Thrift store buys

As promised in my previous post here are my thrift store buys. I've always been hesitant about owning and wearing second hand clothes but the items I chose were in mint condition, so I couldn't resist.


Liz Claiborne leopard print shirt
Crazy Escada hearts blouse
Purple Herringbone print shirt

The leopard print shirt is pretty basic, and surprisingly I don't already own one. The red Escada blouse with all the hearts is so loud for me, but it had such an awesome print that I had to have it. It actually comes with a scarf attached that I tied in the front. I have no idea if I'll ever wear this but at the very least, the print is so cute that I could probably do something else with it...hmm...

The purple top came with a tag that says "The Custom Shop Shirtmakers 618 5th Ave. N.Y." I got this little blurb from the New York Times, "THE CUSTOM SHOP -- 618 Fifth Avenue (50th Street). Suits, blazers, shirts and coats are made to order at this flagship store and eight other New York locations. Prices start at $70 for a cotton-and-polyester shirt and climb to about $140 for one in Sea Island cotton. A made-to-measure suit from fabrics by top British and Italian mills averages $900." I'm guessing I got a pretty good deal on this. The shirt also has a scarf that ties in the back. I like this top the most so hopefully I will get some use out of it at some point.


Faux fur capelet
Harve Bernard Blue wool blazer


this Oscar de la Renta scarf (top)came with the one below, as in they were both stapled together (that's how they attach price tags)--both for $0.95! I don't know the brand of the second one. It only has a tag that says made in Japan but I love the colors of it.

After finding such unique things, I'm now more motivated to check out other vintage and thrift stores in the area.

It's thrifty!

One of my friends got the cutest pair of black oxford flats from Red White & Blue Thrift store. I decided to check it out myself and I actually came away with a bunch of unique, vintage buys--all for $20!!! The "store" itself is in some kind of warehouse. The clothes are all arranged by style--dresses, pants, sweaters, 2 piece suits, coats, and then within each category they are arranged by color. This is a huge convenience especially if you own mostly black and grey clothes like myself :)


pink & red sweaters, red to blue to green tops, the black and yellow suits section

You really have to do some major digging in order to find the good stuff. I myself would not be comfortable wearing preowned Uggs, but these were children's Uggs for $1.95. (Sorry for the blurry photos, my iphone was not cooperating with me!) I also stumbled upon a red Christian Dior coat for $9.95. I would have bought it but it was way too big and I couldn't think of what else I could do with it.

This is my cart mid shopping. Most of the things I actually bought are under this pile. Just to give you an idea of prices-green & yellow boucle plaid scarf that was made in England, $1.95, Escada leopard and snakeskin print top $7.95. I don't remember the brands of the other red printed tops but they were $4.95.

Like most thrift stores, this is definitely hit or miss. I'll be posting my finds tomorrow, once I get them back from the dry cleaner's! Check out this link to see if there are any RWB locations near you:
http://redwhiteandbluethriftstore.com/

Madewell made my day!

I shopped at the Soho location this past weekend and had to share the goods! Madewell to me, is a more relaxed and fun version of J. Crew. J.Crew is perfect for work and dressy nights out, while Madewell is for my weekend style. Before getting to the store I was eager to try on their jeans. I tried on about 5 different pairs, from the zippered leg jeans, to the bootcut, straight leg, and skinny. I look horrible in cropped pants, so the zippered leg jeans were out, despite the cute colors that they came in. The skinny jeans were TOO skinny and tapered at the bottoms for me. I liked the straight leg jeans the best, but I found all of them to be low rise which isn't my cup of tea. I'll stick with J. Crew for my denim needs. Back to Madewell--you'll see from what I bought that I am loving their Spring collection and can't wait for more!

l: white v neck pocket boyfriend tee, denim skirt, striped grandpa cardigan
r: grey vneck pocket bf tee, purple plaid skirt, lilac grandpa cardigan

side note: my mom would freak if she knew I was hanging clothes on the shutters....

v neck pocket bf tees paired with fringed knit scarves
(scarves also come in yellow and black)

striped gathered/drawstring tee


trapeze cardigan-looks better on, i promise.
i love the little pocket in front. so handy!


one of my fav. purchases-safari dress-also comes in black


oh YES I did. 4 pairs of my favorite French sneakers-Bensimons.


olive green elastiques, corail lacets

a tout a l'heure!

wishing for the weekend ALREADY!

A little late on this past weekend's outfit post! Shopping at Madewell (more on that later), a stop to Rice to Riches (got my usual crust of cookies & cream and tried for the first time chocolate hazelnut--too chocolatey!), dinner at Basso 56 (lobster crepes a MUST!), and Avenue Q afterwards. Gotta love politically incorrect humor.

Miss Sixty coat (NYC Atrium), Crown Couture shoes (DSW), Benetton/Sisley dress

the "Katherine Heigl" outfit

I was getting my daily update on celebrity news/gossip (from Justjared.com which is the only site I read because I can't stand the negativity of all the others), when I stumbled upon this picture of Katherine Heigl wearing J.Crew! I noticed that she wears a lot of Juicy Couture and was glad to see her in J.Crew (minus the cancer stick). I decided to try the same outfit and was hoping instead pair the cardigan with the Victoria cami in caramel. Bad move alert!! I should have known better but I just can't pull off any tan tones at all because they totally blend in with my skintone :( I was iffy about the melon color because on the hanger it appears to be a bit bright, but it looks nicer (and less loud) on. I paired it with the same cardigan but just a note--I found that the snow leopard cardigan runs small! I am always, always an XS to the point where I never have to try anything on. A size small usually is really baggy under my arms and in the waist. The XS however, I found to be a bit tight when buttoned up (now I have learned my lesson on trying things on!). Considering the color of the top, I realized it matches the cluster ring that I recently bought and this was the perfect opportunity to wear it!

Outfit for Chinese New Year dinner

J. Crew snow leopard cardigan, J. Crew cluster ring (black)
Victoria ruffle cami in melon,
Seven jeans

1st photo: justjared.com

Zahav Zebra

Had a wonderful dinner in Philly last night at Zahav. I've never had Israeli cuisine before and it was delicious! After reading reviews about the restaurant, we realized that it gets booked super fast because it has the best value for restaurant week. I've definitely had my share of both good and bad restaurant week experiences and this by far was the best. The food was delicious, you get to try so many different things, and the service was friendly and extremely attentive.

Outfit for the night:

J.Crew merino zebra sweater dress, H&M tights,
Gucci bamboo watch, J.Crew ballet bow flats

J.Crew Carrie coat, Gucci bamboo ring bag

Chop chop

In one of my previous posts I mentioned the prospect of getting bangs. Well folks, I actually went through with it! Loving her bangs, I brought this picture in to show my hair guru, Friddie. At first, he was hesitant, stating that because I've been parting my hair a certain way for so long, my bangs would leave a bit of a gap on one side. After some deliberation Friddie cut right across and said it would look fine. For a second, I thought I was going to panic and start crying. The cut across my bangs was so abrupt, I was almost not mentally prepared for it! But in minutes, he blow dried and styled my bangs the way I wanted and I think it turned out ok.
The one tip I learned though, is in order to prevent one's bangs from getting oily--do not touch them! That was my big mistake as I was obsessed with touching them within the first few hours. I learned my lesson!

My outfit for the evening J. Crew snow leopard dress:

Closeup of the J.Crew Silk Ribbon Necklace

1st photo: trf