my essential tee solution

Looking for some wardrobe basics?  Is it tough for you to find stuff that fits you comfortably?  I found a solution, for me anyway.  I have an issue with shirt length, I'm just too tall and pants are cut too low for me to be comfortable in just any basics.  And yes, there's the DownEast Basics and Shade options, but the material is too thick and too tight half the time.  And the length isn't always consistent between different styles.  So frustrated, took a tape measure to my favorite tee (one I found randomly at a Charlotte Russe a few years back) and measured the length from the top of the shoulder to the hem and discovered the right length for me is 27 inches - 26 works, and 28 is nice, but anything shorter than 26 is just not for me.  Yay!  So what do I do with this information?  Well, 2 of my favorite retailers, Forever 21 and Charlotte Russe give the exact measurements of their tops, so now I can order with confidence, not looking at the picture and hoping it fits like it does on the model (never does though)!  And THAT'S when I stumbled on my favorite find yet!

Forever 21 has a section on their site that's dedicated to inexpensive basics and essentials.  So, I ordered my personal necessity, tees that were all 27" long and they were just what the doctor ordered.  Nothing too thick or fussy, just simple tees that fit how I want and for $2.50 each!!!  I could look at a top I thought would work, then check the measurements and discover it was an inch or two shorter than I like and move on easy peasy to the stuff that works.  Which it does.

HOLY CRAP TULLE SALE!!!!!

Okay, thanks to UberChic, I knew there was a Tulle sale today (why on earth they don't send me e.mails I don't know grrrr) but GO GO GO!  It's just today, and I just snapped up some amazing deals for 3,4, and 5 bucks!  You can get yourself adorable coats for just that much, but hurry, they're selling out of sizes quickly!!!

Last Day for Wet Seal splurges!

Today is the last day for FREE SHIPPING at Wet Seal with a minimum $15 purchase, soooo doable!

cheap teenybopper clothes!

Aeropostale is having one heckuva holiday sale, everything is 50-70% off!!  I know most of the store fits a pre-pubescent girl much better than child-bearing-years me, but if I dig enough I can find something I love for uber cheap, plus I can get something for the dude in my life.  Not the girl stuff, they have dude stuff too.  I actually leave near one (SHOCK!) so I think I need to head there and check out their skinny jeans for the winter for a cool $19.75.  If you are in the mood to ship, it's free shipping for a minimun of $100... yeah, I'd rather drive too.

My Favorite Things - Ria Fashions

One of my best friends is Indian, and I've always been taken with how flattering her clothing is.  It's not clingy, but doesn't look dumpy, and it always looks classic.  Plus, as a tall gal, the tops are long enough that you aren't constantly pulling your shirt down trying to cover your crack.  I decided to try and find some Indian style tops for my shows with my band - which, although a celtic group, the tops are festive so I thought it could work.  Ug, but the prices I found online!  So expensive!  I almost gave up, until I found the fabulous gem of Ria Fashions.  The prices are so reasonable, most shirts from $10-19, with some fancier dress ones in there for nicer occasions for more, and still cheaper than anywhere else online.  FREE US SHIPPING, too!  I can't tell you how many compliments I get when I wear them!  I wear them with jeans or skirts, they are a fabulous accent piece that make an outfit pop with minimal effort, and are sooooo flattering, yet hide everything I want hidden.  In fact, I wore them as maternity tops too.  No one could tell I was pregnant in them because they were so flowy, and when I went to church the week after I gave birth, I wore one of the tops and everyone was shocked with how flat my stomach looked!  It wasn't, but the shirt covered it up perfectly!  The only warning I'll give is that the material most of the shirts use - a French Crepe - does no stretch at all.  Not an issue, exept my bustline expanded significantly after this last baby and the tops I had in my pre-babysize won't fit over my chest.  No worries, just means I had to get some more:)

ebay?!

There are going to quite a few posts on this topic coming up... I think - THINK I just found a treasure trove in none other than eBay.  I was trying to find some used leather boots to muck around in this winter, but no dice.  Instead a found more than one retailer selling insanely cool designs from Asia for super cheap, some even free shipping.  I mean, check this one out:

Click here to see more in purple, grey and white - and there's a gorgeous little rosette on it.  So Dang cute!  And it is... $2.99 with $1.99 shipping.  $4.98.  Seriously.    Or this one:

That's here and is $16.99 with free shipping (as is everything at that particular store).

The catch is I'm not sure about sizing, most things I've found are only one size, but it details the measurements so you can check for yourself if it'll fit you.  Some things on my amazonian frame will, like those 2 numbers, some won't, so that's the catch, you gotta be careful.  I'll post some more finds later.. there are some SERIOUS doozies!

Well dressed deals!

Love love LOVE the intrepid Cathie! She sent in this gem to me from Ann Taylor LOFT:

And for the bibliophile in your life, check out this deal by Deseret Book for today only:

The selection is chock full of those sweet Christmas-y things, heck, the website smelled like pine to me.  I'm not kidding.

So MERCI Cathie, and do let me know when you find a faboo deal!  Spam aside, it really does pay to be on e.mailing lists for stores you dig.  There are gems to be had in them thar e.mails!

Yay for underpants!

WOOHOO!!  Today only, 12-10-09 FREE SHIPPING on any order from Victoria's Secret with the code FREESHIP.   Can we say awesome??  Seeing as the temperature here has dropped to below %$#! zero, I think I need to get a few of their super soft sweaters on clearance.  And perhaps gift for the girls?  My uber favorite yoga pants came from VS - with free shipping as well, natch.  Go have fun!!

New topic: Worth The Splurge

So, we all like to get whatever we can on sale, clearance, whatever, but what have you purchased for full price that was worth every penny?  I'll go first - Husband gave in a got me this amazing dress from Shabby Apple for my birthday, just 2 months after giving birth.  First off, I have a MAD crush on Shabby Apple dresses.  Their dresses are classic, well-made and this particular one hides my (too slowly)shrinking baby belly and doesn't even wrinkle when I travel.  I'm pretty sure it's magic, like those travelling pants.  And I can wear any accessory I want with it - even my purple tights!  It was just around $100, but every time I put it on it makes me feel thin again and fantastic with almost zero effort and I know it'll be in my closet for years to come without going out of style.  WORTH IT!  I seriously would recommend it to any woman out there.  It's MAGIC, afterall!

What was Worth YOUR Splurge?

Don't forget about Etsy

I ADORE checking out etsy.com, and seeing what people with actual skillz can come up with.  I get my best gifts for people from there - things with personal touches, like guitar pick earings, cool laptop covers, you name it.  They have everything.  EVERYTHING.  When I was pregnant with baby number 2, I was looking all over online to see about buying a Bella Band and I couldn't find one for under $25, some even more.  It's an tube of fabric, people!  As I scoped out etsy one day from maternity shirts, I ran into quite a few shops selling homeade ones from $8 and up.  Much more reasonable, and it supports reg'lar folks like you and me!  (well, not me, I have no skillz there).  I bought a nice black one for $10 and it fit well and was fabulous.  So for those little things - go check etsy out.  They may just have what you need at a fraction of the price.

The seller I bought from doesn't exist now, but here's one shop of many with great ones in varieties of designs:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/RunSystem63

Gee, jeans!

Tis the season!  FREE SHIPPING on ALL Levi.com orders through 12/21/09.

Deal-a-day

The deals this time of year just make me giddy!  Charlotte Russe, one of my fav fashion-for-less retailers is having a deal a day up through December 12th and I love them all!  Today there are a whole bunch of adorable shirts just $6.  Flat-rate shipping of $5.99 and free returns, too.

*EDIT*  Becky is so right!  I forgot to check ebates.com!  If you do any ordering from CR, don't forget to hop over to ebates and get 3% back!!  Thanks!!!

Free shipping, woohoo!

I don't know how long this is good for, but go check it out if you can! I was just surfing wetseal.com looking for the perfect v-neck tee, when I found just what I wanted - and they were 2 for $10! And then after a quick trip to retailmenot.com (thanks Chelsea!!!!) I found a free shipping code for all orders!!

1107WLCE

So I got 2 fabulous shirts, NO shipping - the total was $10.60 total!! I don't know how long the offer is good for, so go check it out asap!!

essential tees, essential prices

I don't know about you, but I'm a tall gal who has trouble finding shirts that cover me up. If the shirt is long, it is low up top, and if it is modest on the top, it's too short on the bottom. GAH. There's a bunch of awesome resources now for us to be modest AND hott. First off there's Shade, who are the original and best at covering tees (there is a seriously asweosme $6 and $8 clearance sale going on right now!) AND on any purchase you make, use the code CAL7266 to get 5% off - that's my good friend's code, she's a personal shopper and is my hook-up to all their sales!

I also found this sale today - Jil Designs is selling all their cap sleeve modest t's (the long kind, bless em:) for $6.99 right now - and on the skirt front there's 2 adorable skirts for sale too for under $10, as well as a good plus size collection for $8.99 and lower.

Methinks I needs to do some shopping:)

Dang. Cropped. Jacket.

Sorry I've been MIA, lately, every free second on the web has been spent trying to find a blasted cropped jacket for this strapless dress I bought this past summer. Everyone wears these (except for you, Olaf;) but dagnabit, NOONE sells them!! This post is just to brag that I found the faboo jacket at Wet Seal for under $20 after spending almost all bleeping month looking for it. For verrrry trendy clothes and accessories at cheap prices - I always go first to:
www.charlotterusse.com
www.forever21.com
www.wetseal.com
www.sammoon.com (for jewlery, bags, etc.)

Where do you go?

Thanks, SJP!

Am I the last person to hear about this??? Sarah Jessica Parker has a clothing line out where nothing is priced over $19.98. And it's cute, dagnabit!!! You can only buy them and Steve & Barry's stores for now but keep your eye out as they are promising to do online shopping soon.

I love the tagline - "Fashion is not a luxury, it's a right" - I agree!!!!

She's got leeeegs!

Okay, this is not a craft blog, but this post shows how I saved myself $12-$20 plus shipping, heh heh. I am a mom to one very wiggly 8 month old daughter, and I recently got all geeked out about the product Baby Legs, basically, leg warmers for babies. It's a great idea, since you can leave them in a onesie and put them on and you can change their diaper without tugging pants off of them and they still have warm legs - although right now I'm less worried about warmth and more about keeping her from scratching up her knees as she crawls all over the place.

But oh, the pain of looking at all these cute thingys and knowing that the soft rainbow ones I wanted were $20.... good golly, I wouldn't spend that much on leg warmers for me!

And then I remember - I have these rainbow toe socks from my "cool" college days that the toes are getting worn out. The solution - cut 'em off and let her go to town!!The unwanted toes.

Then I really couldn't get a good shot of her in them since she wouldn't stop moving, but here's my brag shots anyway:

So, instead of paying $20 I just recycled some old socks:) It can be done with reg'lar ones too, just find some long socks and cut it at the heel.

Color me smart!

Calling all tall girls

Okay, I may be a little behind the times here, but being an Amazonian woman, I figured that to get a pair of jeans I loved and that would reach the floor, I had to spend at least $50 at the Gap. But ah-ha, not so. I'd previously gotten jeans from Old Navy before and they'd all ended up making me look like a freaking sailor. But yesterday as I was mucking around our local ON, trying to use up my Mother's Day gift card, I discovered that Old Navy jeans have not only gotten cooler over the years, they also have short, regular and LONG sizes!!! And may I say, I look so super hott. The most expensive ones were about $29.95 and mine were a cool $25, which is a fair price for something I'll end up wearing every day. Oh yeah, and my tush looks INCREDIBLE in them.

Just thought you'd like to know ;)

PS It's flip flop season too, and they also have the best selection of $5 and under flops in the land.

Semi-Annual Sale!!!!

It's finally here!!! The semi-annual sales at Bath and Body Works and Victoria's Secret!!!! Mar your calendars, people - June 4th, 9am. If you are of the female persuassion, I'd head to Victoria's first because it's usually packed and you wanna get there to get your size before it's gone. But then, off to Bath and Body Works and go back often, because each week has new sales and such for 3-4 weeks. Some sales I've gleaned so far:

$1 Glycerin Soaps
$1 NEW! Signature Collection Freshwater Cucumber & Sea Island Cotton 2 oz Body Lotion
$2 Select Lip Products (save up to $4)
$3 First Time Ever! ALL Signature Collection Creamy Body Wash & Shower Gel (save up to $6.50) (June 4-6 Only!)
$4 Signature Collection Classic Fragrances (Select Fragrances)
$5 All Wallflowers® Starter Kits and Refills (save up to $7.50) (June 4-10 Only!) - this is a GREAT deal!
and up to 75% off select items

Ask the employees what next week's sale will be because what you want might be on sale then. And stock up for gifts to give throughout the year - who doesn't like smelling purty?? It's the happiest day of the year, people!!!

Threadless and loving it

Want to be wity without having to come up with anything ineresting to say? Try a Threadless shirt! Until Monday March 12th, most shirts are only $10, and it's free just to check out the insanely witty shirts on their site, so hop to it!