This is a compensated review
by BlogHer and LOFT.
Last Saturday I was one of fifteen lucky ladies chosen by BlogHer to shop LOFT's special shopping event--did you see the ads? d.j.s, snacks, and 30% off all full-price merch!--and then report back to you about the experience (plus offer you a discount code and give you a chance to win a gift card! read on!). All I had to do was show up at the store, team up with a professional stylist, dress up in fabulous clothes, and then stand up straight for the photographer hired to make the entire experience utterly terrifying capture the moment for you folks at home.
Luckily, I was distracted from the whole surprise!modeling! thing by being given a "style challenge." The goal was to create three looks--a casual holiday outfit, an office-to-evening outfit, and a pretty party outfit--in 45 minutes, and you're right if you think this appealed to my inner achiever and from the second I walked through the front doors I was all "GO! GO! GO!" probably scaring the very nice and very stylish stylist (hi, Hailey!) a little. But because she was contracted for the entire day, she stuck with me through the temporary mania, and together we pulled together three great outfits, accessories and all, fa la la la la (or fa la la la LOFT?). (Sorry, 'tis the season for bad puns.)
Challenge #1: Create a laid-back look that will keep you cozy and cute during your downtime (HA) this holiday.
Laid-back, cozy, and cute, you say? Bring it on! Let's do this! Eye of the tiger! And then...aye yai yai, the stylist pulled out a pair of skinny jeans. I think I lost ten pounds just talking circles around why I shouldn't wear skinny jeans, not at this age, not ever, but you know what? Perhaps all that cardio-avoidance was why they not only fit but looked pretty darn cute. [All photos by the talented and non-scary Robert Schroeder.]

Jeans
Shirt in Ivory
Cardigan (not available online)
Scarf
Disclaimer: I agreed to be photographed in anything the stylist wanted to put on me, but in real life I would definitely opt for a longer sweater so I'd feel less...exposed by so little stretch denim over so much me. That said, after wearing the jeans for a while and feeling them loosen up a bit (and maybe my attitude as well?), I might have to take them off my Never in a Million Years list (jeggings, if you must know, will always be on that list) and wear them with the long cardigan I bought.
The real star of the show here, though, is this necklace to end all necklaces, which, you guys, is so awesome I can't even stand it.

I'm going to wear it with everything I own, including my p.j.s and fuzzy green slippers.
Challenge #2: Pull together a versatile look that you can transform from office-appropriate to party-ready in no time.
If you've been here awhile, you already know that my office is mostly full of hippies and slackers, so if I ever showed up in what the rest of the world calls "office-appropriate attire," my coworkers would probably take one look at me and suspect I had a lunchtime job interview with The Man. Also, I only go to the office one day a week, and come on, what's the chance I'll ever have to go directly from the office to a party on that one day? Apparently EVERY TUESDAY IN DECEMBER, that's when. This is what we came up with:

Skirt (Zoom in to see the pattern on the skirt; that's what makes the outfit a little fancy. Also, the skirt has pockets!)
Shirt in Rosette
Cardigan in taupe (not available online)
Bracelet (not available online)
My favorite feature of this outfit is that all the pieces are extremely versatile. The skirt could be worn with a fancier blouse, the T-shirt could be worn with jeans, and the cardigan...well, I bought the cardigan and I'm going to wear it everywhere. In fact, I think I'm about to order another one in a different color right now.
Challenge #3: From low-key style to full-on glamour, pull together a look that will make you shine at any get-together.
Although I told the stylist I live in jeans and put comfort above all else, I had to admit that when it comes to party dresses, I like to do it up right--heels, fishnets, bling, what-have-you. I also confessed that I don't own an official little black dress, and that is when the heavens opened up, a ray of light shone down from above, and I beheld this:

Dress in black
Now that's A DRESS. (To fully appreciate the detailing, you can see it really REALLY big here.)
The best part is this bow at the nape, which you'll see had me feeling rather saucy.
This dress is, like, THE dress, and if I hadn't already felt that the second I tied the bow in back, I certainly knew it when not only the stylist and the dressing room attendants oohed and aahed at me but then other customers emerged from their closets to see what all the fuss was about. One woman said, "You're getting that, right? Because the way you looked at yourself in the mirror was just...I could tell you knew you looked pretty."
Okay, clothes aside, everyone should shop at LOFT because it will make you feel good about yourself (and more than a dozen chocolate doughnuts ever could). (In fact, when I called to talk to the store manager a few days after my shopping trip, I told her about how nice the other customers were (in addition to her awesome staff), and she said that's pretty typical, since the saleswomen try their best to make the entire store--and the fitting room in particular--a positive, friendly environment instead of a death-march to the public three-way mirror. The customers really seem to feed off of that, and I even found myself complimenting other customers on their selection, a scene which I'm sure has Simon choking on his whiskey because me? talk to strangers? while shopping? Crazytalk.)
Anyway...This is my favorite kind of review to write because I don't have one negative thing to say about the experience or the product. Even better, now I get to offer YOU a chance to win your own fabulous experience.
For starters, here's a coupon for 20% off purchases at LOFT (in-store use only), valid through December 31, 2009.
Now, to enter to win a $200 LOFT gift card, leave me a comment below telling me which of the above three outfits is your favorite (although, COME ON, it's obviously THE DRESS). For more chances to win, leave me a link to your Twitter tweet about this entry, leave a comment on the BlogHer round-up page, and then check out the other reviews (for a total of fifteen chances to win)! (Please make sure you leave a valid email address.)
More official stuff:
* The contest runs from December 10 through December 25, 2009.
* No duplicate comments.
* Receive an additional entry by linking on Twitter and leaving a link to your tweet in the comments.
* Receive an additional entry by blogging about this contest and leaving a link in the comments.
* Giveaway is open to US Residents aged 18 and older.
* Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by email.
* You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
* Please see the official rules here.