What I've Been Buying; What I Want--A Material Girl Shopping Update

If you've visited my blog lately, you may have been wondering if there's been a Material Girl shopping hiatus of some sort--it's been a while since I've reported new wardrobe acquisitions. Well fear not--I've picked up a thing or two; I have my eye on a thing or two. Here's what I've been up to, fellow shoppers:

• Emotionally shopping at Anthropologie. I had a long, weird, busy, meeting-filled work week, so Friday night I needed to buy something pretty. Friday was also payday (hurrah!) and Cheapy was feeling sympathetic and handed me several twenties at I walked out the door (double hurrah!) I was looking for something warm and cozy: non-ugly sweaters. There's one I'd had my eye on, black with floral accents, that was on sale on the Anthro website. They actually had it in the store on sale in my size. I picked up another on-sale sweater as well, black with a big butterfly. The store was half-filled with spring items, which are tough to think about buying right now because it's really f-ing cold. Flowers and butterflies are my way of easing in to spring.

• Recent eBay purchases. It's rare a week goes buy that I don't have something coming in from an eBay auction. I've had a few good purchases in the last few weeks, including a cropped boxy vintage '50s metallic jacket (for spring); a vintage faux fur coat (that hasn't arrived yet); a swingy two-tone jersey top; a Rebecca Danenberg black tuxedo tail shrug; a pair of Vince Camuto studded purple sandals for $10; and a giant (and I mean giant) metal owl necklace that I had to have for some reason. It may end up a decoration rather than an accessory.

• Things I'm watching on eBay. There are alway many things on my eBay watch list. At the top of the list is a fabulous Paul Smith deconstructed wool skirt that was up for auction but ended without a buyer. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it will be posted at a lower starting bid or as an Or Best Offer. I can't stop thinking about this skirt--I even showed it to Cheapy, who thinks it's totally me but costs too much. There's also a metal and rhinestone butterfly necklace that ends in a few days that I wish people would stop bidding on. (Don't they read my blog--bidding before the end is good for the seller, bad for the buyer. Stop driving up the price, people. Plus, do they know who they are dealing with? It's pretty rare I lose an auction for something I really want.) Have you noticed this butterfly thing I've got going on. I think perhaps I have a butterfly phase happening. I'm also watching a few butterfly brooches. I guess on some level I am ready for spring dressing. Either that or I need to stop watching the butterfly episode of "The Magic School Bus" with Cheapy junior.

• Things I'm watching online. If one does not have a money tree in one's back yard, often shopping is about waiting--keeping an eye on things until they go on sale, and hoping they have your size when it happens. Remember those You by Crocs silver metallic boots? I kind of want them. But I kind of don't want to pay $289 for them. I've stumbled across a site called Shoes on a Shoestring where they're on sale for $206. They're also a "yellow tag" item, which means at the first of the month, they'll go on sale even more, and will continue to get cheaper month by month. I'm hoping they have a size 8.5 left when I deem them cheap enough to purchase. (Has Cheapy been working on my brain, you ask? Nope. But I must use my discretionary fund wisely). There's also a pair of bronze low-heeled Faryl Robin boots I want, and I'm betting they get cheaper than $150 soon on either eBay (where I recently missed an auction for said boots that ended at $15. Not happy about forgetting to bid) or Gotham City. I'll keep you posted.
  

My Huband Hated My Outfit!

Friday night my husband and I hit the mall about 45 minutes before the start of movie we were seeing. Then he told me he didn't like my outfit, and--this was the wine talking--we should go buy me a new one. He was interested in a short purple babydoll dress in the window of Forever 21. No way I was going for something that cheap when he had a buzz and a credit card. We headed to Macy's.

I ended up with a cute blue shirt dress from Macy's house brand INC after a mini Material Girl fashion show and a lecture from the old lady who worked there that men aren't allowed in the dressing rooms. I'm generally a big fan of INC--they can be a little too trendy but you can often find some of-the-moment items along with wardrobe staples (like the great trench coats they just got in)--and they are pretty well made. And the great thing about shopping department stores like Macy's is that something is always on sale.

Since I only had about half an hour to shop, I found myself back at the store on Saturday morning. (My husband said it was like he brought a junkie to an opium den. Whatever.) My Saturday morning finds included three more INC items. I got a black and white patterned jersey babydoll dress with a bubble hem--trendy but very flattering on. I also bought two pairs of shorts, a leopard print for my more '80s moments (seen on the model above whose legs are longer than my entire body) and a knee-length pinstripe pair with sewn a in grosgrain belt detail.

After that I hit Sephora to stock up on a few of my fav Stila products. For other Stila fans out there, they are currently having a 20% off sale on their vintage line.

P.S. I got the silver Vince Camuto shoes the other day. They are just as beautiful in person, but I fear the heels are too high for me. However they look divine with my blue dress so I'm still mulling over whether or not to keep them.

Shoes, Glorious Shoes

Remember these Vince Camuto beauties that were sold out everywhere in my color preference and size?

My friends at Zappos sent me a happy email today to inform me they had gotten a pair in just for me! So of course I bought then. I imagine they'll arrive tomorrow, so we'll see how they do in person once I see them and give them a test drive. If they don't pass, I'll simply take advantage of the free return policy and send them back before my husband even notices the new cardboard box.

Online Shoe Shopping: Comparing Prices

I'm completely in love with this pair of peeptoe lasercut slingbacks from Vince Camuto and I think they'd be perfect with a bright blue Calvin Klein '50s style dress I'm planning to wear to an early September wedding.

I discovered the shoe on Zappos. Zappos is, in my opinion, absolutely the best place to buy shoes, online or otherwise. Zappos is brilliant. Free overnight shipping. (They have a warehouse located close to UPS World Port in Louisville. Check out this link to learn about How UPS Works.) Free returns. Excellent customer service. (Talked to a delighful customer service rep on Christmas day last year.) Customer product ratings. Favorites lists. Gigantic selection of shoes that can be viewed from every angle. Myriad ways to search including, type of shoe, brand, price, color, size and heel height, among others. All around just a happy happy place to buy one's footware.

However, on Zappos they're a little more then I want to pay, selling for $138.95. And the only color they have in stock in my size is black. Black and bright blue feels a little '80s color-block-knit-dress to me. I'd really prefer silver (love silver shoes) or cream. (These come in red as well, and they're oh so fab in that color.) Time to compare prices at several online shoe e-tailers:

• Shoes dot com carries Vince Camuto but does not offer the Flora style.
• 6pm dot com does not carry the Vince Camuto line, which is a bummer because they have a 110% price gaurantee.
• Piperlime, the new shoe e-tail site from the Gap, has the shoe and it's on sale for $104.99. They have black, cream and gold in my size, but not the silver that I adore.
• Amazon has the shoe in my size in red, cream and black at $119.90. (I've actually found some excellent shoe bargains on Amazon, particularly for boots.)
• Nordstrom carries them, and has my size in cream (but seem to be out of silver although that's what they show). They are $119.95. They also have them in icy pool, an aqua-green color that's lovely, but would not work with my blue dress. (Nordstrom offers $5 shipping for online purchases. You pay for return shipping.)
  

I'm finding the more I look at the Vince Camuto line, the more I like it. They've done some great heels. Check out the Filo, another lasercut beauty, and the Ruffe, a slingback I love in French Blue. There are different offerings from the line on the various websites above.

So I'm not going to buy the shoes because I really want the silver and there are no silver to be found in 8.5. I don't want to settle for cream. Gold is not great with my skin tone. I'm going to continue contemplating the red on Amazon (because a red shoe is always pretty hot), but I'll still need some footwear for the wedding. I'll keep looking. The perfect silver shoe is out there somewhere (and, let's hope, on sale).