Deal of the Week: The H&M Chiffon Blouse

What about a VERY good deal to start off the week? In case you didn't know, US shoppers are FINALLY able to shop H&M online and to celebrate the new "Gisele" collection H&M is offering this blouse for only $5 for a limited time (originally $24.95, until 9/18 while supplies last. One per costumer). You can get free shipping with a minimum of $50 and code 0791 (I used it to buy some clothes for my girl that I wanted to buy anyway). I have actually this blouse on hold in store in the dark grey color and was considering getting it at full price, so when I received the offer I pounced on it (the email that I received says that the offer is valid online only and I am not familiar enough with H&M to tell if they will honor it in store but you can always try if you have a store nearby). "Chiffon" obviously means poly at H&M but I think this blouse has a very nice drape and crisp look and is perfect for layering. While I don't want to clog my closet with disposable clothing and I was debating if I really wanted to put $25 towards a poly blouse (with $49 you can have a very nice silk shirt at Joe Fresh, not to mention that some colors of the Blythe are on sale for $49.99), I am definitely going to get my wear out of those $5 and if I don't like it anymore in 6 months or is ruined in the washer, I won't feel like a fool for throwing my money away. I really like the neckline and while I was in Paris I had this illumination that the secret of Parisian chic is actually a very crisp blouse, in particular a collarless one with a V-neck like this one (and not a button-down).
A crisp blouse doesn't necessarily have to cost a fortune IMO and while the weather in Paris at the end of August/beginning of September is perfect for silk, the more humid weather that we have here makes poly a better choice. Not that I am defending poly but it has its advantages, including the price and wash-ability. For reference, I usually wear a 4 in H&M blouses and that's the size that I ordered.

While we are in the H&M topic, I have a review that I was saving for a "Fall inspiration" post but I thought I'd better post now in case some of you want to take advantage of the free shipping (I will post the fitting room pics and will leave the styling for a later post). While I was in Italy I started to see ads in the fashion magazines for the H&M "Paris" collection, debuting in September. This was actually the first H&M collection to hit the runaway during Paris fashion week and the ads looked promising and right up my alley (very boho) so I couldn't wait to check it out. Well, in real life the collection was a disappointment with many of the pieces too expensive for the quality offered or simply not working in real life (like this chiffon dress, that looked very Kate Moss-y in the ad campaign but looks cheap and frankly unweareable IRL, especially in red). I tried this blouse in black and personally I didn't feel like it was worth my money (it was very low-cut on me). You can check out the entire "Paris" collection here (if you are in store, the items from this collection have a "Autumn collection" brown tag). However there was a standout piece that immediately grabbed my attention, the leather pants. First of all these pants are genuine leather and not "vegan" leather, but the price tag is what you would expect from H&M and what you would pay at other retailers for vegan. Not only it's genuine leather but it is very good, super-soft, buttery leather comparable to the leather used by high-end retailers. Second, these are fun leather pants and perfectly spot-on if you want to recreate that "biker" look that is one of the major fall trends. Third, if you subscribe to the H&M newsletter you will receive a 20% off code that you can use online or in store to get these pants and bring down the price to $120. Fourth, because of the H&M generous return policy, I personally could return one of the summer items that I hadn't worn and ended up paying only $100 out of pocket for these. Much better than the $500 pants that are offered everywhere else.
Now, I am not saying that you need these. They are quite peculiar with the quilting on the leg and the zippers at the ankle and they might not be easy to pull off. I had an hard time myself trying to decide which size to get. In these pics I am trying a 4 and while they look like they are supposed to look (I think), I felt very uncomfortable and sausaged in them, so I ended up getting a 6 that has definitely a more relaxed fit on me but I am also much more comfortable in. Warning: these pants work for me because, as you can see, they are very cropped (which you can't see from the website pics because the model is wearing them with boots. Silly). I am wearing them with the $5 chiffon blouse, even if I was focusing on the pants and you cannot see it entirely (sorry for the flash):






In any case I am very happy with these and as I said I think they are totally worth the price. Look for them in a future "Fall inspiration" post.

That's it! Have you shopped H&M lately and the Paris collection in particular?