LOFT Holiday Outfit Series & Sweet Velvet Petites Sale

I wanted to do a quick post about the holiday outfit series that fellow blogger Tara of Mix and Match Fashion posted this week (first post starts here). For the past 4 days, Tara featured some of her favorite bloggers in holiday ensembles containing LOFT items. Tara is a teacher (a rather stylish one, may I add) who loves LOFT. As many of you may already know, LOFT offers a 15% discount for teachers on every purchase, possibly combine-able with sales. You just need to apply online or in-store for a savings card.

I haven't shopped at LOFT for a while because I'm slightly sized out of their dresses, skirts, and pants. However, I did score 4 of their awesome long cardigans a while back which fit great. Working with what I have, this was the best I could do for "festive":

Dress: J.Crew paisley dress as seen here, sz 0P altered

Cardigan: LOFT V-neck long cardigan sz XXSP

Skirt: Sweet Velvet Petites Grace Pencil Skirt sz XS, pinned back

Pumps: Ann Taylor Perfect Pumps sz 5

I love the thought of layering a dress under a skirt to make it more versatile. However, the ensemble I have here just doesn't work. My dress is empire-waisted and the skirt is low-rise. Ideally you'd need a fitted dress that tucks in nicely, and a naturally high-waisted skirt. To be attempted again in the future...

This Sweet Velvet Grace Pencil Skirt in XS sits lower on my hips, which was surprising because an earlier S.V. item I tried on in XS was quite snug. I prefer my skirts to come up to my natural waist, but this could work for others who are a little bigger than me, or for those who prefer skirts to sit on their hips. I think low-rise may be the intended style for this skirt, as seen in the stock photo.

I have a full review planned for this Sweet Velvet petites skirt later, where I will touch more on fit and quality. I wanted to mention now that they are having 40% off their entire online store until December 31st, 2010, with code CHRISTMAS. Kelly and I both tried on the Audrey Dress a while back, which fits very tiny in sz XS.

*Disclosure: This skirt was gifted to me by Sweet Velvet Inc.

LOFT Holiday Outfit Series & Sweet Velvet Petites Sale

I wanted to do a quick post about the holiday outfit series that fellow blogger Tara of Mix and Match Fashion posted this week (first post starts here). For the past 4 days, Tara featured some of her favorite bloggers in holiday ensembles containing LOFT items. Tara is a teacher (a rather stylish one, may I add) who loves LOFT. As many of you may already know, LOFT offers a 15% discount for teachers on every purchase, possibly combine-able with sales. You just need to apply online or in-store for a savings card.

I haven't shopped at LOFT for a while because I'm slightly sized out of their dresses, skirts, and pants. However, I did score 4 of their awesome long cardigans a while back which fit great. Working with what I have, this was the best I could do for "festive":

Dress: J.Crew paisley dress as seen here, sz 0P altered

Cardigan: LOFT V-neck long cardigan sz XXSP

Skirt: Sweet Velvet Petites Grace Pencil Skirt sz XS, pinned back

Pumps: Ann Taylor Perfect Pumps sz 5

I love the thought of layering a dress under a skirt to make it more versatile. However, the ensemble I have here just doesn't work. My dress is empire-waisted and the skirt is low-rise. Ideally you'd need a fitted dress that tucks in nicely, and a naturally high-waisted skirt. To be attempted again in the future...

This Sweet Velvet Grace Pencil Skirt in XS sits lower on my hips, which was surprising because an earlier S.V. item I tried on in XS was quite snug. I prefer my skirts to come up to my natural waist, but this could work for others who are a little bigger than me, or for those who prefer skirts to sit on their hips. I think low-rise may be the intended style for this skirt, as seen in the stock photo.

I have a full review planned for this Sweet Velvet petites skirt later, where I will touch more on fit and quality. I wanted to mention now that they are having 40% off their entire online store until December 31st, 2010, with code CHRISTMAS. Kelly and I both tried on the Audrey Dress a while back, which fits very tiny in sz XS.

*Disclosure: This skirt was gifted to me by Sweet Velvet Inc.

Take Two: Sweet Velvet Petites Audrey Dress

I've been experiencing "LOFT fatigue" recently as PetiteXXS put it, but couldn't resist making a purchase this week. I never noticed this sculpted sheath dress online, but saw it on my coworker and it was simple yet adorable! They don't mention this online but the fabric is the comfy knit Scuba fabric. I have been swamped with work lately so I paid the $7.50 fee to locate & ship a 00P to my home. Cost was $45 including ship; style # 249106.

On to today's post...

Remember this little number on AlterationsNeeded? When Sweet Velvet Petites approached me about a review, I specifically asked to try on the Audrey Cocktail Dress. I recalled Kelly saying an XS fit her perfectly right off the rack! Being 5-10 lbs heavier than her, I was curious how it would fit on me and even contemplated sizing up.

Dress: Sweet Velvet Petites Audrey sz XS

Swing Jacket: Banana Republic sz 00 reg, altered

Shoes: Aldo  Purse: LV Speedy 25

Continue reading for my review...

Fit: The fit of an XS should be perfect for tiny petites. It was very snug on me at the torso and waist (it felt wonderful to try on a classy, adult piece of clothing that was too snug!). The length and proportions of the details were perfect. If I were to get this dress for work, I may size up to a S.

Quality: Kelly mentioned that the fabric was poly/rayon/spandex, which some people may not be satisfied with for a dress that is $119. Although I agree and would also like to see nicer material for that price, I have to say I was quite pleased with the feel of the fabric and the construction of the dress. The price is not bad for petites if no alterations are needed.

Material: 63% poly, 33% rayon, 4% spandex. Mesh is 90% nylon, 10% spandex. Dry Clean Only

Measurements: when lying flat, XS dress measures 14.5" across the underarms, 11.5" across the waist, 14.5" across the hips, 32.5" total length.

Overall I was really pleased with the fit and details of this dress designed just for petites. Be sure to check out Kelly's post as her photos show the details a little better. I thought the front design was a little space-shipy, but I can see some ladies loving the unique structured top over the navy mesh.

This dress is on loan for review purposes and will be returned. Sweet Velvet gifted me the Grace pencil skirt, so keep an eye out for that review!

Take Two: Sweet Velvet Petites Audrey Dress

I've been experiencing "LOFT fatigue" recently as PetiteXXS put it, but couldn't resist making a purchase this week. I never noticed this sculpted sheath dress online, but saw it on my coworker and it was simple yet adorable! They don't mention this online but the fabric is the comfy knit Scuba fabric. I have been swamped with work lately so I paid the $7.50 fee to locate & ship a 00P to my home. Cost was $45 including ship; style # 249106.

On to today's post...

Remember this little number on AlterationsNeeded? When Sweet Velvet Petites approached me about a review, I specifically asked to try on the Audrey Cocktail Dress. I recalled Kelly saying an XS fit her perfectly right off the rack! Being 5-10 lbs heavier than her, I was curious how it would fit on me and even contemplated sizing up.

Dress: Sweet Velvet Petites Audrey sz XS

Swing Jacket: Banana Republic sz 00 reg, altered

Shoes: Aldo  Purse: LV Speedy 25

Continue reading for my review...

Fit: The fit of an XS should be perfect for tiny petites. It was very snug on me at the torso and waist (it felt wonderful to try on a classy, adult piece of clothing that was too snug!). The length and proportions of the details were perfect. If I were to get this dress for work, I may size up to a S.

Quality: Kelly mentioned that the fabric was poly/rayon/spandex, which some people may not be satisfied with for a dress that is $119. Although I agree and would also like to see nicer material for that price, I have to say I was quite pleased with the feel of the fabric and the construction of the dress. The price is not bad for petites if no alterations are needed.

Material: 63% poly, 33% rayon, 4% spandex. Mesh is 90% nylon, 10% spandex. Dry Clean Only

Measurements: when lying flat, XS dress measures 14.5" across the underarms, 11.5" across the waist, 14.5" across the hips, 32.5" total length.

Overall I was really pleased with the fit and details of this dress designed just for petites. Be sure to check out Kelly's post as her photos show the details a little better. I thought the front design was a little space-shipy, but I can see some ladies loving the unique structured top over the navy mesh.

This dress is on loan for review purposes and will be returned. Sweet Velvet gifted me the Grace pencil skirt, so keep an eye out for that review!