I woke up this morning with the whole day ahead of me and nowhere I had to be, so the first thing that came to my mind was shopping. The mountain town I'm staying in has a few places to shop like Rue21 and Maurices, and there's even a Wal-Mart nearby, but I would only go to Wal-Mart for make-up or pads, and today I wanted to do some serious clothes shopping. About 30 minutes away are some of the best outlets I've ever been to in Park City, so I decided to get myself dolled up and to visit the outlets since it seemed everyone had a sale going on for the fourth of July weekend. There was a particular item at Old Navy that I wanted as well, and I knew from an email from them that everything in the store was 40% off, so it was an easy choice to go shopping today at the outlets.

As for my outfit, I knew that I would be trying items on in the fitting room, and so I wanted to make sure both my top and what I wore below the waist would be easy to remove if necessary. I don't know how many times I've worn something tight that is hard to get out of while clothes shopping only to get in the fitting room and realize that I have to take my whole look apart (hair, earrings, etc.) in order to get my blouse off. I've also perspired more than necessary in a fitting room struggling to get in and out of things hoping I didn't hear that tear of stitches, and so I wanted to make my outfit today as flexible as possible.

I chose a gauze top in a bright yellow hue from Old navy that has two fun rope strands in front of the neckline that I can tie into a pretty bow. The top is fairly sheer, and so I wanted to make sure I chose the appropriate bra as well. As a result, I elected to wear a soft-cup bra in white with pretty lace around the edges of the cups since I was hoping a bit of the lace design would show through. This bra also has the widest band in the back of any bra I own, and I notice that extra fat below the back of my shoulders never sags over the band of this 36C bra, so it was an easy choice. I was also glad that I decided to pack this bra for my little vacation. :-)

Along with the gauze top and bra, I decided to wear khaki shorts with a braided leather belt since I wanted to keep my look simple. I did wear pantyhose in a nude shade beneath my shorts, and I know that's normally a big no-no, but these are extremely sheer pantyhose, and the temperature was only in the mid sixties, so there was a bit of a chill in the air this morning. I'm also embarrassed to admit that I forgot to bring my leg razor, and my legs needed to be shaved, so I thought the pantyhose would help mask that a bit. On my feet I wore simple black ballet flats to complete the look, which I felt was really good for a lot of walking, keeping cool, and adding to the ease of changing in the fitting rooms if necessary.

The drive to Park City was about 30 minutes as I mentioned so I took a series of dash cam photos without my seat belt until I reached the main highway, and then when I turned onto the major road, I buckled up and put away my camera. Once I arrived at the outlets, I retrieved my camera again and did take a few more shots from the dash with some of the outlet building in the background.

These particular outlets expanded several years ago, and some of the new stores that entered the area were Old Navy, Banana Republic, Down East, Abercrombie and Fitch, and even Nike. I knew I wasn't going into the Nike outlet, but I wanted to visit the other three, so my fist stop was the new area with the aforementioned stores. The first store I entered was Down East, which was having a big sidewalk sale in front of the store. There were several women looking through the racks, but I felt really good and was confident in my look, and so mingled with them looking through racks of tops and dresses. I didn't find that garment that I had to have, and so I next walked over to the Old Navy. I was in heaven here especially knowing that everything was 40% off and so let the shopping begin.

The item that I was searching for was a cropped sweater in a soft pink color, which could be more peach than it is pink. I had purchased a similar cropped sweater about a week ago at my local Old Navy in heather gray, but I couldn't take my eyes off of the pink/peach sweater either. I couldn't get it out of my mind because it was such a pretty color, and so I was delighted when I found one in my size at the outlet. This particular cropped sweater retails for $15, and I was able to pick it up for that price minus the 40%. Yay!! You probably won't see me modeling this sweater any time soon since we're in the heat of summer, but I will definitely pull it out of the closet this fall and winter. I can't wait!

After finding the sweater, I looked through various tops and came across one that I thought was really cute. I guess it could be classified as a short-sleeve top, but the sleeve nearly goes to the elbow, which makes it just a bit more dressy. This top is also Navy with thin vertical white stripes, and it has a patch of ruffles behind the button down front, and you know how we girls love our ruffles. :-) With these two garments in hand, I browsed around a bit more and came across a super cute summer sleeveless top that hangs from the neck more from the shoulders. The top fans downward in sort of a triangular shape and requires a bra that crosses in the back and stays close to the neck. Last year I bought what I like to call my Katy Perry bra, and it's a bra from Lily of France that can be worn in six different ways. One of those ways is to hook the straps together in the back to wear with the top I was currently browsing in the store, and it was just too much to pass up. The top itself retails for $24.95, but it was so cute that I just had to give it a try.

I looked a bit more at some dresses and swimwear before heading to the registers. I really felt good about my look, and I was confident today because I didn't even fudge at the registers and choose who I thought would be the easiest cashier. My cashier today was named Grace and she was all business and didn't suspect anything as far as I could tell. Since my enteire purchase totaled about $35, I used my credit card in my name. Lately, they don't even check the name on the card, and for something less than $50, it's usually a smooth transaction. After swiping my card in the little machine, I noticed that it published my guy name on the screen, so I was a little bit horrified by that. My guy does have a very close girl name, and so with a quick glance, I'm don't think anyone would notice. Regardless, I signed my name quickly and hit Accept to get that name off of the screen. I don't think anyone noticed a thing, and so just like that, I was out the door headed to Banana Republic.

Instead of driving to the next store, I walked along the sidewalk passing numerous people on the way, but I really felt as if I belonged, and so I held my head up high and didn't shy away from anyone. I safely entered the Banana Republic store and quickly began browsing through some items when the sticker shock hit. I had just come form Old Navy where the average price range of most anything is under $20, but now in Banana Republic, everything averaged close to $50. Banana Republic was holding a sale of their own of about 30%, but it's so hard for me to justify spending $30 or $40 for a top or skirt. If I was a professional working women, yes, I would budget an amount each month for clothing and buy some higher end things, but the only Banana Republic clothes I'm afraid I can afford are those that I find at a thrift shop.

After leaving Banana Republic empty handed, I next visited Abercrombie and Fitch, and I must say, I was pleasantly surprise at how much I loved the store. I was probably a little bit old to be shopping there, but the prices were much more reasonable and the fashions were so cute. I came across the cutest sheer top ever with ruffles down the front and darling puff sleeves, but the largest size they had on the rack was a Medium. The fabric seemed a bit stretchy, so I thought I would try it on to see if it would work. I wasn't sure if the fitting rooms were locked or not, so I walked over and checked the door. They were indeed locked, but a very polite sales girl rushed over and said, "let me open that for you." She didn't give me a second look, so just like that I was inside of an Abercrombie and Fitch fitting room. I easily removed my top and took a picture of me just in my bra for fun, and then I tried on the top...with the emphasis on "try." I think I probably could have forced my way into the top, but I didn't know how I was going to get out of it, and so I abandoned the attempt much to my chagrin. I think the top was the cutest garment I had come across all day, and I really wanted it because I rarely come across Abercrombie and Fitch clothing in the thrift stores. I sadly exited the dressing room and returned the top to the rack. I browsed a few more things, but I knew there was plenty more shopping to do, so I left the store with a few good pics and notes to go back soon.

At this point it was time to drive to the lower section of the outlets where I wanted to visit Ann Taylor, Rue21, the Gap, Dress Barn, Famous Footwear, and Eddie Bauer. By this time it was close to noon and the parking lot was really filling up fast, but I actually liked the crowds today because I felt that I stood out less. The first store I entered was Rue21, but I was shocked at how packed the place was. Of course there was the young girl crowd, but the store itself had so much inventory jammed into such little space that it was just too hard to navigate anywhere. I thought it best if I stick to the regular Rue21 stores at the malls, and so I snapped a quick pick and headed out to Famous Footwear.

I still need to find some fun summer sandals to wear, and I'd also like to find some cute white shoes to wear with that new white cotton dress I purchased at Ross a few weeks ago, but this Famous Footwear was about a third the size of a normal store, and they just didn't have a huge selection. I tried on one pair of white canvas open toe flats, but they didn't even have a mirror where I could take a pic, and so left Famous Footwear nearly as fast as I had entered.

My next stop was Dress Barn, and it's actually first time I've ever been inside. I must say that I finally felt at home in terms of shopping with lots of other big and tall women. I was extremely comfortable in the store and browsed around for about 10 minutes, but the clothes were a bit pricey for me, and to tell the truth, I still prefer the younger look available at places like Old Navy or Abercrombie and Fitch. I know in my mid-forties now that I'm probably going through a mid-life crisis in terms of fashion, but call it making for lost time by wearing fashions designed for girls in their teens or twenties.

After Dress Barn was Eddie Bauer, another store that caters to larger women. I think I'm actually a small or medium in most Eddie Bauer fashions, and that made me feel good, but Eddie Bauer is just too plain for my taste, and so I only spent about five minutes in the store and left without even taking a pic. The final store I visited today was Ann Taylor, a store that I absolutely love, but if I received sticker shock in Banana Republic, I took a huge punch in the tummy when looking at the prices at Ann Taylor. My goodness, I was excited entering the store when I saw the Ann-tirely 40% sign, but 40% off of a dress that costs $120 is way over my budget. As I was browsing through the fashions at Ann Taylor, I realized that I've got an Ann Taylor taste on an Old Navy budget, and so all I could do in this store was hope and dream. I did spend about 15 minutes in Ann Taylor hoping that I could find something more within my price range, and I finally found some way cute sandals that were only $12.50, but the largest size they had was size 8. I'm sure a high end store like Ann Taylor rarely stocks anything larger, and it was a bit of a wake-up call after coming out of Dress Barn and Eddie Bauer.

After taking a few pics in Ann Taylor, I was getting hungry and thirsty, so I decided to call it an afternoon and head back to my condo. I needed to pack up and prepare for the drive home, and I knew that I would be able to come back here again. The first thing I did as soon as I got home was to tear of my top and try on my new purchases from Old Navy. I'm way excited with the purchases I did make, and all in all, it was an extremely fun afternoon of girl time.