Petite Fashion Challenge #2

After completing my first Petite Fashion Challenge I was excited to hear about Petite Fashion Challenge #2  hosted by Alterations Needed.

But then I kind of started panicking because September was filled with personal highs (friend's wedding!) and personal lows (2 funerals :(  )  and the rest of what makes life so hectic all in between.  I had pictured in my mind to turn a Summer Dress into an approprial Fall outfit which seemed easy in theory but turned out to be quite a challenge!

Here is the dress I picked:

Dress:  RW&Co size 00

Here's my spring/summer look:

Wedge Sandals:  Avon

This is a dress I ususally only wear on vacation because it's quite low cut.  Sometimes I would wear this over my bikini if we were walking around town.

So here is how I changed it to wear for Fall/Winter:

Short Sleeved Turtle Neck:  Joe Fresh

Cardigan:  Loft XSP

Boots:  Nine West

Tights and Belt:  Winners

Necklace:  Avon

I didn't want to just throw a cardigan over it and say "yay this is Fall" I wanted to really show the layering.  I put the turtle neck underneath for a bit more modesty and to make this work friendly but buttoned the 3rd button of the cardigan up so the neckline of the dress wouldn't really show.  I also liked putting on textured tights with this.  I thought it was interesting with the pattern of the dress.

So...how'd I do on my 2nd challenge?  I think this one was even more challenging than the first LOL!  But I'm so glad I did it, I would've never thought to wear this dress to work since it was so summery and revealing but now I can, YAY!

Verrrry Casual Friday - Loft Cardigan!

I just wanted to post really quickly one of my new favorite cardigans, the famous with petites Ann Taylor Loft Ruffled Cardigan as seen on Kelly, Chloe  and on Vicky in Turquoise (I got this one too!)

I used it to polish up an otherwise very casual Friday outfit.

Cardigan:  Ann Taylor Loft size XSP

Top:  H&M size S (old)

Jeans:  Gap Always Skinny Cropped Size 00

Necklace: Avon

Close up of the pretty ruffles:

Necklace:

Ann Taylor Loft is sadly not available in Canada nor does it ship to Canada :(.  Kelly aka Alterations Needed was kind enough to acquire a few of the petite items I was coveting.  If there is an item you are looking for but are unable to get your hands on try posting a request on the AN Forum Marketplace another fellow petite may be able to help you out!

OOTD: A (new) typical work outfit

I'm calling this a new typical work outfit because it's not something I had ever worn together before but it makes a great typical work outfit for me!  It was actually inspired by Kelly at Alterations Needed when she "deconstructed" her go-to outfit.  I loved this idea of breaking an outfit down into elements.  I don't know about you, but I don't have a lot of vision when it comes to putting together an outfit.  When I see something I immediate know if I'm drawn to it but often times the vision I see in my own head does not work out so well when I'm standing in front of a mirror!  I appreciated Kelly breaking it down a bit so I could see why it worked and instead of copying the look exactly, figuring out which elements I had in my own closet to pull off the overall look.

This is what I came up with:

Jeans:  Banana Republic Trouser Jean size 0P

Blouse:  Mexx XS

Cardigan:  Old Navy XS (in Canadian stores, not online - and disappeared from the US site!  But THIS is similar)

Belt - Danier XS

Necklace:  mark by Avon

Kelly had 4 basic guidelines I was trying to follow:

1) A fun top.  I don't have too many of those so I just went with an "interesting" top with the pattern and added the bold necklace.

2) 1/2 buttoned cardigan to give an "x-shape".  I did this but the cardigan itself is a little boxy and I don't have a really defined waist so to add further emphasis I added the belt.

3) Dark Denim.  Check

4) 3/4 sleeves.  Check

I also like the flower embellishment on the cardigan to add more elements of "fun" to the look ;)



So...how did I do?

Also....don't forget to enter the giveaway from Lisa of respect the shoes.

She's giving away a beautiful Anthropologie necklace to celebrate her 200th post (WOW!!!).

Enter until September 17th!

Plight of a Petite

The two bloggers that inspired me to start a blog of my own are Alterations Needed and Petite Asian Girl .  I am petite myself standing at a whopping 5'1 and 3/4" (yes...I ALWAYS include the 3/4") and I have always found it difficult to find clothes that fit.  I honestly just accepted it.  Clothes looked decent on, or as long as they weren't falling off I thought they were ok.  Being in my 30's (but still sometimes looking like a little kid - just ask the lady at the convenience store who asked for my ID when I wanted to buy a lottery ticket!) I think it's about time I felt good in ALL my clothes.  When I found out there was an entire community of fellow petites out there my outlooked changed!  I shouldn't HAVE to settle for ill fitting clothes.  I should be able to look just as chic and fashionable as my average height friends right?

And so I've been inspired.  Unfortunately living in Canada it seems there are even LESS options for petites here - on my budget at least.  Since I've been pickier with what I spend my money I've only been able to find a few tops at select stores in the city however on trips I've taken to Florida I have been lucky to find great fitting items from the Banana Republic Outlet in the petites section.

Here is one of the dresses I picked up on one of my trips:

Dress:  Banana Republic 00P

Necklace:  mark. by Avon

I really love the fit of this dress.  It fits well at the bust and under the arms and is very comfortable to wear.  It might be slightly shorter than I'm usually comfortable with for work, but I think petites can pull it off without looking too sexy or inappropriate.

Here is a close up so you can see the light blue line in the pattern:

It's really hard to pick up in the photo but you can see the subtle blue along with the charcoal.

Since the A/C is always blasting at work I paired with an old cardigan I have:

Cardigan: Old Navy XP

This would probably be one of my first real "grown up" work outfits :P