Things I Love Buying in Thrift Stores, Part 1

Quirky pins!

Focus on the pin, friends, and pay no attention to the fact that I wore this blazer (sans pin) a few days ago...it's toooootally different now...

Two corners

I haven't been keeping up with any Anthro or clothing blogs lately.  Since I took my new job and my shopping budget all but vanished, I've sort of steered clear of most of the blogs I used to love simply to avoid the temptation of seeing my stylish e-friends wear beautiful new clothes that I could not afford.  If I don't look, I don't crave!  (But I miss you, fellow blogger friends!)

Lately, the money I do have left in my shopping budget has been going towards items for my home.  I made two relatively big improvements to the house (replaced a roof, walled in the master bedroom), but the rest of my budget has been going towards small changes to make the house feel more like home.

Here are two corners of the house I particularly like!


1.  In the family/TV room:

99% of the time that I use my laptop, I use it downstairs on my comfy sofa in front of the TV.  I'd been leaving the laptop on the sofa, plugged into the outlet near the sofa, and it was ugly.

I found this ^ cute firewood/magazine holder at a vintage shop near DC called Peg Leg Vintage (a little overpriced, but TONS of cute stuff), and it works perfectly for my laptop!

I ran the cord behind my TV stand (which is to the left of this photo), so the piece doubles as a laptop charger!


2.  Dining Room Booze Area

All I wanted was just to store my wine glasses somewhere.  Is that too much to ask?  I wouldn't think so.  But I didn't have enough cabinet space to store my wine glasses, and there wasn't a convenient spot anywhere for a wall-mounted or under-cabinet mounted rack.  WHAT WAS I TO DO??

BAM!

It's a LAMP, but the lampshade is made up of wineglasses!!!

How cool is that??  I found it on Amazon.  (Affiliate link.)  Plus, it comes with a cool vintage bulb that looks really beautiful when lit.  Here's a bad photo of the lamp on:

Pretty, right?  The only problem is that if you have dirty glasses, you will DEFINITELY notice once the light is on.

Question:  Do you guys think I should get rid of the lampshades on the dry bar next to the wine glass lamp?  Now that I'm looking at the photo, those hanging lights seem like maybe too much light in one corner?  (Note that the hanging lights on the bar don't work.  Also one is missing; I need to reattach it.)

Happy Sunday!  I hope you guys enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Quickie OOTD: Purple Blazer, Take Two

Another Tuesday, another hectic week, another week falling behind in catching up on my blog-reading...

Eeesh, I'm sorry if I haven't been around your blog lately...I'm about to give up working my way through these past entries!

Here's a quickie recent outfit I enjoyed...

In this Outfit:

Madewell Dress 

Thrifted Blazer

J.Crew Factory Wedges

Marc by Marc Jacobs Marci Watch (on sale for $169 here (affiliate link))

Ann Taylor Loft Necklace 

Kate Spade Desert Stone Bangle

Kate Spade Lever-Back Earrings

I bought this blazer while thrifting, and it called to mind a certain other purple-ish thrifted blazer that did not fare so well on its maiden voyage...

Remember that one?  Let's not and say we did.

Yes, much better.

OOTD: The Politics of Jeans Day

It's jeans day in our office today.

In this Outfit:

Style & Co. Blazer; Anthropologie Blazing Top; Sold Denim Jeans; Seychelles Code Pumps; Thrifted Necklace; Kate Spade Bangle; Thrifted Earrings

This may come as a surprise to those of you who have been with me for a while and have borne witness for my love of pushing the boundaries of business casual, but I actually HATE jeans days.  I feel flat-out inappropriate wearing jeans to the office, and at our firm so few of the partners participate that it almost feels like a trap.  Sure, we are allowed to wear jeans (and we donate money to a charity in exchange for the pleasure), but aren't we still being judged for dressing down?

A blazer will cure all ills.

The last time our firm had a jeans day (many months ago), I skipped it and wore business casual.  That didn't solve the problem, though, since I felt just about as weird being one of the few associates not wearing jeans as I would have felt running into a business casual partner while sporting my denim.  This time, I felt I had to participate since today's jeans day is raising funds for a road race I am helping to organize.

Also, these thrifted earrings are super fancy-looking.

A friend of mine at a different firm offered an intriguing comment on an associate's duty to participate in a jeans day:

Hardly any of the partners do it in my group either, but if all associates do it they can't judge you, which is my point.  So do your part for your fellow associates.  Some of them may be like me and it is the only day all month they don't hate.

I'd never thought about jeans day as a class solidarity type of thing, but her argument makes a lot of sense, and ultimately persuaded me to wear jeans today.  Along with most of the other associates.  And frankly, it does feel a bit like everyone who is wearing jeans is sharing a wink and a smile today.

It still feels a bit weird, but I'll admit that I am super freaking comfortable.

What do you guys think of jeans days at the office, if you have them?

(Also, I'm wearing my new Kate Spade bag for the first time today!  I LOVE it, although I will fully admit that it is kind of ridiculous and I don't know how much I will wear it.  Which, wonderfully, was the reason I passed on it the first time so I feel somewhat justified in my initial decision (thus wiping out two years of agony) and at the same time I am happy with my acquisition (which was sweetened by said agony that clearly I still hang onto on some level).  Also, it holds a LOT of stuff.)

OOTD: That 70's Shirt

As a dress, this See by Chloe piece I thrifted in NYC is just a bit too short and too sack-y to qualify as one of my favorites:

(thrifted for $18 --- original price almost $600!)

(previously)

But as a shirt, boy, does it work wonders spicing up an otherwise neutral outfit.*

In this Outfit:

See by Chloe Dress (thrifted) (similar!) (less similar but cheaper)

D&G Tweed Skirt (thrifted) (similar) (splurge (and this one) but oo so lovely)

Anthropologie Bookbinder Heels (8.5) (lordie these are so supremely uncomfortable on me)

Michael Kors Davenport Chronograph Watch in Rose Gold (here)

Glasses c/o GlassesUSA (review here)

Kate Spade lever-back earrings (similar by Kate Spade on sale)

*  Or, more specifically, a brown skirt.  As that seems to be my M.O. with this dress.  See also, here:

Posted with Blogsy

OOTD: Winter Tweed

Is there anything more reliable than a basic tweed skirt in winter? A skirt that plays well with your closet, keeps you warm, and is office-appropriate? I think not.
 

 
I found this skirt at a consignment store over the weekend and couldn't wait to wear it. I wanted to wear it again today but I figured twice in one week is probably overkill.
 
I'm bracing for a very long night at work tonight; I have a self-imposed deadline to meet and my progress so far has been slow, to say the least. Do you ever get to a point where you've basically resigned yourself to working late, so you become less productive because you know you're working late anyway, which then necessitates working late? In a vicious cycle of predeterminism? No, just me?
 

In this Outfit:

Old Navy 3/4 Tab Sleeve Blouse (S)

D&G Tweed Skirt

Forever 21 Necklace

Kate Spade Earrings

Manolo Blahnik Pumps (gifted)

Marc by Marc Jacobs Marci Watch

Tory Burch Frames

 

Posted with Blogsy

OOTD: Variations on a Theme, Part One

Orange and teal. Who'da thunk it?

A few weeks back, I had my first (I think) successful foray into this color combination with this outfit:

Original post here.

I loved these pieces together so much that I decided to repeat the general idea, except this time I wanted something to wear to work:

In this Outfit:

J.Crew Rugby Stripe Boatneck Top in Modern Red (XL, shrunk in the wash) (here)
J.Crew Minnie Bi-Stretch Wool Pants (6T) (here in other colors)

J.Crew Enamel Bracelet (similar colors by J.Crew, similar and cheaper by someone else)

Michael Kors Davenport Chronograph Watch (on sale here, similar and slightly cheaper by Tommy Hilfiger, similar with a white face for $70 at J.C. Penny, extraordinarily similar for $38)

Seychelles Password Pumps (9) (similar in suede, similar in not-suede)

Kate Spade Kingsbury Shelby (sold out)

Thrifted Necklace (similar for $40, similar for $16)

Earrings from Eastern Market (flea market in DC) (similar-ish by Kate Spade, similar for $22, way less similar but still teal and $10)

Fun, comfortable, and it almost feels like the teal works as a neutral! Maybe it does compared to the bold orange in the sweater? How are we defining "neutral" nowadays, anyway?

Also, have I told you yet how much I love this purse? I know I shouldn't be shopping like I have been this month (that's a whole 'nother post), but this bag was barely over $100 with extra discounts from Kate Spade it's it's so big and roomy, and yet so sleek-looking. Plus, it goes with almost everything and the patent leather cleans easily.

Darn you student loans, and darn you stupid big paycheck, tricking me into thinking all of that money is actually mine. (And darn you Kate Spade, for seeming to validate my inability to let a tempting deal on a lovely handbag pass me by.)

Posted with Blogsy

OOTD: Feedback Loop

I love everything about the way this outfit came about.

First, I saw Laura wear the Great Dots Maxi Dress here many months back.  It looked so cute on her that the dress wound up on my radar.  When it got a second cut down to $40 a few weeks later, I couldn't resist buying it.

Recently, I wore it on my blog here.  After that, in a convenient but unrelated series of posts, the incomparable Kristina J. explored ways in which to wear your maxi skirt/dress in autumn (see e.g. here).  Around that time, fabulous reader Erin sent me a photo of her own styling of this dress for fall.

When I posted this outfit last week, I mentioned feeling as though the dress didn't really translate for work.  However, Kristina and Erin's autumn (and work-appropriate!) interpretations of this dress in turn inspired me to try styling this dress for work following Erin and Kristina's examples

I think having some kind of cropped layer is an almost-surefire way to keep the proportions of the maxi dress in check.  For example, witness how weird this looks:

FYI:  I ended up changing coats.

So, in sum:  Proportions.  Layering.  Make it happen.

In this Outfit:

Anthropologie Great Dots Maxi Dress (6)

J.Crew Haberdashery Shirt

Anthropologie Pullover (S)

Payless Magenta Pumps (9)

Earrings via Gilt

Coach Ring

Bijoux Watch (purchased on a cruise ship)

Necklace (gifted, garage-saled)

PS:  Let me tell you an awesome story about these pumps.  I bought them years ago at Payless and I have loved them.  They're comfy, they're classy, and they're surprisingly versatile.  Sadly, they started falling apart this year, so I planned to get rid of them and replace them with a new pair (was eying these), but I wasn't thrilled with the price tag on the shoes I was finding online.

Then I went thrifting last weekend, and what did I find staring at me on the shoe rack but THESE SAME PAYLESS SHOES in exactly my size and in barely worn condition!  YESSSSS.

These shoes and I are clearly sole-mates!

The Fake Mullany Marks its Territory (EBEW - Nifty Thrifty)

It's Thrift Day over at Everybody Everwhere!  I missed the regularly scheduled "Yellow" day earlier this month because I was probably doing something very important, like online shopping or procrastinating on studying for the bar exam.

Not this time, though!  This time I have taken a break from online shopping and bar exam procrastination to actually put on clothes---unless you count the chemise I've been wearing for the last two days in a row as clothes, in which case I have TOTALLY been putting on clothes.

As I reflected on my thrifted wardrobe pieces, I almost settled on the most glamorous thrifted piece I own---this See by Chloe Silk Print Dress (retail: $580.  thrifted:  $18.  worn here.), but ultimately I opted for a bit more of a challenge---I've already worn the SBC dress (albeit only twice in almost seven months).  I couldn't help but reach for a poor neglected dress that has yet to see the light of day.  She's the Little Orphan Annie of my closet, except in her version of the story, Daddy Warbucks was a totally hands-off dad who left Annie to watch TV by herself every night until she cried herself to sleep with bitter tears of upper-class social isolation:

I bought this dress back in May at a Goodwill in NYC.  At the time I was thrilled to snatch it up, since it reminded me of a popular Anthropologie dress I'd missed out on:

(skinny black belt added to the thrifted dress)

Despite my initial excitement over the find (and the fact that I kind of steamrolled over my sister wrenched it from my sister's hands kindly and unselfishly talked my sister out of buying it so I could have it), this poor dress has just languished in my closet since its purchase.  I recently acquired the original Anthropologie Mullany Dress, and even though it may end up being too big for me I want to make sure this lovely white dress can stand on its own two feet before I bring its rival into my midst.

The strength of The Fake Mullany (TFM) is that it is more versatile when it comes to accent colors.  While the real Mullany has (adorable) black polka dots to contend with while accessorizing, this dress is literally a blank palette.

It's whiteness was intimidating at first, but once I added this cute blue flower pin---also thrifted---the white seemed less overwhelming.

"What're you doing down there, pin?"  I'm slowly getting over my wariness of pins as a class of accessories.  (See also, here)

In this Outfit:

Pleated White Dress (The Fake Mullany) by Minimal (thrifted) (similar here, and here for 60% off)

Blue Flower Pin (thrifted)

Nine West Pumps (Buffalo Exchange, Philadelphia) (similar here, here, here, and here)

J.Crew Tie Belt, circa 2004

Anthropologie Triphasic Earrings ($20 here)

Coach Leather Sabrina in Cinnamon (similar here)

Odds and Ends, Modcloth Sale

1.  Remember, today is your last chance to submit photos for Inspiring Interpretations.  (See here.)  I've gotten a bunch of awesome contributions so far and I can't wait to run the post on Friday morning!  Please submit these by midnight.

2.  Call for guest posts!  I'm leaving the country for three weeks on March 6, and while I have a few posts of my own scheduled to run during that time, I would love to get a few guest posts either from readers or from other bloggers.  The general topic area relates to your homeland/hometown/heritage.  I would need these by next Friday, March 4.  You can include as many photos as you like.  Please email me if you are interested so we can work out the details.

3.  How cute is this hat?  It prompted someone in the law school to stop walking, change directions, and walk back towards me to tell me how great it is.  I've had this for three years, but it seems that animal hats are pretty popular around NYC this winter:

(Available here)

Thrifted finds, another random outfit shot, and Modcloth sale info behind the jump.

Nifty Thrifty!

I visited the hole-in-the-wall but fabulous Goodwill on the Upper West Side again on Wednesday. I came away with something I'm not sure I will wear, but I just could not resist:

Dress: See by Chloe, $18
Shoes: Oscar by Oscar de la Renta, $15

Hmmm, you seem skeptical. You understandably have your doubts. --- Not about the shoes. I think we can all agree that the shoes are great. Maybe a bit plain, especially compared to the dress, but great nonetheless:

Perhaps it's the dress that you question. I would agree that it is certainly reminiscent of a muumuu, and the pattern is outrageous. I'd call it outrageously fabulous, but reasonable minds may differ. Still, check out what happens to this dress with a few Anthro accessories:

...Voila! A totally presentable warm weather outfit! Now I just need some 80 degree weather...

This PATTERN! I want to sear it onto my eyelids so I see only this when I close my eyes.

What do you think, all? Any styling suggestions for this behemoth?

EDIT: Geez, I just found this dress online. Original price: $580! Score!

Insane Chandelier Project is Officially Underway!

...As if buying a drill wasn't "No Turning Back" enough. As you may know, I'm attempting to assemble my own chandelier based on Anthropologie's "Tea Time Chandelier" (currently selling for $1,800).

This is Anthro's version. If you hadn't already figured that out.

On Monday, I meandered down to the H Street area of D.C. to browse the local Salvation Army for chandelier supplies. I was thrilled to find something that will work as the chandelier centerpiece:

Only $5! Not too shabby!

I also scored a bunch of other parts:

All of this cost me $12!

I love the colors and design of this teacup.

Extra-long spoons.

Clearly, I still need more teacups and spoons. I set a rule that I would not buy any teacups that were chipped or stained, and I'm trying to be selective in choosing some interesting designs along with some more simple patterns.

More importantly, I also need to figure out a way to drill a hole in a heavy silver pitcher. Because of this, I'm rethinking the design a bit. I may eliminate the extra silver pieces (creamer, sugar dish) and simplify the whole thing to be the silver pitcher on top of a tray, and then the teacups/spoons hanging down from the tray. We'll see if I find any good pieces in NYC thrift stores and then I'll go from there. I'm very concerned that I won't be able to make a hole in the pitcher; if that part turns out to be easy, then I may get more fancy-schmancy and complicated.

One I'm-afraid-of-my-own-drill bonus: one of the trays I bought has a few holes already in it! I can thread some wires through these holes to attach a wire ring underneath the tray, and I can hang the spoons/cups from that wire to minimize the drilling.

See that hole on the end in the middle of the embellishment? The tray has three holes spaced around the rim.

Insane Chandelier Project Stats Thus Far:

Cost thus far: $12 for supplies

Time spent thus far: 1.5 hours