brown and grey and Naturalizer in brown. All of them were too tall in the shaft and too wide on top - none fitted as perfectly as Obsession! They seemed comfy in the foot though so if you have longish and wider calves they may work for you. The grey color of Finella is beautiful, if they fit I would get those.

So this is what got away from me today (except SE booties which are under consideration).
The post on the clothing is to follow!

  As many of us here on YLF I have caught NAS bug and have been living "on  the edge" for the last 2 weeks. I started to place my orders on the first day of pre-sale but the last order was delivered only this week so I was not able to get anything yet...but I am driving down there TOMORROW morning!!!
OK, NAS excitement aside this was my week "on the edge" of NAS. All worn to work.
pic 1 White, black and silver
Hot day and no rain so time to wear white wide leg trousers. I am looking for ways towear this black CM shirt and I like it with these trousers. Note - the day was so hot I did not even need a jacket inside: our AC at work did not do a very good job :-( These trousers were altered in the beginning of the summer - do you thing they look too baggy now?

Editor trousers - Express
Club Monaco silk shirt
J.Renee silver pumps
Silver Danier tote

pic 2  White, black and red
Thinking about Halogen skirt I ordered from NAS prompted me to war my polka dot skirt. I am not sure proportions were very good in this outfit though - do you think these Fidji pumps look too frumpy and the top is too long?

Silk sweatshirt - Le Chateau
Polka dot skirt - consigned
Fidji pumps
Chromia satchel

pic 3 Orange and windowpane
I tried to add a couple of extra buttonholes to this blouse so I can close it higher but it did not work. So I have to continue wearing it like this. I hope bright persimmon, windowpane with tuxedo stripe and leopard loafers were not too over the top - what do you think?
Windowpane tuxedo trousers - Long Tall Sally
Silk shirt - Costco
Dove satchel - Danier
Vince Camuto - leopard loafers

pic 4 Inspired by Aida's brave outfit

I liked Aida's white in the rain outfit so mach so I was inspired to copy it...well almost. It is "almost" white for me with pale pink sweater instead of white and snake tan tote instead of the sequined clutch but - hey - I also have black hair! :-) It was a cool day (although a dry one) so sweater was very welcomed.

Cream skinnies - Banana Republic
Marled sweater in "orange peel" - Gap
Ros Hommerson bone slingbacks

pic 5 Almost "blue out"

Today was also pretty cool morning so I needed a jacket. I did not wear these flares much last year (in part because they were on a snug side) but this season I am enjoying them much more.

Paige Canyon flares
Gap moto jacket
Gap luxlight sweater
Danier dove satchel
Silver J.Renee pumps

This was my week and thank you for looking. I won't be able to comment tomorrow as I will be off to NAS so I apologize in advance!
As usual all comments and suggestions are appreciated very much
Have a great weekend!

It has been a while since I posted my weekly WIW. Somehow I was not motivated to take pictures lately because there was too much going on in my "other" life. However I have noticed that taking pictures really helps when I need to understand why I was not happy in the outfit that day or why I felt especially fab. So here I am again catching up on my daily habit of pictures and weekly habit of posts!
I am also back to taking pictures inside. It is so difficult to find  a good spot with the evening light in my backyard. I need to work on it as outdoor pictures usually better.
Common theme here - I love my summer jackets to keep me warm at work in the blasting AC. Also I find that my dove satchel is now my go-to summer bag - remember how I was hesitating if i should keep it or not? :-)
 
pic 1 Graphic black and white - with navy
I was pretty happy with how this outfit came out. My only issue was that having knit skirt and knit tee felt a bit un-structured for me but adding a navy moto solved that problem. Worn to work.
Lord&Taylor sequin tee
Vince Camuto tube skirt
Gap moto jacket
Trottes tweed wedges
Danier dove satchel

pic 2 Yellow to cheer me up
And I needed that cheering! We came home on Sunday to find one of our kitties sick. She was getting better but took a turn to worse a night before so I was taking her to the vet that day before work. She had a fever so vet thought it was a virus and gave her some medications - blood tests did not show anything bad either. She was getting better again until this afternoon - and looks like we are back to where we were before..Please spare some healing thoughts for my Tigra.:-(
Anyway, back to the outfit. I was not happy how these loafers played with the bootcuts: the hem was getting caught on the top of the shoes. My SE petty booties work well with them but is is too hot for the booties and I do not have anything else with the right heel height. Oh well! 
Paige Hidden Hills bootcuts
Gap blazer
Gap white shirt
Vince Camuto loafers
Danier dove satchel

pic 3 Sky blue over a column of white
I have not been wearing my white wide leg trousers much this summer so I decided to take them for a spin for work.
Zara  blazer
Express Editor trousers
L&T sequin tee
Ros Hommerson slingbacks
Danier silver tote

pic 4 Orchid, white and faded denim
Worn to work on Friday. This is a debut of my new JCrew orchid linen sweater. Like in #1 I find that combination of this soft sweater and very loose now BF jeans does not have enough structure for me to be really happy - but adding a denim mot helps. I think I am getting ready to part ways with these BF jeans as well as they got too big for me to feel fab in them. They may not look it in the picture but they are quite baggy now. Maybe I should iron them after laundry as Angie does with white jeans...
JCrew linen sweater
Gap denim moto
Kut BF jeans 
J Renee silver pumps
Danier dove satchel

This was my week and thanks for stopping by!
All comments and ideas are very welcome as usual.