Day #9: Has it really been almost a month?

It hasn't really been almost a month since I blogged....has it? Ugh. I am really falling down on my goal to blog every day. I have tons of photos of me Roeing in the wild, just no time to write anything up. 

I'll sum up the last month in a few bullet points:

1) I am having severe problems at work. Since my blog is public and I am well-known in Dallas in the insurance industry, that is all I'm going to disclose at this time.

2) I decided to become a distributor for Senegence (you know, Lip Sense?) and in order to raise capital for inventory, I decided to sell off all my cross stitch supplies, fabrics and patterns. Ugh, that's all I can say is UGH! It has been two weeks OF HELL!

3) I think that's ABOUT it! I can't think of anything else! But this outfit was way comfortable. WAY!  But, my Roeing goes on! Real life, right? 

My outfit that I am featuring today is a four-piece oufit that I wore to meet my friend at The Flying Saucer in Rockwall for dinner and drinks. I paired a solid royal purple Carly with a pair of, well, African print leggings! One of the girls that commented on these said that they looked like Lion King leggings and yes, I admit it, that made me see them in a different light! I also topped them with a purple striped Sarah cardigan and a blue Mimi. 

Now that I'm getting more organized with my life in general, I should be blogging more, but I apppreciate your patience. If any of you are friends with some makeup divas, contact me, and I'd love to come to your house to do a party. More to come this weekend. I promise. It has not escaped my attention that I am not done with the core reviews yet!

But I do have to admit I LOVE this Sarah. Dark purple stripes on a solid royal purple? That's just freaking awesome! Purple is great and yes, I admit that these leggings look like they are RIGHT from Mufasa's wardrobe. Have a great day!

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 #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 Mimi: Is it a sweater, a blanket a poncho or a scarf?

For me, the answer is that it is whatever you want it to be. My best friend thinks I look like I am wearing a macrame potted plant hanger. And she's probably laughing RIGHT NOW reading this article.

I actually did a lot of research on this since it is just so darn different than anything that Lularoe makes, but if you are on the fence, haven't seen one in person, or just want some good reading material, get a fresh cup of coffee and sit back! I did a little blogging reconnaissance when these beautiful items first came out last summer and made a run out to check out the newest addition to the Lularoe lineup at a local consultant's house. I wanted to do some research, see these fabulous pieces up close and personal, and take pictures to share with you all, since there is a lot of buzz going around the Lulaworld about these fabulous pieces. (And yeah, I admit, I bought one. And since then? Three more.)

Here is the nitty gritty...the Mimi is essentially a large shawl that is sold as one long piece, but with buttons on one side that allow you to fasten it in front or to the side of you as a poncho. You can also wear it as a wrap, a scarf, or a blanket-style wrap on cold nights. The way that I have modeled it in these pictures is to wear it poncho-style with the blue one buttoned to the side (over a Julia) and the black and gray one buttoned in front (over a Carly and leggings). I can't see myself wearing it unbuttoned personally because I could totally see it slipping off of me and falling on the ground and getting stained or something. I'm just that clumsy, which is why I have to take extra-special care of my Lularoe!

The Mimis are designed, plotted, cut and knitted to their own specifications. Each one is made individually and knitted by a machine, and then finished off and tasseled by hand. This is the reason why this is the most expensive piece hands-down right now in the Lularoe collection. A piece like this is called "Full Fashion Knitting". Yeah, right, I don't know what that means either. So I looked it up!

According to Wikipedia,  "Fully fashioned knitting machines are those flat and circular knitting machines that produce custom pre-shaped pieces of a knitted garment. Instead of knitting a whole rectangular sheet of fabric, instructions from a knit pattern on a punch card or computer file guide a fully fashioned knitting machine's needles to add or drop stitches to create custom two-dimensional shapes appropriate to the desired finished garment structure. The pieces emerge from the machine ready to be sewn together." Now in the case of the Mimi, there are no pieces that are being sewn together, but the point is that the machine makes each Mimi individually, which is why they are so expensive! As we all know, Lularoe's bedrock principle is that they make a print or a color in a fabric, they cut it into the various styles, sew them together and then distribute them for sale, but in the case of the Mimi, these are a little more special because there is no fabric anywhere in the piece. They are 100% yarn in the piece and the tassels and finishing are made with some sort of thread from what I could tell. 

From what I can tell, there are three main "styles" of the Mimi:

1) The first style, featured in purple and blue, is a combination of a shaker-style stitch with bands of honeycomb mesh stitches in a staggered eyelet design. 

2) The second style, featured individually in black and cream, is a honeycomb mesh stitch in a staggered eyelet design for a more traditional crocheted look.

3) The third style is a tight zig-zag rib knitted stitch pattern, featured in slate blue.

Don't be impressed that I knew those stitch names. I had to look them up on Pinterest while quietly cursing myself for not letting my late grandma teach me how to knit or crochet. She, by the way, was also nicknamed MIMI. 

It also appears from what I have seen online so far with Mimi, there are four main "color variations" as well:

1) The first style is a blend of two colors of yarn that combine together to appear as one color when actually when examined up close are two. For example, the plum one that is modeled is actually a combination of purple and blue. That's the only one I have seen in that way.

2) The second style is a solid yarn in one color. I have seen this style so far in black, gray and white. 

3) The third style is almost a combination of striped and heathered, which is what I am wearing in the blue. I have seen this in also in olive, green, gray and black.

4) The fourth style is a solid color but with partial stripes of a contrasting color coming in from the sides, which is what I am wearing in black and gray. I've also seen this in blue and gold, green and white, white and black, pumpkin and cream, olive and brown, and white and gray.

So now, on to what I thought of the Mimi itself:

The first reaction I had after laying a hand on one was how incredibly soft and light it felt compared to what I had expected. I don't know why, but I had honestly expected it to feel like wool. You know, scratchy? Itchy? Hot? Not something you want to wear? But it wasn't like that at all. It was incredibly soft and luxurious. The knitted fabric stretches gently so that it truly is one size fits all, and because there are no sleeves or a waist, you just wrap it around your shoulders and button it up and go. Or, leave it buttoned and then slide it over your head like a pull over. Then you can adjust it to have the buttons to the side (as I did with the blue) or leave them in front to create a more cardigan-feel (as I did with the black). Another way to wear it is to stylishly arrange it around you so it drapes at an angle. 

Another concern I had with the Mimi was that I won't be able to wear it very often since I live in Texas. That was a concern that I had back in August when it was triple digits. Now, in January, I am very glad that I bought them as they are wonderful to wear, very stylish, and very cozy. The knitted fabric is very flexible and thin but not so thin that you are cold. However, I did hear from another consultant in New York who was not impressed with the Mimi at all because she feels that it will be too thin to provide any warmth for the chilly Northeastern winters. I have a feeling that the consultants in Florida probably will like theirs but won't keep them since Florida hardly ever gets cold. I have worn my Mimi when it is fifty degrees (perfect), thirty degrees (perfect but I could have used a little more warmth) and nine degrees with wind chill (completely insufficient).  

The tassels, as intended, are purely decorative to add some flair to the shawl and not just make it look like a rectangular piece of knitted fabric. The buttons are in complimentary colors to the yard and fasten the Mimi on securely but not so much that they are hard to unbutton. 

So the question is, are you buying one because you truly intend to wear it, or are you buying one because it's the hottest flashiest thing right now? Ask yourself that before you buy one, because not everyone likes them. My husband was not too crazy about them. Mr. Fashionista, upon seeing the pictures of the Mimi when it was first released last summer, asked where my sombrero and burro was. Ha. Do you live in a climate where it would be worth it? Do you live in a climate where it won't provide you with any warmth? Does it go with your clothes that you wear? Is it really you? It's $75 retail, ladies...ask yourselves if you really want it or you just want it because everyone wants it? It's so easy to get caught up in the whirlwind...kind of like Tickle Me Elmo. 

For myself, I decided when I first saw them that I really wanted one because I have shirts that are this style that I really enjoy wearing. Texas does get cold when the storms blow down from Oklahoma, and as it stands right now, my warmest dressiest "jacket" is the Sarah since I donated my old out-of-date leather jacket. I also think that these look really nice and stylish with skirts and dresses and jeans. I think they have the capability to be styled in a lot of different ways and to be genuinely enjoyed....if you truly want to spend the money to do that. If you do, they are definitely worth it. There are items like this on the market right now that on the cheap retail for about $29 from Target and on the pricey retail for about $208 at Nordstrom's. And I really wanted the ones from Lularoe because of the colors. I decided on two in the color combinations that I would wear the most: black and blue.  The ones featured are the ones I will own and wear for years to come. Since the first release I bought another one that is solid black with white threads and a gray one, and I am thinking about a green. 

So for me, I guess I did get sucked into the Tickle Me Elmo whirlwind. I don't even know whether or not I should hang these things up or just fold them. Right now, they are all sitting folded in my office until I figure out a storage method. I throw them on my desk at work because my coat hook stretches them out. 

But I really like them. Do you? Have you tried one on? I am tall and these hit right at the right place on my hips and my arms. Do they hit right on you, or are they too heavy? Only you can say! I personally love mine and I wish that I could have one in purple and one in blue-green. But I don't like the fabric in the purple and the blue-green doesn't exist. 

Okay, fine. I admit it. I love them. They are so darn cozy and I can wear whatever I want and it will layer over everything. Look at this. What can layer over leggings, a Nicole dress, a Joy and a Sarah and still look normal? 

The minimum advertised price (MAP) set by Lularoe for the Mimi scarf is $75.00. 

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

The Perfect Tee...Simply Perfect!

2XL red Perfect

The Perfect tee is one out of the four shirts in Lularoe's line. It is truly special and unique to Lularoe as I have never seen anything styled or cut like it. 

2XL white Perfect

The construction of this shirt is similar to that of the Classic tee in that it has the hemmed sleeves and a hemmed bottom, but the neckline is a stitched scoop and the sleeves fall to the elbow, so they are a little longer than the Classic sleeves. They are similar to a Classic at the top although the bust area is just a little larger. As the shirt flows down, it flares out at the edges like a bell with a four to eight inch slit (depending on your size) on either side that just give it a little something extra special. However, these slits also allow the shirt to be tied in knots at the sides if you want a more fitted look by your hip area. The sleeves come down to about the elbow, but are generously sized so they are not clinging. It is a very dressy version of a t-shirt and just absolutely perfect to mix and match with anything from jeans to full-length skirts. 

Sleeve Length

3XL Perfect over leggings

Unlike the Classic, the Perfects really do vary from size to size, but sizing up may be the look you want to achieve depending on your preference. In the Perfect, I wear a 2XL or a 3XL (which have 6" slits and 8" slits respectively) and while the 2XL is my perfect size and the one that I prefer, I do like to wear 3XL Perfects with leggings because they hang a little longer (similar to the Irma tunic). However, what I think is really neat about sizing up one size is that an oversized Perfect, because of the way it is cut, looks like a baby doll dress...or even a miniature Carly dress...and looks really great with leggings. It is a cute and playful look especially for the weekends. They come in a variety of prints and solids, although the only fabric I have seen them made in is the standard Lularoe polyblend of polyester and spandex. They are a great addition to any wardrobe to wear with skirts, leggings, pants and jeans. I bought one gently used Perfect from a consultant who had worn it as a bathing suit cover up on a vacation so the possibilities for what you can wear them for and pair them with are endless!

The Perfect tee will accompany any of the Lularoe skirts very well, but to me, the Perfect and the Cassie skirt go together like peas and carrots. The Perfect drapes down perfectly and the flare at the bottom (the part I refer to as the bell) hits right at the hip line. Depending on your figure, the slits will separate slightly and show the colors of the Cassie that you are wearing.  

Perfect tees are also available in a staggering number of prints as these are included in the styles that Lularoe cuts their limited edition printed styles from. You can find Perfects in geometrics, animal prints such as butterflies, florals, stripes, and so much more. 

The minimum advertised price (MAP) set by Lularoe for the Perfect tee is $36.00. 

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

The Randy Baseball Tee: Batter Up!

Batter up, Lularoers! One of the most popular tees in the Lularoe shirt lineup is the Randy baseball tee, which ranges in size from XXS to 3XL. It is a fitted bodice with three-quarter sleeves. Most of the shirts either have a patterned shirt and solid sleeves or solid shirt and patterned sleeves or dual colors, but there is always some differential between the sleeves and the shirt part, just like on a regular baseball jersey.

The Randy is an adorable darling little baseball t-shirt that can be worn with so many things. It can be worn with skirts, shorts, jeans, capris...really just about anything you want. I have seen them on girls and women of all ages and shapes and they are truly too cute for words! My favorite ones are the ones that have the floral shirts and solid sleeves as I just think that's such a feminine touch on a sporty fun style. It's like seeing a little girl play softball with a pink baseball glove! 

I will be honest that this is not my favorite Lularoe shirt; in fact, I don't even own one. My daughter owns four. It is a very fitted style and the abdomen is cut straight with no curves or flares or anything. In other words, if you are like me with a straight hourglass figure and some pounds to shed, this is probably not going to be your best friend. Every woman that I have ever been with that has purchased a Randy tee has sized up two sizes since they run smaller than the true size. My daughter is a perfect example. She is eleven years old and is five feet tall. In a Carly, she wears an XXS, but in a Randy? A clear small. 

I will add here also that by the time I discovered Lularoe, my daughter was already ten and too big for any of the kids' clothes that Lularoe carries, BUT the Sloan tee shirt is the kids and tween version of the adult Randy. Her best friend is modeling it with tween leggings, and as you can see from the big smile on her face, she's very happy with her Sloan and leggings!

I have some pictures of me in the Randy. When I first discovered Lularoe, I refused to accept that I could not wear this shirt well and bought two shirts in florals, which were promptly exchanged. This shirt is just not flattering on me at all. My bust is too big and the bottom is too clingy around the stomach area for my preference. The photographs in the red floral and the yellow floral selfie were both taken in August, and since then, I have lost weight. When I took the new picture in the dark blue butterfly Randy, I was wearing it with a Spanx shaper, and yes, it does look better, but not enough for me to invest in this style as part of my wardrobe. 

However, I took a new picture at a consultant's house in a butterfly Randy (I love butterflies) to show that it is possible for it to look better after I lost weight. The floral one with the red was me in August, and the butterfly one was me 35 lbs lighter wearing a Spanx i November. 

The skirt that I think they look the best with is the Cassie, left untucked and casual, but you can honestly wear them with anything. My daughter is featured wearing her Randys with leggings and since I don't have a lot of Randy pictures to share, one of my readers Katy graciously gave me permission to use her Randy collage and pictures in my blog to share.

 

The minimum advertised price (MAP) set by Lularoe for the Randy baseball tee is $35.00.

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