I got a leotard for my ballet class today, but the local shop didn't have a mid-length skirt in my size. So I've been looking online for some basic instructions how to sew my own.

I was originally thinking of going for a Juliet-style chiffon skirt, but since I found this "no-sew" method for tulle, I changed my mind.

I'm going to make mine longer, probably to just above the knee. I'm shopping for tulle online now. I see Joanns.com is having a sale on 6" wide tulle ribbon; I might go for that so I don't even have to cut the tulle into strips, I'll just cut the ribbon to length.

The how-to video is here:

http://www.decoratingwithtulle.com/tulle/tulle-ballet-skirt/

I came across a site a few weeks ago I thought I might be able to use to organize outfits. The site is called Polybvore.

You sign up for a free account, then you can create collages of virtual outfits, wardrobes, collections, whatever you want. I was looking into it more closely today, and got hopeful when I saw a tab for "My Items". I thought I could upload photos of my own clothes and accessories, then play around with them online and make a visual collage of outfits to make it easier for me to pack for trips.

My hopes were dashed when I discovered it would only work with tremendous effort on my part. First of all, I put all my photos on the picasaweb site on google, but Polyvore won't let you clip images from google. Then, when I tried to clip an image from my own website here, it worked until I tried to put it in a collage. Polyvore eliminates the backgrounds from images, so pretty much the only things you can clip that will look right are pictures with plain white backgrounds.

So in order to use Polyvore to make travel wardrobes, I would have to photograph my clothes against a white background then post them to my own site so they could be clipped. If I was going to do that, I might as well just use photoshop, clear the backgrounds myself and make my own collages without going online.

The site is designed to pull clothes that are currently being sold online into your "virtual" closet. I tried to find my clothes online, but even the things I bought at Target last month are nowhere to be found. And forget about finding things from past seasons-- even my black quilted boots with rabbit fur trim, which have been knocked off numerous times in the past several years, were nowhere to be found, original brand, knockoff, or otherwise. So that strategy wouldn't work to get my clothes into the polyvore system, either.

If you only shop for clothes online, or in national chains, you might be able to add pieces to your polyvore closet as you go. But I prefer to do most of my shopping in Loehmann's, and a lot of their stuff is imported from Italy, other stuff is from small labels not available at big chains, so I don't think I'll have much luck doing that, either, but I'll try.

Overall, I think this site is best suited to teenaged girls, or even college-age, who can't afford to just go out and get all the clothes they want, or have limited opportunities to wear a range of styles (I had to walk over a mile each way to classes when I was undergrad, and I certainly didn't wear nice suits and heels for that, even if I would've been fine dressing up for classes). So they can indulge their shopping fantasies by "virtually" buying whatever items they want, advertising how they imagine they will live under different circumstances. Shoot, I guess there is no age limit to that. I could put together wardrobes of outfits I would wear and look terrific in if I was the same size I was in college. But that would just depress me. I suppose I could put together fantasy wardrobes of what I'd wear if I was a high-powered executive woman, but what's the point? While I personally don't have any need or desire to fantasize about alternate clothing realities, I can appreciate that perhaps other women would enjoy it. Polyvore is for them, check it out.

I needed to get some basic clothes for around the house and running errands. I didn't feel like stopping in the Old Navy yesterday when I was in town, and the errand was not worth a separate 30 minute one-way drive to me, so I checked out the website.

How convenient! I hadn't ordered from any of these stores except in person before, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that they are all connected online. So you can order from any or all stores for one flat $7 shipping rate. And if you have a credit card from any of the stores, there are free shipping options available.

Although I ordered most of my clothes from Old Navy, I wound up ordering a pair of jeans from the GAP that I wouldn't have gotten if I had to drive out to the store, since it's not convenient to the Old Navy location. And I got free shipping by using Terry's Banana Republic card. Although the Banana Republic IS convenient to the Old Navy here, it's useless for me since I've gained enough weight to look awful in their clothes. But it's one of the few places where the clothes are cut slim enough to look sharp on Terry.

Since I got free shipping, it actually saved me $4 plus 1 hour of free time over real shopping. I figure the amount of time I spent browsing online is roughly equivalent to the amount of time I would have spent in the store trying a few things on, yet I saved the travel time to and from the store, plus the $4 in gas I use each trip into Cville.

Bottom Line: They've done a good job merging their websites, and the $7 flat fee for shipping is very reasonable yet still easily avoided if you have one of their store credit cards.

I'm still a fan of the site MyShape, but I was just shocked by a price differential. I checked there first to see if they had a dress I could wear to a wedding this weekend, and while I saw some that would be ok I didn't see anything I just *had* to have. I'm in Richmond near the Short Pump mall, so I checked the website for Nordstrom and saw the same dress that was on MyShape, but for $268 instead of the $384 that MyShape is charging. That's $116 more expensive at MyShape! That's huge.

It's also confirmation of my initial feeling that they were overpriced and why I've always waited for the clothes to go on sale before I buy anything at MyShape. When the dress gets to 70% off, then it's a good deal. I'm still going to shop at MyShape, it's really convenient, but now I will ALWAYS wait until items are marked down before I order anything.

To that end, I just got an email to use code SUMMER15 to get 15% off your order through Sunday.

Kind of a silly review, but I feel like writing a review and this is what I got today. I ordered the Magaschoni Black Henley Top from Rue La La last week, and it arrived yesterday exactly the day the confirmation email told me to expect it. It arrived via DHL which I thought was curious, most things come via UPS or Fedex ground.

Anyway, I wasn't familiar with the label when I ordered the shirt, but it looked like it would be flattering and I suspected it would be very comfortable.

I was right on both counts. The shirt is long enough to hit me at a flattering length around my high hip, the dropped 3/4 length sleeves de-emphasize my broad shoulders, and it is really soft.

I like the deconstructed look of the reversed unfinished seams, but it's not everyone's cup of tea. But the fabric itself is what really "makes" the shirt.

I'm pretty egalitarian when it comes to clothing, I'll wear all kinds of different brands. Just because something is expensive doesn't mean it will be more flattering, more durable, or more in style. But I've found it usually does mean it will be made with better quality materials and better workmanship. Which often translates into "more comfortable". For me, comfort generally isn't the highest priority for clothes (which is flattering fit and coordination with other items in my wardrobe), but everything has to be comfortable "enough".

However, I admit I made this purchase with comfort on my mind, and I'm delighted to report that I'm very satisfied. In the future, I will look for the Magaschoni label when shopping for knit tops when I want something a little bit quirky, flattering, and comfortable. And when they're on sale--I think the list price on this thing was $98 and that's just crazy since it's not $90 better than an $8 shirt. But it is quite a few times better than an $8 shirt, so there's the value.