fashion – MeeshyD

A Workout Set Review from The Girlfriend Collective

December 31, 2019

I’ve wanted a Girlfriend Collective workout set for quite some time. Over Black Friday weekend, I got a coupon offer for 25% off and I finally pulled the trigger. I’m normally ragtag AF when it comes to my workout wear. I’m typically wearing pants I find on the clearance rack at Old Navy with a tank top, but when I saw my first coordinated crop top workout set, I got all heart eyes emojis and wanted one for myself. I love Girlfriend Collective because they are size inclusive, not just in their products but also in their marketing. Plus, they use recycled plastic in their sets, which I appreciate, so I happily supported them and couldn’t wait to get my workout set.

It arrived in the mail, perfectly packaged in a fun branded cloth pouch. I ordered the Compressive High Rise Legging with the 28.5″ inseam and the Classic Length Paloma Bra in the plum colorway. I planned to rock the set and take photos in it to share with you all here, but I kept putting off the blog post for weeks.

That’s the weird thing about being body positive. As a body positive person, I love seeing women of any size wearing whatever they want to wear. As a body positive person, I think that wanting your body to fit an unrealistic ideal and depriving yourself of the chance to wear a two piece swimsuit or a crop top or anything you desire to wear is absurd. As a body positive person, I love and appreciate all bodies and hate that we have been conditioned to put so much of our self-worth into the way we look in relation to a made-up ideal.

I’m a body positive person, but I’m still undoing years and years of self-hatred and shame over the way my body looks and my perceived failure at my inability to conform my body to a smaller, more acceptable size. When the workout set arrived in the mail, the reality that I was going to parade my body out in public in a slightly oversized bra hit me like a ton of bricks. The expansive part of me wanted nothing more than to wear it while the smaller, scared, self-hating part of me wanted nothing to do with it. I fought this internal battle for weeks until the expansive part of me won and I found myself walking down Lakeshore Ave in Oakland with my tummy out.

Not only did I have to work up the nerve to wear the set in public, I also wanted to take photos of myself in the set to share them on the internet. Cue the nervous giggle I still feel as I write this post. I took about two hundred mirror selfies in the Hipline dressing room, contorting my body in as many angles as I could, but there I was. My body that was bigger than I wanted it to be, with my rounded tummy that no snatched angle is going to hide. In moments like those, I stop taking the photos and I speak to myself with as much kindness as I can muster. I also just stop my brain from continuing on the path of insecurity because if I don’t control myself I will berate myself so badly and before I know it I will find myself crying in my bed for days. I know now how to interrupt my thoughts and stop the negative self-talk.

So, I stopped the photos and I comforted myself a bit and put my jacket away and went to wait in line for the studio. Would you believe me when I say that I literally felt naked walking the ten steps across the studio in front of twenty women? I wanted to hide so badly, but I kept moving. I spoke kindness to myself in my head and I moved through the fear.

I’ve tried to tell you all how much Hipline means to me, but I really can’t find the words. It’s a supportive space for women to dance, to connect to themselves, to feel welcomed as they are. It’s one of the most beautiful things in my life and here’s why: when I joined the line of women waiting for the studio, I kid you not at least five women told me I looked amazing. They complimented my new set. When I told them I felt uncomfortable in the crop top, one of them told me that she knew exactly what I was going through, but that if I made it through one class in it, I’d never go back to any other style of workout wear. They offered me unconditional, body positive support and that meant the world to me. They literally lifted me up out of my own pain and I am so thankful.

I danced my heart out that day. After a few minutes, I forgot all about my tummy hanging out. When I caught myself in the mirror, I smiled not just because I looked fabulous, but because I knew that I had made another massive step out of my body hatred. It’s the silliest thing, really, but these are the moments that change everything.

Wow, this review got really deep. Long story short, I LOVE my Girlfriend Collective set and recommend it without hesitation. May we all feel empowered to walk around with our tummies out!

If you want to support Girlfriend Collective, please use my referral link to receive $10 off your purchase. If you use the link, I will get a free pair of leggings and you know I will rock the heck out them!

Would you like to share a similar story about body positivity? I love hearing about us women growing and coming into our own power!

california, fashion, Style

Winter Coats for Californians

December 11, 2019

It’s a great time to be alive if you like coats. Options are endless out there these days. I remember when basically everyone I knew (including me) either wore a basic black peacoat or a garish puffer coat. That was it, the extent of the options. Now, I come across a new beautiful coat every single day that makes me stop in my online tracks.

Thanks to my coat obsession, I have three great winter coats to share with you all today, but I’m caveating them as winter coats for Californians because I know that my east coast friends will laugh me out of the building if they see some of these. They won’t keep you warm during a Nor’easter, but they sure are cute. Besides, even our friends on the East coast need lighter coats in April. These coats are highly affordable and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I hate it when I click through on a cute coat to find out it is $475. That’s far, far beyond my coat budget. I prefer to pay max $75 for a coat and that is even stretching it except for one small lapse in judgement which you’ll read about later.

First up, we have the surprise stunner of the day from, get this….. OLD NAVY. No shade to Old Navy, but I can’t remember the last time I found something I liked this much there. I put this coat on in the store and made Keith buy it for me because I had forgotten my wallet at home. It reminds me of something Grey Layers would wear, which basically means that it’s chic AF. The zipper is awesome and helps the coat feel more elevated than your typical tan trench. It has a nice thickness to it and I love the way it looks with an all-black ensemble and red lip. I’m really digging the oversize vibe to it. This coat is $69.99 online and is 20% off right now, but it’s extremely limited in sizes so walk, don’t run if you want it. I bought it in store for 50% a few weeks ago, but it’s taken me some time to work up the courage to take the photos for this post.

The next coat we have here is a simple, pretty little Asos Curve coat that I got on sale for $39. They still have it in a few sizes, so if you like it you better click on over to Asos and nab it. When I see this coat, I think pure class. It’s cute, it’s professional, it’s lightweight. I like it, especially for $39.

My final coat that I suspect is going to be polarizing is this AMAZING Sherpa beast. Please click through to see it in all its glory because my highly embarassing model photos do it no justice. I love this coat so, so damn much. It’s actually pretty heavy, delightfully oversized, soft as hell inside and the color is my absolute favorite. Keith put it on because he loved it too and I swear it looked like he was about to sing in the choir at the Yeezy Sunday Service and I mean that in the absolute best way possible. This coat is what my winter dreams are made of. I wore it to my first day at the new job and I decided that I’m not going to allow myself to wear it on my commute home in the evenings because I was so warm and cocooned in it that I wanted to fall asleep. When I went to grab the link to this post, I was shocked that I paid $131 for it, but I think I had a good Cyber Monday coupon code or maybe I was just swept up in the beauty of this coat and money was no option for me. As you know, codes with Asos are a bit harder to come by than other online retailers, but sometimes you can find them. If not, I would seriously recommend buying this coat if you’re into the whole Yeezy look as much as I am.

Do you have any coat hidden gems that you want to share? Please do as I am always all-ears for good coats (as you can see!)

fashion, Rent the Runway Unlimited, Style

My First Rent the Runway Unlimited Order

December 9, 2019

This post contains a referral link. If you purchase through my link, you will save $100 off Rent the Runway. For every two people who sign up, I will get a free month. Thank you for supporting the blog!

I had my first shipment last week with Rent the Runway Unlimited (referral link) and I am excited to share my thoughts with you as part of my Blogging my way through Rent The Runway Unlimited series.

My items arrived in some awesome reusable garment bags on hangers and wrapped in plastic. They have an easy and intuitive system for returning items. Each bag comes with a return label that slots into the front of the bag. Bonus points for being as environmentally friendly as possible with packaging. They even encourage you to return the plastic and hangers so they can recycle them.

Let’s just get to the question on everyone’s mind: how were my items? Well, 3 of 4 of them fit, which is pretty good odds I guess? The bummer is that the one that didn’t fit was the one I really wanted to fit. Remember my post a few weeks ago about the office holiday party? Well, I didn’t order any of the items I was considering in time and now they’re all sold out! Bummer.

The replacement holiday party jumpsuit I ordered was so, so comically small. It felt like a tight onesie that wouldn’t even zip in the back, which was such a bummer because I ordered on the higher end of my typical size to give myself some wiggle room. I was just shopping the site to look for options to order for this week to arrive in time for the holiday party next weekend and I just didn’t feel like there were many good options. A lot of things I liked made me really nervous that they wouldn’t fit based on the previous order, so I was trying to find something that was holiday appropriate + flexible in fit in case the sizing was off and I didn’t find much of anything that I liked. The thing that stinks is that I KNOW they have lots of great options for people in ‘traditional’ sizes, but very, very limited stuff for people my size. I know this because when I click on a category, I get a glimpse of super cute stuff in smaller sizes before the filter loads for my size. It just reinforces what I’ve felt my whole life – that the good stuff isn’t for people like me. I wish Rent the Runway Unlimited were fully inclusive in that way. I can’t imagine what the service is like for people who are bigger than me.

So, after that bit of frustration, let’s talk about the items I liked because I really, really loved them and felt like a fabulous queen in them all week.

First up is this burnt orange sweater with fun detailing around the wrists. Super, duper cute and so comfy. I felt seasonally appropriate and comfortable.

Next up is this AMAZING coat. I felt like such a badass wearing this piece and I received many compliments. It fit perfectly and just made me feel so chic. Major fan. I’ll probably keep this one for a while.

Last is this one:

I tried to convince myself that it was okay and I still wore it, but the cut and the way it hung accentuated my stomach, which is a part of my body that I am still learning to love. I actually changed out of it half-way through the workday and sent it back with the jumpsuit.

So, basically I was 2 of 4 for this first shipment. Not the best odds and probably making me feel a bit less excited about the service but I am going to keep at it for three months so I can really get a good feel for it.

I just spent way too long deciding on my next shipment and I settled on a sexy-is green dress for the Christmas party and a cool Rebecca Minkoff bag. Super jazzed about that one because my current purse is literally falling apart and I haven’t had time to properly shop for its replacement.

That’s a damn long recap of my first Rent the Runway Unlimite d shipment. If you’re interested in signing up, feel free to use my link to receive $100 off. 🙂

Have you done Rent the Runway Unlimited? How’s it going?

Older Posts

Newer Posts