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May 14, 2014

Some TJ Maxx shopping / Cynthia Rowley Haul {May 10, 2014}

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Posted in Clothing, Shirts / Blouses / T-shirts / Tanks, Shoes

Navy and white striped linen blend Ellen Tracy sweater with 3/4 length sleeves. Great for layering over tanks.
Navy and white striped linen blend Ellen Tracy sweater with 3/4 length sleeves. Great for layering over tanks.

So I went shopping at TJ Maxx Saturday looking for some simple business casual pieces that would work well in the hot summer heat and with my existing wardrobe. I was mostly looking for light layering pieces like short sleeved breezy cardigans and super light light sweaters that would work well over tank tops.

Let’s start with the items I passed on:
(and then we’ll get to the good stuff)

NOW on to the good stuff:
(I went in thinking I might find one good piece but instead found a bit more!)

I ALMOST passed on the silk tank top because of the price. It’s been awhile since I spent $30 on a single shirt. But it’s a good business meeting piece and comfortable so it came home with me. Really cute button top in the back that I didn’t take a better photo of too.

As for buying TWO short sleeve linen blend cardigans – I already own some long sleeve linen blend cardigans [seen here and here] and LOVE them which is part of the reason I just bought both short sleeve linen blend cardigans. I also have the same long sleeve jacket in black as well as the neutral shade.

I probably could wear the long sleeve cardigans in the summer they are so light but they look warmer than they are. They are also warm enough though to cut the chill on a cool evening.

A surprising amount of what I bought was Cynthia Rowley. I did not plan it this way as I tend to shop by look and feel of the fabric quality when shopping in a store like TJ Maxx (I also do this when thrift shopping.) I’m clearly attracted to rayon, linen and silk though….

Anyway – WAY more items than I expected to find shopping on Saturday but they were all such good wardrobe building basic that I didn’t want to pass any up!

June 8, 2012

Another thrifted clothing haul –
June 7 2012

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Posted in Clothing

So I needed a break from a particular project yesterday and ended up shopping for 3 hours … 3 hours was a little more than I was going for but I found some good finds.

Let’s start with my favorite piece that didn’t fit – the neon shirt. I SO wanted this to fit!!! I have been obsessed with neons and neutrals and this is SUCH a cute shirt!

Baltimore Design Group which I think is a Chadwick’s line.

Next up the black with tiny polka dot golf shorts. They’re a little higher waisted than I like so I’m debating whether these will go to consignment or not. I also don’t wear a lot of shorts. :/

Next up, the green skirt and the navy gap shirt. I have a picture of the skirt on me but I look like a watermelon because I was trying everything on with the hot pink tank. Which reminds me – the reason I put the clothes on the mannequin today was because my allergies are acting up and the scented detergent on them was bothering me.

Next up I have the Merona pink knit dress. Basic but something I can dress up or down. It will look better with a cardigan and some jewelry I think.

While I’m on a roll with pink, I’ll go ahead and show you the Gap Body sweater hoodie. A little out of season but in good condition and I didn’t want to pass it up.

And then the Talbot’s linen crop pants in mint. They’re a mint color that’s also hard to get a good photograph of but they were new with tags and a nice find. They have a bow tie that I’m thinking about converting to a D ring belt because I think the bow is a bit awkward looking on me. I’m also not a huge fan of cropped pants and typically try to avoid them but I kinda liked these a little too much to pass.

A couple more that I’m selling because they’re too small: BB Jeans blue tunic with embroidered detail, Ann Taylor tunic, Talbots pink skirt (new with tags again.)

And then a few more I’m keeping: Tommy Hilfiger black button up blouse with tiny polka dots (see a theme?), Express light flowy tank with black and white flowers, and The Limited short sleeve with gray stripe blouse.

And then the Talbots black and white skirt

And a couple more shirts – I can’t remember the brands at the moment but they’re both super soft and in great condition:

So yeah … about $50 worth – quite a nice haul for $50
(though I think they miscounted and my total ended up being $41.34 oops!)
Adds a lot more variety to my wardrobe.

And one more thing, not purchased yesterday but about a week ago,
the ties we thrifted for Tim.
$1.50 each plus $3.50 drycleaning (just gotta clean the thifted items.)

These were Tommy Hilfiger, Nautica, Club Room, Gap and DKNY!

I’m thinking about trying to take more photos of the outfits we’re putting together for Tim. Any interest in guy’s outfits posted here too?

 

March 29, 2012

“Foiled Again” – gold foiling or gold leaf on clothes & nails

OOTD - gold foiled

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Posted in Clothing, Nail Polish, OOTD

“Foiled again” get it? Ok, that would make more sense if I had previously written about gold foiling or even any kind of gold on clothes, right?

Apparently I’ve been getting into golds lately. As exhibited by both some recent clothing purchases as well as nail polish choice.

OOTD - gold foiled OOTD - gold foiled

Outfit Top to bottom (click images for a larger version):

  • Earrings: Kohl’s daisy fuentes® Gold-Tone Hammered Drop Earring Set I had removed the chain portion of the coin style earrings and they look better.
  • Tank: Talbot’s Outlet (one of my recent gold purchases) cream with gold foil streaks.
  • Wrap: Tabot’s Outlet (in the fall) it’s a heathered cream linen that’s a perfect weight for spring and fall. Very versatile.
  • Bracelet: thrifted.
  • Jeans: Walmart (shhhh … why do I end up with jeans from there?)
  • Shoes: Lauren Conrad leopard print ballet flat from Kohl’s. Loving these, they also go with a LOT.

Then there was the yoga capris I bought that had a foil leopard print pattern. This wasn’t actually on purpose. It was more because I didn’t like the pairs that had funky color tops and they didn’t have a plain black and I had a gift card burning a hole in my pocket:

leopard foil on yoga capris

Close up of the leopard AND the Talbot’s tank’s gold stripes.

Then there are the nails.

Essie "A Crewed Interest" Spring 2012 color and Sally Hansen Crackle in "Antique Gold" Peachy Pink and gold

  • Three coats of Essie in “A Crewed Interest” which is a Spring 2012 color.
  • Topped with a single stripe of Sally Hansen Crackle polish in “Antique Gold”

It’s a nice subtle effect that reminds me of gold leaf. And the peachy pink is like a less sheer version of Zoya’s Lulu. That “point shoe pink / peach” I had been looking for for years and suddenly found. Repeatedly apparently.

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The gold crackle is actually a little preview of something I’m going to do a giveaway on sometime in the next month. So if you don’t normally read my blog, you might want to stay tuned by either subscribing to the rss, the emails or my twitter or youtube channels!

Are you wearing more gold lately? Is this a trend or just a weird accident that I’ve recently purchased more than one item that was gold foiled?

Next thing you know I’ll own a gold sequin mini skirt…. uhhh probably not anytime soon (though they are CUTE on other people!)

March 17, 2012

Consignment Store Clothing Haul – $20 Bag Sale

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Posted in Clothing

Stephen Lawrence, a local consignment store that typically carries gently worn medium – high end items, is having their bag sale March 16th & 17th 2012. $20 gets you a bag and full of end of season clothes. Whatever you could stuff into the bag was yours. I thought it was too good to pass up and I just found out that the proceeds are going our KY neighbors who lost everything in some recent tornados.

I got there promptly at 11am and was done by noon. There were no dressing rooms so you had to be able to really eyeball your size and style across a wide range of brands.

Here’s the breakdown of my bag:

  • 21 articles of clothing total
  • 3 pieces that flat out don’t fit
  • 3 pieces don’t look good on me
  • 2 pieces that are what I call pajama worthy (fit, comfy, but are not flattering)
  • 13 pieces that look good, 3 of which were pants / bottoms!

Not bad for $20!

The 3 that didn’t fit (picture below): “Banana Republic” maroon 100% silk top, “INC” maroon patterned top 100% silk, “For Joseph” lightweight darkwash 100% cotton jean trousers. The lightweight jeans were my biggest disappointment because they look bigger than the other pants I picked up that seem to have magical shrinking powers and seem 3 sizes too small when I try them on. Brand new with tags and a dark wash.  I tired them on twice because I really thought I was having a pants trying on failure moment but nope, they just plain didn’t fit.

The 3 that weren’t flattering on me (below): “Nurture” 100% Merino hunter green tank, “Koret” Black and white striped T (with some little yellow stripes), “Sigrid Olsen Sport” red thin-stripped capris.

The Coats / Jackets (below): “Gap” red / rust colored stretch corduroy jacket in a jean jacket style, “The F.L. Collection” brown / auburn colored corduroy fitted jacket with elbow patches, “Harvé Bernard by Senard Roltzman” vibrantblue (UK blue) 70% wool, 20% nylon pea coat (I need to sew the buttons tighter) but is one of my favorites that I picked up.

The Grays (below): “Lauren by Ralph Laren” cotton shawl collar sweater which is another favorite, “Chelsea & Violet” 53% wool, 25% acrylic lightweight snap front cardigan, “Calvin Klein” 100% silk wrap front sleeveless blouse which needs a cami under it.

The Pants / Bottoms: “Talbots” cotton khakis new with tags they have a horse riding inspired look to them and are a nice thickness, “J.H. Collectibles” aqua capris, “Studio Y” brown dress shorts / capris they hit below the knee … which sounds bad but they look better on than you would think.

More layers: “Allison Daley” navy, cream and metallic gold large houndstooth jacket,  “Max Studio” black and gold (non-metallic) lightweight hoodie, “Coldwater Creek” navy lace button up shirt with three quarter length sleeves.

The Sleepers & Tank: “Ann Taylor” long sleeve scoop neck t-shirt in a deep pink or pinky plum, “Evie” 55% silk, 20% viscos, 20% nylon, tank in a green apple / light lime color which will be great under things but not by itself, “Olo” periwinkle zip up fuzzy jacket (I knew when I bought this that it would be a sleep item.)

 

Did I have a process? Yes, but I didn’t have any idea what that would be before I was inside:

  • 1st I glanced at the shoes and decided not to bother with them because they took up so much space in the bag (and I wasn’t seeing any that immediately screamed my name.)
  • then onto the pants because they didn’t seem to have as much in my size range as other sizes. I wanted to pick over them before other people.
    1. I picked out anything I thought I might like and held it
    2. reviewed them on the hangers
    3. put anything back I thought would flat out not fit or really wasn’t quite what I had thought it was at first glance
    4. removed the tags to put in the pink plastic bags on the walls per the employees instructions
    5. removed the garment from the hanger and neatly folded it and placed in the bag.
  • then onto the tops and repeat steps 1-5 for both large and medium tops (they had a variety of brands so I look through both because some brands run small and some brands don’t.)
  • then I still had some space left in the bag so I glanced at the shoes again, not seeing anything in my size, and headed off to the room with the jackets and coats. Since jackets and coats take up a lot of space and because they can be tried on over things I went ahead and tried on quite a few but there were still no mirrors so I held onto those I wasn’t sure of until I was done and repeated steps 1-5 again. The blue coat had gone immediately into my bag after being tried on.
  • Bag is full, pay my $20 cash and leave happy. I know I at least have a new coat. 🙂

My favorites of the bunch are a vibrant UK blue coat, a Ralph Lauren grey shawl collar sweater, and the fact I actually have three new pairs of bottoms.

Have you ever participated in a bag sale? What did you think and is it common for them to not have dressing rooms? Do you have a plan of action going in in order to get the best deals?

July 12, 2007

DIY project: Lace inserts in shirts

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Posted in Shirts / Blouses / T-shirts / Tanks

Ok I really like this idea, to cut out a section of camisole and then add in some lace or other decorative trim (crochet might work.)
white tank with lace inset

This shirt is really cute but I don’t think I could spend $70 for a wife beater when I could buy some for $5 and add to them myself (I don’t think the smushed boob look here isn’t a good one either but I think that’s the result of a bad choice in tube bra.) If you think these shirts are worth $70 or you simply have no time or any sewing skills whatsoever, here’s the link: http://www.graeyny.com/whitelacetank.html

Otherwise I think it would be a really great, easy and cheap DIY project. I’ll let you know if I end up making some. 🙂

PS – note the new addition to the comments on the site. It’s called recaptcha and it’s really useful, really easy to install and it has basically gotten rid of spam comments for me. Oh, and I will be killing the promo section of this site in the near future … I haven’t been able to keep it up to date plus it didn’t help to get hateful comments by some people (chewing me because a code that was over a year old didn’t work … let’s see… not my fault a code over a year old doesn’t work so there was no need to take it out on me. I basically haven’t bothered TRYING to do the coupons and promos since then.)