I basically didn't order or try on a piece of clothing until the last few days of June, which is why there wasn't a budget post this past month. I've found a few great pieces though lately (and some not so great), so here are a few things I've tried lately that I thought you'd like to hear about!
Alright, first up is the outfit that I've basically been talking about for weeks now!
These high waisted Madewell jeans feel
amazing on. The material is apparently the stretchiest they've ever made, and I would agree that these have quite a bit more stretch to them than my other pair of Madewell jeans I have - but that's what makes them so comfortable. They are also thicker than some jeggings I have, so they are a bit more flattering than typically stretchy jeans are. As far as sizing goes, I'm wearing a 31 tall here (I'm 5'9'', for the record) and they are the perfect length on me. I don't know guys, I just think these are so flattering, which is unexpected. It also helps that
they are currently on sale, which is not always the case with Madewell denim.
I also wanted to quickly talk about
the shirt I'm wearing - the central shirt is a style of shirt that Madewell makes several variations of, so I'm glad I finally tried it! This clearly is not a style I would have tried previously - looser around the waist, extra fabric around the shoulders, and on the boxier end of tops. But it's also a thinner fabric that drapes nicely and is great to wear to grill outs (which is where I wore this the first time) because you can eat as many hot dogs as you want without being concerned about being uncomfortable in a tight shirt. Do I think I will own a whole
closet full of central shirts? Unlikely. But for cooler summer days to run around town in and go out with a girlfriend? Absolutely, it's a great looser summer shirt for those of us who want a bit more coverage.
Next up -
these shorts from Gap. I, like I know a lot of you, have a hard time finding denim shorts. If they fit in the legs, they are too loose in the waist. If the waist fits, chances are you'll have a diaper butt. I have a pair of shorts from Rag & Bone that I love when I put them on right out of the dryer, but within two hours, they are falling off my waist and I feel like I'm wearing a denim diaper.
Not cute. These gap shorts though are made of a 99% cotton, 1% spandex material, so they feel really great on
and don't immediately stretch out and fall off your backside. I went with my pretty typical jean size, a 31, and I feel they fit true to size. I love the slight distressing on them (very similar to
the Rag & Bone shorts...but for like 1/ 10 of the price). If you're struggling to find a comfy pair of denim shorts, definitely give
these Gap ones a try. I got them on sale for around $30, so I'm sure with the many Gap sales, you can get them for a similar price.
Okay, next up is
Ann Taylor's cheetah leaf dress. I fell in love with this dress when I saw it online, so I ordered it in a tall 10 and tall 12. I'm wearing the 10 above, as the 12 was too big on me. First of all, I love the pattern on this dress - I think it's so fun and unique. The black and white makes it super versatile. I found that the tall sizing was too tall on me though for what this dress would be - a fun summer dress for the weekends. With the covered neckline and sleeves (full short sleeves! nice job, AT), also having it go down to right the middle of the knees made it look a bit matronly on me. I also don't feel
super comfortable with just straight shift dresses. I feel I constantly have to suck in, and that's not fun when you're just trying to wear what should be a comfortable dress. So while this dress is super cute and fun, it just wasn't the right one for me...which is still hard to admit, because I just really love the pattern on it.
The
other item from Ann Taylor is one that we had a ton of discussion about
on instastories. As you can see, I loved the shirt online so much that I ordered it in both white and black (both in a size large). I am
so torn about this shirt (at least the black version - I didn't love the white version on me). On the one hand, full short sleeves, a flattering neckline, and a forgiving shape make it a great summer work shirt. On the negative side, and really the ONLY thing that bothers me, is that the sleeves are a bit puffier than normal, which creates really square looking shoulders (I called them the shoulder pads of our generation because I feel like half the blouses made have these little puffs). I kept trying the shirt on with different clothes to see if I could see past that but it's all I saw...but so many of you said that it actually creates a really flattering silhouette. So I've tucked the shirt away and am going to retry it in a few days again, just to see if I'm just being a crazy person and that the minor minor sleeve issue isn't actually an issue at all.
Next up is
this adorable pom pom top from Banana Republic. I didn't think I'd love this much as I do - it looked like a shirt that could run pretty boxy, so I didn't really have my hopes up. It's actually not nearly as boxy as I thought it would be! I'm wearing a size large here. I love the longer sleeves (that are a bit looser, as you can see above), the simple pattern, the higher neckline, and the fun pom pom detail. With a good discount, this shirt is totally worth it (I wouldn't really pay full price for it, even though it's one of the more inexpensive tops currently for sale at BR).
I've been trying to get the right size of
this linen shirt from J.Crew for like three months now. Back in like April, I ordered it in a size 10 tall. It didn't ship to me until the end of May, when I realize that it wasn't the right size for me - it was too tight at the hips, and too long in the arms. So during a recent sale, I re-ordered it in a size 12, which fits so much better. I think of this shirt kind of like the dressier version of a chambray shirt. It's soft, comfortable, and goes well with black pants, but is just slightly more professional.
It's currently 30% off too if you are interested (it also comes in a few other colors if this pretty blue isn't something your closet needs).
The last item for today is
J.Crew's utility popover. I was tempted by this top because it reminded me of
a dress from J.Crew Factory that I have. Unfortunately, this top wasn't a hit for me. I found the fabric incredibly stiff, the shirt too large on me (even though I sized down to a 10 as recommended in the reviews), and no matter how I tucked it in, just wasn't working on me. It would have been a great top to wear with blue or white jeans, but the fit just wasn't doing it for me (goes to show that with these boxier types of shirts, it's all about how the fabric drapes!).
And that's it for me! We're pretty busy over here at the moment, as I start my rounding on patients now although we have orientation activities all day. Wish me luck - hopefully I won't stumble over saying my own title too many times (it's so awkward right now to call myself Dr!).
