This is the most luxurious and soft tee I've ever worn. If I am lucky enough to find another one for a similar price ($20 rather than $135) I will DEFINITELY be scooping it up!  I do love The Outnet for all the steals and deals! Speaking of deals, everything I'm wearing in this outfit is designer, and I paid full price for NOTHING. The bag and loafers were still a splurge, but both will last for quite a while so cost per wear will go down. However, the jeans were free after a gift card.

I pride myself on not paying full price for my clothes. How do I do it? I wait for sales and shop at stores like eBay, Roundabout, Marshalls and The Outnet. I even make sure to wait for sales at these types of stores to get even better deals! 90% of the time I'm successful, but there are times when I can't wait for something to go on sale.

Tee: Vince (The Outnet), Jeans: J Brand (The RealReal), Animal Print Loafers: Burberry Prorsum (Net-a-Porter), Necklace: Indulgems (Gilt)

Since I gave up buying clothes for Lent I made it through half of the month without buying anything. The weekend after Easter I went to Marshalls with my Mom and luckily nothing I tried on fit me. I did want to find something new to wear in Italy. Well, new-er. I do have a few pieces I bought last year/got for Christmas that I'll be taking on the trip, but they don't seem as "new" since I've been staring at them for months.

Yesterday I attended a Spring fashion event at Clinton Crossing Premium Outlets and won a $100 gift card AND an adorable bag! With my gift card I picked up some gorgeous black mules, which I've been wanting for a couple years. I also bought an oversized (aka size large because they didn't have my size) cardigan and cargo pants and I still have $10.52 left on my gift card. SCORE! 

We still have this weekend, and an event with Lydia in Greenwich, so we'll see if I add anything else...




THE (modified) RULES

1. Be mindful of purchases 
2. Quality over quantity
3. Basics are best

MY PROGRESS 

Clothes:

1. She Made Me Essential crocheted cotton swimsuit via Net-a-Porter sale ($45, retail $150, used Christmas money)
2. *NEW!* G.H. Bass burgundy cardigan at Clinton Crossing ($0,  sale price w/coupon $7.5, retail $99) 
3. 
   
4. *NEW!* G.H. Bass cargo pants at Clinton Crossing ($0,  sale price w/coupon $21, retail $69) 

Basics:

1. Calypso St. Barth Gylden Cashmere Sweater via Gilt ($71, $295 retail, used Christmas money)
2. M.i.h Jeans Tomboy cropped mid-rise skinny jeans via Net-a-Porter sale ($98, retail $245, used Christmas money)

Shoes:

1. Miu Miu ankle boots via Roundabout Resale - also here and here ($146, retail $850)
2. New Look Metallic Block Heel sandal via ASOS ($35, used advertising money) 
3. *NEW!* BCBGeneration 'Beverly' black mule via Saks Off 5th at Clinton Crossing ($0,  SOF price $55, retail $110) 

Accessories:

1. *NEW!* Tommy Hilfiger (similar) via Clinton Crossing ($0,  retail $?) 

Gifted from Brands:

Total spent in 2017:  $146
Total spent with Christmas/advertising money included: $395

After my cousins wedding I decided to keep my hair in for another day. It was a little messy and the curls had mostly come out so I braided the ends. I spent my day relaxing with my family and then doing some shopping in the afternoon with my Mom. Luckily I didn't find anything to buy.

Tank Sweater: Willi Smith (TJ Maxx), Sweater: Forever 21, Jeans: Free People (Gilt), Sandals: Seychelles (DSW), Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs (Shopbop)



The Original: (Rag & Bone jeans from Shopbop that I still own, mis-remembered and thought they were the Free People ones above! OOPS!)

I swear it was raining when I put on this outfit! But, happily for outfit pictures, the weather decided to clear up. Normally when it rains all I want to wear is big chunky sweaters and jeans. I changed things up this time and went with a bright striped sweaters and my fun printed wellies! Notice how the pink on the boots matches the sweater, I am sooooo cool! (not really...)

Sweater: Banana Republic, Jeans: Rag & Bone (Shopbop), Boots c/o Joules

This past Saturday another one of my cousins got married. This time I had the honor of being one of her bridesmaids so this won't be a regular wedding guest look. The wedding was beach themed so we wore blue dresses. Everyone wore the same style dress and it flattered all our bodies (two of the other girls were pregnant!) I wore a pair of silver sandals which I forgot to take photos of as well as some jewelry that was handed down to be from both my Grandmothers. The ring and earrings were my paternal grandmother who passed away in 2001 and the necklace is from my maternal grandmother who was at the wedding.

Shoes: New Look


Can you see the fear in my eyes in this picture? I HATE being in front of people so I was super nervous even though no one really cares about the bridesmaids, haha.

This dress is one of my favorite buys from Roundabout but I think it's only been on the blog once or twice! For shame! The story of how this dress entered my closet is quite long. Here's the readers digest version: June 2011 it is featured in a Closet-Worthy post. In May 2014 I spotted the dress in one of Roundabout's New York locations but left it since it was still $500. In August of 2014 the dress made it's way to my local Roundabout in Wesport and was part of their Summer blowout sale so I spent $136 on a dress that retailed for $1,995. And it was brand new with tags. SCORE!

I wore this for the first of our two Easter celebrations. My family splits the holiday so we aren't rushing to two houses in one day. I wore this to celebrate with my dad's side of the family.

Dress: Jason Wu 'Okal Print Dress' (Roundabout), Sandals: Prada (The Real Real), Necklace: Marrin Costello

I still remember the day I wore this outfit. It was from when I used to work in New York City and two work friends and I went to a shopping event at a Madewell store. I didn't buy anything, but we did get some tasty froyo! I wore this for a less exciting occasion - to the bank to order some Euros for my upcoming trip to Italy. (WOO!)

Sweater: Madewell (Shopbop), Jeans: Target, Heels: Dolce & Gabbana (Uptown Consignment), Jacket: Theyskens' Theory (Nordstrom Rack)


The Original:

Almost every year since I got this dress I've found myself wearing it on Easter. It's the perfect piece to celebrate the day and Spring. This Easter felt like Summer with temperatures in the 80s! We actually had to turn on the air conditioning at my Grandmother's and couldn't sit outside for too long because of the heat.

Dress: Jason Wu for Target, Heels: Simply Vera Wang c/o Kohl's, Necklace: Francesca's

Normally when I wear cardigans I keep them unbuttoned but this cardigan is on the shorter side so I decided to button it all the way up and wear it as a top. I think I like it better this way. I wore this when the temperatures were still pretty mild but warm enough to wear sandals. The pom poms on these went with the sweater so well so I couldn't resist pairing them together. I'm still HORRIBLE at tying these and am always stepping on the tassels.

Cardigan: Marc Jacobs (Roundabout Resale), Tee: Everlane, Jeans: M.i.h Jeans 'Tomboy' (Net-a-Porter), Pom-Pom Sandals c/o Soma

This is what I wore to celebrate my Dad's best friend's birthday over the weekend. It was a pretty dive-y place so I figured why not wear my crazy printed top to blend in with the mismatched decor. It was still a liiiiittle chilly so I threw on a fuzzy sweater to keep warm.

I hope everyone who celebrates has a Happy Easter this weekend! We're having one of our family celebrations today and a second on Sunday. I enjoy spreading out the celebrations between 2 days instead of having to rush over to another house on the actual holiday. Plus I get to wear two outfits!

Patchwork Blouse: Saint Laurent (eBay), Jeans: J Brand 'Maria' (Gilt), Sandals: Lanvin (Net-a-Porter), Cardigan: Calvin Klein, Sunglasses: Chanel