a cute (andinexpensive) party dress

Did you spend a lot of time and money on gifts for others this weekend? Whether you did or not, it's still nice to get yourself a present, particularly when it's this cute (and well-priced!) -

That A-line shift dress is so cute, and only $65! It's got subtle sparkles, can be worn alone to a party, or make it less party like with a cardigan. Did I mention it's only $65? Oh yeah.

Cute Inexpensive Fall Basics

Back to reality from looking at all the Spring 2010 fashion shows...Old Navy has this deal going for the next few days,

Get 15% off any Old Navy purchase of $75 or more, plus free shipping! Enter ONPLUS15 at checkout. Hurry offer ends 10/8/09.

So I have put together a couple cute outfits with their cute basics, starting with these adorable skinny pants -



I love the fun color of this swing coat, I have an orange wool jacket I bought a few years ago and it is so fun to pull it out each year -



All the celebrities seem to be wearing these plaid western style shirts, it's not a trend I would want to shell out big bucks for, best to get it from somewhere like Old Navy, and it would look good with jeans or the black skinny pants show above.



Or this cute shirt- dress in black or khaki, both great backdrops for fun jewelry and other accessories -






Old Navy also sells flats that would look great with these outfits, but to be honest I thin it's worth paying a bit more for a pair of shoes to make sure you are comfortable and that your legs and back stay healthy!

Here are some fun flats, from piperlime so you can order all of this stuff at once (they are from the same company)and I think you get free shipping this way as well -







Happy shopping!

A great (cheap) summer outfit

A cut tank top can be hard to find, I just don't like the idea of spending too much on my tank tops and other summer tees. They just don't last long enough to justify it.

So I was pretty excited when I saw this one from Vera Wang's inexpensive line for Kohls-


Simply Vera Pleated Tank

I love the pleating detail around the collar on this top, I think it adds something different to a basic tank.

The line has a lot of other cute things, I don't think it would be hard to get your order up to $75 to qualify for free shipping. Like how about this cream exotic looking belt -


How cute is that ivory faux snake belt
and it's less than $15!

And this fantastic multi-strand necklace
I LOVE it! It also comes in a lovely bright, deep blue.



You can get a whole outfit at Kohl's for the free shipping minimum, how great is that?

Belts Are My New Reward (or Retail Therapy)

I had a big day the other day. Armed with my new perfect teeth I went down to the ridiculously named Hall of Justice (wasn't that a cartoon with Wonder Woman and all the other superheroes?) to talk to anyone who would listen to a description of my assailant. Afterward I wanted two things equally badly - a new fun something to wear, and an Oreo milkshake to rival the Smith College mudslides that got me through so many all nighters during finals in college. I must be thinking about those a lot because I'm missing my 10 year college reunion this weekend. So, in addition to my Oreo milkshake, I bought belts. I know it sounds funny but I've been thinking about how some belts that actually fit me at the waist would help me wear more of my clothes more often. I ended up buying a few, one of them is a black version of this belt -




The store I went to didn't have a natural color version, and I really like this. It would go very well with loose summer dresses, or over a skirt of pretty much any color. I have button down shirts that are just too big in the torso and a belt like this would fix that problem.

I also wanted to some fun thin belts to wear both on the waist and on my hips in my jeans. That is going to be a little tricky, I might have to get another hole punched so I can wear them on my waist, but I really didn't want to have a bunch of one-use belts, but on the other hand, all of the belts I've bought over the years are too big to wear anywhere. These are cute -




I love the bright color of the one above, it will look great with jeans, and the white one with studs below is really fun.





The best part is that none of these are expensive and they make for a fun satisfying retail therapy session.

Cheap Monday Cheap Shorts

It's sunny here, and not quite warm enough for shorts but I'm looking forward to summer!




Aren't these so cute? I love the zipper detail, they look high end but are only $55. Gotta love Cheap Monday. If you are going on a spring break these are a must have - and would look great with those flats I posted yesterday.

Retail Therapy - A Bright Scarf

If you are looking for a not-very expensive way to brighten up your wardrobe as we shift from winter to spring I have just the thing for you -




Two of my favorite scarf colors in one! I think this would look great against a grey coat, or denim jacket among other colors. Fun for a weekend look so you can allow your standard scarf a day off.

Retail Therapy for Fall

It's jacket season again, and this adorable one is only $55!




It's a great cheap version of a Theory jacket (that costs 10x as much).

every girls best friend

So we had my shower this past Saturday, and I wore the Moschino dress I posted about beforehand. But when I put it on it was gaping a bit on top showing my bra so I bought double sided tape to keep it in place. The tape was AMAZING. It stayed in place all day, didn't itch (regular tape itches, don't ask how I know that, it's a long story) and when I took it off it didn't leave a single mark on the dress.



Every woman should have this just in case. It will keep dress and top straps in place to keep bras hidden, or if button down tops gape this tape can fix that as well. Definitely worth the few dollars to make sure the clothes you have work well for you. They also make other useful things, like these adhesive nipple covers -



If you have a skimpy top and don't need to wear a bra, these are great.
and Beauty.com offers free shipping on these items, so go for it.

Dress-up dolls are for grownups too

I have a new obsession. I had lunch with a couple of friends last week on Polk St. in San Francisco and there is this cool book / stationary store next door - I walked by and saw this in the window and HAD to have them.

It was the very last set of "City Girls" in the store, they had tons of "ballerinas" and some other such sets left, but all I wanted was city girls, it had to be mine.

I admired the tin(or some kind of thin metallic) box for a few days before I ripped into them and started playing, I'll show you our first attempts -







Can you guess which is mine and which is my boyfriend's?

Shemergency Kit

I will admit it, I loved the movie "The Wedding Planner." J-Lo was cute and funny and was pretty good with the physical humor. In some circles I am known for always having a bag, and usually a pretty big one at that, because there are a million things I feel I need to have with me just in case. The wedding planner, however, put me to shame. I loved how she was prepared for everything - remember - FOB is MIA (father of the bride for you fools who didn't watch the movie ten times), and then she opens her vest to reveal everything anyone could possibly need in any situation like breath freshener, cotton swabs, tape, pins, thread, glue, ah a girl can dream to be that prepared. Anyway, this evening an email about this "Shemergency Survival Kit" was waiting for me and it looks somewhat promising, and better yet it's only $20 so if it doesn't answer all of your preparedness dreams, you won't feel like you got robbed.

Bazaar Headbands

While flipping through my copy of the February Harper's Bazaar I read their "Rules of the Season." I wouldn't call any of their rules earth-shattering, in fact I got annoyed when I saw rule #3 is "Rethink Headbands." Why exactly do we need to rethink them? Apparently the magazine thinks they haven't been around pretty consistently since, well, as long as I can remember.

I wore a pretty silk one from Jcrew today to work. And when I go home to my parents' place I use my favorite headband from when I was around 5 to keep the hair out of my face when I wash my face. It's this adorable plastic rainbow headband, and when I say rainbow i mean it looks like a rainbow, with ROYGBIV running along it (yes, I pulled out the 6th grade science on this post, roygbiv, from the light and vision lesson - I'd prefer to remember that than dissecting a sheep's eye or whatever we did)

Anyway, back to the headbands. I think they are great. Especially when you are lazy like me and don't want to wash your hair in the morning (I have curly hair, so my only options are basically wash and style it, ponytail or headband) so i put my hair back with one and I look cute and styled when really i'm lazy - I should not be giving up this secret to everyone.

I found this adorable headband on Amici Accessories, a site I really like for all kinds of pretty and inexpensive accessories:

Plus, headbands make for a great retail therapy session because they are fun and inexpensive.

Daily Treat

YUM! This lipgloss is a fun treat for the ugly rainy day we are having in the bay area...
it really tastes and smells like cake and makes for a satisfying retail therapy session, best of all - it's only $10 at Sephora, the mecca for make-up and skincare products.

Click the post title to go straight to Sephora.