[X] Bauble Necklace

Cardinal rule of blogging, no big giant gaps.  I won't let it happen again, I promise!

Ever since I laid eyes on this style of bauble pearl necklace I've wanted it.  I've been salivating over it because of how versatile it is.  The varied size of pearl and cascading clusters make it the perfect accent piece for any outfit.  Plain monotone outfits can benefit as much as an elegant ones from the hint of style and opulence that is dripping from this necklace.  Here are some of the ones I found below that were just a little pricier than I had really wanted.  I was getting to a point where I was ready to spend a little more because I had to have it!

$21//Express               $48//Lord&Taylor                  $89//Etsy    

This weekend I finally had a little free time and decided to head over to Forever21 to return a shawl/sweater that I had loved to pieces in the store but after bringing home realized it was too much of a statement piece to really go with anything I had.  I begrudgingly took it back to the store and received a $25 dollar store credit in return.  I listlessly wandered through the store, not much caught my eye so I thought i'd head over to the jewelry.  Recently they've really amped up their big, bold necklace selection and I thought maybe I'd have some luck.  I didn't.  I was feeling pretty unenthused and as I turned to leave a torso mannequin on the highest shelf caught my eye--it was wearing THE NECKLACE.  

Beautiful (affordable) baubles! 

I couldn't believe it.  I riffled through the racks again to see if I had just missed it, but I hadn't.  I tracked down a sales associate and begged her to take it down and sell it to me.  Just my luck this was the last piece and it had no tag on it.  Long story short I told her I would pay whatever price they determined it to be, I was expecting to use up my entire store credit and then some but I didn't care.  I had to have it!  The manager was nice enough to locate the price for me and my jaw hit the ground when it came out to a whopping $12.50.  Then it dawned on me that the F21 version was the exact one that I had pinned as well.  I'm quite pleased at the new addition to my very baby collection of accessories.  And while I was there I picked up a black and gray cami in small, at only $1.80 a pop you really can't go wrong.  I hate when I have to turn my closet upside down looking for a plain black cami, any good tips for keeping those on hand? 

Forever 21 Opulent Faux Pearl Necklace//$12.80//exact here

Forever21 Opulent Faux Pearl Necklace //$12.80

[X] Wallet

If you take a peak over at the list one of the things I've had my eye on is a new wallet.  The last time I bought a wallet was in high school.  It was Guess, it was shiny and it had a big shiny G on it.  At the time I loved it.  In the interim period I was on a wristlet kick, I went through two coach wristlets until I came around full circle and wanted to use a wallet again because I got sick of pulling out my stack of cards and fanning them out like a poker hand every time I needed to pay for something.  I dug out my old high school wallet because I thought I'd pick up a new one soon enough.  A year later I was staring at the over shiny trifold wallet too filled with stuff to even close.

I had stopped into ALDO to make a return on a pair of boots that seemed like such a great buy until I brought them home and realized they were engulfing my legs below the knee making me look like a little kid playing dress up.  I spotted this little guy on the shelf and knew I had to have it.  I love the two tone finish and the texturing.  The inside has two compartments for cards and a middle change chain section.  Its perfect! It was already on sale and I was able to snag an extra 30% off because of a store wide deal going on.  This exact color is no longer available but a similar version is still available online, check out the link below.

I know a wallet may be a little thing but like I mentioned in an earlier post that I'm coming to see that building my own style is about a solid base and having little things that pull it all together.  I love this wallet, I love that I picked it out myself and I also love that I didn't have to pay a ton for it.  I think spending responsibly now is something my future self will appreciate.

Exact here, similar here

ALDO Cyd Wallet //Original Price: $24.99//My Price: $13.99//Total Savings: 44%

Nail Lacquer: Accessorizing for Pennies

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

A glimpse of my collection of nail lacquers

The saying goes the devil is in the details.  Well manicured nails are definitely a seemingly small thing that can play a huge role in putting the finishing touches on an outfit.  I don't mean in terms of the color being matching or complimentary but rather that neat, clean, well polished nails really elevate any look. Nail polish is such an easy and versatile accessory that can be changed in the blink of an eye.  A lot of women treat themselves to a mani but I love settling down on the couch with a bottle of polish and treating myself to a fresh set of nails. 

Amazing quality polishes at a more affordable price point, see here

Everyone is familiar with the slightly pricier brands like Essie, OPI and China Glaze but I'm a huge fan of ULTA brand polishes.  They come in a wide array of colors, I have yet to set out in search of a color or finish and not find it here.  My personal preference is for matte finish polishes, I don't think the pearly finishes look quite as flattering on me.  At $6 a bottle they aren't that big of a bargain BUT a couple of times a year they come on sale for $1.99 each.  That coupled with a $3.50 off $10 that is a mainstay of ultra discounts a set of 5 polishes comes out to $6.50.  Thats $1.30 per bottle!  That is a deal you cannot beat and with my nail polish obsession it doesn't break the bank either.  I am a believer in high quality polish--finish and durability are important points for me--these bottles do not disappoint in either category.

On another note, does anyone else do their nails at night and wake up in the morning to an imprint of their bedding because the polish wasn't rock hard dry?  Keep a look out for my perfect solution to this annoying little hurdle that keeps some women away from home manicures and paying too much for manis at the salon. 

ULTA Polish //Original Price: $6.00/ea//My Price: $1.30/ea//Total Savings: 78%

The Purge

Before setting out to fill in the "holes in my closet" it was important for me to figure out and catalog what I already had. I truly see how important it is to (1) know what clothes you have (2) have them visible because there are few instances I put together an imaginary outfit and go hunting for the pieces that I want. My goal is to purge my closet of the clothes that I have a bizarre sentimental attachment to wearing in the future and the ones that I know that I will never be able to squeeze into. I was mildly successful in both of these avenues. I read a tip online that for clothes you feel attached to for no reason just take a picture and get it outta there, so I snapped a few pics on my iPhone and was able to get rid of another chunk of clothes.  I am guilty of keeping some pants that were a little snug but managed to give away the ones where I couldn't even get the button to fasten.

Finally letting go of some old stuff

As I mentioned above its vitally important to do a systematic review of closet inventory at least once a year.  I knew I had a love of colored pants and had picked up a few here and there, little did I know I'd hit every color of the rainbow already.  Glad I finally got them all together and neatly arranged so I can pick out exactly what I need.

One of the joys of closet reorganizing, rediscovering your past purchases

Going through and sorting my clothes allowed me to rediscover the wardrobe I already have.  I'm realizing this is a little bit about buying new clothes but mostly about learning what works for me.  Learning how to combine the pieces I already have and breathing new life into them is going to be the real challenge here.  I still need a solid foundation of basics to lay the meshwork of my style and then use the interesting pieces I've picked up along the way as adornments.  After weeding through the screen printed Ts and unflattering tiered cotton tank top dresses I was left with some beautiful textures and prints.  I had bought these more recently but they were buried underneath the other drab prints and textiles I'd been keeping around. 

Plush gray sweater, heavenly soft. Black lace top with stud detailing.

Light cotton T with delicate lace inset. Monochrome print top.

I picked up a few great deals around holiday time and even managed to hit some things from my list!

Nerding Out

Kenneth Cole New York Glasses [here exact]

If you've had an opportunity to take a peak over at The List you can see its a work in progress, but I think baby steps is the way to go for me here.  With my busy schedule I have noticed that of late I have been opting to sleep in the extra few minutes and throw on my glasses and head out the door.  There wasn't really anything wrong with my old glasses but they weren't unique or interesting in anyway.  They were just the right size to obscure any semblance of eye make up I was wearing while at the same time drawing attention to my half visible eyes.

I'll be honest, I've been craving a pair of heavy rimmed nerd glasses that take up half my face for a while.  The truth is I didn't think I was trendy enough to handle it.  I finally found the perfect pair that I think are kind of middle of the road in terms of their lens size and rim thickness.  They're pretty big, they take up an appropriate amount of my face.  My eye make up looks fantastic and the lens size allows the full almond effect of winged liner and a smokey eye to shine through in a subtle but sleek way.  I love them!

Here's the real kicker, I only paid about $20 for them! How? You like me have probably seen the Coastal.com free first pair offer floating around the web and likely brushed past.  I finally looked into it one day on a whim and found this fantastic pair that satisfied all of my rather difficult requirements for under $20 with shipping.  Take a look around, theres a few pair of pretty spiffy looking nerdy rims that fall into the firstpairfree category.

Another realization I made is that before any serious clothing purchases can be made I need to do a serious flush of my closet.  There are definitely shirts hanging in my closet I haven't even touched in 18+ months and somehow have convinced myself I might need it, I think it's time to let go!  I foresee a giant box of clothes being delivered to the goodwill sometimes soon.

Coastal.com Glasses//Original Price: $130//My Price: $20//Total Savings: 85%

Embarking on a Journey

I was out shopping for some clothes today and wandered through the juniors section at Macy's and was appalled and how unappealing everything there looked to me.  So cheesy, sparkly, tight fitting and mass produced.  I chalked it up to it being holiday season and the end of the year.  Then it dawned on me it wasn't the Juniors section that was the problem--it was me!  I'm in my early twenties, time to high tail it over to the big girl section.  This isn't to say that wonderful pieces can't be found stuck even in the kids section for us petite girls but its time for a paradigm shift in my wardrobe.

I'm a big bargain hunter, I don't believe in paying more money for a clothing item than I could realistically carry around in my wallet.  That being said I am now seeing the importance of having high quality, staples that will last for years and can be used in an endless variety of combinations and permutations.

Part of the reason my wardrobe has failed to transition is because I am still a student.  After completing my bachelor's degree I kept on rolling right into grad school and am currently in year three of a four year program.  The academic rigor required was one of the excuses for me slouching around in the same stuff I've had for years.  Occasionally I'd go on a "fashion" bender e.g.: I really wanted a cropped black blazer, when I finally found one I bought 5 in all different colors.  Excessive.

I'm a very concrete-sequential type person.  I like to make lists and cross things off.  One of my fav bloggers Franish introduced this concept of having a list of items you need and filling them in.  That sealed the deal for me.

I'm going to create a list, hopefully an amalgamation of what many ladies out there in the blogosphere have already put out and then start slowly working my way through it.  Like I said I'm budget conscious, as a student one of my last expense priorities is on clothing, and will keep that in mind as I venture through this.

This will be a blog about my journey to discovering my own style, body type and eventually transitioning to a wardrobe suitable for work, home and night.

I want to blog because it keeps me honest.  Even if nobody else every sees this, it gives me a space to be accountable and track my progress.

Click here for the list, or scroll up and click on the button above.

Comments? Thoughts? Items to add to the list?  Please feel free below!