Sunday, December 23, 2012

Helloooo Anyone Out There???

It’s been a really, really, really long time since I have come to these pages.  My apologies, life has gotten in the way.

It’s the Christmas week and we are about to head into a new year and I finally find myself ready to share more things with any readers that may still be out there. Anyone out there?
I finished Christmas shopping about two weeks ago, which is both a curse and blessing.  So to keep with the spirit I decided to head out on my own today to look for a fun and inexpensive outfit to wear on New Year’s Eve.
First off I headed to Century 21 at 86th Street, Brooklyn (http://www.c21stores.com/brooklyn/). It was still early, about 10:30 AM, and the store was empty so I was able to quickly manuever the aisles and racks. I purchased an amazing hat ($24.99) that for some reason reminded me of the hats that actress Michael Learned wore during the Walton’s TV show.
I have always loved the clothing of the mid-late 1930s-early 1940s and mourn the fact that I wasn’t born in an era when women wore hats and gloves, garters and stockings. I am no Isabella Blow (RIP) but a good hat is an amazing accessory and more importantly this year my sister will be able to easily spot me at the train stain!
After claiming the cutest silk and crushed velvet BCBG Generation dress in a dirty mauve ($40 - see below) plus matching textured tights ($9) I made my way up the block to NY & Company.
BCBGeneration Surplus Combo Dress

NY & Company (http://www.nyandcompany.com/nyco) has become one of my favorite go-to stores for office basics - cotton blouses, good-fit pants and suit jackets - as well as great work out wear. The quality varies and the majority of the items aren’t investment pieces but the store picks up on the trends and presents them for women not just girls.  If you sign up for their emails some of the coupons can save you major cash. Unfortunately the place had been picked cleaner than well, a Christmas turkey so I decided to get back on the R Train and head to the Fulton Street Mall. I really didn't need anything but I was still in the spirit and wanted to be out and about.
On my way to Macys I was distracted by this shiny FUSCHIA dress in of all places - The Rainbow Shop (http://www.rainbowshops.com/) .
All Images © Simone Rene 2012
The Rainbow Shop also picks up on the major, mostly outrageous ,trends and like most of us can be behind a few seasons but if your frugal or have a limited budget this is the place to go for a cheap outfit for a Saturday night adventure. Though the shop caters to the junior set it also carries women's sizes and has even added a children's department.
The dress was just $20. I didn't buy it. The dress is much more vibrant in realtime and I don’t think my personality is as outgoing as this dress.
Intrigued I made my way upstairs to the 3rd floor shoe department.  Rainbow has a great selection of funky, fun footwear at really low prices. The shoes may not live past the 3 month mark but at $20-$50 it might be worth the price for the entrance you are sure to make wearing any of the ones I snapped pictures of, just make sure your insurance policy is up-to-date!
 All Images © Simone Rene 2012
All Images © Simone Rene 2012
All Images © Simone Rene 2012
All Images © Simone Rene 2012
All Images © Simone Rene 2012
All Images © Simone Rene 2012
Almost shopped out I had just enough energy to stop off at Conways before heading to the train.
Conways (http://conwaystores.com) is another mark-down store that sells off brands, liquidated stock and seconds but sometimes you can find real pearls in this store at a fraction of the market price. I ended up walking away with some $19 mock-I-really-want-to-be-Laura-Ashley-Doc-Martins...sigh, too bad they don't match the BCBG dress...
All Images © Simone Rene 2012

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