May 2014 – Blue Collar Red Lipstick

31
May
2014

What I Bought: May 2014

categories: Budget

I haven’t done one of these shopping recaps/breakdowns in aaaages. Did you miss them? I enjoy reading other bloggers’ posts about their shopping budgets and choices (hello, Franish and her fellow budgeting bloggers) because I’m incurably nosy, but I shouldn’t assume that y’all don’t have better things to do with your blog reading time. So, let me know: yay, or no1curr?

I’m going to go ahead and talk about this month’s shopping anyway, because – stop the presses – I actually made a shopping list this month. And – stop the presses again – I managed to stick to it. Well, mostly. Here’s the score: I bought 11 items for a total of $272 (retail value approx. $1063). I also got a couple of gifts for Mother’s Day:

J. Crew Factory Aqua centrepiece necklace — J. Crew Factory Necklace

Seven& jeans hi-low striped dress — Seven7 Jeans Dress

From my shopping list, I got these:

Anthropologie floral skirt phosphorescence — Anthropologie Edme Esyllte Skirt (via eBay)

BCBG geometric print mod dress — BCBG Dress (via eBay)

“Pants” are a perennial item on my shopping list; I’m still searching high and low for work-appropriate ones (and running out of time) but I found these instead and couldn’t resist. I would happily buy them in every colour of the rainbow at that price:

I also bought the Old Navy blue top I talked about here ($15), and this ring ($9) which was a total impulse buy. Mea culpa and all that.

I included 2 wildcard spots on my shopping list, because I know my Achilles heel, and its name is “impulse buy” (see above, and below). I set a $40 limit for each of these items, because otherwise there would be a strong possibility that my handbag collection would gain a couple more pretties – this month, any month. But I was good; I bought these instead:

Mel jelly shoes flower — Mel by Melissa Jelly Flats

ld Navy chambray drawstring shirt dress — Old Navy Chambray Dress

And then, right around the end of the month, I went off the rails a bit. I bought another pair of my fave J. Crew Factory Anya flats, because they were burgundy and a hella sale:

J CRew Anya cabernet suede flats — J. Crew Anya Suede Flats (Cabernet)

This blue was just too gorgeous to pass up:

Joe Fresh blue ombre tee — Joe Fresh Ombre Tee

And so was this print:

And I bought this, because … I couldn’t not. The red/blue combo gets me every time.

Things I didn’t find, and I’m still looking for: Marc Jacobs Blake bag or MbMJ Mag bag (come on, eBay!), yellow sandals (utterly impossible quest, I’m convinced), and cropped cigarette pants a la Audrey Hepburn (might as well be hunting unicorns). And another magical thrifting find would be nice too. Mayhap a Burberry trench coat? Well, a girl can have her midsummer dream, yes?

31
May
2014

Hausfrau

categories: style

What I Wore: Erranding

J. Crew shirt dress — Dress, J. Crew (via eBay); cardigan, J. Crew Factory; belt, Holt Renfrew (via consignment); shoes, Tory Burch (via Kijiji); bag, MbMJ (via eBay)

Here’s the scoop. Last year, I decided I needed a shirt dress. Why? Well, somehow I became convinced it was a classic wardrobe staple missing from my closet, and that it was imperative that I redress the oversight. Don’t ask, just go with it. Initially, I had my eye on a Sophie Theallet for Limited dress, but the bidding on eBay went above my budget, so I had to reconsider. This J. Crew dress is … nothing remotely similar, save for meeting the generic shirt dress criteria. The photos on the listing were bad, but the price was pretty good, so I took a chance.

And then.

If you guys think this dress looks borderline dowdy now, you should have seen it when I first got it. My husband took one look, and proceeded to laugh for thirty minutes, give or take. Picture it about 5 inches longer, and firmly in Duggar family territory. Still, nothing makes me want to double down on questionable fashion choices more than my husband’s ribbing. Length issues aside, the dress fit well and had a nice hand-feel (seersucker-ish, perfect for summer). I decided to have the hem taken up above the knee to try to de-dowdy-fy it as much as possible. And there you have it.

At least we’re in hausfrau territory now. I’ll take it.

Here’s a closer look at the details, and my fifty shades of mismatched brown.

Tory Burch wraparound bracelet; Fossil Georgia watch — Bracelet, Tory Burch; watch, Fossil

30
May
2014

Weekend Shortlist

categories: style

It is Friday!! I still get excited about Fridays out of habit, even though, in my current life, the distinction between weekday and weekend is mostly a philosophical one. Anywaaaay, Friday – yay! Let’s take a look at what’s tormenting my poor budget this week.

Cynthia Rowley Lei T-Shirt

Words cannot express how much I am crushing on this damn thing. It’s like … the Jon Snow of t-shirts.* (There is also a dress version, but it looks like the Accidental Flashing factor would be high with that one.) But … 175 American dollars for a t-shirt made in China?! Unless it comes hand-delivered by Kit Harington himself, no thanks.

* Even though I’m more of an Oberyn Martell/Petyr Baelish kind of girl, and Jon Snow is so the ultimate Mary Sue character, I just can’t quit that boy. Don’t judge me and my weakness for dark, curly-haired Brits. And outsiders with hearts of gold, and secret red-headed girlfriends. Or judge me. I revel in my basic bitch-ness.

Michael Kors Watch

I have a love/hate relationship with Michael Kors watches. I hate that every single woman here between the ages of 25 and 35 seems to wear one of them, but I genuinely love this particular version. I blame my current obsession with all things blue. Realistically, I know I shouldn’t even consider buying this; I own three watches and I wear none of them regularly, especially when I’m not at work. Buuuuuuut … maybe this could prove the exception? That perfect watch that doesn’t feel in-the-way when I’m wearing it?

There is also the cheaper Fossil version:

J. Crew Factory Peasant Blouse

Again with my need to have all. the. blue. things. On the other hand, how cute is this? So cute, right? The white embroidery is just right – it makes a visual impact, but doesn’t clobber you over the head with its twee-ness. It is totally going on my June shopping list.

Chanel Reflets d’Ete Polishes (Summer 2014)

Chanel Reflets d'ete nail polishes — Chanel Summer 2014 polishes

It seems like forever since Chanel last released some new polishes … so, of course, we now get 5 at once. My self-imposed limit is 2 (because, hello, budget!), but I want at least 3 (pictured above). Ugh, decisions!

Have a great weekend!

Month: May 2014