Floral Peplum: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Top: Forever 21 (perfect peplum top here)  |  Pink pencil skirt: Victoria's Secret (similar here and here)  |  Snake print sandal heels: Gianni Bini (similar here, here, and here)  |  Crystal necklace: Forever 21 (similar here)  |  Sunglasses: Tory Burch (almost identical here)

After shopping at Forever 21 on Labor Day, I had a $10 off coupon burning a whole in my wallet. Since I have a cute Kate Spade wallet, I didn't really appreciate that, so I once again returned to Forever 21 to get rid of the thing. I came across this pretty rose printed peplum top and was amazed by the low price. It was the kind of deal where you fell compelled to ask every surrounding custom if it is the correct price. And then probably all the employees. And just to be extra sure, ask to see the manager to get his/her opinion.

Despite my initial infatuation with this top, once I got it home I started to doubt whether I had made a wise purchase. So I've made a pros and cons list of sorts, using the categories of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

The Good: It's peplum. And I love peplum. I wrote an ode to it after all
The Bad: It flares out a little too much directly from the seam
The Ugly: The extreme flaring can emphasize or create the illusion of chunkiness in the midsection

The Good: Very stretchy fabric
The Bad: Fairly low quality fabric
The Ugly: Stretchy fabric leads to the print being stretched and slightly distorted, particularly over the bassoomas

The Good: There were only two left and they were both my size
The Bad: And by my size, I mean I could get it onto my body
The Ugly: My gorilla proportioned arms are slightly too long for the top

The Good: It was only $3.99
The Bad: There was a reason why it was only $3.99
The Ugly: I think the zipper was put on inside out...(see the last picture)

What do you think?

Was this a deal I should have passed over? Or should its flaws be overlooked?

Should I alter the arms to make them 3/4 length?

Should I give it to my sister as a Christmas present claiming that its brand new and that I bought it just for her?

I'm liking that last option.


Linking up with: Style Sessions, Trend Spin, Confident Twosday, On Trend Tuesday, Bloggers Who Have Inspired Me, WIWW, What I Wore, What I Wore Wednesday, Trendy Wednesday, Color and Grace, Fresh Fashion Forum, Look What I Got, Spotlight Weekly, Spotlight Weekly, Throw Back Thursday, Labor of Fashion, Thursday Fashion Files