Let's sort through the contents of my order from Gap, shall we?

I really love my UPS man.  He's so nice and kind and SUPER efficient.  He always stops by my house on his way back to the facility to see if we're home when there's a signature required.  (Those packages are always a case of wine and, well, I think he understands that we'd like to have that in our hot little hands as soon as possible.)

Today Kevin (yeah, I know his name), dropped off the best box of fun ever.  It is a Big Box Of Banana Republic Fun!

Let's take inventory, shall we?

(Oh, wait.  Something you should know about me is that I habitually order several hundred dollars worth of clothes online and then only keep a fraction of it.  I actually visit the stores in person to decide what I am going to order ONLINE so I can try it on at home without a certain wiggly, whiny someone getting int he way of me making a good purchasing decision.  Lame?  Certainly.  But it works for me.)

(Also, I got 25% off the whole order because of some promo they were running so I was in a "the more the merrier" sort of mood.)

So.  Let's delve into the box, shall we?

***

Supersoft layering v-neck T, Color: true black

$19.50

Supersoft layering v-neck T, Color: new navy
$19.50

So, I got these shirts in navy and black with the intent of wearing them a lot after work and on the weekends.  I really love a good v-neck, it flatters my particular body type and I hate high crew necks because I always feel like I'm choking.  Plus, with 25% off they were like $14

Sailor pencil skirt

Color: true black

$49.50

I hated this skirt for unspecified reasons.  Also?  Too expensive for a dumb black skirt.  RETURN!

Knit pants

Color: red

Unit price: $12.50 $4.99

Dudes!  I love slash-through pricing on my invoice!  Look at all that cash I saved.  And, in case you didn't figure it out, these are pants for CLAIRE, not me.

 

Little pocket T

Color: strawberry

Unit price: $19.50 $9.99

For $10?  I LOVE THIS SHIRT.  It's soft, the sleeves go to mid-palm, (which I love in the winter) and it's such a bright fun color.  And also?  It looks great under this dress:

Double-knit pleated dress

Color: true black knit

Unit price: $59.50

Now, truthfully?  This dress is no great find.  It's just a stupid, black, shapeless dress that you can wear on your fattest of fat days and still be all, "But hey!  I'm wearing a dress to work so that's better than pajamas!"  Because of the empire waist, I could probably even wear this pregnant until about month 7.  So yeah, it's not that flattering.  But I have decided that dresses are my New Work Thing so I'm actively trying to find some that are simple, easy to accessorize, comfortable, non dry-clean-only and less than $100.  This fits the bill.  Sold.

Quilted barn jacket

Color light english rose

Unit price $34.50

I wanted to keep Claire warm this winter.  This is the jacket I picked.  Like the reviews on the site though, it's kind of smallish.  Will be exchanging for the next size up.  Cute coat though and after the coupon it was just as much as the ones at Target that I didn't think were nearly as cute.  I mean, this one has polka dots.  POLKA DOTS.  I cannot say no to those.

Origami sheath dress

Color Black

Unit price $142.00 $89.99

Again with the dresses for work thing.  I'm pretty short-waisted, so this dress didn't fit me correctly.  There was about 3" too much dress in the waist and it looked rather frump.  On a 3" taller person though, this dress would be super cute. RETURN!

Lightweight wool sheath dress

ColorTaupe heather

Unit price $152.00 

I knew this was more than I wanted to pay for a dress, but I just thought it was so cute on the model.  (Note to self:  YOU ARE NOT A MODEL.)  I even looked for it in-store to try on so I could avoid ordering a $152 dress.  But my local Banana was out of them, which made me think that maybe it might be a totally awesome dress since it was all sold out.  It's not.  The pleats are all retarded and look stupid.  RETURN!

Long-sleeve turtleneck sweater

Color Black

Unit price $59.50

They had this sweater under the dress above and really it was SO cute.  So I tried it.  And it looked stupid on me.  And this sweater is soft and nice but it hits me on the hip weird and makes me look fat so, no.  RETURN!

Eliza slouch high-heel boot

Color Black suede

Unit price $198

I only ordered these boots because after I was in San Francisco this summer and I saw EVERYONE wearing sassy boots I decided that I was woefully behind the times and I needed some sassy boots.  I also hate department stores, don't have time to drive 30 minutes to one and back to try on boots so I figured I needed to order SOME boots to try on and at least see if this was a trend I was interested in.

I AM INTERESTED.  I love these boots.  They have a too-high heel, the suede is totally impractical, they cost too much ($150 after my coupon...but still), you can't wear them in the rain, blah, blah, a thousand reasons to return them and....I can't.  I'm keeping them.  This is my splurge purchase of the season after a year and a half of not buying anything except maternity clothes, cheapie post-partum clothes I hated and pajamas. I'm keeping the damn boots.

I know I could probably find them elsewhere, at better quality for maybe the same price or less.  But, to be honest, I don't have time for that.  If I shopped around I'd be without boots until February.  That wouldn't be any fun.

***

Thus concludes the adventure with Banana Republic and Gap today.  Where are YOU shopping lately? Any finds?  I am discovering that I hate a lot of what's for sale this season, which is frustrating when I DO find ten minutes to dart into a store on my own.

Comments

[robin]

thanks for posting! i'm always interested in what other people are buying. i am not the most fashionable person & i always feel like i'm about 2 steps behind when it comes to the latest "trends."

i am in love with those layering v-necks! i think i'll have to order 1 or 2! i also like those dresses, but you'd probably need to wear knee-high boots with them, right? and, well...i can't wear heels because of my leg injuries from a 2003 car wreck, & i haven't been able to find FLAT boots that i like...yet. but, i will...i am determined!

i've always been anti-turtle necks (at least for me), but now i'm wondering if i should give them a chance again. a black turtleneck should be a staple in every woman's wardrobe right?

[A'Dell]

Let's be clear: I am not fashionable. AT ALL. I'm just trying to buy some stuff to get me by and fake it.

I kind of hate turtlenecks. My mom wears them but every time I put them on I just feel like I'm going to SUFFOCATE OMG GET IT OFF.

Flat boots: do you have to wear a total flat?? What about a little heel? My best friend and I are thinking about these - so cute in brown. It's a 1.5" heel.

http://www.endless.com/Bandolino-Womens-Castalina-Riding-Boot/dp/B002DEMGHG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&cAsin=B002DEMGDK&qid=1256162377499&asinTitle=Bandolino%20Castalina%20Riding%20Boot&asins=B002DEMGDK%2CB002DEMG3A&sr=1-1&fromPage=search&contextTitle=Search%20Results&sort=relevancerank&node=241745011&keywords=bandolino%20castalina

[Manda]

I AM SO JEALOUS! The last thing I bought myself was two pairs of stretchy jeans at Target (VIVA LA MOSSIMO!!) because it was imperative that I STOP showing people my butt crack because my pants are all too big. I know, wah, wah my problems but HONESTLY I'm a MOTHER now. It's just shameful.
Also? I want to buy myself something expensive and totally impractical. YUP.
Also? I'm going to be in Austin this weekend. Road trip? PLEASE?

[Courtney]

Those suede boots are hot!

[twitter.com/jackattacked]

My UPS guy's name is Norm. He's awesome, too. He says hi when I pass him on the street around the neighborhood.

[Mountain Momma]

Don't you ever worry that you will procrastinate returning the things you don't want and then be stuck with them, and the bill?