Thrifting Queen

So bought this vintage coat a few months back from a vintage store because I fell in love with it's oversized, menswear-inspired, no collar, no button type of style. I think it fits right in with the current oversized coat trend. At the time I first showed it, the reviews were mixed and I'm ok with that. Angie liked it over the black sheath dress, as do I but thought the sleeves were a bit overwhelming.

This is where I need your keen eyes (and yes...I actually mean it - lol!). Pics 1, 2 and 3 show the sleeves as they are currently. And pics 4 and 5 are with them rolled under by approximately 3-4 inches.

So my questions are:

1. Do the sleeves need to be shortened from the original length?
2. If so, does the length in pics 4 and 5 work or do they need to be shorter still?
3. Do the sleeves need to be taken in to reduce the volume? Although that could change the integrity of the coat and the style.
4. Should I just chalk this item up to a bit of a "love mistake", pass it on and forget about it?

Thanks for any and all suggestions :)

If I remember correctly, Angie has commented recently that jackets shaped like the Theory Lanai jacket work well on women with shorter necks, fuller busts and apple shapes. This was discussed a fair bit with respect to the Halogen taupe leather cut-away jacket featured in Angie's NAS picks. It's all related to being able to "fill out the jacket".

Let me see....shorter neck? Check. Fuller bust? Check. Apple shape? Check. 

So does this mean that in theory (pun totally intended) the Lanai jacket is my "perfect shaped" jacket?

Following my Keep/Sell post on this recently thrifted blazer (http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....avy-blazer) it was felt a few more modern stylings should be shown to get a true feel on the fit and style of the blazer and whether or not it should stay in my closet. My outfit in the K/S thread was sadly lacking any "oomph" so here are a few stylings illustrating how I would wear this blazer.

So what do you think about the blazer after seeing these outfits? Does it stay or does it go?

#1-3: TR Cameron slim BF jeans with fully buttoned crisp white shirt and Doc Marcie boots.

#4-5: TR Cameron slim BF jeans with fluid navy/white wide pinstripe shirt with white collar and blue suede booties.

#6-7: Silky black textured trousers with ink blue hi-low light knit sweater and black patent Ara booties.

#8-9: B44 dress with blue suede booties.

#10-11: INC tiered dress with blue suede booties.

#12: white JS sized up skinnies, Gap white sweater and python booties.

Pil recently offered for sale a Nine West "Magic Dress" on our own YLF Style Exchange and I promptly scooped up this fabulous offer. I have enjoyed seeing the various coloured versions of this dress on other Fabbers and was dying to give it a try and add another dress to wardrobe at a fraction of the new cost.

I received the dress today and I think the fit is pretty much spot on. Here are a couple of quick pics and stylings to see what you think.

Pic 1 - 3: The dress on its own with my nude pumps.
Pic 4: with my blue lace moto and black pumps. I like how the colours in the dress sleeves peek out from underneath the lace moto. 
Pic 5: with a black blazer and my Blondo boots. I could wear it this way in the winter with tights. I would actually wear it with my leather blazer but it is currently at the cleaner's getting ready for fall so I just popped on this black blazer to show the colour contrast.

I consider this dress a fall/winter item due to the longer sleeves - it would be much too hot in summer here. I can also see it with a denim jacket topper and my blue suede booties. Any other styling suggestions my wise ones?

What do you think? Is it staying in my closet? 

Pil - thank you soooooo much :)

The day after I received my TR Cameron Slim BF jeans (http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....n-slim-bfs) I knew I wanted True Religion jeans in white. I have never owned premium denim IN MY LIFE and could feel the quality of the Cameron's as soon as I tried them on.

My white Jessica Simpson sized up skinnies have done me well but they bag out pretty badly by mid day and are not holding up as well as I'd like. And the slim cropped Reitman's pull on white jeans are already falling apart (what do you want for $20?).

However, I knew two things about this hunt for white TR's: 1) I would not pay full price since I couldn't really spring for two pair of premium denim in one week and; 2) I didn't want the Cameron's in white. I love the big back pockets of the Cameron's in the denim finish but did not want the big pockets in white jeans (just too much "white butt", you know?).

So I found these TR Phantom Brianna white jeans, brand new complete with tags, in my size, on eBay for $63 (plus $7 for shipping). She had a 14 day return policy so I ordered them literally the day after I got my Cameron's. 

They arrived today and I couldn't be more pleased. Same great quality as the Cameron's and perfect fit - not too snug, not too loose. According to a bit of internet research, the Phantom Brianna's are considered a "baby BF" - not totally baggy but not a snug fit either. 

These aren't up for a Keep/Return vote as I am most definitely keeping. I am asking about hemming length though. Like the Cameron's, I'm hemming to my most common heel height so am using my nude pumps as my "fit shoe". Do these look about right? Also, do I want to hem them with a one inch cuff like I did with the Cameron's (as per Angie's suggestion) or do I treat these more as regular jeans rather than BF jeans?  Would love your advice :)

P.S. I haven't washed these yet so they are a bit stiff. I will definitely wash before pinning to take for hemming. Also, the rear view isn't stellar but I don't bat for Team Rear anyway. I'm fine with this backside view.

Do you ever get drawn to an item that is clearly not your regular style and you can't pinpoint exactly why you love it, you just do? 

I feel this way about the Eileen Fisher drapey cardigan I recently bought. It clearly doesn't fit with what I normally purchase and wear and yet, I JUST FELL FOR IT.  And I'm totally looking forward to wearing it once fall comes around.

Do you think it's these types of items that end up propelling us into a style shift? Or maybe we just enjoy wearing something less predictable and having an item that can change things up when we're in the mood?

So ladies...do you have any "not my style" items that you bought and love?

A while back, I posted about this Eileen Fisher drapey cardigan I fell in love with (http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....me-in-this) and there were some questions as to whether this was an item that could work with my style - valid questions as this is definitely a different kind of piece for me.

It arrived yesterday but in our home frenzy, I didn't even have a chance to try it on until just now. First of all, the eBay seller I bought this from was stellar and I can't believe the price I got this cardigan for, which was still in its original package with price tag on.

The merino wool is extremely soft and lightweight but I can tell the sweater will have some warmth to it when the cold months arrive. I'm intending on using it for both dressier outfits at work and with jeans/tees for casual.

I've quickly done a few stylings of the sweater over top my black sheath dress and with my Doc Martens Marcie boots, one of my favourite pair of boots to wear with dresses in the winter. 

The sweater fits beautifully (Petite Large). I could have probably gone with a Petite Medium but I like that there is room for me to layer over top a thicker and sleeved under layer so I'm fine with that. I am showing it both loose, with a wide belt (might be better with a thinner belt) and crossed over and pinned with a vintage brooch so that it resembles a cowl neck sweater over the dress.

To say I love this sweater would be an understatement. It is soft, comfy, warm and versatile. Stepping outside your comfort zone can sometimes be a bit empowering. I'm definitely keeping it - but will admit, I'm still curious about what you think.

Over to you ladies...

We often talk on this forum about book ending our footwear with either something in the top half of our outfit or with our hair. And we have also talked at great length about nude or blonde footwear. 

I have become a complete convert of the nude (for me) footwear concept with my taupe patent pointy toe pumps - which I do not book end with anything. I have also fallen in love with light colored footwear for summer with my bone/silver sandals and my bone laser cut oxfords.

This has me thinking about light colored boots for fall/winter. I had to purge my light beige suede ankle boots due to the high heel height but I really liked how they could make a fall and winter outfit look less heavy when worn with nude micro fishnets. 

So could light colored boots work for me? Something like these?

There's something about this Eileen Fisher merino wool cascading front cardigan that is very appealing to me - in fact, I can't seem to stop looking at it. IMO it is a cardigan but with structure. I am normally not a cardigan person because I prefer the structure of a blazer but there are cold days when I occasionally want to wrap myself in something softer, you know?

I like the slim sleeves, the ruffles cascading down the front, but then in the back the waist is accentuated. It also has this hi-lo peplum effect. It is not a typical shapeless cardigan.

I can see it over top my black sheath dress with tights and boots on a colder day, over a white tee and jeans, etc. But it is different for me so I'm curious - could you see me in this?

This is a slightly hypothetical and slightly real question - it is currently available in my size at a fabulous price, complete with returns.

Thank you to everyone who replied to my thread asking for help on deciding what dress to wear to my son's graduation dinner & dance http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....nner-dance. I've decided to go with the blue lace dress which I love and always feel great in. And yes Angie - I knew you'd pick that one :)

After the great shoe/sandal purge of 2013, I don't have a lot in the way of colored dressy sandals to wear so options I have to go with the blue lace are my Enzo Angiolini cut out black patent pointy toe pumps (see pic 1) or my Kate Spade cobalt patent pumps (see pic 2 - actually shown here with the lace dress). My other option is to check out my favorite upscale consignment store and see what they have for metallic strappy sandals, something I don't have. What is your choice?

Then I need to look at which clutch to carry - I could go with the cobalt and yellow clutch in pic 1, my white leather clutch, the one I bought last year and haven't even used yet (see pic 3) or also check at the consignment store for something sparkly. Which one? And I guess it depends on what I wear for shoes.

For jewelry, I will wear my diamond stud earrings, cocktail ring and a large cuff. I don't wear a necklace with this dress because it catches in the lace.

I've also attached pics of what I think I'll wear to the Convocation ceremony. If the A/C is freezing in the church, I can leave the jacket on and if it's warm, I can take the jacket off. I'll use the white leather clutch but am going to switch the shoes to my new silver/bone sandals. Do you think this is ok?

Thank you so much for your help ladies :)