by ATFDC Contributor Dionna Humphrey

Some years ago, H&M rolled out some plus size options to the limited masses. I was pretty excited because I am a big fan of their style. I recall so vividly schlepping out to Dulles Town Center (the only one in our area to carry plus sizes) and walking over to a rack (ONE), only to find multiple pairs of khakis, leggings and a pink plaid button down shirt. The disappointment! The hour in traffic! The letdown! Ugh. Thankfully all that’s changed, and in a big way. I saw a few of my favorite fashion bloggers had quick access to the line since it was in quite a few metropolitan areas, and I liked what I saw. So I decided to call them up and see where in our area the line was available.

Good news: it’s available in our area. Bad news: that area is all the way in Gaithersburg. Better news! The line will be available at the Silver Spring location which opens in just a couple of months. Why it’s not being sold in the H&M locations in DC is an odd decision for H&M to make, but downtown Silver Spring is just a quick ride on the red line.

Now the best news of all- they had some pretty cute stuff! It was a small but substantial section, and by the time I had finished looking through the entire section I had 12 pieces in my hand- no joke. There were lots of super cute blazers, tops, bottoms and dresses to choose from. Armed with my potential new wardrobe I headed to the dressing room to try things on.

I pretty much loved everything I took in with me. It took extreme will power and a wallet reality check for me to put back a lot of the items I tried on, but here are the favorites:

This polka dot mesh top was quite comfy and at the same time, a little sexy. I tried it on with a black skirt that I grabbed off the rack. While I wasn’t a fan of the fit of the skirt (a bit too generous in the cut), I thought for someone taller it would look great with the top. The top alone would look great with jeans, or even a cream or red pencil skirt for work or a conservative holiday look.

Polka Dot Mesh Top

The second thing I loved were these print pants. I’ve been in the market for print pants for a long time, and they were just what I was looking for. One thing I love about their pants is that, unlike most retailers, the length wasn’t out of control. I’m 5’3 and these would not need to be hemmed. I paired it with a coral hi-low top with a lace racer back top. I’m a big fan of color in the fall and winter, so this really stuck out for me.

Coral Hi-Low Top

Another thing that caught my eye was this really fun, fuchsia tank shirt dress. I loved the super vibrant color, the fit was very comfy and overall super chic. The back of the dress is sheer, so keep that in mind. But you can wear a slip underneath, or like I do here with gray leggings. It’s such a simple dress that can be styled easily with some chunky, colorful jewelry.

Fuchsia Tank Shirt Dress

Finally, my favorite outfit was a pair of floral print leggings and this mint colored top (on sale!). I had to size up on the jeans as well, though more so for the length than anything. I am so excited to wear these, and even though the weather is starting to get chilly, I’m going to throw on my cream blazer from Fashion to Figure to make it weather-ready.

Floral Print Leggings & Mint Colored Top

Overall, I ended up with the dress, floral pants, coral top and a couple of accessories. All that for $115– not too shabby. It was hard to put back the print pants and a plaid blazer I also tried on, but I know I will be back.

The H&M location in Silver Spring is scheduled to open in December 2012. If you can’t wait until then, rent a Zip Car if you don’t have one of your own and head down to the Lake Forest Mall in Gaithersburg.

Dionna Humphrey is the owner of Body Conscious Beauty, a style consulting company serving the Washington, D.C. area. Body Conscious Beauty styles women of all sizes, including plus size beauties. For more information visit us online at www.bodyconsciousbeauty.com.