Birdie Belt reviews

I loved the look of Anthropologie's feather-clasped belt (pictured above), but I didn't want to spend $58 on a belt. So when I saw a $24 Ecote Skinny Metal feather belt on Urban Outfitter's site, I thought I'd give it a try. I have a lot of brown belts, so I opted for the black leather and silver feather version.


reads: 100% Leather RN#66170 CA# 32054 Made in China

The belt part is actually leather, which is nice. Not super supple leather, but I prefer skinny belts to be a little stiffer than wider belts. The black was actually black. Unfortunately, the metal feather looked fairly cheap. The silver tone was too bright. It didn't have the nice antiquing that the Anthro version had. The metal of the feather was a turn-off, but I would have been tempted to make it work had the belt fit.

I ordered the the belt in a size small (the smallest size), but it was about 4 inches too large for me on the smallest hole. I have a belt punch, but because this is a skinny belt, I worried about making a mistake and ruining the integrity of the belt itself (perhaps leading to a tear at a newly made hole). I returned this belt.


If it had fit, it would be super cute...see: (I'm holding the belt taut behind me)


Overall, if you missed the Anthro version, this version could be a cute cheap replacement, but smaller-waisted ladies might be sized out.


The other birdie belt I tried was the Ecote Stretch Sparrow Belt from Urban Outfitters (also $24).

This is a wider elastic belt. I ordered the S/M and I didn't have any size issues. The metal sparrows clasp at the beaks via a small hook and eye type of closure:

Because the belt fits snugly with the elastic, I wouldn't worry about the belt snapping open.


Like with the feather belt, the metal on the sparrow belt looked fairly cheap in person. I was less bothered with the gold-toned sparrows than I was with the silver feather though. I thought the belt was fairly cute.

Side note: I can't help self-mocking and thinking of the Portlandia "Put a bird on it" skit while wearing it.

I ended up returning this belt as well. The elastic was already unraveling/coming undone where it was sewn/attached to itself behind the sparrows. That was a little disconcerting. I suspect poor quality control. Hopefully if you order one, the elastic will be intact. But I returned this one. Overall, this was another cute belt, albeit a little cheaply constructed. When worn, the cheap construction may not be as noticeable. :/

OOTD

How appropriate that I tried on birdie belts with my bird and deer dress (aka Anthropologie Southward Stop Shirtdress)! I wore this out to Costco on Saturday where I ran into some faculty from my department. Y'all know I try to dress down when I go to school, so I felt oddly over dressed (not for Costco mind you, but for seeing faculty, lol. I'm a weird cookie).

I've also been trying something new with my hair. Jean of Extra Petite posted how she gets some loose waves in her hair. I figured since I also have Asian hair, I might give it a try. I only had a 1" barrel curling iron (she recommends 2"), so my curls are tighter than hers. I can't decide how I like it on me.

It really reminds me of when I was little. I was always trying to curl my hair. I'm not exactly sure why I had a fascination with it. I know my mom always wanted me to do it for special occasions, so I think I thought it was a way to get super dolled up - a way for me to be "pretty." I used warm curlers or curling irons. I even had that special wash and curl shampoo that made my hair more likely to hold a curl. There was a time in middle school where I rolled my wet hair up in rags every night so I could have "curls" in the morning. It never looked great. This looks better, but we'll see if I like it over time.

OOTD Specs
Emmelee orange cardigan sz S (it's more like burnt sienna, but came out brighter in the pics)(thrifted $7)
Anthropologie Southward Stop Shirtdress sz 2 ($75)
Hue bordeaux sueded tights ($6.50)
Target black leather Pearce Pumps ($30)

Here comes that shirt again :) + my dress OOTD

So y'all know I've been wanting to wear "my dress" ever since seeing it on TV. But unwittingly, I created a dilemma for myself by linking back to the last time I wore it. Now it feels a little too blog-recent to do the exact same styling :)

And, it was COLD today (for wimpy little ol' me), so I definitely still needed an outer layer... and boots... and tights. In my tired state this morning, I spied my shirt from yesterday and decided to see whether it would work with this dress. So now you can see the dress and shirt served up two ways.



Wearing the shirt as a belted cardi does hide the cute diagonal pin tucks and ruffled shoulders, but it certainly gives a different look than before. Plus, I figured I could still show off the top of the dress by removing the shirt if I got warm during the day (it did happen, during my lab meeting!).

For some reason the belt and boots look red in the early morning light (they're a reddish brown)...



Here's how I styled the dress before:



and here's the shirt from yesterday:



Oh yeah, and I thought I'd bring some silly back to my photos :)




Today's OOTD Specs
Gap dark chambray? button-up sz XS (thrifted $2.40)
Maeve's Southward Stop Shirtdress Anthropologie sz 2 (ebay $75)
Nicole Winchester Leather Riding Boots ($100 at DSW)
grey sweater tights ($8)
Reddish brown leather belt (thrifted $2)

Buddie's OOTD
Old Navy Striped Dog Sweater sz M ($10)

ootd - Southward Stop Shirtdress

A few weeks ago, I tried on and bought the Southward Stop Shirtdress by Maeve

I loved the fit and the feel of this dress. The corduroy is super soft, and I love the toile look. All the little details, the ruffles at the sleeves, the diagonal seaming across the chest, the polka dot accents, the pockets, EVERYTHING! The size 2 fit me well in the dressing room. So I bought it. Bit the bullet. Bought an Anthro piece at full price!! aggh.

Dressing room pics


The economical thrifty girl in me pretty much screamed. Thankfully, there's ebay! That night I found the same dress and got it for $50 cheaper on ebay! Phew! much better. I received it in the mail yesterday. I didn't even steam it before deciding to wear it today (silly me, things always look better without wrinkles and laying flat)

I paired it with my Love by Design army green cardigan, Franco Sarto boots, and Three Beacons Belt



btw, I wonder how other fashion bloggers decide how to pose while taking their pics. Staring straight at the camera and smiling feels so family gathering/document-the-moment. But posing makes me feel really unnatural too. I ended up just walking around (the two foot area) with the camera remote in my hand doin' random things snapping pics every so often...