Dresses and Lovelies on Clearance, Oh My!

We stumbled upon Alloy's site while styling for a friend and just chanced a look at their clearance. *swoon* $10 dresses my friends. Granted they're not natural fabric, and probably not responsibly or carefully made, but $10! We are absolutely snapping up this cute lilac ruffly scoopneck...And we think this is a very cute take on the LBD with the gathered A-line satin skirt and banded waist (nice wide bra straps and good coverage for the more modest of us, too!)! Ten measly bucks. You pay more than that for lunch some days, right?

Tragically for us, this amazing deep red-violet Grecian-style ($15) is only available for our tiny sisters (juniors S-M). *Sniff* Shop on, skinny chicas!.
For $20, here's a sexy little interpretation of the psychedelic/kaleidoscopic retro print trend for the summer:

We looked around for comparable deals and didn't find much.

Victoria's Secret did have a couple of under-$20 cotton/spandex summer cuties like this halter dress (shown in white but available in several colors) and this darling babydoll in green with bow detail (precious!) for $18.99 each.

Everything else was clearly overpriced even though it's "on sale."

We couldn't seem to find the actual clearance section this time, either, evidently due to the annual sale being on (bother!). We can usually find a few really fabulous bargains, but currently even simple tank top dresses are fetching $29; and who wants simplicity, anyway? A little bit of embellishment, like the crochet bust in the halter and the bow in the babydoll, are what femininity is all about!



We just discovered Jane'sClothing - motto "Look Fabulous For Less," which we venerate, of course- and wow... some really adorable little numbers for astoundingly cheap like this other kaleidoscope dress, in pink, $14.99, and this unusual metallic leaf-print bright magenta halter dress with no back (ooh lala) for our lucky bra-going-without girlfriends! $15.99:

We hope you're as excited for summer and flirty little dresses as we are! Now just to work off a little of this accumulated winter pudge... uh-oh...

Do you like these? Let us know if you end up buying any of them!!

Thursday Splurge Vs. Steal

Work outfit- Splurge vs. Steal! by ThriftyStylist featuring Juicy Couture bags

We are so completely addicted to Polyvore it's not even funny. Real work has been pushed to the far, far back burner as we spend our days putting together virtual outfits. We've discovered that, contrary to our previous beliefs, we DO have expensive taste! It has nothing to do with labels-- on Polyvore you see the picture first with no details-- but everything we click on seems to be ridiculously expensive! Who knew?

We were putting together a work outfit (we're lucky enough to be able to wear jeans to work; maybe you are too, or at least on Fridays?) and we found these absolutely insane purple beaded Lorenzi pumps... but at $2500, they sent the outfit careening dangerously out of "thrifty" territory. Then it occurred to us that we should do a splurge vs. steal!

We admit wholeheartedly that the SPLURGE is a cuter outfit-- the shoes are more interesting, the jacket has more detail, even the cami has more shape than the cheaper one-- but for a difference of $3200, we are willing to be adorable rather than stunning.

The ruffly orchid corduroy jacket from the STEAL outfit is available for a scarcely-believeable $10 at a site we'd never seen before but will surely be perusing frequently now, ioffer.com, which seems to be a new and better ebay-- not quite an auction house but rather a resale and trade site. There are 31 million items available as we speak, and 38,000 users online. Hmmm... we'll have to do some more *cough* research now...

Another site we've been turned on to through Polyvore is DorothyPerkins.com - amazing deals (especially with the current conversion rate) and great fashion articles and advice! And they DO ship to the US (unlike Peacocks, grrrr! We love their stuff sooo much; why does America have to lose out?!)

Which outfit do you like better? How did we do?

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!

TAGGED! The Always/Never game...

We were "tagged" by BeckyKayDesigns of Purseonality... so here goes!

The rules...

The tag is ALWAYS & NEVERS • list "5 fashion always-es"• {things you always like or cannot do without}• for you personally• conversely, list "5 fashion nevers"• {things you would not be caught dead in}• for you personally• then tag 3 bloggers

A L W A Y S

• EARRINGS. This probably comes from our mom who never wears makeup and doesn't really care for clothes but always felt nekkid without her earrings. Now, we make our own :D (We're a little bit obsessed with coordination, so it's nice to be able to choose the colors in each piece and whip up something new if we can't find a good match!)
  
• BLACK. OK, there are rare occasions (see a few weeks ago) when we don't wear much black, but in general, we like to pair deep jewel tones with black for the drama. Trinny and Suzannah would be horrified, and we are indeed tired of being asked if we're goth... but that doesn't stop us.
  
• BOOTS - We have long lived nearly year-round in boots... they're really the only footwear that doesn't hurt during the excessive amount of walking that we do since we don't drive... For years we lived in Docs (black, purple, green, 8s) and now we own probably 25 pairs of black boots- heels, suede, patent, motorcycle, ankle, knee-high, buckled, zippered, fringed, whatever you've got!
  
• SKIRTS - OK, this is not 100% true since we do OWN pants... but generally we find that for our pear-y hourglass figure, skirts are so much more flattering (also, we can buy them several sizes smaller and they'll still fit when we drop a little of this excess baggage...). Sure this does not come as a surprise if you've been reading!
  
• EMBELLISHMENT - As discussed in the previous blog, we absolutely adore anything with a little bit of extra sparkle or interest. Sequins draw our eye almost as fast as purple does! It's rare to see us in an outfit that doesn't have some kind of girly-girl quality to it, be it lace, glitter, ribbons or piping.
  

N E V E R

• SNEAKERS. Unless we are actually involved in an athletic activity. One of our most hated types of footwear, especially the hideous styles of late. Embellishment not good here.
  
• LIPSTICK. We like a nice organic non-petrolate chapstick instead. We do wear a lot of eye makeup, so it's a good balance.
  
• SHORTS - Except for a several-mile hike to the beach in August... we wear skirts all summer. Is there any less-flattering garment than shorts, we wonder?
  
• BRAND NAMES - Unless it was bought on sale (in which case it was the garment we liked, not the brand), we do not own or care for anything that is expensive just because of its maker's image. We like high quality and will seek out well-made pieces in natural fabric, but we will never pay for "status". ESPECIALLY handbags.
  
• BROWN, NAVY, CREAM, TAN, BEIGE, YELLOW, ORANGE. Period.

We are tagging InspiredVintageJewelry, TheWeightItIs, and FashionMeFabulous!

New from Old

Long time no blog!
We realized we were wearing pretty much the same outfits we'd already blogged about, and there was nothing very exciting to share with you...

However, today we are discussing a fabulous book that we found in the reference section of our favorite used bookstore last week (because we refuse to pay full price for books, also!):
New from Old- How to Transform and Customize Your Clothes by Jayne Emerson is about to change our lives. If we get a sewing machine for our birthday, that is...

We have always been obsessed with embellishment and sought out clothes with added sequins, ribbons, sparkle, and trim of any sort... which is easy when bohemian/Indian/gypsy styles are trendy, but not so much when clean lines are in vogue. So what's a girl to do? Start collecting trims and pop-on rhinestones, we think. This book has fantastic projects from simply bedazzling a camisole to making a fabulous handbag out of a thrifted way-too-80s leather skirt! Some of the items are more complicated and probably best for an accomplished seamstress, but others were less than terrifying for a newb. Not only do we plan to use these techniques to enliven our own wardrobe and pull consignment-store finds out of the doldrums, we plan to start a line on Etsy of fabulous upcycled gypsy goth wear... eventually. We always knew we would- our storage unit is filled with garment bags stuffed with silks and satins and velvets we've amassed over many years of being unable to pass up a single-digit-$ deals on gorgeous fabric, even if we'd never wear the item itself.

In the coming weeks we'll be featuring some of the better thrift shops in the Boston area- if you have been to one recently or are able to go and take some pictures and report on what you find, please contact me to do a guest blog spot!!

Lastly, we started a twitter page so please add us if you have one, too!

Aubergine Edition (with more black skirts)

Otherwise known as eggplant, aubergine is one of our absolute favorite shades of purple (which is, incidentally, our rather singular obsession). On Thursday we wore a little cap sleeve tee, which we think was a gift from a friend (because we know we wouldn't have bought something with contrast stitching in white, but it's still cute!) with this lovely a-line black skirt ($15) and tights ($3) from Marshalls. We also found these cute little Hot Kiss stacked-heel slingback peeptoes at Famous Footwear last weekend for $15! Oooh la la.
Pardon crappy cell phone pic. Cost of entire outfit (minus undergarments): $33

What you can't see here is that the skirt has tonally-embroidered large polka dots. We're not usually into prints, but when it's more texture than actually a pattern, oh my, we like. We saw the skirt again at Marshall's in Stoneham last weekend so if you look you may be able to pick it up for a jig and a snail shell.

We don't think you can ever own too many black skirts with fabulous individual detailing. Especially if they're thrifty.

For only $15, this one at left from ChateauDeHope looks like it has a crepe over-layer which creates a nice embellishment at the hem.

This little collage is of our Etsy finds, both vintage and handmade... we searched through over 2,500 skirts to find these picks, all under $30:

Left to right, top to bottom:

Handmade floral circle wrap skirt by Vidals, $29
Vintage velvet gypsy skirt w/ tiers & ribbons from Selenesian, $25
Handmade A-line with rickrack trim by CourtsCloth, $20
Vintage rockabilly swing skirt with tulle petticoat from RockZombieOldies, $28
Embroidered corduroy skirt from Meroww, $22
Vintage Ann Taylor cross stitch skirt from FridasChoice, $21

Tops in eggplant don't seem to be readily available online right now, so scour your local thrift or bargain stores, or check out these cool screenprinted versions (also from Etsy):

Left to right:
Star moss tee by Xenotees, $20
Peacock feather tee by Gypsies, $32
Ghandi "Be the change you want to see in the world" butterfly tee by InnerPeaceDesigns, $24.45

Happy Shopping!

Featured Etsy Shop: Poppy's Wicked Garden

Wow, just wow. We found this shop while researching the skirt blog, and we were just going to do a cute spring top blog today but we can't resist featuring Poppy and her amazing Wicked Garden instead.

YES. We absolutely adore the colors, the aesthetic, the banding, the geometry, the model - and also the prices. We picked some of the lower-cost items in the shop to show you, and for sure some of the more incredible gowns and intricate pieces aren't quite as thrifty, but we are definitely going to hit the sale section!!

Every one of these pieces is a stand-out, something that will really make an outfit amazing and that no one else will be wearing, you can be assured. From left to right, top to bottom:

Dot top in navy and violet, $23.00
Damask Elegance top, $23.00
Mauve abstract hoodie, $66
Eggplant Flower Garden top, $23.00
Convertible Indian-print dress/skirt, $33
Convertible Op-Art print dress/skirt, $33

Luscious, saturated color. Convertible skirt-dresses! (This is our new favorite trend- we have been wearing our tube sundresses over tights all winter and can't wait for them to come up above the bustline!!) Upcycled/recycled awesomeness! We are in awe, and can't wait to own a Poppy original, can you?