What We Bought: VS Clearance (Psst, Extra Clearance Codes!)

It's been a while since we splurged on Victoria's Secret clearance, as the "new clothes" by catalog is still within the general new clothes ban just as Marshall's and TJ Maxx are. But... but... this time they offered free shipping (unusual with clearance items) and we had to fill a few holes in our wardrobe, really! (OK and the beauty gift sets from xmas were marked down heavily and who doesn't love clearance makeup and bath and body?!)

We bought a Nanette-Lepore-ish-without-the-price ruffled silk blouse, a bit over our usual range but hey, real silk, work piece, why not, at $34.99:

The picture will take you to a listing for $39.99, but go to catalogue quick order item number 21-247527 (no picture but it's the same!) instead to get the extra $5 off!
(Also available in black)

Just recently we were lamenting our lack of a sweater in hunter or forest green to go with a lovely new skirt from Goodwill. The cotton square-neck in Cilantro we had our eye on was sold out, so we settled for this boucle-knit corset-inspired one-- love the detailing, not that fond of boucle, but it'll do at $14.99:

Also available in 9 other colors!

We fell in love with the sumptuous color of these velvet leggings, perfect under a black mini or tunic, we think:

Listed at $29.50 but use this link to item number 21-247507 and you'll get them for $24.99! (Also available in black)

The makeup and beauty deals were unbeatable. We scored this delicious travel kit with everything but liner and mascara, originally $32, clearance price $15.99:



We got $5 off this cute little keepsake box with lotion and mini perfume of the scent Noir from the Sexy Little Things collection, clearance price $9.99:

Luscious-sounding body butter in "Romantic Wish" (cucumber, freesia and pomegranate) is clearance priced at $3.99, down from $10. Shea butter, olive oil, aloe... mmm... We bought two.


Here's hoping these gorgeous colors and lovely scents will help lift us from the doldrums of a cold, grey winter!

Happy clearance shopping!

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:

Outfit 10-22-09 by ThriftyStylist featuring Miss Selfridge

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!)

What We Wore Tuesday: Shawls-R-Us

Just a quick daily outfit post for you!
Wish we had more info on these pieces... sorry...



Teal ribbed sweater, most likely thrifted, ~$7
Black linen ruffle-bottom long skirt, TJMaxx, under $30
Turquoise butterfly-print scarf/shawl, Marshalls, $7.99
Unseen: Black pleather faux-Fryes by Mudd, Famous Footwear, ~$20
Barely visible: Teal flower hair clip, Claire's, $2.99 on clearance
Earrings by us- vintage jet glass (gift= free) and silver filigree balls. Cheep.

Evidently we felt pretty matchy-matchy, much like Monday. Sometimes a girl just wants to rock a theme, can you blame her? We were mostly excited about using the new handbag from the Target mini-spree... Here we have a terrible, terrible photo for you, with coat and purse, in which we look like a psychotic bag lady or something (but at least you can get a better sense of the awesome ruffle situation on the skirt)...


Coat: Brocade from Target, $29.99 several seasons ago- faux fur collar removed, buttons replaced with vintage from Etsy.
Bag: Faux leather from Target, $10.98

Let us know what you think!
Happy Day :D

What We Wore: Casual Monday

We didn't have the energy to put together an interesting outfit today after two nights chatting with the crush until the wee hours (oops). It's probably far too hot for these jeans, but we didn't feel like hunting for a slip to wear with any of our breezy skirts... so this is what you get.


We're lucky enough to be able to get away with not only jeans and a t-shirt, but highly office-inappropriate footwear, sparkly turquoise flip-flops.

T-shirt: Mossimo, Target, $10
Jeans: Diva, Old Navy, $29.99
Zebra scarf: Came with black T from Marshall's, FREE!
Glitter Flip-flops: Xhiliration, Target, $15 (? Last year I think)
Cloth belt: Came with capris, from where I do not know, FREE!

Are you allowed to wear anything you want? Do you think that even in a highly casual office environment, T-shirts or flip-flops should be avoided? We've all heard the "dress for the job you want, not the job you have" adage- but what if you aren't entirely sure which job you want? :)

Also, seeking advice on how to get a boy out of your head when you don't really want him out but really oughtn't think so much about him?

What We're Wearing Today: Hippie... Zebra Chic?

Another long skirt. We're aware it's not the best length for petites and yet we love it so.

How do you like the uncropped mirror view for a change? (Still promising real photos in mere weeks...) You get a glimpse of the extra-purple condo and some of the power tools lying around during demo (cutting out walls to open up hallways to make the place a little bit more livable and that sort of thing).

Here's the zebra-striped scarf we got free with a black t-shirt at Marshall's recently, with a turquoise Mossimo tee and a linen skirt from TJ Maxx we've mentioned before, with a new slip (also from Marshall's) since it's a wee bit see-through.

We wore turquoise sparkly flip-flops (sorry, A, who hates them) for some super matchy-matchy (aaahhhh), until we got to the office, when we changed into these embellished silk with suede and wood heeled slides (OK, still matchy):


...except then we walked a block in them and they gave us the biggest blister we've ever had (seriously! Ever! One block!) so we went back to the flip-flops. Sadly, these ones are destined for the bin, however cute. We kind of despise both wood and kitten heels anyway, and can't exactly figure out why we would have purchased these in the first place (they've been under the desk for a long while now). Oh, right-- they have sequins. And they're teal! Case closed.

Accessories: earrings by us (silver/turquoise mini chandeliers in Swarovski and Czech glass) and a turquoise butterfly charm stretchy bracelet we probably got in an egg in some machine or something... Really :)

What We Wore Tuesday: Hibiscus and DOTS

By dots we don't mean polka, we mean those little semispheres of candy stuck to rolls of paper that we used to eat as a kid. The colors in this outfit remind us of those wretched little sweets, although we are not actually consuming any fibrous bits with it (thankfully!)

We're being AWFULLY adventurous today, venturing not only into print-land, but also wearing three (count them! 3!) colors besides neutrals today! Usually it's black and one solid. We're not sure whether the print on this Skirtology skirt is overwhelming our petite but curvy frame... we loved it at the shop (and especially loved its $8 price tag) but maybe it's a tad big? Is it making us look shorter and fatter? Hmmm... This might be one for passing on to a taller friend, even if it is quite lovely.

We do love the turquoise and hot pink, though, even if it took us a while to come around. This is a cropped sweater we found at Marshalls in the junior clearance for $8. We love the saturated color. Our man calls it our "miniature sweater" but it really does fit... we think anway! Layered underneath, a short-sleeved knit top with lace ribbon detailing at the gathered shoulders (we let the lace peek out around the cardigan for a little extra girliness). And... we kicked up the candy-liciousness (although you can't quite make it out in the photo) with those purple pumps we discussed earlier. (Turns out they're microfiber, not actually suede, but they were cheap and had never been worn and they're luscious so we're not complaining).


We think we'll definitely be trying some more outlandish color combinations in the future... Trinny and Suzannah (of the UK original What Not to Wear) say that any colors can go together as long as they're tonally matched-- i.e. have the same quantity of black in their shades. Who knew?!

For accessories, we picked up the pink in the sweater with hot pink and black chandelier earrings by us (of course)

And then echoed the print in the skirt with our David Anderson leaf bracelet again:


...as well as matched the turquoise with a beaded cuff (we absolutely adore coordination), also a gift from mom but not vintage... which we've now tried to transfer from the phone approximately ninety-seven times and have now given up. But it's quirky and fun, trust us- you can sort of see it in some of the outfit pics.

Wish list: tights in super fun colors. This outfit would have been kicked up to 11 with some hot pink, turquoise or (gasp! What have you done with Desiree?) yellow tights. The black are so blah, even with the purple shoes.

What do you think of our foray into more-adventurous-land?

Today we talk about scarves.

Scarves are one of our favorite accessories. Since we wear a lot of all-black and we live in New England, they serve the twofold purpose of jazzing up an outfit and keeping us from getting frostbite of the neck. While we're not big fans of the pinned-or-tied-kerchief scarf (reminds us too much of our mom), we do like to use a cool scarf as a big necklace, hair ribbon or belt.

If you've been reading, you know we like to buy vintage when we can. It's not only thrifty, but good for the earth. Here are some bright, eclectic vintage options from Etsy, several on the super-cheap, all totally gorgeous!


From left to right, top to bottom:
Maggie Rouff Paris collection, silk, $60 at GeneralWhimsy2
1960s geometric print, silk, $10 at RoomForCake
Psychedelic "Warhol" print, unknown material, $10 at DriveThruVintage
Silook Japan, polyester, $8 at VintageEmbellishment
Pink japanese print, acetate, $10 at PetiteKaloo
Oscar De La Renta, silk, $15 at TheCuriosityShoppe
1970s geometric mod print, silk, $8 at TheLuckyFish
Large rainbow shawl/sarong, polyester, $14 at TheKoruBranch
Oscar De La Renta striped teal with gold threading, silk, $15 at Autumnie

We know that it's quite nearly summer (or, if you're in Boston, quite nearly spring), but that doesn't mean knit scarves are out of the picture completely. The chunky wool ones should probably go back in the closet (if only to promote the power of positive thought!), but think about lighter textures and fabrics... These finds from Etsy are a few of the beautiful handmade textured scarves available. On the left, from alonalona, a UK fiber artist, sari remnants that would otherwise be thrown away are spun into luscious yarn and then hand-knit into this beautiful, airy long skinny scarf, $16. On the right, in a gorgeous peacock- colored blend of designer Italian yarn and microfibers , a fluffy, fun, light decorative option from Maine-based designer Cathy of BabbidgePatch, handknit, $35.



Three of our favorite other sources for cool scarves are the bargain stores, of course- we often find cute ones for about $7 at Marshalls, street and craft fairs, and Oona's vintage resale in Harvard Square. Happy accessorizing!