Two Month Review

Remember this post? Well, it's been 60 days of posting outfits and I want to see how well badly well I did in terms of not buying clothes. Even in my birthday month.

The Background: I was inspired by this NY Times article, which led me to this blog, to see how long I could go without spending money on clothes. Clearly I failed in *not* spending. Not only did I buy some articles of clothing, I also have bought accessories. It seems as if at one point, every fashion blogger has tried to go without spending money on clothes, i.e. 30 clothes in 30 days, etc., but whilst they *do* fuel the creative mind, they didn't really hit the problem that many women, including myself, have, which is spending a crapload of money on clothes and accessories, be it good quality or not. I started this blog to try and force myself to wear all the crap I have in my closet, and give away/swap/sell whatever clothes I do not wear.

Regardless, I want to continue to hold myself accountable so that I won't go on a shopping spree and then regret my purchases.

Here's the breakdown of what I bought in the last two months:

Definitely a good purchase!

These shoes from Payless? Definitely a good purchase. I've been wearing the ones on the left all.the.time. In that sense, I'm glad I bought these shoes.

All the accessories I bought

Since I couldn't go hog wild on clothes, I ended up buying accessories. I bought the gold bracelet and necklace at Goodwill. The necklaces I got from F21, as well as the belt. And the sunglasses are from Target. So far, I think I made some decent purchases.

Source

Source

So these are the two dresses I bought from Charlotte Russe. Online. I never buy anything online. I like to try my stuff first. I got the first one because Mr. T really really liked it. And I got the second one because, really, how many wrap dresses can you have? Apparently the number is to the x to the nth power. I already wore it, too.

I actually bought these dresses because I really wanted to buy this:

Lies!!

That picture is totally deceiving. When I got this in person, there were holes in the centre that made it look cheap and tacky. And since they didn't have it in the store itself, I was forced to buy it online. And since it costs 6 bucks to ship, I felt I had to buy something to decrease the shipping cost per item. That's right; Charlotte Russe, unlike F21, does NOT have free shipping. So, I bought my roommate a present, which she loved, and I got these two dresses for 8USD, not including shipping. But, since I like how they look, I'm only 99% grumpy about the shipping cost. I took away 1% due to the utter satisfaction of the dresses. Though I guess I should put it back to 100% because the necklace was horrible. 

The Verdict? Holding myself accountable using this blog has definitely decreased the amount of money I spend on clothes, but I will say I now focus my energy on accessories, which, in the Goodwill, might be a good idea, because it seems all the clothes I buy from the Goodwill always goes back to the Goodwill, but definitely not the case when it comes to other places. Sometimes you definitely need a little something to fill your wardrobe. I think this post says it best. I give myself a C. 

ETA:  OK, after I wrote this, I epically failed because I bought: 1) the BR top; 2) Nine West booties; 3) Aveda face lotion (awesome stuff, but really, did I need it? No); 4) Sephora eye liner; and 5) a video game. Yes, I am a sucker for free stuff.

Another picture of the BR top

EPIC FAIL.

Lion, Tigers and Bears!!

My new finds!!

After seeing a few girls on campus wearing the owl necklace, which I totally dug, I bought these two animal necklaces from Forever 21. I *love* F21's jewelry and accessories; they remind me very much of Korean accessories. Love love love. <333

I jump in it.... =)

I love elephant accessories. I have an elephant belt and Mr. T bought me two elephant pendants. Now I have another one. I was also thinking of buying this. Do you think it's too much???? (If you saw how many elephant stuff I have, you would be agog.)
 
That being said, is it just me or is Forever 21 using bloggers for inspiration? I mean, I was totally inspired by Indiana, especially all her elephant stuff (lucky girl), but doesn't this bracelet look similar to this? Or even the necklace I bought similar to this one? Or this one??

Regardless, I love Forever21 and I love all their accessories. To me, it's like they let the US market in on the secret of why a lot of Korean women are so stylish: cheap, but super cute accessories!! Love it. Mr. T always says most Asian women have a sense of style and I have to agree. I believe it starts with the accessories and the rest is just gravy.

I Caved. (aka "Why I am a sucker")

Yes, I broke my resolution for no clothes and bought exercise shorts at Target. I was going to cut my other shorts, but I figured this was faster and I realise I needed one more pair. Still, I feel bad. That and I bought some jewelry from Goodwill. Does anyone every feel pressured to buy sthing when you go to a store? I do sometimes. I hate that.

Let me explain how I ended up buying stuff from Goodwill. Before I do, here is a picture of the necklace I bought:

The necklace

Pretty, no? I got it for 5 USD.

This all started when I lost my brooch at the Whole Foods in Clarendon. I was determined to find another brooch to go with the brooch I still had in my presence.I even called to see if the Whole Foods had my brooch. I was SOL. Anyways, since I had to drop my roommate off somewhere in DC, early in the morning, with a very high possibility that I had to pick her up because it was raining like a mofo, I figured I would go to Target for said shorts and then pop by the Goodwill and see if they had any brooches. The problem with the Goodwill in Falls Church is that all the jewelry is ensconced in glass. Where the registers are located. Whilst looking to see if they had any possible brooches, I saw this necklace. I wasn't sure if this was a good idea, because I almost lost my breakfast when they said the necklace was 5 bux, but the dude was breathing down my neck and I wanted to get out of there ASAP. I just wanted to see if there was any brooches that matched the one I lost. I was on a mission. A mission that was an epic FAIL.

Close up of the necklace

What do you think? I like it, but is it too much?

Then, I went to *another* Goodwill, on Glebe, in the pouring rain, grumbling because I couldn't believe how much I spent on a necklace and saw this:

That's a bracelet!

I got *this* for a buck! What's up with different prices in each Goodwill? I thought I would layer this with some other bracelets, and, what's more important, it fit my tiny wrists.

Detail shot!

And, of course, there was no brooch that I liked. Hence, the EPIC FAIL! T_T

Anyways, the reason why I didn't mind buying the bracelet at the Goodwill on Glebe is because 1) the lady at the register was super awesome and friendly; and 2) it was only a dollar. The necklace should have been 3 USD. Also they were trying to push me into buying more stuff. Not cool, man. Not cool.

Any thoughts on how I can wear the necklace? I like it, but am drawing a blank. Don't want to look matronly, either. =*(