Here we are with another round of things Allie bought that she loved and she regretted. But thank goodness for free returns and a new office location not too far from a shopping mall, those regrets can be returned quite easily!

Halogen Zip Pocket Open Jacket – Ivory Cloud

I ordered this in an XL Petite and think it fits great. The fabric is a crepe that dresses up nicely. It is fully lined, has a bit of give, and nice details like a seamed edge where a lapel usually would be a fully functioning zipper pockets. This looks a lot like a jacket from Rebecca Minkoff that I admired but didn’t come in my size. Regular and petite sizes, comes in a bunch of colors (and even a tweed option), and under $100. This is a jacket I will wear to work, but can also pair with a band tee and a pair of leather-front pants for a night out. Hit!

Vince Camuto Stretch Cotton One Button Blazer – White

I have this jacket in black (seen here) and pink (seen here) so when I decided this spring I needed a white blazer, I ordered this one in 14. It had to work, right? Wrong. Karl said I looked like a doctor, I thought I looked as though I was selling cosmetics door-to-door. The jacket that I love and regularly recommend looked frumpy, cheap, and boxy in white. I thought it was me, I was too heavy, too busty, too curvy in general for a white jacket. But I decided to try again with the Halogen one (it’s more of a winter white) and realized it’s not me, it’s the jacket. I still think this Vince Camuto blazer is amazing, but just not for me in white. Miss.

Wayf Blouson Midi Dress – Coral

I ordered this before I saw a ton of bloggers wearing it. I saw it as a perfect summer dress and something fun to wear to my friend’s wedding this May, styled with sandals and a turquoise necklace. I ordered it in XL, knowing Wayf to be a Juniors brand and to run a bit small in the bust.

That rich almost neon color that you see here and may have seen on a blog or two? That’s not the color in real life. The real life color is more muted and felt dated, especially in the crinkle fabric. The neckline is super low and wide; while my bra wasn’t on display, if I moved the wrong way half a breast would slip out. The lining felt too heavy; it took a summery dress and made it feel as heavy. The sleeves were weird; loose and flowing until the hem which was fitted on my arm. It just looked and felt cheap. Miss.

Banana Republic Foulard Ruffle Tank – Preppy Navy

Never go clothes shopping in a dress. I went to Banana in one, and tried on this top in an XL with no pants and thought it was super cute. The print is far more colorful in person.  I envisioned it with my orange suede pumps (there's plenty of orange-red in the print), untucked with dark straight ankle jeans, or tucked in with navy trousers for the office. I thought it would be fun with distressed denim shorts in the summer.  I bought it in an XL, the L was too tight on my bust. I got it home and this looks insane on me. A woman with curves like mine should not be wearing ruffles like this; they looked like straps for an apron. The XL is far too big, while it fits in the bust it’s gaping under the arms and tents out so much it looks like I’m expecting. The ruffles do not play nice when the top is tucked in. That being said, the print and the fabric is nice and this could be a great top for a woman with fewer curves. But for me? Fail.

Banana Republic Colorblock Crepe Top

See how drapey and relaxed this top looks on the model? It doesn’t look like that in person. This is a heavy top, with longer sleeves than I expected. I got an XL, which again was too big. The burgundy color went down past the middle of my bust, taking the spotlight and making the cheery colors on the bottom an afterthought. The burgundy was as low as the sleeves were long, making a big rectangle of sad on the top of my body. Then having the fabric so heavy without flow? I looked made of Legos. Too bad the top doesn’t have more shape, less burgundy, or maybe was made into a dress so the other colors could have a chance against the rectangle of sad. Fail.

Vince Camuto Off the Shoulder Blouse – Black

I fell for the season’s trend of cold shoulders and off the shoulder tops and ordered this in black, envisioning it tucked into my Banana Republic Ryan pants and paired with a fabulous pair of shoes and a bright lip. I got an XL, partially because I worried it may be too small and partially because black was no longer left in L. Well the XL is too big; so big the straps were too wide-set to stay on my shoulders. There was so much volume it looked insane, and the top is too short to tuck in. The fabric is challis, so it has a nice drape, but that’s about all I can say positive about this top. It sells out pretty quickly, if you do decide to get it size down. I think I could have carried off a Medium in this top except I’d worry that my navel would be exposed when I raised my arm. Fail.

NIC+ZOE Drifty Wide Leg Linen Pants

Will you do me a favor? Will you please keep reminding me that I do not look good in thin drapey wide leg pants? Because I don’t, no matter how many times I try. I featured these pants in this post and sold them so well I ordered them before the post went live. Oh how summery and cool! Pair with a Breton tee and flat sandals, wear with a white tank and lots of beaded necklaces, knot my white linen shirt at the waist and wear with my silver Birkenstocks and silver choker. Oh I had great plans for these pants. Then they arrived and I put them on. They fit perfectly (I got Large Petite) in every way and even length. They look really nice in person, a little button at the elasticized waist was a nice touch. They have pockets, and they’re opaque. But dang if a pair of pants like this don’t emphasize all the negative and hide all the positive. And I am not a drapey linen kind of personality. If you are, these pants are quite nice. But if you’re not, let us remind each other of this every spring so we don’t make this mistake again. Fail.

Baublebar Aloha Bib

Can you believe I’ve never shopped at Baublebar before? Each year when I get my annual bonus at work, I buy myself a treat. Usually it’s a new purse. After two years of paying an insane amount of medical bills and depleting most of my savings, I decided to treat myself to a smaller accessory and sock away the rest. Many times I wished I had a necklace that wasn’t a color, wasn’t silver, wasn’t gold. Just something to add interest. I saw this necklace when crafting an advice post for the blog and never forgot it so I decided to have this be my annual accessory treat.

I’ve done Jewelmint (RIP) and Rocksbox and received accessories from popular costume jewelry brands like House of Harlow, Gorjana, Vince Camuto, Nadri, Natasha Couture. I’ve seen accessories from other brands of this pricepoint and I always feel they look so… juniors. Not bad, but not really something a 41 year old mom and business professional can rock with confidence. Baublebar is not juniors jewelry. Oh man, I am highly impressed and now understand all the hype. The Aloha Bib necklace was shipped connected to a cardboard card with twist ties, that card was wrapped in bubble wrap, then put in a heavy-duty Ziploc bag, then more bubble wrap, then plenty of crisp tissue and finally in a very large sturdy box. I also received a free necklace (that is also super nice), a black storage bag, and instructions on how to keep the necklaces nice. And the necklace is nice. It’s a good weight, the lucite balls are clear and shiny, the gold metal is well done, there’s a nice long chain to adjust the length, the closure is quality. The necklace is $42 but I don’t think it would be insane to sell this necklace for $68. All this, and you get points for each purchase on Baublebar to use toward future purchases, shipping is free, and they accept returns. This will not be the last time I shop Baublebar. Hit!

Have you made any recent fashion purchases worthy of a warning or deserving of a share to other readers?  Would love to read about it in the comments below!

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