Unbeatable Prices: Body Central

Florida-based body-conscious clothing company Body Central somehow got my name and address (Victoria's Secret, I'm looking at you!) and while generally the juniors-focused clothes are a bit on the young side for me (short skirts, destroyed jeans, etc.), they have some truly amazing deals on clothes that emulate the look of Vicky's at a much lower price, so I am not complaining about receiving the catalog.

Anything with nice detailing at VS is going to run you at least $40, especially anything corset-inspired or lacy, and dresses generally debut over $70. Not to say you can't find great clearance deals there, as I've discussed, but in general a few items will add up to $100 rapidly. Not so with Body Central, where nearly every piece is in the $15-30 range. Nearly all of the summer line is pretty darn cute, but here are my personal favorites:

Fabulous Dresses:

Sublimation print B&W elbow-length sleeve dress, $24.50



Also in gorgeous pastel multicolor, $24.50

Psychedelic print banded-waist halter maxi dress, $29.80 

(my catalog says $26.50 so maybe call if you order and demand the lower price! (Source Code C5A109C)

Adorable Tops:

Crochet-back flyaway-hem cardigan vest, $19.50

Lace-overlay corset-inspired cami with padded cups, $16.50

Corset top with sheer cap sleeves (also in white), $19.50

Layering cami in 9 colors, $8.50! o_O

This picture also wins my "lovely!" award for best styling in the catalog. So summery, so pretty with those chunky bangles and the long necklace, matchy-matchy after my own heart, plus the perfect balance of the floaty skirt and form-fitting tanks (skirt available at $29.50, teal bangle, wood bangle and necklace $6 each. The whole outfit a mere $64.50!

  Ruffled eyelet-applique sleeveless blouse, $16.50

 I'm so attracted to this sequined cami but it's probably better for the less-curvy girls, $19.50

My only major issue with BC is the lack of extended sizing. Most things come in S, M, L or 1-13 or S/M and M/L. That cuts out, oh, a good 60% of the population. Uncool, BC, uncool. Voluptuous ladies like cute clothes, too! That and that a lot of the stuff is polyester (ew), but at these prices you can hardly expect organic cotton or something, right? The ever-present quandary of ethics vs. poverty, *sigh*

You'll have to let me know if you end up buying any of these, because my shopping embargo is actually going pretty well since that last spree at Vicky's-- oh yeah, and that other one at the mall-- but for all of June I haven't set foot in a clothing store or mail-ordered anything! Go me!

How do you like these picks? Have you ever ordered from BC or gone to one of their (apparently 194) stores? Let us all know what you thought, if so. 

Happy shopping, vicariously or otherwise ;)

 

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 :)

Vintage Sweaters and Sweater Dresses on Etsy $30 and Under

Hope you enjoy today's picks of thrifty vintage knits on Etsy that totally rock, in our opinion!

Striped bell-sleeve boatneck with highly unusual pattern at NoCarnations, Medium, $15



Pink ribbed v-neck sweater at SadieLynne, Small, $15

Ruffly Cherry Red "VaVaVoom" v-neck sweater at FireGrog, approx. M/L, $15



Purple cabled v-neck sweaterdress at LorrainesVintage, approx. S/M, $30



Purple crochet "hippie dress" at RedoRedux, Approx. Small, $16

Happy Friday and Happy Etsy shopping!

Goodwill Score!!!

We took a quick, sweaty little jaunt to our local Goodwill on lunch yesterday. Unfortunately it's not one of those sparkly clean new ones, and smells like a home bum's tighty whities, but it's the only shopping in the area, so we suffer through.

We were looking for a summer dress for the office- something cotton and cute with a circle skirt, perhaps? Eyelet, even? Alas, the dress rack was filled with wretched polyester tents and horrific prints, so we came away with nothing... until we spotted, out of the corner of our eye, on the "not-yet-put-away" rack, something aubergine, and ruffly, and *gasp* beaded!

Upon closer inspection, it was a silk dress. A gorgeous one. In our size. By Laundry, which we're pretty sure is some sort of crazy expensive brand. Um. Yeah, sure is. Wow. It looked awfully narrow despite the tag, so imagine our excitement when it not only made it over the girls but totally and absolutely fit like a dream. Er, as long as we find some Spanx.

We paid $7. The silk alone is worth more than that, never mind the (seemingly hand-sewn) beadwork. Oh, we're so happy. We have nothing to wear this to, but we'll find something!




A tremendous thank you to the crazy woman who decided to toss this in the Goodwill pile for laziness, because any sane person would have at least tried to consign the thing.

We sense a lunchtime addiction brewing.

Do you love Goodwill? What have been some of your most amazing scores at thrift shops?

Rainbow Romance: Lucky Finds

We came home from vacation to find our first two issues of Lucky magazine!

When we had first heard about a shopping magazine, we were highly skeptical. However, Etsy members were offered a super-cheap subscription, complete with free faux-black leather mini-tote (aaah! We can't resist a freebie!), so we decided to subscribe-- just in case we were missing any fabulous deals for our readers (and also in case we decide to care briefly about what's popular rather than just what's gorgeous to us).

We are thrilled that we "splurged", as we've already discovered a couple of fantastic thrifty resources and were inspired to search for less pricey alternatives to a few luscious pieces we spotted.

We just ordered two of these chiffon handkerchief-hem skirts to layer under shorter skirts.

What a fabulous solution for those just-too-short pieces and to add some extra color to an outfit! (OK we admit we ordered one in black... we couldn't help it). $16.10 at discountdance.com - Lots of colors, and so cheap... can't wait to incorporate them!


Apparently Forever21 has launched a new line called Love 21 that is, quite frankly, a little bit less slutty (longer hems, flowier fabrics, as Lucky says). We absolutely adore this dress in caution orange which is making us possibly consider lifting the ban on orange in our personal wardrobe!

It also comes in a hot turquoise they're calling jade... This cut is so universally flattering, and you really can't beat the price of $22.80 and the semi-synthetic fiber (rayon- did you know it was made from cellulose, not oil like nylon?)


One of the most adorable trends in the "spotlight" was bustier dresses, and we love this flirty but innocent-looking pale yellow eyelet-trim version:

This one is cotton and viscose (another semi-synthetic made from fibrous organic material rather than oil), from Charlotte Russe. At $29.99 it just about busts our summer-dress budget but the detailing is awfully cute and very similar to a Calvin Klein we tried on at Marshall's that was still $50 even on clearance.


They found and we loved a watery-print dress by Necessary Objects for $57 (that now seems to be sold out), but this fantastic skirt from Forever21 captures the same spirit for only $17.80!

Target has a new designer/brand, Tracey Feith, turning out really super cute, flirty dresses. We weren't the biggest fans of the floral one Lucky chose, but this adorable cobalt and purple-- with more eyelet-trim-- spaghetti-strap one makes us very happy, especially with the zipper to harden up all of that ruffling.
Again, slightly expensive for our personal tastes at $31.48 but keep an eye on it and surely that clearance price will continue to drop.


They also featured a gorgeous cobalt tie-dye swimsuit (pictured in link only) that hurt our theoretical pocketbook, even at 30% off the original $128, so we sought out something similar, and found what we think might even be more beautiful!



Apparently Amazon carries Newport News clearance. Who knew? This one in ombre multicolor is $39.00, down from $59.00.


We had never heard of WindsorStore.com, which seems to have a pretty awesome selection, and while there are plenty of pricey pieces, we found this absolutely demure and delectable little purple floral on sale for $29.00. Not bad!


As always, hope you love the finds- can't wait to hear from you- and happy shopping!

What We Wore Thursday: Dressing Down

We don't mean casual exactly- we were just trying to take this dress we wore to a wedding a few weeks ago and dress it down enough for the office, since it was one of the only things available in our scant at-the-man's-house-wardrobe!


So we added the jacket from the suit we wore to the interview yesterday, and our beautiful new red stacked heels (see this post if you're not familiar!)

Here's a fairly decent representation of the outfit in its entirety:

Outfit Thursday June 25 by ThriftyStylist featuring Miss Me shoes


The jacket is really much more grey and the dress clearly has a different print, but you get the idea. We would feel a little boring in all of these neutrals if it weren't for the fantastic shoes!

Do you ever wear something that isn't really for the office but make it work with structured layers? We have been dying to do so with our lace-overlay dress from the consignment shop trip with a cardigan or blazer, but with the nude lining we're not so sure. Thoughts?