Lands' End - Nine Days Shopping

I'm not a proponent of shopping during the Nine Days. I know that Ashkenazic custom frowns on the practice, while Sephardim have a bit more wiggle room. But, in my completely non-rabbinic opinion, a deal is a deal and there are some deals worth sharing during the Nine Days.

I received a large Lands End order in the mail on Monday. I cannot emphasize it enough that I LOVE MY PURCHASE! I haven't been this excited about an online purchase since I received the Lands' End clothing mentioned in this blog post from December 2011. Yes, it has been that long since I loved a ton of clothing at once.

Here is a breakdown of what I received and why I love it. I found every item of clothing to be consistently sized. For those who are unfamiliar with Lands' End's sizing, think of it as more your "happy" size than your default size. I know I will get grief from my friends for posting this, but I'm 5'8", 125-130 lbs and my Lands' End size is solidly an XS or a 4. Their sizing is a tad more generous than Gap's, but it's not a full size more generous, so if you're in between sizes at Gap, size down for Lands' End, if that makes sense.

If you do order Lands' End online, I recommend clicking through Ebates or a similar site in order to earn cash back on your purchase. Lands' End regularly offers 3% cash back through Ebates, but a promotion today offers 6% cash back.

And now for the fashion.

Women's 3/4 Sleeve Sport Knit Dress



I am so excited about the Women's 3/4 Sleeve Sport Knit Dress. It's currently $19.99, no coupon code needed. I found that my collarbone was covered in all three colors I bought - black, navy, and cobalt. And, at 45" it easily covers my knees when I'm sitting. This dress got an enthusiastic reaction from my husband who tends to be very honest about how clothes fit and look on me. (I actually love that about him because I'm often my harshest critic.) He volunteered that these dresses could be worn to a special occasion. While I wouldn't wear them to a black-tie affair, I definitely think they're nice enough to be worn by guests to most frum weddings. I will have to figure out a decent way to tie the sash, but it's relatively thin, so I hope I'll eventually be able to copy the bow on the model. This dress is also available for $24.99 in a navy-with-mini-white-polka-dot pattern. It wasn't available in XS when I placed my original order, but it is available in XS now. I'm thinking of replacing the plain navy dress with the polka-dotted one because it's a really cute design.

The negative with this dress, which is a negative of any dress that gets shipped in little packages is that it arrived wrinkled. These will likely go through the washing machine and dryer before I wear them to get those pesky wrinkles out. (Alternatively I may just tumble dry them after splashing them with some water.) But, the bigger point here is that they're machine washable tznua-off-the-rack dresses for $19.99 - $24.99 and they're backed by Lands' End's Guaranteed. Period.® policy.

Finally, this dress is unlined and made of cotton. If you don't want panty-lines, I strongly recommend pairing this with Spanx (but watch for thigh bulges) or Hanky-Panky-like no-show lace thongs (including Victoria's Secret The Lacie Thong). You could also try wearing a skirt slip, which would allow you to wear a slightly wider array of undergarments with this dress, but you would need to pay attention to lines at your waist from the slip.

Women's 3/4-sleeve 1x1 Snap Boatneck



Comfortable, well-fitting, tznua 3/4-sleeve cotton knit shirts aren't always easy to find. Lands' End is a favorite of mine partially because they regularly make shirts that fit this description. At $12.99 currently, these are available for an awesome price. I already received one in black and after Tisha B'Av, I'm certain it's going to be one of my go-to shirts. I love it and it's impossible to have too many black (and white) shirts. This shirt is available at $12.99 in seven colors, although not every color is available in every size. I'm planning on ordering more in "Raspberry Ice" and "Purple Beet." This shirt looks great with the Sport Knit Skirt featured next.

Women's (Pattern) Sport Knit Skirt



Here is the 27" long Women's Pattern Sport Knit Skirt. It is the same material and pattern as the midnight-with-white-dot Sport Knit Dress discussed above. I'll likely be returning this skirt because it's not as practical for me after I have a dress in the same pattern, but it's very cute. It goes great with the 1x1 Snap Boatneck as seen in this picture. The only negative is that the price is currently $14.99 when it was $10.99 on July 22, the day I placed my order. C'est la vie! It's still a great value. You can also find this skirt in four non-staple solid colors (pink, cobalt, eggplant, and white) for $14.99.

This skirt is not for everybody.  The smooth elastic waistband does not have much give over the hips and I really felt I could break the elastic with time. Sizing up just resulted in the waistband gapping, which did not look nice. I also recommend the same undergarments I recommend for the Sport Knit Dress.

Women's Ashby Essential High Heel Shoes



Clothing is great, but you also need shoes. Shoes are so important. We demand that our shoes be cute, match our outfit, and define our personalities. But we don't always demand comfort. Well, I think we should. And these Ashby Essential 3.25" pumps are some comfortable heels. They're currently $37.97, but I paid $27.99 on July 22 for them. Hopefully, the price will drop again. But, even at close to $40, these shoes are WORTH EVERY PENNY!

First, these shoes are 100% leather - from the upper to the liner to the sole, these are leather. Second, they're very padded inside. I think they're similar in comfort and quality to my Cole Haan Air Violet pumps for which I paid $147.90 in February 2012. Admittedly, the Air Violet pumps are black patent, and I didn't think the black Ashby Patent High Heel Pumps were comfortable, but the nude Ashby Patent pumps were keepers. I found the shoes fit true to my normal shoe size of 9. There is a slight amount of gappage on the sides of my feet, but not more gap than I find for any $100 - $200 pair of shoes.

Tznua as Couture? Project Runway All Stars Think So

As I've mentioned on the blog before, I'm a big fan of Project Runway. There were many times this All Star Season 2 when a dress or outfit looked to be tznius for a moment (read: it had sleeves) but then either the fabric was sheer, there were cut-outs, or there was no back. Ho hum. Such is life.

But then Episode 11 brought us Couture Week. And, apparently, "couture" means dresses with lots of material, sleeves, and long skirts. Or, at least it did to Emilio and Anthony Ryan.

While I loved Anthony Ryan's dress, his sheer fabric and lack of lining made it, unfortunately, un-tznius.

However, Emilio's tznius dress was a style that many of us who have attended frum weddings are used to seeing, albeit in a fabric that cost €175 per meter. (Since it was a couture challenge, the contestants each had a €3,000 budget for materials. I'm not even going to attempt to estimate what this dress would cost to get custom-made in this fabric by your local seamstress.) But, even though I didn't swoon over his dress, it was pretty and he came in second place in the challenge to Anthony Ryan. Plus, the judges loved it, including Isaac Mizrahi. (You can watch the critique of Emilio's dress from the 24:29 - 25:56 mark of Episode 11.) And, the back of the skirt of Emilio's dress is similar to the back of the skirt of my wedding dress.

Here are the front and back pictures of Emilio's dress:





P.S. Sorry for the long break between posts. The whole pregnancy/having-a-baby/haven't-done-a-whole-lot-of-clothing-shopping-for-myself thing got in the way.

Fast Fashion's Tznua Dresses

So I got some flak for my Nordstrom Anniversary Sale post. Apparently many of you don't like to spend $600 or $800 on dresses. I'm truly shocked to learn this. With day school tuition so inexpensive, I figured we all had tons of extra money laying around for expensive clothes and trips to Israel. But I digress.

Out of respect for pretty much everyone and due to some super sleuthing by one of my coworkers, I bring you two dresses from fast fashion chains that are relatively affordable, even at their regular prices. And, even better, they are from the chains' fall fashion lines, so you should be able to find your size, assuming the store produced it.

First off is the $59.95 dress from H&M in aubergine. The top has a really interesting criss-cross drape that adds elegance to this solid dress. It's made of a combination of CUPRO and elastane. CUPRO appears to be a silk substitute that is made out of cotton linter, is similar to Tencel, and is machine washable. And as you've probably figured out by now, I love everything to be machine washable, mainly because I only remember to get my dry cleaning done once per year and I don't like spending $15 to get a dress cleaned. I think this dress would look great dressed up and worn to a wedding with heels and shiny jewelry. Dressed down with a belt, flats, and chunky jewelry, it could be worn shopping, out with friends, or to work. Unfortunately,  H&M doesn't offer online shopping yet, so you'll have to find this at your local H&M store. I know how hard it is to force oneself to go to the mall.

UPDATE 8/8: This dress hasn't yet arrived in H&M's warehouse, so no store has received this dress. This dress likely won't be available for purchase for another 2 - 3 weeks. If you are interested in knowing if it will be available in a store near you, call H&M's customer service at (855) 466-7467 after 8/22 and refer to item # 678880. This dress is in the "Modern Day Classic Wear" collection and could be available in most H&M locations.

UPDATE 8/29: I've been trying weekly to get information about this dress from H&M's customer service phone number and I got a different explanation every week I called. Two days ago, I asked the woman I spoke to at customer service if there was anyone else I could talk to, and she referred me to H&M's US Support Center (which is basically their headquarters for their US operation). I called, and the woman couldn't help me much over the phone because all of H&M's buyers are located in Sweden, but she contacted them and got back to me this morning. Here is what she told me:

"The dress is from our Trend label and the order number is 35216. It has been in our stores for about a week. Our US warehouse has only received a little less than 900 pieces and it will not receive any more shipments.

Our suggestion is to contact your local store that carried the ladies trend line to see if they have any in stock. We hope this information has been helpful."

In the DC region, I believe the "Trend" store is the one on F St NW in DC, close to Metro Center. I'll call them today and update this post with their response. If you are not located in the DC area, I suggest calling H&M's Customer Service line at (855) 466-7467 to find out which store(s) in your area carry the "Trend" line, then calling that (those) store(s) directly.

This second dress, the Long Dress with Leaves, is more appropriate to wear to weddings. Most likely, if you're a mother of the bride or a bridesmaid. it's long-sleeve, high neck, long skirt, and perhaps a slight bit matronly. It's from Mango, so I'll assume that the matronly bit is in style. That being said, it's a machine washable special occasion dress that you're really  not supposed to dry clean. And, did I mention that it's only $169.99? I'm not sure many people have found less expensive bridesmaid gowns than that, even at gemachs. And, it's at least half the cost of getting a dress made (and will likely fit better, too). I wouldn't wear too much with it because the leaves are a bit sparkly already. But, there are always chunky rings and pretty earrings that would look really nice with this dress. You can purchase it online, and it's possible a few stores will sell it, but I would definitely call the store you want to buy it from before going out of your way to get there. Hopefully, they'll sell it at some of their many stores in Israel, too.

Cute Maternity Dress for Fall

We all know it's hard to find a dress that's tznua off the rack. It's even harder to find a maternity dress that is tznua off the rack. But I found one!

Here is the Lantern Sleeve Dress by Maternal America at Amazon.com. It's really cute, flattering to many figures, and relatively inexpensive at about $50 for the dress in gray and $60 for the dress in black. This dress would be great for a fun evening out with friends, Shabbat, a casual wedding, or a pre-baby date night. And, since it comes with a belt and there are buttons on the turtleneck, very little accessorizing is necessary. Just throw the dress on and you'll be ready to go out!

Please note that the description of the dress says that it's dry clean only. The dress is a rayon/spandex blend. Based on the material, I believe that it could be hand washed or washed on a delicate cycle in the washing machine. The only issue with these washing methods is that the dress would likely dry wrinkled. If you have a good steamer, it should take care of the wrinkles. Otherwise, you'll probably have to spend the money on dry cleaning when you need to clean the dress.

Please also note that Maternal America often sizes their clothing slightly smaller than Motherhood Maternity and A Pea in the Pod do. If you're in between letter sizes, you may want to consider sizing up (i.e. if you're a 6 you may want to consider purchasing the medium instead of the small).

Project Runway Season 10

As is not surprising, I'm a big fan of Project Runway. Season 10 kicked off last Thursday with 16 designers. Several of the designs incorporated sleeves and hemlines that weren't super short, but the designer who came in third place for the week, Melissa Fleis, put an actual tznius look down the runway!

This look was one of two looks Melissa put down the runway. This particular look was her "homework assignment." It was shipped ahead of Project Runway's taping and was meant to represent who she is as a designer. I thought it was great that she would choose a look that was tsnius to represent herself. Her second look, which she only had a day to create, was not tsnius, but she only had one day to make the second garment, so I'll let that slide.

I personally love this look. I think the skirt of the dress is very flattering and the vest adds great texture and an interesting neckline. I think it would look great in a variety of colors, especially a more equestrian color palate of a deep red dress and a dark camel or dark brown vest. I could see other more playful color combinations looking great as well.

In the interest of full disclosure on the blog, I learned based on the Tim Gunn critique of Melissa on Project Runway's site that the dress' neckline is asymmetrical and not tsnius on its own. It's either the same as or similar to this dress on her website. However, the vest was never taken off on the runway (or at least the TV-edited runway), so I'm going on the assumption the dress with vest is a complete look and meant to be worn together.

Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale

My favorite sale of the year is Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale. It's Nordstrom's only sale where they discount products meant for an upcoming season and discount wardrobe staples. This year, they have some pretty great tznua high-end designer dresses on sale, as well as a designer skirt and a few shirts.  I'm highlighting my favorite five items from the sale, but there are other tznua items on sale that are a bit more trendy and do not suit every taste.

The Anniversary Sale begins July 20 and ends August 5 (prices go up August 6). Nordstrom credit card holders can shop the pre-sale in stores and online going on now.

First, the dresses.

I love this dress by Lida Baday.  It will be on sale for $599.00 and cost $1,060.00 after the sale. I know it seems pricey, but a tznua suit by this designer at Nordstrom costs $1,295.00 for the suit jacket and $625.00 for the skirt. So, this dress is a relative bargain at $600. And while my lawyer friends wouldn't necessarily be able to get away with wearing this dress in a courtroom, I think that this dress would be a great suit substitute for most job interview and job-related presentation situations.  This dress is made of wool and is fully lined, so you may not want to add this to your summer wardrobe, but its tailoring is impeccable.

Also of note is this jersey dress by Michael Kors in "blackberry."  This dress will be $799.00 on Anniversary Sale and $1,395.00 afterward. Surprisingly, this dress is not lined, so I'm not 100% certain how forgiving the top will be, but I believe the tailoring of the bottom will be very forgiving. It's definitely much more expensive than the lower-end Ralph Lauren dresses available last winter (the American Living version was featured on my blog in February). I wouldn't recommend it as highly as the Lida Baday dress, but if you're a big fan of Michael Kors, any tznua dress by him is a great find. The dress is also available in black for the same price.

Next, the skirt.

I know first-hand how hard it is to find any tznua pencil skirts. The ones that are long enough are generally way too tight. So, you can imagine my excitement when I found this skirt by Nic + Zoe. Other than the fact that it's a matte dark brown and not black, it's pretty much a perfect pencil skirt; it's slimming, interesting, and not tight. It's like a pencil skirt miracle! And at $78.90 for the sale (and machine washable!) it's a steal compared to it's future regular price of $119.00.

And finally the shirts.

So you're probably waiting for me to post an item that's affordable to the masses. I have it right here. This long-sleeve cotton crewneck tee by Caslon, which comes in 15 different colors, is only $15.90 on the sale and $25.00 after. I can attest that these shirts are made incredibly well. They do not shrink when washed properly, they are a perfect length, and will not ride up to show your back or belly. They also last forever. Plus, Nordstrom provides free standard shipping for every purchase, so you won't have any surprising costs when you checkout!

The last featured shirt is a dressier long-sleeve crewneck tee by Norstrom Collection in stretch modal fabric. It comes in two colors - ivory and red. It will be on sale for $64.90 and cost $98.00 after the sale. This shirt is intended for situations where cotton isn't dressy enough - such as at work, at shul, or to wear under a blazer.

Full disclosure: I was employed by Nordstrom throughout much of college. They were a terrific employer and the job has helped me get every job I've held since. I have not been paid by Nordstrom since 2004 and I don't get any commission from my blog.

First Ladies - They're Just Like Us!

British Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife, Samantha, made an official visit to the US this week and spent a bit of time with President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.  Ms. Cameron and FL Obama made big stirs with all of their fashionable clothing choice becaause they are both big fashion icons in their respective countries.

But who would have thought they would both be wearing tsniusdik clothing at the same time during the Official White House Welcoming Ceremony on March 14, 2012?  Samantha Cameron wore a 42" long Roksanda Illincic dress that retails for $1,330.  (Please note that the link says the dress is "above the knee," but I found at Browns Fashion London that the dress is 42". The dress is now sold out there, so I cannot link to this source, but as you can see from the picture below, it covers Ms. Cameron's knee.)

I was never able to find any links for Michelle Obama's Zac Posen suit, but it was likely custom made.  Please note that Michelle Obama is 5'11" tall, so the tiny bit of knee showing on her likely wouldn't show on many of this blog's readers. I'm not sure if her suit blazer zips all the way up, but when you custom order her suit, you can request whatever zipper you want (or whatever length skirt you want, too).

Amazing Dress at JC Penney!

So this weekend I went shopping, primarily for my 20-month old son. But I couldn't help but stroll by the dresses section at J.C. Penney. And what did I find but this gorgeous red number by American Living (J.C. Penney's private label by Polo Ralph Lauren) for the low price of $34. I know the site says $90, but it's $34 in store. This past weekend, the store in Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg, MD had almost every size in red and bright violet ($45).  And when I had a different store pull up locations to buy the dress, there were many locations in the Maryland and DC area that still had it in stock. You can call your local store for inventory before stopping by. This dress is form fitting, and I think it looks best when worn one or two sizes smaller than your normal size. It stretches and it looks like it adds weight where it's baggy. The red dress is perfect for a date night with the husband, or when you want to be the center of attention, such as at your engagement party or your sister-in-law's engagement party (just kidding... maybe). The violet dress is perfect for attending a wedding, shul, or anywhere else where you don't want to completely stand out in the crowd (your best friend's engagement party, perhaps?).

It looked great with my black leather boots when I tried it on (but then again, what doesn't?). I think both colors would look wicked attractive with 4"-5" black patent leather pumps, but my coworker suggesting going with nude pumps with the red dress. What it comes down to is that it's incredibly easy to accessorize this dress and be a show stopper.



Please note, the dress covers my knees. I would suspect that the model is at least 6'0" or the dress was hemmed for pictures.

When purchasing a form-fitting dress, or really any clothing for that matter, it's important to stress the importance of proper undergarments. I believe the #1 most un-tznius thing a woman can have showing are panty lines through her skirt. And I see it all the time on people who try to dress very modestly. I think Spanx would be best with this dress for the most flattering fit, but it's not necessary. If you're not going the Spanx route, I would go for undergarments by Hanky Panky ($18/each unless you find discontinued styles on sale for about $12-$14) or a knock-off (Victoria's Secret's goes for 3 for $30). And make sure no matter what you wear underneath, make sure the sides of all your undergarments are smooth to your body and are not folded in any way.

Rachel Roy Fold Waist Dress

Here's the 43.5" long Rachel Roy Fold Waist Dress. As far as I can tell from the pictures, it seems to fit every rule of tznuit.



It's currently $240 + tax at Neiman Marcus, which is just over 50% off its retail price of $500. Only sizes 4 and 8 remain there. Alternatively, it's currently available for $300 on Rachel Roy's website in sizes 0 and 16. It appears Nordstrom used to sell it, but they're out of stock.