I love when I’ve been fretting about whether or not to buy something online and then I do buy it and it’s GREAT. One of my best recent successes is this skirt, which I am wearing right this minute:

Old Navy Cut-Out Contrast Maxi Skirt in 1x-3x and in XS-XXL (photos from OldNavy.com). I was especially nervous because Old Navy plus sizes can ONLY be ordered online and also can ONLY be returned through the mail. That’s an expensive fitting-room session if the item isn’t right.

But it IS right! I love it. It’s comfortable and I wear it with a plain t-shirt and sandals, just like I’d wear basic capris. I’d never ordered an Old Navy skirt before, but the fit is just what I’d expect: I wear a 20W or 22W in jeans, and the 2X-plus skirt is neither loose nor snug. I preferred the brown but ordered the dark grey because it goes with more of the colors I tend to wear, and happily it’s a much better color than I’d been expecting: it appears in the photo as if the pink color shines through the fabric in a gothy way, but it only shows through where it’s supposed to show through, in the eyelets at the bottom. A number of the product reviews mention that on their skirt the colored underlayer is longer than it appears in the photo, but mine looks exactly like the photo. I think I might have to get the brown one, too. And if you’re XS-XXL, there are two other color choices and the skirt is on sale for $19. (Plus sizes are out of luck: not only can you only buy/return online, and not only are there only two colors instead of four, but also the skirts are still $34.50.)

ONE problem with the skirt: no POCKETS. If it had pockets I’d wear it whenever it wasn’t in the laundry basket.  It’s so comfy and breezy.

Manhattan Toy Company Put and Peek Birdhouse (photo from Amazon.com). I bought this to try to trick my 15-month-old niece into playing with me, and it TOTALLY WORKED. I brought it out and started taking birdies out and putting birdies in, and before long she was sitting right next to me doing it too. One side of the birdhouse is clear soft plastic so you can peek in at them, and there’s a door, and there’s a hole in the roof, and half the roof flips up. The four birds are even cuter than they look in the photo; two have flappy little feet and two have feet that are wee little knots. We played and played and PLAYED with it; I would definitely buy it for my own household if we were going to have more children.

Razor Scooter (photo from Amazon.com). I’m absentminded about keeping my kids up-to-date on kid stuff, and I was embarrassed when my third-grader William was at a friend’s house and the friend wanted to go scootering and William had no idea how to do it. That same weekend I bought a basic Razor scooter, and it has been GREAT. The kids ride it in the driveway all the time, even the 4-year-olds. It’s fun and it’s good exercise, and most of all it’s something their friends already know how to do.

Glasses from Zenni Optical (photos from ZenniOptical.com). It took me a lonnnnnnnnng time to risk this. Ordering glasses without trying them on? I try on a hundred pairs at the optician’s and STILL don’t find a pair I like! But ordering cheap ($8!) glasses from Zenni has made my glasses seem like a fun accessory instead of a designation on my driver’s license, and for that I am hugely grateful. I have a dozen pairs, and each day I choose which one best goes with my mood and outfit. I only do that with $8 glasses—I could never have done it with my usual $240 glasses.

Merrell Paris Mary Jane shoes (photo from Amazon.com). I was undecided and couldn’t find these in a store to try on, but on an impulse I ordered them and I’m so glad. I’m a size 10 in shoes and it’s so discouraging when a pair of size 10s are TOO SMALL, but these are generously-sized and comfortable. And I think they’re cuter than they look in the picture, too.

If you’ve had a successful online purchase recently, DO TELL.  It’s nice to promote the items that turn out better than feared, considering all the ones that are disappointments.

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