Petite Fashion Challenge # 6 - Dress up Your Basics

This month's Petite Fashion Challenge is hosted by the adorable Jess of Stylepint. Her challenge:

"Dress Up Your Basics: Jeans and a tee is a classic outfit starter...for this challenge, start off with a jeans and tee basic look and dress it up to show off your personal style."

I try to follow a 3-step rule when assembling an outfit. Before, I typically overlooked steps 2 and 3, but have come to realize that the extra bit effort goes a long way in adding dimension to an outfit.

To start off, "tee" doesn't necessarily mean a plain Hanes Her Way 3-pack white tee shirt. I try to buy tees with little interesting details or a unique fit. The shirt below from H&M has small perforated details, cuffed sleeves, a slouchy fit, and is just $12.95.

Tee: H&M sz XS (current)  Lace Vest: H&M sz XS (similar)

Jeans: Gap Legging Jeans in "faded dark" sz 00P (buy here)

Shoes: Target Tawny Wedges sz 5.5 (buy here)

Necklace: eBay  Purse: LV Speedy 35

My second outfit is the classic and easy-peasy blazer over jeans look, perfect for "casual Fridays" at work. Instead of a necklace, an oversized silky scarf is an appropriate accessory. I fell in love with this scarf after seeing it on the lovely Cee of To Brighten my Day. Thank you Cee for sharing the seller info!

Tee: H&M sz 2   Blazer: Theory sz 00

Jeans: Gap Legging Jeans in "faded dark" sz 00P (buy here)

Shoes: Banana Republic sz 5.5 (old)  Purse: Chanel flap sz M/L

Scarf: eBay (buy here)   Belt: Ann Taylor Perfect Skinny Belt sz S

Accessorizing is my weakness, but I've been sticking to my goal of at least one mandatory accessory a day, be it a belt, necklace, scarf, or brooch. Slowly and surely, I hope it will become second nature.

Please visit Stylepint's post to see all the other ladies' outfits for this Petite Fashion Challenge!

Petite Fashion Challenge # 6 - Dress up Your Basics

This month's Petite Fashion Challenge is hosted by the adorable Jess of Stylepint. Her challenge:

"Dress Up Your Basics: Jeans and a tee is a classic outfit starter...for this challenge, start off with a jeans and tee basic look and dress it up to show off your personal style."

I try to follow a 3-step rule when assembling an outfit. Before, I typically overlooked steps 2 and 3, but have come to realize that the extra bit effort goes a long way in adding dimension to an outfit.

To start off, "tee" doesn't necessarily mean a plain Hanes Her Way 3-pack white tee shirt. I try to buy tees with little interesting details or a unique fit. The shirt below from H&M has small perforated details, cuffed sleeves, a slouchy fit, and is just $12.95.

Tee: H&M sz XS (current)  Lace Vest: H&M sz XS (similar)

Jeans: Gap Legging Jeans in "faded dark" sz 00P (buy here)

Shoes: Target Tawny Wedges sz 5.5 (buy here)

Necklace: eBay  Purse: LV Speedy 35

My second outfit is the classic and easy-peasy blazer over jeans look, perfect for "casual Fridays" at work. Instead of a necklace, an oversized silky scarf is an appropriate accessory. I fell in love with this scarf after seeing it on the lovely Cee of To Brighten my Day. Thank you Cee for sharing the seller info!

Tee: H&M sz 2   Blazer: Theory sz 00

Jeans: Gap Legging Jeans in "faded dark" sz 00P (buy here)

Shoes: Banana Republic sz 5.5 (old)  Purse: Chanel flap sz M/L

Scarf: eBay (buy here)   Belt: Ann Taylor Perfect Skinny Belt sz S

Accessorizing is my weakness, but I've been sticking to my goal of at least one mandatory accessory a day, be it a belt, necklace, scarf, or brooch. Slowly and surely, I hope it will become second nature.

Please visit Stylepint's post to see all the other ladies' outfits for this Petite Fashion Challenge!

Petite Fashion Challenge #5: Non-Gloomy Winter Work Wear

For new readers, visit this thread for more information on past challenges or to find out about future ones.

This month's challenge is hosted by Cynthia, a Toronto petite and writer of Shorty Stories. Visit her blog to see her entry and links to everyone's participating outfits. The challenge:

"It's winter in the northern hemisphere...the challenge this month is to brighten your work wardrobe. Create a sophisticated work-appropriate look that has no more than one dark piece (excluding shoes, accessories and hosiery)."

I immediately had an outfit in mind. My coworker styled a "winter brights" outfit for me not too long ago, involving a vintage purple skirt and ruffly floral top. Alas, on picture day I misplaced my beloved floral top (as seen in this post). Unable to find other prints or brights in my tiny closet, I had to make do with this plain ole cream blouse. Now this outfit hardly qualifies for the challenge : /

Blouse: H&M sz 2, fits like 00

Pencil Skirt: Ann Taylor sz 2 (vintage) 

Heels: Ann Taylor Perfect Pumps sz 5  Cameo Bracelet: Topshop

Everything in this outfit is old, but loved. The blouse I got last year after seeing Ping style it so nicely, and the skirt is a thrift store find. I came across an Ann Taylor size 2 pencil skirt and was amazed by how small it looked. I slipped it on and the waist was a perfect, snug fit! It just needed slimming along the hips, and shortening, as it wasn't petites. Crazy to think that current-day Ann Taylor skirts in sz 00P still require costly waist and hip alterations on me (an inflation of THREE sizes!).

I wonder how old this is? Can you judge by the tag?

But would it be worth the cost of alterations? My eyes raced to the material tag. 100% wool and fully lined - test passed! The skirt itself was just $5, so even with the cost of dry cleaning ($5) and alterations ($20), it came out to be much cheaper than any other pencil skirt I own. When thrifting, I encourage you guys to look for unique colors, prints, or textures in skirts that are made with quality materials. If only simple alterations are needed, you can end up with a "different" piece at a great price.

My beloved Hemmingway tailors:

Side/back view to show how small the vintage sz 2 waist fit (I am ~5 ft, 90 lbs):

Oh, just to reiterate how tiny the closet is in my Boston apartment...this is IT. It's 2.5 feet wide, shallow, plus I share it with a boy with large clothes (lots and lots of flannel). I've no choice but to hold another blog sale soon to make way for recent purchases. Maybe next Thursday night (Feb 3rd)?

Be sure to visit Shorty Stories to see all the other outfits. This has been a:

Petite Fashion Challenge #5: Non-Gloomy Winter Work Wear

For new readers, visit this thread for more information on past challenges or to find out about future ones.

This month's challenge is hosted by Cynthia, a Toronto petite and writer of Shorty Stories. Visit her blog to see her entry and links to everyone's participating outfits. The challenge:

"It's winter in the northern hemisphere...the challenge this month is to brighten your work wardrobe. Create a sophisticated work-appropriate look that has no more than one dark piece (excluding shoes, accessories and hosiery)."

I immediately had an outfit in mind. My coworker styled a "winter brights" outfit for me not too long ago, involving a vintage purple skirt and ruffly floral top. Alas, on picture day I misplaced my beloved floral top (as seen in this post). Unable to find other prints or brights in my tiny closet, I had to make do with this plain ole cream blouse. Now this outfit hardly qualifies for the challenge : /

Blouse: H&M sz 2, fits like 00

Pencil Skirt: Ann Taylor sz 2 (vintage) 

Heels: Ann Taylor Perfect Pumps sz 5  Cameo Bracelet: Topshop

Everything in this outfit is old, but loved. The blouse I got last year after seeing Ping style it so nicely, and the skirt is a thrift store find. I came across an Ann Taylor size 2 pencil skirt and was amazed by how small it looked. I slipped it on and the waist was a perfect, snug fit! It just needed slimming along the hips, and shortening, as it wasn't petites. Crazy to think that current-day Ann Taylor skirts in sz 00P still require costly waist and hip alterations on me (an inflation of THREE sizes!).

I wonder how old this is? Can you judge by the tag?

But would it be worth the cost of alterations? My eyes raced to the material tag. 100% wool and fully lined - test passed! The skirt itself was just $5, so even with the cost of dry cleaning ($5) and alterations ($20), it came out to be much cheaper than any other pencil skirt I own. When thrifting, I encourage you guys to look for unique colors, prints, or textures in skirts that are made with quality materials. If only simple alterations are needed, you can end up with a "different" piece at a great price.

My beloved Hemmingway tailors:

Side/back view to show how small the vintage sz 2 waist fit (I am ~5 ft, 90 lbs):

Oh, just to reiterate how tiny the closet is in my Boston apartment...this is IT. It's 2.5 feet wide, shallow, plus I share it with a boy with large clothes (lots and lots of flannel). I've no choice but to hold another blog sale soon to make way for recent purchases. Maybe next Thursday night (Feb 3rd)?

Be sure to visit Shorty Stories to see all the other outfits. This has been a:

Petite Fashion Challenge #4: "Holiday Party"

This edition of Petite Fashion Challenge (PFC) is hosted by Curls and Pearls. Thank you Curls for hosting! Be sure to visit her blog to see all the other participants' outfits. I've already seen a few tonight and they are AMAZING!

The challenge: "Create a holiday party look using festive colors and/or holiday pieces without looking like a greeting card."

This was a timely challenge for me as I have two holiday parties this week...ho ho ho. I'm sorry guys, I took the easy way out again and used little creativity. After seeing the challenge I made a beeline for my closet and blew off the dust on the only remotely festive item I have. I splurged on this silk dress during J.Crew's winter 2009 final sale, then coughed up $40 more to get it altered all-around.

Dress: J.Crew Terra Paisley shift 0P (see before alterations here)

Shoes: Ann Taylor Perfect Pumps sz 5  Belt: J.Crew olive moss belt sz S

Accessories: Forever 21 - olive tights ($3.50), olive earrings ($4.95), bow headband ($1.50) 

Oh how I wish I had sexy shoes to jazz up this outfit. Alas I shop more for practicality and less for fun, so I only have these plain pumps. The olive tights (see post here) and belt looping are inspired by Anh of 9-to-5 chic. I only did black and gray tights until she got me pumped for the robin hood look this Fall. The belt looping is a simple tip Anh shared earlier this year which should come in handy for many petites...no one likes floppy ends!

For petites who want cute holiday dresses on a budget, I think Target juniors dresses in XS are a decent choice. I saw a lot of lace and ruffles during my last visit, but the bf whisked me out the door before I could make it to the fitting room. Below are some of my picks, all just $20 plus there's always a $5 off online coupon and 3% cashback with ebates.

(Click to shop)

 Refer to this post from one year ago to see how a Target juniors XS fits on me. 

Readers - what are you ladies donning for holiday parties this year? 

Petite Fashion Challenge #4: "Holiday Party"

This edition of Petite Fashion Challenge (PFC) is hosted by Curls and Pearls. Thank you Curls for hosting! Be sure to visit her blog to see all the other participants' outfits. I've already seen a few tonight and they are AMAZING!

The challenge: "Create a holiday party look using festive colors and/or holiday pieces without looking like a greeting card."

This was a timely challenge for me as I have two holiday parties this week...ho ho ho. I'm sorry guys, I took the easy way out again and used little creativity. After seeing the challenge I made a beeline for my closet and blew off the dust on the only remotely festive item I have. I splurged on this silk dress during J.Crew's winter 2009 final sale, then coughed up $40 more to get it altered all-around.

Dress: J.Crew Terra Paisley shift 0P (see before alterations here)

Shoes: Ann Taylor Perfect Pumps sz 5  Belt: J.Crew olive moss belt sz S

Accessories: Forever 21 - olive tights ($3.50), olive earrings ($4.95), bow headband ($1.50) 

Oh how I wish I had sexy shoes to jazz up this outfit. Alas I shop more for practicality and less for fun, so I only have these plain pumps. The olive tights (see post here) and belt looping are inspired by Anh of 9-to-5 chic. I only did black and gray tights until she got me pumped for the robin hood look this Fall. The belt looping is a simple tip Anh shared earlier this year which should come in handy for many petites...no one likes floppy ends!

For petites who want cute holiday dresses on a budget, I think Target juniors dresses in XS are a decent choice. I saw a lot of lace and ruffles during my last visit, but the bf whisked me out the door before I could make it to the fitting room. Below are some of my picks, all just $20 plus there's always a $5 off online coupon and 3% cashback with ebates.

(Click to shop)

 Refer to this post from one year ago to see how a Target juniors XS fits on me. 

Readers - what are you ladies donning for holiday parties this year?