Friday, October 30, 2009

Giveaway Winner!

Drumroll please...

Generated by random.org based on order of entry, the winner of the 100th-post Giveaway of the Aurora set from our Etsy shop DesireeDesigns is...


STRUGGLER! (Check out her awesome style/decor/lifestyle blog!)


Congratulations, Struggler! Please contact me to send your address so I can ship these lovelies off to you.

Thanks to everyone who participated and shared the giveaway! There will surely be others as this blog reaches various milestones, so keep an eye out ;)

Happy Hallowe'en!

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Steals and Deals: Body Central

We started receiving the Body Central catalog again quite randomly (cough, MetroStyle selling our info, cough) and were pleasantly surprised to note that the prices seem to have come down since last they solicited our business. Or maybe we're thinking of Boston Proper. Anyway, we found a zillion cute things under $30, so of course we are sharing!

If you've never checked them out, you'll notice that the aesthetic is somewhere between Victoria's Secret and Delia's: sexy tops and junior sizing and a little bit of slutty thrown in. Pieces are priced lower than either of the others, though: bonus!

We were thrilled to see animal-print cardigans offered at only $27-- a leopard cardi is one of the only items left on our list of things we're allowed to buy new! It's so ours. (Click pics to go to Polyvore for links to purchase).

Body Central: Animal Print and Ruffles Under $30
Body Central: Animal Print and Ruffles Under $30 by ThriftyStylist on Polyvore.com

The zebra print is adorable and totally on-trend also (we'd wear it with hot pink and turquoise, oh yes). They also offer it in a dalmation print (looks more like snow leopard to us, but whatever), if you prefer black and white to the brown leopard. Isn't the ruffly-charmeuse-neckline pencil-skirt dress stunning as well? And what a price!

We're always looking for cute, feminine layering pieces for work, and BC definitely doesn't disappoint with several little jackets and other great professional (but still fun) basics:

Body Central- Work
Body Central- Work by ThriftyStylist on Polyvore.com

Quelle jolie! We especially love the styling of the pencil skirt with bold belt and flowy top- all three pieces are listed. And the lightweight sweaterdress (a major piece for fall into winter!) comes with the belt- both for $27. Not bad!

What BC really excels in is body-conscious (no surprise given the brand name) little tops for going out on the town. You'd be hard-pressed to find details like this at these prices at any other store:


The special little embellishments, like hook-and-eye closures and lace insets and ruffles and sequins just make us squeal with delight!

Have you found any awesome deals lately? Let us know. Hope you enjoy these finds!

Happy Bargain-Hunting!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Suggestions for Styling Blue Shoes & Choosing Colors

Inspired by Struggler's recent post about getting rid of her new blue shoes for lack of ideas for styling them (don't do it, darling!), we decided to mock up a few outfits that we think would be perfect. Polyvore to the rescue, as usual. This time we decided to create with a starting point rather than just searching until we found something we liked, so we turned to one of our favorite websites, ColorSchemer, where you are able to buy fabulous color design software, but you can also search the member-curated color galleries for free to find a scheme you particularly like.

We looked through many pages looking for a nice rich blue hue and a lovely palette. There are some combinations that we would never use, of course, but generally speaking they are inspired and quite attractive.

(Another color site we absolutely adore, especially for our design business, is Name That Color. We were searching for a sort-of-royal, sort-of-slate-y blue, perhaps something like "Biscay" (#1D3967). Play with the color wheel tool- you will adore it and improve your color vocabulary drastically. No more "ish" and "-y" in your descriptions ;) )

First, we chose a theme called "Not Your Average Wedding," featuring orchid, peach and charcoal grey.



A couple of cute work looks, with the commonality of color and patterned tights and a feminine, flirty silhouette. We focused on the look here, not the price, so some of these items are a bit on the astronomical side and we advocate you look for suitable budget-friendly replacements if you enjoy the styling.

The second group of colors we chose was a bit too broad in range, so we picked just four of the colors out of it (besides the existing blue of the shoes we chose). It's called "Lady Liberty" and our selections were blue-green, eggplant purple, peachy-pink and navy blue:


These looks would probably be fine for work but might be better on the weekend or going out as they're a bit on the fancier side, but whatever works for you!

Happy confident and creative blue-shoe-sporting!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

What We Bought: Halloween Costume at Oona's

Our all-time favorite little vintage store, which we've frequented since we were a Vamp-lipsticked, clove-smoking, angsty little teen who hung out at Cafe Pamplona writing bad poetry, is Oona's in Harvard Square, where we stopped in to check out their "Experienced Clothing" certainly monthly for a good portion of our life.


On our latest visit-- our first in too long, definitely-- we found it much the same as always, with the owner working the counter and the shop's namesake, her daughter, working too, along with a couple of other awesomely amiable employees. It's a tiny place and we were afraid that with their sizeable Halloween section (replete with everything from gorgeous prom dresses to psychedelic mod minidresses to purple shiny bootcut leggings!) it would be mobbed, but it was just fine. They expect the next few days to get progressively worse, so we recommend that if you haven't figured out your costume and you're local, you check them out sooner rather than, say, Friday.

Anyway... we switched up from the original plan of Madonna c. Like a Virgin due to the sheer seeming impossiblity of finding huge lacy crinolines and non-revealing bustiers and tons of cross necklaces and granny boots for little money... in a similar genre but definitely more of an idol to us is Cyndi of course.

Our (crappily collaged) inspiration board:



Here's the work in progress:



Pink lace long-sleeve, campsite offer of $4 at Oregon Country Fair
Black sequined v-neck, Oona's, Studio 1940 brand, $10
Tutu, new at Oona's (from China, sad, but handmade tutus are expensive!) $18
Turquoise cotton skirt, Oona's, $5
Purple asymmetric chiffon skirt, Discount Dance Supply, $17

We're going to add black leggings, our pythonesque scrunchy boots, lots and LOTS of bracelets and other jewels, and crazy makeup and hair of course. We won't be able to rock the bangs, unfortunately, but we'll do something big and 80s and colorful, anyway.

We shall see how it goes! What are you doing for Halloween?

Monday, October 26, 2009

What We Wore: Scarf Experiment


We had originally planned to wear the purple jeans, but it was just too much going on. The dark-wash trouser jeans worked out much better. The scarf was an afterthought when the sweater, tee and jeans were too boring, and instead of looping around the neck we decided to try the Kasmira-suggested approach of using a brooch to secure a scarf. We really used a hair elastic underneath, but to cover it we used our purple hair clip/brooch silk flower from Claire's ($2.99). We loved it! What do you think?

Raspberry crew-neck sweater, Victoria's Secret clearance, $12.99. Scarf, free with tee from Marshalls. Black tee underneath, $7.99 from Marshalls (also came with free, different, scarf :P)

Shoes are black boots (big surprise) from Famous Footwear (big surprise):

leather and suede boots, "Extreme" made in Brazil, under $30

Jeans are from Old Navy, The Diva cut, $30.

We felt pretty cute all day, even without any cleavage (trying to get people to take us more seriously at work?), even fighting the muffin top (sigh, can no one sell a jean that doesn't ride down in back?).

Happy experimentation!

What We Bought: Goodwill Scores Galore

Something called us to the Goodwill today on "lunch" break... of course that "something" was ostensibly the need for Like A Virgin outfit goods (we're seeking a white lace bustier and corset, crazy 80s belt, etc.), but it turned out to be the.most.perfect. leather jacket in our size, absolutely buttery-soft and in mint condition, crying out from a few blocks down for us to come and claim it!

leather poly-lined blazer, Margaret Godfrey, $7.99

Gasp! It feels like lamb or kid to us, but is labeled only "100% leather" so we're not positive. It's really quite fitted and lovely, so disregard the rather squarish shape of this photo on the hanger (and those to follow). No doubt you will see them all on very soon!

After discovering this lovely approximately 6 seconds into the store, we carried it around searching for the (elusive) Halloween items and also any pretties from the list which might catch our eye.

We tried on a wool pencil skirt (check- warm skirts) but it was a no go for our figure. (Hmm... other pencil skirts have worked alright; not this one though). We tried on a black-and-white floral blouse-type thing, but the banding "under" the bust hit us mid-boob. D'oh. Then we tried on this lovely nubbly (kind of like corduroy, only dots?) skirt, which is on the list as a "warm skirt" option, though not in a print (there really weren't any!)


cotton skirt, mac n jac, $4.99

Pardon the hanger, again. Here, have a closeup of the fabric and the lovely little crochet-lace trim:


(Much more lavender/mauve than this carnation/raspberry showing...)

In our travels through the shoe and housewares section, we also spotted a lovely little handbag; we had already fulfilled our recent wish for a teal purse, but the one we bought was awfully large and didn't have the croc embossing we were really craving, so this perfect little number is a terrific alternative:


croc-embossed faux-leather handbag, no name, $4.99

The man had suggested that we be on the lookout for a raincoat for little money, since we still have (ill-advised) plans to camp one time this Autumn... so we were thrilled to discover, in the Halloween idea racks of all things (? Sherlock Holmes?) a lovely black cotton with polyurethane (sounds gross but waterproof) coating trench by Banana Republic, $7.99. Pictures came out horrible, but trust us, it's cute. It's a black trench. You've seen them before. Our friend suggests adding a contrasting belt-- we're thinking perhaps leopard?

Whilst in the dressing room, we spied a rack of additional items. Some seemed to be tried-on cast-offs, as they were tagged, but among them was a practically brand-new and un-priced 100% silk sweater in a lovely steely blue:


silk sweater, Ann Taylor, $4.99

Perfect fit, nary a snag nor pill (who owned this? An agoraphobic?) and did we mention 100% silk?? The slate is not a color we'd normally wear, although it bears a strong resemblance to some blue-green sweaters we'd sworn not to further propogate, but here's a strong case for one-in, one-out; surely some inferior acrylic bit can go in its stead. It's not a print, either. But it is fabulous.

While we stood in line waiting to pay, a terribly amusing tourist was being rung up for a sweater and paused to ask "is this used?" And the clerk said "well, yes." And she said with a shudder "is everything here used?" And he said "pretty much." And she said "um, well, no thank you then, sorry," and walked out. And we laughed and laughed with the clerk so as to keep from following her down the street and berating her about the state of the world and her ignorance and stupidity and snobbery. Anyway, once she was done and it was only the crazy lady asking the poor man which section of collectibles she thought she could sell her new crap in, we were able to ask him if we could try on the simply gorgeous purple suede jacket hanging up behind the registers. And oh did it fit. Ours. Thank you.


plum suede jacket, Live a Little, tags still on for $89, $10

Our grand total was just under $40. Easily a tenth of the retail price for these brands (and especially the suede and leather). We love Goodwill!

Happy thrifting!

Thursday, October 22, 2009

What We Wore: Neutrals that Are NOT Black!

We have already received a staggering number of compliments on today's outfit (along with repeated questions about whether or not we have an interview!), so apparently it is a success. No pictures today, sadly, but we recreated as best we could:


Planning began with the new blue shoes, $11. We don't seem to have much in the way of skirts at the moment, so the obvious choice was the Vicky's floral circle skirt ($30). Instead of doing all black for the rest, as we normally would, we made a concerted effort to try some other neutrals! For some pattern-mixing, striped grey tights (in a 2-pack from Marshall's, $5 for both). To tie the tights in, our grey Calvin Klein suit jacket (an emergency splurge at $79.99). To pick up the white in the skirt, a v-neck tee from Vicky's ($10), which we promptly spilled coffee on (sigh- this is why we so rarely wear white). We threw a bit of turquoise into the accessories to add a bit more interest to the all-grey-and-royal (cuff bracelet, gift from mom, chandelier earrings by us, flower hair clip from Claire's clearance, $2.99).

The shoes are indeed super high, so we wore our black velvet ballet flats in on the way to work, which still looks cute but not quite as killer.

We are ready to cast off the shackles of our black-centric, patternless wardrobe and move into a new era where we don't eschew all other neutrals. Don't hold your breath to see us in brown or navy anytime soon, though :)

Happy playful outfit-building (and crazy fun Polyvore-set creating!)

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

100th Post: Giveaway!!!

It's hard to believe that time has flown so fast, but we here at Thrifty Stylist Boston have reached the 100-post milestone. We didn't know we had quite that much to blather on about.

As a way of thanking you, lovely readers, who have been here with us or joined us along the journey, and keep coming back as we grow, we are commemorating this momentous occasion by offering a giveaway!

Win this glittering bracelet-and-earrings set from our Etsy shop!


To enter, all you need to do is be (or become) a Regular Lovely Reader (follower sounds so outre), and leave a comment on this post. It can be about the blog, about the Etsy shop, about your outfit or what kind of jewelry you wear; heck, it can be about the weather if that's what you want to say!

You will receive one entry for your comment, and if you choose to "tweet" or re-blog the giveaway, leave a second comment with a link to your blog or twitter feed, and you will receive another entry!

You can receive a third entry via referral- that is, if you link someone to Thrifty Stylist Boston and they become a Regular Lovely Reader, too-- just have them send us a quick message with your info to desireedesigns@gmail.com so that you receive proper credit!

This is a great chance to get started on your holiday gifting, or perhaps just to reward yourself for being awesome. This set is extremely versatile and the many facets will sparkle in the light whether you dress it down in jeans or up in a pretty dress.

This giveaway is open to readers in all countries (but please note that beyond providing reasonable insurance, we cannot be responsible for the individual postal practices of a given country).

The winner will be chosen from all entries via random number generator on Friday, October 30th, so get those entries in soon!

Happy winning-free-stuff to you :)

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Resale Shop Revisited: Raspberry Beret

This chilly but lovely Saturday, instead of camping (due to freezing temperatures predicted), we took a swing up to Raspberry Beret in Wakefield, MA (our first trip discussed here) which is quite near the man's house. He dropped us off and went home to see about assimilating the new clown fish to the tank, and we went in, armed with a list (from the Wardrobe Evaluation), determined to buy nothing that was not on it. We failed. Sigh.

In our defense, there really just wasn't much going on for prints, or warm skirts. We did try on a few blouses and one wool and one leather pencil skirt but they just didn't work.

What we bought that was on the list:

A) Our long-coveted blue shoes!!! Yes! A single pair in the store-- Nine West-- and they fit perfectly (score! $11). They have a peep-toe, so we're going to have to get used to visible tights toes or we're not going to be able to wear them until next year. Gasp! Quelle horreur. Here they are, in all of their metallic, crackle-finish sheeny glory (great condition; they look to have been worn only a few times, and definitely not by a girl who has to walk anywhere):




B) A fabulous velvet blazer. Or maybe it's more of a coat. It was in the outerwear section. It's knee-length, blood-scarlet crushed velvet (brighter than the burgundy-ish showing here). From H&M - marked down from $24 to... it might have been $16? Right around there. Probably the most expensive item.


(Please pardon fiance's messy room and even worse light than usual, and note that the jacket is not asymmetrical, just looks it due to the pose). Isn't it just divine?

Things not on the list...

1) Bright purple down vest, NY&Co with tags still attached, originally $99, at Raspberry Beret a mere $10.

Isn't this a very Audi smile? Tee hee.

We think this is an amazing piece for the price. It's a simply gorgeous color, real down, not too bulky but awesomely warm, the silkiest polyester we ever did feel, and it has great detailing like an adjustable (inside) drawstring waist and snap-down-able pocket plackets to keep us from feeling like the Stay-Puft Marshmallow man, plus dual-action zipper and snap closures. Lovely.

2) Teal velvet beaded scarf, $6. We own a few similar things so this was a Bad Desiree, but it was too pretty and in such great condition that we couldn't pass it up at this price.


3) Ruffly cardigan sweater with bell sleeves, mohair/nylon/wool blend, Ann Taylor, $11. We know we banned ourselves from new purple cardigans, but the rationalization here is that it's such a light purple, almost white, that we think it could be dyed a much stronger color. Perhaps... mustard? (Maybe we'll give that whole yellow thing a shot; it looks so fabulous with purple).

We got these five pieces for just over $50... how we love others' cast-offs!
How did we do?

Happy Weekend!

Friday, October 16, 2009

What We Wore: Purple Galore

Big surprise, us in purple, right?? Actually we are pretty sure we wore mostly purple just about every day this week. Woot.


It was snowing when we woke up this morning (not OK! Not at all!) so we decided to end the week of skirts and break out some denim (from Victoria's Secret clearance, ~$30). They are kind of a super flare, which usually helps balance out wider hips (although we're not positive it's working quite right here). This is the debut of a sweater found at Goodwill over the summer ($6). We thought it was burgundy but it turns out to be aubergine. So much for trying to branch out a bit. What we love most is the detailing on the sleeves (complete with tattoo peekage):



Beneath the sweater, Victoria's Secret heathered bra top cami, $10. Scarf from Marshalls, $7.99. Boots, Impo via Famous Footwear, $30.

We snagged another pair of earrings from our shop, originally a custom bridal order that was never paid for (retail price $23). Boo to that fickle bride, but hooray for lovely dramatic sparkly pearl earrings for us.


We're wearing the hair down, so no flower clip today (it doesn't stay well!)

Happy Friday! Hope you're wearing purple, too. We're trying to start a tradition.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Hard and Soft: Mixing Leather and Girly

One of our favorite looks from the magazines this fall is the cropped motorcycle jacket paired with a floaty, frilly, flowery dress. It perfectly captures our favorite fashion spirit of a little bit girly, a little bit punk-rock. We do own a couple of leather jackets, but they don't have the detailing we're looking for. We are definitely going to hit Oona's in Harvard Square to check out their selection, as their vintage leather rack is always brimming with affordable goodies. Oh, wait, was a new-to-us leather jacket on the list? D'oh! (We're also going on a field trip to check out the vintage boutiques in Davis Square soon-- stay tuned!)

But... in case you are either opposed to actual leather, don't have a vintage shop to browse, or just want to get in on this trend without spending the money for a real leather jacket, check out our inexpensive finds via Polyvore, from Charlotte Russe and Forever 21, among others.


If you want something truly unique and a bit more interesting than the black zippered variety, turn to Etsy! We found these stunning, unusual options for you (if you're wee):

Clockwise from top left:
Purple- from Jenn3Star, size medium, $32.50
Fuchsia- from MisoVintage, size small, $16.99
Black- from Pistenine, measurements listed but size not indicated, $28
Purple- from DollarVintage, size XS petite, $24
Black- from ApocalypseVintage, size small, $20
Purple microsuede- from GingerKisses, size 4, $24

If you are in a colder climate and you're going to pull this look off, you'll need some layering pieces like long-sleeve v-neck tops or cardigans to wear under or over your flimsier summer dresses and beneath the jacket, and some tights, too, of course!

It's evident that Forever 21 is the place to look for a new dress; most of the cute and inexpensive ones we found were from there:


We've yet to shop at F21 even though they opened a huge two-floor store in our town mall... but we see so much cute stuff, we'll really have to check it out sometime (except that we're not buying new clothes right now! Right!)

For footwear, you could play up either end of this dichotomous look and go with strappy heels or funky boots. Some of the booties popping up this season would look really adorable, also. Here's how we'd style three of these dresses with the jackets:



We want all of these outfits, please. Maybe we'll mysteriously hit the lottery (despite not playing).

Do you have a motorcycle jacket or are you looking for one? Let us know how you style it!

Happy almost-Friday!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

What We Wore: Asymmetry in Silk

Another one of our favorite pieces, this deep aubergine distressed silk skirt came from the Victoria's Secret catalog clearance, under $30 of course. It has multiple layers and an asymmetrical hem, with covered button detailing at the waist and a flyaway side (hence why we're wearing a second skirt beneath, a black chiffon pointy-hem dance skirt from Discount Dance Supply, as seen in Lucky, about $17). The black top with velvet faux-corset trim is also from Vicky's, about $15 (we also bought this one in lavender. Help us!). We'd like to take this moment to briefly thank you all for putting up with our terrible cell phone photos and promise once again to find a solution soon!



We were horrified to find that all of our black tights are at the man's house, so we ended up with grey (from a 2-pack at Marshalls for $5); and actually we're pretty pleased, because rather than disappearing into the tights, the black underlayer actually shows a bit (not that you can tell here). We like grey with purple, in general, although we own almost none.

Boots are the flat elven western ones, $30 (lurve).



Accessories: Large purple rose/peacock fascinator from SweetXcessories @ Etsy, $7
Beaded choker with drop- gift from friend c. 2001? Free
Earrings by us (like these, only purple), retail price $13

You can kind of see the corset detailing in the shirt here, and the square neckline which is flattering but not revealing (we've decided to nix the excessive cleavage at work).

Happy Hump Day!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Wardrobe Evaluation

We did every speck of laundry in our house over the holiday weekend, save a few sheets and other household-y things. We also finalized the seasonal switch-over, finally removing (much to our chagrin) the linen skirts and gauzy dresses from the garment rack (our house was built in 1860 and has nary a decent closet of which to speak). We also folded and organized all of our tops and pants, and banished the too-smalls and really-haven't worn-in-ages (more on that later) to the basement and the just-not-flattering to the Goodwill pile. Phew!

Some conclusions have been drawn from this venture.

Epiphany One:

We own too many clothes.

Not that there is ever really such a thing, in our opinion (OK, maybe our cousin, who had something on the order of 60-- or was it 90?-- pairs of jeans, might have been a bit ezcessive), but for the confines of both our meager space and our tiny clothing allowance, it's really quite obscene what we've amassed. And the bigger problem (although all of these clothes are indeed a sizeable problem) is that we have too many of the exact same clothes. The most egregious offender in our case is the multiples of an item in one color (see: three teal sweaters, four or five pink long-sleeves, etc.), seconded closely by the many of a single item in different colors (see: shaggy tiered skirt from Target in black, lavender and peach, for example). We also own far too much black, and not nearly enough of any color except for our (obvious) favorites of purple, hot pink, turquoise and teal. And truly, we've only begun to delve into any sort of pattern situation since leaving the Indian-print tops and batik patchwork skirts for festival time... We are firmly entrenched in a narrow array of solids with embellishment and the occasional floral in a skirt. We bought patterned tops (2!) recently, and it was a triumph of sorts, if you recall.

Don't get us wrong- we love our clothes and our style sense (lest why would we be blathering on at you about it?) but we just feel that we have exceeded the reasonable limitations of "oooh, it's on sale," and we buy too many of the same things, both wasting money (of which we have quite little, hence the thriftiness, right?) and limiting our wardrobe's potential.

Exhibit A: Short-Sleeved tops and tanks (these are the winter layering ones only, mind you; a good 30+ are stored)

Exhibit B:

Long-Sleeved Tops (tried this photo so many times, sorry about this):


Exhibit C: Sweaters


And finally Exhibits D & E: the Garment Rack (try not to giggle about those letters and "rack," now). Have a look at our Flickr if you want specifics on items-- we'll try put notes on anything of remote interest, or just ask!).

This is Winter items only, and a good five skirts, two party dresses and a few other tops and items are missing because they are at the man's house. It will be a relief to have them all in one place someday...



Lastly, we have the pants division, which is the only non-offender in the bunch (let's just not talk about the entire Rubbermaid full of a different size...) at six pairs (five pictured; black corduroys worn yesterday). Mona decided she needed to be in on this picture. Please note the beer case is holding books! Not beer. It's salvaged. Thank you. We don't advocate taking beer to bed.


These pics do not include other drawers with, obviously, underthings and also workout wear. Lots of that going on... a short bureau + one drawer combined, plus a bit of the closet and a drawer at the man's house. Perhaps that needs some examination also. Later.

Epiphany Two:

We need to stop buying the same stuff repeatedly, and possibly stop shopping altogether.

Yes, yes, we already had the temporary financial shopping embargo going on, but we're talking about really not buying much of anything at all... for possibly... a long time. Let's say, for starters, up until "the big move-in" (with the fiance) in the Spring. So, like, six months. And probably beyond. Possibly forever. We have most of the staples we need, realistically speaking... We will permit ourselves a few seasonal and "needed" (to round out the clearly one-note wardrobe) additions, with the caveat that they must be vintage and/or thrifted (yes, we're staying out of the chain discount stores. It will hurt us, but we will try), and with these rules:

COLOR ONLY (No Black)
PATTERN ONLY (No Solids unless at least Textured)
NO MORE TEES (Enough!)
MUST BE FABULOUS. NOT JUST OK, BUT FABULOUS.

...and only these pieces:

Really amazing blazers in colors or patterns (brocade??)
Warm skirts
Cardigans or blouses (this blouse you speak of, where does one find such things? We have always bought tees)
From our eternal wish list, cobalt shoes or a faux-leopard coat
Day dresses
A couple of inexpensive things if we can't throw together enough for our Halloween costume (we're thinking Madonna c. Like a Virgin- thoughts?)
Tights (caveat to vintage here)

And that is it! Nothing more! No shoes (shoe post coming soon- last count was 36 pairs but it's probably off), no lovely little cardigans or scarves or black skirts because everyone needs just one more nor super-cheap sweaters in colors we already have. Nary a triplicate of something on the clearance rack because we kind of, sort of, like all of the colors. Begone, sale addiction and unnecessary clutter-collecting!

Speaking of which, the purge and this decision, however, have brought up a question for us.

At what age do you give up all of your butterfly-and-fairy-and-glitter-and-Muppet-and-sparkly-flower-front tee shirts?

'Cuz we have, like, 100, and they are in a bin in the basement-- we found them from last season when we realized we really oughtn't be wearing them to work, and we just put them back again-- but we don't really want to give them up. Perhaps we could pare them down for a festival wardrobe to keep in the wings... we don't ever want anyone else wearing the naughty little fairy who says "eat my dust," after all... What are your opinions? Save a few for nostalgia and never wear them again, donate the whole lot, or keep them all for weekend wear (and say "so what" if people continually ask if we're the sister, not the mom)?

Just askin'. Stacy and Clinton would probably tell us to frame our favorites and pitch the rest. Sigh.

Have you re-examined your wardrobe lately? If you do, we hope it's enjoyable and enlightening.

Friday, October 9, 2009

What You Need: 6pm.com (Shoes Under $10)

Dear shoe god in footwear heaven, have we found the mother lode. We'd often heard 6pm.com mentioned in other blogs, but never visited, assuming it to be (like Zappos) out of our price range. So we were surprised to read on one of our new favorite blogs, SpoilsofWear, that their clearance includes shoes up to 95% off suggested price. Wow.

We went to the site, selected women's, under $50, and then sorted low to high. There are pages of shoes under $5 and many more under $10. Holy crap! That's better than Goodwill, way better than Payless; and they're mostly well-respected brand names, so we're not talking cheap crap (although a tremendous portion of the available styles we wouldn't personally be caught dead in; some digging must be done, or just leave that to us ;) ).

Staid and neutral and classic are all well and good, but sometimes a girl wants to really kick (pun intended) her style up a notch. Here are some gorgeous brights to make your wardrobe a little bit more spicy, all under $8!



Please pardon the fact, if you click on the set, that some of these are coming up Zappos. We swear we found them ALL on 6pm.

If you're not into the brights, or just need a new pair of ever-versatile black shoes or boots, you can get one of these beautiful pairs, also under $8:



Something is really wonky with Polyvore. Super sorry. Prices are wrong and links broken & going to Zappos instead of 6 pm. Sigh. But get thee to 6pm and you, too, can be the owner of some fabulous new shoes for the price of lunch. Yes!

Happy Shoe Shoppin'!

What We Wore: Favorite Colors (and Too Much Black)

Our tastes haven't diverged much in the past 15 years or so... while we now love purple and teal best of all, now, at one time it was purple and green (and black, always the black. It's been ubiquitous). We owned purple and green docs and occasionally interchanged the pairs (a la Punky and her Chucks). People often looked at us as though it was possible we had lost our mind, and that was just fine by us (remember, these were the days when your socks and shirt were supposed to match, along with your shoes and bag and belt. Gag).

Since we don't buy much in the way of patterns, we usually have to base an outfit on black + one color, unless we can find two colors that really complement each other. We believe bright (kelly/spring/clover) green and bold purple are two such colors. Witness today's (reproduction of our) outfit (no time for pictures this morning!):


Outfit 10-09-09
Outfit 10-09-09 by ThriftyStylist featuring Forever21

Of course this is merely a representation and not the "real" stuff... The real stuff:

Skirt, corduroy, tiered, with ruffles, TJMaxx, $15
Green v-neckT-shirt, Gap via Goodwill, $6
Black ruffly cardigan, H&M via Goodwill, $6
Purple tights, Claire's, $4.99
Hair clip with purple rose and peacock feather, SweetXcessories at Etsy, $7
Black Spanish leather flat pointy boots, no brand name (the footbed has a red heart on it?), $30 at Off-Broadway Shoe (down from $200+!)

Here are the actual shoes:


"Moar" shoes (for Eednic at FashionablyELate!):



They're kind of like elven cowboy boots. If that makes any sense. Anyway, we love 'em. They're so awesome.

Hope you like it! What are your favorite colors? Do you try to match things based on colors in a pattern, or are you OK with "colorblocking" hues that go well?

Happy Long Weekend (to my U.S. readers- Just plain Happy Weekend to everyone else!)!

Friday Steals and Deals: StylesforLess.com

We get so excited when we find a new website with ridiculously cheap, adorable clothes. Huzzah!

Happy Friday, dear readers-- today we're exploring the amazingly-priced sale section (and beyond) of Styles for Less, which we discovered on Polyvore while searching out leather jackets (post coming soon!).

First up, our jaw is still hanging out on the floor after we discovered this impossibly cute cardigan for only $5 (S/M/L, also available in yellow and some sort of "pink" that looks orange):

We adore the slightly poufy sleeves and the cropped shape. We have been looking everywhere for another baby cardigan since our hot pink one is a favorite. Score! (Shopping embargos can't count for items that are only FIVE DOLLARS, right?! That's practically free! It's cheaper than Goodwill!)

Also cute, and also only $5, is this 3-belt skinny belt set (can be worn together or separately):


Got a bachelorette party or a date coming up? How delicious is this little sequined ruffly bustier number, only $9, available in coral, green and black:

Big, bold necklaces are clearly the item of the season; kick up your style with this asymmetric long beaded-and-silver one, $3!


Or perhaps the most recent Lucky has you seeking out jewels with tassels... This cute diamond pendant with chain tassel is also only $3!


If you know us at all, you're aware that little excites us like ruffles and jewel tones. Feminine detailing and bright colors come together with natural fabric in this heavenly little sleeveless rayon v-neck tunic, $7:


We've been looking for a leopard-print cardigan for months, to no avail. Styles for Less to our rescue with this precious version, $14.99, which comes in zebra, leopard, and this (not-found-in-nature) pink/grey leopard, which is making us strongly consider including grey in our wardrobe pallette. (They also have another cheetah version in turquoise or grey, non-V-neck, $16.99)

Perhaps you've been craving a whisper-thin sweater wrap but haven't been willing to pay the outrageous prices out there... perhaps you need this one, in acrylic, black or white, $16.99:


Other than some more cheap jewels and basic tees for very little, this is the cutest stuff right now... but sign up for their newsletter to get sales directly in your inbox. We sure did. All orders over $50 receive free shipping- bonus!

Happy Sale-Shopping!

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