My Body, My Style At Sears #ThisIsStyle #cbias

It’s been a very interesting 6 months here in Virginia and dating Fred! He would probably say the same since he went shopping at Sears with me a couple of weeks ago! I was looking for some affordable fashion because as a single mom I’m on a budget. It was also important for Fred to tag along with me so we could see how what we liked meshed, or if it did.

I know I’ve talked in the past about the issues I had with my ex-husband and how he wasn’t an easy man when it came to my clothing. He had certain “rules” I had to live by. Fred on the other hand, is completely the opposite. We’ve talked about this before and it’s a hard transition for me.

How does he respond when I ask him about what I should wear and if he’s ok with what I’m wearing? “Um, do you like it?” “I’m not going to tell you what to wear or not wear.” I kind of look at him like he’s speaking a foreign language. Get this, he likes when I dress girlie! HA! Go figure.
So, since I’ve met him, I’ve been trying out my girlie side and he’s been fantastic and encouraging! I wasn’t sure how the shopping would go, but he did really well.

I wanted to look feminine and at the same time, have clothing that fit my body. I have long legs and it can be hard to find clothing that fits my 5’8 height. I’m not extremely feminine in my body shape…unfortunately so large clothing that makes me look big or makes my top half look smaller than it already is! It’s also important to me that what I found while we were shopping was fun and something “out of my box”.

The Sears we went to is actually quite small. In fact, I thought they were still in the process of remodeling. Apparently they weren’t. I was really bent on getting a summer dress and they had very little to choose from. I had browsed their extensive online selection and had expected to find most of that same apparel at the store. No, not even close. I only found a handful of dresses to choose from. I had forgotten I ran into that same issue when I went shopping for a dress right before SoFabCon back in April.

Fred and I just perused the racks looking for something that would fit what I was looking for. ugh, this is where he wasn’t helpful. He kept pulling things out he just knew I would never wear. He’d hold some floral, large shirt up next to me and I just cringed. Not because of the shirt itself, but because I’m extremely particular about design or prints!

He did pick up one shirt that looked really big and it had a print on it that I would’ve never in a million years glance twice at, but I looked at it for longer than a second and gave it a cursory, “sigh…fine”. I think I tried on about 8 different outfits. All the while he stood there, patiently, not complaining at all and taking photos of each outfit! I even tested him out at one point because one of the skirts I wore was white and you could see my undies through it. I told him and he responded, “really? cool!” So not what I’m used to and it makes my heart smile!

Sigh…and get this, the shirt he picked out for me, I grabbed a pair of black capris to go with it and I ended up liking it! I was shocked. Fred liked it, too. I personally wasn’t comfortable with how low cut it was, but it looked like it would be perfect for a semi-formal function or even church. I already had black sandals and white sandals at home, but grabbed a dressy black watch to go along with the outfit. On the hanger this shirt looked really big, but when I put it on, it fit perfectly!

I really was still focused on dresses and found one that would look really great…after I have a tan. hahahahaha I tried on a variety of shoes trying to find something that would go with my new summer dress, and actually went back a second time to look more thoroughly and ended up purchasing two pairs online because I loved the black ones I tried on at the store, but they didn’t match the dress. In fact, last year when I was going to BlogHer ‘12, I bought the cutest pair of black wedges from Sears and the ones I was looking at were similar.

I got the coral colored wedges first and they were awesome with the dress. Totally worked, but I was waiting to see if the cream colored ones would match too. It was interesting how they both arrived. The coral ones came shipped in a box. The cream ones came shipped in a bag. The shoe box was crushed and the shoes weren’t even in the box. I was really surprised they’d ship shoes in a bag. Needless to say, the coral ones are the shoe I went with!

I brought my dress and shoes to wear when Fred and I went out to eat in Ocean City, but it rained so badly I never took the dress out. Now it’s waiting for me to have another sunny day/evening to dress up! I ended up purchasing the black and white outfit as well because I’ve wanted some dressier, every day clothing and that totally fit the bill. The capris were too big, but they didn’t have a smaller size. I was ok with that because with the belt I was able to make them fit.

As you can see in the photo below, I’ve worn my black and white outfit…a couple of times as a matter of fact. Most recently to my son’s 8th grade graduation last week!

One of the things I really love about Sears is that if you find what you’re looking for and want it in a different color or different size, they’ll ship the right ones to you for free! That’s what I did with my shoes and would’ve done with the capris had they had a smaller size.

I also used my Shop Your Way card and that got me more points towards future purchases!! On top of that, after my purchase, I got some awesome coupons to use on my future shopping trips!

Be sure to check out my fun shopping trip and the cute styles I got to try out in my Google + album!
So, what’s YOUR style or are you like me and still trying to figure it out?