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That 70s Dress

I saw this dress a few times as I was doing my daily scroll through Asos. Every time I spotted it, I was captivated by the colors. There is something about the color combination and the front tie kept bring me back to it. Or I look at my saved items on Asos too often which is where this dress was then living. I, however, was not loving the price point of this main line find. I am typically willing to pay a little bit more for a tall item that I know will fit me right but for a main line find….eh.

As my browsing continued a few days later, they just happened to discount it. So I figured why not give it a try. The colors are even better in person in my opinion. Although you may want to note that your stripes and the ties in the front can vary vastly from the picture they show, depending on what cut of the fabric you get.

Per usual I tossed it on and snapped a pic to Jenilee to see if we were keeping it. I told her the sleeves weren’t quite long enough but I still really like the length, colors and I just felt like the tie on the front was flattering. She mentioned it could be a bracelet length dress. “A what,” I said? Essentially a sleeve length that is just long or short enough to showcase your arm candy. This is a new term to me but if it could be an excuse to make this dress work, then I am here for it.

I want to touch on the above statement a little bit more. Jenilee and I have spoke many times on how we are making an effort to shop more mindfully – not buying items that aren’t the right fit on our body, items we don’t feel comfortable in, items that aren’t of quality. And we really are doing our best but I think sometimes there are exceptions.

Yes, I did stretch this dress a little bit in the sleeve length area. I also know that this is a dress I can wear year round to work, church, casual events etc. I am explaining this partially to inspire all of you to do the same. We all should stop buying items that find their way to the back of the closet and stay there. And also to keep holding myself accountable to do the same.

My mom, Jenilee, and I have all made a conscious effort to stop shopping at TJ Maxx (for clothing). We have shopped there for years, and loved snapping up great deals. The quality has definitely taken a nosedive in my opinion. It also seems as though they took the fun out of shopping there. I used to love finding a diamond in the rough there, like a single pair of Express shorts that were $10 or something else similar from a brand I love. Now it appears that they primarily have brands make clothing for them and it’s just not for me. I will continue to snag their workout tanks and gear from my favorite sports teams but other than that, we are all done sacrificing the fit and quality.

Now that I have hopped off my soapbox back to this 70s striped dress. I will note that the dress is semi sheer which always makes me nervous especially in the workplace. I ended up wearing a nude tank and a slip just to make sure no one was seeing more than they wanted. I tossed on some of my favorite Sam Edelman booties and couldn’t have been more comfortable.

I am going to link a few other striped dresses that we are loving below. They are a great addition to any closet and will transition with you through so many seasons! If you have any other suggestions on places you find mainline wins or just dresses you have been loving drop them below!

P.S. This dress also comes in Curve- it is also linked below!

The RBF Real Reel…

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H&M Sweater Steals

We are well into sweater season over here! I know some of our southern friends are finally able to pull out their coats and sweaters without sweating in them a little bit. We’re over here adding another long sleeve underneath our sweaters to stay warm.  We posted our second volume of Men’s Fashion Monday here! It seems like some people are enjoying it, but as always we welcome your feedback.

Hopefully everyone is getting all of their Christmas shopping and activities done. With all the hustle and bustle though, we pray that you’re enjoying your holiday season instead of wishing it by quicker so you can have some peace and quiet.

I was struck by something a friend said the other night. He said, I hope you’re not creating credit card debt just to show off to your family. How scary is that. That we wouldn’t even be able to look at our families and be able to be honest about where we’re at in life and our budget; instead of maxing out our credit cards for that one feel good moment.

I mean, I think they’re making up shopping holiday’s now! This week it was Green Monday. Y’all, that did not exist in my mind until this year. But here all these stores are luring us in with their “deals.” The conditioning process has also begun to justify extra spending on oneself during the holiday season, because you earned it by spending time thinking about others.

I’m all for a little treat yourself, but at what expense! Talking about a budget isn’t “sexy,” but it’s a great reminder that most of us don’t need encouragement to spend more on ourselves. There are always exceptions to the rule, but probably not a lot of us browsing fashion and shopping blogs. We strive to help y’all find some budget friendly tall clothing, not blow all your cash just to look a certain way or fit in.

With all that being said, we did put together a couple of different gift guides. Only if you’re still on the hunt for Christmas gifts. We shared them here! If you’re in the Midwest like us, and love to support small businesses, we shared some of our favorites here.

We live in this fast fashion time, where you can pretty much replicate any expensive looking option, for a fraction of the cost. H&M is one of those spots. I’ve talked about it before in this post about tall friendly sweaters, but they’ve got some great options for tall women. I know lots of us are still praying they’re going to hook us up and actually offer some tall inclusive fashion. In the meantime, we can make do.

Not sure about y’all, but I am all about chunky knits. I actually bought it in mint green last year, and had to have the pinkish/nude version this year. Please note, some sacrifices must be made for fashion, and I have suuupper sensitive skin to wool and other itchy materials. This definitely is an itchy sweater. What I’ve got working in my favor, is my low body temperature in our frigid climate. So it’s no problem for me to throw a long sleeve (as referenced above) underneath and be all good and cozy.

Although it might be scary to see the word cropped accompanying the sweater, rest assured it works, I’ve paired this sweater with both mid rise and high rise jeans easily. I grabbed some of my older Rockstar grey denim from Old Navy, which feel like leggings! It was a comfortable and put together look for the day.

Caitlin and our Mom have the same sweater on, in different colors. It is the softest sweater ever, and feels like you’re wrapped in a blanket. Not to mention, the cost is conducive to grabbing a couple of colors if you need to stock up. As you can tell, Caitlin at 5’11 has plenty of sleeve length, and our Mom at 6’2 has ample as well. Nothing is worse than cold wrists or any exposed extremity in the winter. Luckily we don’t have to sacrifice fit for length with this look.

Caitlin is rocking one of her favorite pairs of jeans from Madewell, the distressing is minimal enough to avoid the question from older relatives “if you really bought those that way.” They’re also the perfect mid-wash color to be really versatile, and she gets a ton of looks out of them.

Lastly, I wanted to mention our boots. We have had really good luck with Franco Sarto boots in the last couple of years. Unfortunately, I think the main Chelsea boot style is on hiatus while the block heel and kitten heel have their moment. In the meantime, we hang on with our older pairs for dear life. Most may know this, but invest in some protectant spray if you live in a colder/snowier climate. It will prolong the life of your suede booties and any other sensitive fabrics.

Our Mom also buys a pair of beater shoes to drive in, especially in the winter. I really need to bite the bullet and do this, because it avoids the dreaded driving heel. That is when your right (or maybe left too, if you drive a stick shift) heel starts to wear down from pressing the gas/brake pedals and having salt traipsed into your car.

Enough of our winter tips, tell us below – do you have any tips or tricks of your own to prolong your clothing in the harsher conditions?

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Men’s Fashion Monday: Volume 2

We’re back with another version of Men’s Fashion! This week is very fitting to introduce Tim a little more officially, as he is my husband and it’s about to be our fourth wedding anniversary this week! If you remember from this post here, we introduced Nick, my twin and our brother for the first volume of men’s fashion Monday.

Like Nick, Tim is coming into his own with figuring out what he likes and doesn’t like to wear. He’s definitely having fun testing different looks out and is always willing to give something a shot if I suggest it. When we first started dating, he was very thin and was able to wear a mainline size L, and now we’re picking and choosing between XLT and XXLT mainly for his shoulders.

He’s built somewhat like a swimmer, despite never having pursued that. In fact, when he gets that five dollar question, “do you play basketball?” his answer is not really! He played baseball and football for his whole high school career, and then was allowed to pick up a third sport when he got his driver’s license. He was a little late to it by then, and just ended up rowing his freshman year of college.

From there he became interested in weightlifting, and it has been a combination of that and playing pickup basketball that keeps him happy. We’ve had a lot of fun playing basketball together, whether it be pick up games or our actual leagues, it’s a great hobby to share!

As a 6’8 guy, who isn’t “BIG AND TALL,” both him and Nick have definitely struggled throughout the years, finding garments that work well for their bodies. It was more the game of finding those one or two shirts that jusssttt made the cut, and could be tugged down or worked as long as you don’t lift your arms, ever.

When we realized that Old Navy made their slim fit t-shirts, we couldn’t buy them fast enough. Anything that Old Navy makes with the word slim in it, we’re all over. They are a tried and true staple in Tim’s closet, and he can wear them alone or layered with pretty much anything.

I’ve been wanting a bomber jacket for Tim, for a long time. It is totally his style, which is cool but comfortable. When I saw this one on Old Navy, I had to snag it for him. Not only was it navy blue, which is always a winner for him; but it was also water resistant AND very lightweight. Being lightweight is a must if he’s going to use it, because he runs warm and would rather go without a jacket than overheat.

He’s also become a huge fan of Old Navy’s jeans, and has transitioned from the wider legged look we grew up wearing, to more of a streamlined fit. It was definitely inspired by our friends who live in Portland, because he has been rocking the skinnier fit long before Tim adopted it.

I think Old Navy is teasing us though, because they show a 36 inch inseam and then also a 38 inch inseam, but the 38 inch is always greyed out. Hopefully they’ll be making more 38 inch inseams in the future, I know there’d be a lot of happy tall men! The other reason both Tim and Nick like their jeans is the stretch. They are super comfortable, which a lot of men value above all else.

Tim loves him some statement shoes to finish off his look. This also originated with our friends Lindsay and Jordan in Portland. Jordan has a ridiculously cool collection of Jordan’s and Tim has adopted his love for them. The shoes are Nike Air Huarache and I linked similar.

We hope you enjoyed our second volume of Men’s Fashion Monday, let us know in the comments below!

We wanted to include this as the Real Reel, but also check out that sleeve length!

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Golden Girl

Just for today we’ll give you a break of talking about our new favorite teddy coats… oops broke our rule again and mentioned them. If you want to hear more about the coat you didn’t know you needed, you can check out Caitlin’s post here or my post here.

But onward! We had the best dinner on Tuesday night at this tapas place called La Merenda. If you’re ever in Milwaukee, make it a spot to try! It’s in a cool little neighborhood, and all of their plates are shareable so you can sample many different flavors!

Last night I went with our friend Kelly to a women’s coffee night at church to celebrate Christmas. It was a great way to relax for a bit and just take in the reason for the season. It’s so easy to get carried away with earthly materialistic things, but this was a great night of praise and worship!

As for this gorgeous mustard shirt dress, my mom and I found it while shopping in New York. It’s another & Other Stories find. Initially I wrote it off as something that wouldn’t work on our length, but once my mom spotted it, she had to try it on. We were pleasantly surprised to discover that it fit! It obviously is meant to be a bit longer, but all of us tall women are still waiting for H&M and & Other Stories size inclusivity to reach us.

Shirt dresses are definitely a friend to tall women. Even if you find one you love that the sleeve length isn’t quite there, the beauty is no one will notice if you roll up the sleeves to ¾ length. Now please understand, I notice for myself and get irritated that it has to be worn that way. But if you fall in love with one, just know you can make it work!

As for the boots, they are old and I don’t remember the brand. I don’t wear them that often because the heel height is just high enough that my feet get tired quickly. But dang they make me feel like a badass! I love the high boot trend worn underneath midi length dresses and skirts.

This look is something you can wear to work, and to events. I think the texture is dressy enough but still fun and a standout piece. It says I’m professional, but check me out! This mustard is one of our favorite hues, which began with our mom loving it and us stealing her clothes!

Tell us below, what kind of occasions do you wear dresses to, if any?

Your real reel outtake!

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Long Beige Jenilee

Hope everyone liked my little play on words, very clever girl right? It feels like this week is longer than normal, probably due to the holiday season. It’s that time of year where your social calendar ramps up, and everyone feels like having a get together or party. I’m all about gathering with friends and family, but I also would love to see people I care about outside of the holidays all crammed into a month long stretch.

With that being said, there is nothing like a holiday gathering. Everyone’s homes are decorated beautifully, people are in especially good moods, and there is nothing like dressing for the holidays! Everyone brings out their fun items of clothing they keep stashed away for the rest of the year. You get to see people shine like never before, (pun intended) with all of their sequins, velvet, and jacquard fabrics.

The holidays are all about statement pieces, in my opinion. They call for a little something extra, a cut above normal. Whether you pull in a louder than typical color, or a special detail, it’s all welcome during this special season. Plus, as tall women, we can pull off some of the more difficult styles due to our gift of extra length. Take advantage ladies, and pick something that you love!

Speaking of something I REALLY LOVE. This teddy bear coat. You read about it on Monday here, from Caitlin’s post. Literally can’t speak highly enough about it. It is the coat of my dreams. Not only is it extremely chic, but it also feels like a coat you’d take a nap in. That doesn’t even compute how that would be the same coat, yet here we are indescribably happy because of it. Not only that, but it is completely on trend and a tall girls dream for length.

Long Tall Sally is killing the coat game right now. Caitlin and I also spotted this red beauty and are debating if we really “need” another coat. Wisconsin winters though, all in favor!

When I was browsing Long Tall Sally’s look book, I was so inspired by the idea of a monochromatic outfit, after I spotted this coat. I took one look at this mock-neck sweater dress and knew it fit the bill. Just a note for us tall ladies, a couple of the pictures on the website show it being below the knee midi length. As you can tell by the pictures, it definitely at or above the knee depending how tall you are. For me at 6’4, it’s a couple of inches above the knee, but with tights, I am all set to look this luxe sweater dress.

**Sale Alert that this dress is down to $75 today only!**

A problem I’ve had with sweater dresses in the past, is the quality. There are zero issues with this beauty, it is right between thin and thick and I love that it isn’t see-through like some others I’ve tried in the past. I’m looking forward to wearing this through winter, maybe switching to some leggings when the true cold hits us. If you’re looking for more of a cheery color, this red sweater dress more than fits the bill and is on sale today as well.

Last and certainly not least – these boots. I’m going to be wearing these as much as I can get away with this winter. I am in love with the quality and the fit of these boots. They are true to size, a high quality and so ridiculously comfortable. The cognac brown color is what I’ve been searching for, and the gold buckle detail just adds the finishing touch.

Also love that they are named the Cindy Leather Booties after my wonderful mother in-law! They are also available in black, because Long Tall Sally has all our needs covered!

Long Tall Sally also provides an array of beautiful nylon and tight options for anyone wondering where to find those. In the past we had been buying the queen sizing in random stores, but not any longer! Now we can buy them specifically made for our long limbs!

This whole outfit made me feel like a rock star, and I can’t thank Long Tall Sally enough for creating tall pieces for tall women to be just as chic as the rest of the population.

Also, Caitlin’s chenille sweater is on sale today for $45! You won’t regret having this cozy yummy colored sweater.

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