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.

Day 55: Gunners

Sorry,  no pics from yesterday because I didn't have time to take a picture before dashing off to this.  I know DC is really small, but running into people that I really didn't want to see: Can I say aaawkward? Especially when one of then is an old college-mate of yours. And she's always been a little weird. Or maybe it's me. Clearly, more to the story exists, but it revolves around the judgemental nature of  Korean-American Christians. (you know who you are) I know I don't always get along with all the Korean-Americans out there, and it's not without trying. I know I'm not the most outgoing or the most Korean-American, but I am definitely loads of fun once you get to know me, I promise! I really wish I *did* snap a picture because I loved my dress, I had to bandage my chestal area, and I really got dolled up. Think flowy silver-grey dress. I love the dress to bits. I'll try to recreate it when I get my dress back from the cleaners.

Yeah, I suck at life

Anyways, the gala was filled with two types of people: (1) the gunners and (2) people who got their tickets free (i.e. me.) I'm not a big networker, so I really went to try the "fancy" Korean food. Talk about a FAIL. The food was so bad, even my friend, A, was giving me "the look." You know, I got dressed up for THIS?!?! look. It wasn't Korean food, and it definitely wasn't fancy. I got three measly pieces of beef and whilst soft, where was the accoutrement? Three cubes of beef does not a fancy dish make.And the fish dish? Terrible at best. Even the dessert didn't do it for me. The wine pairings was poor. I am not wine snob, but overly-sweet wine is good with dessert, not beef.  The whole experience was awkward and stilted, just like I expected. The food definitely didn't make up for the weird vibes I was getting throughout the gala. I really owe A a nice Korean dinner. Luckily, the people around us were not gunners so we just small talked a little bit before we high-tailed it back home.

Despite that, I really did appreciate my friend, D, of thinking of me. I wish I was more outgoing and able to talk to people, but really, I hate hate hate networking. I know I can be super charming, but not when I'm forced to do it. Call it teenage rebellion, if you must; I call it chafing against THE MAN. =)

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.

Shivering In Anticipation

I just found out about this. LANVIN for H&M?!?!? I need to get to a store that sells it as soon as it comes out. I love love love Lanvin.

Day 27: Two-fer

Yes, like yesterday, today was a two-fer. A two-a-day. I blame Mr. T and his utter impatience. I kind of threw sthing on.

This is what I wore to the body shop to see Mr. T's f'd up car:

Ombre!

Dress: Calvin Klein (Costco)

I love this dress. Or, at least I did until I saw a friend of a friend wear the *same* dress on FB. Then, I didn't like it so much. I don't know why, but it just deflated my love for this dress. To be fair, one time, after I bought this dress, Mr. T and I saw another girl with the same dress, except it looked frumpy on her. Super frumpy. I think it was because she wore it as a skirt??? And wore some interesting shoes. (*cough Crocs cough*)

One of the biggest things about the clothes I buy from Costco in the US, is that they are a tad big. This is a size S and I feel like it would be cuter if it were a smidge tighter. And, because it's clingy, I can't wear anything under it because it would show the lumps. Any styling ideas would be so appreciated.

After looking at Mr. T's poor car, and possible new ones, I realised I needed to do laundry and also realised I smeared mascara on this lovely dress, so I needed to wash this. And then I changed to Outfit 2.

Yes, another outfit

Top: Korea (Costco)
Capri Jeans: Uniqlo

This is what I wore to pick up my car from the dealership. Turns out only to be a dead battery. Yay! This is also what I wore when I was doing laundry. I hate laundry.

Day 26: Outfit Swap

I wore two outfits in one day. Yes, I am sad.

This is what I wore to go eat Pho.

Outfit 1: Boooring

Tank: Target (Merona)
Jeans: Uniqlo

I kind of threw sthing on, as Mr. T and I were starving and totally craving Pho. Pho 75 is *the* best pho place in Arlington. Saddens me that there is no other ethnic food around that is even decent. I wish the Asian food here in DC was better. 

This is what I wore to go with Mr. T whilst he was getting a MRI:

Outfit 2: Better

Top: Korea (Costco)
Jeans: Uniqlo
Headband: Korea
Earrings: Korea

I just realised this entire outfit was from Korea. Awesome. =) 

I just switched out the tank top to this top, primarily because 1) I was feeling very bloated, but also, 2) because wanted to wear sthing that would cover me up a little more and so I could wear a cardigan just in case it gets cold in the hospital. It wasn't cold, but I did feel better after changing, especially because of point 1.

I am also trying to grow out my bangs because I was looking at some old pics and realised I didn't want bangs anymore. We'll see how long this will last. Since I am trying to *not* cut my bangs, I put on the this headband as a way to get the hair off my face. And, since there were sparkly jewels in the top, I added these earrings as an extra flair.

Ooooh! Pretty!

So, yes, two outfits. One day. I guess that makes up for Tuesday. Or Thursday.

Day 25: Broke Down Hotel

Top: Mango
Capri Shorts: Uniqlo

This is what I was *planning* to wear to go to watch the Rangers play the Orioles. Until my car broke down. Whilst parking illegally. Watching the police circle around me like vultures was very stressful to say the least. And, the Rangers lost. 

It was one of those days.

On the bright side? Got the shirt, on sale, for 10 USD. I love Mango when they  have those mega-sales. That's when to buy stuff from them.