Marianne: Post-Partum Wardrobe (aka, my Old Navy picks)

With only a couple of weeks left until I go back to work, it's time to face facts: most of my work appropriate clothes don't fit. SIGH. I work in a casual office and I can tell you right now, I am going to need a couple of pairs of jeans that don't create the horrific muffin top situation that I'm currently dealing with. Muffin top is too kind a word. Flesh eruption? I'll stop.

ANYWAY. I don't want to spend a lot on temporary clothes, so here are a few things I just ordered from Old Navy. They have a 30% off code (FALLFIX) running right now, so it's all pretty reasonable. For starters, jeans. Now, I am not really expecting these to work, but I'm trying to be optimistic. I ended up ordering the Rockstar Mid-Rise Super Skinny Jeans in Milkway. They come in tall and I like the color. Fingers crossed.

Women's The Rockstar Mid-Rise Super Skinny Jeans

I also took a chance and ordered the Rockstar Grey Mid-Rise Jeans. I've been wanting a pair of grey or black skinny jeans, but I fear this wash is too light. We'll see.

Women's The Rockstar Gray Mid-Rise Jeans

I've had good luck with Old Navy's chiffon button down shirts, so I ordered this neutral tie-dyed stripe version, since with the sale and code it's less than $10. It's a tricky color, but I have a tan at the moment and I plan to pair it with a chunky yet tough necklace like this one.

Women's Tie-Dye Stripe Chiffon Shirts

Orange Traffic Cone Bib

The last thing I ordered was this long sleeved shirt dress. I'm picturing it with opaque black tights and caramel wedge booties this fall.

Women's Long-Sleeve Shirt Dresses

Marc by Marc Jacobs - 85mm Wedge Bootie 626850 (Camel) - Footwear

Hopefully some of this stuff fits! I'll review it once it arrives and I'll have more inexpensive shopping posts like this in the next couple of weeks. If only I could wear my pajamas to work. Sigh.

Weekend Window Shopping: Dresses.

I'm starting to think about summer-to-fall transition dresses. You know, stuff you can wear when the weather fluctuates by thirty degrees from morning to noon. So annoying. I  particularly like these:

Old Navy Tipped-Collar Crepe Dress

Mara Dress by Collective Concepts

Donna Morgan Print Jersey Fit & Flare Dress

Have a good weekend, y'all! 

We Have Proof.

A: Watching Crazy, Stupid, Love.

M: Best ever.

A: Makeover scene.

M: My favorite part! Be better than the Gap.

A: Gosling's revulsion at the Velcro wallet!

M: I want that in GIF form.

A: I want to climb Gosling like a tree. LIKE A TREE.

M: Mhhmmm

A: I mean.

M: His booooooooddddyyyyy

A: Photoshop. It cannot be real.

M: Painted on abs.

A: Here you go:

M: Yes.

A: Even his legs are good.

M: He is ALL GOOD. Now I need to watch it again.

A: What's your Big Move?

M: God bless him he must never eat carbs.

A: Boiled chicken and spinach.

M: Vile protein shakes.

A: Poor baby.

M: He does this for us.

A: You are RIGHT. Bless you, Gosling. You love us and want us to be happy.

M: He is proof there is a God.

A: Yes. (I'm still a heathen.)

M: Well me too but honestly. Gosling.

A: Yars. 4Ever.

Review: Maybelline Volum' Express The Colossal Cat Eyes

Maybelline Volum Express Colossal Mascara is my absolute favorite. Marianne turned me on to it as her favorite and then immediately went and got a new favorite because that's how she do. I, however, love it enough that it's pretty much all I use despite having four other tubes of mascara sitting around giving me sad eyes. Too bad, other mascara! You lose.

But, I went to buy a new tube last week and saw this:

Sucker.

Maybelline Volum' Express The Colossal Cat Eyes! That is too many words! I'm an idiot and immediately wanted it just because it had animal print on the cap. Yes, my friends, I'm that easy. Put leopard print on it and I will probably paw it into my Target basket without hesitation. Plus, it promised to give me cat eyes! Hell yeah.

Or, as it turns out, not really. It's the exact same mascara but with a crappy, thin, curved brush and it's just not that great. It was harder to apply and the results seemed thinner and more clumpy.  I have much better results with the traditional brush, which gives my puny lashes thickness and length. Nice try, Maybelline. What else you got?

In more positive news, I implore you to go immediately to Sephora and check out the sale they're having on my very favorite Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliners. They're selling a few of the crazier colors for $6 which is a really good deal. I bought a back up of my favorite purple, Ransom. It's not a subtle color, but if you have brown or green eyes you need it. Just do it. Do it. DOOOOIIIITTTT.

buy meeeeee

And report back.

PS. Sephora is offering 8% back on eBates right now. Just saying. (That's my referral link, just so you know.)

Adrien: Kept It.

Oh hey, look! I kept the Olivia Harris Satchelwhich I'm sure is no surprise. It's not the same shade of blue as the McQueen bag I love, but it'll do nicely and doesn't cost, you know, $1,400. I am wearing it with a dress I love and a necklace that seemed bold until I saw the photos. It just kind of disappears into those stripes, eh? What can you do. 

dress: Gap (super cute similar)
bag: Olivia Harris Smiths Satchel (also available in green!)
shoes: Miz Mooz (similar MM style)
bracelets: Giles & Brother skinny railroad cuff

Stealth Cute.

M: Pornstache on Orange is the New Black is Liev Schrieber's half brother. I felt you should know

A: NO NONONONO

M: Yes yesss. He is cute IRL.

A: I will be the judge of that.

M: Hold pls.

A: He's okay. Nice eyes.

M: Much improved without the stache.

A: Definitely. His character is so pathetic and gross.

M: The grossest.

A: I get a gay vibe from that photo.

M: HA.

A: Maybe its the tank top.

M: I think he has a wife and kids. He's supposed to be very nice and funny.

A: That's cool too. He can stay.

M: I mean, it must be hard growing up with this.

A: I...yeah. Hard.

Review: Issa London for Banana Republic collection.

My initial reaction on hearing that Banana Republic and Issa London would be doing a collaboration was YAaayynoooo. I was conflicted. On the one hand, I love Issa London and cannot generally afford her beautiful, flattering, awesome dresses. On the other hand, name me one high/low collaboration that hasn't been disappointing. You can't because there isn't one. (Okay, there might be one but mostly they suck.)

I tried to keep an open mind and when the look book came out I was pleasantly surprised. The patterns were very Issa and the cuts looked pretty flattering and about what I'd expect. My worry was the fabric and fit because nothing beats the beautiful silk jersey and flattering cut of an Issa London creation. So I went. And I tried on. And on. And on. Check it:

The Red Ceramic Printed Dress is the one I was most excited about and, while the pattern was exactly right, the fit was way off. I'm wearing a small in this photo and it's too big under the arms and weirdly poofy around the hips. I don't know if I just got a dud or what (there wasn't an XS or another S to compare it with) but I did order an XS from the website because I'm not quite ready to give up on it.

The next one I tried was the Three Quarter Sleeve Wrap Tie Dress. This is the iconic Kate Middleton dress which I think would look almost costume-y in the blue, so I went for the Merlot. The material was an okay weight but seemed prone to pilling. And, as you can probably see, there is just a LOT of dress going on there. Instead of being slimming it's just...a lot. It was bunchy in the hips and had too much waist wrappage and was lumpy and just no. 

Next I went for the Coral Printed Kimono Dress, which I thought was kind of crazy in a good way. Or, as it turns out, a total Mrs. Roper dress. Oy. It could have but so fun but it was tunic-short and just CRAZY, y'all. I was cracking up. The material is really nice and I think on the right person it might work, but I am not that person.

I soldiered on and tried on this Blue Ceramic Printed Wrap-Tie Dress. This one is probably the most flattering of all the dresses I tried on and the print is beautiful. However, it has this odd seam around the hips that made the dress fall kind of strangely in the back. I don't even know how to explain this. Anyway, a very pretty dress (if a mite conservative) though I don't think it's worth paying full price.

Finally, I tried on the Brown Zebra Printed Drape Dress which was a little hard to photograph. It was a very flattering fit, good material, interesting print. If it had been any color but brown I probably would've been tempted but the color just did nothing for me at all. Womp.

So, there you have it. I was pretty underwhelmed by this collection, though when it gets marked down to 80% off I might be tempted. At full price? Not worth it. And most of them were dry-clean only, which I find annoying. BR has been running some Issa-specific codes so if you want something I'd wait for the next one. Also, 2% back with eBates! (That's my referral link if you want to sign up.)

Did you try on any of the BR/Issa collaboration over the weekend? What did you think?