Lots of Items from Express!

I ordered a bunch of tops from Express last week.  It's been a while since I shopped at Express!  But I do like getting work stuff from there once in a while.  Sometimes I just get really sick of my current work clothes and feel like I have the same stuff on rotation all the time.  In reality, that's probably not true lol.  But anyway, I like new stuff haha.

The most interesting top I got this time is definitely an eye-catcher.  It's the Slim Fit Floral Print Portofino Shirt.  I don't usually like floral prints, but I thought this particular one looked pretty cool, especially on this model!  I was also curious to try out the "slim fit" of this Express staple.  I have like 5 Portfolio Shirts that I've bought in the past, but that was before they came out with the slim fit.

I got this shirt in size S.  My other Express Portofino shirts are size XS, but I feel like Express has been making their sizing smaller within the last year or so.  Plus, since it's slim fit, I thought I'd be safe and order S.  Turns out I was right!  I like how the S fits.

So, on photos, the sleeves look white/ivory.  However, in real life, they are actually a light dusty pink color.

Clearly, the sleeves can be buttoned up or let all the way down.  I like the versatility of these shirts.

I actually got another slim fit Portofino shirt, which is the Sheer White Plaid style.  I've been really into white tops lately.  Must be because of summer!

I got this one in S as well, so it's also a good fit.  It's slightly sheer, so I'd probably wear a tank under it for work.

Then, I got another very very similar top, but it's the Regular Fit Chevron Stripe Sheer White Portofino Shirt.  It was on sale for like $20 haha.  I figure I could use 2 of these!  

They only had size S left so I got it in S as well.  Surprisingly, it fits the same as the slim fit one!  I really can't tell the difference.

Ok, one more Portofino item... lol.. it's the Original Fit Chain Print Sleeveless Portofino, now on sale for $26!  I love this print.  

Got this one in S as well.  It fits larger than the Portofino shirts with sleeves.  The armpit area is looser in particular.  So XS probably would work as well.  I just didn't want to chance the chest area popping open in a smaller size.  

 

Ok, 2 more items!  The next 2 are casual, and super cheap!  The first one is the One Eleven Strappy V-Neck Cami.  It's only $16!  It comes in tons of colors, but I got it in this teal blue color which is very pretty.  The material is actually quite soft too, since the fabric has modal in it.  I think it's quite a steal for this price.

Size S as well.  I think this cami would be cute to wear casually, or wear under a jacket to work.

The front design is a bit different:

Lastly, I got this One Eleven Sequin Rose Graphic Tank.  It's $25.  How perfect is it for Italy!  It says Rose & Shine lol.  I can totally see myself having a nice glass of rose while wearing it lol.

Size S.  This tank is pretty soft too.  

It's kinda hard to see, but the letters are made of soft pink sequins:

I actually also ordered 2 more items which have some issues lol.  First, I got the Lace Yoke And Back Silky Rolled Sleeve Blouse which I really love, but I don't know why I got it in XS!  It's not stretchy at all, and it's a bit tight in the chest.  I should have ordered S like I did everything else.  But it looked so loose on the model.  Sigh.  I am trying to hunt down a S, in either white, black or red!  But stock check online says that there are none in stores near me.  I'll go to a store and check in person too.  But if not, then I'll really have to debate whether to keep it or not.  I really like the style though.

The second item I also got is this Striped Asymmetrical Maxi Dress, but I'm returning it.  It's not as cute as I thought it would be.  It's actually kind of formless on me in size S.  If anything, it's a size down item.  But I'm not interested enough to try it on in XS so I passed.

I would have taken pictures of the last 2 items on me, but I already have them packed up in a bag sitting in my car trunk lol.  But anyway, just take my word for it haha.

Overall I'm really happy with this order!  Express does have a lot of cute things right now, I'm afraid if I go look on their site I'll end up buying more lol.  

Express Columnist Pant!

Ok, I went back to Express to exchange my bold herringbone Editor pant since they fit weird.  But then I ended up trying on the Columnist pant style again (hated them when I first tried them on years ago but don't remember why), and actually think I may like it better than Editor pant!  Omg, it's like a whole new world opened to me.  So the difference between Editor and Columnist is actually quite subtle.  The Editor pant has a straight fit in the hips/upper leg area, whereas the Columnist pant has a slim fit.  They both come in "barely bootcut" as well as "flare" leg openings, but I only was interested in the barely bootcut style.  Even though the difference is only in the upper part of the legs, the Columnist pant actually looks noticeably more flattering.  So, I ended up buying 4 more pairs of pants - 3 Columnist, and 1 Editor.  And, I exchanged the bold herringbone Editor pant for another pair of Columnist pant.  So that's total 4 pairs of Columnist pants now lol.  Express is still having their buy one get one 50% off sale for these pants, so I now have 6 new pairs for under $300 total, after taxes.  Since I only buy work pants like once every 5 years or more (lol), it's really quite a good investment!  My bf has to spend ~$150 per pair of work pants, so I think girls have it good with stores like Express!

But, as I mentioned before, Express is not all that consistent with their sizing.  So you really have to try on every print before buying.  This time I tried on about 20 different styles and prints, and they all fit slightly differently.  But in general, I actually started sizing up to a 4.  I realized that perhaps it is me and not the design change that my butt seems to be too big for size 2 pants now lol.  I guess it makes sense since I've been on a training program called "Get Glutes" for the past year!  That means it's working... woohoo!  Hahaha!  I used to be able to fit all the standard sizes perfectly.  Maybe my body is more problematic for shopping now, but it's worth it to be more athletic and have a nicer back side.

I was very diligent this time and tried on each print in both size 2 and size 4.  I found that the two sizes are really not all that different.  In general, the biggest difference is that size 4 has a slightly higher rise on me which means more room for the bum.  The waist is a tiny bit too loose in size 4 though, but not too bad especially with a belt on.  The legs are ever so slightly looser fitting in size 4.  I would say that in most prints, it didn't really make a big difference between the two sizes (only one print I tried on had a huge difference - the size 4 looked like a diaper butt whereas the size 2 was too tight, but I think that was a fluke).  So anyway, as I said, try them on before buying!

Here are the prints I got - I LOVE all of them!  I'm slightly concerned that these are all winter patterns.  But I think I can still wear them all year long anyways.

My favorite pair is the black plaid Columnist pant - the material and fit are just spot on.  The plaid is not too obvious but definitely noticeable.  I'm actually considering them as top contender to wear on my first day of the new job.  Though my bf thinks I should just stick with regular black or something more conservative.  So we'll see.

The length I bought for all my pants are regular.  I find this length perfect to wear with ~4 inch heels.  So these are size 4R.

The next pair I got is houndstooth!!!  Ok, for some reason they are called Marled Check Columnist pant on the Express website.  But they are definitely houndstooth.  I nearly fainted when I saw them.  They are the reason I even tried on the Columnist pant to begin with!

Also got them in size 4R.  The are a little bit shorter and fits a bit wider in the legs than the black plaid pair above.  The material is stretchier in these though.  

Thirdly, I got the navy gingham check Columnist pant.  The gingham check is actually navy and black combo.  So they look quite dark in person.  But you can still tell they are more navy than black.

Also got these in 4R.  They fit the loosest in the waist out of the 3 pairs of Columnist pant I got.

The last pair of Columnist pant I got is the Grit Print Columnist Pant in "red 23".  The print consists of little red and black squares, which from a distance blends together and makes the pant look like a wine color.  I love this color and don't have any pants in this color yet!

Got these in size 4R too.  They are pretty loose fitting in the waist too, and they are longer than others lol.  I think I may need to get them hemmed half an inch or so.  

The last pair I got is another pair of Editor barely bootcut pant.  I can't find the exact color I got online though.  They are a marled gray color, and the material feels more like linen.  They fit looser than others, so I got them in size 2R.  I tried on 4R and it was way too wide in the hips and looked unflattering.

Can you tell that the Editor pant fits differently than the Columnist pant?

So, I think I'm good with work pants for a while!  I'm actually quite excited about this.  For a long time now, I've been feeling so tired of all my work pants.  I actually started wearing skirts way more than pants because of it.  But now that I've got these awesome new pants, I'll be adding them into my rotation!  I can't wait to see what tops to pair them with!