Everlane Review The Pocket Tote

The other day when I was looking to get Everlane's crop stretch ponte pants (review on that later), I needed one more item in my cart to get the free shipping so I decided to try out Everlane's Pocket Tote (I mean why not, and I'm a bag gal after all).  And well what do you think?

{wearing: Everlane Fisherman cotton pullover (here), Frame denim (similar here), M.Gemi The Docente shoes (review here), and Everlane pocket tote}

It was fairly big and could fit quite a bit.  In the pictures above I'm just carrying my 13" MacBook inside.  The bag comes with a large outside pocket (convenient for carrying your phone and other things you reach for frequently).  Inside the main zippered compartment is another zippered pocket perfect for keys.  My main pet peeve about this bag is that the bottom has no structure.  So as you can see the gusset is sagging in the above pictures.  I'm curious to know how Everlane fudged their video of this Pocket Tote, since it looks like the guy is only carrying a laptop and another pouch, but his tote doesn't sag.  It looks like there might be something stiff and rectangular at the bottom of the bag to hold it's shape (I used to do this with my Louis Vuitton speedy bag back in the day--I just used a piece of cardboard so that the bag keeps it shape).  Maybe you could do something similar here if you're so inclined.  As for me I decided to pass on it since I didn't love it and I didn't really need another tote in my life.

As always, this review is unsponsored and you can find all my other Everlane reviews here. 

Everlane The Silk Shell Review

Sorry not the right color here, but I didn't have a chance to grab the images of their pink shell.

So interesting story about this Everlane Silk Shell.  I had no intention of purchasing this (much less in this color) except when I was scrolling through Everlane's page while in the security line at the airport I saw that there was a slight glitch on their mobile site.  They were selling this pink silk shell for $1!!! The next smallest size they had available was a size 8.  Now I'm usually a size 4 in Everlane so it made no sense for my to buy a size 8.  But I couldn't pass it up.  Plus I wasn't sure I would even be able to check-out due to the error.  But I was able to check out and I got my order confirmation.  At this point I was sure that Everlane would realize their error, apologize and refund everyone their $1 (and I was curious to see how they would handle the whole debacle).  But amazingly the price just changed back to what it should be ($65) and I received my item a week later.  It's pretty admirable for Everlane to follow through even though it was their mistake. 

And since I had it in hand I decided to try it out.  And guys, it fit.  It was a bit loose but it fit fine at the neck and arm holes (I for sure thought the arm holes would be way too big).  Which led me to think, "Wait, am I really a size 8 and have I been fooling myself to think I'm a size 4 all this time?!"  But then I realized, that the size 4 items fit me perfectly fine as well.  So does that mean Everlane's sizing variation is actually quite minimal?

{Wearing: Everlane Silk Shell, Everlane Stretch Ponte Pants, Everlane Modern Point shoes and YSL Universite bag}

I'm still not sure if I'll be keeping this silk shell but I'll at least try to incorporate it into some outfits before I decide.  I've never owned anything this pink before so it'll be fun to experiment and incorporate it into my decidedly neutral closet.

Anyways you can find all the rest of my Everlane reviews here.

P.S. Actually I decided to sell this over at TemporaryHousewifeyCloset for a really good price.  So Everlane's loss will be EarthJustice's gain, lol (and one lucky reader will get a new silk shell for a steal)

Everlane Cashmere Crop Square Mockneck Review

I already mentioned these pants when I talked about my search for a dupe of Elizabeth Suzann's Georgia Tee to work around my shopping ban.  And so you already know that I ended up returning them.  But mostly because I already have a gray cashmere sweater from Everlane (their regular one) and I already have a gray mockneck sweater from Grana.  To tell you the truth I'm still a little iffy about this square mockneck from Everlane.  Some days I like the look (and want to repurchase it in a different color, maybe light pink), but other days I'm just eh about it.  What do you think?  Styled with the Everlane streth ponte pants (reviewed here) on the left and Grana silk ankle pants (reviewed here) on the right.

I ordered it in a small, my usual size at Everlane (I'm 5'4", size 4).  The cashmere from Everlane is smooth and awesome as usual.  I do love that the mockneck is not too tight and fits my thick neck.  The crop top works best with mid-rise to high-rise pants but I wouldn't say it's overly cropped.  Hmmm I really don't know.  What do you think?  Is it worth repurchasing?

{Find Everlane Cashmere mockneck here and all other Everlane reviews here}

Everlane Luxe Drape Muscle Tank Dress Review

Hi guys, it was a brief hiatus but we're back on the Everlane review train (also I've updated my Ultimate Everlane Reviews page with the latest reviews if you want to take a peek).  Today we have the Luxe Drape Muscle Tank Dress.  I recently reviewed Everlane's linen muscle tank and I came to the conclusion I just wasn't a muscle tank kind of gal.  So for the same reasons I'm not a huge fan of this dress either.  But to be honest I'm not a huge fan of this material either for a dress and here's why:

Cons:

~ The Luxe material is very thin so 1) you can definitely see some VPL if you're not wearing the right underwear and 2) there is a slight sheerness (the kind where if you are standing with your legs apart you can see through the dress a bit).

~ The Luxe material also hugs all the curves (or you could call them love handles)

However, if you're less on the curvy side and have some good underwear, you might like this dress because:

~ The Luxe material is quite soft and smooth.  It feels really nice to the touch.  And it only requires washing on delicate (yay no hand-washing required).

~ The length of the dress is nice and would show off your toned arms (if you have 'em)

~$35 gets you a whole dress (vs. $30 for just the top).  This might look really cute layered with tights, boots/booties, and a blazer or a sweater for the fall.  It's a pretty good foundation piece.

Oh and I should mention I ordered this a size up from my usual (I got a medium instead of a small) because it looked like the small might be too fitted for such a thin material.  And I think I got the right size, but this dress just isn't for me.  Anyways if you're interested, you can purchase the top at Everlane.

Everlane Japanese GoWeave Back-Zip Tee Review

I know y'all have heard of buyers remorse but do you sometimes get returners remorse?  Well I definitely have a bit of returners remorse on this Everlane Japanese GoWeave Back-Sip Tee (and now this white version won't be in stock until November).  And here's why:

~ This Japanese GoWeave material is really awesome with a nice weight to it.  It's not sheer at all, with a nice smooth and soft texture.  Plus it doesn't wrinkle easily.  It's the perfect top for traveling.

~ There's a zip at the top and at the bottom with a gusset underneath so you can subtly change the style of it with a bit of unzipping (like in the picture below where I unzipped the bottom to make a little tail).

~ The sleeve length is perfect at elbow-length.

~ And even though it costs a bit for a top ($88), it also cost Everlane a bit to make it ($60) so the mark-up is actually quite minimal.

{Here I am trying to get away from the mirror propped up on a mattress, lol}

{Also for sizing I used my Everlane rule of thumb: if it looks a bit oversized, size down from my normal size.  So I'm usually a 4, but I got this in a 2.}

But in the end I returned it because 1) I can't keep a white shirt clean for the life of me and I don't know how this fabric will take stains (I have a feeling it's near impossible to get stains out of this); 2) related to that is the cleaning instructions: must be hand washed, not even dry cleaned; 3) this kind of top would be great if I worked in an office, but since I work in a garage, this top would be for "going out" occasions (ie relegated to a box, only to be worn once in a blue moon).  Ah, now I remember why I returned it and I have returners remorse no more (thanks blog post for reminding me, lol).  But hey if you live a different lifestyle and don't mind some hand-washing, like I said this top is pretty awesome.  

Everlane Cotton Poplin Collarless Shirt Dress Review

I've tried a lot of Everlane's cotton poplin items, including two cotton poplin shirt dresses (Everlane cotton poplin shirt dress review here and cotton poplin square shirt dress review here).  And I haven't yet kept any cotton poplin items yet from Everlane because I never really loved the item enough to want to deal with the upkeep (dry cleaning or ironing).  Well here is the cotton poplin dress from Everlane that I finally kept.  Here's an Everlane cotton poplin shirt dress for us short gals (for reference I'm 5'4" but with short legs)!

At first I thought the black stripes would make this look like some kind of old school prisoner uniform (before prisons wised up and started to dress their inmates in fluorescent orange).  But since the stripes go vertical instead of horizontal, it really doesn't look like that.  I got this in a size 4 instead of my usual size 2 because I had a sneaking suspicion that the bubble butt I kept getting in the twill shirt dress and the cotton poplin v-neck tank dress was because I kept getting a size too small.  So I tried the 4 and there is still a bit of a bubble butt as you can see in the picture up top but it's not so pronounced.  It might be because I finally got the right size and the fact that the cotton poplin isn't as stiff of a material as say the twill.  Reader Lia has mentioned that to truly get rid of that bubble butt, you can take it to a tailor to get darts put in the back of the dress.

Lol, here I am styling this dress (with my new Celine Trotteur which I love and replaces my Mansur Gavriel crossbody).  I feel like this outfit was inspired my Damsel in Dior (who I never really followed just because she's a different body type and has a different budget than I do when it comes to clothes.  But I've been following her snapchat lately and now I love her!).  Now I just need to get out of the Airstream garage and take some decent pictures of this dress.

But for now these are the pics I have.  Anyway I love love love this shirt dress because:

~ This is finally a great length for me, with the front ending right above the knees.  In the Everlane model it actually looks a little too short almost (but that's because she's 5'9").

~ Also love that the back is longer than the front.  And this dress has pockets!

~ The price on this isn't half bad at $65.  In fact it's the cheapest cotton poplin shirt dress that they have.

Also one of my good friends from high school (Hi Jen Lee *waves*) actually took the time to text me to tell me she thought this dress from Everlane looked awesome (she knows how much I love Everlane).  At the time I had the dress but never tried it on (because of the whole feeling deflated about life due to my leg infection).  But once I tried it on, I knew it was a keeper.  Anyway go here for all my other Everlane reviews.

{edit: And here's Andrea's styling of the same dress.  It really is super versatile!}

Everlane Donegal Cashmere Sweater & Marled Wool Chunky Knit Crew Neck Sweater Review

So first I want to thank everyone who has voted so far in my "What to get next from Everlane" poll (the poll is now closed, but I also did a second order that includes the lux double knit dress and lux double knit mockneck so that review coming soon).  The top 2 most voted items were the marled wool crew neck sweater and the donegal sweater.  So that's what I'll be doing a review on today.

First, the chunky wool knit in grey marled.  I never would have ordered this item if it wasn't for the poll because of my whole "chunky knits will make you look chunkier" theory. But I'm so glad you guys voted on this (about a third of you guys) and that I tried it out.  First the marled wool has a beautiful texture and a really tight knit.  I think compared to the chunky knit cardigan I reviewed, the marled chunky knit does feel a little less droopy and heavy (though that could be from the fact that it's a sweater and not a large cardigan).  It definitely feels as warm as the chunky knit cardigan (I wore it for a couple minutes indoors and was immediately feeling a bit toasty).  But what I loved most about this chunky knit sweater was the knit pattern (kind of like a diamond shape in the front and back) and the side slits, which help make the sweater look a little less bulky.  I got a size small and it fit perfectly except for the sleeves which were a bit long (but easy to roll up).  I actually really like this sweater (and so did my husband, who liked this one way more than the donegal sweater I'll be reviewing next).  

I ended up returning it for now because when I purchased the sweater, Everlane was selling it for $110.  But now it's selling for $78 which is a much more tempting price.  I'm thinking of rebuying the sweater at the now reduced price or buying the chunky knit cardigan in marled wool, which is also now selling at a reduced price (it went from $140 to $110).  I guess Everlane decided to cut their margins to help move the merch.  A reader commented that the marled wool chunky knit cardigan might actually look a little more slimming than the grey one I ordered due to both the wool type and the seemingly tighter knit, but I guess the only way I can know for sure is to buy the cardigan in marled wool (should I buy that next too?).

Even before the poll I was itching to try the new donegal wool sweater, especially in light rose.  I ended up getting the cropped cashmere crew because I thought the modern cut would look fresh with the muted color (plus I had already ordered 2 regular crew neck cashmere sweater for my Everlane cashmere review and didn't think I wanted 3). My husband called the donegal wool in light rose a sweater an old lady would wear.  But I think with some high-waisted pants, the cropped donegal sweater looks young and modern to me (I think the donegal is such a fun interesting knit).  But the donegal knit, though sold with all the other cashmere sweaters on Everlane, is not as soft as the pure cashmere sweaters.  The tiny flecks of wool adds texture but is also a bit scratchy.  So if you're looking for the the softest cashmere sweater out there I would recommend a lighter solid color sweater (here's why).  I ordered the small and the fit is like the other cropped cashmere sweater I reviewed: very cropped and slightly boxy.

As always, reviews are done on items I've purchased for myself and are not sponsored.  Check out my other Everlane reviews here and or Everlane's items (referral link).  Thanks for reading!

What should I review next from Everlane? Taking votes now!

The little poll at the end of the Everlane Chunky Wool Knit cardigan review was a great way to get some feedback from you guys so I thought why not make a poll so that you guys get to decide what I should review next from Everlane.  

P.S. the current poll results for whether or not I should keep the chunky wool knit cardigan is 90% "Send it back" and 10% "Keep it".

P.P.S. Rhonda, I heard ya and I ordered the Chelsea boot so a review of that is coming soon {update: here's the Everlane Chelsea boot review)

{Update 12.29.15: Thanks to the people who have voted!  I already did one review of the Everlane donegal sweater and marled wool crew neck sweater.  And now I've ordered the lux double knit mockneck and dress since I got so many votes for those two items.  Personally they seem a little potato-sack-like to me, but you guys voted and I'm listening!  I will try not to let my preconceived notions bias the review.  And if you don't know yet, Everlane is having a sale!}