Belle’s Anniversary Sale Follow-Up, Part II
Jul 22, 2015
Yesterday, I shared my skirt and dress purchases from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. Today, it’s time to recap the tops, sweaters, and blazers. Let’s dive right in!
Chelsea28 Floral Embroidered Sweater ($59)
Living in D.C., I rarely bought sweaters. Living out West, I could use a few more. This sweater is different; I like the embroidered front and tone-on-tone look.
I ordered the XS, which was a size smaller than the guide recommended. As a result, the sweater is more fitted, which is what I wanted.
Verdict: I’m in a holding pattern about this sweater. I really like it. The look is cool. But I’m not sure I will wear it very much, so I’m withholding my final decision for a bit.
Cashmere High-Low Tunic ($99, petite)
I thought this sweater would be lovely with dark denim and a long necklace. It comes in five lovely colors, and I chose this deep teal/green. I loved the length.
The issue I had was that I’m pear-shaped and slight, so I had a hard time finding the right size. The XS was the closest, but it wasn’t perfect.
Verdict: This is a well-made, lovely sweater. But sometimes the size just doesn’t work. I got close, but I wasn’t $99-thrilled with it so it went back.
Classiques Entier Silk Scarf-Neck Blouse ($119)
A tie-neck blouse is a wardrobe workhorse for me. I don’t do the bow; I just tie a knot and tailor the ends a bit shorter. It’s a bit more modern.
The quality of the fabric on this blouse is nice. It’s smooth with a bit of sheen. If you’re looking for opaque, you’re 80% of the way there. You may need a cami, but I wouldn’t call it sheer.
Verdict: I sent this blouse back in the ivory and picked it up in the pale blue/pale teal. I needed a bit more color in my wardrobe.
The blouse says it’s high/low, but I didn’t find the disparity between the front and back hem to be too extreme. I liked the pale mauve hue, but I have a blouse in this color already. Luckily, it comes in our other colors.
As for the fit, I sized down from the guide recommendation. It was a little boxy, but not bad. If I was going to wear it untucked over pants, I would tailor it. If I intended to tuck it into a skirt, I’d probably leave it a little blousey.
Verdict: Sent back the light color and ordered the darker burgundy. I’m hoping it’s more purple than red, but we’ll find out.
Halogen Open Front Topper ($85, also in petite)
I love long jackets. I wear with dresses, skirts, pants. They feel very modern and sophisticated to me. This jacket from Halogen comes in five nice colors. I bought the ivory to replace a white Zara jacket that is worn out from wear. It also comes in plus-size.
Verdict: The fit was a little big, even sized down, but the tailor can fix that. It’s staying (mostly because I wore my last white jacket so much).
Halogen Lapis Pattern Suit ($99)
Every year, I buy one expensive suit and two cheaper ones. The idea being that I’ll have the expensive suit for years, and I can wear the other two until I tire of them. This is my second inexpensive suit for this year.
I like the color blue of this suit. It’s not as deep as navy and has a grey undertone. The fabric also has a unique texture to it, a bit like small tweed.
Verdict: I like the suit. It has a sleek look to it. And it’s a very nice suit for $150. Keeper.
Dear Belle,
Thank you for the Halogen suit recommendation and a REALLY great “I read every post” blog—-so helpful and much appreciated!
I live in the middle of nowhere—so finding great professional stuff to wear is a fairly arduous endeavor. This suit is nice enough for interviewing in my industry/area, and Halogen is a brand that has worked well for me. It’s also inexpensive enough that I won’t be sad that I only wear it for interviews/high church funerals.
The rest of the time I’m rockin a PNW/semi-structured/Jill Sander/Eileen Fischer look. Hoping when the suit arrives it works but in any event I appreciate your mad curating skills!
I went to my local Nordstrom’s after work yesterday to check out the Halogen suit. It does have a great fit. The jacket has a nice structure to it – I find many suit jackets in this price range to be flimsy and to pull awkwardly through the chest/torso. And I love the slightly sexy ankle pants as a balance to the masculinity of the jacket. Great buy for $160 total. Thanks for the recommendation!
The article on not asking pregnant women if they are going back to work hit close to home. I live in DC and work for the government and had a baby last November. I was very surprised at all the questions and comments I got.
“Are you going back to work afterwards?” “Yes. It was your mother’s generation that didn’t do that.”
“You can thank the American taxpayers for your maternity leave.”
“Actually my leave is unpaid and the American taxpayers can thank me for the millions of dollars I’ve collected for them.”
From an old lady on the metro while I was heavily pregnant: “Are you okay?” “Yes, I’m on my way to work.”
My favorite from my mother-in-law: “When [my husband] was born I took two years off. His grandmother watched him when I couldn’t and we never had a sitter who was not related.” “My salary is higher than your son’s so if one of us were to stay home it would be him and we don’t want him to do that.”
I bought the white topper, too! I can’t wait for it to get here so I can see if it will work.