Month: September 2014

What I Bought: September

September was … an interesting month. Life sort of exploded at me, which was more exciting and less terrifying than it sounds. But there were some downsides too. For a multitude of reasons, I’ve started questioning the blog’s existence again. I don’t know what to do with it. Worse, I’m not sure that uncertainty bothers me as much anymore. A sign it’s time to call it done? I don’t know. I’m not vague-blogging ya. I truly don’t know.

But enough about that; let’s tackle the subject at hand – this month’s shopping tab: 9 items, totalling $416 (original retail $1,951). Most of these were actually bought at the tail end of the previous month, but didn’t make it into August’s recap. I haven’t had much time for shopping lately.

NYDJ Trouser Pant
NYDJ Trouser Pant

I already have one black pair of pants (the BR Sloan cropped pants I bought last month), and normally I wouldn’t bother with a second. I hate pants. I stumbled onto this pair, though, and they are a very nice straight cut in a length I can wear with heels. For the price, they seemed like a good idea.

J. Crew Factory Anya Flats
J. Crew Factory Anya Flats

I fell for the colour. I love the Anya’s comfort level, but hate the faux suede material – it’s very prone to getting dirty. This is my last pair, I promise. J. Crew better not release a pretty new colour ever again.

Free People Cuff
Free People Cuff

Impulse buy. Love it.

J. Crew Feather Paisley Skirt
J. Crew Feather Paisley Skirt

Secondhand J. Crew pencil skirts are one of my weaknesses; somehow, they always come home with me. I love paisley, and I think the colours will work well with other pieces in my closet (like the orange schoolboy blazer I got last month). This was actually a new-with-tags skirt, so considering the price, I’m not complaining.

Yoana Baraschi Indigo Night Moto Jacket
Yoana Baraschi Indigo Night Moto Jacket

Major score. I rarely shop at Winners these days, but I’ve scored some fantastic deals there in the past year. This one is over of my faves. This is the best stock photo I could find, but trust that it looks amazeballs. I looooove wearing this jacket to work.

Temperance Dress
Temperance Dress

This dress caught my eye because the print looked like something that could pass muster at Anthropologie. When I tried it on, it fit like a dream. I couldn’t pass it up. And I love wearing it.

And more dresses!

Old Navy Elbow Sleeve Dress
Old Navy Elbow Sleeve Dress

You may remember I reviewed this Old Navy dress last month. I wasn’t down with paying full retail for it, but it was a very cute, wearable casual option … so when I spotted it for $12, I caved. I got the black/white colourway, and wore it here.

Meadow Rue Batik Dress
Meadow Rue Batik Dress

I’ve been keeping an eye out for this dress ever since it popped up on my local Kijiji at the beginning of the year … and the seller ignored my emails. (I wasn’t even looking to bargain. I just wanted the damn dress.) It took a while, but I eventually found it on eBay for a price I was willing to pay. I’m a big fan of this style (gathered bodice through the waist, flowy skirt) because it’s the most flattering on my body type. So I took a risk; the dress was listed as a XS. I am … not an extra small. Online reviews suggested the dress ran a size large. I can sometimes fit into size S dresses because my top half is smaller … aaaand you don’t care. Long story short, I lucked out. The dress fits great – with absolutely no extra room to spare.

Marc Jacobs Kirsten Bag
Marc Jacobs Kirsten Bag

Couldn’t resist. I seem to have a thing about bags that are somehow connected to Kirsten Dunst. First my Dentelle Speedy, now this. This is actually called the Kirsten bag, after – you got it – Ms. Dunst herself. It took me a while to figure that out, because this bag came out in 2004-ish, and apparently the internet was not invented until 2009 or so. Anyway, it’s beautiful. The inside is laid out just the way I like it:

the details
the details

You know what I found out in the course of researching this bag? Marc Jacobs once put out a bag called … wait for it … the Adina. Somehow, I feel this information completely justifies my love of all things MJ.

(I could tell you that this is the last bag I’m buying forever for a long time, but then I’d be lying to you. I still want a Blake, and I’ll probably eventually hunt down my namesake too. Keeping it real, folks. And keeping eBay in business too.)

And that’s another month wrapped up. I’m linking up with Fran, so you can ogle some more pretty things over there. Then come back and tell me how your September shopping looked, ya hear!

Fanc-ay

Boss ikat print skirt; J. Crew Martina cabernet wedges; Mulberry Fitzrovia bag
Skirt, Boss (thrifted); top, cardigan & shoes, J. Crew Factory; bag, Mulberry (via eBay)

This skirt+cardigan combo has been one of my work uniforms for as long as I can remember. There isn’t much you can do in the way of updating it (especially if you work in an office environment that falls closer to the conservative side of the spectrum than the creative), but incorporating new pieces always makes things more interesting, if not original.

Or, in this case, more fancy. Sorry, fancay.

Boss ikat print skirt; J. Crew Martina cabernet wedges; Mulberry Fitzrovia bag
waving my bag around, apparently

What’s so fancy? Mixed in with my ubiquitous J. Crew pieces is a (thrifted) Boss skirt and a vintagey Mulberry bag.

Boss ikat print skirt; J. Crew Martina cabernet wedges; Mulberry Fitzrovia bag
the details (nails, Chanel Particuliere)

I had a bit of an internal tussle over the Boss piece, because of the company’s history during the ’30s and 40’s. I eventually bought it because I felt that, in doing so, I wasn’t directly supporting the company, but rather my local thrift store. Have you ever struggled with similar ethical qualms? Where do you draw the line?

Boss ikat print skirt; J. Crew Martina cabernet wedges; Mulberry Fitzrovia bag
blogger on the run!

Casual Friday

LOFT paisley knit t-shirt; Talula Exeter blazer
Blazer, Talula (via Kijiji); top, LOFT (via eBay); jeans, Rachel Roy; shoes, J. Crew Factory; bag, MbMJ (via eBay)

On Wednesday? Sure, why not.

LOFT paisley knit t-shirt; Talula Exeter blazer
blue(ish) suede shoes

This is my casual Friday uniform: jeans, colourful top, sedate topper. I have to say that, when it comes to the latter category, this Talula blazer is a great choice. I was able to find it for a great price on Kijiji, which saved me the trouble of agonizing over its retail price; I love its cut and fit enough to aaaaalmost be able to stomach paying a whole $125 for it (it rarely seems to go on clearance) … but maybe not quite. And not because the love is wanting, but because I’m terribly cheap when it comes to everything except bags. Anyway, the moral here is to always look on Kijiji, folks.

LOFT paisley knit t-shirt; Talula Exeter blazer
Chair selfie

Fridays, I feel like I can justify big hair. In other news, I am still addicted to my beach spray. My hair stylist gave me a sample of some Kerastase miracle oil, which has been working, well, miracles on my dried out Medusa tresses. I might actually have to fight my inner cheap bastard, and buy myself a full bottle.

beach wave perm
big hair. BIG.

Happy not-really-Friday!

LOFT paisley knit t-shirt; Talula Exeter blazer
TGI-almost-F