Well shop for us !

Over-hyped! The clothes/designs were not THAT fantastic. Some were really very basic pieces sold under the Stella design (with only a few “Stella” elements eg the wool suits/trousers which had a few basic design features such as man style pockets and stitching details).

I wouldn’t be surprised to see a lot of this stuff on the sales rack.

I ended up keeping only 1 item (a pencil skirt and the only fashion forward piece in futuristic type polyester). It was also the only piece that fit properly! I am an average size 8-10, but the sizes were such a “generous” fit in this range that the majority of the clothes just fell right off me. I was one of the first ones in store and yet only managed to get my hands on a few size 8 pieces.

When returning another top later in the day – I was told by a Chadstone shop assistant that they keep getting the same things returned. Again, not surprising!

But check out ebay – some of the mark-ups are astounding! Just a warning to all the overseas buyers – if in doubt, go down a size. And if you are an 8 or smaller, don’t even bother! That gorgeous grecian top fell right off me..seriously! The trenches were HUGE (and not just in the they-are-meant-to-be-oversized-way). The pants fit well, but were so *boring* i decided against them.

The silk cami is nice, my sister bought one and i plan to borrow!! The dresses are all gone, i didn’t get to try an 8 but the 10 was only a little too big, so i am assuming it might be alright. the cashmere coats weren’t as nice as they looked in the pics (quality and cut) so i decided to pass on it.

happy shopping (gathering up what you can find on ebay and similar – but think twice about shelling out too much.. maybe just put it towards your “real Stella clothing” fund!!)

I managed to get a green cap sleeve silk grecian top, which was MUCH nicer than the peach, and a short belted black cashmere trench, both size 8, but I lucked it on both pieces, as both had been hidden behind racks of non-Stella clothing. Pretty much all that was left an hour after opening was sizes 14 & 16.

Keep your eyes on eBay! GRR!

I’m going to Target on Monday, I want the cashmere coat but can’t decide whether to get the short or the long one :S

I also want the grey jersey dress, one of the tie tops &the pink silk top. I’m going to give the pants a miss as I can rarely find pants small enough in the waist and long enough in the leg to fit me. I’m also having to get over my aversion to “chain store” shopping.

I’m also a bit iffy on sizing as Target sizing can be a bit random, and the pink silk top looks like it’s a very large cut. Fingers crossed the coat sleeves will be long enough on me too!

I’ll report back with my verdict…