Required Shopping

(image courtesy of: http://thisislavie.com/)

Nina Garcia is quickly filling my bookcase shelves. On a whim of luck, I found "The One Hundred" on sale at Urban Outfitters in the Fanueil Hall Marketplace. I devoured the book in a day and a half and feel inspired by Garcia's list of must-haves for every fashionable woman. I agree with many of her picks and have a few of my own. As Garcia writes, "It is important for everyone who reads this book to know that I have adapted and edited each item on this list to suit my style, my body, my personality. I should hope you will do the same." That being said, here are just a few of my personal must haves for every fashionista.

-Boston Red Sox Baseball Cap.

A must have for every New England girl. I've owned one for as long as I've been alive. A fashion statement in itself, it shows your regional allegiance, pride for Boston, and the belief that, yes, the Yankees suck. It also doubles as a great cover for the days you sleep through your alarm and lose precious hair straightening minutes. Available in a myriad of colors, but let's face it, the only one that matters is the ever-classic red and blue. Whatever you do, don’t be accused of being a pink hat fan!

-Tiara.

No I'm not talking about a five dollar at Claires kind of tiara. A real tiara, a la Princess Diana. Not recommended for everyday office wear (but who am i to judge?), Everyone can channel their inner princess on their birthday, holiday or any day while lounging in a silk robe. Swarovski makes some great options.

-Denim.

Specifically, jeans. I’m positive that my jean obsession started with my no-jeans-allowed prep school dress code. Much like relationships, you don’t know what you have until it’s gone – or in this case, not allowed. Garcia writes as a fun fact that the average person owns 8.3 pairs of jeans. I counted. I own 40. That are currently clean in my closet. So, let’s say 50 when taking dirty laundry into thought. It’s a lot of denim, but I have no buyers remorse. Skinny leg. Bootcut. Wide leg. Destroyed. Boyfriend fit. Dark wash. Light wash. A lot of options becomes a lot of shopping. One note with jeans: it’s great to discount shop, but I never suggest doing so with denim. Quality denim feels great, fits great and, most importantly, doesn’t stretch out. A co-worker of mine had an unfortunate jean find last week at Urban Outfitters where the denim just didn’t sit well and stretched out after one day. Forever 21 jeans are also infamous to stretch after one wear. Keep the bargains for tops, and try on pairs by Seven for all Mankind, Citizens for Humanity, J Brand, Paper Denim & Cloth and Earnest Sewn. Your legs will thank you.

-Lip gloss.

The one cosmetic necessity for every woman. I don’t care if it’s Cherry Chapstick, Chanel, Stila or anything inbetween. Lips get chapped and uncomfortable. Lips are a visual focal point during conversation. Make them look as good as the rest of you!

-Black turtleneck.

A la Audrey Hepburn. One in cashmere is a winter necessity. It screams classic, classy and professional. Always flattering and slimming, it somehow always hugs in the right places. Consider it a new best friend.

-M

Recessionistas Unite!

(image courtesy of: http://blogs.louloumagazine.com)

It's no secret that I love a deal. While the economy is less than fabulous, the deals that it brings are miraculous to my bargain hunting self. There always is a silver lining, isn't there?

Some bargains to note in the Boston area. Yesterday during my lunch hour I made a mad dash to Filene's Basement (the mecca of all things designer and cheap) on Boylston Street in Boston, MA, to scour through their racks. Lo and behold, I found Coach platform mules (these, to be exact) for $27.00. Yes. You read that right. Coach shoes that retail for $207.00 for $27.00. Twenty-seven dollars. Also on the table, more boots (full and ankle) for 70% off with an additional 30% off. If you're lucky like me, you can then use a 20% coupon on top of it. Even if you don't like them - can you say gift for your mother, sister, aunt, boss, etc. Nothing beats looking like you spent a lot when you got a deal.

Also a deal at the Boylston Street location. Kenneth Lane strawberry necklaces for under $20. That right, the $113.00 necklace you (and I) have been lusting over on shopbop.com and shopkitson.com for months - on sale! Makes me happy I waited. I made it the focal piece of my outfit today. Paired with a Theory short-sleeved turtleneck top and wide leg black trousers, I've received a-many compliments.

This past weekend while on my mini-shopping spree with my mom, K and her mother, I found more cheap goodies at the Filenes Basement in the Northshore Mall than I could carry. The best deal of the weekend? C&C California tops (like what LC used to wear all the time during her Laguna Beach days) for under $10. I paid $3.50 for a gorgeous turquoise C&C tank. Also an amazing deal? The Velvet exclusively for Barney's Co-Op top that I got for $3.50. Original price? $158.00. Sweet.

Finally today, I wandered around the Prudential in Boston during my lunch hour, sipping my Teavana iced tea (today's choice? Ginger Peach Apricot and Strawberry Slender) and found a new store where my beloved Mango once stood. Introducing Item. Basically a 344 outlet (which for all of you twenty-somethings that boycotted 344 since the closing of Jasmine Sola, means a store that's the equivalent to the former Jasmine Sola outlet on Commonwealth Avenue). With this post, I officially lift my boycott on 344, as I found cocktail dresses for a mere $19.00 and C&C California tanks (apparently the deal of the week everywhere) for $10.00. Tops by Splendid were priced at a reasonable $19.00 and $29.00 and sunglasses were $10.00. At those prices, anyone can afford to stock up!

While we can find plenty of fashion deals, where is one to get a drink (or a night out with the boyfriend, friends, whoever) for cheap? K just tipped me off to Roggies. Located on Chestnut Hill Avenue, just outside of Cleveland Circle, Roggies serves draft beer for $1.00. A dollar! Also a find? The Avenue, a hole-in-the-wall bar on Commonwealth Avenue with drafts for $1.50 (with a $5.00 cover charge). Even in a recession we can still go out for drinks. Thank gosh!

-M

Bargains Galore!

I went to visit my parents this past weekend on the North Shore. While my visit was well intentioned, it certainly had ulterior motives -- namely, laundry and the new Nordstrom Rack that just opened up in my hometown. As a bargain fiend (with few expendable funds), I thought the Rack would be the perfect place to indulge a bit after my weeks of hard work - and frugally spent paychecks.

While I attempted to push though the (literal) mob of people inside the Rack, I found amazing designer sunglasses for under 100 bucks. Think Dior. Lagerfeld. Juicy. Gucci. Betsey Johnson. Burberry earmuffs for 50 bucks. I snagged the brown Tulle coat I wanted last year for 35 bucks (much easier on the pocket than the ridiculously marked up price at Jasmine Sola last year) and a pair of Minnetonka Moccasins for 30 bucks. Thank gosh, a new bargain haven.

Me and A, one of my best friends, have been bargain hunting fiends for awhile now. Bored on a Tuesday night? Go to TJMaxx or Marshalls. Have only $20 left in our checking account and really need to buy something because otherwise we might implode? Go to Filenes Basement. It's our calling. We love designers but hate (or can't afford on entry level salaries) the pricetag. For us, it's how we've been doing our best shopping for ages, but for others, we're nothing other than the new breed of shoppers. Recessionistas.

Great, now that the NYTimes has given attention to such bargain hunting, clearly more people will be trying to grab the $29 Theory blazer that I eye on the salesrack. The economic downturn sucks even more for me.
-M

Could have been a good idea in Theory?

I got bit by the shopping bug yesterday afternoon. After cruising Saks, Mango and Neimans on my lunch hour and finding nothing that completely satisfied me, I thought some bargain hunting might do the trick. I stopped off at the Marshalls and Filenes Basement on Boylston Street in Boston. Although I found a few good buys for my work and casual wardrobe (a brown Vince tank for $8! a Red Sox sweatshirt for my brothers upcoming 19th birthday for $25! pink Vineyard Vines pants for $29! a wrap dress by Toast for $20!), I was moreso appalled by some of the heinous designs by some of my favorite designers.

Case in point. Theory. I love Theory. To me, it might be one of the most young professional, twenty-something, about to enter the job market appropriate brands that is available. To anyone who is trying to "mature" their wardrobe, I push them towards the Theory racks at Neimans or any major department store. I find steals (because really, what twenty-something who enters the job force can afford a $350 blazer by Theory when you can find it at Filenes Basement for $30?) at discount stores and wear them to pieces. I have blazers, skirts, tops -- oh and their stretchy tank tops? They're amazing. However, some of the pieces that I found on the racks yesterday hurt my heart -- maybe a little less because, I do understand, they're at Marshalls or wherever, but still, that means at one time, not too long ago (some of it as recently as this past summer, or still sold for full price online, because I remember seeing it then and saying 'ew'), they were on the racks of a Neimans, Saks, Bloomies. I tried on one purple blouse that looked like a Hefty bag that Barney threw up after a night of drinking. One dress looked like it belonged to a woman on the Mayflower (and not in that quasi-cute Blair Waldorf pilgrim bow way). One pair of pants looked like it was made out of my mothers' windbreaker, circa 1982. Ick. Ew. Gag.

It really does make me think, 'What were they thinking?' We all have questionable fashion moments - for me it was when I cut my hair short and went through a flowy skirt phase (but didn't we all?). I wore graphic tees and ripped jeans as an Abercrombie & Fitch employee, but still looked cute (I think?). My efforts don't go unnoticed, but I can't say the same for some of the designers I find while shopping on a Tuesday night. Please fashion world, hear my plea. Lose the bright fabrics, I don't want to look like Big Bird. Give me a top that makes me look like I have some sort of shape - don't just cut two squares and think I'm good to go. And please, please, please do something about these matronly collars. It's 2008 for crying out loud, I'm not looking to look like I just rolled onto Plymouth Rock for Thanksgiving.

-M

Sample Sales From My Cubicle?

Oh dear bejezbus in heaven, here goes my paycheck even quicker.

My fashion hound friend has pointed me in the direction of online sample sales. Although nothing beats forking through racks of clothing (I'm in impulse shopper, I like to get my stuff the moment I purchase it. This explains why I never quite got into the ebay.com craze, although, they do have a good selection of Tory Burch and dVf stuff...) The best that I have found so far? Hautelook.com. It's invite only, so find someone (like me!) that can refer you. Believe me, it's worth it. Look at the screenshot up there - do you see what I see? As in a James Perse sale coming up very very very soon. Look at that countdown ticker for when sales start and end. It's like I'm running a fashion marathon (which definitely makes up for my lack of gym-going). Oh paycheck, how quickly you leave my bank account.