New shoes from TJMaxx

I need some new heeled shoes for work, so I picked these up at my local TJMaxx, a discount clothing store, for $34.99, a bit more than I usually pay for shoes. They normally would have retailed for a higher price in a normal store.

In some cases, you get what you pay for, and cheap shoes just don't last.  At an event for one of my work-study jobs in college, one of my shoes broke, so I was stuck wearing my snow boots for the entire evening. The shoes were $15 from K-mart. Live and learn, right?

They remind me of these shoes I have been seeing on Japanese and Chinese fashion blogs:



 

Thanks for reading, thrifters!

Three Reasons Why You Should Give the Peplum Skirt a Chance

1. Instantly creates an hourglass figure.

• If you have broad shoulders, a peplum dress or skirt will balance you out.


• For those who have a little extra love in the tummy area (like me) it will help give back that hourglass figure by contrasting your waistline.


• If you have a slender frame (or even just a straighter frame), this will enhance your curves.

And the people does all of this without making your legs look bulky, because the skirt itself is typically fitted. Otherwise, it's just a ruffle. Peplum elitism here, folks.

2. Adds playfulness and femininity to an otherwise stuffy ensemble.



If it weren't for the peplum effect of the blazer, this look would be quite serious and a little too matronly for a woman of Kate Middleton's age. It also adds curves to her slender body.

3. It's readily available in thrift stores!



The peplum has been around long before the 1980s! It's the modern way to wear a bustle, representing a stark contrast to the loose-fitting garments of the 1920s and 30s.

Thanks for reading, thrifters!

Thrifting Haul - Spring Inspired

So I haven't been doing as much thrifting and yard sale hopping as I'd like to (dumb full-time job work schedule -- curse you!), but although they are few and far between, I have found some real gems.

Find #1:



I picked up this cute little needlepoint shoulder bag for $3.50. I reminds me of the old-fashioned needlepoint handbags (like this) but with a more rustic pattern. I don't think it is vintage, in fact it seems quite new. But, hey, at $3.50, I'm down with that.

Find #2:



I also found this cute watermelon-esque polka-dot scarf for $1.  It needs pressed, but I think this will help me add some color to my work outfits. I tend to slide into either too much black or too much beige at work.

Find #3:



I am totally enamoured with this high contrast 90s Gitino cross-body. $2 from a church thrift store in the next town over.

Find #4:



This poor bag is a little worse for wear, but I still love it. It's a 1960s pillbox handbag from an awesome vintage boutique in Harrisburg called the Atomic Warehouse. The owner gave me a good deal on it: $10! I have seen these only a handful of times, and usually priced at $30 to $60!

Find #5:



This skirt has side pockets and buttons up the front. I found this for $3.50. Not sure if this will become part of my skirt collection or if it will end up on etsy. I need to give it a test run. I have an outfit concept in mind, but I am not sure if I'll be venturing too far on the granny side. I was inspired by this:



 

Don't worry, there's plenty more to share! Stay tuned, thrifters.

 

Related articles

• My Favorite Thrifted Accessories (dressresponsiblysj.wordpress.com)

Win Nasty Gal for life! Nasty Gal Hosting a $10,000 gift card giveaway!

Hey, I'm in!

Enter at Nasty Gal's website, nastygal.com. The clothing and accessories for sale at Nasty Gal are super rad, but also super expensive. Wouldn't it be amazing to have $10,000 of pure mad money to spend shamelessly on your wardrobe?

This is not a sponsored post! I am just really jazzed about such a crazy giveaway and wanted to share a chance to win with my readers.

What is this Glossybox thing, anyway?

The beauty corner of YouTube has been inundated with reviews and unboxing videos of something called Glossybox. You may recall a little while back I reviewed JustFab.com, a shoe subscription service -- well, it seems a lot like that.



Glossybox is a worldwide company, but is just now coming to America. In order to raise some hype, they've sent boxes free of charge to a whole lotta Youtube beauty vloggers, not just the big name gurus. This shows a transition in the way fashion and beauty products are marketed to young consumers. While we may still covet our issues of Vogue, we are spending more time browsing Youtube, blogs, Chictopia.com, and Lookbook.nu than magazines for fashion and beauty "inspiration." I mean, these days you can even watch people unbox new shoes on Youtube with a detailed review -- times are a-changing, people! (Which is sad for all of us who hoped to be magazine editors.) Lots of companies are offering free products in exchange for blog updates and vlogs.

Let's take a look at my favorite Youtube fashion/beauty/paranormal blogger, Grav3yardgirl, as she opens her free Glossybox:



From what I gather, you pay $21 each month for one monthly box filled with five different travel size beauty products (a nice way to dress up what seems like samples to me) curated by "beauty experts." I am not sure if you can skip months or not, like you can with JustFab and ShoeDazzle. They are packaged very nicely, and some of the products actually are full size, like OPI nail polish. The company promises that all the brands are high end or luxury. So, is it really worth the $21 per month?  That's $252 per year, and as grav3yardgirl says, that's potential shoe money. Perhaps the added retail cost of all the contexts is enough to draw you in. I definitely want to see more.

The whole thing is still in the "beta" stages for America, but I am intrigued. Their marketing tactic has certainly succeeded in creating a lot of buzz.

Related articles

• Birchbox Addicts Beware: Glossybox and Total Beauty Collection Launch (eye4style.com)


• GLOSSYBOX USA Is Here! (style-love-repeat.com)