New boots! The search is over.

BOOTS: Franco Sarto Women's Rivoli Boot, sz. 5 (buy here)
Jacket: H&M, sz.2

Jeans: LOFT, sz. 00P

Scarf: Francesca's Collections

Bag: Dooney & Bourke

Yes! Despite having skinny calves, extremely picky tastes and an unpopular shoe size, I managed to find my perfect pair of boots.

The leather is soft and a lovely tan color, and a much better option than suede (my black boots are suede and ALWAYS dirty!). I love that the slight heel doesn't make the annoying "click-clack" noise that some boots make, and that there is a zipper in the back for easy pull-on/off convenience. 

Trying to find a size 5 pair of tan leather riding boots that would look decent on my skinny calves wasn't easy. Most boots have at least a 15" circumference, and my calves are a scrawny 12". Imagine my luck when I found this pair, which have a narrow 14" circumference! Not narrow enough, mind you, but narrow enough to not look ridiculous. My trick?



Leg warmers. Adding a pair of these under my boots fills out the shaft just enough to prevent the leather from bagging around my ankles, and also fills out the top part of the boot nicely. (If you have extremely scrawny ankles like I do, I recommend tucking most of the fabric down around your ankles and the tops of your feet). IMHO, I believe that using this trick is the best bet for skinny-calved ladies, and that it's not worth paying hundreds more dollars to have custom-made boots, especially after Kelly's lukewarm review of the (only?) petite-friendly boot company DuoBoots.

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I am super excited that boot season is nearly upon us- can't wait to wear these everywhere! I'm particularly looking forward to wearing them around Boston and its suburbs, which is where I'm headed in a few weeks for my 21st birthday. My mom and I will be checking out Boston College- my absolute #1 choice for graduate school- and I couldn't be more excited!



More on that soon.
*ShortBlonde*

Tired of eBay for designer consignment? Try Style.Ly

Yesterday, I came across a brand new website that allows women to buy and sell their "loved already" (or often new) clothing and accessories online without bidding and without the hassles of site commissions: style.ly!
 

Launched by former eBay executive Danny Leffel, the site describes itself as "a social buying and selling marketplace where fashionistas buy and sell new, gently used and vintage women's fashion and accessories" (check out the article about the site here on auctionbytes.com). Items are organized into "Coteries," which are either categories such as City Chic, or stores such as Ann Taylor. The site is heavily linked to Facebook (which is how I found out about it), which I like because I can find out about items recently added to my favorite coteries through facebook:



(Note: It doesn't blow up my newsfeed, either- they feature one item a day). The seller page on the site makes it seem like selling an item is quick and pain-free. However, like most consignment shops, not everything is considered "worthy enough" to sell on the site. From the words of the style.ly blog, "the style.ly team will hand-pick the items we think our buyers will MOST want to buy and we’ll include them on style.ly. This process can take up to 24-48 hours."

The site is only a few days old, so naturally there are probably many kinks to work out. From the looks of it though, this site seems like a good place to buy consignment online.

Will you check out Style.ly?

*ShortBlonde*

**Note: This review was provided entirely based on my own interest. There is no compensation/promotion from style.ly.**

PFC #10- Summer to Fall: 1 striped top, 2 seasonal outfits.

Petite Fashion Challenge #10: Take traditionally summer pieces (like tank tops, shorts, mini skirts, sundresses etc.) and make them appropriate for fall.

For this month's petite fashion challenge, I took a summery striped long tank top from Forever 21 and made it fall appropriate by adding a silk cardigan and brown belt:

Tank Top: Forever 21, XS (similar here)

Cardigan: Banana Republic, Petite XS

Belt:....no idea!

Jeans: Forever 21, 25/29

Earrings: Vintage

The cardigan is extremely light-weight (a silk blend), which makes it ideal for early fall. Its length can be a challenge to style, but its a perfect match for this long top that peeks out the bottom. I kept a neutral color palette for a classy, put-together look, giving the summery stripes a subdued autumn-friendly feel.

Since this top is usually something I would wear in the summertime, I also created a summer-appropriate outfit with a white skirt, shown below:

Tank Top: Forever 21, XS (similar here)

Skirt: J.Crew, 00
Necklace: Forever 21

In the upstate NY town that I live in, this outfit would only be appropriate for another week or so. White skirt season is ending, and boot & sweater season is just around the corner!

Thanks to Liza for hosting this month's PFC!

How do you style your summer clothes for fall?
*ShortBlonde*

The easiest clothing fix ever.

Many of us petite ladies have been there: you spy a cute sleeveless/tank top or dress you love, only to discover in the dressing room that the neckline plunges down too low for comfort. Don't be so quick to put it back on the rack! A strap adjustment is one of the easiest fixes you can make, and it makes such a difference in the way a top or dress can fit.



All you have to do is find the seam that's usually in the middle of the strap (if it isn't there, create one!), and fold the strap down evenly (see above) to create a new seam. When your done, trim the excess fabric, and voila! It's an easy, hand-sewable job that can make a huge difference in the way a top or dress fits. I'm glad it worked on my new Forever 21 striped top:



This wonderfully versatile (and inexpensive!) top will be featured in my next post, Petite Fashion 

Challenge #9: Summer to Fall.
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Classes start tomorrow for me, it's time to get into academic mode! Are any of you starting school again as well?

Staying studious (and stylish),
*ShortBlonde*

A favorite item of both petites and preps...

Judging by many posts that I've read throughout the blogosphere, there is one item I've discovered that is universally loved by petites, preps, and petite preps: J.Crew's Jackie Cardigan. I've mentioned it several times on my blog, but I decided my most recent purchase deserves its own post.


Cardigan: J.Crew Jackie Cardigan in Bavarian Blue, sz. XXS (buy other colors here)
Tank: Express, sz. XS (a great thrift find)
Pants: Gap Skinny Pant, sz. 1

Anyone who has read my blog before knows I don't like paying full price for anything. Why bother when you can almost ALWAYS get what you want for less? In this case, I had my heart set on getting a blue XXS Jackie cardigan at the J.Crew Factory Store when I was at the Tanger Outlet Mall. The Jackie cardigan I already owned was from the factory store, and I was satisfied with its quality, but I this time I wanted a new color (my old one is slate) and an XXS rather than an XS. What do I find when I get there? NO XXS at all (maybe they haven't started to make that size for the factory stores yet?) and not a single shade of blue. Such a bummer!

So instead, I looked to the internet to help. I visited the J.Crew Aficionada blog that I follow, and checked out their "Looking to Sell" weekly feature, hoping someone miraculously had the size and style cardigan I wanted. No luck. I decided to post on the "Looking to Buy" feature instead, asking for an XXS Jackie Cardigan in a shade of blue, offered for less than full price. What do you know, someone had exactly what I wanted! A lovely seller named Susan offered to sell me her Bavarian Blue cardigan from the actual store (not the factory store), new with tags for 40 bucks shipped (same as the outlet price!).



The cut of the sweater is perfect for petites. It has a short, cropped length, and flattering 3/4 sleeves. The XXS is a snug fit, but petites that are around my size may also like the XS, which fits slightly looser. It is a wonderful, classic style named for the icon of classic American style: Jackie O, of course. :)

If you haven't picked one up yet, I highly recommend that you do!!

*ShortBlonde*

Petite Clothing Review: Work Attire from the Outlets

I finally was able to take some photos of my most recent purchases at the wonderful Tanger outlet mall in Rockville, NY (we took a visit on our way back from the Hamptons). During this outlet trip, my main goal was to find teacher attire for my upcoming student teaching: I needed well-fitting slacks, and I was lusting after another non-iron shirt from Brooks Brothers. Needless to say, the trip was a success!! Here are my great petite finds:

ANN TAYLOR FACTORY STORE

I wasn't even planning on visiting AT Factory, since I'm always horrified by how the prices of the made-for-the-outlets clothing are often more expensive than the sale prices of the good quality normal-store clothing. However, I decided to take a peek anyways, and I'm glad I did! Turns out their trouser pants are roughly the same quality and price as LOFT, AT's sister store, with the exact same fit system. As advised by my tailor, I always go for the low-cut modern fit, which is the appropriate cut considering my short stature and low butt-to-thigh ratio. For slim-legged  ladies with a bit extra in the derriere, stick to low cut pants as higher cuts won't drape properly and will cause bunching (as taught to me by my tailor, Noemi!).

Pants: Ann Taylor Factory Store, Modern Fit, sz. 00P

With heels, no shortening is necessary! The length is perfect as is. I also picked up a pair in a subtle plaid pattern:



I realize they draw attention to my backside, but I prefer to err on the side of overly flattering than overly frumpy (as long as it's tasteful, of course)!!
While in AT, I also found a nice top:


Top: Ann Taylor Factory Store, sz. XXSP(Watch: Vintage)

The quality of this top is nothing exceptional, but it's good enough, and it fits very well. I'm very fond of bunched necklines, since they draw attention away from my tiny bust and give my narrow neck/shoulder area some dimension (note: if you are also narrow on top and wider at the hips, bunched or gathered necklines are a great way to balance your figure!). This top could be worn as is during the warmer months, and paired with a blazer during the colder months. The black and white coloring and subtle pattern makes it super easy to pair with pretty much any solid blazer or cardigan.

BROOKS BROTHERS FACTORY STORE
Lo and behold, I found my petite non-iron shirt!! Although it wasn't the exact fit I wanted (I wanted the more feminine "tailored" fit), this "fitted" shirt works just fine, and it's my favorite color:


Shirt: Brooks Brothers Factory Store, Miracle Shirt, Fitted, 0P

This shirt fits me how a "classic" fit would fit most women- slightly looser and a bit more modest. The cut is perfect, and the sleeves are the perfect length (although I think I look hideous with the sleeves rolled down!). The quality is great for a made-for-factory shirt: when I asked the saleswoman the difference in quality between the factory store shirts and those from the regular store, she said the only differences are what country the shirt is made in, and a slightly lower thread count. It still has the same non-iron "miracle" fabric as the regular store's shirts have.

GAP OUTLET
I have never had any luck with Gap (they usually run HUGE), but I remembered reading something about a petite-friendly pair of Gap pants in the Alterations Needed forum, so I decided to give the store a try. I am so happy I did, because I was SHOCKED by how well these pants fit:



Pants: Gap Skinny Pant, sz. 1

(Shoes: Payless Shoe Source, sz. 5. These pants are dying to be worn with a cute pair of flats, but I had to make due.)

I'm guessing these pants are meant to fit average-sized ladies as a cropped pant, although the tag didn't mention anything about it being "cropped." What's even more shocking is that the sz. 0 was too small!! Just to make sure I wasn't going crazy, I checked out a different style of pants in sz. 00, and sure enough they were super long and too big. This pair alone is magic, I guess. Even so, I will no longer write off Gap as being hopeless.

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Successful shopping trips are such a mood-booster, even more so when I'm pleasantly surprised. I'll soon be posting about a slight tragedy that happened with my Brooks Brothers shirt, as well as some wonderful news regarding a J.Crew cardigan.

*ShortBlonde*

Down by the bay...

Sorry for the delay in posts (I have a big clothing review coming up!) but after coming back from LI, I've been consumed with camp life. The craziness of a 7am-6pm (and sometimes overnight) workday has me wishing I was I was back here:

Going for my first sail (with our junior skipper Lucas) on the Great Peconic Bay! I love how we're practically the same height, and he's 9 years old.

Tank top: LOFT, sz. XS
Shorts: Vineyard Vines, sz. 0
Belt: Vineyard Vines

I've mentioned before (possibly too often?) that I love boatnecks. Imagine my delight when I accidentally put on my tank top (reviewed here) backwards one day, and discovered the new boatneck look not only seemed like it was meant to be worn that way, but looked BETTER than it did when worn the correct way! There's no telltale tag, either, so I'm definitely going to wear it backwards from now on. Hooray for accidental fashion discoveries.

I hope you are all managing to find some time to relax and get some beach time in. I'll leave you with this picture, our five-year-old friend Abby who loves nothing more than to slurp on raw clams from the bay:


Yuck!

I guess it's an acquired taste.
*ShortBlonde*