Cowl Neck Sweater Dress: Talbots vs. Ann Taylor

I've been craving a cowl neck sweater dress for this winter.  The first one I saw was at Talbot's, so when they offered 25% off plus free shipping I took the plunge and placed an order.  After ordering from Talbot's I ran across another cowl neck sweater dress at Ann Taylor.  They were running a special too (buy one get one half off) so I placed another order to try it out.
The Talbot's dress is a size pp and the Ann Taylor is a size xsp.

The feel of the sweater material is quite different in each dress.  The Talbot dress feels much softer than the Ann Taylor, and the cowl neck falls much easier on the Talbot dress as well. The hem is a bit longer on the Talbot's which I think would be more versatile making it appropriate for multiple occasions.  The color of the Ann Taylor one is really special though.
As you can see the Talbot's dress has a slight a-line flair at the hem, which helps minimize hips if you tend to be a bit curvy back there.
There was just a tiny bit of extra material in the back of the Talbot's dress but the rest of the fit was exactly the same except for the hem length.

Overall, I'm thinking the fit of the Talbot's is more flattering and I think I'll probably get more wear out of it, but I'm wondering which one you guys prefer?  Any preference one way or another?

Bestie Borrow

Hi Guys,

The beautiful girls over at Shop Mamie are hosting a Bestie Borrow competittion and I was lucky enough to be chosen to participate. 

I recieved this amazing dress from them and had the opportunity to style it up and then pass it on to my bestie so that she could style it in her own creative way.

First of all I'm going to show you the front and back of the dress on it's own here.

And..........here's the back of the dress

Really cute right?!!  I styled the dress below............................................

And this is my bestie Satako (who always blows my mind with her outfit combinations)!

We both had so much fun styling this flirty little dress!  Be sure to check out the entire Bestie Borrow segment at Shop Mamie ;)

e-Shakti Review

I first heard about e-Shakti last year (I believe it was) when it seemed that bloggers all over the place had been contacted to do a review for this amazing clothing company.  The very cool thing about the clothes that you can buy from e-Shakti is any item on their website that you might fancy can be made to your particular specifications.  Do you prefer a v-neck to a round neck?..............Do you prefer cap sleeves to 3/4 sleeves? ..........Are you sick of buying blouses that fit everywhere else but doesn't accommodate your chest?  None of this is a problem for e-Shakti and incredibly enough, the price for these personally tailored pieces is not going to cost you an arm and a leg.

When I received the dress that e-Shakti sent me to review, I inspected it very carefully.  The quality was  wonderful and it put me in mind of Ann Taylor or White House Black Market items without the sticker shock.

The first pictures are to show you how the dress fits me (e-Shakti went off my exact measurements).  The rest of the pictures were just fun..............(You know I couldn't try something on without styling it)! Lol

I've been dying for a dress this color since none of the other ones I've bought have worked out.

The little smile on my face here means I've just discovered this dress has pockets! Yay

Back and Side Views

And now for the fun part!

Heidi Girl was quite taken with the dress herself!

If you are interested in purchasing an item from e-Shakti please be sure to use the $20.00 off promo code PEMS0811 provided by e-Shakti especially for Petite Early Morning Style readers.  This promo is valid 'till 15th September, 2011. 

Note: The discount code is not case sensitive. The code can be used any number of times until the validity period. This discount code is not applicable on their Overstock category and cannot be combined with any other offer / discount that may be active during this period.

If you have ever reviewed this company please send me a link to your post.  I'd like to provide everyone with as much information as possible.

Misikko Flat Iron Review‏ and Hair Tutorial

I start with a freshly washed hair and just comb it through with a wide tooth comb or pick.

Next I separate a row of hair on the bottom and round brush while blow drying

Next I go around the bottom layer of hair first, combing through, then flat ironing each section.

You can see the flat iron will glide easily over each section since it is combed through first.

As you can see here, the bottom layer is complete.

I section off another layer of hair and go around again with round brush and blow dryer.

That section is finished being round brushed and blow dried and you can see how the ends aren't straight, but rather, curl under.

Using the Misikko Flat Iron again, I glide it over each section.

And, here is that section once it's been flat ironed.

Next I round brush and flat iron the very last bit of the back.

You can see how nicely that turned out here.

Don't forget to flat iron the bangs.

Here is finished product.

Brian from the Misikko Company was kind enough to send me a Hana Professional 1.5 inch flat iron to review.  I took my time getting around to the review because I wanted to use it for a bit before giving an opinion about it. 

I use a flat iron almost every single day, and the first thing that I noticed about this iron is the plate size is perfect for my hair length.  The iron did not grab or pull at my hair as I have had flat irons do in the past and the ceramic plates produce an ionic heat that doesn't destroy your hair.  You can see how shiny my hair is and that is without the use of a shine serum or spray.

The quality is excellent, it's very user friendly and I like that it has different heat settings (I keep mine set on 302). 

The Misikko Company also carries: Chi Hair Straightener, Best Hair Dryer and HANA Salon Products. 

Please let me know if you have any questions about my hair regimen or the Misikko Hana Professional 1.5" Flat Iron.  Misikko provides a "How to Use a Flat Iron" guide, which I think is very useful as well.

Misikko has been reviewed by a few petite beauties lately, here are the links to the ones I know about, if I missed you feel free to yell at me ;) Lol......(Seriously, let me know and I'll add you in  :)

Annie, Ping, Tara, Cher, Jean, Michelle and Kileen

Review: Loft Petite Roll Sleeve Drapey Shirt & JCrew Cotton Bell Skirt

I was at the Loft Friday and picked up this blouse to help complete some savings cards for full discount.  I was surprised by how much extra fabric there was all over since I did get the xxsp.  (However, I think that may just be the style of the blouse and tucked in you'd never know).

The sleeves are meant to be rolled up on this blouse, but I thought you guys might like to see where they hit on my wrists when worn unrolled....(of course you can see from this last picture that the sleeve tabs are quite visible when the sleeves are fully extended. 

What I like about this blouse:  Super soft and amazingly comfortable.  (I almost wish it came with matching silk pajama bottoms for the option of wearing to bed!) Lol  The color is also quite versatile and goes with more than I expected in my closet.

What I don't like about this blouse:  Completely see-thru.  I took pictures with a nude bra and you can definitely see that it would need a cami underneath.  It also stains like the dickens!  I am quite a messy eater so it's necessary to keep a tide pen in my bag at all times.  I have never had a tide pen leave a ring on fabric after use, but it did with this blouse.  It will definitely have to be washed to get the spot cleaning rings out.  Luckily the tag says wash in cold and tumble dry.

I also trotted into JCrew Friday.  I had heard that this skirt ran small and was hoping to find it on sale in store in a size that worked for me.  I tried on a 00 and size 2  (size 0 was not available).  I actually bought the size 2  because it had extra fabric in the gathers in the back that I thought were really cute.

What I like about this skirt:  A very comfortable pull-on style.  Also quite flattering despite the extra material all around.  I believe that I will be able to wear this skirt to the office or casually on the weekends, the material seems really versatile.

What I don't like about this skirt:  The fabric is quite stiff, so it was necessary to smooth it down or adjust after standing. 

I would love to get feedback on both items and please be brutally honest.  If something needs to go back I definitely need to know ;)

Outfit Details:

Loft Roll Sleeve Drapey Shirt (Also reviewed by Liane at Petite XXS)
JCrew Cotton Bell Skirt (Also reviewed by Cee at To Brighten My Day in cotton and wool and by Vicky at Vicky's Daily Fashion Blog)
Kruise Peep Toe Slingback

Review: Banana Republic Outlet Petite Gray Sheath Dress

I first fell in love with dress at the Banana Republic Outlet.  Unfortunately, it wasn't in my budget so I gave it a teary good bye and checked my e-mail inbox daily for outlet coupons. 

The next time I saw this dress it was being reviewed by petite bloggers.  If you did review this dress please leave me your links so I can add them in.  I was thinking Jean, Annie and Vicky all reviewed this dress but I could be wrong 'cause I couldn't find the posts!....(So frustrating) 

Anyway, finally ran across it on e-bay in a 00p no less - yay!  So, here's how I styled it................

I can tell this dress is a keeper 'cause I felt pretty all day!..........(don't you just love when that happens?)


Outfit Details:

BR Outlet Sheath Dress (Similar)
BR Outlet Striped Cardigan (Similar)
Nine West Peep Toe Pumps (Similar)
Kenneth Cole Outlet Bag (Similar)
Forever 21 Necklace

Review: Tucker For Target

Thanks to Lisa at Respect the Shoes I heard that Target re-released some of the dresses from their Go International collection this week!  Of course I scooted my tushie down there to check it out ;)  This dress by Tucker for Target has been seen on several bloggers.  A bit big on my short frame, but I think once I got it styled it looked just fine.

Not to shabby....I kind of like it.  So the sleeves are supposed to be bracelet length and the hem is supposed to hit a bit closer to mid thigh..............not the end of the world right?  What do you think?