Best and Worst of February's Lucky

Hello dear readers,

Long time no blog!

The "real job" has gotten distressingly busy over the past few months, so forgive us for the hiatus.

We were inspired to post today by the February issue of Lucky magazine which showed up in our mailbox on Monday. It's a bit of a wispy issue-- looks like they've already talked about most of the winter fashions-- but there were a few exceptional features.

First off, we are dying and absolutely in love with the new "Diva" collection from Doc Martens. We spent the entire span of our teenage years in nothing but 8-hole Docs in purple, black and green... (still own the green ones but they're not so comfortable anymore, sadly, as we didn't take care of the leather). We were stunned and thrilled, therefore, to discover that Doc has updated their offerings with these amazing, kinda-granny-boot, kinda-Victorian, still-very-Doc heels (sorry the jpeg doesn't do them justice- check out the link):

Drool-worthy, for sure (unless you just hate them, we suppose).



We were also struck by (and had to discuss) the juxtaposition of both some of the BEST styling we've seen in a magazine with some of the very WORST. Different fashion editors, so perhaps that explains it, but really there is just no excuse for this hideousness:

Really, Andrea Linnet? Really? A DENIM QUEEN suit? We care not that the pants are technically silk and not jeans-- this is a denim suit. And it's fecking hideous. We'll forgive her the transgression since the rest of the spread was fairly tasty and inspired, but we hope that no one, NO ONE, will be seen in such a combination, this winter, spring, or any other time, except in a 1970s-era Halloween costume. Thank you.

On to the loveliness:

What we adore:

-Delicious boots

-Knee socks peeking out of boots (our absolute favorite trend this season)

-Richly-hued skinny jeans (acceptable to us if tucked into boots, or if you're going for a Hepburn look with ballet flats and can pull it off-- not really otherwise)

-Floppy grey hat with floral headband worn over it. Farking genius! Adorable. We die. Grey is our new favorite color, believe it or not... it's so versatile and lovely. Especially grey tights. We don't really wear hats- they're awfully itchy- but maybe we'll change our habits. Off to Etsy to look for affordable felt hats and floral headbands!

We could take or leave the sweater and bag here, but something similar that is a bit more our taste would definitely work.

What are your thoughts on these and other current trends? Love 'em or hate 'em?

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.

Styling Blue Shoes by ThriftyStylist featuring Dorothy Perkins bags

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:

Styling Blue Shoes II by ThriftyStylist featuring Pixie

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!

Let's Talk about Labels

We're reading "Shopaholic Takes Manhattan" on the subway for a nice pre-and-post-work diversion, and it's simply lovely... but we realized immediately that it is impossible for us to empathize with the heroine, given as she is to near-vapors at the sight of a designer label. Yes, we have a shopping problem, to an extent, but rarely does a single piece we buy top $30. Have we mentioned that we don't care for things that are expensive just because the designer has a certain image? We admit that frequently the higher-end labels have exquisite workmanship-- which is why we surely squeal a little at finding a huge bargain in a Calvin Klein skirt or Ralph Lauren dress (the savings off the original price tag is only part of the excitement)-- but we find it simply astounding that women pay hundreds, if not thousands of dollars for things just... because! Not couture, not hundreds of hours of beading, just that it's the "it" thing (waiting lists for handbags? o_O

To us, something being the "it" thing means that far too many people like it and we should steer clear. Tiffany jewelry and Coach bags don't say upscale to us, they say conformist. Maybe it's because we've never actually had money to throw around to that kind of extent, but we're simply aghast at times-- like last weekend when we stepped into a Macy's for the first time. You can talk all you want about the supposed sales, but this store terrified us. Arranged by designer?? What if we want to look at all of the dresses? Or all of the dresses that have been marked down? What a travesty. We ended up spotting and buying a top that we were looking for (black, slinky, tummy-control, $30) for a bachelorette party, but we got the hell out of there quickly after that. And the jewelry, mind you, was way overpriced, terribly generic and horribly gold-heavy (we forgot to mention in last week's "nevers" that we do NOT wear gold.

So anyway... we got to wondering what kind of a girl goes in for that sort of thing. We know a few who love select designers-- and that's all fine and well; if you find something you love, run with it! But do you have to grow up with money to appreciate rather than denigrate the clothes in Vogue, for example? We remember even as a child not thinking "wow I hope someday I can afford this" but "what is wrong with people?"

We're probably cynical, but other than a nice solid pair of shoes or coat or bag that you will use every day, we don't see spending more than $100 for any attire.

What do you think? Does a name brand guarantee quality? Are high-end designers worth the price to you? Does the brand impart something that we are missing? (Or perhaps just don't care about) Do you think it is bred through luxurious upbringing, or perhaps a spartan one, inspiring excessive longing? Give us your thoughts!

What we wore today: Professional Dress part II

Another day of forced conservatism. A bit sad, but it was OK. We wore this terrific floral circle skirt from Victoria's Secret London Jean collection, which we got on clearance for about the same as this ebay listing for it!

It's lovely, super comfortable, lined, cotton, with pockets (but they're hidden so it's flattering), such saturated color and lovely print... it's honestly just perfect, down to the cute cotton ribbon tie. We wouldn't normally wear such a print, or really any print at all in a skirt, but the black/white/blue was striking and we do love it.

A few more circle skirts we also love:

This one from BarriePace is certainly not inexpensive- $79, but down from $148-- and we personally never wear brown nor white-- but it's definitely a fun look (could use a some bigger jewelry, in our opinion, though), and the little faux shrug here is actually not that gouging at $29 on clearance.

We seem to be finding a lot of brown lately, which we'll gladly pass on to our sisters! We found a great deal in this cute printed skirt and jacket set, $33.94 if you join some sort of shopping club... not sure about all of that, but it's a cute look to seek out. We would enjoy a periwinkle scarf and peridot chandelier earrings and a cute brown suede platform peep-toe with this. But we're into matchy-matchy.

A few incredible one-of-a-kind looks we loved... this skirt is just amazing...  If you find a piece like this, who cares what it costs?! You can only be thrifty most of the time, you know? 

We also love this turqoise circle print skirt at right, rom Weezi in Canada, found on flickr, although we can't quite figure out how to purchase it. She's certainly one to watch, though. We love the light, summery feeling her clothes evoke. 

However, since it's not summer yet, we paired our circle skirt with a black sweater- ribbed, with faux shrug detailing like the white short-sleeve above... While looking for something similar, we found this adorable ruffly cardigan that is on clearance for ONE DOLLAR for our full-figured sisters. We have one just like it and it really dresses up and (well, to be honest) goths out a simple sheath or jeans and ballet flats. (OK, so it's Fashion Bug, but whatever, it's a dollar!), or check out this lovely detailed pullover on clearance at Soft Surroundings for $19.99. 

Now... we hate to tease you with something that's discontinued, but we'll leave you, perhaps salivating like we are, with this incredible version of the faux shrug in teal velvet by Boston Proper, one of our favorite catalogs to cut pictures out of for "someday" sewing projects... Oh, the sadness that it's gone... We'll hope for happy thrifting karma, that we may find something as wonderful. 

What we're wearing today: Victorian Edition

Today is a "professional dress" day at work, which means that Houston, we have a major problem. You wouldn't say that "conservative" is a part of our general repertoire, but our boss actually said "wear THE MOST CONSERVATIVE THING in your closet." Technically, this would be an interview suit, but technically we are also NOT a size 8 right now and so technically we'd be busting out of said suit. So, the hunt was on for an outfit to cover up all of our naughty bits but not make us look like one of the Duggar girls (shudder)...


We chose an ankle-length black linen skirt with a drop waist and ruffles at the hem, quite similar to this one from Organic Bouquet (although without the drawstring). We absolutely adore ruffles, especially in black (again, the whole "punkish girly girl" thing is our favorite). They add so much texture and interest to what would otherwise be such a plain and, yes, conservative, look. We got our skirt at either Marshall's or TJ Maxx (oh, the love!) for under $20. If you have the time and patience to pore over the racks, you can find such incredible pieces, especially beautiful fabrics for a fraction of their original cost, like silk, linen and cashmere.

Up top, a plain black long-sleeved crewneck from Mossimo at Target, from the clearance rack, less than $7. We don't understand paying a lot of money for a T-shirt; therefore, we refuse. Our cleavage hasn't been this covered up since it was snowing- we keep checking to make sure it's there!

And over that, a simply divine burgundy velvet blazer with yet more ruffled trim... ours is from Kohl's, Apt. 9 brand, and was deep in the seasonal clearance racks at $17! We are still kicking ourselves for not grabbing the black one, too.

We absolutely adore a nice tailored velvet blazer... especially one with princess seams, "locked and loaded" construction (as Stacey and Clinton would say) and beautiful feminine detailing. We found this beautiful vintage piece on Etsy...

At $44.00, it's a bit of investment to us, but it really does look to be in pristine vintage condition, and look how gorgeously it shows off the model's curves! Yowza!


We also spotted this absolutely incredible equestrian-courtesan-gypsy-inspired corset jacket on a site we'd never seen before, Chinatowner, for $55. It's polyester, which is sad, but still, we're fairly sure we might die if we don't own this soon. Oh, the lace, the satin ribbon, the flared hem and bell sleeves, the *drooooooool*

Style Icon of the Past: RAYANNE!

If you were a child of the 90s like we were, you remember (and presumably loved) My So-Called Life. We personally worshiped A.J. Langer's character, Rayanne, the bad girl with the fabulous personal style. (True, we should probably be commending the costume designer, but it's difficult to tell where A.J.'s character and her own taste diverge...)


It is virtually impossible to find any good photos of most of what she wore, but there were myriad amazing Punky Brewster-esque color and pattern combinations, lots of BIG jewelry, and fun hair (bleach streaks, mini braids, big pops of color in accessories :) ). While of course we can't all walk around sporting our brother's flannel shirts anymore, lest we be mistaken for home bums (and as adults we should probably eschew the backwards baseball cap), we can still take some lessons on individual dressing from this fictional icon. Here, seemingly the only posed photograph taken of AJ during this time period, we have a gorgeous textured gold-and-copper tunic over light stonewash jeans, a batik scarf and a leather hobo bag, accessorized with what appears to be (are we wrong?) a phone cord wrapped multiple times into a bracelet, big silver earrings and colorful plastic barrettes. Could her hair be any more gorgeous, cascading in those lovely little waves? We should all be so lucky. Nothing here matches, it's possible she could be considered slightly insane, and yet it's so.freaking.perfect.

In this rather poor-quality still from the show, Rayanne mixes bold colors and floral prints for our absolutely favorite "punkish girly-girl" look. How cool is she? The headband is divine. She did always go for that oversized blazer/flannel thing, and we believe in flaunting what you got a little bit more zealously, but still, so much fun. Claire looks like somebody's grandmother, doesn't she? We also commend Ricky's adventurousness with color and pattern (and eyeliner), but let's stick to Rayanne.

When A.J. walks the red carpet, she can certainly look amazingly glamourous in some astronomically expensive gown, like all of the other stars... but we like to see her in something a little bit bohemian, with a lot of personality, like this adorable summer shebang. We LOVE a simple tank with an embellished skirt- this one has beading, embroidery, beautiful fabric, AND a matching satin ribbon tie. Excuse us, we just fell off our chair. We have to admit, though, that we wouldn't have gone with the white sandals here. We think that soleless jeweled t-straps would have been totally gorgeous (you know about these? Gypsy embellished heaven!) Or, since barefoot probably isn't an option, a strappy metallic sandal, to pick up the beading in the skirt, would have looked less clunky. To pick up a fabulous wrap skirt of your own, check out Etsy shop Siam2U, a one-woman show in Thailand, for only $25!! Happy hunting!

Tonight we're talking about handbags.

We know that some of you girls are tied to your uber-expensive Louis and whatnot (and why did every girl I know work at Coach at some point?), although we have to admit, we totally and utterly do.not.get.it. We used to get by on Army-Navy surplus and/or street fair bags (and for some reason people have a real penchant for gifting us small purses... we must have fifteen of the things). However, we recently splurged on what (to our thrifty selves) is an expensive (=Benjamin) handbag. This was because, after searching hither and thither, nigh and high, it was the most appealing in every aspect; however, especiallyso since it is made from what appears to have been a ridiculously 80s purple leather jacket. HoakonHelga is a genius!

No pictures really do it justice- mine nor hers- but you can trust me that it's beautiful, and the perfect size (about a cubic foot ;). It's true that you never know when you'll need to jam, so pick a bigger one than us if that's a concern.

Recycled/upcycled, whatever you want to call it, used leather has all kinds of benefits to the earth, including fewer toxic chemicals used in tanning, less water used in washing, and of course, since no one is going to wear a cropped, pleated, shoulder-padded, eggplant purple leather jacket anytime soon (I'm surmising), keeping good material out of landfills. We don't have to mention the spiritual and environmental necessities of using as much of an animal as we can if we have had to kill it- but we just did.

Another bag designer I absolutely adore on Etsy is alkdesigns. Just plain gorgeous work.

!
Let's hope she fills up her shop a bit more.

These two amazing bags are under
$100 and $50, respectively,
and have so much personality and were created with such exquisite detail, saturated color and beautiful fabric that it almost hurts us to not purchase both. We hope they go to a good home.

Get something that isn't like everyone else has; after all, you're going to have it on you more than just about any other accessory you'll own!

Hello, I love you, won't you tell me your name?

I'm Desiree, and I'm the Thrifty Stylist. It's not as though I think I am some kind of fashion icon like Ms. Johnson here, and I'm certainly not employed in any gainful manner in telling anyone what they ought to be wearing (yet, haha). But I do have a lot more fun with clothes than most people, and I am an avid bargain-hunter (and -finder), so what better way to spend my time than blathering on about creating funky, fun looks for almost no cash?

Sometimes I'll take pictures of what I'm wearing; other times I'll draw them (like, if I forgot to take a picture :D). Sometimes I'll feature guest finds from friends who have come upon incredible bargains. Occasionally I'll just feature someone who has amazing, unique style!
I'm in love with Etsy, where I sell my jewelry, yes, but where there are thousands of designers making incredible one-of-a-kind clothes, some of which you just might be able to afford... and I'll share with you my favorite thrifting places in the Boston area and online.
I'm drawn to (read: obsessed with) purple, but I'll try to branch out a little bit into some of the other colors ;)

Oh, and I'm going to write in the royal We. It somehow seems less narcissistic, although it's surely moreso.

Welcome, enjoy, tell us what you think, and please come back soon!