Day #8: I Love L.A. (we love it)

I'm sorry, I know there are a lot of you out there that LOVE Lalaland, but I am NOT one of them. However, I was told this past week that I had two choices. Rebook my ticket home from Sacramento for the next day and get my OWN hotel room, or take a chance that my flight from Sacramento to LAX might land in time for me to catch the flight to Phoenix leaving at the same time.

They were close. I missed it by minutes. But as they say, it's not over until the doors closed and the

doors closed. So, I got to stay at the Aloft in El Segundo where it's very, very retro decor and the bartenders are obviously very excited about making their martinis, which made me very excited since I love fruity martinis like this pomegranate blueberry one. 

I had so many blog posts started this week and ended up falling asleep writing every one of them, so I know I'm behind already on my New Year's Eve goals of blogging every day but I have so, so, so many pictures to share of me Roeing out in the wild. And this is one. 

I have discovered that Lularoe is just absolutely perfect for traveling. It's so funny but every time I think I've found all the reasons why this clothing line is the best EVER, I find another one. When I flew out to Los Angeles, as you saw the other night, I was wearing an Azure layered over leggings with a Perfect and Sarah. Great for travel. I was so comfortable. For the trip to Los Angeles, I wore a black Maxi with a purple, yellow and red floral print over eggplant leggings with a mineral wash berry Classic. Same purple striped Sarah. It was so incredibly comfortable for getting through security and to the gates and went perfectly to the hotel for dinner. 

When I was given about three minutes to grab a change of clothes for the next day, it was an easy

decision. I pulled out a Carly and a pair of leggings. Done. Unfortunately, I got home SO late that day that I forgot completely about taking a picture, but when I got off the plane, it took me comfortably to an Arbonne party with Shannon and to the grocery store to prepare for my in-home the next day. And the purple striped Sarah that I wore with the Maxi and the berry mineral wash Classic transferred perfectly to the Carly and leggings. 


Packing with Lularoe for a trip is a piece of cake because you can roll it and it doesn't require any ironing. You simply shake it out and go. But look at all the possibilities with the outfit that I had worn on the plane. It was a little chilly, so I didn't do the Maxi as a dress down to the bar for dinner, but if it had been summer in Los Angeles, which is on the warm side, look what I could have done. It's very, very cool in northern California over the summer, and if I had had to, I could have ditched the Sarah and the leggings for just the Classic over the Maxi, OR, I could have just tucked in my bra straps and pulled the Maxi up for a cute summer dress. So that was trip to Los Angeles. Maxi + Classic + Sarah, martinis, sleep, and then Carly + leggings for the flight home to Dallas. And that's how you Roe while traveling!

China Glaze Don't Desert Me

Looking for a Sarah like mine with the stripes or in the purple? I haven't seen my exact Sarah anywhere, but Serena Cervantes has an excellent selection of striped Sarahs in a variety of colors, and if you just love love love the purple, there is a solid one and one with stripes but almost in a chevron-shape. Make sure and check out her selection!

Have a great day, and now that I'm home from the West Coast, I'm hard at work on the core style reviews once again.

I did have time to paint my nails while in Los Angeles, so here is China Glaze Don't Desert Me. Great shimmery pink!

Day #7: Elegance...for work?

Why not? These girls look like they are ready to party it up every day of the week when the average person may attend one formal event every few years. Maybe.

I really had no idea what to expect when the Elegance Collection was released. All I knew was, several of my consultants were taking preorders, nothing in my size was available, and everything that I absolutely loved wasn't even made in my size. And it was expensive! And dry clean only!

But when it comes to clothes, jewelry, makeup, nail polish, whatever....I'm attracted to the sparkly. If I were a fish, I'd have been dead on a plate long ago. An old friend of mine used to yell "fish bait!" every time we'd be shopping and run into a display of jewelry that caught my eye. 

The first thing I got was the Classic T in a combination of silver and rose gold. That was a preorder and I was happy with it. The second thing I got was the sparkly Carly in the berry color. Also a preorder and I was happy with it. Everything else? Well, I came across this Lindsay in the picture at a multi-consultant sale after Christmas and told myself I wouldn't buy it unless it was still available at the end of the day. Obviously it was. I had several friends on the list to the left contact me when they had stuff in my sizes to offer me first right to buy. I had several friends say that they didn't think they would EVER sell X, Y or Z....and then I decided I had to have it. The rest of it? Imagine a lion hunting antelope and

that was me. See that picture? The antelope was the shiny blue Wonder Woman skirt and I was the pouncing lion. I justified it by telling myself that because I have fifteen nieces and nephews that are growing up and will be getting married that I need these semi-formal (all right, fine, they are formal!) clothes. Then I justified it by telling myself that they really aren't that Christmasy and I can wear them whenever I want. Then I made myself a promise that I would wear Elegance to every Lularoe party and pop-up and event this year to get my money's worth, a promise which I promptly broke on Sunday.

Shameless....I really could talk myself into walking off a cliff if I tried hard enough. 

So a few tips for those of you that are like me and have a ridiculous amount of Elegance and won't admit it (but you know you do):

1. If you have one of the glittery sparkly Carlys and you are freaking out about the glitter dust that is everywhere, I heard from another consultant that if you take it outside, shake it out and then spray it thoroughly with Scotch Guard, the glitter fall out will be at a minimum. Another suggestion is hairspray, although I'm not going to be trying that, thank you very much! Here's an article that talks about how to keep glitter from falling off clothing. 
2. I have heard from several wearers that the glitter fabric scratches the bejeezus out of the underside of the arms when you wear it. I don't have any input on that yet since I haven't worn mine anywhere except around the house, but I'll update this article when I wear one for more than five minutes. I would suggest wearing a Lindsay or Monroe with it to help with the chafing. 
3. Read the care instructions on every piece that you have. I have heard that dry cleaning is recommended for these pieces, but I seriously doubt I am ever taking it down to my local dry cleaner to let them have at it. Since I'm an insurance adjuster, I know people in the textile restoration business, so I'll probably be doing that as needed but only as needed. Any piece that can be hand-washed, I would do that with the most delicate soap possible and wash by hand. 
4. Be careful with it and watch your jewelry, especially on the stuff that can snag. I didn't even bother wearing a bracelet Christmas even when I wore my Elegant Lucy that has a tulle overskirt. (You can see the picture of me wearing that green skirt in this article.)
5. I seriously wasn't kidding about wearing it to every pop-up party I attend this year, but I'm not going to wear head to toe metallics or glitter. I plan on toning some of those pieces down with some solid shirts and skirts. 

And with that, it's a perfect segue into the title of my article where I actually did wear Elegance to work. My first Lindsay that I bought (ouch, I just admitted I have more than one, didn't I?) was a bronze shimmery Lindsay with gold threads running through it, and I thought it went really well with this combination of a mineral-washed black Classic tee, a floral Azure skirt in tones of gold, gray, and white on a black background, and tan leggings underneath. Definitely four pieces that I would not have thought about pairing together, but it just kind of....worked. Which is odd considering that there were four fabric types in this outfit....mineral wash, gauzy chiffon with metallic threads, slinky Tencel in the Azure and then everyone's favorite leggings. It was dressy for work without being overkill, and it was fun. (Karaline, if you are reading this, I told you I had worn the mineral wash to work!)

And the Azure is such a cute topper for leggings...it's swingy, it's comfortable, and you can pick a color out of the pattern in the Azure to bring to the forefront with your legging choice. I was trying to highlight the gold in the floral pattern to bring out the color of the gold threads in the Lindsay.

I loved pairing the Azure with leggings so much that day that I decided to give it another shot today when I was traveling, except this time I paired the Azure and leggings with a Perfect tee and a Sarah cardigan. It was great for flying, so much better than the jeans I used to travel in. Unfortunately I didn't find anyone that I felt would stop what they were doing and take a picture of me, and I hate taking selfies of myself in the mirror, so I took this one of me from the waist down . The "bell" of the turquoise Perfect blouses out perfectly over the Azure, a lavender cotton with a rich vibrant purple and turquoise thinly striped grid-like plaid, which I layered over purple leggings to match the "grid" in the Azure. I wore a purple striped Sarah over the entire thing, and now you get a close-up of my Skecher ballet flats. When I travel, I only bring one set of jewelry, so I just was wearing my wedding rings, some handmade turquoise black beaded earrings and a stainless steel Fossil watch with a white marbled face. 

But this weekend I am hosting my first in-home party AT my home, and you bet I'll be wearing one of my fancier dresses then...maybe I'll try one of the glittery Carlys and see if I can irritate my husband by getting glitter all over the couches that he'll insist on vacuuming to perfection before my guests arrive. 

The bronze Lindsay with the gold threads is available for purchase from Jessica Martin in sizes medium and large.  She also has the berry sparkly Carly, the green Lucy with the rose gold diamonds and the Classic tee in the silver and rose gold, so if you are still on the hunt for Elegance, it's a great place to go shop, and she is offering special pricing through tomorrow evening. 

Have a great day and remember, any day is a good day to dress in sparkling clothes!

Oh, and one last thing...look what I spotted at Hudson News at Dallas Love Field! Sure do look like MIMIS, don't they? Just goes to show you that EVERYone wants to Roe!

Day #6: Pattern-mixing

Pattern mixing takes a little bravery, courage and creativity, but when done successfully, it looks perfect and is a great way to combine some of your more unusual prints with the classic ones.

I originally saw this Lindsay cardigan in a sheer chiffon material sold by a consultant in a sale that had held it for a consultant that wanted it....and then changed her mind. When I saw it, I knew I had to have it. I didn't know what I was going to wear it with yet, but I thought probably a purple skirt and a tan top.

Then I discovered this Carly...and knew that these two pieces were meant to be paired. The Carly is a desert sand brown with a variety of wildflowers all over it that blend together into a great print that is accented by the ice blue Lindsay that is a purple and brown floral watercolor print.

I layered it over slate blue leggings to go with the blue flowers in the Carly and wore a purple-striped Sarah over it to make the pattern mixing complete. The outfit really works.

 When it comes to pattern mixing, you really never know what is going to look good together until you just try it. Florals with florals, florals with stripes, vertical with horizontal, pattern with stripes.

I have done this successfully with three other outfits. The first time I tried pattern mixing was a turquoise Monroe with a brown floral print layered over a chocolate and taupe striped Carly which was a great combination for the summer.

Recently I tried the same style of Carly with rose-patterned leggings which was a beautiful combination given the strong outline of the roses in the same berry color used in the Carly.

This can also be used with the Cassie over leggings when trying to create a unique combination. I was trying to find a pair of fun print leggings to wear with this vertical striped Cassie skirt, and I ended up settling on the sugar skull leggings because they were black and white, which complemented the skirt, and the direction of the skulls was vertical.

Make it a great Lularoe day!

The Madison skirt....hand pleats just like a cheerleader skirt...

The Madison skirt is such a fantastically tailored skirt and looks so great on the right body shape...I refuse to give up on it for me, even though everything tells me that it won't look right on me ever. And that's why there is no Madison in my closet. 

I love, love, love the Lularoe line up of skirts so much and was determined to give this another go after it was a bust at a pop-up I went to last year. At that time, I tried a 2XL. At the time, I thought that it made me look pregnant so I didn't buy it, but later I went to a multi-consultant event and decided to give it another shot, but size down. I chose a beautiful soft chocolate brown XL Madison, one that I would consider buying, and paired it with a dusty rose knit Classic. It was actually kind of funny, because I realized when I got in the dressing tent that I needed a shirt and asked the nearest consultant to hand me a Classic in 2XL that would go with brown and that's what she chose for me. AND I ended up buying the shirt. The knit Classics are awesome, like short-sleeved sweater tops, and I thought that this knit top would blend well with the fabric of the Madison since both fabrics were so fancy.

Sadly, I did not buy the skirt, although I did realize that a XL was a better choice for me than the 2XL. This skirt is absolutely beautiful on the right body type. It has a tailored waistband with elastic in the back, perfectly hand-set pleats and pockets big enough to fit your entire hand and probably little things like keys or a coin purse. (An excellent clubbing skirt, if you don't want to keep up with a purse!) It is very flowy and twirly, and when you sit down, it pools just right around you in the chair. The fabrics on most of them also are a little heavier than the typical Lularoe fabric, so it's really got some meat to it. And the pleats are just so adorable. It reminds me of a cute pleated cheerleader skirt and when you spin, it actually flares out. 

However, there is one big reason I didn't buy this skirt, and it's not the Madison's fault. It can be summed up in three words: Baby Got Back. I could not figure out why when I held up the skirt, it was perfectly even and then when I tried it on, it almost looked tilted. Easy answer: my booty was lifting up the back and making the back portion look shorter than it is. The reason why this happens with Madison and not the other skirts is because this skirt has a completely even hemline all the way around whereas the other Lularoe skirts are cut just a tad longer in the back to accommodate those of us with a little extra junk in the trunk. Even the Cassie is slightly longer in the back. My suggestion if you are interested in this skirt is to try it on first (unless you have a fairly flat or non-bubble butt) and make sure it is a good look for you. It is fairly true to size although I felt one size down for me looked better. I even tried pulling the shirt flat instead of blousing it over the waistline and that didn't help with my booty issue, sadly. 

Jennifer Klump of Sweet and Sassy Lularoe wears the Madison better than anyone I have ever seen, and as such gave me permission to use her pictures of her wearing her beloved unicorn Madison skirt in my blog. Look at how well the pleats drape and how great she rocks this Madison! She looks so beautiful! It is a beautifully well-made skirt without a doubt. And the Madison comes in solids, prints, silky fabrics, heavy cotton fabrics and was released in the Elegance lines in 2016 in a variety of styles including heavy tapestry plaid fabrics and velvets.

I am also featuring a more recent picture of me wearing a black, red and peach print Madison with a peach Classic tee. While it looks better now that I have lost some weight, you can still see it raising up in the back because I have a booty!

So....truly personal preference. I refuse to give up on this skirt, but I also admit that this skirt may not be the best choice for my hourglass figure, just as the Randy baseball tee is also not the best shirt choice for me either. 

The minimum advertised price (MAP) set by Lularoe for the Madison skirt is $48.00. 

If there are any questions about the Madison skirt, please post them below. Make it a great Lularoe day!

The Ana....understated, undersold and not just a tall girl's dress

There is a dress in the Lularoe lineup that is one of the most undersold but best dresses that they manufacture, and it is the Ana.  Quite simply, the Ana is the long version of the Nicole. It's exactly the same in every way except for the fact that it is a full floor-length dress and the skirt does not flare and twirl. Sorry, no Katniss Everdeen stage twirling with Ana. 

If I had a semi-formal event to go to, such as being asked to be a reader in a wedding, or a chaperone at a prom, or a guest at a wedding, this would be the one. This would be the dress I pulled from my closet. It is gorgeous, it it slinky, it pools perfectly around your ankles but doesn't sweep the floor....it's just absolutely beautiful and no other Lularoe dress has ever made me feel like a princess when I put it on like this one does. That being said, however...I don't think I would have any problem wearing this for a casual event either. In fact, I dressed up for Halloween as a devil, and it was a close tie between wearing my red Ana or my red Nicole as my costume with some devil accessories. I only picked the Nicole because it was very warm that day.

The only thing about this dress that I would caution you about is to definitely find your exact size. The dress that I am wearing is a 3XL and I can not wear a 2XL in it which is my true size (same with the Nicole) because of how fitted the sleeves are and how fitted the bust is. The first time I tried on a 2XL Ana, I felt like I was wearing a straitjacket, but then again, I have guns and a D cup. If your arms are either a problem area or just a little on the large size because of muscle (like mine), size up. If you are big-busted, size up. It's a fitted dress from the waist up without a doubt, but once you find your size, it's a dress that you can take anywhere, wear anywhere and do anything in. 

Unfortunately, you're not going to find this dress at a lot of vendor events or even in-home sales because it very much teeters in no man's land between the best sellers of Lularoe and the specialty items such as Lola, Lucy and Jill. And it's long. I think a lot of consultants shy away from carrying a large inventory of them because they look deceivingly long on the rack and a lot of people don't want to give them a try, which is such a shame because they are so gorgeous. I think that Ana looks on the hanger like a tall girl's dress, which is true, but the smaller it is, the shorter it is. For me at 5'7, the Ana falls RIGHT at my ankles even though it looks ten miles long on the rack. It hangs flat as a board, but since it has enough meat to it to accommodate all of your curves without being skin-tight, your bust and booty will lift it up and take some of that length up so that it falls just perfect. 

My first suggestion would be, of course, to try one on at a local event and make sure that you are happy with the length before purchasing one. However, if you are dying for this dress and can't find one (like I was), then try a Nicole and find your true size FIRST. THEN ask the consultant who has the Ana that you want to measure the skirt length between your size in the Nicole and the same size in the Ana. I didn't do this because I'm on the taller side and felt confident that it would not be too long since I often have to get tall in jeans, but if you are say, 5'5 and shorter, I would check this with the consultant. As I have done in the photo, all you have to do is hang a Nicole on the same type of hanger in front of the Ana and measure from hem to hem. In this example, I have placed a patterned Nicole over a royal blue Ana and used a Fat Max to measure. The difference is approximately 17" so I would assume it's probably proportionately the same in all of the other sizes as well since the dresses do get shorter the smaller they go. However, once you figure out your sizes in Nicole and Ana, it is SO game on! You can even tie the hem up at the side in the Ana as a cute way to shorten it.

If you get the chance and find an Ana on a rack in your size, slip it on and see how the fit is, because you just never know where she might be lurking! You might find that this is YOUR DRESS. 

The minimum advertised price (MAP) set by Lularoe for the Ana dress is $60.00. 

If there are any questions about the Ana dress, please post them below. Make it a great Lularoe day!

The Nicole Dress...May the odds be ever in your favor!

The Nicole dress is such a fun party dress. To me, it is the perfect all-occasion dress. It is great for weddings, funerals, dinners, holiday work parties, work, just wherever you want to wear it. It EVEN makes a great Halloween costume! I wore a plain red Nicole layered with a red lace Monroe and accessorized with a metallic devil horns headband and plastic pitchfork. It is a very simple fitted dress with a waistline that is right at the natural waist, a fitted bodice with a scoop neck that shows the perfect amount of cleavage without being indecent and fitted elbow-length sleeves and a Katniss Everdeen twirly skirt. You know what I'm talking about...remember her dress where she spun around and it burst into flames? Yeah, the Nicole does that. You twirl and the skirt flares out. Totally fun.

This dress is completely versatile. It can be dressed down with sandals and worn alone. It can be layered over leggings and worn with boots. It can be dressed up with hose and heels for a formal look with a wrap. Any occasion, any season, any day, this is your dress. 

I initially bought this dress for a funeral, and the first time I wore it was in Orlando, Florida, where it is humid all the time. The morning that I put it on, I remember thinking, black dress, 75% humidity, 82 degrees, I'm going to ROAST. But I really honestly didn't. I can't explain it....I don't really sweat that much in Lularoe and I'm a sweater, not a glistener. More importantly, I was comfortable all day long starting in the wee hours of that morning when I woke up to shower and get dressed to the wake to the burial to the party afterwards and then to my aunt's house where we sat around until the wee hours reminiscing. That's nineteen hours in a dress in Orlando, Florida and yet I was comfortable the whole time? That's saying something! I layered a black lace Joy over it which is the perfect layering piece since it is the same length, and it was truly perfect. 

The only thing about this dress that I would caution you about is to definitely find your exact size. The dresses that I am wearing is a 3XL and I can not wear a 2XL in it which is my true size because of how fitted the sleeves are and how fitted the bust is. One of the pictures I have featured is a comparison of my black funeral dress sleeve which is a 3XL and then the red 2XL sleeve. It's a very significant difference, so if your arms are either a problem area or just a little on the large size because of muscle (like mine), size up. If you are big-busted, size up. It's a fitted dress from the waist up without a doubt, but once you find your size, it's a dress that you can take anywhere, wear anywhere and do anything in. I love my Nicoles! They come in the typical Lularoe polyblend of 94% polyester, 6% spandex, crepe fabrics (like the Cassie) which are very stretchy (the blue dress above with the bird print is that type of fabric), and even thicker tapestry fabrics which are great for winter. Solids, prints, stripes....Nicole has it all. The Elegance line that was released in 2016 released Nicole dresses in various materials....crushed velvets, oil-slick colored metallics and glittery knits with poinsettia prints. Oh, and as a side note, my cousin Nicole (yes, I know, funny, her name is Nicole too) and I were both speaking at my grandmother's funeral side by side at the podium. She was wearing an XXS Nicole in a gray snakeskin pattern and I was wearing a 3XL black Nicole. No one had ANY idea that we were wearing the same dress. 

Every one of them is unique. Every one of them is perfect and simple and the very epitome of understated elegance. You can even wear a lace petticoat under them to flare out the skirt and wear a belt around the waist to create a 1950s rockabilly look. 

They are so fun and the ultimate party dress! Add in that they are comfortable to boot, and they are well worth the money for the understated elegance that this style gives that will endure as it has for over sixty years. 

The minimum advertised price (MAP) set by Lularoe for the Nicole dress is $48.00. 

If there are any questions about the Nicole dress, please post them below. Make it a great Lularoe day!

Day #5: When life hands you lemons....enjoy them!!!

I don't know what it was about this print that I loved so much when I saw it at a vendor event in McKinney, but I really, really did. Nor can I explain what possessed me to buy a lemon shade of yellow in a Monroe with a black fringe even after my best friend told me it would make me look like a bumblebee. 

All I know is that together, these two items of clothing look fantastic. And I never even planned to put them together. I had no plans for the lemon Monroe other than I thought a yellow kimono would be a great thing to have and I loved the sunny color. And I didn't think I would ever find the lemons in ANY piece, much less a Nicole dress which is a favorite style of mine. 

And I didn't. This was a wonderful gift from a consultant that I hostessed for twice who knew I wanted it. It was a unicorn for me. The word "unicorn" in Lula-vocabulary means a piece of Lularoe that you are looking for in a specific style, print and size and are hunting for. It's a fabled creature, a creature of mythology and in Lularoe-world, you question its very existence!

The lemon yellow shade of yellow in the Monroe picks up the lemons, the swingy black fringe matches the twirly style in the Nicole....put together, this is a perfect outfit. Very fun, good in winter due to the dark color of the dress but colorful and sunny in spring because of the gorgeous creamy yellow. 

Paired with black flats or black sandals, this is perfect. And....not bumblebee-like at all. 

Maybe a little.