Wintry Look for Less

As you might or might not know, I'm on a very limited budget.  Don't get me wrong, I have a nice roof over my head and a nice car that gets me places.  Those two things do not leave much room for vanity. I do not believe in manicures, pedicures or massages, although I would love to do all of those things if I could.  I only get my hair cut/colored twice a year by a lady out of her house who does it for half the price of any salon.  I only buy drugstore makeup and lotions with the exception of either an amazing deal at a department store or a gift.
Still, I love fashion & dressing up and I do believe in (Rule #1) making the most of what you have and trying to look as presentable and cute as possible within your means. This blog is about that and about how I make my life interesting, happy, and bearable given the circumstances I've been given.
Another big rule (#2) I follow is quality over quantity.  I don't buy much or as often as others might, but what I do buy I make sure I love and is something that will either be used many times, stand the test of time, or make me feel fabulous.   Sometimes this can mean paying a little more upfront, but cost per use is something I always consider.  Third rule: I always buy on sale or with a coupon.  There is no excuse not to these days.  There is almost always a way to get what I want below retail.  There are very few exceptions to this rule.  
Today's post is about a sweater I fell in love a while ago, then fell in love with again when it was featured as the #1 must-have on my-wardrobe.com's top ten list this week.  It's this reindeer cardi by Malene Birger:

 


At over $300, it's way out of my budget.  Alas, I spied a pretty good dupe at Nordstrom Rack of all places, for under $25!  I cannot wait to wear it to a holiday party & finally be that person wearing the reindeer sweater :P
I plan on wearing it with cute leggings and boots.  I'll post pics when I have them.

eBay score

I am both happy and sad to report that not much has been going on in the shopping front for me in this new year.  This is what happens when a single girl buys a house in the fancy suburbs.  Alas, I still do more than my fair share of window shopping and try my best to find the prettiest new things, and best deals where deals are to be had. 
I have a little bit of spring fever and have been wishing for sandal weather and light-colored clothes.  In the spirit of spring, I scored this lovely number off eBay last night, and got a wonderful deal to boot!
Miss Nanette Lepore, circa ??, for thirty-six big ones, yay!

 

Oh, Monique...

From Fashion Week, this Monique Lhuillier is so very gorgeous, my favorite from fall 10.

I believe I saw an ad for her wedding gown version of this, done in a lovely ivory. *sigh*

The Bags

A lot has kept me busy the last couple of weeks and it doesn't look like my schedule is going to clear up for a while.  I haven't blogged as much as I intended, but such is life.  I will get back in the 'swing of blog' hopefully in a few weeks; in the meantime, I wanted to share what my beloved SO did while I was on vacation. He took it upon himself to gather all of my bags, which were all over the place, and neatly arranged them on these shelves.  He's a keeper! 

It's so much easier to change bags now that they are all residing in one spot.  Also, I have learned a couple of things:  I had no concept of how many bags I actually owned, I definitely have a preference for Marc Jacobs, and why on earth don't I have any purple bags if that's one of my favorite colors?!  Hmm... birthday gift? ;)

PSA of the day: more winter sales!

I stopped by Banana Republic and saw they are taking an additional 30% off all sale items in-store.  Get thee there soon; there are good deals to be had! 
On that note, WHBM has also taken some major markdowns on most of their winter merchandise. They have some nice holiday-wear that could easily be saved for next year, and trendier items that can be used right away.  I'm loving this chain-trimmed jacket, particularly because it's trimmed with silver and not gold chain.

As for me, I'm still on the hunt for a pair of boots - either grey or tan, no stilettos.  If anyone sees something interesting, drop me a line!

Could've, Would've, Should've...

Today I want to talk about what I call Inverse Shopper's Remorse.  Sometimes I suffer from not liking something I've bought, but today I have been regretting not buying something I saw.  
Enter Saks online sale section.  One pair of these lovelies popped up.  What do you know? They were just my size: 

Gryson Varick Mixed Media Boots, in a lovely shade of dark grey.  Sigh. I added to cart.  Logged on.  Went through the checkout process. Wait.  Almost.  Right up until that part where you actually have to type your credit card number in.  I choked.  And closed the browser window. And proceeded to rock back and forth in my chair.  
See, 60% off of $700 is still a lot of money, so I was hesitant to pull the trigger.  But, on second thought, what was I thinking?  I've been wanting a pair of boots this winter.  Believe it or not, I haven't bought any boots this season (except the Uggs I got on sale at neimans but those are going back).  
These are exactly the pair of boots I want - not too high, not too "platformy", a beautiful color, a heel not too dainty and not too thick, and just enough detail to make them interesting.  Amazing quality, great design, supple leather.  Easily returnable too, in case they happened to not work for some odd reason.

And they were:
SIXTY
PERCENT
OFF. 

Random fact, in case you didn't know - Joy Gryson used to work at Marc Jacobs and is responsible for bag creations such as the beautiful & iconic Sophia, which I happen to own in a lovely rose color circa 2005.  Since I happen to love most things Marc, I also happen to love most things Gryson.  And how cool is that there was a Target line? 
Needless to say, by the time I decided to go for it, it was too late.  Bye bye, lovelies.  I'm sure someone will be very happy to have you. I suppose it happens to all of us, we all have the ones that got away.  I have since found out that not many stores carry these boots. Given I was pretty much out of the fashion circuit for the last year (timeline roughly equivalent to the time period I was frantically choosing, buying and moving into a house), I have no idea what season they were made.  Double sigh.  I will continue to stalk Saks in case someone happens to return another pair.
Wish me luck.

Bond Girl

Speaking of the wondrous magic of sample sales, I must give honorable mention to Beyond the Rack, which can be a hit-or-miss for me, but definitely came through today with their wonderful Tom Ford sunglass selections, all for $199!

Dear SO had been coveting the James Bond Sunglasses featured on Quantum of Solace ever since we watched it (ahem, pat on the back for me knowing they were Tom Ford before the credits rolled).  I spotted them today 60% below retail and immediately emailed him so he could snatch them.  Score!  I am lucky to have a bf with exquisite taste.  These are lovely.  And bonus(!), they will also look good on me ;)  Word on the street is Jessica Biel owns a pair too.

That Tom Ford, he really does things right, doesn't he?  I've been a long-time fan, even before his notable YSL & Gucci days. I was fortunate to score a couple beautiful key pieces before he left that empire. One of these days, when my boudoir/girl haven is finally in order, I will dedicate a post to them.

Speaking of Mr. Ford, have you heard about his Oscar-buzzing film debut, A Single Man? Tom Ford *and* Colin Firth?  Swoon! I'm keeping my fingers crossed it comes near me soon.

Click here if you're interested in joining Beyond The Rack, and check out their Tom Ford selections before they sell out.

Happy Weekend!

The Gilt Phenomenon

The Gilt Phenomenon: a pandemonium-inspiring event capable of transcending current recessionary trends. 

I came up with that definition today.  Like many of you, I'm a big fan of sample sales and eagerly await 11 am (CST) to have first dibs on stuff I most likely do not need, but visit faithfully more for my daily dose of eye candy than for any other reason.  Was reading today they are one of the most successful first-year-startups in most recent times, grossing over $150 million in sales in 2009 alone (selling luxury products, in the middle of a recession, no less - not too shabby).  

I clicked through today,  excited at the prospect of Marc Jacobs for less. I've been coveting the Kristina bag in saffron since last spring, but before I knew it, it was sold out.  Which is another big plus of Gilt - it gives us hope, hope to once again see those precious things we missed out on or couldn't afford when we first spotted them. 

I keep hoping Kristina will pop up on one of these sample sale sites. No joy today, but it did make an appearance in black today for under $400. Of course, it sold out in minutes. I wanted it, but I think I have four MJ bags in black alone so I refrained. 

Which leads me to the next question:  Can a girl have too many Marc Jacobs bags?  

Divas Come In All Shapes and Sizes

Baby girl Molly out in the snow

Coat: Target

Happy New Year

Last week was action-packed with my brother in town for New Year's Eve and his birthday, which happens to be today (Happy Birthday Brother!). Even more exciting is the announcement of his engagement to his lovely gf. Congrats both of you!  I did not get as much posting as I'd hoped for, but will be better once things slow down.

In the meantime, here is a quick pic of my NYE outfit.  I wanted to honor the blue moon, and black and navy is one of my current favorite color combos - so I went with that.  I wish I'd gotten a photo with my shoes but in all the hoopla I forgot.  You get the idea. I also wore my diamond flower studs (courtesy of dear SO).

Dress: Nicole Miller 

Necklace: Pear Shaped Collar, Forever 21

Tights: Forever 21

Shoes: BCBG blue/black patent heels in oil blue/black

Gotta love Nicole Miller for her super flattering frocks.  What did you wear this New Year's Eve?