Elizabeth Suzann Review: The Petra Crop in Linen

As I said in the past, I really love getting my slow fashion items secondhand.  Not only does that make them more affordable but since slow fashion items are meant to last, this means the items have a gently worn in feeling that I love.  In this case, this linen Petra crop from Elizabeth Suzann has some slight fading on the edges, which makes it look like a well taken care of and loved garment.  It gives the item character!

I purchased this on selltradees on Instagram, and it was the first time using this platform for buying Elizabeth Suzann.  It was such an easy process that I would definitely do it again.  The only drawback is that it's a lottery system so there are no guarantees.  But if you do get chosen, it's an easy Paypal transaction and you can find items quite reasonably priced.  To be honest, if I hadn't seen this on selltradees I probably wouldn't have purchased this because I'm not really into crop tops.  But when I saw it, I thought why not just enter my name (actually most people enter their zip code to get their name into the drawing) and see how it goes.  But now that I have so many high waisted items from ES (the 2 clyde pants and the clyde skirt), I find that this Petra crop is the perfect pairing item!

{Wearing: Elizabeth Suzann Petra Crop, Elizabeth Suzann Clyde Skirt (reviewed here), Everlane Day Heel Mules (reviewed here), Celine Nano Belt Bag (similar here)}

I got the Petra crop in a size small and it's the perfect fit (I'm usually a size 4 on top with a 36 bust).  The arm holes and neck hole are the perfect size and I love that my bra straps don't peek out anywhere.  This top reminds me of a cropped muscle tank, which is perfect for the summer (yay to no farmer tan lines).  Also I know I've said in the past I like tops that hide my chicken wings (my flabby triceps), but I've decided to stop caring about it and just embrace them.  You know, they're my arms, they're strong and serve me well.  So what if they're not model skinny?  They never really were and they for sure will never be, so it's time to stop caring and hiding them.

{Wearing: Elizabeth Suzann Petra Crop, Everlane Denim Skirt (reviewed here), Everlane Day Heel Mules (reviewed here), Celine Nano Belt Bag (similar here)}

The Petra really is quite cropped (about 16" from shoulder to bottom hem) so it works best with high-waisted bottoms.  Even my Everlane chinos are a bit too mid-waisted to work with this top (unless you want to show some belly but I'm guessing most of us here are probably a bit too mature for that).  But if you're looking for a well-made but simple crop top to last you through the ages then I don't think you can go wrong with this Petra crop!

Elizabeth Suzann Review: The Georgia Dress in Silk

I find that the best way for me to try out Elizabeth Suzann pieces is to buy half of them new and the other half used from eBay, Poshmark, or Instagram.  I actually really love buying my ES stuff used because not only do I not have to wait months for a piece, but I also get to see how the item wears over time (without actually having to put in the time to do all the wearing).  Then I can say with a better degree of certainty if a garment holds up well or not.  Plus secondhand ES is always a smidge cheaper (though not by a lot and ES clothing is probably one of those things that hold their value even better than most designer clothes).  This ES Georgia dress in silk crepe was my second ES eBay purchase (the first one being the linen Tilda's reviewed here).

This was my first time purchasing a dress from ES so I wasn't sure about my size.  I'm an OS in the Georgia silk top, but I'm 5'4" so I thought the OSM might work for me.  Well I really liked the look of it, but I think the Georgia dress in OS would fit me better.

I'm pretty sure this is a Generation 3 Georgia dress, though I can't be certain since I bought it secondhand.  This is for sure not the current Gen 4 since the neckline is wider and feels different from my Gen 4 silk Georgia top.  Like I mentioned in that review, ES uses a silk weight of 23mm which is thick enough to feel substantial.  Since the dress is made of a thicker silk and flows away from the body, you don't have to worry about VPL.  I also really like that the back is a tad longer than the front to help cover your butt, but it also makes your legs look longer in the front.

But this is what happens when I raise my arms:

{Wearing ES silk Georgia dress, Everlane Day Heel Mules (reviewed here), Chanel crossbody (similar here)}

Guess I can't participate in a "wave" in a stadium with this dress, lol.  I don't like not being able to raise my arms in a dress, though I don't know how often I need to raise both arms like that. But still, for a dress to have a place in my closet, I need to be able to move freely in it.  Also because of the shorter length, when I sit down, there's not as much fabric as I like under my butt and thighs.  And then sometimes as I sit the collar comes up in the front and I end up choking myself.  So this is definitely too short for me.  I would probably recommend this for truly petite people around 5'3" or shorter.

{Wearing (for my Spring 10x10): ES Georgia Dress, ES linen Clyes, Rothy's (review coming soon), Polene numero un bag} 

The shorter length does make for a good tunic length though if I wear it with pants.  But I'm not really a dress over pants kind of gal.

So even though this particular piece didn't work for me, I would definitely buy the Georgia dress in OS, in either silk or linen.  But I'm not in a rush to acquire one just yet since I also purchased the Georgia silk dress in the midi length secondhand from Instagram (will review that soon).  And with 2 Georgia tops and 1 Georgia midi dress, a short Georgia dress would be nice to have but not a need. 

Elizabeth Suzann Review: Generation 4 Georgia Tee in Silk Crepe

*unsponsored review

Lately, I feel like I'm apologizing at the start of every review for making people wait for them.  Maybe it's because I preview them on my insta-stories and then wear it for a month before reviewing the item.  But I also have a back-log of things to review, which is probably an indicator that I'm buying too much again (>_<).  Anyway here's the review some of you guys have been waiting for (and sorry for the wait, lol): Elizabeth Suzann's generation 4 Georgia Tee in silk crepe.

{Wearing: Elizabeth Suzann silk georgia tee, Elizabeth Suzann Clyde pants in cotton canvas (reviewed here), Bryr clogs (review coming soon), Celine small Cabas Phantom (reviewed here)}

First a note on sizing, I ended up getting the OS in this Georgia Tee even though I'm petite.  But since I have a fairly long torso I think the OS works well for me.  I also have the linen Georgia Tee in OS (a gen 3 version) so I decided to stick with the same size.  I did notice some differences between this silk gen 4 version and the linen gen 3 version that's due to the updated fit (and not just due to the material alone, but I'll get to that too in a bit).  The biggest difference is the neckline.  My gen 3 linen Georgia tee is more of a boatneck compared to this gen 4 version and you can definitely see my bra straps on the old linen version but not this one.  So I do think the fit of the gen 4 version is better than the gen 3.  On their site, it also says the gen 4 version has more length, but when I tried it on I couldn't really tell.

Now even though they're pretty much the same tee, the silk version feels very different from the linen (no duh, lol).  The linen version, since it's so much more structured, feels a lot more oversized while the silk version feels more like a normal blouse due to the drapey-ness.  Also the sleeves on the linen version are more pronounced because they can hold their structure.

This is my first silk item from ES and I have to say I really love the quality!  The silk that ES uses is 23mm which is a heavier momme weight than what both Everlane and Grana use (they both use 16mm silk, which is not bad either especially when they do a double-layer of silk like in my recent Everlane review).  Only Cuyana uses a thicker silk with a momme weight of 25.  TBH you can't tell the difference between 23mm and 25mm, though you can tell the difference between 16mm and 23mm silk.  You can read my original post comparing Everlane, Equipment and Cuyana silk here (though the Cuyana silk tee used in this old comparison post is unlike the silk they use now for most of their clothes).  And you can read all about ES's silk here.

Anyway I'm in love with both of my ES Georgia Tees.  The linen one made it onto my top 10 favorite items I tried through blogging, and I have a feeling this silk one will be on that list next year!

Elizabeth Suzann Tilda Pants Review

Since these Elizabeth Suzann Tilda linen pants were one of the 6 items I used in my Spring 10x10 challenge, they got used quite a bit and in all kinds of ways.  Up top you can see I tried rolling them up, and I also tried them under dresses (pic below).  These are my first ever linen pants, and my second item from Elizabeth Suzann (the first one was the Georgia Tee, reviewed here).

To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of how wide the pants are in the hips and the general bagginess in the butt.  I know that's how they're supposed to look, but after decades in fitted jeans, it's hard to get used to the ballooning butt look, lol.  I'm wearing a medium short here, and I feel like I probably could have gone with the small (for reference I'm 5'4'' and usually wear a size 4-6, or about a 27-28 in jeans).  

I'm also not liking the fact that these pants don't have pockets.  It makes my daily life a bit more difficult when I don't have a pocket to stuff my keys or phone in (though by wearing the Grana silk sleeveless blazer, it gave me pockets for the day).  But I did like that the ankles flared a bit, and the pants look especially cute when layered under a dress or a similarly long tunic.  Basically, I like the pants best when I hide the butt and hips area.  

Also the linen fabric is thick and a tad on the scratchier side.  But they feel heavier and more substantial than the linen from both Grana and Everlane.  Plus the black linen is fully opaque.

So for now I'm still a bit undecided about these pants, though I'm leaning towards letting them go.  What do you think?

Elizabeth Suzann Review Georgia Tee {Updated May 2018}

So back in February when I said I cheated on my shopping ban, it all started with this one top from Elizabeth Suzann.  This is the Georgia Tee in linen.  I had been wanting this specific top in this specific color since December and when I saw it pop up on eBay I let myself buy it under the guise that it could technically qualify as a trade (just like I would trade clothes at Crossroads, which I did allow in my ban rules), meaning I sold some stuff on eBay that would more than cover the cost of this purchase (plus that money was just sitting in my paypal account so....).  Anyway I bought it and I don't regret it one bit, even if it meant I broke my ban.

{Wearing: Elizabeth Suzann Georgia Tee, Grana silk ankle pants (review here), rag & bone booties, Mansur Gavriel mini lady bag (review here)}

The Georgia Tee has proven to be everything I dreamed it would be.  I know that's quite a statement about a linen top.  But maybe that's the quality you get when you purchase something that is made thoughtfully by a skilled artisan.  The Georgia tee comes in OS-, OS, and OS+ and here I'm wearing it in OS.  It's such a universally flattering shape that I'm pretty sure almost everyone can pull it off.  On me, the Georgia tee is the perfect cropped length, and it has a wide neckline so I feel it makes my neck look longer without cutting deep in the front.  And my favorite thing about this top is the sleeves: I love how they perk up at the ends.  It really minimizes the chicken wing (tricep) area.  

{Wearing: Elizabeth Suzann Georgia Tee, Grana silk ankle pants (review here), Everlane modern point shoes (review here), Valentino glamlock bag}

And the washing and care for this is super easy.  Just wash cold and I steam out the wrinkles with my handy dandy travel steamer (which I love so much that I think I might do a separate review devoted to this indispensable tool).  As you can see, so far I've only paired this with my Grana silk ankle pants (because they go so well together), but stay tuned for more outfits incorporating this top!  

{May 2018 Update: After consulting my resident Elizabeth Suzann expert Lydia (Liz's friend and first hire), she has identified this item was a signature piece from the SS14 signature collection.  So Gen 2.  Also have had this for a year and I still love it and wear it often!}