The Investment

Lately I've been cruising the city streets with blinders on. Avoiding sales and cute spring wear after a long winter is BRUTAL.

The battle is twice as hard once I go online. The internet is such a timesuck and these Piperlime sales are not helping.

Every now and then, I'll add something to my cart and immediately x-out of that page. I admit it, I love to shop but I love traveling more. My Poshmark corner (where clothes wait to get listed) is a constant reminder of my love and how it hasn't previously helped in the travel department. In fact the only thing this pile gets is an exasperated "UGH" from the boyfriend... Like every day.

Does any of this sound familiar? If it does, I feel you.

You're probably wondering why not stop shopping completely. Speaking from experience; cutting myself off would only lead to an insane and unplanned shopping spree. 

So, in an effort to save up for my trips and hopefully build up my closet (wishful thinking) I decided to go the route of investment shopping. Hopefully these tips will help you too.

Investment shopping would:

1 - give me a purpose and a goal to work towards

2 - prevent mindless shopping (very important)

3 - free up space by getting rid of similar (lower quality) items

4 - help establish my lewk by only investing in pieces that I've carefully thought about

I've put this plan into action last month and so far it's been going good. The first two pieces I decided to roll this plan out with were an Equipment shirt and this Acne leather jacket. 

Here's the break down:

1 - goal: an Equipment signature shirt + Acne leather jacket

2 - mindless shopping has stopped. Instead of spending $400+ on things I didn't need, I started saving $160 a month for my investment pieces. Plus, I've been able to save an additional $350 per month for my future trips. All in all - lots of saving!! By December I will have enough for a jacket (got the shirt last month on eBay) and will have enough by summer for my winter trips.

3 - every month, there's a mini purge and lots of things have been Poshmarked or donated. It can be a little hard at times to list everything, but small changes will lead to big progress.

4 - establishing my look is a work in progress, but I'm getting there!

So what do you think, are these helpful or not so much? Are there any investment pieces in your closet and how did your big purchase?

photo credit: one, two, three, four, five

City Slicker

Honesty hour: I absolutely do not wear heels during my rush hour commutes. 

But really, who does in New York City? 

If you're able to handle a rickety train during rush hour in 5 inch heels, more power to ya. 

You would think a girl born and bred here would be able to master that by now - NOPE. Instead I mastered the art of balance sans subway poles. Not complaining because it does come in pretty handy during flu season and every season.

Since the hour hasn't passed, I will mention a few more truths.

Recently, I've been cleaning out my closet and haven't touched my undies - ignored it basically. With a past that includes lingerie shop girl at Bloomies, one would expect better. Normally I get Calvins, so got a few fresh necessities from them but also wanted to try something new (i.e. great fit). 

Lo and behold, Third Love was able to customize a bra to my exact fit. For those of you in need of a fitting, consider their phone app which will act as your personal fitter. Remember, a great fit can save your back and posture. It goes without saying the fabric and make is way better than a few of its contemporaries too - my boobs can attest to it.

Last truths, to hide my tired (or burned by Peroxiclear solution) eyes I heavily rely on sunglasses. Don't we all? 

Once indoors all bets and sunglasses are off. I recently discovered Besamé's brightening violet powder; it does wonder for the designer bags hidden underneath my eyes. Not only that, it sops up all the oil on my skin (handy for shoots like this) and looking semi-presentable for last minute meetings.

Coat: H&M (similar here)  Striped Shirt: J. Crew  Pants: Old (similar style)  Necklace: Marc Jacobs (similar)  Watch: RumbaTime  Purse: Rebecca Minkoff  Sunglasses: Ray-Ban  Sneakers: Nike  Heels: Jessica Simpson  Lipgloss: c/o NARS - Priscilla  Face Powder: c/o Besamé Brightening Violet Powder

If your curious to see my Q train lewk, well here it is. These Theas are heavy on the comfort and dope factor.

Photos by Lydia Hudgens.

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Lucky Me

Thinking green in more ways than one this month. After all it is March and a pot of gold may be discovered at your footsteps (lucky you).

And by pot of gold, I mean winning the lottery which would be amazing if it were to happen any day now.  However, it's been a while since buying my last lottery ticket and whenever there is an insane amount of money to be won - I forget to play the numbers. It just isn't in my cards.

Doesn't mean I don't have those lucky "A-ha" moments. Plenty of those and the last one happened after typing longtallsally.com and hitting enter. Finally, clothes for those of us that fall on the taller side of the spectrum. I found this awesome striped dress on their site and basically had to have it.

Worn with sneaker wedges and my green moto jacket (a green cardigan can sub in) make the perfect but not overdramatic St. Patty's outfit. Or, any day for that matter.

Trust, it ain't easy finding dresses that don't turn into mini hoochie dresses when worn.

Another lucky moment was being introduced to Karelen's line of luscious oils and body butters. I carry their Aloe There oil in my purse and use it on my cuticles and ends of my hair when the air is rough (i.e. dry as hell).

If you're wondering why am I so obsessed with staying moisturized, the answer is Starbucks. All through high school, I gave up my afternoons and weekends to be burnt by hot coffee and use some heavy duty cleaning agents. Ughh, I get chills thinking about it. Anyways, hydration and nourishing your skin is key and carrying some sort of small moisturizer in your purse wont hurt :).

Moto Jacket: Joe Fresh (similar here)  Striped Dress: c/o Long Tall Sally  Purse: Tory Burch (similar style)  Sunglasses: Ray-Ban  Sneakers: Sketchers (similar)  Lipgloss: Buxom Full-On Lip Polish in Megan

Now I have one question, are you all tired of seeing me rock my green moto jacket? Haha, my instagram feed is basically me in this jacket so I totally understand if you're over it :).

Photos by Lydia Hudgens.

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