I absolutely love the color of these shoes. And the bow. And the fact that Zooey Deschanel wore them in her cotton ad. But why, oh why are they made out of PVC? I used to wear jelly shoes when I was a kid, and my feet would sweat like crazy. So why would I spend $154 to relive that experience? You better believe that the second these shoes are made in leather, I will snatch them up. For now, I must keep searching for those perfect, non-plastic seafoam green pumps.
Last weekend, I hit up a bunch of local garage sales. I found some awesome stuff, but ending up getting a lot of duds also. That seems to be how it goes with garage sales. I’ve only taken photos of the items I’m keeping, but I counted the total money spent against my ban.
My favorite things to find at garage sales are costume jewelry and fun accessories. I found quite the batch. I think the purse may be vintage. There’s a tag inside that says the brand is Heiress. I’ve already worn the pearls once. According to the person I bought it from, that heart charm necklace is real silver. Awesome deals all around.
Blue Long Sleeve Tee: Gap
White Long Sleeve Tee: Banana Republic
Gray Cashmere Blend Turtle-Neck: Ralph Lauren
These might not be as exciting as the accessories, but the fact is that my winter wardrobe is pretty slim. I’m sure I’ll be grateful for these layering tees when the temps start to drop. The turtle neck is gorgeously soft and it has beautiful flecks of blue and purple in it. Unfortunately, I doubt I’ll get to wear it more than a few days a year, unless I travel out of state. It rarely drops below 40 here.
I also went to a clothing swap party last weekend. A few people asked what it was. While it varies from one to another, at the swap party I went to, everyone brought clothes that they no longer wear. We organized them on tables, and then “shopped” for new items from what everyone else bought. I didn’t really find a lot, but what I did get I like.
So I got a very itchy but very warm Gap lambswool sweater – I think it will be good for layering on those rare cold days. Some Bandolino heels that are gorgeous though uncomfortable. I really don’t have any sexy, strappy dress shoes, so I figured getting a free pair wouldn’t hurt. A funky red beaded necklace and some bohoemian chic earrings. And a purple and black sarong, which I’ll be grateful for next beach season.
Born Sokal Flats: $50 on Ebay
You may remember that when I first started my ban, I decided that I could only buy three pairs of shoes under $100, one of which would be a pair of ballet flats. Last week, I finally found what I was looking for. I’d been eyeing a couple different styles of Born flats on Ebay for months now, but nothing came up at the right price. I actually bought a pair of Born flats at a local Dillard’s recently, but had to return them because they were painfully tight. Finally, I managed to catch these for a mere $50, which is significantly less than what they sell for new. And I absolutely love them. They provide decent support for a flat, have a delightful Audrey look to them, and are in a gorgeous patent. A word of warning though – they take breaking in. I wore them for an eight hour work day this week, and my feet are yelling at me now.
So all in all, how did I do? I had $24 of ban money available and $7.50 in free money. I spent $20 total at garage sales, and the swap was free, so that leaves me with $4 for next week, plus the $7.50. The shoe money is in a different category, and doesn’t count against ban money.
Seasonal milestone: last week was the first time I was able to wear a real pullover! And then the next day I wore a sleeveless shirt. So here’s my message to Florida: please tell Fall to stick around instead of coming and going constantly. I like my cold weather, thank you.
This was also the first time I ever tucked skinny jeans into boots. I’ve been itching to try this out for so long, but it just wasn’t cold enough until last week. My conclusion: you’re going to get sick of seeing these boots, because I will be wearing them all the time.
Oh and after getting this pullover, I am suddenly in love with seafoam. It’s such a fun, beautiful color, and I think it transcends seasons.
Pullover: Old Navy (garage sale)
Jeans: Express
Boots: Dansko Nena
Scarf: Target
Purse: Morelle City Bag
Earrings: Efy Tal
Over the summer and early fall, I challenged myself and wore this dress in six different ways. Now that some actual fall weather has arrived, I am challenging myself again to create six new unique looks for fall and “winter” (as wintery as it may get here, which will be no colder than the 30′s or 40′s, if we’re that lucky). Layering opens up so many new possibilities, and I’m itching to try them all out.
For today’s version, the weather was chilly, but not super cold. For those not in Florida, chilly means mid-60′s. I know those of you up north are groaning, but I’d take some snow over this any day.
I went for a nice color combo of black, white and gray with accents in tan and purple. This outfit is a bit more bohemian than what I’m used to, but I absolutely loved it. I’m re-learning that quality (not price) matters more than quantity. Wearing beautiful items that I absolutely love like those boots, the belt, the handknit scarf, makes me so happy. So here’s my most essential style advice. Buy less. Buy better. Buy things that make you swoon and wear them all the time. Throw out anything that makes you cringe. Replace it with something that makes you swoon. Repeat until you smile every time you walk by your closet.
Dress (worn as skirt): Express
Long-sleeve tee: Issac Mizrahi for Target
Belt: Anthropologie
Tights: Target
Boots: Dansko Nena
Purse: Morelle City Bag
Scarf: Clapotis (handknit by me)
Necklace: Inherited from grandmother
Earrings: June Designs
Like many, I am absolutely in love with cherry blossoms. So this Etsy Love set is dedicated to them.
Cherry Blossom Hand-Painted Bangle $36
Double Branch Cherry Blossom Cuff $48
Normally, I tend to shy away from trends. I usually prefer classic styles, and trends come and go so quickly, that it seems pointless to spend too much time worrying about them. However, sometimes a certain trend will really resonate with me. When that happens, I will wear, even after it’s gone out of fashion. Today’s outfit embraces two current trends: belted cardigans and layered chain necklaces.
I. loved. this. outfit. so. much. I felt amazing all day. The combination of wearing my new favorite belt, my beautiful new necklace, and my pencil skirt which always looks awesome, was the perfect storm. Not to mention my beautiful new $2 Ann Taylor tank.
All this has made me realize something. I MUST buy more pencil skirts. In good fabrics with quality tailoring. I think I will be spending my Christmas money next month at J. Crew.
Tank: Ann Taylor (garage sale)
Cardigan: Ann Taylor LOFT
Belt: Anthropologie
Skirt: Semantiks (Nordstroms)
Shoes: Clarks Apple Sky
Necklace: from a local boutique
Purse: Easy Spirit Outlet
Watch: Target
Last weekend my boyfriend and I went to this really nice place in downtown Tampa to visit with a friend from out of town. I love a good excuse to get dressed up. The location wasn’t too fancy, so I picked an outfit that would be chic but not uber dressy.
I didn’t realize until writing up where everything came from just how much of this outfit is from garage sales. It’s a nice mix of high and low budget items. The cardgian, jeans and boots were over $50 each, while everything else in the outfit was less than $2 each. I love mixing up things like this.
Cardi: Anthropologie
Blouse: Blu Heaven (garage sale)
Cami: Old Navy
Jeans: Express Stella
Boots: Dansko Nena
Purse: Liz Claiborne (garage sale)
Earrings: Garage Sale
Pearls: Garage Sale
This are just beautiful. The cuffs. The ruching. The stable yet elegant heel. They’re out of my price range right now, but a girl can dream.
This week I had a huge haul of awesomeness. I had a total of $36 in ban money available and $20 in free money.
I made a trip this week to a boutique near where I work. That job is wrapping up soon, so I wanted to visit and support this shop one more time, since it’s pretty far from where I live. I tried on several items of clothing, but nothing was clicking. I was about to leave when I spotted this lovely handmade necklace. I asked how much it was, figuring it was likely out of my price range. When I found out it was a mere $15, I snatched it up right there. I’ve been debating if this purchase should be considered ban money of free money. Since the idea behind my shopping ban is focusing on second-hand and handmade items, I think it’s okay to count this as ban money.
Layered Chain Necklace and Earrings Set $15 at Velvet Rope
I also hit up several garage sales last Saturday. It wasn’t really planned, I just happened to notice one while I was out, and then discovered that there were about six garage sales on that one street. Buying clothes at garage sales can be really hit or miss. Often the styles are extremely dated, the clothes are in gross condition, and there’s no where to try on anything. But sometimes you stumble upon some dirt cheap jewels, and that’s what happened this week. There were several duds that I ended up purchasing, but they’ll all go to a clothing swap I’m going to tonight. Here’s the jewels:
I absolutely love these – so much so that I wore them the day I bought them. One important note when buying used earrings – always sterilize them with alcohol before wearing.
Liz Clairborne Faux-Leather Purse $2
This was my most “expensive” garage sale find of the day, and so worth it. I’ve really been wanting a nice, medium sized purse that can hold my essentials while going out (and can zip closed). This one fulfills that perfectly. I would rather have real leather, but for $2, this is fine.
Sonoma Green Printed Tank $0.50
It’s cotton, it’s green, and it’s the perfect length for layering. Need I say more?
Faded Glory Pink Flannel Shirt $1
I admit, this is one I’m not completely sure about. Faded Glory is a Kmart brand, which I normally hate. I’m not super crazy about dusty pink either. And it’s a bit short. But, I’ve been desperate for some cozy flannel lately, so this will fill in until I find something better. Then off to Goodwill it will go.
Um, two dollars for an Ann Taylor tank that looks awesome on me and was probably over $30 new? Hell yes.
I sort of have a rule that I never buy anything I could knit, because I would like it better if I knit it myself. I’m so fussy about seams and finishing and details, that most store-bought sweaters are disappointments (the exception being J Crew cashmere). However, I still need to knit more pullovers, and the cold weather (if it ever gets here) will not wait for me to finish them. So for fifty cents, I’ve got one more pullover for this season. I’ll put my knitter’s snobbery away for a bit. And after all, it is really cute and comfy.
So counting the items I bought but aren’t shown because they didn’t work, I spent about $12 at garage sales on clothes. Not bad. I also bought a new robe at Target this week, because my old one was literally falling apart. That was $12.50 from my free money. So what’s left? After the necklace and the garage sale, I’ve got $9 left of ban money. After a $12.50 robe at Target, I’ve got $7.50 in free money. And today, I’m going to more garage sales and a clothing swap. Whee!
