augh, where's my camera charger?

Quick!  send me good vibes and luck to find my camera cord and charger!  I need to revive the darn thing so I can download a  couple random photos that are trapped on it and so I can justify a teensy little trip to my favorite store on Friday in "celebration" of the holiday weekend (ok, so really I have an exchange I want to take care of, but hey, celebration sounds so much better, doesn't it?) Good vibes = more reviews :)  lol

Thinking of Fall and superstretch

Thinking of Fall and superstretch by denimdreaming featuring silver jewelry

outfit planning

outfit planning by denimdreaming featuring fossil belts

Is this good for the brain? (and does it really matter?)

At least three times in the past week I've had a conversation with someone about what I'm currently studying, how many classes I'm taking, and how many computer programs I'm currently learning simultaneously.  (for the record, that would be- a- graphics technology aka graphics arts, b-5, and c-4).  Part of me thrills to the look of shock that I'm tackling that many computer programs at once- the other part of me realizes that three of those programs are Adobe based and therefore have the same skeleton so it's not like I'm learning them from the ground up.  Every once in awhile there's a little voice in my head screaming that I'm going to get it all mixed up and start confusing my Flash with my Dreamweaver with the InDesign and lose the plot altogether.  At least I know that Painter is different enough that I'll never be confusing it with anything else, but darn it, we go and use Illustrator and Photoshop in that class occasionally, so....  So yeah, the question is, is this good for my already taxed mommy brain?  (anyone else find that keeping thoughts organized got forever harder once motherhood entered the picture?  because OMG, the past six years have been an exercise in absentmindedness!)   And really....does it even matter since I'm realistically  having more fun than I've had in a long long long time?  :) 

Mystery Dresses now have names!

yay! my reviews can now be named :) Rodna Halter Dress and Winter Tree Shirtdress reviews can be found at the end of this review post :) http://denimdreams-denimdreaming.blogspot.com/2011/08/review-time-noriko-vanda-tsuru-and-two.html

Both are beautiful, but I know the Rodna has been creating a fair bit of buzz already due to it's predecessor :)

Mystery Dresses now have names! by denimdreaming on Polyvore.com

OOTD 8/25/2011

By Thursdays I'm just sort of wiped out from classes.... and today I've been up since 5am doing homework to boot. Since Irene by product storms are expected today and I have three classes that I want to be comfortable in, I'm going lowkey- but not so comfy that I'll sleep through classes (hopefully!) (and high surf warnings.... pretty sure I won't be going near the beach but that might affect my route to and from school funnily enough. I like water views while I drive!)

OOTD 8/25/2011 by denimdreaming featuring slim straight jeans

Vogue Inspiration: Modern Vintage

Vogue Inspiration: Modern Vintage by denimdreaming featuring teardrop jewelry

Review time! Noriko, Vanda, Tsuru, and two mystery dresses :) (and so much more!)

As promised, here come the rest of my photos and the official reviews from my trip....

teaser pic ;)

Going to start with a couple buttons downs I had to try on out of curiousity- first was the
Traced & Tabbed Buttondown  style # 21335823

 I was hoping to like this top after how cute it looked both in catalog and 'net shots but you know what?  It's stiff chambray- almost denim and it's extremely blocky.  The dots are cute, the upside down pocket is quirky, but nothing else does it for me.  It's uncomfortable and unflattering.  Pass from me.

Refined Scallops Button-Down er, Button up  style # 22813034
Pardon me while  I have a bit of a personal crisis on what tops like this are actually called....  lol.  I picked this one up to try on because it was pretty in it's delicate- lacey-ness.  It has the white button down look, but with some soft feminine details thrown in.  Does not have the traditional button sleeves.  Not sure how I felt about that- might limit options with this top, might not (since they weren't full length, I'm not quite sure how they would work under a jacket for example.).  It's not as sheer as I was afraid it might be- nude undergarments worked just fine.  Yay Lili's Closet!  Undecided.

Puckered Pocket Blouse

style # 22846448
silk

Another blouse I'd seen in the catalog but puzzled over how they styled it (how they currently have it styled online makes more sense to me- I see this as a blouse, not some sort of jacket...but that's me).  This blouse has some beautiful details that completely won me over- and had the SA and a lady on the fitting room couch ooohhing and aaaahing.  Poet type sleeves that aren't too Seinfeld-puffy-shirt, beautiful pleats at the shoulder that add the perfect shaping into the bust- nicely shaped into the waist- not close in but not tented either....and a gorgeous teal and lovely creamy color.  I love this blouse.  And yes, that second shot is my attempt at showing off the sleeves.  Don't laugh at my pose too much :P    Wishlisted for sure.  

Noriko Blouse style # 22806491
This isn't a bad little blouse- it has pretty flat pleats  in the front, a simple empire-ish waistline, and a nice print, but honestly, I'm getting tired of empire waistlines.  I sized down, my tts would likely have swamped me.   Something about how the sash tied (positioning maybe?) saved it from looking completely maternity on me, but I wasn't bowled over by this blouse.  It was simply "okay" which on a day of "wows" ended up being a pretty low score over all.  Pass.

Vanda Scoopneck

This little tee type top by Postmark is an interesting juxtaposition of casual and dressy.  It has a tee sort of styling with a sheerness and dressy fabric that dresses it up- and the floral print is very pretty.  I didn't mind the flowiness of my tts- and since it has no real stretch, I'm not sure I could have sized down anyway.  I really enjoyed this top but I can't really put my finger on what it is about it that I enjoyed so much- is that strange?
wishlisted for consideration at sale.

Yumi Skirt  seen above and another picture below.  This was probably the one that surprised me the most even though utlimately I didn't like it....  Let  me explain.  I love most things by Girls of Savoy.  But I looked at this pencil skirt online and saw the fussiness around the hips and saw that it was made of linen and pretty much decided it was a no-go.  Had to try it anyway. I was surprised to get my tts on and to not mind the straight on view....   Pencil skirts either work or they don't with me- they either fit and flatten my tummy or they bunch in weird ways and give me a massive pooch.  This one was an exception to those general fit rules.  It fit....but gave me a massive tummy.  I'm sparing myself and anyone reading this the profile picture that I took (and then nearly ran screaming from when I viewed it at home before I hastily deleted  it) that demonstrated said pooch.  It was decidedly NOT PRETTY.  and it was also exagerrated from reality- like fantasy proportions.  (aw heck, you can almost see it in the below pictures....honest that's not really how bad my tummy looks...it's not great, but sheesh!)  Not sure what was going on there- wasn't even the front pleating....just not a good thing, at all.  So major, major, non regretful PASS from me. 

Continuum Wide-Legs

Cartonnier's wide legs have this shoe string in the back that allows you to tighten them instead of belting....and a high waist.....which is why I had to try them on in the first place.  I'm not really ready for wide legs to come back, but had to see what to expect anyway.  These are super soft and the unexpected details are sort of neat.  But overall, I'm just not ready for wide legs... :)  Pass

Slackened Utility Jacket 
I could have sworn this jacket was by Daughters of the Liberation and not Cartonnier like the website says..... not sure if I'm remembering wrong or if Anthro has mixed up the brands again.  Either way, the softness and green and cut wooed me in store- and the fit is  soooo close to perfect- but the damn sleeves are too tight.  There is really very little room for any sort of sleeves underneath the jacket I have on in the picture and really, what use is a jacket that you can only wear over a short sleeve or sleeveless top?  I love how it has the adjustable tie in the back and the cut of it is great otherwise.  Sad.  Pass.

 

Tsuru Blouse- Yes, I mentioned this is the post below.  Actually I think I gushed about it.  I love this top.  It has a kimono cut.  This is another one that the SA and lovely woman on the couch talked about for quite awhile- along with the maxi skirt I will talk about in a moment.  In case you're wondering, this is an outfit I put together while I was wandering the store....  it struck my eye and spoke to me, lol.  The blouse cuts in at the right place on my waist- emphasizes the narrowest part in other words.  The pleating below the bust is lovely.  The sleeves mean that a cami or bandeau is needed underneath or I will have to never ever raise my arms around another person or I will show them my bra and my everything....since they are definite kimono sleeves.  The color....is a beautiful berry- deep and just yum.  And it's silk.  And the fit is divine to the point I felt like someone had tailored it for me.  Thanks Maeve for making me feel so special!  

Post Impressionist Skirt- Fei Since they are in pictures together, I'm going to continue before putting pictures in...This skirt is a long long maxi- as in, it reaches the floor for me.  (some maxis only reach my ankles, due to my height, this I was afraid of walking on.)  the hem is simply serged though, so it would be an easy-ish hem job......although getting it straight might be complicated by the pleats if you were doing a home job.  The colors are beautiful.  It runs big in the waist- I easily sized down and might consider at least trying an 8 for size just to see.  It flows so gorgeously when you walk....I felt like a glamour girl in this outfit in general and I know this skirt had a lot to do with it....  wishlisted, wishlisted, wishlisted :)

Finally! mystery Maeve dress!  So gorgeous!!  I'm going to call this one Asian wrap dress.  (if it's an Asian wrap....would it be a spring roll?)  This is a silk dress, with two buttons in the front, one or two inside, and honestly, it's sort of a wrap dress, sort of a shirt dress.  The sleeves are definitely Asian inspired.  The print struck me as Asian inspired....  It has a sash.  I tried on my tts first, and then sized down and got a better fit- and only lost a tiny bit of length.  This is not a very long dress, that's for sure, but the length didn't bother me too much. I can see wearing this with tights later thanks to FL weather- and blazers, cardis etc to elongate the wearing season.  It's a navy and tan, which means, neutral and neutral to me- which means, mix and match with just about any color.....  and the sash can easily be removed and replaced for more options.  I really enjoyed this (and the next dress, of course!)  If you can tell the difference, the first pic is the 12, the second is the size 10. 

Girls from Savoy (Traced and Twirled?) green corduroy dress :)  This was a beauty- from afar it looks like velvet or velveteen.  You get closer and you can tell it's a forest green cord.  Very soft, fine wale cord.  As I do with most GfS dresses, particularly ones with elastic in the bodices like this one, I sized down.  Fit was beautiful.  It emphasized my curves perfectly.  It would have looked even better with the proper undergarments, but hey, it didn't do too bad at offering me temporary support.  This dress will sell and sell fast I'm guessing. 

I have to say....Fall is definitely looking good so far at Anthropologie.  I'm impressed, excited, and just plain waiting to see what's next.  Yay!  :)  Thanks to the Orlando store for giving me such a good time today, you gals rock!

Dressed to Impressed- Fall Anthropologie :)

Dressed to Impressed- Fall Anthropologie :) by denimdreaming featuring feather shoes

Review posts to come- but first an outfit I loved :)

 

So I did one of my marathon sessions at Anthropologie today- and snuck in a bit of time at Banana Republic too because I had to sneak a peek at the Mad Men collection (only a couple of pics from there, but the details in their regular fall line are actually very nice.  I was impressed!)  I have a lot of photos to edit, and at least two dresses that are not on the Anthro website yet- including the new version of the beloved Traced and Twirled dress.....  BUT to tide you over until I get all that editted done, here's the outfit that wowed me other than the dresses (because honestly, both dresses wowed me too). It's the Tsuru blouse and Post Impressionist Skirt- I'm not all that into Maxi skirts normally, but something about this print, the pleats...I wanted to try it- and it played on the color of the Tsuru just right.  I was swishing around the dressing room for some time, lol.
As usual, my camera was being crappy....  so I helped the quality of the photos as best I could, but yeah, they are what they are. 

As promised- the rest of my photos coming soon :) 

Wonderful Show Your Style Challenge on Effortless Anthropologie!

 

The lovely Roxy at Effortless Anthropologie is having a brilliant contest involving Polyvore (I can't seem to get rid of my link above, so uumm....pay more attention to the ones that are in Roxy's links or in the text that follows. I'm having formatting issues tonight *blush*  

Effortless Anthropologie now has its very own Polyvore group. Create your fall outfit set and submit it to the group for contest consideration. You may enter as many sets as you want. One caveat: the sets must contain at least one Anthropologie item. At stake: a $250 Anthropologie gift card! Not a member of Polyvore? You can sign up here (it's free).

If Polyvore isn't really your thing, she has another giftcard for $100 also up for grabs- Just by letting her know one item from Anthro you can't live without this Fall.  Easy peasy.  So why aren't you heading over there already?  oh!  I might know why, because I'm a slacker who hasn't put the link in yet!

Here's the link to Effortless Anthropologie:   Effortless Anthropologie  And good luck in the contest!