Tie One On (It Is New Year's Eve, After All)

I cannot decide whether it was a lucky day for me when Lucky started selling shoes, or possibly the most unluckiest of all days. Regardless, I now own more pairs of their shoes than I should, and it has already been established that I own more boots than a small nation of size 8 1/2 footed women could ever wear. It's unlikely that either of these things can be said about you, so you may consider these boots, half off at $104.50. I have nicknamed them Lacey, for obvious reasons. The Cagney boots are much tougher and brassier.

Chick on a Mission

The 50% - 75% off Lucky sale starts the day after Christmas. It is an indication of how devoted we, your bloggers, are to you and to this blog that we will be there on day 1. I have formulated a plan of attack, starting with step 1, the reconnaissance mission, scoping out potential sale items. It's fun - I rent a van, fill a thermos with hot cocoa, park on Columbus Avenue, and get out my binoculars. Or sometimes I just fill a mug with the bittersweet chocolate elixer and do my reconnaissance work from right here at my kitchen counter.

Right now I am tracking this dress, potentially $60.

This cardigan is also an item of interest, worthy of my attention, possibly because my kitchen is freezing and the steaming cup of chocolate is not yet ready.

Also, I kind of like these chandelier earrings, which are only $21 now, so imagine the potential savings! I think I like them mostly because they remind me of a photo I saw recently of a chandelier that, in a life-imitating-art-imitating-life moment, was said to be a lighting fixture that was shaped like a chandelier earring.

Elementally Fringed

Am I really supposed to pass this up? It's fringed, it's Jack Black, and it's $16.99. Folks, I am not made of stone (unlike a certain hateful, ubiquitous, blood-sucking immortal).

Purple Daze

I saw these plum satin beauties in the window of Urban Outfitters and I stopped in my tracks, struck by a sudden need for them. By the time I had turned around and entered the store, mere seconds later, I already had come up with the need that they satisfied; to complement a silver dress that, at $24, cost even less than these $28 flats. Wow, I'm good.
(Also, cute with jeans.)

Collar the Market

Sometimes when I wear a coat with a collar I get nervous that the collar will flap around and my lipstick will rub onto it. Which is weird, because mostly I buy lipstick and then keep it safely in my medicine cabinet. But once in awhile I wear lipstick - until I get to work and eat my breakfast at my desk. And during the period from when I first put the coat on until I remove my coat and take my first bite of cranberry muffin, I am always craning my neck in weird ways to keep that collar clean. This coat ($97 with the 25% off code) has its collar firmly secured by buttons. So for the five minutes that Im actually wearing lipstick, I won't be doing that weird pigeon thing with my neck. I'm hoping that means an end to the old man with the baggy pants tossing crusts of bread in my direction.

Slipper-y When Cold

It may be unseasonably warm according to Al Roker, but that's just outside. Inside it is freaking freezing - at work and at home. I desperately need some cozy, furry slippers to keep me warm - you know, that whole pulse points thing. That's why American Apparel sells those terry sweatbands, no doubt, to keep the hipsters warm. Wait - where was I before I got distracted by visions of lame lycra leggings and faux/not faux soft core porn ads? Yes, cozy, furry slippers. I need me some of these for $15.

And, seriously, it's so cold at work despite someone having done this to the vent, that I might wear the slippers there, too.

Le No? Le Yes!

The dealmaker: This top is $20. It has some of that recently popular bat wing sleeve, but it's cinched with an empire waist, so you don't look shapeless or like you might take flight.


The dealbreaker: It's called the Leno blouse. There is something so repulsive about Jay Leno and his scary chin, that simply because an item shares his name, I would seriously run from it, screaming, arms flailing. Perhaps you will not have as visceral a reaction, although I will never understand why not.

Sweet November

November has arrived, and, with it, inevitably, will come two annual occurrences that arrive like clockwork: the onset of winter and my search for the perfect flat leather boot under $100.

But I must say I'm feeling good about both of these things this year. For one thing, the high yesterday was 70 degrees. For another, I've already found these.


P.S. When you visit the boots at their web site, don't worry about that third commenter down -- the one from Canada, who complains that boots never fit her perfectly toned calves and approves of the wearing of leggings. That's three strikes right there -- we'll take care of her.

Go Tuck Yourself

Sometimes you like to tuck your cords into boots. But sometimes that proves a difficult task, as your calves are too, you know, muscular. Plus, it's just plain hard to jam those gams in alongside your pants, which are all folded up and pushed up weird. So you need these tapered cords for $40.


If, while you are buying those cords, you also purchase these 'arm warmers,' goodbye, it was nice knowing you, but you are no longer welcome around these parts.

The Hoser Hut

In New York City, people don't have lawns. But that doesn't seem to stop people from watering the land right outside their front door. It is not clear to me WHY people stand outside, drenching the sidewalk with a garden hose every single morning, but it happens. And the resulting puddles can reach havoc on my black suede ballet flats. Since the dirty looks I give these urban gardeners as I daintily tiptoe through the marshy sidewalk, trying to keep as much of the delicate suede out of the water as possible, don't seem to be having an effect, I am forced to search for an alternate footwear option. I'm thinking these. $27.99 and free shipping -- that is, if the mailman is willing to wade through the flood outside my front door.

Esprit de Store

When I was in high school, my family would drive in to NYC and my mother would take me shopping at Urban Outfitters, where she'd buy me all matter of things Esprit. It's there that I got the awesomest Esprit hot pink loafers, and somehow even more awesomer Esprit paint splattered pants (with ankle zippers!). And what do I remember best about these trips? A single instance in which a man stood at the entrance to Urban Outfitters screaming over and over "What the fuck is Balduccis? What the fuck is Balduccis?" Exactly the memory my mother was trying to create.

The story does go a long way toward explaining a) my allegiance to Urban Outfitters b) my adoration of the word 'fuck' c) my attraction to Esprit. Evidence of point 'c': this dress (which I snagged over the weekend for $50 at 30% off).

Hat's It!

One of Jayn's and my favorite things about New York City is how impossible it is to faze people in this city. In another city, a giant face tattoo might garner some stares or funny looks. Here, it just serves as landmark, telling you you've entered the East Village. In another city, people might be unnerved by the fact that they are sharing a subway car with a man in a panda suit. Here, he's just another body to push past as you board.

But today, my friends, I have discovered something that will shock even the most freak-accustomed New Yorker. What is it, you ask? What could possibly draw the curious stares of this jaded populace? The answer, dear readers, is a girl in an awesome hat.I had donned this fetching little cloche, which I picked up for a mere $15 at a Florida Target, to brave the chill in the air on my way to work. As I waited at the bus stop, sat quietly on the cross-town ride, boarded the elevator in my office building, I felt all eyes upon me. I could feel the curious stares, hear their unasked questions -- "What is that? Who would wear such a thing?"

In retrospect, their shock and awe was really not that surprising. After all, we don't have a Target in Manhattan.

Photo credit

Wrap It Up, I'll Take It

I still don't believe that a warm-blooded human should ever wear a scarf in the heat, whether that be the white hot lights on the American Idol stage or the oven that is the NYC subway in the summer, but I am now willing to acknowledge the value of the flimsy scarf. I'm sure it has a real name, but I don't know what it it is and I don't care what it is, and I think the term flimsy scarf makes my point quite clearly. I mean those wide, fringed, usually rayon or cotton, flimsy scarves.


The flimsy scarf is perfect for that weather we in my family call 'in-betveen,' when a light jacket is just not quite enough. It's also the perfect accessory for the purely hypothetical office that is freezing in summer and freezinger in winter. One where many of the vents are taped over with duct tape or jammed with deli napkins, and you could swear that over by the copier there is a hint of snow in the air.

Here's a cute $12.50 one from Old Navy. Notice that because it is multiple colorful patterns on a single item, I can still wear it despite both my pattern and color phobias. I think that somehow a colorful multi-patterned item paradoxically works to soothe my phobias in much the same way that ritalin calms those with ADHD, despite its being a stimulant. Also it's possible I have had too much diet coke today.

Boot-Ready

Boot weather is officially here! For fun, and to give friends and family yet another reason to question my sanity, I created a photo boot diary, featuring pics of me wearing an embarrassingly large number of unique pairs of boots over the span of a week.

Now that all questions about my mental state have been settled... what suits a boot better than a little pencil skirt? Take a look at this great cord skirt with piping and a belt! Also, reminisce with me about the olde days, when a plastic belt was not referred to as 'vegan.'

Sit Back, Enjoy the Shoe

Recently I went to see Bruce Springsteen at the Meadowlands and I learned an important lesson in security. If a concertgoer brings a backpack (offense 1) with a laptop (offense 2), she is a security risk and must be barred from entry. However, if she gets herself some free Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band plastic bags from the souvenir-y stand, and places her backpack, laptop, ballet flats and other items inside those bags, she is warmly welcomed into the stadium.


When I returned home from the show, I was not unhappy to see that one of those ballet flats had been left behind in the stadium parking lot. They were several years old and they pinched my heels. So, look at these awesome replacements I found - $29, and with this season's studs! (Check out the awesome, not-in-my-size gray.) I am steadfastly avoiding investigating the black ballet flat I may or may not have glimpsed under my umbrella stand.

Frozen Yogurt Attire

You know what's fun? To have the time to take a nice yoga class, and just perhaps to fall asleep at the end when you're just lying there and the lights are off. (Not so much fun when you wake yourself up with a loud snore, but that has never happened to me.) But let's say you lead the hectic, modern life. It might be hard for you to fit yoga in. But it might be fun to just wear the pants you would wear to yoga, without going anywhere near a yoga studio, for $15. You could even turn the lights down and lie on the couch in your yoga pants, possibly with a pint of Ben and Jerry's with some suitably yoga-inspired flavor name. They must have one.

Shut It Down (please help me!)

Ever wonder what would happen if you watched every episode of the Rachel Zoe project (at least) once? I mean, apart from endlessly pondering the question of how a woman who is so uber-skinny can have such a round, puffy face. (And apart from marveling at how perfectly Taylor keeps her roots touched up and whether Rodger's name always had that "d" in it.)

Well, if you already had a mild 70's obsession, repeated viewings of the series would lead you to consider purchasing this faux fur vest for $38 (coupons!). I mean, it's bananas. I die.

Teal Crazy (After All These Years)

Mostly when I go for that 'pop of color' it's a hint of charcoal gray topping off an all black outfit. But periodically I have a "chicks gone wild" moment, and impulsively buy an item of color. It's doubtful that item will ever get worn, of course, so it's best if I indulge in this utter madness on the cheap, like these teal peep toes for $15.

The Fast and the Furious Eating

Let's say you spent an entire day (and the night before) not eating. This is not a nightmare, my friends, or even a bad horror movie - this really happened to me! What would you wear that night, when you are stuffing your face with, let's say, bagels and brownies? Well, I have just the $49 dress for you.

Waiting (Waiting) on the Weather to Change

First I need to explain the title here - - I have been singing that infernal John Mayer song all day. Whenever I wasn't singing 'Single Ladies,' of course. Which jammed itself into my head just when I thought 'Gold Digger' was there to stay and would any day now start receiving those free charity return labels with my brain as address line 1.

OK, on to this dress. Let me be honest here. I know I was hanging on to summer, but now it's almost October and it's still over 80. Hey - some of us have boots to wear! But if fall is going arrive fashionably late, I will be waiting for it in this pretty, pretty silk dress. With a little black cardi. And maybe with this belt.

ommmmmmg!

Today only, a 20% off sale at yoga-inspired Satya Jewelry ! And this applies to the sale jewelry too. Check out this garnet'n'gold necklace for $46, from $88. If I were you, I'd stick to the jewelry, and nama-stay away from the statues.

The Bag Not Taken

If I didn't just buy an awesome bag I didn't need at Verve (a new favorite store!), I would have bought this corduroy baby for$34 with my 25% off coupon. I was nearly persuaded by the Gap salesperson (who is about to retire, after 20 years, with a pension - did you know Gap salespeople got pensions?), but unfortunately for her, the persuasive Verve salesperson got to me first (hi, Lori!). The bag has a very east parking lot/burnout kind of thing going on. I mean, I am sure there is a pocket perfect for cigarettes and another for coal black eyeliner.

Almost Fall

It's getting harder and harder to claim it's still summer. I actually wore boots today. I snatched up a snazzy velvet 'boyfriend' jacket for $29. Yes, soon I will have to acknowledge fall. But, not yet! Today at Sephora I got this awesome Stila 'as good as golden' set, consisting of illuminating finishing powder and sun bronzing powder, for $10. Now, in September, I can have the tan I somehow never achieved after an entire summer in front of my laptop.


And if you buy this set and it doesn't float your boat, just return it to the library that is Sephora. To paraphrase Miss Penny Lane: I always tell the girls, never take it seriously. If you never take it seriously, you never get hurt. If you never get hurt, you always have fun... And if you ever get lonely, just go to Sephora and visit your friends.

Weave Me the Sunshine

Good news! It's rainy and cool again here! Honestly, if I wanted to live somewhere where there's only one season, I would live in Southern California (I will not say SoCal), where there is one warm season and I could bask in the sunshine every day. And also see firsthand whether the women there really look they they do on E!-type TV shows (which I don't watch - especially not "Keeping Up with the Kardashians," "Tori & Dean," or "Kendra"), like a completely different, evolutionarily divergent species.


Until I make that move, and get the requisite injections and surgeries, here is a great water-resilient bag, for $27. Trust me, in person it is not nearly so shiny and the woven front and substantial brass hardware make it look really expensive. Like you could afford to shop at Dash or go to Dr. Reyes when you finally make the big move west. Give my love to Liam and Stella.

They're my new "I don't need a job, I don't need my parents, I've got great boots" boots!

So, last summer my girlfriend called me minutes after interviewing for a job in licensing for Lucky and told me, "You are in trouble. They're making shoes." Not only do they now have shoes, my friends, they have boots. Lucky Brand boots? I didn't even have a chance really, did I? On top of that, today I had a closet organizer come by and he actually told me that, if I was going to keep all my boots, there was literally nothing he could do to help me. Apparently, I have made a lifestyle choice.

Use your 30% of coupon code 9SEPFRNDS.

Hell No, You Won't Go

My 'Hanging On To Summer' campaign, also known as the 'Summer 2009, You Owe Us Big and You're Not Going Anywhere' campaign, is in full swing. This $12 shirt is the logical next step. You can just feel the warm sun on your back, can't you?

Comes in other colors, for the non-colorphobic.

No, No, No, I Will Not Let You Go

This year summer took its own sweet time coming along, did it not? And if it thinks it's leaving any time soon, it's got another think coming. I'll be damned if I am going to let it go just because September is approaching and every business, whether it sells all-weather radials (like I have ever owned a car) or tomato plants (ditto for me owning a garden), is having a back to school sale or, worse yet, has Halloween decorations up. When summer departs, my arms will be wrapped around its ankles and it will have to pry me off or kick me off or whatever my mother did when I did this to her. I will throw a shrieking, arms-flailing, foot-stamping tantrum right there in the middle of the street until I have shamed summer into staying.

And then I will wear this $20 pintucked dress every day.

Decanklize Yourself

I have a confession to make. My gladiator sandals that buckle up my leg are utterly unflattering. In fact, in my head I secretly call them the canklemakers. I say it with a German accent, as if I am in one of those awesome Mentos commercials or even the Foo Fighters parody (in my head I am great with accents). And as much joy as doing that brings me, I would not be unhappy if the naked eye could distinguish my ankles from my calves, and these $20 gladiator-y sandals might just do the trick.

Totes Obvi

Like Amanda, I believe it is not possible to have too many tote bags. If and when a radio dj (do we still have those? a podcast host?) calls me and offers me a cool mil if I can pack all my belongings into inexpensive tote bags, I will be prepared. But, just to be sure, I probably need to buy this $17 one, reminiscent of a Coach bag I have been visiting.

The Skinny on the Cheap

Urban Outfitters has all their Levi's jeans for $39. I have such a fondness for Levi's - they were my first pair of jeans and we got them at Youth Center. I wore them 'til they got holes, which I proudly covered with patches. That doesn't sound like me - - except it sounds exactly like me, really, doesn't it?


Anyway, let's just say you have a pair of skinny jeans that you are not always skinny enough to fit into (and let's just say a friend of yours less-than-graciously offered to take them off your hands because they would fit her so much better, or so she said), you might just want to buy these.

Hi Ho Hi Ho

OK, here is how my last two weeks have gone: work work work work work work work work wedding work work work work work work. Also, there was an awesome chocolate cake thrown in there. But I think you get the general idea.

So what better to wear for all that work, than this $42 'workweardress'?! Why, nothing. Unless you're a dude. Or maybe even then. I don't judge. Who am I kidding? I judge plenty. But not men in dresses. Women in ugly dresses sure. Oh my god, I am cracking under the pressure of all that work. Quick, someone buy me this dress.

Skirting the Issue

So, it turns out that there are events during the summer for which cutoff jean shorts are just not appropriate. I know - who knew, right? So for just such occasions, might I suggest this $12.50 jean skirt? Ignore where it Old Navy calls it "high-rise," because I have this skirt, and the phrase seems to be merely euphemistic for "your pelvic bones are safely hidden from view."






Not fancy enough for ya? Really step it up with this $20 skirt. But, beware, Old Navy actually calls this one "low-rise," which may mean it sits around your ankles.

Stained Lass

One great thing about purchasing cosmetics from drugstores instead of Sephora is that you can buy more of them. Not that I ration my Sephora purchases. But I got this new Cover Girl product, Outlast Lipstain, to test for free. I like the product -- it gives me a nice, stained look (stained in a good way, not in an I-need-Tide-to-Go way, which is good because I hate Tide to Go, it smells like vomit which I choose to believe is because it is digesting the stain) and is fun to apply. It's like drawing on your lips with a marker, which is more enjoyable than it sounds.

The problem with Outlast Lipstain is that it doesn't really outlast anything. It doesn't stay on very long -- certainly not through my Grande Caramel Light Frappucino -- and it can be a little drying. But like I said, it's cheap (or free, in my case), so I can afford another product to layer over it and help it stay on longer. It's nice with a clear gloss or lip balm. I recommend buying at least five.

Get Thee to an Old Navy

I was all set to order this Greek-inspired top, for $8.75 using my 30% discount. Except it's only available, through midnight tomorrow, in stores. And, I may not have mentioned this, but I have a wedding to go to.

Bubblicious

As alluded to earlier, it's never, not ever going to stop raining. Never never never. Not ever. So, time to man up (chick up?) out and get yourself this bubble umbrella, just like the one you had (or desperately desired) as a child. While shielding you from the inevitable downpour, the clear plastic also lets the world enjoy your cute outfit, brightening others' day. So buying it is a purely altruistic move.

Wedding Crashers

So, remember those shoes I ordered for the wedding I'm going to? Gotcha! Trick question! I didn't actually order them. You thought I did though, didn't you? Well, so did I. But it seems like I forgot to press that very last confirmation button. Surely it can't be for lack of experience in online ordering...


So, there I was, with no shoes. And then I lost my watch. Not my everyday watch, but my fancy schmancy watch that will cost a pretty penny to replace. So, feeling rushed and pretty cash-poor, I stopped in at my local Payless, and there they were - $15 pewter wedding shoes! Now, frankly, it's quite possible that there will be a checkpoint at the entrance to the exclusive town in which this wedding is being held and I won't be allowed through, what with the shoes being so cheap and my having to wear a swatch. It is a risk I'm more than willing to take.

The Five and Ten

Well, it looks like Urban Outfitters has thrown in the towel, and utterly given up on even the remotest possibility that summer is actually ever coming to NYC this year, and accordingly has marked their prices waaay down, with many items a mere $5 or $10 (OK, $4.99 or $9.99, if you must be such a stickler for accuracy. And yes, apparently I must be.). Let their loss of faith be your wardrobe gain. Especially since you just know August will be hotter 'n hell starting at precisely 12:00:00 AM on 8/1/09.

$5!

$10

$10 (leatha)

It figures

I have been searching for the perfect affordable summer flats for weeks. I've pored over thousands of web sites, made trips to hundreds of shoe stores, and tried on dozens of different pairs. I sent Jayn countless e-mails, texts and IMs asking, "What do you think of these?" I lost sleep night after night, tossing and turning and debating the merits of slingbacks vs. huaraches.

So it makes sense that once I gave up my search for shoes I could afford and forked over $80 for a pair that I would come across these. $15. Old Navy. Perfect.

Wedding Sells

As you are aware, I have been invited to a wedding. I have officially selected my dress, (by which I mean, I purchased five dresses, selected the priciest dress and returned the other four - and yes, that is a productive use of my spare time) and now the search for accessories is underway at full throttle.

I completely intended to wear shoes I already have, but then, well.... even I can't rationalize purchasing new shoes. Then I saw these shoes below and they go so well with the jewelry I plan to wear (by which I mean, I have purchased and not yet returned), and they are only $40. They are the perfect height - while I could dance in them, they are also high enough that I can claim I can't, should I not be in the mood to dance in endless circles in a dance step all the other women learned earlier in their lives, but that I somehow missed entirely. And they'll be so useful - I mean, can't you see me wearing these at work? To the beach? On my daily, sometimes twice-daily, trip to the Food Emporium? There! That was a decent rationalization

oh, and to get free shipping, isn't this an awesome little clutch? you know, to get free shipping.

Lashing Out

We've never really posted about cosmetics on this blog, which is odd when you think about the tight-knit relationship that Jayn and I have with Sephora. To us, the store is something like Blockbuster Video. (Remember that place? When people actually went to a store to rent movies? And they came on VHS? And then they told people that they weren't charging late fees anymore except they totally were and got sued? Don't know how those ads got past a legal team. But I digress.) We go to Sephora, browse the titles, and when we find one we want to watch (or try), we check it out. Then, after we've tried it, we bring it back and exchange it for something else.

NOTE: I would feel bad about the fact that I return so much stuff to Sephora. But then I think about how certain I am that I will be invited to join their new VIP Insider program, the one reserved for people who spend a minimum of $350 a year at Sephora, and suddenly I don't feel at all bad about returning the products that I don't like, or, in many cases, don't work (every eye cream ever that swears it will get rid of dark circles).

That being said, I think it is time for the first beauty-related post here on Luckier. (Unless there already was one and I forgot.)

Perhaps my favorite beauty discovery ever is Blinc Kiss Me mascara. As far as I am concerned, it is the greatest mascara ever. Their tagline is, "Stop painting your lashes, tube them," which refers to the fact that the mascara forms tiny little tubes around your individual lashes, as opposed to just coating them in paint. The benefit is that lashes are beautifully defined and will never, ever smear or flake. It's so smudge-proof I can even wear it on my lower lashes, which formerly was a no-no (see earlier reference to need for dark-circle-remover). It doesn't lengthen or thicken, so if that's what you're looking for, this may not be the product for you. It just beautifully defines and enhances, and removes easily with warm water -- no make-up remover needed. I've also never had a problem with it getting in my contact lenses.

The only drawback is the price tag. $24 is a lot to be spending on mascara. So I was pleased to discover a Luckier choice -- L'Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara. They advertise the same "tube" formula and easy

 removal, plus an extra "ultra-nourishing base coat." Frankly, I've been wearing this product for two weeks and still have not figured out what this base coat does. The only nice thing is that it coats your lashes white, which helps ensure you get full coverage when you apply the mascara. It doesn't apply quite as nicely as Blinc, but I've gotten compliments on my long lashes from two different people since I started wearing the L'Oreal stuff, so it must be doing something right. It doesn't come off quite as nicely as the Blinc, either, but still doesn't require make-up remover. And it comes in two shades, as opposed to Blinc's one (although how Black AND Blackest Black are really two different color is beyond me). But it was around $9 -- less than half the price of Blinc -- and easy to pick up at any drugstore.

Not that I ever mind having to make a trip to Sephora.