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.

Merona by Target Hits the Bullseye

I'm not usually the biggest fan of clothing from Target. I often find the fit is off and the materials leave a lot to be desired. However, I still look at the clothing because sometimes there is something surprising. This season, there's a lot to like by Merona.

Take, for example, the Merona Women's Oxford Blazer in Solids or Patterns. The regular price is $34.99, but you can get it in-store this week for $26.24. Online, they currently cost $30.00. These blazers are machine washable(!!!), have a great texture, are not at all shiny, and would make excellent sweater replacements at the office. Some even have cute hidden design details! For example, the Gazelle Brown jacket has navy body lining, white-and-navy-striped sleeve lining, and the lining under the collar is bright pink! (Note also that Gazelle Brown is a bit darker in person than what is shown online. It's more of a pure taupe.) The sleeves of this jacket are also long, which is awesome for us tall women! They're shown in-store with the sleeves slightly cuffed. This is one of the few lower-end jackets I've found that have sleeves that fit me correctly, so if you usually find yourself in the "awkward sleeve boat" this may be the casual jacket for you! I bought it in the White Dot (shown) and the Gazelle Brown. I'm thinking about also ordering it in "Black" and "Green Marker." It's true-to-size.



Obviously, in the office, you'll want a nice shirt that's versatile to go with your blazer. This shirt should be able to be worn by itself when it isn't cold or be able to look nice under the blazer. Well, Merona has the shirt for that, too! And, it's only $9.00 on-sale this week both in-store and online ($12.00 regularly)! It's the Women's Boatneck Tee in Solids and Stripes. While I found the "Fresh White" color to be a bit too see-through for my taste, I though the "Black" (shown) looked lovely and I want to order it in "Rubenesque Red," which is really more burgundy in color. This shirt happens to be a bit oversized, so I recommend ordering the size you purchase t-shirts in at Talbots or Lands End. I found the shirt covered my collarbone (but just barely) and was fitted, unlike shown on the model. It also used extra material to close part of the boatneck, which almost appears like a wide-sleeved tank top is being worn underneath the shirt.



While I didn't find the Women's Jersey Knit Wrap Skirt in my store, it looks pretty awesome. I'm considering purchasing it in black. It appears to hit just below the knee. I believe this skirt would be a great complement to the blazer and shirt shown above.



There are many more items at Target that you may want to consider. There's also a lot of clearance in-store right now; MLB apparel is currently 50% off at my local store and has been for over a week. I've bought my children summer games at up to 90% off, and I bought a birthday present also on a great clearance deal. If you haven't gone shopping at Target lately, you're really missing out!

NFL's Not Transparent with Its New All Clear Policy

If you're friends with me on Facebook, you know my disdain for the NFL's new "All Clear" policy. As an NFL Season Ticket holder whose ticket cost went up by about 57% this year without changing seats, the last thing I wanted was for insult to be added to my pocketbook's injury.

If you still need background, the NFL owners decided in the offseason to implement a stronger security policy. That's great. I'm all for security. I may not be the most paranoid person in the world, but I appreciate that a terrorist may like to blow up a stadium with 60,000 - 100,000 people inside. So yay for security! But the NFL didn't just increase security; they lied while doing it. I'm assuming the NFL took a cue from the NSA here and figured that lying is OK if it's in the interest of security. Well, as the NSA is learning, lying to the American people is simply not cool (just look at any recent op-ed page).

One of the NFL's new security initiatives is its new All Clear policy. This policy restricts the types of bags that are permitted into NFL stadiums. In the NFL's own words, at http://www.nfl.com/allclear, only the following types of bags are permitted into NFL stadiums during the 2013-14 NFL season.

• Bags that are clear plastic, vinyl or PVC and do not exceed 12” x 6” x 12.”

• Small clutch bags [no larger than 4.5" x 6.5"], approximately the size of a hand, with or without a handle or strap can be taken into the stadium with one of the clear plastic bags.

• An exception will be made for medically necessary items after proper inspection at a gate designated for this purpose.

On the surface, I'll admit this doesn't seem too bad. They're not allowing diaper bags, which is the kicker for those of us with kids. If you have kids, you know that diaper bags consist not only of diapers, but of wipes, changes of clothes for those inevitable leakages, hand sanitizer, and changing pads. Those items alone probably wouldn't fit into a clear plastic gallon-size bag (or even two). That makes the policy very inconvenient, especially when, as season ticket holders, we can go to up to 10 regular season games each year.

But if you see us go to an MLB stadium, our normal cargo consists of my Coach purse (which is not at all a clutch), our Skip Hop Dash diaper bag, a cooler bag with our meal, and a reusable shopping bag full of snacks and bottled water. All shoved into our Uppababy Vista or G-Luxe stroller. We never have issues with security lines and we always offer all of our bags to check.

Maybe if I wasn't such a horrible packer, I'd manage with just a few bags. But I always pack to much. It's probably the Jewish mother in me, but I only fly Southwest just to have that baggage allowance. And trust me, we literally use every ounce and piece of that baggage allowance. So, you can imagine my horror to think that it could take me an hour to pack us correctly for a family outing using our season tickets.

As a rational person who didn't want to rush to judgement, I decided to read the full pdf of the NFL's policy. The policy states, in pertinent part:

This public safety measure is being successfully used at other large venues. The University of Michigan, Penn State University and Michigan State University do not permit any bags, while the TD Garden in Boston only permits clutch bags.

Naturally, I wanted to see the policies of these venues for myself. Unsurprisingly, the NFL miscategorized each and every policy they listed here. Here's the rundown:

Michigan Stadium (a.k.a. "The Big House" of University of Michigan)

Michigan Stadium's website cites the following:

 Prohibited Items
All bags (including purses)... 

Medical exceptions will be addressed individually at the gates. Those requiring necessary items (i.e. diapers for a baby, medical prescriptions, etc.) are encouraged to carry them into the stadium in a clear plastic bag.

Admittedly, UMich's policy is more restrictive than the NFL's policy. However, the NFL stated, "The University of Michigan... [does] not permit any bags." UMich does permit clear plastic bags in limited circumstances.

Beaver Stadium (Penn State University)

Beaver Stadium's website cites the following:

Article [stet] and items that may not be brought into the stadium:
...Backpacks
Bags, including diaper bags and purses larger than 8-1/2"x11"x11"

Last I checked, bags 8.5"x11"x11" and smaller were still bags. Thus, the NFL is incorrect when it stated, "Penn State University... [does] not permit any bags."

Spartan Stadium (Michigan State University)

Spartan Stadium's website cites the following:

Prohibited Items
Bags larger than 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" x 2" (including purses, fanny packs, backpacks, and diaper bags)

Like UMich and Penn State, MSU allows bags. They may not be big bags, but they're not required to be clear and they're larger than the clutches the NFL is permitting.

TD Garden

Finally, the NFL cited TD Garden as only allowing "clutch bags." TD Garden's website is slightly confusing when it states:

All guests will be subject to search, at TD Garden’s discretion, of their person and/or possessions (including women’s handbags of normal size that may be allowed entry after such search).... 

Prohibited Items
...Bags or briefcases

I admittedly didn't quite know the meaning of "normal size." Fortunately, I hail from the Boston area and I have a high school friend who attends many games at the Gahhden. In her words:

They basically let in any size purse or diaper bag after they have been searched, but they don't let in backpacks and laptop bags. They've gotten much stricter since the Boston Marathon bombings about checking all bags and not allowing oversize bags in...

A woman's "purse" the size of a suitcase will get in but a guy coming from work with a laptop gets turned away.

I may not be the fashionista on accessories, but I'm pretty sure there's no such thing as a suitcase as small as a 4.5"x6.5" clutch.

Final Thoughts

I wouldn't mind the NFL's All Clear policy as much if I didn't have kids. In fact, I miss the days when I could go to an amusement park with all my money shoved into a little wrist pack and could go on roller coasters bag-free. But, I also expect that a professional sports league that got close to $1,600 in tickets alone from me this year to at least have the decency to fact-check. It's as if the NFL hired the same interns the NTSB did this summer.

So, NFL, if you're reading this blog post, please change your policy. Or at least quote the policies of other stadiums correctly. If you don't, I'm just going to assume Dan Snyder came up with this policy to ensure that never again would anyone be turned away from FedEx field for wearing paper bags over their heads or bringing signs into the stadium.

3/4-Sleeve Tops from Ann Taylor

If you follow my Facebook page, you may have seen a post from two weeks ago where I mentioned a big Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor LOFT sale prior to July 4. I bought a ton of shirts. While I found that the LOFT clothing was generally sized pretty large, and so almost nothing fit me, Ann Taylor was sized just right. And their tops were perfect for work, Shabbat, and a wedding.

First, the wedding. If I'm attending your wedding on August 6, here's a sneak peak of what I'll be wearing on top. I'll be wearing the Twist Waist 3/4 Sleeve Top from Ann Taylor. It's regularly priced at $48. I bought it for 30% off but it's currently 50% off with the code "CHIC50" through Sunday, July 14. I'll be wearing it in black, but it's also available in violet and teal. I'm pairing mine with a slate-blue floor-length satin skirt by JS Collection that I purchased a number of years ago now. When I wear it to work, I'll just pair it with a cute skirt. I'm debating purchasing it in the other two colors because my husband loved this top on me. (Note: I found it covered my collarbone in front. It is a boatneck on the sides.)



Another Ann Taylor top I loved was the Drape Neck Top. I purchased it in blue (shown) and teal and I thought both looked great for Shabbat or work. I found the drape neck didn't fall down at all, although I haven't been able to wear it for a full day yet. I purchased it when clearance items were an additional 60% off. Clearance items are currently only an additional 30% off. I purchased it for $20, but it's still a great shirt for $35.




Finally, I also highly recommend the Crew Neck 3/4 Sleeve Cardigan. I bought it in three colors: teal (shown), bright blue, and coral (no longer available). The colors are beautiful and I'm planning on getting lots of wear out of these cardigans at work and on Shabbat. I bought them for $24 each when they were an extra 60% off. They are currently $42, which seems a little high to me, but they also seem to be great quality.



All the items I bought were washable. I hate going to the dry cleaner (and the fees they charge). I bought other styles; some I liked and others I didn't. But, there's such a big array of 3/4-sleeve tops on their website that are perfect for work and shul. I haven't seen a collection this great in a very long time. And none of them are 100% cotton. That's the best thing about what they are offering, in my opinion. Everything is truly dressy.

Ann Taylor offers free shipping on $175+ purchases or $8.95 flat-rate shipping for cheaper purchases. Note that they may ship items in multiple shipments without sending shipping confirmations. LOFT offers free shipping on $125+ purchases or $8.95 flat-rate shipping.

Rashguards Under $20

Many of the options I presented in yesterday's post were not so easily affordable. Today, I would like to present a few rashguaurd options that are under $20 but will still keep you tznius and your skin protected from the sun.

Old Navy Long-Sleeved Rashguard

I have to be honest. A friend from high school inspired this post. She saw yesterday's blog post, and found a rashguard on OldNavy.com for $15 (on sale) and posted it to my Facebook wall. What's even more remarkable is that the regular price of this rashguard is only $16.94. Unfortunately, sizes extra-small and small are sold out in each of the three available colors, but if you're a size medium, large, or extra-large, you're in luck! I've owned Old Navy swimwear in the past and I've been happy with it, although I've never tried an Old Navy rashguard. The rashguard comes in Black, which would match the swim skirt I posted about yesterday perfectly. The combo of this rashguard and that swim skirt would come to $74.50 (plus tax, and the cost of swim undergarments), which really isn't so bad given that swimsuits through the tznua companies generally cost $100+ (and are still too short in the skirt for me).

Nike Rash Guard Shirt

Our next entrant is the $18.00 Nike Rash Guard Shirt at Kohls. I'm still in shock I have an $18 price on a long-sleeve shirt by Nike that's not made out of cotton. What's even better is that you my be able to get an additional 15% off with coupon codes (making the cost of this rashguard $15.30 + tax). A few to try would be "SUMMERFUN", "COOKOUT", "PICNIC", "FLOWER15FB", "MYSAVINGS", and "HOT15" to name a few. Most, if not all, of these codes expire tomorrow, so hurry to use them! I'm a big fan of Nike's exercise tops, and I would hope that knowing Nike's quality, this rashguard will not disappoint!

Body Glove Deluxe Rash Guard - Long Sleeve

Slightly more expensive, at $22.95 (but it becomes at most $18.36 with coupon codes), is the Body Glove Deluxe Rash Guard - Long Sleeve at Sierra Trading Post. The logo is really cute on the front, and it's a great deal for a Body Glove rashguard. Three colors are available - "River Blue/White" (shown), "Ice Green/White" and "White/Pink." Unfortunately, Sierra Trading Post doesn't offer any free shipping options, so unless you order more items, you'll spend about $24 just for this rashguard after a 20% discount ("ALHIKE3", expires 6/6/13) and shipping. If you order $75+, try code "EMY13" for a 25% discount (unknown expiration), or if you're spending about $125 or $200, you can receive 25% or 30% off, respectively, with code "ALMAY3" through 6/6/13. You're also out of luck if you need a size larger than medium.

All three sites (and in reality most sites) featured on my blog offer cashback when you place your order after clicking through Ebates. The current cashback for the three stores featured on this post is from 2% to 3%. We love Ebates because they send us a check every quarter. I've touted it on the blog before and I think it's worth mentioning here again. (Note: the link to Ebates is my personal referral. If you sign up through my link I get an extra $5 in my next quarterly check. If you have other friends who's referrals you'd rather use, make sure you ask for their referral link before you sign up for an account.)

Post-Memorial Day Swimwear Extravaganza!

It's swim season ladies! And you know what that means? ... Hours and hours of scouring the internet for tznua swimwear! Here are my top picks for what to wear into the water this summer!

Pareo Cover Up by Coolibar

I found it. I found a skirt made out of swimming material that wasn't from a frum site. I thought it was impossible. I really did. But here it is. The Pareo Cover Up by Coolibar. I'm just as shocked as you are to find that this exists. Unfortunately, it may not be the best for swimming in deep water because it's so narrow, but you can definitely do some wading in calm water in this one. It would also be really cute to wear to the water parks! At $59.50, it's not inexpensive and still needs undergarments (swim tights and/or bikini bottom based on your personal preference), but for an item that's as difficult to find as this is, I think it's a great deal.



Coolibar offers free shipping on orders of $150 or more. It also provides a free bucket hat on orders of at least $100. The bucket hat is cotton, so not for the water, though.

Resort Swim Shirt by Coolibar

Coolibar also offers 11 tznua rashguard options, ranging in price from $65.00 to $89.50. One interesting option is the Resort Swim Shirt for $85. At 25" long, it's 1.5" longer than a normal rashguard. It also has a more relaxed cut for those who are worried about swimwear being too tight-fitting when wet. It seems to be a great option for tznua clothing wearers who want to get wet without sacrificing modesty.



Cabana Life Rashguards

There's been a proliferation of rashguards this year available on commercial websites. This is an awesome development given that only two years ago it was nearly impossible to find rashguards for women. Now, even Tory Burch has gotten into the rashguard mix (but most of us don't want to spend $175 - $250 on a rashguard). So, if a mixture of relatively affordable and super cute are your goals for a rashguard, look no further than Cabana Life. Cabana Life's Palm Rashuard is beautiful. It's print makes me want to go to Palm Beach or Hilton Head and just sit at the beach. It just looks expensive. But, at $68, it's affordable for a rashguard that has care in its design. I really like it, and it's going to take a bit of will-power for me to not buy this right now.



And if my favorite rashguard doesn't float your boat, so to speak, Cabana Life offers 21 other tznua rashguards with prices ranging from $50 to $72. Even Oprah likes them!

Just for kicks, here's a picture of Oprah's favorite, which is $54. It's my second-favorite!



Athleta Rashguards

One retailer that has consistently sold rashguards is Athleta. To be honest, I was nervous when Gap acquired Athleta that they would get rid of certain item categories, like rashguards. To my pleasant surprise, Gap has kept Athleta's rashguards and expanded the number of styles available. Gap has also opened a number of Athleta stores across the US, so you can even try Athleta merchandise on in-person. They also offer returns on items after you wear them if you don't like them (like Nordstrom and J.C. Penney)!

Atheta's old-faithful rashguard style is the Ruched Guard. It is always available in at least a few colors and the price ranges from $49.99 (for sale colors) to $69.00 (for regularly-priced colors). It also can provide extra length by adjusting the strings on the side.



J. Crew Rash Guard

Even J. Crew's gotten in the rashguard act. They offer 10 tznua styles, so you can feel like a First Lady when you go swimming. I really like everything they offer, and with prices ranging from $47.60 to $210.00, there's a rashguard for every budget. (Note prices will rise on June 3rd to at least $68.00, so go shopping while they're on sale.) For a style under $50, I like the Polka-Dot Rash Guard in Navy.



Lands End Swim Shirts and Rashguards

Last but not least for today, are the rashguards from Lands End, a store where I can find almost anything tznua, as long as it's not simchawear that I'm looking for. Lands End has 8 options, and with their current swim sale (40% - 60% off), prices range from $20.40 to $23.40 (Misses sizes), making these rashguards the most affordable of the bunch thus far. As an aside, I have ordered these before and I did not love the material for myself. But, they do get excellent reviews from other Lands End customers and Lands End  has an excellent return policy where you can return the item at any time if you don't like it.

One style to consider is the Stripe Crewneck Swim Tee Cover-Up in White/Black Stripe.

Gymboree's Little-Known Adult Clothing Line, Shade

You may not know, as Gymboree has an oft-overlooked and oft-ignored women's clothing brand called "Shade." The store sells misses and maternity sizes, with most clothing items being on the relaxed-side; think Ann Taylor Loft meets J. Jill. Nothing is too exciting, the regular prices are relatively high for what the clothing is, and Gymboree spends absolutely no time or money marketing it (unless, of course you count one Facebook post in December 2011).

Shade has 8,523 likes on its Facebook page, which isn't too shabby, but isn't great, either. (Note that Gymboree's Facebook page has over 437,000 likes.) But, many of those who like the page liked it before Gymboree purchased Shade. See, Shade started in 2004, joined Facebook in May 2010, and by the end of 2010 had closed. Gymboree bought it and reopened it as an online-only store in mid-2011. And then ignored it, as I perceive it.

Why would we be interested in Shade? Shade was founded in 2004 by two Mormon women in Utah who got tired of not being able to find modest clothes (sound familiar)? They designed a few basic shirts and their sales increased by 30% per month for awhile. Even non-Mormons liked to find shirts they didn't hang out of on top and didn't show plumbers' cracks on the bottoms! Holy cow!

Unfortunately, for whatever reason, they closed toward the end of 2010 and Gymboree bought them and brought them back with only making "minor" alterations to Shade's basic design style (read: lower necklines and some alterations to swimwear, I believe reading awhile ago). So, in a bid to get more customers by having more styles, they may have alienated the brand's most loyal customers while not making much of an attempt to get new customers to replace them.

Now here comes the Tznua Fashionista part of the whole story: The website currently looks like it's having a fire sale. Like, the clothing is dirt cheap. With free shipping and free returns. I don't know what this means for Shade's future prospects; Gymboree hasn't said they're closing the site or anything like that publicly. But, based on my infrequent visits to the site, it seems to be treated like the step-child of an indifferent step-parent.

Because of the irresistible prices I just placed my first order. Here's what I bought for a total of $27.32, including tax. (Still not quite sure where that tax is doing there.) There are more tznua clothing options on the site that I didn't buy because I didn't love them for me.

Note: Please pardon these less-than-crisp images. That's how they are on Shade's site, no joke. When I say the site doesn't get the attention it deserves, I'm not kidding. When you're on there, read the descriptions and see what doesn't make sense. I just have to shake my head.

The Drawstring Maxi Skirt

At $11.99, this item is a steal. It only comes in "Black." It says it's shiny satin, but it has a drawstring, so I'm not sure if I'm supposed to wear it for nicer occasions or if it's casual. But you know what? I don't care. It was $12 and it's a 40"-long skirt!



The Stripe Boatneck Slub Tee

This pretty little shirt cost the budget-busting amount of $5.99. I would have preferred to try it in a small, but it was sold out, so I settled for the extra-small. It says "free returns" anyway, right? (Note to my friends reading this: if it doesn't fit, feel free to try it on if you want to buy it off me before I return it.) I bought it in the "White/Fawn Stripe" color. The "White/Peach Stripe" color was already sold out when I found it.



The Slub Polo Shirt

The last item I purchased was this polo shirt for $7.79. It has buttons all the way to the collar, so it can be closed to the neck for super tznius-ability. Or, you can live dangerously and leave a few buttons unbuttoned. But if you go this route, here's a warning: it may lead to mixed dancing (the horror!), and we all know what that leads to... yeah, less reading of my blog. So, keep needing to search for those super-tznius clothing items we all love to hate to go shopping for! Anyway, I bought it in "Whisper Blue" because "White" was sold out



One final note: I have a newish general policy of not posting sale clothing and clothing in limited sizes on my blog. These items generally get short snippets on Tznua Fashionista's Facebook page instead. This warranted a blog post because of the nature of the discounts and how little-known the brand is.