fell 4 fashion giveaway

A fellow Blogger whom I follow, Danielle from Fell 4 Fashion, is hosting a giveaway from CSN Stores. Go to her post for the details, and to enter!

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today's weather

Is it sad that this constitutes a warm, beautiful day in Syracuse in mid-January? I am wearing shorts.
... Outside.

Woah.

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wind-swept florals

cascade cardigan, Kohls
brown floral top, H&M
jeans, Jeanstar for Macy's
shoes, Timberlands
belt, H&M

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snow boots & a dress

dress, Simply Vera by Vera Wang from Kohls
cascade cardigan, Alloy
tights, Hue
boots, Columbia from Zappos
belt, H&M

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etsy finds

My mom offered to take my sister and I shopping today, but I had to decline because it would be too tempting while on my shopping ban. So, I stayed home to work on my graduate application. And browse Etsy:


custom paper silhouette portrait


cowl scarf


metal robot man


orange studded bag

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RueLaLa

I stumbled upon RueLaLa.com the other day, and was intrigued. From their website,

Rue La La is... an exclusive, invitation-only online destination where Members discover premier-brand, private sale Boutiques, each open for just a brief window of time.

So, I submitted my email address, with little hope that a spot would actually open up. What do you know, the next day I was approved! I checked it out, and it's a pretty sweet setup. $200 designer boots selling for $40?!?! Yes, please.

If you're interested, shoot me an email at vint4gesilhou3tte@gmail.com, and I'll invite you. Members get store credit when an invitee makes their first purchase.

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email subscription savings

Most major retail shops have their own websites, and many are, if they're not already, starting to offer email subscription newsletters full of savings, coupons, and online discount codes. If you haven't already signed up at your favorite stores, I highly suggest you do so. These are the ones that I'm currently subscribed to (I've also provided links to their sign up pages, if you're interested):

DSW
They send online discount codes, alerts about sales, and through snail-mail they send those "buy $XX.XX worth of stuff and get this great bag for free!" post cards. Also, if you're part of their member rewards program, you accumulate points when you buy things (and sometimes they send you notifications about double points) and when you get a certain amount of points they send you a $10 off any purchase coupon. I get a few emails every week.

Old Navy (scroll down to the bottom to the "sign up & save" form)
Usually their newsletters contain alerts about special savings. Occasionally you'll get a discount code. The real savings, though, are in their Weekly Special website, where you can try and find coupons for in store purchases. I usually get something in the mail from them at the beginning of the week every week. By signing up for Old Navy, you also get alerts about their other brands (Gap, Banana Republic, Athleta, and Piper Lime).

Alloy
If you sign up for their newletter, you'll be the first to know about their 80% off end of season clearance and get online discount codes. I'll usually get some kind of savings alert every week from them.

Kohls
First of all, for signing up you get a $5 coupon that you can use in store or online. They send savings alerts, and occasionally free shipping or discount codes. I don't get very many emails from them.

JC Penneys
Typically it's free shipping or a savings alert. Since they're a big retail chain, you're better off looking in your Sunday paper for in store coupons. I got a $10 coupon for signing up, and I get maybe two or three emails a month from them.

Target (scroll down to the bottom and find the "email exclusives" sign up box)
All I get from these guys are savings alerts, and some style tips. When I first signed up a few months ago, I use to get an email at least every Friday with "Frugalista" shopping tips, but now I don't get anything. Their online marketing campaign must have dropped off recently.

H&M
I actually just signed up today, so I can't really comment on these guys.

New York and Company
Through email they send savings alerts and discount codes for online purchases. The big savings here is the snail-mail coupons they send if you're a rewards member. I get emails maybe a few times a month, and coupons for "$25 off $75, $50 off $150, etc." every couple months.

Forever 21
I signed up for these guys because I heard a rumor that occasionally they send coupons, but so far all I've gotten are savings alerts maybe once a week. Now that they have a bunch of other "brands" like Heritage, Faith21, etc. I get alerts for those too.

Sometimes it's a hassle to clean up your inbox Monday morning (which is usually when they send out emails) after being inundated with newsletters, but the savings you find is totally worth it.

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sharp dress man

I was on the way home from a doctor's appointment today, and ZZ Top's "Sharp Dress Man" came on the radio.

So true. So very true. VERY.

Christian Bale, Clive Owen
Eric Dane, Gerard Butler

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winter solids

dress, Old Navy (Plus Sizes)
tank top, Land's End
cardigan, H&M
tights, Hue

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colorful wool coats

We in CNY are now in the throes of mid-winter. It's windy, blowing lake effect snow, and slushy outside. Usually in a few weeks I'll have started to miss sun and the grass, and long for bright spring days. In order to help myself fight off the winter woes, I purchased a bright kelly green, pleated, swing, wool coat from Old Navy a few weeks ago. I really love it, mostly because while everyone else trudges around in dreary black, camel, or gray wool coats, the unexpected color looks happy and fresh. Here are some suggestions to keep you cozy and bright until spring:


classic long pea coat with thinsulate, $77.90-$82.90, Alloy


plaid short hooded pea coat with thinsulate, $59.90-$64.90, Alloy


bell sleeve wool-blend coat, $58.99, Alloy


tab waist wool-blend coat, $49.99, Old Navy

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pretty lounge wear

As a college student, I spend a decent portion of my night in lounge wear. After being dressed up from 8am to 8pm, I look forward to coming back to my dorm and changing into something comfortable while I'm doing homework and relaxing before bed time. I got to thinking, though, that my current outfit is pretty drab and unstylish (jersey gym shorts and an oversize t-shirt). There is absolutely no excuse or good reason to look like a disaster just because you're not "out" - especially in dorms where everyone may see you walking down the hall to the lounge or the restroom.

Where do you find pretty things to wear while you're relaxing? The first place I thought of was Old Navy. They usually have lots of colorful things, and are usually much less expensive than things you'd find at places like Victoria's Secret (another good place for lounge wear, although, as I just mentioned, usually out of my budget). After all, you want to look decent, but if you're going to have to spend an arm and a leg to relax, you may as well buy a new daytime outfit instead.

Here are my suggestions to the dowdy alternatives:

T-Shirts:
Instead of wearing an oversized, boxy tshirt from the bookstore that you sweat in at the gym, try one of these cute tops. Just because they're a little more detailed than a plain tshirt doesn't mean you can't wear them to lounge around in. Remember to separate your lounge tops from  your daily wear tops - you don't HAVE to wear these out in public just because they're marketed as normal wear tops. (Although these sure beat wearing workout wear to class if you had to get ready in 0.374 seconds.)

pink pleated top, $17.50
purple drop waist top, $17.50
yellow boat neck top, $10.00
blue striped henley, $8.99
gray and pink striped scoopneck, $14.50
green ruffled scoopneck, $12.50

Hoodies/Sweatshirts
Is that baggy, ratty old sweatshirt really doing good things for your figure? I doubt it. Aim for something with feminine details, or waist defining abilities. Stay away from solid, big kangaroo pouches that will add bulk (if you do get a sweatshirt with a pouch, aim for a slim one, or one that is split up by a zipper), or high crew necks without zippers that will give you a uni-boob. Try these for a change:

ruffled hoodie, $19.99
faux-fur collar hoodie, $19.99
shawl collared cardigan, $13.99

Sweatpants/Yoga Pants
I swear, the lounge uniform of college women is the black yoga pant, or black leggings. They are NOT cut to flatter everyone, and should NOT be worn as day to day pants. Why not try a colorful alternative, or a different color neutral? The trick with colorful pants is to avoid ones that look like PJ's. Also, try and avoid shrink-wrap leggings, or super baggy cuts. I'd also try and avoid fleece, unless you vacuum regularly, as it will act as a lint roller to whatever dust/fuzz is lying around your dorm. You could also try some super-casual twill pants, or light weight cords if you're looking for something a bit less relaxed.

green drawstring fleece pants, $10.99
purple striped foldover pants, $16.50
pink cotton drawstring pants, $7.99-$16.50
gray lightweight cord cargos, $12.99
navy jersey lined cargos, $19.99

I just love that for under $50.00, you can go into Old Navy and get a complete (and reasonably fashionable) lounge wear set!

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army/navy stores

Greetings, and Happy (belated) New Year!

While I haven't been posting daily photos, I have been doing some serious brainstorming on how to remix my wardrobe come January 16th when I'm off vacation and have a reason to wear something other than sweatpants. So, look forward to that.

In the mean time, I thought I'd help you all find some super savings, in a pretty unexpected place - Army/Navy surplus stores. For those of you who have never heard of these, they sell items that were intended for the military, but are unable to be used, or were originally purchased in excess by the military. Usually, they sell jackets, boots, hats (basically a lot of outerwear), bags, and sometimes camping equipment. Oftentimes, the stuff they sell is incredibly reduced in price, compared to what it would be sold for at a sporting good store. Essentially, it's like a thrift store with a military/outdoors-y theme.

To be frank, usually the stuff there isn't going to be the most fashionable. However, if you're in need of cheap but quality gloves, hats, boots, and even jackets and jeans, there's really no better place to go. Sometimes you'll get unisex stuff, sometimes you'll buy guy's sizes, and sometimes they even offer selections for women.

So, where do you start? My first suggestion would be to start online, and hit Google up and search for "army/navy surplus store". These would be your online vendors. My new favourite is Silberman's Army & Navy. I've found news boy hats, fingerless gloves, bathing suits, jeans, and more. I just purchased these today:

Sorel Women's Caribou Boot (in buff), $90.00






On Zappos, these run for $130.00 - that's a $40.00 savings! Additionally, they are offering free shipping on orders over $100.00, and they have plenty of accessories (I got a white news boy hat for $4.00, and got my boyfriend a new belt and wallet for $7.00 total) that you can use to bump up your total if needed. (The boots alone would have been $10.00 shipping, so it was completely worth it to spend an extra $10.00 in this case.)

There are a lot of other great stores online - you just have to take the time to wade through the stock to see if there's anything you can use. I've also found cute messenger bags. Remember when military inspired stuff was all the rage? Well, this stuff is REALLY military crafted.

I loved this hat from Army Navy Shop:

 Plaid and Faux Fur Military Flyer Hat, $15.00





I bought a hat like this once at JC Penneys several years ago, and paid twice this - if only I'd known about Army/Navy stores then!

You can also do Google searches for storefront locations of stores near you - search for "army/navy surplus store near (zipcode)". This gives you the opportunity to try things on, and sometimes sign up for rewards programs to give you store credit after a spending a certain amount.

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