Accessorizing My Inner Rock Star

We've all got our moods. (Cheapy can attest that I certainly do.) And my mood is always reflected in my clothes. I've got my beige days and my hot pink days. My blazer days and my ruffle days. My demure days and my rock star days. Lately rock star has been in heavy rotation.

It started on a recent trip to the Gap Clearance Center with my top-of-the-list shopping friend from Brooklyn. In the pile of 27 items I'd dragged into the dingy dressing room I discovered a perfect pair of low rise skinny pants in a groovy grey with loads of zipper and snap pockets. I want to wear them more often than I don't. And they were like five bucks.

Then I got a deal-of-the-day email from 6pm.com (which you should all sign up for right now) and found these Boutique 58 shoes for just shy of $30. They're work-appropriate rock star--amazingly comfortable black studded slingbacks (which I've since purchased in beige as well).


Next I needed some bona fide rock star jewelery like this sterling silver beauty from the Van Halen store. (It's not vintage, but it's made from the original mold and the back is stamped with ©1980. Vintage VH necklaces are nowhere to be found on eBay--because who would part with something so cool. It's an awesome logo.)


And doesn't every girl need a snake for her neck when she's feeling a little edgy? This one came from a fab etsy store I stumbled upon called Rag Trader. (I've picked up a few other pieces from this seller. The jewelry is fun and well-priced.)


Then just a few days ago I ordered these deal-of-the-century Bettye Muller pumps from Amazon. (I saved $366.76--ten bucks came off the sale price in my shopping cart. Don't know why; don't care why. Just enjoyed the happy register surprise.) These will look so perfect with my skinny pants. (Thanks, L, for the tip on Amazon designer deals. Forget all those books--it's a terrific place to buy shoes.)


Now I'm off the sharpen my black eyeliner...

I'm Cuckoo for Coconut from The Body Shop

I'd just visited Sephora on a recent Friday-after-work shopping trip (the best way to end the week) and came upon The Body Shop a few doors. The Body Shop opened at The Mall last year and, despite the fact that I really like their products, I'd never visited. The Body Shop is my airport store--it's the best thing about being delayed in terminal 3 at CVG.

But since I had nothing to do but go home and watch a What Not to Wear rerun, I decided to pop in and sample some products. The first thing I tried was Coconut Milk Body Lotion. It is amazing. The smell is delicious and authentic--not that icky Hawaiian Tropic-like fake beachy coconut. That's because the lotion contains real organic cold-pressed coconut oil and coconut milk. It's a spray-on product with a thin consistency, not a rich creamy lotion, but it penetrates quickly and softens well. I've used it on my arms, legs and hands daily since I bought it (and I can't stop smelling myself.)



My intense love for the lotion had me back in The Body Shop on another Friday night to see what other coconut lovelies I could find. The sales associate handed me Coconut Body Butter. This same product was mentioned in the June issue of Lucky I just received--associate editor Cat Marnell called it her "absolute favorite beauty product of all time." (Lucky devoted a whole page to coconut products. I'm so on top of things, fellow shoppers!) The Coconut Body Butter is thick, rich and the best thing that's happened to my heels in ages. I've been slathering it on my feet at night and waking up ready for sandals.


I also picked up Coconut Bath & Shower Cream. It produces a yummy lather with the help of my shower puff and makes me and the whole bathroom smell like a treat.


The delish aroma of all these coconut products made me want to eat coconut, so purchased a pint of Purely Decadent Coconut Milk Vanilla Bean. If you avoid dairy like I do this is the most satisfying treat imaginable. Cheapy could not tell it from regular ice cream. Note that coconut still has plenty of saturated fat so I wouldn't recommend downing the whole pint while watching a chick movie. (Not that I would ever do such a thing.)

Embracing Yellow

I've found myself drawn to--maybe even a little obsessed with--yellow lately. Which is strange. I've always said that yellow is the one color I could never wear, thinking it was reserved only for blonds and the dark complected (of which I am so neither). Aside from some '80-ish neon yellow pumps I purchased during some drowsy late night shopping a few years ago I can't remember ever owning any yellow clothing or accessories.

But it seems I was simply not looking for the right shades of yellow. Pastel yellows makes me look sickly, but, I've recently discovered, rich, deep, warm, honey-hued yellows with brown undertones are definitely doable.

I'm not sure why I'm feeling such yellow love. Maybe it's the promise of summer sunshine. Maybe I've been watching Transformers with Cheapy Junior too often and Bumblebee is burned in my brain. Maybe it's because I've spent a lot of time in New York this year and I've been affected by the cabs. Whatever the reason, the purchasing has begun.

Among the yellow items recently added to my closet are two tees from Simply Vera, Vera Wang's line at Kohl's. (The t-shirts in this line are great. I wear them constantly. Click the pix to view these tees on kolhs.com--they are more on sale now than when I bought them a few weeks ago.)




I also got a couple of yellow items from J. Crew. A cardigan with chiffon details (which is now sold out) and this cotton-linen-silk blend dress which is the perfect cut for my shape.



And besides all this shopping for yellow clothing, I recently blogged about yellow shoes for High.Heels.com. (Soon the neon pumps may have a more subdued neighbor.)

PMS Causes Shopping? That Explains a Lot

A recent study in the UK reported in the Daily Mail found that premenstrual women engage in retail therapy--our hormones fuel our shopping, our shopping makes us feel better.

A study revealed that in the ten days before their periods begin--known as the luteal phase--women are much less in control of their spending habits. Psychologists at Hertfordshire University concluded that a shopping spree could be a way of dealing with the intense emotions of pre-menstrual syndrome, which affects around 90 per cent of women each month.

Professor Karen Pine, who conducted the study of 443 women aged between 18 and 50, said: "The later women were in their menstrual cycle, the more likely they were to have overspent."

Huh. One can do a lot of shopping in ten days. That's a big chunk of 28. In the interest of science I'll start paying attention to whether or not I spend more during certain times of the month. I'd guess probably not--I think I hold a fairly steady pace. The amount of shopping I do depends on how close I am to payday, whether or not I've got good eBay prospects, how much Cheapy drinks, whether my fav TV shows are reruns, and how many enticing sale newsletters are in my inbox. But now I can blame it all on moon time when the AmEx bill comes.

Perfect Spring Boots by Frye and Miz Mooz

I've owned several pairs of Frye boots over the years, each for under a week. I've always liked the look of them and heard that they are well made and last forever, but all of the Frye boots I've tried were uncomfortable--and I'm not much into wearing in shoes. I like them to feel good from day one, especially when it comes to everyday boots. (I can suffer through some cute heels when I go out to dinner, but when I'm running errands I want to walk on clouds.)

I've finally stumbled upon a pair of Frye boots that I deem perfect. They are buttery soft and felt great from day one. This afternoon I napped while wearing them. They are better than barefoot. Behold the Frye Carson pull-on boot.





I got this pair in Natural because I decided I'd like to wear boots into the spring and summer so I wanted some light-colored pairs (and my favorite pink Rockports are practically out of commission and nowhere to be found online in my size. I wish I'd gotten a spare pair to keep in the back of my closet for when this day came.)

Since Frye are so expensive I spent some time Googling these before I bought. I found them on sale on Amazon for $243 from $348. The boots on Amazon were sold through Macy's so I went to Macy's site and found them. (I actually might not have been as into them if I'd seem them on the Macy's site first. The color of the boot there is not good. The Amazon listing is really close to the true, in-person color and look.)

I'm not big on buying through Macy's site because the shipping prices are super high compared to most online retailers (with the exception of Anthropologie who also charges exorbitant shipping rates). To help offset the shipping cost, I Googled "Macy's promotion code" and found a 20% off code that I applied at checkout, so the boots came in around $194 plus fifteen buck-ish for shipping. Remember, fellow shoppers--always look for discount codes before you check out online--at the very least you can usually come up with free shipping.

To add to my spring/summer boot wardrobe, I also picked up this pair of perforated ankle boots from my favorite shoe store in New York, Infinity Shoes. They've got a great selection of Miz Mooz shoes and boots which come in great styles and colors and are comfy. (Note that they run a half size big.) I love these off-white boots. Wearing a dark ankle boots with a skirt is out of the question for me, but this light shade blends well with my skin and so does not make my legs look stumpy. Plus these are great for spring--they let in the breeze. And these are pretty much the exact boot I'd pictured in my head when I started thinking about warm weather boot options (which is a bit of a shopping miracle).

Birthday Shopping Part 2: Cheapy Goes to Anthropologie

Last Saturday night Cheapy took me out to celebrate my birthday. I was not privy to the array of evening plans he had cooked up--he likes to surprise me. All he told me was that he thought of a bunch of things he didn't want to do and we were going to do them.

First on the list of things-that-Cheapy-didn't-want-to-do: Shop at Anthropologie. He'd never actually stepped foot in the store, and when we got there he said, "I can see why you like this place. It's filled with a bunch of stuff that looks like all the stuff you have in your closet. And it smells good in here."

I grabbed some things; he grabbed some things; I did a try-on fashion show for Cheapy. We settled on three things we both liked. The first item below, the purple dress, is something I would never have picked up for myself, but the cut is really flattering as is the color. The grey corduroy skirt is stretchy, just the right length, and perfectly neutral. I'll wear the heck out of it this spring. And the white origami jacket is so me. It's got a nipped- in cut and loads of interesting details.




After Anthro, Cheapy took me to see Confessions of a Shopaholic, second on list of things-that-Cheapy-didn't-want-to-do (but he actually enjoyed the movie).

Birthday Shopping Part 1: Mom (and Simply Vera at Kohls)

For as long as I can remember my mom has let me choose my own clothing gifts. When I was in high school, I remember going to The Mall with her before the holidays and picking out a few outfits. "I'll wrap them up; you'll act surprised," she'd say. "Your brothers don't need to know."

Even these days (far far from high school) we still go shopping together for my birthday. (At Christmas she gives everyone cash.)

When I shop on my own I prefer places like Anthropologie, Banana Republic, J. Crew, or boutiques. My mother, who is in her late 70s, would get a bit of sticker shock at those places. We always birthday shop at Kohls which is fine with me--I love Vera Wang's Simply Vera line. (I would actually check out the line more often if the Kohls wasn't in a part of town where I don't like to drive--it's confusing there.)

Here's what I picked up this past Saturday when I spent a nice post-BD afternoon with mom.

First: tees, tees, tees! The Simply Vera long sleeve tees are really fabulous. They're soft and both fit well and wash wall. The latest collection has some great color and pattern. I got three of them--gray, blue and purple (all under $22).


The other item my lovely mohter bought me might be my new favorite thing in my closet, this purple satin trench. The photo online so doesn't do this justice. It's gorgeous--the terrific shape paired with the nice wide sash give it a super flattering fit. The color is amazing. Add the three-quarter sleeves and pockets and I never want to take this off. It looks way more expensive that the $59 sale price. (Plus Kohls shoppers get a scratch off at check-out for extra discount--we got an extra %20 off.)


A couple of things I didn't buy that are worth a mention...

This peplum jacket is adorable on (and well priced at $59.99 online). I would have taken it home if it was available in a different color. The beige is too similar to a Nanette Lepore jacket that I wear to death in the non-winter months.


And I'm wild about the color of this embellished tee (called rustic fern). I'm not sure if I could pull it off, however. But you fellow shoppers who aren't quite as pink as I am may be able to rock it. (It's on sale online for $22).