Must haves and just for fun

What I think every woman should have in her wardrobe:

1. A pair of pearl earrings. They can be in elaborate designs, but not too big. David Yurman makes great ones.
   

   
   

2. A pair of black pumps. Not too pointy, but not too round either.
   
3. A really simple, but very well FITTED and TAILORED Little Black Dress.
   
4. A pair of camel colored pumps. Again not too pointy, but not too round either. I would also recommend against ultra high heels for all day comfort. But that depends on you.
   
5. A pair of diamond stud earrings. Of course, faux diamonds are fine. But pay attention to the setting of the stones.
   
6. A pair of khaki pants in beige.
   
7. A flowy, flowery soft cotton dress. It is soooo comfortable and can be dressed up or down.
   

   
   

8. Cream colored hobo. It goes with EVERYTHING
   
9. Button downs, button downs, button downs. They are super chic and you can just put your hair in a bun.
   
10. Statement necklaces. Or earrings.
    

 

And just for fun, I recently read an article in InStyle. The woman in the article is a well known interior designer. When asked what she thinks a woman can do to look more chic. The interior designer answered: wear a t-shirt inside out. I am completely floored by her ingenious idea of how to add interest in an outfit. I am just not sure if that is the kind of interest you want to add. And maybe she thought when the reporter asked what would make HER more chic… it would definitely make her look chic if all other women around her wore their t-shirts inside out.

Oh the crazy fashion people! A reality check is in order.

What’s new in my closet

My dad always took me shopping whenever he visits me at school (yay). With my school's proximity to one of the best outlet mall in the country, it is natural that we always visit San Marcos during our wild shopping trips. And so today was no exception.

The stores we always go:

Neiman Marcus Last Call (where I got the most fabulous pair of Chloe sunglasses today)

United Colors of Benetton

J.Crew (LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! And I found the most amazing necklace here today. They were also having quite a sale. Most regular priced items were 50% off and all sale items were additionally 30% off. I also found this dusty orange printed silk shirt for $15 that was originally priced for $70! What a steal!)

The Gap (OMG, don't even get me started with the Gap. First off, the Gap's factory stores always look like a battle zone. I don't know if they do that intentionally so everyone thinks there is a crazy sale going on or if there are just too many shoppers there and not enough employees to clean up after them – probably a little bit of both. I mean, seriously, why bother cleaning up when the store's disastrous state of non-orderliness doesn't seem to stop shoppers from entering? Allocating the employees to the register seemed much more productive, meaningful, and efficient (not necessarily in this order though). Anyhow, I was able to get a graham shirt for spanking $6 that was originally priced at $35! Wow wow wow. And it looks awesome! I also found a pair of sweeeet military green chinos for $9 that was originally priced at $40.)

BCBG

Lacoste

Gymboree (for my 3-year-old little sis)

Abercrombie and Fitch

…

…

…

Ok, so there are like a million stores there and my list is like not even close to a sliver of the pie. But those are my ultimate shopping destinations. Well, if you know me. J.Crew is all I need ;).

The Right Now List

So as the temperature is finally starting to drop, I have begun my annual hunt for scarves. I found this super soft scarf at Lucky Brand over labor day weekend and I just had to have it. Although the color may be summery, but who wears scarf during the summer? Not done in Texas anyway. People would just think you have a neck problem.

In addition to showing off to you my recent purchase, I am doing a little segment of what I want right now. I have been obsessed with necklaces lately and this one from Anthropology is so cute and versatile. According to Shopstyle, it is $20. But I could not find it at the store for the life of me. Adding a belt over any piece of clothing is just fabulous. I like the metallic one shown here (from Fossil). I can't believe I do not own any metallic belt. So this one is definitely on my shopping list.

Need! Need! Need! Yes, I really need this white silk blouse. I don't know where my head was before, but I only recently discovered that white silky blouse is extremely flattering and goes with everything (shocker!). I have been looking for one that is light and relaxed. This blouse from Bluefly is both of these things.

Rain, rain, go away. Little Johnny (Christine?) wants to play. Or I can just play in those fierce Hunter wellies. I have always been dreaming about getting one since I was in Denmark two years ago. But I have fat calves and I don't know if they will fit me. I also find it extremely hard to pick a color. Navy Blue? Black? Purple? Green? Oh Lord help me....

As the weather is cooling down (yay!), I thought I should make a cute Polyvore picture for a day at the park or just for walking around in the zoo. By the way, can the jacket be any more fab?

Until next time,

Christine

For the persistent bargain hunters in all of us

Like most people, I love when things go on sale. My habit of buying things on sale has gotten so bad that now I rarely pay full price for clothing and accessories. The only time I really "splurge" (and by "splurge" I mean buying stuff that are NOT on sale) is on coats, jackets, and purses. Sounds pathetic? Sure, maybe I am crazy. But bargain hunting is so much fun (yes, I said it).

Over my shopoholic years, I have discovered stores that offer amazing fashion at unbelieable prices and places that has current styles for a lot less than designer ones.

My favorite bargain hunting paradises: T.J. Maxx, Marshall's, Neiman Marcus Last Call, Off Saks, Loehmann's, The Rack by Nordstrom, DSW, Bluefly.com, and the Outnet.

T.J. Maxx is on the top of my list because I have one right outside where I live and there is another one very close to my school. Funny thing: the one that's close to my school used to get shipments from Wynn Las Vegas and Bloomingdale's. So the place was filled with designer stuff up to its neck. I found Marc Jacobs cashmere sweaters from the previous year's runway (retailed at $4000) for $300. They were thick cashmere blend with a silk overlay. I bought two - one black and one silver. Sadly, I do not have pictures of them. But they will sure surface here in the future since they are just beyond fierce. I also found DVF dresses for $100, and several Badgeley Mischka dresses for $100 each. All of these babies were retailed at about $400. Sweeet.

Marshall's is equally awesome. But the thing with these discount stores is that you really have to be patient and dig in. The store location also determines what kind of shipments they get and how fast things go. I got lucky with the San Antonio store next to my school, but the awesome selection is long gone. Although it still has nice things from Bloomindale's and other similar department stores, it no longer carries any leftover couture stuff from Wynn. Another caveat would be that discount stores' types of goods varies from time to time. You may find awesome DVF dresses and Matty M tees everywhere one time, and only crappy fashion wannabe items the next time.

Loehmann's has crazy sales sometimes. I do not frequent the store but I check it out whenever I am in the area. Loehmann's carries some designer dresses and other nice stuff in a section called "the Back Room." You can expect to find Marc by Marc Jacobs and Nicole Miller Collection among other brands.

Neiman Marcus Last Call, Off Saks, and the Rack are the discount stores for their respective department stores. Last Call is often located in outlet malls while you can find Off Saks and the Rack almost anywhere. They basically sell whatever was left of their final sales from the regular deparment stores. They are more organized in comparison to TJ Maxx, Marshall's, and Loehmann's, and you can find crazy sales on top of their already discounted prices.

DSW is for shoes. You won't find Louboutins here, but they have average priced designer shoes at a discounted price.

Bluefly.com and the Outnet are online discount retailers. Bluefly.com is a personal favorite. It carries all name brands clothing and accessories, but not crazy expensive. The Outnet, on the other hand, is the discount retailer for Net-a-porter.com. So expect it to carry all the world's leading designers. Couture, couture, couture!

Here are some of my recent finds:

Elie Tahari blazer. Retail for $448. I found a similar version at T.J. Maxx for $23.
Acrobat sweater. Retail at $92. Bluefly: $55. I found this baby at Loehmann's for $10. Haha.
Theory Ganesa Blouse as seen on Kate Hudson. Retail: $200. How much I paid? $20. From TJ Maxx again.