Look what you can find at the thrift store!!!!

Remember my last post about the wedding fiasco and the Diane Von Furstenburg dress that I ended up wearing? Well guess where it came from...a consignment sale!!!! Most vintagely fabulous divas already know about thrift store shopping, but don't forget about consignment sales as well. These sales are the BEST places to go for getting all of your unique finds. I always recommend going on the first day as early as possible so all the best items aren't gone before you get there...the early bird catches the worm. Take for instance this dress that retails for $395......purchased for less than $60. I paired the stand out colors with simple gold strappy heels and $2 turquoise ring. Lucky me my toes just HAPPENED to match the blue leaves in the dress :)

Shoes: Nine West $60

Lesson Learned

Last weekend I went to one of my very good friends weddings out of town. Since I was only spending one night there I packed lightly with only the dress I was going to wear to the wedding and a change of clothes. So as my hubs and I were getting ready to go....we noticed that we were running late and began to rush. I threw my dress on and hastily started to have it zipped up when I felt a POP! The look on my hubs face confirmed it....the zipper broke on my dress :( I yelled for my sister to help me and there we were, trying to get the zipper fixed on my dress at 11:30am when the wedding started at noon. In the end the zipper was victorious and I was defeated as I had brought nothing else to wear to the wedding. My sister and I are about the same size but do not have the same taste in clothing (She is more like Audrey Hepburn, I am more like Gwen Stephani mixed with Drew Barrymore) so we frantically looked through her closet to find something suitable. I FINALLY spotted a yellow, pink and aqua Diane Von Furstenburg wrap dress (retails about $365) that was simply to die for...though it was a little more casual then I wanted to be. I had no other choice, put it on with my strappy gold heels I brought and rocked it to the wedding. I must say even though it wasn't the dress I really wanted to wear, I felt pretty good about my sister's dress. I will post a pic of it later.

Lesson Learned: When planning to attend an event out of town, ALWAYS bring a back up outfit!

The denim skirt

I just love a well constructed dark denim skirt! It's slimming, super cute, and goes with absolutely everything. Every woman NEEDS one in her wardrobe. I feel the best dark denim skirt has a deep navy wash, not too short, some stretch, cute accents and a slit in the back to dress it up. Here I have paired the perfect denim skirt (note the cute accent buttons) with a vintage navy and yellow jacket and dark denim platform heels.

Skirt: Level 99 jeans, Anthropologie- $98

Jacket: Salvation Army

Shoes: DSW- $45

Military scene

The whole military inspired thing is HOTT among the trendlist for this year. I have never been one to really follow the trends, but I decided to break out a skirt I had purchased way back in 1998 at a store called Cloud 9 clothing in Baltimore......This skirt is PERFECT for the non-conforming fashionista! Satiny material, side pockets and a drawstring bottom. You can find could 9 clothing here: http://www.cloud9clothing.us/
I paired my beloved skirt with a sleeveless, khaki colored ruffle shirt, gold tone shoes and a gold hair clip.

Skirt: Cloud 9- don't remember the price, but I was a broke college student at the time so I'm going with $25

Shoes: Target- $19.99

Shirt- Anthropologie- about $35 on the sale rack :)

Hair clip: $3- Etsy

More tank tops and skirts!

In this look that I wore to work today, I paired a classic white tank top with a patterned navy skirt (a birthday present from sis), a sheer white cardigan and accented with a simple silver flower brooch. And instantly the tank top becomes totally office savvy! I originally wore pewter colored flats during the day because due to my FTJ I have to wear "safety shoes",  but then decided to take the photo with pewter colored strappy heels to give this look even more style. This outfit is perfect for so many occasions (church event, lunch with friends) or you can dress it down by removing the cardigan and putting on some navy or silver flip flops!

Skirt: J Crew - $70

Cardigan: J Crew - $50

Tank top: Walmart - $10 for a pack of 3

Shoes: Nordstrom Rack

tank tops and colorful skirts

Disclaimer: It was humid today so don't look at my hair hehehe :)
The tank top! A basic layer found in all colors, some with adornments and jewels; tank tops never go out of style and can be dressed up or down. The best way to wear them is long and form fitting. Here I have paired a basic grey tank with a colorful skirt with stripes of red, orange and grey (the pic doesn't reflect the colors of the skirt well) Add in some black flat gladiator style sandals with flower adornments and you have an easy weekend look that is just as comfortable as it is cute!

Tank: $5- Target
Skirt: $34- Francesca's Collections
Sandals: $29- DSW

Where'd you get that!?

Konbanwa my raving beauties! Since this is my very first post I want to start with a little background. This blog came about because as a scientist working in the pharmaceutical industry I tend to stray away from the normal dress code of your standard polo shirt and khaki pants....BORING!!!! My style is completely my own and completely unpredictable, you never know if I'm going to show up in a pretty floral, belted dress....or a graphic t-shirt with faded skinny jeans. I find that I frequently get complimented on my outfits and "stop-and-asked" on where did my pieces come from.

Truth is I find things from all over, and I always keep an eye out for something chick when I am about and around. However.....there are a few places that I consider my "old reliables" whenever I  am in the mood for something cute and new:

Anthropologie
If you want something unique and gorgeous with a vintage feel this is the store for you! On the more pricey side with the average price of an item around $170, I shop here sparingly. Oh but the clothes are so lovely

Modcloth
The internet's best kept secret for all things modern vintage at much more wallet friendly prices

ShopRuche
Similar to Modcloth, in fact they sometimes carry the exact same items

Francesca's Collections
It's like Anthropologie....but affordable. The clothes are very cute but sometimes a little young. I have yet to see an item in the store over $55

Target
Don't sleep on Target! They have the BEST ballet flats

Etsy
Everything handmade by independent designers. Look around and "favorite" some of these talented artists' stores.


As I begin to post outfits and pieces I adore, I will make sure to display the where and how much :)