comPLEATly happy

I'm a curvy girl. This I know- and I embrace my curves. One trend that I like, but have to be careful about, are pleats...they have a terrific ability of slimming the body, but if you're curvy at the hip, somehow those pleats don't looks quite as terrific when they are pulling slightly, rather than laying comPLEATly flat :)

So, a few items that I think could be lovely additions to the wardrobe (and are basic enough to outlast the trend!):

Jason Wu for Target's basic black pleated skirt

Then there's this hot little number from the Loft...

the color rocks, and the pleats fall slightly below the hip (perfect for me!)


And I am intrigued by this pleated top from Talbots.
While I don't favor the white, the blush pink one could be adorable with a black pencil skirt.

May the pleat be with you.

Jason Wu Review

In case you were wondering, I did purchase a couple items from the new collection by Jason Wu for Target. And while it didn't create the same craze as Missoni, I do think it was a fun experience. Allow me to share how I came upon February 5th...

Picture it:

The alarm goes off at 6:45am, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The home of my dear friend K.
D and I are in town visiting K, and we had a delightful time the night prior celebrating my 33rd bday. Food and drinks were highly involved.
D was wise enough to remind me that I could purchase online without facing the store and all the impending chaos. K was totally up for the challenge. Said she would drive me to any Target my heart desired. (true friendship abounded!)

The alarm goes off to remind me that it's Jason Wu shopping time.

D gets on her iPad. I climb into bed with K to check things out on her laptop. We all successfully shopped at 7am with a fairly good selection online. The shopping gods had mercy on my sleep deprived self.

Fast forward to Friday, February 10th. Mail day! And my Jason Wu arrived!

Here's what I got:

A lovely tote bag (sold out now) & this pinwheel dress

Now because my mom also is obsessed with Target as much as I am, she also scoured her local store for the collection and came up with this top:


She decided that it wasn't quite right for her...so off to Boston it went! And that completes my collection :) I must say, I found the quality to be pretty good (although I wish the dress and top were lined). In the warmer months, these will feel just right. And the tote...I could go on and on...the perfect size and love the straw fabric.

Another bulls-eye Target!

Color Blocking Me Out

Somehow, I am old enough to remember when color blocking came around the first time. (Shoot, when did that happen??) For my friends who remember "units"- which were these terrible knit one piece jumpers that had multicolored knit belts to mix and match over them. I have this faint memory of thinking they were cool...apparently I blocked it out :) Do you remember??


My how times don't change. Except this time around, color blocking is far more practical, and not just in knit (gasp). It's showing up in clothing, accessories and purses. I happen to love the idea of color blocking in shoes. Most recently I coveted these from Anthropologie (but not sure I wanted to pay $138). Online has the yellow ones too.

So maybe it's time I turn back the clock, embrace my blocked out memories and color away!