Going Out in Head-to-Toe H&M (plus, take 30% off your entire order today!)

I am having a lot of fun shopping at H&M this fall. They make it SO easy to shop there (well, except for the long lines at the fitting rooms and registers). I know that many of you simply refuse to shop "fast fashion" and I understand that; however, if you are looking for novelty at affordable prices you can't beat H&M. As you know I am a long-time fan of Zara and Zara clothes are generally better made than H&M clothes; however, they are also more expensive in the US and sometimes don't have the same "edge". In my case they also don't fit me as well, especially pants and dresses.
Anyway, I think this Fall collection in particular is very distinctive. While I generally buy casual clothes and the occasional evening top that mix well with other things that are in my closet, I usually don't buy "outfits" at H&M, especially not "going out outfits". But during one of my recent trips I saw a few dressy items that could really compete with JCrew offerings and more expensive brands and I couldn't resist buying the whole thing.
The first item is an embellished pencil skirt with amazing colors. This is not your "wear-to-the-office" pencil skirt, it is a fancy one with jewels on the front. At $59.50 it was expensive for H&M but I used my "welcome" 20% off coupon again so it came down to a more reasonable $47 and it is totally worth the price. I went with a size 6 because I didn't want to look too squeezed in it (it is made in poly and elastane and is a bit clingy):




There are three items in the same print. One is the skirt, the other one is a tee-shirt with the same embellishments on the front and the third one is a sweater with a silk-like panel in the front but no embellishments. The skirt and the sweater look absolutely smashing together (very Dolce and Gabbana) and the sweater is actually the first thing that I bought. It is in a wool blend and feels like merino on. It is also cheaper ($49) than the tee, which in my opinion is the one that isn't worth it. I don't have a pic of the skirt and sweater together but here is the sweater (sorry, there isn't much light here today):



Sometimes it happens with brands like H&M that once at home clothes that seemed special in the store lose their appeal and don't stand the test of actually wearing them out. But yesterday night I did go to a school reception in H&M head-to-toe (well, head to ankle, I don't have H&M shoes. Yet). After all Hellen Hunt famously wore H&M to the Oscars, even if in my opinion that dress wasn't the best choice (you shouldn't do "classic" at H&M IMO, especially if you are a movie star).
I didn't wear the skirt and sweater together because I just LOVE being able to wear a shirt out without freezing and I have time to wear the sweater this winter. The shirt, also by H&M, is 100% poly but I happened to try it with the skirt in store and the whole outfit just blew me away. It is very "dramatic" with slight "balloon sleeves" and a little ruffled trim going around (like a western-style shirt). Normally I wouldn't have bought a 100% poly shirt (especially at $39, which is a bit expensive for poly) but as I said the outfit made me feel like a million bucks and as they say that's priceless. It is a very blousy shirt that looks best tucked in a high-waisted skirt or pair of pants and I got a size 4 (I could have done a 2, probably):




So, as I walked out like this (actually I had to wear tights so I had to swap my Balenciagas for regular black heels) I was absolutely confident that my outfit didn't read "cheap" (which is always the risk with cheap clothes). In fact while I was walking to school I heard a voice (that I vaguely recognized) saying "Oh, that's swanky!" (the voice belonged to a SA of a toy store in the neighborhood who always sees me in my "mom uniform"). And at school all the moms with no exception commented on the skirt. I told one of them that it was H&M and she said "Oh, you have an eye!" In case you are wondering, I didn't lose any rhinestone and none of them is about to fall off, they are all solidly attached (but I have to say that I bought it right away as soon as it came out and things with embellishments tend to get shopworn from tries-on at H&M).

The best thing is H&M.com is having a huge two-day sale and you can take 30% off your entire order until tonight with code 0835 (free shipping is automatically applied to orders over $50). I looked for these pieces yesterday as I was planning this post but I was unable to find them on the website. However, they have new arrivals today and I found the skirt here and the top in the same print here (but as I said the tee is my less favorite for the price). I haven't found the sweater but please post if you do. If you have kids, they also just launched an ADORABLE Halloween collection (almost sold-out already) that supports UNICEF (25% of the SALE PRICE of each cloth is donated to Unicef, which is AMAZING). I might run to the store and check it out.

Would you go out in H&M head to toe? Did you like Hellen Hunt dress at the Oscars? Please share!