Nordstrom haul:
BlankNYC Faux Leather jacket | ASTR jacquard top | Hanky Panky undies (4 for $59) | BP Leopard Cardigan | Cole Haan "Lara" Ankle Strap pump | Blondo "Eliza" Waterproof bootie with this heel insert
The sale that everyone loves and hates is here! I've been shopping this sale even before I was a blogger, so although my posting schedule is sporadic, I can't not shop this sale! I live for this sale! It's really the only time (other than Black Friday) that I actually prefer to shop it in store vs. online! I'm ruining the ending by showing you everything that I bought in the photo above, but for those of you that want to see how I narrowed it down to those decisions, you can read on for the good, the bad, and the ugly.
My first stop is always shoes! That's my favorite part of the sale to be honest, and the shoe selection hasn't been this good in years, to be honest! The only reason why I didn't leave with more shoes is because I need more shoes like I need a hole in my head! But if you're in the market to fill a void in your closet, I highly recommend you browse the sale. You are bound to find something you like!
The photo of these shoes is great! They look great on my feet! But they didn't FEEL great on my feet. I mean, the suede is buttery soft. The heel height is comfy and even the insole is fine. But the heel/ankle strap provided no support. It looks fine from this vantage point, but from the top view, I could see gaping at my ankles. And it wasn't a matter of sizing down or tightening the buckle. They just didn't work for me unfortunately. They are worth the try for sure, maybe I have a freakishly small heel?
I saw these, I loved them, but then I saw that they were Steve Madden and my heart sank a bit. I just don't have good luck with Steve Madden shoes. I have a pair of espadrilles I just bought this season, and I've worn them to death, but those are the first of the brand I've bought in forever!!
Anyway, I really tried to love these sandals. They were very soft and felt lived in already. But they were really tight in the toe box and dug into my heel. I went up a half size and even though it felt much looser in my heel, almost as if they would slip off my feet, they still dug into my heel! Made no sense. And the toe box was still tight! Just walking a few steps in the shoe area, they were uncomfy. I knew I wouldn't wear them if I got them.
These, however. These are a dream. Suede shoes in general are so soft. But then when they're a Cole Haan suede shoe, they're basically like walking on pillows I love the wedge heel. These will be perfect for traipsing around NYC but still allowing me to feel like myself. I am wearing my true size.
And now begins our tour of snakeskin booties. I picked out which ones I wanted to try without looking at the brand. Again, I was disappointed when I saw they were Steve Madden. They're beautiful but. They were so stiff! And the insole was very hard. And I wished the heel wasn't covered in the snake print. It would look better as a stacked wood heel. Trying these on after trying on the Cole Haan pair was also probably a mistake! It just made these feel even more cheap and uncomfortable.
This was the snakeskin bootie I was most excited to try on! The color is great and the wedge is perfect. But. Look at that round toe. I want to look down at my feet and feel happy and empowered and long and tall! Not short and stumpy. I just personally cannot rock a round toe. If it had even more of an almond shaped toe, it would have been better. Pass for me, but all you round toe lovers - do it!! Just be sure to go up a half size so you can add a ball of foot insole for comfort!
The side view of this bootie makes it look like it has a round toe, but if you see the top view in my flat lay, you'll see it has the perfect point. The heel is lower than I would have liked, but I'm ok with that. Again, this would be a good NYC shoe! They are very comfy except that the cut out was rubbing my ankle ball. I bought this heel insert to place inside the shoe to lift my heel so the ankle ball is now centered in the cut out without rubbing! If the heel insert hadn't fixed the problem, I would have had to pass, which would have made me sad because they were otherwise perfect! And I love that they are waterproof. They will come with me the next time I go to Europe... I am wearing my true size.
Vince Camuto also had a snakeskin bootie, but my Nordstrom didn't have them in store, so I tried the black version on for size. Man. It was tempting to NOT get this black pair! I just have SOMANY black booties, I couldn't justify this one. But they were so crazy comfy! And leather was amazingly soft. Please let me live vicariously through you all who do need a new black bootie!!! I am wearing my true size.
In terms of the snakeskin version - I decided to stick with the Blondo. I don't mind the super pointy toe for a solid black boot, but I just felt that a snakeskin with a sharp point looks a bit too... rodeo. I preferred the toe shape of the Blondo. Plus, I need more lower heeled booties anyway.
Ok, so now on to clothes! Trying on shoes already made me sweaty!!! Plus I was there at 8:30am and apparently their HVAC system is on a corporate timer that doesn't turn on until 10pm!!!!! Holy hell it was hot.
My favorite purchases from past anniversary sales have been super easy, universal tops like this. The color of this is great and it's a no brainer piece. It will go with any bottoms. It's basically like wearing a tee shirt but looks like it's more effort than a tee shirt. I sized up to a medium.
If you're interested in this top, just be cautious because I am very short torso'd. This may look more cropped on you if you have a long upper body - you can see that in the stock photo.
My sales associate asked me what my favorite sale purchase was from last year, and I told her it was this wrap top. So, I think that's why I was gravitating to a lot of wrap things this year, too. This was more of a stretch jersey. I sized up but it still felt a little clingy, so I passed. But, if you're very narrow and short torso'd, this is worth the try for you.
I am so in love with this print, but I was so very confused about the fit of this top. It ruches on me, but it doesn't really ruch on the model. So I sized down, but that was even worse. Then it wouldn't even cover my boobs. It was just a super weird fit, so I passed.
Looking back at this top, I wished I would have bought it. The floral print is pretty great. The fit was easy, and there was a little closure at the neckline so you don't have to worry about your girls jumping out by accident. Tops with the elastic waist like this aren't the most flattering on me because they provide no support or locking and loading of my midsection. I felt I was too square shaped for this to be flattering on me, but it does look better in the photo than I felt it looked in real life, so maybe it was just in my head. It's worth the try if you have a narrow midsection! I'm wearing my true size.
This is another piece I really wanted to love, but now that I'm linking to it, I see the price and perhaps it's ok that it didn't work out! The sweater is not at all form fitting, but the material is very clingy and unforgiving. You can see the lumps from my jeans/pockets and I just knew I would be too self conscious wearing this.
Speaking of seeing lumps at my pockets! The left is a medium, the right is the small. Notice that Nordstrom never shows a stock photo of this sweater untucked. It's tucked into the faux leather skirt in the catalog, and it's tucked into jeans in the stock photo here. Tucking this sweater in would have made me look even more short torso'd!! I need to leave it untucked and I hated how I didn't look seamless at that bottom band. Maybe they made that material so thin on purpose so that it would ONLY be worn tucked in? I don't know. I was sad to pass because it was CRAZY soft and plush and 100% not itchy. All of you with regular torsos, please try it! But don't wear it without tucking it.
So, you will notice that there is a shortage of pants and jeans in this try-on session. That's because it is very hard for me to shop for pants and jeans outside of American Eagle and Express. Seriously. My body shape + my height (or lack thereof) make it a challenge, so I usually don't bother even trying. However, I saw this pair and decided to give it a go, especially since they were labeled as "ankle" length. Well, they were still a bit too long, and when you cuff them, you can see the unfinished side of the fabric, and I wasn't a fan. I'm wearing a size 4, and it fit fine through the legs and the waist. The length was just a problem. So if you're taller than 5'-2", give it a try! I would say they run big though. I would have expected to be in a 6 verses a 4.
Also, I went through the denim section, but no styles really jumped out at me. My favorite premium denim brand is AG Jeans. And all the styles I liked, I already owned (like the ex boyfriend and the Farrah.) I was tempted by these black skinnies, but I already have a great ponte knit super skinny jegging in black, so I didn't really need these. I do highly recommend AG Jeans if you're in the market for premium denim. They run pretty true to size for me. I wear a 26/27 depending on style.
This dress was a casserole of all things bad. I just can't even. It was a faux wrap with a tie belt. But then it had dolman sleeves. And then it had a button closure at the top back/neck with an open back. Then a zipper closure from your waist to butt. Oh man. It was awful. Step away from this dress, all of you.
BP midi slipdress (I ordered in leopard)
I was very excited to try on the leopard slip dress, but it was not in my store. I had to try on the floral version instead. I was afraid the material would feel more satin-y (i.e. wrinkle super easy when you sit down), but it is more of a wrinkle-durable rayon. The fit was easy and you can't tell but there is a slit down one of my legs. I may or may not hem it to midi length. We will see how the leopard print actually looks on me, but for now it is ordered! I sized up to a medium.
I feel like I keep talking about my torso, but too bad because I'm about to do it one more time. Since I'm high waisted, I have to size way up for skirts that are made to be high waisted. I'm wearing an 8. It falls ok on my waist, but looks a bit wide at my hips. And just out of principal, I don't think it is worth getting a $40 item altered. So I passed. But again, depending on your body shape, this may be great for you. The quality felt great for the price!
I am jealous of all of you tall, slender people that can rock something like this. It was so unflattering. The print is great though. It has an elastic waist and I'm actually wearing an XS, so I would say this runs big.
I personally have not watched other blogger posts about the sale because I get quickly annoyed by the redundancy and overselling. But I feel like this is one of those items that bloggers will gush over, and for that reason, I almost didn't get it. But, I knew I would keep thinking about it so I decided to buy it and hope that my premonition about this being a popular blogger pick is incorrect!! I'm wearing a small. I don't have long cardigans like this in my closet. Really just the one I bought last year. So I figured this filled a good void in my wardrobe!
A black moto jacket is such a good staple. I have had mine (seen in a few outfits here) for sooo many years. It may be as old as this blog! So, I figured that justified me buying another one. I don't usually like double breasted styles like this one, but the material flows very nicely and close to the body so it still looks flattering even when worn open. I'm wearing a small. It is definitely more lightweight, so it would be great as a transitional jacket or for mild winter climates.
And last but certainly not least is this blazer. It is beautiful, but they only had a size 0 and a size 6 in the store. I'm wearing a 6 and I felt I could have sized down to a 4. I knew it would be a stretch for me to buy this with the price tag, but I just had to feel what a $400+ blazer felt like on my body. And it was pretty wonderful. If I hadn't found ANYthing else in the sale, I would have bought it and had it tailored.
A few people asked me about bags. I always buy a bag during Anniversary Sale. The bag selection was definitely lackluster this year, both in store and in the catalog. Maybe they decided to focus more on shoes, because the shoe section was definitely overflowing with choices! I did want to get the Clare V bag I put in my wishlist post. My sales associated ordered it for me at 10am this morning, but then by 2pm, I got an email saying it was canceled. Already sold out and the sale isn't even open for EARLY ACCESS!! All those icon shoppers stole the opportunity for me to experience joy with that bag. I'm having my SA stalk it for me. I'm hoping after the bloggers photograph it, they will return it and then I can buy it and use it. Ha! Sad but true.
Since that bag order ended up getting canceled, do you want to know how much my grand total was for everything I bought? $41.33!!! The price of that slip dress! Everything else was FREE thanks to the $540 worth of Nordy Notes and gift cards I've been hoarding since last anniversary sale. The sales associate got SUPER exciting seeing that balance trickle down to zero! And when I saw that zero balance, I legit threw my hands up in the air like I won the lottery!!!!
Obviously I posted all still photos in this post, but if you're like me and you like seeing how clothes move on your body, I saved all my try-on videos on my Instagram stories highlights reel. You will see the highlight called "NSale '19" for my millions of videos.
Thanks for hanging in there with me!! Now go shop and tell me what you buy!
Thanks so much for sharing- I've been following your anniversary sale posts since I first started shopping the sale! I'm excited to try the halogen wrap top and blondo booties. I'm going to pick up a few pairs of wit and wisdom jeans as well.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate your approach to posting about the sale on your blog and social media. I'm able to relate to it so much more than some of the bloggers who bring home a huge haul of stuff and declare them all "must haves".
Thank you for the AM Laugh with that Topshop Midi dress photo!! LOL your face there is the best. I do love that BlankNYC moto jacket you got and since my other black moto jacket is falling apart...I might consider it. We'll see if it's still available when I'm done considering! ha!
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