Gold-toned outfit

Today's outfit to work! For some reason I quite like this one. I don't really like the grey cardigan all that much but I was in a hurry and my cardigan color choices were somewhat limited (white, black, or grey) :'D

Okay, somewhat awkward shot. But these are the shoes I wore today. Dark brown wedges with gold buckles. Which lead to the theme of gold jewelry!

Again.. my jewelry collection is all at school. Though that's not to say that I had any good pieces to begin with *cough*. Excuse for more shopping? I think so! :D :D :D

What I'm wearing:

• Sioni blouse - $12 from Marshalls
• The Limited skirt - $3 from Salvation Army
• Gap cardigan - $1.50 from Salvation Army
• Nine West wedges - $5 from Salvation Army
• Gold jewelry - $1/each from Claires
Total: $24.50

Stalking Forever 21

Despite my love for thrift stores, a lot of the unique items that I have been craving are new cuts/trends and not available used.

To my delight, Forever 21 is having a huge BOGO sale on their clearance section which has the bargain hunter inside me screaming for me to take advantage of it. However, having nearly spent $40 last weekend at the thrift store I am somewhat hesitant.

While looking on Forever 21, I realized what gorgeous pieces Forever's Love 21 line has. They are utterly and stunningly beautiful. It's their contemporary line! (How I've failed to notice this until now is beyond me). There's just something about their simplicity and elegance. I'm completely in love with colorblocking too

For my own personal reference, mostly, here are some of my favorite pieces that I will be stalking:

Longline Contrast Tee in mint/cream

Zippered Color Block Skirt

Contrast Trim Shirt

Layered High-Low Skirt in nude

Pleated Tie-Neck Top

Colorblocked Tulip-back Top 

Color Blocked Romper w/ Belt

AHH!!! I want to buy everything! The colors are so delicate 

But sadly, everything is a bit expensive. Well, at least in comparison to thrift stores! Perhaps I will stalk them for a bit before splurging on a haul. I've also compiled a list of sale items that I'm considering

Colorblock Mod Dress - $13.99 (BOGO)

Sweetheart Knit Dress - $13.99 (BOGO)

Colorblocked Top - $9.99 (BOGO)

Chiffon Back Sweater - $13.99

EDIT: I made a purchase for $55 after eyeing it for so long at work. I'll post a haul update when it arrives! :)

I was really lazy this morning so I just threw on a simple blouse with my go-to work skirt.

Forever 21 Tank: $3 (Forever 21)
Unbranded Top: $1.50 (Salvation Army)
Max Studio Skirt: $20 (Kohl's)
Nine West Wedges: $5 (Salvation Army)
TOTAL: $29.50

Thrifting Haul 2

I had a wonderful and exciting adventure today. People were busy so I decided to go thrifting by myself. The plan for today was to explore 3 new thrift stores - all Salvation Armies! I set off from my house confident and headed towards the thrift store in Bridgeview..... and then I promptly went on the wrong Tollway and drove North instead of South. I ended up driving along for a good 10 minutes before getting off at 47th and deciding to change plans and go to the store that I remembering planning as the 3rd stop - the one called "Naple Ave". Unfortunately though, I didn't prepare the addresses beforehand so I accidentally went to the one that was on 47th because it seemed logical at the time (I blame my phone). When I arrived, I found a brown brick building with 1 door and 1 window. Definitely not it. Change of plans. I whipped out my phone once again and decided to visit "Unique Thrift" that was 1-2 blocks away. Bad decision. The surrounding area gradually grew shadier and shadier. I had no idea what I was doing and found myself driving in the center of the road because I didn't realize that it was in fact two lanes. Overall a very stressful experience. I finally arrived at the store and it was.... dirty. So very dirty. Stains on the floor and stains on the clothes. I was too scared to even touch anything. I wandered to the back where the shoes were and looked around. I then gave up and went back to my car. Sitting in my car, I was looking on my phone to search for other nearby thrift stores. I found another one on 63rd but a review warned of it being in a shady area. No thank you. This was already shady enough. I finally found the address for the one on Cicero and set off. Driving towards Cicero was easy enough. Stores stopped looking so run down and scary and I could see a more civilized area. But of course, I would turn a street too early. Instead of turning onto Cicero, I ended up turning into Midway Airport. I took a nice tour of the Arrival and Departure terminals before finally stumbling upon S Cicero. Finally driving down Cicero, I found the thrift store! I was so relieved to find that it was in a normal part of town and I gladly went inside. The store itself was pretty nice! The only downfall was that there were no mirrors... I walked around the store for a good 5 minutes and was about to give up on trying clothes until I finally decided to awkwardly use one of the dresser's mirror. In the end, it was a pretty successful haul. Here's what I walked away with: 1. Izzi Collections 100% Wool Dark Grey Peacoat $5 2. Anne Klein Black Doublebreasted Blazer $3.50 3. Francine Browner Black Vest $1.50 4. Express Long Button-up $1.50 5. The Limited Khaki Dress Skirt $3 6. Dark Blue Blouse $1.50 7. White Blouse $1.50 Overall, I ended up spending exactly $20.88 with tax! I was tired, but there was one last stop on my list. The Bridgeview thrift store. I was exhausted from thrifting for 2-3 hours at the Cicero location so I told myself that I would look at the shoes and leave. I found the place alright - it was a pretty small place. However, the inside was clean and much quieter. There were a lot less people. I found these awesome Nude pumps from Forever 21 but sadly they were a size 8 and too big for my feet :( Mission failed. After that, I finally went home. By the time I got home, I had been gone for more than 4 hours. It was quite an interesting trip... At least next time when I go with Melissa and Selina we will know which shady stores to avoid.

Thrifting Haul 1

After a long week of work, I was pumped to go out thrifting again. After coming to the realization that I had NO cardigans at home and the fact that all of my dress pants were dragging on the floor, I set out on a mission to score some nice deals from Salvation Army.

I walked away with around $30-35 worth of clothes and here's what I got:

• PERFECT Size 2 Black Pinstripe Pant Suit from Nine West for $8! (Similar ones retail for over $90)
   
• These very comfortable Nine West wedges in black, for $5. (Same ones on eBay selling for $40+)
• I've been wanting to try some Oxford booties for a while now. So I got these Anne Klein patent leather + plaid Oxfords for $6! (Used ones are selling for around $30 on eBay)
• This buy is one of my favorites of the day. I got a perfect, Size 2 White Banana Republic blazer for $5! (Similar one here retailing for $150+)
• Dark Gray Merlino Wool Banana Republic sweater for $1. Not too happy with this one. The neckline is hideous... I didn't really pay attention when I bought it D: Maybe I will cut it.
• Light Gray Gap Cardigan for $1.50? Meh. Needed a cardigan
• Standard Black ZARA Sweater for $.60!! 
• Black Purejill Draped/Cascade Cardigan for $2. (Apparently similar ones retail for $59? Yey)
• Trouvé - from Nordstorm, Black oversized sweater (Similar here for $61)
  
  Trouvé top, $1 leather belt, $15 Ann Taylor Loft Grey Slacks (front tuck, anyone?) 

So in total, 9 items! That means the average item was around $3-4 dollars :D I'm pretty pleased. Though I think I loaded up a little bit too much on the cardigans... I went with my mom and she thought I was crazy for pulling so many things into the shopping cart. Sadly though, I wasn't able to find a good pair of flats or a decent trenchcoat. A lot of the trenchcoats are out of style and way too long. They go almost all the way to my ankles... Too bad. The Etienne Agner trenchcoat was gorgeous! But just too long. It would have been a good buy at only $8 too... Maybe if I can figure out a way to hem the bottom I can go back and get it.

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Also, from last time's thrifting I got quite a few items. Though I've realized how expensive Goodwill is... I think I'm just going to stick with Salvation Army XD Selina was right. Salvation is so much better! But nevertheless, I still got some pretty decent buys.

From Salvation Army:

• Size 6 Moda International Skirt Suit in Navy for $6. I loved the way the Navy Blue coat looked with the gold buttons. Honestly just bought it for the top, but the skirt is somewhat of a bonus I guess. Also, apparently Moda International is an old brand by Victoria's Secret! (Same suit on sale at eBay for $30+)
• Size 2 Black Kenzie 1-button Poncho for $4-5 dollars? I forgot... (Identical jacket for sale on eBay for $20+)
• White Ralph Lauren Cardigan for $1.50
• Black Open Weave Poncho for $1-2

From Goodwill (Expensive!!):

• Brand New (Unmarked Soles) Black Naturalizer Peeptoe Heels for $5
• Black Limited Skirt for $4
• Grey/Plaid H&M Skirt for $4
• Oatmeal-colored H&M Oversized Shirt for $4
• Blue White Stag Dress Shirt for $4
• Grey H&M Long Cardigan for $4
• Blue New York and Company Hooded Cardigan for $4

Alright that's all I can remember for now. Maybe I will add some pictures later~ In conclusion. Goodwill = Expensive. 

Welcome!

I started this blog because I recently developed an interest for fashion. While I'm not claiming to be a fashion guru of any sort, I thought it might be interesting to share the way that I personally shop for clothes and to document the progress of my wardrobe transformation.

Entering college, I was a t-shirt and jeans kind of girl. As college wore on, I started to dress better. The main thing that really spurred my interest in the past month or so was the start of a new internship where I would be required to wear business casual. I took it as an opportunity to completely revamp my wardrobe and style.

There are some wonderful fashion blogs out there - some budget and some not. I just want to show people what kind of outfits you can put together with a limited budget. And look good doing it too!