Outfit Post: NOLA Night Out

Have you ever bought an item thinking, "I'll wear this all the time!" and then it sits in your closet?  My cousin, Chelsea, and I were shopping at Bergdorf Goodman a few months back when I spotted this sparkly stunner on sale in the 5F section. Back in the college days this would've fallen into the "Going Out Tops" category and 21 year-old me decided that I had to have this fabulous Elizabeth and James top.

It's called the "Maggie" top, but I prefer Magpie - so shiny!

Unfortunately, 31 year old me does not have quite as many opportunities to sport such an item (I mean, I could wear it on a random Wednesday, but the sequins might get stuck to my couch). When V and I decided to visit friends in New Orleans for New Year's and I knew I'd finally get to bust this bad boy out.

I kept it simple with jeans and my favorite Guccis and the amazing Gucci Soho Leather Disco bag that V bought me for Christmas (lucky girl, right?). I'm also wearing these super-fun Elizabeth Cole Mohawk earrings that I'd scored from a Gilt sale awhile back, but the new layered hair makes them difficult to see (womp, womp). Maybe now that I broke the seal on this top I'll be more adventurous with the styling.

Top: Elizabeth and James Jeans: American Eagle Heels: Gucci [Not pictured] Bag: Gucci Earrings: Elizabeth Cole

Rant: Who Is Vince Camuto?

Inside the lid of a Vince Camuto shoebox that houses my metallic wedges.

The Vince Camuto brand baffles me. Many times I have been in a department store and wandered over to a display of classic shoes, bags or watches with edgy details that catch my eye, but every time I see the Vince Camuto label my feelings are suddenly neutralized.

As a consumer who is overly interested in brand identity I cannot get a read on Vince Camuto. If I had to do that old marketing exercise, “If Vince Camuto were a person,” I could not tell you what kind of car he drives or where he shops and I certainly couldn’t tell you how old he is. 

In a retail setting I can never tell where this brand falls in the pecking order of other brands in the respective departments. Should their bags be on the shelf with Betsey Johnson and Nine West? Or featured on a pad like MICHAEL Michael Kors and Marc by Marc Jacobs? The price point suggests the latter; perhaps they should change the name to VINCE [by] Vince Camuto?

They must be a lifestyle brand because they offer a full range of products that can cover men and women alike from head to toe – including scent.

A quick look at their corporate website showed me that Camuto group owns several brands that I love. Interestingly enough half of the brands have a very clear brand identity (Tory Burch, BCBG MAXAZRIA, BCBG GENERATION, and Lucky) and the others lack that same thing (Jessica Simpson, Sanctuary, Arturo Chang and, of course, Vince Camuto).

I like the diverse offering of Vince Camuto’s products; there are stylish satchels for your mom, biker boots for your cool aunt and funky over-sized watches for your on trend little sister. I even own a pair of their shoes, but I wonder if the brand is cohesive enough to survive when the customer has no idea who they are trying to be.

Second Time Around - Consign Me Up!

Shopping bags going out instead of coming into my apartment.

After months of procrastinating (okay, it’s been over a year) I finally put a few dozen items up for consignment. Dresses, bags, shoes, and separates, if they weren't my style (regardless of how good of a deal I got on them or whether or not they might someday make a great Halloween costume) out they went.

There are two consignment shops in my town, but one has so much inventory that you can't even see what they have and the other only takes appointments from 10AM-4PM on weekdays and, since I'm not a socialite, those hours don't work for me.

Instead I wound up bringing my items to the Huntington location of Second Time Around consignment. I found them one evening when I was early to meet a friend for dinner (When does that ever happen? Obviously this was fate intervening) and as I browsed I heard the sales girl very politely inform a young woman that they would not be taking the Louis Vuitton bag she had brought in because it was fake. This can be a touchy subject, but the salesgirl handled it in a kind, yet firm manner and I knew this was the kind of place I wanted to deal with.

In addition to their stellar customer service, which they've been providing for 40 years, they have 45 locations in 12 states, tons of press clippings and positive reviews online (for most locations, sorry, Forest Hills) so I feel like they are a reputable company. Plus, they were also featured on Bravo TV's Fashion Hunters. Sure, it was a 1-season-wonder, but it was on Bravo and I take that sh*t seriously.

This is how it works:

You'll need at least three pieces to start an account. STA allows you to either set up an appointment or drop your items off to be reviewed (you can also consign online, here's how, but be forewarned that the unwanted items are donated, not returned to the consignor).

Once they decide what they're going to take they research the items and mark them at approximately 30-40% of the original retail value and if the item sells the profit is a 60/40 split ("luxury" handbags are a 50/50 split). You can keep your earnings as a store credit (which entitles you to an additional 10% off) or request a check (checks under $100 must be picked up, but checks over $100 can be mailed to you) which is available on the 1st of the following month. If your items don't sell in 3 months you have 1 week to pick them up or they will be donated to charity.

Not content to just collect, I felt compelled to create a spreadsheet that would take what I originally paid for the item (because I'm crazy and I keep records of everything) and subtract what I make back to see if I can get out of the red and back in the black. While I’m not taking into account the old shopaholic Price Per Wear equation (cost of item/times worn), some items were gifts and others were sample sale finds, so I'm optimistic. Either way the items are doing more for me at STA than they were piled up in the corner of my apartment.

So far I've sold one item, a fringed black leather Kooba bracelet bag, and made $38. Five of the 36 items are AllSaints and the salesgirl informed me that they have a customer who comes in on the regular asking for the brand, so I'm just hoping that she and I are the same size. All in all I feel like I'm off to a strong start, but I'll still keep my fingers crossed that it keeps trending that way.

Outfit Post: Last Call for White Y'all

Friday night we were heading out for a simple dinner at a rooftop restaurant in town. I've been seriously neglecting my heels lately and with just one weekend left in summer I decided it was time to bust out the white pants.

Here's the outfit breakdown:

Pants: Free People - Found these at a sample sale ages ago. Wide leg pants have come in and out of style, but in my later years I've become a believer that, regardless of what's 'in,' you should wear whatever style works for you.

Shirt: Gap - V-necks are my weakness. While I typically prefer Old Navy to The Gap, you just can't beat a Favorite Tee.

Belt: J. Crew Factory - It's hard to tell from this pic, but this is a gold fabric braided belt (which I cannot say without thinking of Cappie from ABC Family's Greek saying, "And also shame on guys who wear braided belts, they just give me the willies," but I digress). Metallic belts really are essential (here's a silver option in a similar style) and this one has completed more looks than I can count.

Bag: Kate Spade - This bag is from the outlets ages ago. It's small, but it fits the necessities: iPhone, "going out wallet" (which, in my case, is the Coach Wallet my sisters bought be for 8th grade graduation), keys and a lip gloss. Perfect for a night out.

Shoes: Marc Jacobs - Ah, my very first pair of designer shoes. I cannot speak to the quality of Marc Jacobs shoes in recent years, as this is the only pair that I own, but if this pair is any indication I say they're worth every penny. My amazing mother bought them for me at Century 21 almost ten years ago.  They've held up remarkably well and they've never even seen the inside of Augie's Shoe Service (if you don't have a skilled shoe repair shop on speed dial, get on it).

Necklace: Gorjana - Layering necklaces has been in for awhile now and the Gorjana website is one stop shopping for these sort of pieces. They host a decent amount of sales as well as offering deals through their facebook page and you can find their pieces on flash sale sites like Gilt and RueLaLa too.

Outfit Post: Brunch, My Favorite Meal of the Weekend

So this post is a bit delayed, but a few weeks ago I went to brunch in NYC. I was long overdue to catch up with one of my favorite friends and we finally pinned down a day and time. On a sunny Sunday there are few things I would rather do than meet a friend for brunch in the city. We found a great deal for a bottomless brunch on UrbanDaddy at a cute little Spanish place on the Upper West Side called Andanada. The Yelp reviews are mixed, but we were pleased with our experience. I highly recommend the Tortilla de Patatas (translation: Spanish omelet) and the white sangria. The staff was lovely and the garden in the back allows for beautiful natural light to drift into the space (although I don't think I'd want to sit directly in the sun as I'd imagine it gets pretty hot).

Anyways, I went for a roughed up preppy look. I'm basically a fan of all things J. Crew and Jenna Lyons and on a Sunday I just don't think there's a better way to dress. Here's the outfit breakdown:

Jeans: AG Adriano Goldschmied "Ex-Boyfriend Crop" cut - they are my go-to denim from the moment it's warm enough to bare my super-pale ankles.
Shirt: J. Crew - No one makes a better button-down for my tiny frame. No one. It's hard to tell my from terrible selfies, but the shirt is actually pink and white striped.
Belt: Hermes
Jacket: Black Gap moto jacket that I scored on sale ages ago.
Scarf: H&M.
Bag: Deux Luxe from a Gilt sale. They're bags are quality, lightweight and vegan to boot! I highly recommend.
Shoes: Matt Bernson black snake print leather 'Skimma' wedges - this was only the second time that I wore them and they're a tad small, so I wound up hobbling my way back to Penn Station; they are definitely going to need a trip to the shoe-maker to get stretched before I can wear them comfortably. They also have a low, slim wood wedge, which you can see better here.

Outfit Post: "Spring" Saturday Night

Spring in NYC can be really tough to dress for; one day it's 81 degrees and the next is mid-40's and raining. On this particular Saturday night the temps were definitely on the chillier side, but a girl can only take so many months of black opaque tights, so I went with black leggings instead.

While you can't see the back of my shirt in the pics, it does have a high-low hem, so I didn't break from my firm belief that "leggings are not pants." The aforementioned shirt is a recent purchase from Target and I love it because the quote is a reference to Belgian surrealist artist, René Magritte, who is also referenced in the amazing book I am currently reading called The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (seriously, I've laughed, I've cried, I've reread entire chapters just so I won't finish it because I'm enjoying it that much).

But I digress, we were going to a lounge on the Lower East Side of Manhattan that I haven't been to since we made it a stop at a bachelorette party a few years back (my point being that this would probably not be a high fashion crowd), so I wanted to look fun and be comfortable. I'm a little obsessed with the intentionally visible black bra look - I blame early Madonna - and it really seemed to lend itself to this outfit without looking trashy.

The jacket/blazer is Zara (you can never go wrong with a tuxedo jacket, am I right?), the shoes Gucci (I swear I could run a mile in them and have definitely run for cabs and trains in them) and the earrings are from a little shop in my town. The only thing I would've changed is that I wore a shoulder bag instead of a cross body and, since I'm totally spoiled by the ease of the cross body, it irked me all night. Other than that? Spring outfit success.

Inspiration Board? More Like Inspiration Book

Ever since I was a little girl, collecting leftover Sassy and Seventeen magazines from around the house, I have been tearing out "looks" that I love. Over the years I've collected these images and when I came across a leftover art journal I knew that those fashion tears had found their home.

While I've been really good about continuing to tear images that inspire me, I've been a bit lax about organizing them. But recently I've been struggling with my closet and, in an effort to edit down my wardrobe and reveal my style, I have revisited these images.

Watching design shows you see design boards and that's great for one look, but when it comes to a wardrobe I need more room to work -- and so the rebirth of the inspiration book. Out came the images, out went the ones I'm already over and on went the rubber cement to secure the keepers. It's my hope that my style progresses along with the book and, when I'm having a fashion meltdown, it will serve as a place to go for answers.

Originally I wanted this to be a style blog, but I'm so sick of the standard style blogs; put-together women in their 30's being photographed by their significant others in whimsical poses and whatever setting mimics a soft filter on their SLR camera (which they probably received as an out-of-the-box wedding gift from their equally hip friends/family).

Like so many women my age, I don't quite have it all together. I'm getting there, but I'm not going to post phony photos that make others envious of my Brooklyn loft and my impeccably groomed puppy. I'm 29, I live on Long Island, I work in a small office and see the same handful of people every day; so my day-to-day attire simply does not call for high fashion. The problem is I'm also tired of the jeans/tee/hoodie combo, not to mention that I'm terrified of Stacy London and Clinton Kelly ambushing me for the new season of "What Not to Wear," and I think it's high time that I figure out how to adapt my dreams of everyday dressing to fit my reality. Yes, I escape to the city and the Hamptons as frequently as possible and when I do I use that as an excuse to wear the clothes I dream of, but it's still not my reality.

So this isn't an established style blog in the traditional sense, it's a finding-my-style blog. Let the editing down begin.

Well, That's the Last of It

My Trouve "Sabrina" distressed leather ankle boots came in the mail today and they are a perfect fit! So happy that I can stop the search for the perfect combat boot. No side zipper installed like they are in mainstream styles for those not willing to commit to the style. No extra room that requires me to wear bulky socks, instead I can wear regular socks or even tights and be comfortable. Yay!

In addition to my final shopping item before starting the freeze again, after I got home from my run, I also chose to clean out my closet tonight. I was re-reading part of this great book that reminded me that I should get rid of any items I wouldn't want people to see me in. So, with the perfect soundtrack playing in the background, out went the shirts with the frayed hems, out went anything with a pit stain or a stain of any kind really, out went the oddly-fitting or stretched out items, or anything else I'm hanging onto just because of an emotional attachment.

I'm cleaning house and it's helping.