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leather

December 26, 2014

Brahmin purse

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Posted in Accessories

So I don’t know the name of this style and I do know that my mother purchased it at an outlet mall which explains why it’s a discontinued style already. I really love the shape and size of this purse though. And the fact that I can wear it as a shoulder bag as well as a crossbody bag. And I can put an ipad mini or a kindle in that front pocket.

Brahmin purse in bag • ClothingCult.com

Brahmin purse • ClothingCult.com

This is my first Brahmin bag but I’ve had my eye on them for awhile now. Part of the reason I think I didn’t have one until now is that I actually liked so many of the bags. My mother actually sent me a lot of photos while she was shopping and honestly in the end I still couldn’t decide. I narrowed it down to two bags and I had her choose. This is not like me – I’m actually usually very decisive.

December 26, 2014

UGG Bonham Chestnut Boots

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Posted in Shoes

… the Christmas #uggs – I am grateful that I have people who will actually buy me things off my wish list. 🙂 I know these are a little more utilitarian than cute but since I’ve had a similar pair for 8 years I know these are perfect for snowy slippery wintery days. Shearling lined and cozy.

UGG Bonham Chestnut Boots in box • ClothingCult.com

Shoes are one of the things I believe in spending some money on if they are a good quality and a classic style. When you’re wearing a real leather (sorry vegans and vegetarians) you get a breathable shoe that’s also warm. They also move and fit to your foot better than plastics and pleather.

UGG Bonham Chestnut Boots on • ClothingCult.com

October 29, 2013

Bespoke post review – Crisp + OOTD

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Posted in Accessories, Clothing, OOTD, Scarves, Subscription boxes

This month’s Bespoke Post Box of Awesome is “Crisp.”
Technically this box is usually Tim’s box but I’ve taken a few of the items from his box this month and wanted to share and review.

Bespoke Post Review Crisp

First, a little bit of background on Bespoke Post’s “Box of Awesome”

Bespoke Post operates a lot like JewelMint does in the sense that you have the option to skip a month but it’s mixed with a set box of curated style and discounted products like Birchbox or Ipsy.

Each box has a strong theme to tie the items together whether that’s coffee (link to Tim’s review)  from the Bespoke Post “Roast” box or getting a closer shave with the Shave set. Each Bespoke Post box is $45 and includes products that are often worth way more than that. Like JewelMint, you DO have to remember to skip a box but you will get an email reminder as well as information about that month’s box.

There are definitely some Bespoke Post boxes that are more unisex than others (if Tim hadn’t bought the Bespoke Post Roast I would have … oh wait … I think I started him on this subscription so I may very well have paid for that box!) But the intended audience IS men. You can take a look through past “boxes of awesome” here.

On to the review of Bespoke Post “Crisp” box
and my Outfit of the Day (OOTDOOTD Outfit Of The Day)

My favorite from the box is a scarf “exclusively made for Bespoke Post by vintage-inspired clothing label Gilded Age, this scarf captures the perfect mix of rugged and refined so you can go from yard work to a night out and anywhere in between.” It retails for $119 and it is a 17″ Wide Scarf. Solid charcoal chambray on one side and Striped charcoal/white on the other side with 3″ long tassels. “Yard work” seems a little far fetched but maybe that’s because I grab the cheapest scarf I own so it can get all sweaty if we’re talking yard work…

To me this scarf looks very much like something that would sell at Madewell or Fossil but even better quality and my first thought when I saw it was that it looked like it came from Anthropologie. The scarf’s style is a bit laid back but still a classic style given that it’s chambray. The material is excellent and you can see the quality in the details like the sewn edge and how they’ve added the tassels. I expect that this scarf will last a very long time.

Gilded Age Chambray Scarf from Bespoke Post Crisp Box Review

Pictured above: Gilded Age Chambray Scarf, Lands End cashmere cotton blend sweater (this sweater was also Tim’s – accidentally run through the dryer so it shrank, sleeves rolled up so it didn’t look too baggy on me), Kohl’s Sonoma life + style red velvet ankle pants, Ugg leather and shearling Antora metallic pewter ballet flats, faux diamond bezel earrings from Curacao, and barely in the picture, the new hair donut bun.

Don’t worry guys, my photo doesn’t doom this scarf into the girly category. I should probably take a photo of Tim wearing the scarf too. It does look fairly unisex and how you tie it can be an important factor in how it looks on. (Photo of the scarf on a dude over at Dappered in case I don’t get around to photographing it on Tim.)

My next favorite item in the Bespoke Post box was the Microfiber Sheet from Declan. (Show in the first picture at the top.) It had a printed chambray pattern on it and it’s EXCELLENT for wiping down electronics. Even better than my last microfiber cloth (which Tim accepted as a consolation after I grabbed this one from his box.) Declan has a lot of great patterns on their website. Again, good quality product… I keep thinking that if they made them square they would nicely double as pocket squares for Tim.

And the last thing I took from Tim’s box was the Men in Cities Card Holder Wallet.  I’m very basic when it comes to my wallet. Less is more. Small is better. I want to be able to throw it in my purse and find it but also be able to throw it in a pants pocket quickly. And with women’s pockets being even smaller than mens, a tiny wallet is a must. I haven’t migrated my stuff over to this gray leather wallet yet because it’s just a hair smaller than my current wallet but more importantly, I’m not sure what I’m going to do with the couple of keys that hang off the current wallet…. so Tim might get this wallet back for that reason alone. I’m not sure yet. I’m not even sure I can buy yet another of the wallets I have been using for the last 5-ish years. I asked for one for Christmas one year and got two of the same thing … I kept the second and upgraded to it after much abuse of the first one. And I’ve not seen a lot like it so even without the keys, this Men in Cities card holder wallet may be my best bet. (I’ll try and post a photo soon of the two side by side.)

The one item Tim is for sure getting from this box is the Charcoal Striped Socks from Mack Weldon. There’s no way they would fit my feet! 🙂 And he needed some more nice dress socks anyway. These are nice and they appear to be a good quality. We’ll see how they hold up and if they can beat out the golden toe socks he owns.

The box also came with Carmex Lip Balm + Lotion which neither of us will use (he’s allergic to one ingredient, I react to another.)

Anyway – another great box from Bespoke Post Box of Awesome!

Like what you see? Sign yourself (or your man) up for a Bespoke Post Box!
http://bespokepost.com/r/1c10f6
(full disclosure this is an affiliate link though it’s Tim’s account)
coupon code “WINGMAN? should save you 25% off your first box!


September 8, 2012

End of Season shopping – swim suit, a new purse

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Posted in Accessories, Clothing

I ended up going back by Marshall’s looking for a swim suit. I had found one there before my beach vacation at the beginning of August that I hadn’t committed to because it was a bit of a risk with so much white in the fabric pattern. I still wanted another one piece suit just in case something happened to what I had been wearing and if it was still around I was going to buy it.

When I went back, I didn’t find it BUT I did find two other swim suits for $5 EACH. One of which was a Nike Spiderback one piece (pattern above) that would normally be about $78 (the Marshall’s label said it was originally $100 but I checked the Nike website.) The other was from a brand called St. John and the pattern was pink with flowers and had a sort of Lilly Pulitzer look to it. The ruched front looked odd on the hanger but fine when filled with a body. I actually picked it up because it looked out of place on a size 16 hanger. It turned out to be a size 6 that somehow fit me (a little tighter but NOT a size I can normally fit into whatsoever.)

Both suits suitable for swimming laps. No water flow issues or straps that would threaten to fall down.

Also after the beach vacation, I wanted a different purse. A cross body that I could throw my wallet, phone and keys in quickly because my purse had been such a nuisance playing putt putt and going a few other places (and the shorts I had been wearing for some reason didn’t have pockets.)

I initially set out to find a purse to add to my travel stuff. The purse on the left would have suited that purpose. Cute, small but big enough for the essentials.

 

However the purse on the right was actually just large enough to fit all of the contents of my purse in and the strap was adjustable enough that I could use it on my shoulder or make it longer and wear it cross body. So I bought it and replaced the black purse that had too many pockets and beautiful (but slightly squeeky) hardware.

The purse on the right also reminded me for some reason of a Dooney and Bourke purse… but much cheaper at around $20. I bought it at Kohl’s and you can find it here: Nine & Co. Sweet Sophistication Cross-Body Handbag (and I think it looks better in person than their photo.)

I’ve had it for almost a month and been really happy with it. Granted one week I didn’t leave the house because I messed up my back but that’s another story for another time. Totally unrelated to both the purse AND the swimming but it’s why I haven’t been posting all of these things!

March 26, 2012

Kohl’s Shoes: Candie’s Caposh in taupe & Simply Vera Wang platform heels in black

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Posted in Shoes

I’m a little behind on sharing my recent clothes purchases and outfits. Since I’ve got some more pictures with these shoes I’ll go ahead and start with them. 

So at some point in a random shopping trip I had tried on the Vera Wang Platform heels in black  (labeled “Dali” on the box) at Kohl’s and hadn’t bought them. I also loved the blue and neon yellow pair but couldn’t rationalize them as a purchase. Both stuck in my mind so I decided to go back for at least the black pair. Aren’t they pretty! 

Simply Vera Wang black pump from Kohl's

Ok they’re basic black but still, a step up from the last pair of black heels I bought. Wow again – it’s been 3 years since I bought a pair of black heels?

Then I spotted Candie’s Caposh in faux suede taupe with a chunky heel. They were only $19 (marked down from $59.99) with a “limited quantity” sticker.

They look so lonely right?
They say “take me with you Hilary…” Can’t you hear them?

Candie's Caposh in Taupe faux suede

Anyway, fabulous chunky heel, lovely soft color. And though I’m not a huge fan of suede or faux suede I don’t think I would have liked these in regular leather.

Candie's Caposh in Taupe faux suede

I think these will go well with a lot of outfits and the chunky heel and platform make them a bit easier to wear.

So here’s the little bit of drama related to these shoes:
I got to the cash register at Kohl’s to check out with my shoes and they do the usual check to make sure there’s nothing else in the box and that the shoes are a matching pair and match what the box says they are. The shoes were an 8.5 for the left and an 8 for the right! I hadn’t even noticed, I’m guessing because my left foot is a hint larger than my right anyway. The cashier says “I’ll have to check and see if we can find the other one or else we can’t sell you these.” Who, what!! NOOOOOO!!!!! Ok go check. Stay calm.

Someone comes back with another set that are mismatched. But they match them up so it looks like we have two left in 8.5 and two right in 8’s. I say “they fit as they were and I’m willing to buy them mismatched anyway.” They say “we can’t sell them to you, you could check another store though.” To which I respond “but they’re ‘Limited Quantity’ and they fit, I don’t care that they’re mismatched!” and in my head I’m thinking that I didn’t see these shoes at the other Kohl’s which is a good 45 miles away from the one I’m at anyway. So one woman goes off to check some manual or maybe call someone and as I’m standing trying the shoes on at the register again just to prove that they fit I realize that they don’t have two left 8.5 and two right 8’s – they got confused when trying to match them and actually have a set of 8.5 and a set of 8’s!

So disaster averted!

But I still have to wonder why they wouldn’t have sold me a mismatch pair if their match wasn’t anywhere in the store. I’m sure it’s just some policy taken one step too far, but still perplexing.

Have you ever had a cashier refuse to sell you merchandise because of some store policy taken too far?