coulda, woulda, shoulda

top-H&M; vest-vintage Danier; shorts-?? via Winners; boots-Spring; socks-H&M;clutch-vintage; watch-gifted; earrings-thrifted

I could've worn this today because the weather has been super cooperative and we've hit the 22 degrees mark a couple of times this week ( which I thoroughly enjoyed, of course) but...these pics are from about 2 weeks ago. I haven't quite stopped getting dressed since then; I've just had no time to photograph anything... including/especially outfits (which is where I need assistance since I can't take outfit photos by myself...tried, and failed miserably...twice, and then gave up...)

The thing about warm weather in the fall is that no one really dresses for it anymore... we all get into the whole fall-mood, and even when nature gives us a bone...we don't chase it. We wear jeans, boots, scarves, and sweaters, because the calender says it's October (and shows us pictures of orange and yellow leaves, cinnamon flavored drinks, etc.) I know I might regret not seizing the opportunity to wear sandals one more time in 2011, but....let's face it, I've rarely taken the time to reflect on an outfit and actually regret it.

Happy Weekend!:)

the last days of summer

shirt-thrifted; skirt-Smart Set; clutch-ALDO; bracelet-XXI

Since it's now October, I'm beginning to accept the fact that Fall is upon us...and the rainy, cold, pretty miserable weather is certainly 'helping' the transition. But, last week we got a few beautiful, sunny, warm days, which I tired to seize to the best of my abilities; bare legs, silk shirts, and all ;)

I'll miss you, summer...till next time ;)

rules are meant to be broken

 shirt-vintage (thrifted); skirt-Joe Fresh; belt-thrifted, boots-Spring; socks-H&M; purse-vintage via my momma, watch-gift, ring-XXI

Denim on denim... yeah, that's happening now. There's a few people on my life who I can guarantee will raise their eyebrow at this combo, but hey, I gotta break a few rules from time to time. That way when my kids look back at this one day (when they're all wearing monotone body suits and living on a spaceships, sort of Star Trek-ish) they'll have something to laugh at ;)

  ...if you think I'm trying to do some sort of fancy pose here, you're wrong. I was laughing/almost dancing (as evident in the pic below, where I'm half-busting a move), and these pics were all I had to choose from basically....soo, there you have it, nothing fancy going on here!...just so we're clear.

consider this a 'behind the scenes' type of shot ;) this is what goes down while I *think*my bf is adjusting the camera settings...I bust a move or two ;)

You're welcome!

So, denim on denim, 'yeyy'....or 'heck no!'??

why I thrift shop: trends

I wouldn't say I'm a pro thrift shopper or anything of the sorts (I prefer to hold back on the titles ;)) but I do partake in second hand shopping a fair amount (fair is debatable, depending on who you ask...). In past posts I've shared some thrifting successes, and heck I've even bragged about them, but I've never really talked about why I choose to thrift shop, and figured there's no time like the present!

Thrifty Trends

I'm a student, and as such I do live on a budget. I wouldn't call it too restrictive, because I seldom feel 'poor', but I also have priorities when it comes to spending whatever cash I have. For example, I'd prefer to spend $50 on a great night out with friends, as opposed to on a piece of jewelry (which says A LOT, considering how much I love jewelry...).
When it comes to clothing, I'd always opt to pay more for a classic piece I'll wear again and again, instead of overspending on trendy items that may or may not make it till next season. So, bearing that in mind, thrifting just makes perfect sense when it comes to adding some trendy pieces to your closet, sans the guilt and crazy Visa statements.

Aaand, to demonstrate, here's an example of a thrift buy I scored some months ago vs. a strikingly similar item retailing for over $50.

bottom image via J.Crew

If I could offer a tiny bit of advice on thrift shopping for trendy bits, it would be to stay open minded! You can't go in a thrift store expecting an exact replica of a piece you saw on Vogue, but you can try and find something similar that projects the same trend or something you can DIY into that coveted trendy item.

Thoughts?

the re-created outfit & wine as a prop

top-vintage (thrifted); skirt-H&M; sandals-Nine West; necklace-H&M

I wore this pretty much identical outfit (with diff shoes) a couple of weeks ago, but didn't have time to take a picture of it. So, naturally, last Friday night, I decided to re-create the look for a friend's Birthday party; it's quickly become a favorite :) I just love the colors and any excuse to wear that necklace is good enough for me!

anddd, the wine; it wasn't really a prop and we all know that ;) It was delicious and I just didn't wanna put it down!

the falls

dress-Joe Fresh; belt-H&M; sandals-XXI; bracelets-gifted; clutch-thrifted

It's no secret that summer is my fave :) Just another awesome thing about the season: the days are looong, and I think it fair to say everyone's a little more spontaneous...example-last week some friends suggested a spur-of-the-moment trip to Niagara Falls, and of course we accepted! It was probably my 6th or 7th time there, but hey, the falls are beautiful, there's fudge shops all over the place, and it's always fun to go there with someone who's never been and watch their excitement ;)

I thought this was a fitting occasion to introduce you guys to 'the man behind the camera'/my lover/best roommate ever/super nice guy that I somehow scored! He's happy to meet you too ;)

Lastly, yes, that maple swirl fudge was da bomb! I'm not gonna lie, I ate 70% of it all on my own...and proud of it!

by accident

top-thrifted; skirt-thrifted; belt-vintage; necklace-vintage; shoes-thrifted

Every time I put on this skirt a whiff of wind pops out of nowhere and you get to witness facial expressions like the ones on the last photo... And, you'd think, that a skirt that long wouldn't reveal my undies to the world anytime some wind blew, but nope...it's as light as air, so it pretty much flies wherever (kind of glad we took these photo's on the balcony, as opposed to outside, because my awkwardness may scare some people ;))

p.s.- I did NOT mean for this outfit to be an entirely thrifted/vintage one, but hey, when it happened, I just rolled with it. ;)

maybe

shirt-thrifted; shorts-Suzy Shier; belt-vintage; purse-vintage; flats-Joe Fresh; bracelets-gifted & vintage

On my last trip to the thrift store I walked out with 4 silk garments, each in a bright, bold color. I didn't plan it, but that's all that stood out to me that day, and when I got to the checkout, the sales lady said "oh, I see you're adding some color to your wardrobe"... I chuckled and said "umm, yeah" realizing that she probably isn't familiar with my closet (unless she stops by here, lol) and it's bountiful color selection. I suppose next time I'll go in wearing my red pants, cobalt blue top and purple flats ;)

p.s.- perhaps I should've ironed this shirt... but it's been super-duper hot and I didn't feel like it was worth it, so I tucked it in, and pretended that's how it's supposed to be :)

weakness

top-vintage (thrifted); skirt-H&M; flats-Joe Fresh; purse-ALDO; necklace-XXI

I've finally come to accept and embrace the fact that accessories may just be my biggest weakness. I know, it;s pretty hard to be that perfect, but I try.
Seriously though, this one I simply could not walk away from, I tried, and tried, but it somehow ended up at the cash register with me; that kind of stuff happens to me a lot.

p.s.- this top, vintage cuz of the tag, and thrifted for 5$ (which I realize for some of you Americans is crazy money to spend at a thrift store, but once again may I remind you that up north we don't get awesome silk tops for much less! We make do with what we've got ;))

lucky stop

blazer-vintage (thrifted); top-Joe Fresh; shorts-Suzy Shier; wedges-Payless; clutch-H&M; ring-H&M

Sometimes you walk into a thrift store with a mission and you end up disappointed (I've been there) but other times you walk in out of pure impulse and score a bunch of fantastic silk garments for under 20 bucks! This yellow blazer was part of this latest thrift trip, which was prompted by really hot weather and a bit of time to spare :)
I'm not much of a labels person; I really don't care for them. BUT certain labels that say things like 'made in France' do get me excited (especially when they're next to "100% silk" ;))

B-day lunch date

dress-H&M; cardigan-H&M; sandals-XXI; clutch-thrifted; watch-gifted belt-H&M

I wasn't 100% sure about this outfit as I put it together, and my bf even cracked a few jokes about me checking it by sitting down and stuff, but all in all, it was a great choice for the perfect Birthday lunch date :) I wish I had taken pictures of the food we had too, because it was absolutely amazing (but then again, I wouldn't want to make you all drool ;PP) I will say this, a sweet potato/coconut with citrus and pineapple soup is probably the most genius combination of ingredients I've tasted!

p.s.- also, 2nd time we've taken pictures outdoors, and this time in a residential area! Really stepping things up, huh?! (I will admit I was sort of tense that someone would come out of their homes and ask us what we're doing...because explaining outfit shots is no easy task) We did get a few pass by-ers give us confused looks, but that's all part of the fun, right? ;)