Super Soft Tees

This post has been so long in coming. It's also very long. For the past few months, I have been in *love* with super soft tees. In my own personal fashion quest, the discovery of super soft tees can be described as my Holy Grail, my Dead Sea Scrolls, the lost city of Atlantis.

Well, maybe not quite as dramatic.

But anyone who knows me and my fashion fetishes knows how obsessed I am with the brand LnA. What? A plain deep V-neck t-shirt for $60? Who would pay that?

... well, not me, since I buy on sale from Hautelook.com and ideeli.com and other websites with coupon codes (most of the time), but there IS a reason besides celebrity appeal that these t-shirts are so expensive: they are so amazing. Seasonless, versatile, casual-chic, effortless style.

Also, I have a girl-crush on this LnA model:





I'll start this entry off with a small gallery of ways you can rock a super soft tee, and go into a review of the brands later - though not a huge fan of the guy in the red V. (the first image below I got from http://www.whatswhere.com/)

My favorite for fall (and California winters :) is that last outfit worn by Zoe Saldana.

So as you can see, the super soft tee is an incredibly versatile basic that can create a variety of looks from formal with a casual twist, to casual with a polished twist.

But if it's so basic and simple, why are people charging any more than $10 for this little fashion staple? That's the question I asked myself when I innocently came across LnA at a Hautelook sample sale one fateful day.

LnA T-shirts

I had never heard of LnA before then, and I was shocked that these t-shirts, priced at $16-$19 (which I thought should have been the retail), were originally $60+!! I had to find out why, so I bought the V-neck and the deep-V necks in a couple colors, and also a tank and a couple pencil skirts. I wasn't going near the zipper leggings - I thought they looked weird. (I completely retracted that opinion later when I bought a pair and fell in love... along with the rest of their lines.)

Semi-sheer, super soft, lazy, chic, cute, comfortable, and sexy. I wore the hell out of these t-shirts during summer of 2009, especially the racerback tank I got in Kelly. I compared them to the t-shirts I already had, and I still can't explain exactly what makes them so amazing. The length, the drape, and the fit just make them so perfect with so many outfit combinations: tucked into shorts, skirts, pants; half tucked; loose over leggings, skirts, pants...

And the many many options they give you for accessorizing! Because they're so basic, the possibilities are endless with the right accessories - belts, dramatic necklaces, simple necklaces - all give the t-shirts a different vibe. You can go edgy with the right shoes and jacket, bohemian with the right skirt, and just classic chic with a pair of tailored pants (the contrast between the tailored and the casual semi-sheer of the t-shirt make for such a cute combo).

The cotton tees feel very different from the hemp tees, of which I own a few. The hemp tees are looser and drape more than the cotton ones do - both are SUPER soft and incredibly comfortable and cute. You really have to try them on to really appreciate them; I feel like this blog isn't doing them justice.

As you can see, this is true love. I now own probably well over 25 tops from LnA, plus their zippered leggings (charcoal, white, and HOT pink!), which I'll probably show off later, skinny pant, and pencil skirts. I'm coveting a pair of black licorice zipper leggings and pocket zipper leggings!

American Apparel tees

I have "The Summer Tee" and "The Track Tee," both V-necks. They are not as soft as LnA's cotton - I noticed that AA's cotton is a bit thicker and more coarse than LnA's cotton. But they offer an opaque alternative to LnA's sheer. I like them because they're a little less fashion-y and you don't have to worry about bras or sheerness because they aren't deep-Vs. I call them the "low maintenence" tees. :)

I haven't tried their new V and deep-V sheer jersey tees yet, though I smell knock-off :) If they're comparable to LnA, you can't beat the price - $19 vs. $60

(I have to say, and this might be a completely different entry altogether, I do not think AA is the same as LnA but only cheaper. I own both and while both lines have their merits, I have a strong preference for LnA. I prefer LnA not based on price or brand, but based on quality and the way the line fits me vs. AA, and it took me a little while to come to that conclusion because I didn't just want to go for the brand that was more expensive.)

Vince Tees

The Vince brand beats out even the LnA brand pricewise.

This muscle tee by Vince is $95.00 on Shopbop.com!

I only own one tee from Vince, and it's a black loose-fitting crew neck tee with a seam detail around the neck. I adore it, and I can feel how luxurious the cotton is when I wear it. However, is the markup worth it? I say yes, but only if you can't find the same look AND feel somewhere else, is it really worth it.

Rarity creates value, even if the material costs are in the single-digit-dollar range. However, while I won't say I'm an advocate of knock-offs, if you find a piece of clothing that you adore for a cheaper price that really pulls off the look of a higher-priced item, I say that higher-priced item is... overpriced. Ie., you're REALLY just paying for the brand.

I'm not accusing Vince of this. Just sayin'. :)

Splendid Tees, C&C California

I love Splendid's super soft tees, and the ones I've gotten have always added a little style element to the tee to make them just a little bit more formal (slightly bubble sleeves, more tailored shoulders, etc.) But I think I might be shortchanging Splendid in not doing a direct comparison between their supersoft tees and LnA's. Still expensive, but not quite as expensive as LnA, they have a lot of comparable pieces. For example, I would LOVE to try these on to compare:

Light & Fashionable top, $54; Very Light Jersey V Neck Tee, $48; shopbop.com

I love C&C California's Bold Tank $34.00 (but often on sale for $18-$24). It fits a little loose (looser than on this model) and it's a little bit sheer - such a great beach top to wear half-tucked into shorts or long enough to be a cover-up for a bathing suit. (Yes, I'm already thinking of summer!)

So to wrap this novella up, here is another image from whatwear.com that talks about where you can get tees for cheaper. I don't have many of these, so I can't tell you if they will give you the same quality as the ones I've mentioned. But if they work, then save your money!

One final note: I (surprise surprise) LOVE LnA's new tees and I can't wait to get my hands on them. I think while tunic-length tops are universally flattering, that tops are eventually going to get shorter again, but stay loose. That's my forecast.



Up and coming:

80s is back with a vengeance! My lazy-chic shouldered blazer look :)

What was it about 80s and early 90s fashion that made us cringe so much? For me, it was the haircuts. Not that I really remember all that - I was but a toddler :) But still... shudder:



All I know is spandex no longer invokes jokes about Richard Simmons, exaggerated shoulders are no longer for the moms who had shoulder pads in their dresses and suits, and bleached and acid wash and ripped holes and plaid and Raybans are back! Are we seeing something this second go-round that we didn't see the first time, or are we just running out of original ideas?

In an article I read about how to dress for fashion week, the author made a very interesting point - just because you're wearing what's in now, doesn't mean you're being fashion forward.

5. Don’t slave the trends.

Just because something is in when fashion week rolls around doesn’t mean you should devote your entire look to it. Remember, once a trend ships to stores it has been wholesaleing for over 6 months and was designed several months before that. So maybe lace is huge right now, maybe you’ve seen it all over Barney’s Co-op and in the Bloomies catalogue and The View talked about it in their ‘hot trends for Fall’ feature but that doesn’t make it fresh to anyone in the industry. We’ve all been looking at it for the past year!

I’m not saying don’t wear it, I’m saying don’t wear too much of it, i.e. a lace dress with lace fingerless gloves and lace half socks under your open toe booties with a jacket covered in zippers on top (because zippers are everywhere too so you thought it would look totally trendy!). Like most things, a little bit goes a long way.

Just an interesting tidbit that I'd never thought about. Not that I've ever been to a fashion show period (though, duh, I want to go so bad! :), but I'm definitely more interested in how fashion-as-art translates to and inspires fashion-as-expression in the real world. Wear what makes you feel good!

The impetus for this post comes from something that happened to me last night. I was sorting out clothes to hand down to my sister when I came across a suit jacket that I never ever wore because it was slightly too big, and the shoulders had pads in them that I've been too lazy to cut out and alter to fit me. Besides, the suit jacket was $30 and I bought it over a year and a half ago for work.

But when I took it down from the hanger and was about to throw it in the pile, something compelled me to stop and put it on. At the time, I was wearing a pink backless LnA spaghetti strap top and leggings. I loved it! I loved the look! I added my Coach black heels and accessories (my Cobalt Love Quotes scarf or my fake pearl necklace), and tried both long and cropped leggings, and came up with this:




My shoulders in the second set of pictures, plus the leggings - so 80s! I could totally see myself going to a casual gathering or even out somewhere like a museum party. I could even see myself putting on a pair of RayBans!

To give this formal piece (a suit jacket no less!!) that casual vibe, wear it with a tee and a lazy-chic (i coined that term :) accessory underneath. The final touch? Cuff the sleeve!



I can't help it. Maybe I am a slave to trends sometimes.

Maybe I really need to get a real room lamp so everything doesn't come out so blurry!

LnA Skinny Pant, and LnA everything else

I love LnA. Maybe it's because I'm getting into LA fashion right now. Or maybe it's because I'm just craving basics that aren't boring. But I'll get into that in a later post.

I bought the LnA Skinny Pant today at Boutiquetoyou.com. Originally $138, I got it at 20% off using the code "grechen." (By the way, I don't know WHY, but I'm seeing this "grechen" code everywhere! It gives you 20% off at nationaljeancompany.com too!)

But for the life of me, I couldn't find a single search result on Google that reviewed this pair of pants, nor of anyone who owns it! I haven't tried it on myself, so I'm a little worried. And I don't think Boutiquetoyou.com does returns on sale items. We'll see.

Anyway, my motivation was I'm looking for something that looks/feels like a legging, but can be worn as pants. There are a lot of debates out there on whether leggings are tasteful period, but especially on whether leggings can be worn "as pants." My rule is, if it looks good, do it. There are no rules that apply to absolutely everyone because everyone is different. Except for one rule: Camel-toe is ALWAYS a no-go! :) Sorry, that's never going to be in style.

Along this line of thought, I noticed J Brand coming out with "lightweight" legging jeans (Hussein Chalayan for J Brand). I LOVE. And I'm starting to see "legging jeans" everywhere! I know skinny jeans don't fit every body type, but I can't help it - I love the look! By the way, this is a really nice article that talks about skinny, cigarette, and straight jeans and how to wear them with your body type. I'm still a little wary on straight-up leggings that are just printed like jeans. I own a few J Brand and Seven skinny jeans that kind of fit like leggings, and I'd love to try these new ones, but gotta make sure there's frontal coverage. Again, trying to avoid the Camel-toe effect! :)

Another aside: I am not a proponent of "ripped leggings," like LnA Ripped Zipper leggings. I might be able to pull them off; I don't know. And if you can pull it off, good for you. Do it. By all means. I just think it's misleading when they advertise with a model and the "look" is this:




But can you imagine this same pair of hole-y leggings on an average set of legs? hehe



So I figured this LnA Pant would do the trick. I always look for a bit of "classic" in what I buy, rather than JUST following trends. They're pants, not jeans; they're made of 70% Polyester, 22% Rayon, 8% Spandex. And a 28" inseam for a shorty like me (5'1") is music to my ears - this is easily an ankle pant or scrunched up to resemble leggings! Before today, I kept fantasizing about it, and obsessively checking whether it went on sale somewhere. ShopBop and Singer22 were the only places that carried it besides LNAclothing.com, and they didn't have any promotions going on. I missed Singer22's labor day "KEEP25" code. But when I found it at 20% off at Boutiquetoyou.com, I had to have it.

I'll let you know how it fits when it arrives. I may be the only one on the Internet who's bought these pants!


(...okay... admission... I bought a lot of other LnA stuff too. I mean, a lot. Hautelook had a sale today, but the selection was pretty disappointing. I was hoping there would be good stuff and no one would talk about it so I could get first dibs :) Anyway, so yes. Today was shopping day, and I'm not proud of it. I just love LnA's racerback tanks, their pencil skirts, their deep-v tees... I'm enrolling in some kind of 12-step program soon, I swear. The only thing that partially redeems me is I bought everything on sale using relentlessly sought-after coupons and comparing merchants endlessly.)