I could probably sleep through an explosion of fireworks in my backyard if I felt like it. Which makes weekend mornings like this one quite rare for me. We got up bright and early, or more around 10 am, and sleepily wandered down to the Farmers Market. In a compromise to waking up before noon I just rolled out and went. No time spent fussing about my looks.

For off-the-cuff stylish looks, I have always dreamt of the perfect basic striped shirt. Pintrest has completely convinced me that they are possibly the most offhandedly stylish piece in a wardrobe. So I was pretty psyched to finally acquire one. This isn’t the basic stripe piece I had in my head, but I could not believe how awesome the lace shoulder add-ons were. I had a brilliant day browsing the sale racks at LOFT a few weeks ago and this was not the only steal I fell in love with. The stripes caught my eye, but the weight of the shirt material is what prompted me to try it on. I am quite over the paperthin pieces that seem to be all I can find in most clothing retailers.

The past few months I have window shopped the LOFT weekly emails, but this was my first foray into the store. I was worried about being able to find clothes that would easily fit my small frame. I have had a decent amount of bad luck previously with labels who’s main client base is middle-aged. Walking-in I completely loved their fresh and lightly colored spring collection. The feel is certainly along the lines I’ve been feeling for spring. I tried on a lot of clothes (which I always recommend, you won’t know how great it is until you try it on!) Below are some tips I picked up:

Tips for Shopping at LOFT:

1. Pay attention to their sale patterns
   • I chose to go shopping when they were having a 50% on everything promotion. Since I’ve been signed up for their emails, I knew that 40% on everything was a common promotion, so this week was outside the norm. The great part was that the 40% still applied to sale merch. This meant I got a really great deal overall.
2. Shop Petite
   • If you’re 5′ 4″ and shorter, OR taller but with a short torso or legs you should be checking out the petite section. Sorry to those who don’t have this option! I found that the petite sale selection was nearly untouched and that’s where I snagged this striped top. The great thing is if you really need the shorter proportions, they have nearly all of their items available in petite online. Online returns to the store are really easy, so get thee to the webz!
3. Try a classic bottom & top piece for fit
   • I’m a firm believer in ignoring size labels. Lately, every fashion house will fit you differently and you need to be aware of those nuances. Thankfully I found LOFT to have uniform sizing in all the styles I tried on. I recommend the first two pieces you grab for are a classic top and a classic bottom in two or three sizes. Choose whatever your go-to piece for each body part is; I picked an adorable white pencil skirt and a lightly embellished t-shirt. You’ll never see them on this blog because I didn’t buy them,  this fitting should be quick and easy so don’t worry about hunting for pieces you like.
4. Think twice about the sale section
   • I noticed that a number of “sale” items had only been discounted 10%. Always check yourself that you’re purchasing something because you truly love it, and not just because it’s on sale. That “sale” can often be used as a gimmick, and 10% is one of the worst tricks I’ve seen. As a marketer and bargainess, I am both amazed and appalled by their audacity.
5. Talk with the sales people
   • I prefer to be in my own bubble when shopping so I did not do this tip when I visited. After talking to friends about my awesome experience at LOFT I got the resounding reply that they are always alerted to great deals by the sales girls. They’ll also have the best idea about how a piece of clothing will fit, but I recommend asking about a piece before you try it on. You’ll get a more honest idea or some helpful styling suggestions.

I carried my camera around the little market for most of the morning, but was pretty psyched to convince M to take it and snap a few pictures for me. I just got a 35 mm f/2.0 lens that doesn’t autofocus with my body, so it’s no easy tech for a non-photog to pick up. I think he did pretty good for his first time. I know I won’t want to give up the camera reigns for this blog, but I’m hoping that eventually my photography love will rub off on him a bit. Overtime at least. And probably by force.

Top: Loft

Pants: H&M [Also Worn Here]

Shoes: Steve Madden/DSW

Tote: Le Motto by SheSheBonBon