Favorite Splurge: Victoria's Secret

Once in a great while, I do like to see what the Vicky's online clearance has for me. Occasionally I'll score a terrific skirt for about $30 or sweaters and tops for less than $20, which is excellent. I seldom step outside the maximum $30 range, but I do make exceptions for things like really high-quality boots or gorgeous dresses. Witness (and feel free to imitate, should you love) my latest mini-spree:


They have 14-hole Docs for $100! In patent- pewter or black. I chose the black even though the pewter is fabulous... for nostalgia's sake, perhaps; my ex-husband and then-fiance ruined mine on purpose when I was 17 because he hated them. They had taken me up and down the country and through some of the most interesting years of my life, so I was rather more than irked. This did not bode well for the rest of the relationship, either. Anyway, I digress! Next up:



One of those crazy convertible dresses that you're supposed to be able to style in a zillion different ways... in my favorite shade of aubergine. Asymmetrical hem, jersey material, sashes you can make into a halter, cap sleeves, straps, etc.; it's sort of like buying a whole bunch of dresses, right? So I figured that sort of justified the exorbitant-for-me price of $50. Especially down from $108! It comes with styling tips-- I just hope I can master them.

I've been coveting a cobalt ruffly top for months (how is it that I managed to leave out one of my very favorite colors from my wardrobe until now?) and hope this little tank (also in lots of other colors) fits the bill until I can find a satin one or something dressier.

I also snagged a yoga bodysuit (? Yeah we'll see- it was cheap and purple so why not) and some clearance mini-bottles of my favorite new scent (which goes against all of my principles about natural cosmetics with no parabens but ack, I love it so... "nectarine, amber and cattelaya orchid..." oh my. I forced my man to buy me the large bottle for V-day but the minis are too adorable and great for the purse (they stay closed). Let's hope his sweetness doesn't read this because I'm supposed to be saving every penny toward the house remodel and a few for the eventual wedding. Sometimes a girl needs things though, you know? Especially when the tax refund has just come.

If you didn't know Vicky's was about far more than lingerie, you're missing out. A good half of my wardrobe comes from them. Great jeans, adorable tops and so much more... get thee to the clearance section! If you're already on board, what have been some of your favorite finds?

Happy shopping :)

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: 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 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: 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.

What We Wore: Lace Overload

These pics are horrifying. Our apologies. Our man's mirror sucks even worse than ours for proper lighting. But we wanted to share anyway...


We're wearing the green lace skirt we discussed in this blog, a white shelf-bra spaghetti strap tank from Vicky's ($30 for 3-pack), and a little black lace ruffle "jacket" (really more like a cardigan) that we bought on sale also at Vicky's, several years ago- we think we paid $30, down from $79. We thought it was going to be cold (it's not) so we threw this pashmina around our shoulders before dashing out the door (TJ Maxx, for a wedding last month, $12.99).

The jacket thingy is one of the most versatile pieces we own and it was a great investment (at $30; $79 was just obscene). It can be worn as a dressy dress cover-up, with jeans, with skirts... it really just looks great with everything. It's a nice summer tattoo-cover-up for the office, as well (we have a gigantic dragon on our bicep and while they don't mandate that it be covered, we prefer not to answer too many questions about it!)

We are not wearing any of our own jewelry today (for shame!) Our earrings are from Target. Shh! (If you don't make your own, it is a great place to find inexpensive accessories... but they do tend to fall apart).

There's a lot of lace going on here, possibly an overload, but we like it anyway. Do you?

What We Wore Tuesday: First Picture Edition

We went a little bit 50s today, we think (maybe we have it on the brain).

Please pardon poor photo quality... Um, yeah.

We got a tiny bonus at work a few weeks ago and headed to Marshall's to spend it. We found this luuurvely silk taffeta skirt with massive pleating detail, for about $30. We don't mind paying more for real silk (even if our fiance swears it couldn't possibly be silk and that it's plastic... he's never seen taffeta before). It's voluminous, for sure, but we still think it's a fairly flattering silhouette.

It's been a super pink week, apparently, as today we chose this silk/cashmere blend cowl-neck sweater in powder pink, from Victoria's Secret online clearance a year or so ago. The sweater kittens... quite nice we think.... sweaters are far underrated. We probably paid under $30, because that's generally our single-item maximum for Vicky's clearance. You will notice that a good proportion of our wardrobe comes from their awesome sales, so keep your eyes out! (We get waaay too many catalogs from them, as you probably do, but the sale/clearance section on the site is where we shop!)If you like turtlenecks, they have this one on sale for $7! This one is silk and cashmere, so the $39 clearance price isn't quite as scary...

Not showing: sparkly silver glitter tights- not sure where we picked these up, to be honest, but an inch or two of these showing above the boots when we're walking is a nice touch, we think :)

It's just a pink sweater and black skirt, in the end (with awesome boots, Famous Footwear), but we hope the detailing and retro silhouette give it enough va-va-voom... what do you think?