Don't buy this sweater (plus other random tidbits)
We haven't had a randomness post in a while; it seemed like time for one!
1. Don't buy this sweater if you're built like me.
I saw this tunic sweater in a roundup of Amazon sweaters, and I thought it looked cute and comfy.
So I ordered one in small/medium.
And while it WAS comfy, cute is not a word I would use to describe the look on me.
The main problem is in the way the sleeves/sides are set up.
All that extra fabric settles in such unflattering ways on me when I put my arms down. I've worn oversized sweaters before and not had this problem, so I know it's just a design issue.
Oddly, I think the famous flying squirrel sweater might actually be better than this one!
I'm guessing that if you are a curvier person, the sweater would hang in much more flattering ways.
So. Skip this one if you are built like me!
(If you read the reviews, you'll see that for some people, it hangs fine, while for others, the batwing effect is a problem.)
2. What I think about boycotting
A little while ago, there was a bit a kerfuffle in the comments of a post where I mentioned getting Chick-Fil-A.
So I wanted to reshare a post I wrote a while back about boycotting.
As a general rule, I don't boycott, and this post explains why.
3. How to pronounce Lisey
A reader asked me about this recently, and I figured other people are wondering too.
Her actual name is Elise, but ever since she was really little, we have called her Lisey.
And we pronounce it like Lee-see.
So now you can say it right in your head as you read.
If you met her in real life, though, she'd introduce herself as Elise. That's what she goes by at work and school.
And we've told her that we'll switch to using Elise if she prefers, but so far, she's good with us calling her Lisey.
4. How to say Sonia
On a related note, another reader asked about this recently.
We say her name like Sone-ya, not Sahn-ya.
And Zoe's name is awfully straightforward, so I don't think anyone has ever asked me about hers!
5. A few pumpkins
I did a Snoopy. Of course.
Zoe did a Minecraft pumpkin.
Mr. FG did a Rocky and Bullwinkle pumpkin.
And I don't have a photo of Sonia's because she ran out of steam and did not finish carving hers. 😉
6. I have another blog
I've mentioned this before, but the other day a regular reader said, "Wait, what?? How did I miss that you have another blog?"
So in case you have missed it as well (!), I do have another small blog.
It's called Kristen, Prompted and over there, I post short essays that I write based on a set of writing prompts.
I usually post Monday-Friday, and if you'd like to be notified when I post, you can subscribe to the Kristen, Prompted email list.
I write The Frugal Girl mainly to help and serve readers; I write at Kristen Prompted mainly for my own enjoyment.
But if you want to follow along, you are more than welcome! The prompts from Rustico are fun and varied, and readers enjoy answering them in the comments.
So, if you have fun hanging out in the comments here, you'll probably enjoy it over there as well.
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And that marks the end of this edition of randomness. Thanks for reading!
Ha, that sweater! I always envy people who can wear oversized tops and look cute. I'm on the thin side, but I look like I'm wearing a maternity shirt if I try to go for that look. So I feel you.
And yippy, I've been pronouncing your kiddos names correctly in my head.
Sonia is so beautiful!
It is difficult to buy clothes online. I have decided to wait, even on the nearly threadbare, to replace. (Isn't holey "in?" I am too lazy to return, plus I don't go into post offices or other public places these days, being elderly.
Do you believe the reviews we read about items are for real?
Sometimes the reviews on Amazon have pictures submitted by real people, so I do tend to trust those ones as real. It's interested to see how clothing fits on non-models!
Ok I think the name thing is funny b/c I work with kids and have had Zoe be Zoh-E or Zoh-aye...
This year we have Amelie- pronounced Ah-Ma-lee
Clothing... ugh I have the opposite issue as you.. I was trying to use Old Navy bucks this weekend on myself and the struggle is real. I am a plus sized gal and I am to the point in life that I will almost never be happy with jeans/pants( that don't cost an arm and leg) but I am very broad shouldered so I size up in tops. I tried on the 2X sweaters and they fit HORRIBLE! ok in the shoulder bit it was just like a square of material.. no shape- super bulky.. If I got the 1 x I would not be able to move my arms much but would have had less bulk...
Oh man, I didn't think about that. Our Zoe is a Zoh-E.
Mass-produced clothing has its advantages, but boy, sometimes I look back in history and think that custom-made clothing also had its advantages!
For what it's worth, my plus-sized and curvy friends all swear by Torrid, be it for underwear or clothes. Their stuff looks fantastic in person and is good quality--you actually get what you pay for! My 6'2" plus-sized-and-curvy best friend looks and feels AMAZING in everything she's bought there, and her word is gold to me. I just checked Torrid's website, and they do have a sale and clearance section, so hopefully you can find some awesome bargains! There used to be brick-and-mortar store in our local mall, so you may be able to find a location near you if you'd rather investigate in person.
I LOVE Torrid, but alas- they are very pricey!
My 15 year old daughter and I shop there and always hit up clearance. They have many curvier cuts of pants/jeans and like you mentioned the length! My 5'11" athlete with my broad shoulder issue can have cute trendy clothing and feels confident!
Oh man, I am laughing so hard about Mr. FG doing a Rocky and Bullwinkle pumpkin. When I originally made that joke in the comments about you going as a flying squirrel for Halloween, I allllmost followed up with, "And then Mr. FG could dress up as a moose and you could be Rocky and Bullwinkle."
Anyway.
I got a long-sleeved t-shirt in the Amazon brand that has the same problem as your sweater--extra fabric under the arms--and I am not built like you. So I'm pretty sure it's not you, it's Amazon.
Incidentally, when I initiated the return for that shirt, I got my refund, but was told to keep the shirt. I guess they do that when the item is inexpensive enough that it doesn't make financial sense for them to pay the shipping and re-stocking fees or something, but that business model seems really bizarre to me. Shockingly wasteful, I guess? I dunno.
Here is an article I saw recently on what happens to many items "returned" to Amazon:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/marketplace-amazon-returns-1.5753714
It was probably cheaper for them to have you keep the shirt than pay for return postage and then pay employees to deal with the shirt.
Buying clothes online is so hit or miss! One option to try, depending on budget and what you're after, is vintage.* Because sizes have changed over time--for example, I'm a modern 6-8 and an old timey 12-14--most sellers include detailed measurements. Related, I now keep a cloth tape measure in my purse or pocket when I know I'll be at Goodwill, especially since they nixed the fitting rooms last year. It certainly beats eyeballing a shirt or a pair of pants to decide just what the manufacturer meant by "Size __"!
*Vintage pieces also tend to have more flattering cuts for my body type (petite, but descended from hardy peasant stock with broad shoulders and hips). All my nice/formal clothes are 1950s A-line dresses, and I found them cheaper than their modern copycat counterparts!
Great idea about vintage clothing. I have a hard time finding pants that fit. I have a pear shaped body so my waist is much smaller than my hips. Decades ago I had no problem buying pants but have had trouble for many years.
90s and 80s count as "vintage" on Etsy now (so weird!!!), so maybe you'll have good luck! One can sort by price and location, which really helps one stay on budget and not accidentally lose something to customs.
Yes, yes, yes to sizes being listed as smaller so we are all flattered. I am 20 lbs. heavier than I was in high school (50 years ago), yet my pants are a size SMALLER. I guess the manufacturers just want us to live in dreamland.
I saw a move recently in which Lana Turner said she was a "perfect size 12." Can you imagine a movie star in this day and age confessing to being a size 12? If they get above size 2 they keep mum about it.
The way the manufacturers are going, if I live long enough even I will be a size 2 one day. 😀
Oh man, I thought I was skinny too!! Ha. Just kidding. I know my larges from Old Navy are yester-year's extra larges. 🙂
I have that sweater too! I do tend to be curvier, so it doesn't hang quite as much on me, but the sleeves are very strange. Luckily it wasn't too expensive, but it looked NOTHING like that on Amazon! So, not sure what body it actually flatters. 🙂
The funniest thing is that Stitch Fix sent me that flying squirrel sweater this fall, and I kept it! I am much fuller figured than you, and it looks great and I get compliments on it! I think because you are so slim, the size (which is accurate for your width) is too small for your height and the proportions just look wonky.
I love these posts!
Thank you for writing so often. So positive and helpful.
""I’m guessing that if you are a curvier person, the sweater would hang in much more flattering ways.""
Nope! I am curvy and this type of sleeves also looks bad on me. Wonder which body type it is suppose to fit...
Love these miscellany posts! On the subject of name pronunciations, we just had a second daughter and named her Ronia. We’ve started saying, “It’s like Sonia with an R,” but I didn’t realize there were multiple Sonia pronunciations!
So now I'm wondering...is it Rahn-ya or Rone-ya?
It rhymes with your Sonia’s name (Rone-ya).
Ah, like Ronia the Robbers daughter by Astrid Lindgren! I love that!
Sonia looks like a lady from the great Russian novelists to me 🙂
Frankly, I do not think the fit for the sweater flattering for any body type. Curvey ladies need well cut garments to flatter their body type. The colour is beautiful on you though. I think it emphasizes the warm undertones you have in your skin!
I had high hopes for it because of the color...I purposely picked something kind of warm-toned.
Alas, a good color can only take a sweater so far.
It is a lovely color, but it somehow makes you, who are so slim, look lumpy and shapeless. That's quite an accomplishment for a garment!
Lumpy is totally the right word for it.
Even if you don't have self-confidence issues to start with, this sweater could give you some!
I didn’t even know of this literary connection! I’ll have to put it on my TBR list.
That sweater looks like a L-XL. Everything is too large not just the excess from the Dolman sleeve style.
Mr. FG wondered if I could get it in a smaller size and I was like, nope! This was the smallest size!
I absolutely HATE buying clothes online ... or in person. In fact, I just hate clothes shopping. I always end up hating myself after the fact.
Edwardian fashion is quite interesting and is overlooked by most unless they are like really into the Titanic or something. For me I always find it interesting in the scope of early silent films (e.g. the Biograph films of D.W. Griffith, French films at Gaumont by Louis Feulliade etc.
Also, it's nice to know that in my head I've been pronouncing your daughter's name incorrectly for years.
Sonia's outfit gave me serious Anne of Green Gables vibes. But that's probably because I haven't watched any silent films.
You can pronounce Sonia's name however you want in your head. It's not gonna bother her!
Yeah but it will bother me because I hate being wrong. LOL
I'm a sahn-ya
Your pumpkins looks great. Esp. Mr frugal girl so detailed!!
He IS. I looked at that Rocky and Bullwinkle patter and was immediately thinking, "Too much work!". lol
I'm a much lazier pumpkin carver, apparently.
Oh that's funny...here I've been mispronouncing Lisey and Sonia all these years as I've read their names on your blog. So maybe I'm also missing Zoe. We know a Zoe pronounced zo, as in NO, and also several named Zoe pronounced zoee, as in Joey.
Zoe is Greek and properly pronounced Zo-ee. I cringe when I see people who name their children with wrong pronunciation.
Is Lisey named after the Cure song or the Beethoven one? (Just kidding.) But is Beethoven why she's named Elise? I know you love the piano.
There's also a recent Saint Motel song titled, "For Elise"!
I actually came across this name in a novel I read in my early teens, and the name just stuck with me.
I didn't even think about it being like "Fur Elise" initially, because I just tend to mush those two words together into one; like "furelise". Ha.
We have a Zoe (Zoh-ee) in the family, so I read it that way for your Zoe, and I have been saying Sonia's name correctly (yay!) even though I know several Sahn-ya's, just because it felt like you would have called her Sone-ya. And I love, love her costume on her. I even had Lisey's name right. I wish I was that good at guessing who makes the holiday cookies!
By the way, I also knew a woman named Zoe whose name was pronounced Zoh, so it sure can be confusing.
My random thoughts:
Is there any reason women's slacks have to be fastened up like some kind of chastity belt? The pair I have on has two hooks, a button and a zipper. Most of my slacks have at least two buttons with the zipper, one inner and one outer button. It sure makes it tense if one has had to wait to get to the restroom.
I am a fan of Rocky and Bullwinkle, so that pumpkin is perfect. It's fun to watch some of the cartoons on DVD and see how many adult-level jokes were hidden in there.
Speaking of clothing, I have a picture of my grandmother on her wedding day around about 1912, her long hair piled up, wearing a long, high-necked dress with leg of mutton sleeves. Fast forward 15 years, there is a picture of her with her children, with bobbed hair, a cloche hat, knee-length coat and 1920's low-waisted dress. Think what a huge change of style she made in such few years.
Here in North Florida the temperature dropped to 50F last night, and the high today is expected to be 65. We all showed up to work in sweaters, fleece pull-overs, or long, heavy sleeves. I know the people in Wisconsin would be rolling on the floor laughing at us.
On the other hand, people in Wisconsin are not having to deal with fire ants. I just had them attack my car yesterday. I spent the afternoon putting out treatment that only works so-so on native fire ants, which is what we have in our yard.
I am in Wisconsin and had to laugh at your comment about the sweaters and fleece. We have already had snow and freezing temps, but we are all excited this week because we are going to be in the low 60's later this week. We are planning walks at the lake, grilling and eating outside, and will open the windows too!! ( Also, I don't know what fire ants are).
Sue, I figured that would get a laugh from farther north, but it's true - we act that way at 50 degrees!
Fire ants are tiny ants from you know where, that give both a painful sting and bite at once, and are extremely aggressive, to boot. There is a native kind which makes very low mounds, and an imported kind, which makes much larger mounds, but the mound entrances can be all around the mound, unseen. They can kill small animals on the ground such as young chicks. They leave very itchy, sometimes painful red bumps which generally produce a white head. A child who steps onto a nest can get 30 or 40 bites before a parent can get the ants off of the child. We keep a big bucket of water in our yard so that if any of us accidentally step into fire ants, we can quickly step in the water and get them off of us as fast as possible. They will chew holes in clothes left where they can get to them. They will eat vegetable blossoms, ruining crops like green beans and okra, and prefer to nest in tilled or soft soil, so walking through the garden to tend it can become a hazardous experience. They are spreading northward, but areas having enough cold weather should be safe. They are very hard to eradicate.
I am always grateful my parents taught me to sew (yes, my dad helped) because I'm short, chubby, and have wide shoulders and hips for my height. So almost everything has to be altered to fit. It's a huge money saver to take thrift shop clothes and shape them to fit me.
Huh. It never occurred to me that I was pronouncing Sonia's name incorrectly. However, I have Lisey's name down pat. Thanks for the pronunciation guide.
I think that top is probably horrible no matter what your build. I am busty and find that a more trim cut with a V neck is the most flattering. Sometimes if I'm staying in, I go for comfort. If that's your objective then the top would be fine.
I’d been reading it as Lizzy all these years. Lol
Thanks for the link to the prompts! I think I may be giving that plus journals to a few folks I know who are notoriously difficult to buy for at Christmas. 🙂
I laughed at the sweater - I got something similar from another "send me clothes" program, and it was just kind of hilarious. I'm 5'9", about 245lb, and somewhat curvy (hips, not bust), and it just looked... like I was wearing a too-short tent! Way, way too wide, and just barely to my waist. I think it was supposed to be a workout hoodie, but I'm really not sure!
Sonia looks like she accidently stepped out of another era. She is gorgeous!
For no reason I can fathom, your post reminded me of an old Wendy's ad. It was a Soviet fashion show, with a box-shaped woman coming out in this drab outfit for daywear and then then the same outfit for nightwear only she is carrying a flashlight this time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpypTXccG2I I ended up looking the ad up and laughing all over again. Honestly, I travelled back there a lot to visit relatives and at that time the clothing was exceedingly drab---I literally had a teen jump out of the bushes in Moscow, asking to buy my jeans off my body. (Although there were none of the billboards that are plastered all over the place now.)
Oh my gosh, that is the funniest you-tube link! So hilarious! Thank you for the laugh!
I remember that commercial! Showing my age ...
I used to live back there (loooong time ago) - in the USSR, I mean. Never cared about clothing and never payed attention to fashions (still don't), but occasional family members who visited us here in the US commented how awful the people here looked and dressed 🙂 I guess it's all about perspective.
I do remember that most women wore high heels everywhere, and seeing women wearing skirts with sneakers after I first came to the US was a huge culture shock. Oh, and boys wearing white (athletic) socks - at first I thought it was some sort of dress code.
It was such a relief when I looked around my new highschool and realized I wouldn't be a total outlier for avoiding high heels or make-up. Of course, I was a total outlier when I came to a friend's birthday party all dressed up & fancy 🙂 - never made that mistake again!
My family call me one name and the rest of the world another. So I know the shoes your daughter is in.
When I have boyfriends, it feels SO weird for them to call me Sarah!
My husband is a Don whose family called him Dee since he was a Junior.
When we were dating many moons ago, he called my office and my coworker answered the phone while I was on break. When I got back she asked me if I had a new boyfriend because someone named Don called. I always called him Dee.
I worked with an Inga and an Inge. I don't recall which way it worked, but one was "Ing- ga" and the other was "Ing-a" with a very soft G.
LOVE Sonia's costume so much!! She looks amazing. And I'm glad I've been pronouncing her name correctly in my head :). Alas, I thought Lisey was "LIE-zee" all this time. Ha, ha.
Great pumpkins!
Fun! I’m a LeeSee too but spelled Lissy.
With that spelling I'd assume Liss-e!
Oh, wow! I've only been mentally pronouncing 1/3 of your girls' names correctly. That's a poor batting average. But now I'll be able to do it better. 😀
Also, it really should have dawned on me earlier that you didn't pronounce it "Lice-y," given the trials and tribulations of lice that you've chronicled.
I agree that the sweater isn't the best fit, but I sure like the colour. So cheerful!
Thanks, as always, for your marvy-fab blog.
I have always thought that if Lisey had been going to school at the time when my kids all got lice, she probably would have gotten some unkind name-calling relating lice and her name!
So glad you enjoy my blog. 🙂
All of your kids are exceptionally good-looking (and have nice names)! They have similarities and I see resemblances to you and your husband. But I think it’s different when we look at ourselves and our families. I don’t think I look anything like my sibs, but other people remark about the resemblances. I think my daughter looks like her father, but people have said she looks just like me! The older I get, the more I look like my parents.
I looked at the link to the sweater and even the professional model looks pretty bad, and I’m sure they chose the best photo they had. The color is OK, not great, but this time of year, we all look for some warmth, I guess. Mostly you look great in so many things. It’s the sweater’s fault!
Don't be so sure Zoe's name is self explanitory. There was a cheerleader in my Hi School named Zoe, (rhymes with Joe)
Ahh Thank you for showing us the squirrel sweater again...
I love that you check with your kids what they like to be called
My randomness...watching Clara's Depression era cooking utube vids again; if u haven't seen them they are so special, this wk inspired me to invent a pasta dish with a can of crushed tomatoes, sriracha, mixed veg , & parmesan cheese
...it was so warm & sunny today!!! first day off of warmness & got the washing dry in the sun; I love that, it feels & smells so fresh.
...Ordered a traditional homemade Christmas Pud for my family interstate ( I buy one every year for two who love it - the rest can do without it lol)
...Decluttering paperwork & making progress
Whoop, I had your daughters' names right That's the general way they'd be pronounced in the UK.
I love your blog because you're so friendly and I feel like your readers can joke with you like friends and get away with saying, man, that top is ugly!
I'd just finished a therapy session when I read this post and what you said about Lisey's name was a catalyst for a thunderclap moment of realisation at something I hadn't been able to get to during my session. So thanks. You never know what a tiny act from one person might be a huge deal in someone else's life x
The charity that I work for has a mandatory Nestle boycott. I would be fired if I served Nescafe
or Kitkats to clients. I try my best to do this at home as well, but I do buy Cheerios as my son won't eat any other cereal, including own brand copies.
I had no idea Sahn-ya is a thing. Or Sone - ya. Here in England it is Son-ya as in on - ya.
Oh my goodness, the Edwardian Halloween costume suits Sonia so well!! She looks as if she stepped right out of the past!
I have a friend named Zoe, and she pronounces it to rhyme with "toe" and not "Joey." So, there are multiple ways to pronounce Zoe! I never knew until I met my friend.