Weekend is over. Boo. Hope everyone had a relaxing one. I bought a bunch of Loft clothes recently due to their slew of great promos; I’m on the fence about a few. The Striped Sweater with Corsage from Ann Taylor Loft is one of them.

I know, it looks plain in this stock photo. I bypassed it too, until I saw it styled in one of their other photos that was fleetingly on the site. This sweater is cut a little long, so it looked unbelievably cute paired with a chunky tweed mini and belted at the hip with a wide cognac-colored belt. Throw in some tights and you got the cutest Fall/Winter outfit. Well, it is just as cute in person, and much softer and more comfortable than I expected. I discovered it’s even machine washable, so big bonus on that. But I think it may be a tad too small on me for the style I’m going for. I wanted to go for a slightly looser, boyfriend sweater type of look to drape over a shorter skirt. Instead, I think my usual size just made this a typical sweater for me.

I’m wearing: J.Crew Metallic Moss Jacquard Skirt, Ann Taylor Loft Wide Braided Belt, Bandolino Shiante Boots

Plus it was slightly tight on the arms. I think my arms must have been getting fatter because recently I’ve been trying on clothes in my usual size that fit me great everywhere but tight in the arms. Grrr. Let’s stop talking about that. Anyway, I’m not sure about this one. I think it’s cute but it wasn’t exactly what I expected in terms of fit and I’m starting to second guess whether I can pull off a “corsage” at the shoulder. What do you guys think?

Get it here from Ann Taylor Loft for $59.50.

Since the Shimmering Jacquard Skirt from Loft has become one of my favorite go-to skirts for the summer due to its ease of wear and simple sophistication, I was hoping for more of the same when I purchased the Foil Finish Pencil Skirt with the 40% off promo.

It’s also at 21″ in length, which fits in right along with the “new summer” length I love so much from J.Crew recent line of pencil skirts. I thought surely this would be a winner.

I’m wearing: J.Crew Favorite Tank, Banana Dahlia Wedges

The description says this skirt has a “shimmering foil finish.” The shimmering part killed it for me. When I first put it on, it looked a bit like a leather skirt to me from a distance, looking tightly bound and drawing light to every bump even though it was the right size and *felt* comfortable enough. You can see from the side profile that yeah I had a bit of a lower tummy but not gee, let’s not amplify that by bouncing light off of it. It looked so much worse than it really was straight-on. Any other print skirt and I would’ve been fine. Dammit. This one only works if you wear a longer top…on me, that is. Anyone out there with no abdominal area issues will probably love this skirt.

Get it here from Loft for $69.50, now with 40% off.

Today is the last day for the awesome 40% off promotion at Ann Taylor Loft, so I thought I’d post my latest purchase – the Ruched Halter Dress in Willow Green! Hurray for having the day off!

I’m not sure why more retailers do not sell this gorgeous, saturated deep green jewel color. I want to buy everything that comes in it! This dress looked super cute online, but when it came, I realized it may not be a good day dress to wear out normally, but may still be good as like a beach cover-up.

I’m wearing: Nine West Getby Wedges

The reason is because the area covering the girls is SO small that I don’t see how I can possibly wear this with a bra. It barely holds the girls in as is, and even then I feel like any sudden movement and it’ll be all over. Because they are so small – and combined with all the ruching and loose draping – it is NOT flattering to the girls and actually makes them look flattened. I got a Small so maybe one size up would have made a difference in this aspect.

From the side, the dress also kind of looks like a tube. I would have liked to seen more of an empire waist A-line shape. Here are pics of it strapless.

I’m wearing: Nine West Getby Wedges

Sounds like a lot of complaints, but bottom line is, this is a cute casual dress, great for the beach or maybe under a cardigan/jacket that provides more coverage, and it’s comfortable. I love this green color so much I’ll take what I can get! Plus the price right now makes this a downright steal.

Get it here from Loft for $39.99 PLUS 40% off through end of today.