Tommy Bahama Try-On Haul: New Fall Styles for Women Over 50

I have pretty good timing every once in a while. Lol! On my recent trip to Charlotte, I stopped by Tommy Bahama for a try-on, and now their Friends & Family Sale has started.

The sale is 25% off through August 16th, including lots of new arrivals, although there are some exclusions. FYI – the discount doesn’t show up until the item is added to your cart.

That made this a good time to show you everything I tried on, especially since several of these pieces can be worn now and still work as we start easing into fall.

For reference, I’m 5’6″, and I’m usually between a medium and large in tops and between an 8 and 10 in bottoms. I’ll tell you the size I tried in each item because, as you’ll see with the first pair of jeans, the size on the tag only tells part of the story.

And since this was a fitting-room try-on, I wore my favorite walking sandals and try-on shoes with everything. They’re comfortable enough for walking around all day and neutral enough that they don’t fight with whatever I’m trying on.

A Striped Tee and Ankle Jeans for Everyday Wear

You know I’m always going to stop for a V-neck. It is one of my favorite necklines because I think it opens up the face and gives a little breathing room around the neck without being too low.

I tried the striped Kauai tee in a medium, and I liked the fit. It skimmed my body instead of clinging to it, and the sleeve length gave me enough arm coverage without looking heavy. This is the kind of simple tee I would wear with jeans, shorts, or casual pants and then add a cardigan or jacket once the weather cools down.

The jeans were another story. I normally wear an 8 or 10 in pants, so I tried the Boracay® Beach High-Rise Ankle Jeans in a size 10. Even in the 10, I thought they ran a little small.

They weren’t uncomfortable enough that I couldn’t get them on, obviously, but they fit closer through my hips and thighs than I expected from a size 10. If you are between sizes or prefer your jeans to have a little more breathing room, I would keep that in mind.

I actually like telling you when something runs differently than I expected because that is the part you can’t always tell from looking at a model online.

The Neutral Sweater That Could Carry You Into Fall

This neutral crewneck Basket Stitch Sweater immediately caught my attention because it feels more like early fall without screaming, “PUT OUT THE PUMPKINS!” Lol.

The basket-stitch texture keeps the cream color from looking plain, and I liked the medium on me. It had enough room through the body without swallowing me, and I could easily wear a thin layer underneath it later in the season.

I also like this shade with the cream jeans because it creates a soft tonal look, but I would wear the sweater just as quickly with medium-wash jeans, brown pants, or even a casual skirt.

This is one of those pieces that makes sense if your fall temperatures stay warm for quite a while. You get the look of a sweater without jumping straight into a heavy winter knit.

The Leopard Jacket Was Much Better Than I Expected

I wasn’t sure about the Leopard Jacquard Full-Zip Sweatshirt when I first saw it on the hanger. Leopard can go one of two ways. It can look chic and neutral, or it can look like you’re headed out to stalk prey. Lol. This one falls firmly into the neutral category.

The tan and cream combination is very wearable, and because the pattern is subtle, I could see treating this almost like a solid jacket. I wore the medium, and I liked how it fit through the shoulders and body without being oversized.

I especially liked the full-zip style. You can wear it zipped as a top, leave it open over a tee, or use it as a lightweight jacket when temperatures start dropping.

The Same Jacket With Cropped Pants

Changing the bottoms completely changed the look of the jacket. These camel-colored Sunset Key High-Rise Cropped Pants make the leopard pattern look even richer, and this combination felt much more like fall to me.

I wore an 8 in the pants, and they fit me better than the size 10 Boracay jeans did. That’s a perfect example of why I don’t automatically order the same size across an entire brand.

The cropped wide-leg shape also gives you another option if you’re tired of wearing skinny or straight-leg pants but don’t want an extremely wide leg. I liked where these hit on me, and I think the warm camel shade would work with ivory, black, navy, denim, olive, and a lot of the rusty shades we start seeing in fall.

A Simple Black Tee With Those Same Pants

Here is the same pair of pants with something most of us probably already understand how to wear: a black V-neck tee. Sometimes trying on a “boring” basic is useful because those are the pieces that end up doing most of the work in my closet.

The Kauai V-Neck T-Shirt fit me well in a medium, just like the striped version. I liked the length because I could leave it untucked without it looking excessively long, but there is enough fabric to do a little front tuck if you prefer.

With the camel pants, this becomes an easy outfit that could go almost anywhere casual. Add gold jewelry and a nicer shoe, and you’re done. No complicated styling required, which is always a plus in my book.

A Floral Dress That Doesn’t Feel Too Summery

Now we’re getting into some color. I tried the Darcy Ocean Petals Sheath Dress in a large. The peach background is pretty, but what makes this work beyond summer are the deeper blue, olive, cream, and warm floral colors in the print.

I would wear this now with sandals, then later with a lightweight cardigan and a different shoe. The large gave me the room I wanted through the bust and hips without looking shapeless. It also hit at an easy length on my 5’6″ frame, somewhere around the knee.

Then I added the Addison Linen-Blend Cardigan in a medium. I especially liked the drape of this cardigan. It doesn’t have a heavy, structured look, so it works over a dress without making the outfit feel bulky. The lighter neutral color also lets the floral print remain the focus.

This would be a pretty combination for church, lunch, dinner, or any occasion when you want to look pulled together without looking overly dressed.

An Easy Sporty Dress for Travel and Casual Days

Well, here’s the annoying part. I loved this blue. And naturally, the blue color I’m wearing isn’t currently shown online. Isn’t that always how it works? Lol. The Aubrey Half-Zip IslandZone® Dress is available online in lilac, black, and mint, so the dress itself is still available.

I’m wearing a large, and I liked the relaxed A-line fit. It doesn’t cling through my middle or hips, but it also doesn’t have so much fabric that it overwhelms me. The half-zip neckline is another detail I appreciated because you can adjust how open you want the neckline to be.

This strikes me as a particularly good travel dress. It has the comfort of casual clothing, but you still look like you actually got dressed. That’s a combination I appreciate more with every passing year.

The Relaxed Linen-Blend Maxi Dress

This was probably the most relaxed dress of everything I tried. The striped Palm Shores Seabank Isle Linen-Blend Maxi Dress has that loose, breezy shape that is wonderful when it’s hot outside or when you simply don’t want anything fitted around your waist.

I tried the medium, and you can see that it is still quite roomy on me. If you’re between sizes, I don’t think I would automatically size up in this one. The vertical stripes help give all that fabric some direction, and I like the dropped tier because it adds movement without adding a lot of volume right around the stomach.

I would probably wear this on a warm vacation, to lunch, around a resort, or on one of those summer days when fitted clothing sounds like a terrible idea.

What I Thought About the Fit at Tommy Bahama

This try-on was a good reminder that I can’t assume one size is going to work across an entire store.

I’m generally between a medium and large in tops and an 8 and 10 in bottoms. In this try-on, most of the medium tops fit me nicely. I needed the large in both shorter dresses, while the looser maxi worked well in a medium.

The biggest surprise was the Boracay ankle jean. Even though I wore a size 10, I thought it fit smaller than I expected, especially compared with the Sunset Key pants in an 8.

So if you’re looking at several of these pieces online, pay more attention to the individual fit than the number printed on the tag. That’s exactly why I like doing these dressing-room try-ons for you.

What I Would Buy From This Tommy Bahama Try-On

There were several things I genuinely liked, but I wouldn’t tell you to buy every piece simply because there’s a sale.

For everyday wear, the Kauai V-neck tees would probably get the most use because they’re easy to wear and layer.

For fall, I really liked the Aruba Leopard Jacquard Full-Zip Sweatshirt, especially with the camel Sunset Key pants. That combination felt current without being trendy enough that I’d get tired of it next year.

And if you want something easy for travel or casual days, the Aubrey Half-Zip IslandZone® Dress would be high on my list.

The one item I’d approach more carefully is the Boracay ankle jean. I liked the color and style, but since the size 10 felt snug on me, I would consider sizing up if you’re between sizes or don’t like a close fit through the hips and thighs.

Those little fit details matter a whole lot more to me than simply telling you something is “cute.”

Tommy Bahama Friends & Family Sale

Tommy Bahama’s Friends & Family Sale is going on now, so many of these pieces are currently 25% off through August 16th. There are exclusions, and I always recommend checking the price in your cart before ordering so you know exactly what qualifies.

I especially like seeing new arrivals included in a sale because those are usually the pieces we still have plenty of season left to wear. And that’s my Tommy Bahama dressing-room report!

Now I want to know which outfit you liked best. I’m curious if you’ll pick the leopard jacket and camel pants as I did, or if one of the dresses wins you over.

More Styles From The F&F Sale That I Didn’t Style

To GOD Goes The Glory!

Verse Of The Day

Matthew 5:44 (NIV)
⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,