The Shopping Diaries: sheinside.com + Review and Rant

Hey all! Sorry for getting this post up late. It had to do with a little bit of laziness and being engrossed in reading A Clash of Kings and Divergent. So today's post will be about this cute bunny sweater that I had actually ordered last month and I was waiting to upload this post later because of another order that I put in afterwards. I received my other order a couple days ago and I was extremely disappointed. Sheinside.com had advertised a Wildfox No 9 Potion sequined sweater for $31.15 and there was a visual picture of Taylor Swift wearing the actual Wildfox sweater. Although they didn't show her face, it was pretty obvious it was Taylor Swift.

Screenshot of advertisement

Yup, it's Taylor Swift

Anyways, I thought it was cool that Sheinside was selling the sweater, so I took advantage of the Labor Day sale and paid $26. I waited for about 20 days and the sweater arrived. I took it out of the postal packaging bag and already I knew it wasn't the same sweater that they had advertised. Then I took it out of the actual bag and saw that it was just an imitation of the actual Wildfox sweater. The fabric is pretty good quality and the sequins are nice, albeit it being crooked on the sweater, but the bottom line is that it wasn't what I thought I'd be receiving. Also, there were some weird light spots near the sleeves...

Full shot of the sweater from Sheinside

Closeup of bottle. Slightly crooked and definitely not by Wildfox

I wasn't mad that it was an imitation. I was mad at the false advertising. I thought I was getting an actual Wildfox sweater. Now, if they said somewhere in the title description that it was "Wildfox-inspired" or just "Love Potion No 9 Sweater" AND used a picture of the sweater that they were actually selling, then at least I would know, as the customer, what exactly I would be purchasing. But because they used a picture of Taylor Swift and said in the title description "White Long Sleeve Wildfox No 9 Perfume Sequined Sweater," I was basically deceived and mislead. I'm in the process of waiting for an email with the return address so that I can send back this sweater and get my money back. I'm so disappointed and mad to the point where I'm not sure if I ever want to purchase anything from this site again. Yes, this site is great for a wide-variety of styles and looks, but because of this one incident, I'm not sure if I'm willing to continue supporting this site.

Now with that over, let me talk about the purchase that I got before my letdown.

I've always wanted a Fifi Lapin printed top. She's such a fashionable bunny! Perhaps five or so years back, Forever 21 had done a collaboration collection. Back then, I was only really getting into the swing of fashion and what my style was. Unfortunately, I missed it and since then, I've been looking for something like this. It's a cute lightweight cardigan and I love the different outfits she's wearing. This was under $20, so this was basically a steal for me.

Shipping and handling went smoothly as well. It came in perfect condition and I didn't have to wait as long compared to the Love Potion sweater.

Well, this is the end of this post. I really hate to be kind of mean sounding about the sweater, but the thing is that I'm not satisfied with what I thought was being offered. I'm not sure if this was some sort of ploy to sell these sweaters fast but Sheinside should take this as a lesson and do the right thing next time. They may have just lost a customer for good.

Thanks for reading!
-LAUREN

TSD Vegas Edition: ZARA

Hello lovelies! Welcome back to the second Vegas edition of TSD and this time I'll be featuring my Zara purchases. This was the second store that I went to at the Fashion Show Mall. The first time I ever visited a Zara was when I was in Fukuoka, Japan, but since I was with friends I didn't really have a chance to thoroughly browse as I do take a long time perusing through the racks hehe. 

Most of you probably know this but Zara is a Spanish based retailer. What I think that's so cool about Zara are their marketing strategies. As a marketing major, I find it so interesting that Zara is able to develop and put out into stores a new product in just two weeks compared to the six month industry average. Also, Zara doesn't advertise. Instead of putting money into advertisement, they create more stores, which amazingly has been profitable in their favor. This is another store that I think would do well in Hawaii. It would be amazing if they would open a location at either Ala Moana or Waikiki. There might be hope since Sears, one of the retail anchors at Ala Moana, is closing and they're going to develop that section into more potential retail space. Gosh! I need to stop rambling and get to the good stuff! Here we go: 

Gray Sweater with Brown Elbow Pads: This is the first thing that I picked up when I entered the store. The style reminded me of the Brandy Melville sweater that I wanted, but it was $56 and I wasn't sure if I was ready to pay that price. This happened to be only $25.90! They only had a size M, which made me worry since I wasn't sure if it was going to fit properly. Luckily, it fit nicely! The fabric is very thing so it has a nice flow in the fabric since it's the slightest bit baggy. Also, it covers my bum, which means I can get away with wearing leggings. My favorite detail, of course, are the brown elbow pads. There's something sophisticated about elbow pads. It reminds me of equestrian wear :)

Fashion Sketch T-Shirt: The print is what caught my eye at first. I love interesting prints like this. The shape of tee is quite boxy, but still flattering to my figure. Also, the sleeves are permanently cuffed, which I like. This top is quite chic for being just a t-shirt. I wore this on Cinco de Mayo with a pair of faux leather leggings from Cotton-On.

Gray Acid Wash Jeggings: I'm so glad that these fit me because during my last trip to Zara, I didn't find any pants that fit me. Because this is a jegging and the material is stretchy, it tends to be more fitted than the normal jean. Their smallest size for most pants is size US 2. Normally the waist would be too big, but this was a much better fit. There was still slight room in the waist, but not where it was obviously too big. Also, at a great price of $25.90, I couldn't pass it up!

Rose (left) and Black Peony (right) Fragrance: When I went up to the register, I saw that they had these two perfumes. I'm not a fan of in-store brand perfumes just because they tend to be too powerful or just generic smelling (no offence!). I'm always curious so when I smelled both of these,  I was really surprised! Rose has a musky scent to it that I would find in high quality perfumes at Neiman Marcus and Black Peony has this wonderful classy floral scent that I wouldn't find for $14.90. Because of the price, I bought both. The only junk thing about these scents is that they don't last for long. They are both Eau de Toilette, which means it doesn't have a lot of alcohol in it. But seriously, for $14.90 I think we can overlook that ;)

And that's the end of my Zara haul! I hope you enjoyed reading and stay tune for the next post ^-^
-LAUREN