My (Mini) H&M Haul!

House of Hsueh Giveaway EXTENDED!  Deadline now February 7!  ENTER TODAY!

Last week, the H&M store at Toronto's Yonge and Bloor area played host to a fundraiser shopping night for a charity called Windfall, which focuses on new clothing.  I was there to cover the event for my lifestyle site, DelectablyChic! and also decided to do some shopping.  I purchased three items, a skirt, a cardigan and short trench, all which were 15% for that night only (prices listed below are original list prices, not post-discount). 

Skirt with trench:



Floral skirt, size 4 ($49.95 in Canada)

Trench, size 2 ($49.95 in Canada)

Anyi Lu pumps

Here I am with the cardigan (XS):

Skirt and trench (in hand) as above

Cardigan, XS ($39.95 in Canada)

Not too sure about the cardigan, now that I've tried it on.  I think it makes me look a little boxy (unless there's some quick fix with a different kind of shell.  There's only one button on the sweater - on the top.  That could have been the problem.  Maybe I should add buttons to the sweater?  As for the skirt, it was typical of  most higher-waisted skirts, especially those from H&M - I was in between sizes, and therefore had to size up to a 4.

I also paired the skirt with a green cardigan I got from Jacob a few weeks ago and H&M belt I bought before the holidays.  Personally, I like this look a bit more than the one above:

It's still much to cold in Toronto to wear this (ok, I can pair the skirt with tall boots (pic to come soon)), but I can't wait for spring to come so I can!

H&M To Offer Limited Extended Sizes....

So they're launching a one-off line called Inclusive, which will cater to plus sized women.  My issue with them?  I actually have several.  First of all, why are they calling it "Inclusive" if it's just for plus sized women?  Doesn't inclusive mean that they're open to everyone?  So yes, this means that they should have petite sizes as well.  Petites, as in 5'4" and below, not smaller sizes, period. 



So yes, once again, the petite woman is being snubbed, likely because the need for petite sizing is pretty much unknown outside of the UK and North America.  It doesn't really matter, anyway, since this H&M line is not going to be in brick and mortar stores but online.  The North American H&M sites don't have e-commerce.  Too bad, because the clothes look really pretty - nicer than a lot of what they have in their regular line.

UPDATE:  Apparently, the size range will also include regular sizes.  According to reports, the Inclusive line will range from size 32 to 54, which translates to size 2 to 24 in North America speak.

Flower Pin Accessories at H&M

I really needed something to spice up some of my outfits and for the life of me, I wasn't able to find anything good.  So imagine my surprise when I saw these flower pins at a recent trip to H&M!  I bought two, one orange and another in leopard print, both I think would improve the look of any plain outfit - whether formal or casual. 



At my visit to H&M, I found four different pins:  Black, white, orange and leopard print (last two pictured above).  They are $4.95 in Canada.



In the picture above, I am wearing the orange flower.  The dress is vintage Banana Republic (well, from circa 2004, anyway...it's also a little big.  The 2010/2011 version is probably this), with a belt from H&M (XS) and shoes from Stuart Weitzman (got these at an outlet store, so the exact shoes aren't available anymore.  Similar can be found here)

ATTN Petites in the Vegas Area: H&M Opens Biggest Store in the World

I just got an email telling me that petite-friendly store, H&M's largest store (60,000 square feet!!!) will be opening at the Forum Shops at Caesars on December 11.  Though H&M does not carry actual petite sizes, items from the Swedish-based chain are making their rounds in various petite blogs, including this one.

(Sign from an H&M store in NYC)

The store in Vegas will be true to its location - not only is it going to be HUGE, but it will also have a clubby feel, disco balls, light show and a 50' atrium!  The Forum Shops store will carry the entire collection, including kids, maternity, lingerie and cosmetics.  Though there are two H&Ms near where I live right now, I think I might make a trip down to Vegas in the near future to check the place out!

It's a Coat...no, a DRESS!

Believe it or not, I managed to get something at the Lanvin Loves H&M event today.  Things were a little different than the past, with a wristband policy in place (at least at the store that I went to), so things were a bit chaotic.  I got there around 8 am (I did not realize that the store was opening earlier) and was given a wristband for 11.  That had me worried...if things were anything like previous years, it would mean that 11 am = nothing left.  Well, I was partially right.  When I got upstairs right before 11, I was actually able to find SOMETHING!  In size 2!!  It was actually not the outfit I had in mind (ok, I actually had NOTHING in mind at first and then it was the dark blue dress with the frilly sleeves), but this really, really caught my eye.  And right then and there, I knew that it could be either a coat OR a dress.....

Take a look at it as a coat (i.e. unbelted):

(sorry for not smiling.....)

And as a "dress"

The boots in both cases are from Donald J. Pliner.  Belt in the second picture is Jacob.