OUTFIT DETAILS:
Top: LOFT, recent (exact in limited color/size, similar)
Skirt: J. Crew, old (similar color, exact style in current colors)
Shoes: BCBG via eBay, old (similar color, exact style in current colors)
Bag: from Chinatown (similar)
Necklace: Forever 21, last year (similar)
Sometimes I want to try one trend at a time - to dip my toes in, so to speak. This particular bell sleeve trend can make that difficult, however - many bell sleeve tops out right now include multiple trends at once (off shoulder! tie sleeve! poufy silhouette! etc, etc) and just scare me before I even try them on (so I don't). When I tried this top on, I doubted it would work, but since it already had my favorite peplum silhouette, I was starting from the comfortable known realm, so I thought I'd give it a try. I also tried some all cotton bell sleeve shirts on from LOFT that day, but they were just too much for me. This solid-color, drapey, chiffon fabric felt like a beginner version of the bell sleeve trend, one I could handle. I noticed the drapey fabric felt much less poufy, and more friendly to my short frame, and the sheer chiffon sleeve seemed to take up less space than some of the voluminous cotton bell-sleeve tops out there. It also layers better, which I appreciate, since this is still early spring and layers are often needed!
Can we also just give a shout-out to this bag? It was an impulse buy for myself when taking my mom shopping in Chinatown, but I've worn it a few times, so I think it turned out to be a good purchase. It was my first purchase with pom poms, which I've been obsessed with for over a year. Coming soon to the blog: DIY pom pom sandals. I posted some similar purse options below, in case you fell in love with this look like I did.
In case you're thinking of testing out this bell sleeve trend, here are a few options that don't feature too many other trends at once. The sheer options could be worn with a camisole to give a similar effect the the shirt I'm wearing: