We Tried On 59 New Things From Zara—These Ones Are Fire

Meet Lauren, Who What Wear's fashion editor and co-founder of The Devils Wear Zara. Lauren is so obsessed with Zara that we started calling her the Zara Scout. Now she's turning the nickname into a franchise so she can regularly share her insider knowledge of the brand, including all her hacks, secrets, and must-haves with you.

Hey, fam. It's Lauren and Mimi here from The Devils Wear Zara—our weird passion project that stemmed from a mutual, overwhelming love for Zara. Mimi and I both work at Who What Wear, where she is the social media editor, and I'm the fashion editor. Lately, we have been freaking out over too many new Zara products to count, so instead of ordering embarrassing amounts online and returning all of it (which we usually do), we decided to do the one thing we honestly hate—try on the clothes IRL. The reason we succumbed to such levels of frantic in-store shopping chaos? So you don't have to. You're welcome.

Sadly, Mimi lives in Los Angeles and I live in New York, so we couldn't brave this shopping trip together, but that actually made it a bit more interesting. I told Mimi I was turning this Zara shopping spree into a story for the site; translation: Please take pics of what you love while in the dressing room. Besides that, I gave her no guidelines. We both went to our favorite Zaras in our separate cities and weirdly came out having tried on similar products, but different. Between the coordinating animal-print sets and festive party looks (shoes included), there's no denying that our BFF nature really shone through here. (Mimi is going to kill me for that line.)

After trying on a total of 59 Zara products between the two of us, we walked away with quite a lot of new items that are the definition of fire. If you're in need of a good winter shopping spree, take notes because we pretty much hit every seasonal nail on the head. Not to brag or anything.

Animal Instincts

Lauren: I saw this suit online and went immediately searching for it when I got inside the store. I was curious if it looked as nice in person as it did online, and it pleasantly surpassed my expectations. Not to state the obvious, but the suit is so great because it can be worn together, as shown here, or separately with other items in your wardrobe. The blazer is slightly cropped and perfectly boxy. The material is a soft velvet, and the skirt is an ideal length for a miniskirt, in my opinion.

I can't wait to wear this with tights, for a night out, on the weekend with sneakers—the options are overwhelmingly diverse when it comes to this set.

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Mimi: I'm normally not one for matching sets, but as soon as I saw these snake-print knit pieces, I knew I had to try on the full set. The knit has a bit of metallic woven in, so it feels perfect for the holiday season. Together or as separates, I love both of these pieces. Snake print almost acts like a neutral these days, so I could wear them with anything.

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Cuddly Sweaters

Lauren: Living in NYC means living in sweaters. For me, the cozier the better. In my dream world, I'd wear an oversize sweater with sweatpants every day when it's a whopping 30 degrees out, but that won't cut it in the workplace. So, to dress up a roomier knit, I like to pair a statement accessory like this zebra-print belt with it and maybe some cool heeled booties.

The color of this one is a classic red (looks kind of highlighter-y in this pic, but it's red) color that can pair easily with most neutrals like denim, black, beige, and those tried-and-true fall/winter prints like plaid and leopard.

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Mimi: True story—as I was walking around, some girl in Zara asked me where I found this sweater. I actually took the last one (sorry, sis) and am so glad I did. I'm super basic, so I love cozy sweaters and pretty much live in them throughout winter. This is like that perfect cable knit everybody wants in a sweater… You know what I'm talking about. Also, the plaid pants are chill.

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Party People

Lauren: It's hard for me to resist a good party dress, and when I saw this one online, I was praying I would see it hanging somewhere in the store. Sure enough, I did, and it fit even better than I imagined. The dress has those '90s-esque thin straps and a slight babydoll silhouette. Normally that shape doesn't look good on me, but I surprisingly liked how this one fit. And I don't even need to mention the abnormally shaped red sequins. They speak for themselves, as does the faux-fur jacket, which everyone needs.

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Mimi: To be honest, I thought these pants kind of looked like Tin Man from Wizard of Oz when I first saw them—so, how could I not try them on? I have seen so many cool outfits with glittery pants on Pinterest, and these fit the bill at a super-affordable price. I'll be wearing these with an oversize sweater as they fit more like leggings at the top, and I am not a leggings-as-pants kind of girl.

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Lauren: This dress looks so expensive in photos and in person. The ruching is amazing, and the lace-up detail adds that flirty element I always look for in a party dress. Snagging this one was a no-brainer. 

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Fancy Feet

Mimi: I have been looking for rhinestone shoes for the holidays, and these are those, fam. Any time I wear pointed-toe shoes, I get compliments on them. Weird, but true, and these will be no exception. Probably going to wear them with vintage jeans and a white tee.

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Lauren: These pumps have a slightly shiny, almost pony-hair texture adorned with velvet ties that lace around the ankle. They are the perfect party shoes, but I also tried them on with a more casual outfit, which you'll see later on. Not that I'll be galavanting around NYC in these heels, but they made me feel really good in the dressing room, so hey.

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Beige Days

Lauren: Here are the pumps again! Brown is a huge trend right now that will only continue to carry into spring 2019, so I figured why not dive right in? First of all, I'm convinced this jacket was sent down straight from heaven, because it's so soft and warm. I wanted to add a little something-something to the look without adding color, and this cropped leopard-print long-sleeve did just the trick. Yes, I'm obsessed with leopard print.

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Mimi: I'm probably going to start wearing this skirt every week to the office, so my co-workers should get used to it. The print is perfect, and the fit is just right. It's chic but trendy. I'm also a cardigan gal now, and this one goes with jeans, skirts, dresses, you name it. I knotted this one to give me shape with the straight skirt.

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New York Essentials

Lauren: Unfortunately, unlike Mimi, I can't get away with a printed minidress in the winter, so it's going to be a puffer purchase for me. This one is made from recycled materials, something Zara has really started to lean into this year. This puffer has a hood that looks like you layered a sweatshirt underneath. You know, how the cool kids do it. 

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Los Angeles Essentials

Mimi: I couldn't tell if this was giraffe print or what, but regardless, I loved the style of this button-front dress. It's a silky-smooth fabric that feels just the right amount of dressy. Now I just need over-the-knee boots to wear with it.

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