After June’s “no clothing purchases” goal AND the fact that after three months of working from home I was feeling Very Bored with my wardrobe, I was afraid I’d go wild in July, but I managed to keep it to a dull roar. I think?

What I kept

I’ve been looking for a few specific things -two from my “need” list: short sleeve work shirts for hot weather, and a skirt…and a new “need” born out of months of working from home: easy, loose, natural fiber dresses. When it’s super hot, they’re all I want to wear, and I only have four that really fit the bill…and a 5-day workweek. Do the math.

J CREW SHORT SLEEVE POPOVER IN LINEN, 3X

j.crew: short-sleeve popover in linen for women, right side, view zoomed

This ticks a lot of boxes: short sleeve, casual but more elevated than a tee-shirt, linen, white. And I think it will be perfect when I take it to the tailor to get two little side slits put in it. It’s just a little snug around the bottom part. NotĀ awful, but it could so easily be just right. And then it will go over jeans and slacks…and the navy skirt below if I can ever get into it šŸ™‚

J Crew Pleated midi skirt, size 22

j.crew: pleated midi skirt for women, right side, view zoomed

Navy pleated skirt. White Sneakers. Can’t. Go. Wrong.

In theory, ha. The reality is that I bought a size 22, when my actual size is 24, because the 24 was sold out and I’ve been watching for this skirt to come back in stock since last fall and I thought MAYBE I could squish myself into a 22, and it was on sale for TWENTY DOLLARS. I think last year when I first started watching it, it was $99. So it seemed worth the risk.

But it IS too small. I probably COULD get it buttoned but I think the button would pop right off from too much tension. It’s smaller than my size and there’s no elastic. But being a clearance item there’s no backsies so I’m just hanging onto it for now. I’ll take it with me to the tailor and ask about maybe inserting some elastic into the waistband?

ONESTI RILEY LIGHTWEIGHT OPEN WEAVE KNIT SWEATER, SIZE 3X

This was an impulse buy. I saw it on a new online plus-size boutique (I’ve been seeing more and more of them popping up online, HALLELUJAH, it’s about time!) on Instagram and gave it a try. I was thinking I could wear this over my sleeveless dresses with GIANT ARMHOLES, so they’re work appropriate without having to wear a long cardigan…but that didn’t quite work. I do like the sweater so want to find a cami (I can stand) to wear underneath it.

OSIE-DURO LAYER DRESS IN BULLFROG BY MOONLIGHT, SIZE 3X

Layer Dress in Bullfrog by Moonlight

Ohhh Lordy! I hold Marielle Elizabeth personally responsible for my obsession with Osie-Duro! She included this company in her wonderful list of ethically made brands that make clothing in a size larger than an 18.

This dress is a DREAM! It’s a lightweight, swishy, drapy rayon batiste that is lovely to wear. I want it in every color and pattern. I need to have it taken up just a smidge from the shoulders as it hangs just a little low and droopy at the waist on me (I’m 5’3″), but otherwise, IT IS THE JUNAROSE DRESS REINCARNATE and I’m in heaven. This was my birthday present to myself (thank you, Afterpay) and I may treat myself to one more if my size comes back in stock. Actually, I have someone from the company checking to see exactly how much smaller the 2x is than the 3x, cuz I might be better off in a 2x.

I also want this one…

Layer Dress in Snakebite

And this one…

Layer Dress in Thunderstruck

And if money were no object (please, when is that??), this one..

Layer Dress in Queen Me

Read about the good work of the company here.

BIRKENSTOCKĀ ARIZONA SOFT SLIDE SANDAL TAUPE

BIRKENSTOCK Arizona Soft Slide Sandal, Main, color, TAUPE SUEDE
I’ve already worn these several times since I got them a week ago today and am really happy with them. Have been watching them for a LOONNGGG time and finally splurged…and as they say, “money well spent is soon forgotten.”

BIRKENSTOCKĀ MADRID HEX SLIDE SANDALĀ  COGNAC

BIRKENSTOCK Madrid Hex Slide Sandal, Main, color, COGNAC LEATHER

These are the “new Mephistos.” Just a simple slide like the Mephistos are, but a bit more elevated. They’re the “dressy Birkenstocks.” Also very comfortable, but the leather strap vs suede on the Arizonas is a little more difficult break-in period, so I’m only wearing them for short spurts so far. I really wanted them in a yellow ochre color but I couldn’t find them in my size in the US. And outside the US they were $25 shipping and I thought if I didn’t like them or they didn’t fit, then that’s a $25 return ticket, so I’d have spent $50 on shoes I wasn’t keeping. I’m not a Rockefeller.

Do people still use that reference? I doubt The Young People do šŸ™‚ They’re probably like “I’m not a Gates/Bezos/Zuckerberg.”

NOT SURE IF I’M KEEPING

 

TARGET AVA & VIV PLUS SIZE FLORAL PRINT SHORT SLEEVE WRAP DRESS, SIZE 3X

This is definitely a work dress, not a play dress. It’s typical Target, cheap’n’cheerful.Ā  A nice lightweight rayon in a fun print but it’s just BIG on me. I’m shocked to think maybe I should start going down a size in dresses? That hardly seems possible, and yet…all three of these in my usual size (3x/22-24) are just overall large. Not just too long, but too large. I’m on the fence about this one – it would need alteration to be wearable, it’s too long, and too droopy from shoulder to waist. I need to find this magical Tailor Person.

ELOQUII STRIPED LINEN DRESS, SIZE 22

Striped V-Neck Dress Dorthea Stripe

Ditto the above, overall a little large but this seems to be an easier (read: less costly) alteration because there are no sleeves. It’s cute. I am just realizing I have not done “the sit test” on either of these dresses and I need to, since they would primarily be work dresses. But this one, with my new cognac Birkenstock slides (above), my cognac Able tote, and a denim jacket in the fall? That would be perfection. But only if I can sit at my work desk without “showin’ the boys what I got.” This one needs to go to the tailor, too, to see what adjustment can be done and how much it will cost.

what i returned

TRADLANDS NICO LINEN DRESS CAROLINE PRINT, SIZE 3X

Dresses%20for%20Women%20%7C%20Nico%20Dress%20Caroline%20Print

I was SO EXCITED for this dress. I’d seen it back in the spring on Instagram and was likeĀ That’s It! That’s the New Junarose Dress!Ā But it was pricey…and it was not a good time for that…and by the time I felt like I could swing it, it was out of stock in my size. So I stuck it in Shoptagr with a note to be reminded when it came back in stock. And I was so bummed cuz I just knew This Was The Dress.Ā SO, when it came back in stock in my size, I snatched it right up, using Afterpay, rather than paying for it outright. Then I waited.

Oh, the lovely times I was going to have in that dress! It was going to be my new go-to summer dress! Then it arrived. And it is NOT the dress. I’d been concerned about the fit, cuz it seemed like it might be a tinch tight through the belly/hips area…and that was not the problem at all. ItĀ was tight across the back and in the sleeves, which is weird…but the worst of it was theĀ fabric. It’s a lyocell linen blend, which should be a lovely lightweight, softly draping fabric. Instead, it feels like a heavy, coated upholstery fabric! I just can’t even…fathom how this fabric can be those two lovely things and feel like THIS. I almost feel like this particular dress is some sort of aberration that slipped past quality control. I’m so disappointed. It’s that style and cut I love, and I’m obsessed with the print (!!!) but it was just not meant to be. It’s already been returned and refunded.

And that’s all she wrote!

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