Cheryl Shops

COS is hands-down one of my favorite places to shop and I've featured their items in my last two outfit posts (the T-shirt dress and yellow top), so I thought now might be a good time to talk about why their clothes are so great for fortysomething women. But first, another look at my favorite T-shirt dress...

Once upon a time, COS only had stores in Europe. A mere months after I left NYC, they opened their first US store in Soho; they've since added stores in Boston, Atlanta, Miami, Washington, D.C., and a bunch of other cities, so if anyone from COS is reading this, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE open a store in San Francisco too! Fun fact: COS is owned by H&M, and it's where Rebekka Bay—who went on to work for Gap, Everlane, and now Uniqlo—made her name. Like H&M, COS's clothes and accessories are really reasonable; they are, however, pricier than H&M, but also use nicer fabrics and have more complicated details. Most importantly, they're geared toward a slightly older customer, so the cuts are a bit more generous, the fabrics thicker, and the finishes higher in quality. In other words, H&M is cheap and trendy; COS targets a more high-fashion customer, albeit one who is still on a budget.



My favorite thing at COS are the dresses, and I thought this draped jersey dress was incredibly flattering—and would be on a lot of different bodies—especially with its adjustable drawstring thing inside. It's also $99, which seems like a good deal to me. The color was a bit too orange on me, but if they make it in another color, I'm on it.



When I tried this dress on last month in L.A., I realized I tried the same one on in Dublin back in April; I think it's sold out on the website now, but this one is very similar. COS is great at making straight-cut shapes, which, as a short-waisted person, I appreciate. This one had a lot of volume in the back, which is an interesting design technique COS often uses.



In spite of the confused look on my face, I actually loved this ribbed sweater (the description says cable knit, but that's not quite accurate). The cut was really slim and sleek in spite of the thickness of the knit; I didn't buy it, but should have, and probably will next time. Also, another good point about COS is that I'm rarely between sizes—I'm wearing a small in the above photo and it fit perfectly.



This is an A-line wrap skirt that did not look quite A-line on me (it seemed more straight) but was still flattering nonetheless, and I thought the midi-maxi length was great too. Thankfully, I took this picture before I ate brunch.



This top is silk jersey—silk!—with a woven back, and it's still only $79! As I mentioned in Tuesday's post, I wouldn't normally wear this color (and COS definitely uses a lot of potentially polarizing ones), but I'm glad I took a chance, because it ended up being pretty flattering. I almost got this one but then...



I tried on this shirt-hem top and at $49, how could I say no? The upper part is knit and the lower part is woven, which gives it an interesting shape, and I truly have nothing like this in my closet. I've worn it a few times already and got a bunch of compliments, which I always love. And in case you missed it, here's how I styled it last weekend...


Look for more COS pieces in upcoming posts, and if you end up buying anything there, let me know in the comments below!