One of The Reasons I Love St. Louis. . .

Oh St. Louis!

Hello Readers,

Last month, before I officially moved out of St. Louis, I spent a few days saying goodbye to the city that took my heart by surprise. I knew that St. Louis, and graduate school, would be an adventure, but I never anticipated how much I would enjoy adventuring in St. Louis.

What the what?

In my time of goodbying, my friend Megan and I took a stroll around Maryland Plaza before meeting up with our mutual friend Deanne (yes, we all went to school together) for a movie at the Chase Park Plaza cinema. As we ambled along the sidewalk we came across the oddest spectacle. There, on the sidewalk, were two street performers. One, a man, was riding a giant stationary bicycle with an umbrella of spinning wine glasses and the other, a woman, was standing as a statue, dressed in a sequined gown in the middle of a fountain.

This is one of the reasons I love St. Louis. A familiar place, like Maryland Plaza, will sometimes yield unexpected experiences- like a man drying wine glasses on a stationary bicycle and a woman pretending to be a statue in a fountain. I'm still unsure as to why these performers were there, but I wonder if it was to benefit a nonprofit in the area. Did anyone else see this? Do you know?

I miss St. Louis, but fortunately I will be back there (briefly) today!!!

Delightfully confused

Megan is also delightfully confused

Retail Details (me):

Pink Tank: Abercrombie & Fitch

Silver Heart Necklace: Gift from my cousin (for singing in her wedding)

Navy Blue Printed Dress: American Eagle Outfitters

Black and Navy Blue Windmill Belt: Anthropologie

Charcoal Metallic Flip Flips: Ipanema

Adriano Goldschmied Store Visit- Maryland Plaza

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Good Morning Readers!

Last week I had the opportunity to do my very first store review!  Where, you may ask?  I went to the Adriano Goldschmied store in the very lovely Maryland Plaza (CWE, St. Louis), conveniently located in between my occasional walks from The Cup (formerly The Cupcakery) to Straub's.  When I visited this store for the first time two weeks ago (a week before my review visit) and was so impressed with the clothing, helpful and knowledgeable staff, and welcoming atmosphere of the store, I was so inspired that I asked if I could do a review for this blog the following week.

During this visit, as well as my first visit, Carol helped me find the right styles, fits, and washes and offered water and soda to me upon my arrival.  She offered honest advice and reactions for each of the styles I tried on- always encouraging and never pushy.  If trying on jeans is something that makes you as nervous as it makes me, Carol is the perfect stylist for you because she helps you identify your strengths, offers helpful styling tips for disguising any insecurities, and finds flattering styles for you to try on that you never would have considered before.  She is wonderful!  But so is everyone else I've met at this store, including Daniel and Nikki (who has a delightful blog: AddBubblestoTaste).

Here is the store's exterior:


And the interior (it reminds me a lot of Martin & Osa):

They have men's clothing too!

Here are a few of the jeans I tried on during my visit:

The Charlotte: 

These jeans were a dream and a half! The straight cut of these jeans make them super flattering and ultra-versatile.  I could wear these to work on a Friday, out with friends, running errands, with heels or flats, even cuffed! Of all the jeans I tried on, this is the most practical and slimming pair of the bunch with the inseam I was searching for.

Fit Guide: These are very slimming and I recommend staying with your regular size, TTS.

The Ballad: 

I almost bought these beauties- they are super comfortable (lots of stretch and really soft fabric), but since it's been a while since I've worn bootcut jeans, I decided to hold off.  I have, however been stalking these jeans on the agjeans website since I tried them on.

Fit guide: The Clyde wash comes in a fabric with a lot of stretch, almost like a jegging (but not as restricting as a jegging), so I recommend trying on one size lower than your usual size along with your regular size. 

**Attention tall ladies: With a 33 inch inseam, this jean had a wonderful length that I would recommend to all my height (5'9"/5'10") and above.

The Farrah: 

This jean, inspired by the original Farrah's famous flare for bellbottoms, is like a flashback to a past I never experienced (the 1970s).  Wearing these, I really felt like I could have stepped back in time, maybe to one of James Taylor's first concerts way back when.

Fit Guide: I recommend trying on the size that you usually wear, in addition to the next size up.  These are stretch-free, which I think is a testament to their durability, but this means that sizing up is a good (and shame-free) idea for these fun jeans.  The waist is higher than what I am used to wearing, but is true to style, and completes the look.  Aren't these fun?
**Attention fellow tall ladies- these jeans have a really long inseam!!! I usually wear a 33 or 34 inch inseam, and even with 2 inch heels I had plenty of length.

The Stevie: 

For all of you anthro fans out there, you may already be familiar with the Stevie either as a denim or cord, or maybe both! As a proud owner of two pairs of AG Stevie cords, I had to try these jeans on.  These jeans have a major wow factor- they fit closely where they should, but never too closely, and have just the right amount of stretch to make this a wonderful anyday-anytime jean. Very flattering!

 
Fit guide: I recommend staying with your normal size for this jean.  The fit is lovely, but it is close, and the jean itself provides a lot of structure, so you don't want it to be too tight since it already fits closely to the body.

So. . . moral of the story: visit the nearest Adriano Goldschmied store near you! For locations, here is the AG's store locator on their website: http://www.agjeans.com/store/storelocator.aspx

Thank you Carol, Nikki, and Daniel for all of your help and for making this visit such an amazing experience!

*PS- stay tuned- I have a very special giveaway starting tomorrow!