TBMD

As the morning temperatures drop, I've decided to finally dust off my boots in preparation for the colder months ahead. For a top 5 favorite purchase from last year, I don't feel like I wore these riding boots as much as I should have. Too scared to scuff them up? Make dents in the leather? Finally bought black jeggings so no more mismatching blue denim with black leather? Take your pick. Things shall change this year as the newness has worn off.

My morning schedule varies greatly depending on the amount of sleep I get the night before. Sometimes I'm up at 6, other times at 8. On this morning, I happened to be at the right place at the right time, just as the sun rose above the horizon. I love how these photos turned out. I didn't even feel the brisk morning air (ok, small lie) when there's a beautiful sight to see.

Over the summer, my striped maxi dress may have been my most worn item (ie: 1,2,3,4,5). If I had to guess, I'd say it was featured at least once a week on the blog? Though no more. Scoot over maxi dress, there's a new kid in town. Perhaps I'll compile outfits with this mustard yellow top for a future ways to wear post?

A "distinguished visitor" made the rounds at work last week, so we were told to dress in business casual clothing for his visit. I overheard a newbie ask what exactly that meant. A sweater? No jeans. No flip flops. I chuckled to myself at the latter because I was once singled out by the old boss in an all-hands meeting when the same topic came up. I was the recipient of a pointed look when he said, "no flip flops." Duly noted, lesson learned. I love my workplace.

After a wordy last post, I'm keeping it short and sweet today. Have a good weekend, everyone!

I went to the Gilt City DC warehouse sale over the weekend. It's a bi-annual event held in multiple cities across the country. My sister-in-law had an extra ticket for Sat. at 11am and asked if I wanted to go. Of course! Sleep can be caught up another day. Also, I've never been to these sample/warehouse-type sales before, so if anything, it'd be a fun experience.

We arrived about 45 mins early and there were already ~20 people ahead of us. While waiting in line, we saw most people from the 9am time slot leave with a white shopping bag containing their goodies. I was just thinking, I hope there's some good stuff left! Time to put on my big girl pants, roll my sleeves, and ready to be aggressive if need be. At 11am, we were promptly let inside. Coats and large bags were checked at the door.

Before going in, a security guard gave us a heads up that shoes have been pretty much picked over. Even with that knowledge in mind, my game plan was: shoes, bags, then clothes in that order. Sure enough, there was one sad table with less than 15 pairs of shoes left. I was disappointed, but the feeling didn't compare to when I realized there were no bags at this sale. Nor were there accessories or jewelry. Cue mental tears. Oh well, off to the clothes section I go.

Clothes racks were marked sizes XS-XL, but of course there were put backs placed in the wrong section. As expected, the selection was better for larger sizes. Regardless of size, I thought there were way too many pieces not worth the price tag (due to item condition). Gilt advertised this sale as up to 90% off retail, but I felt the dollar prices in general were only a tad lower than their online prices. Factor in damages (I saw ripped embroidery, missing buttons, stains -- makeup and unknown), and I think most people would gladly pay a bit more for pristine items while shopping from the comfort of their own home.

The one item I did bring home was a jacket by RED Valentino, as featured in today's outfit below. It retailed for $595 and I paid $110. One could say I got a "steal" at 80% off, but monetary-wise, it is still a hundred dollars. Out of the few items that I grabbed and tried on, this jacket was the one that I didn't expect much of. Lo and behold, I actually liked the cropped style on me. I'm wearing a US 6/EU 44 and probably could've gone down one size (had I been able to find one). But since my shoulders are broader relative to my torso, I don't think the bagginess is too noticeable and works as a cute topper -- or perhaps that's just my sale-addled brain talking.

Some final parting thoughts on the sale...

- Gilt charges a price for admission. From what I gathered, the first time slot on Fri. night was reserved for VIPs (7-9pm). Tickets weren't sold so I don't even know how one gets on the VIP list. I would imagine many of the good items were picked over during this time slot. The next time slot (9-11pm) and first that's open to the public costs $20 to enter. All other time slots were held the next day from 9am-5pm in two-hour intervals. All tickets on Sat. cost $10 with the exception of the last time slot, which went for $5. For the Sat. time slots, Gilt marked down the prices another 30%. I'm assuming the prices on Fri. did not include this additional markdown. So it's worth weighing the pros/cons to see if an extra $10 up front on Fri. night is worth it for potentially better selection vs. smaller selection on Sat. but with an additional 30% markdown.

- Manage expectations. I think upon hearing "sample and warehouse sale!" most people are expecting amazing deals. Not always true. The items being sold are still designer, so even when marked down a good percentage, the price being sold at is probably only considered "reasonable" to the average person.

- It must've been nice to be a guy at this sale. Their shoe selection was 5x larger compared to the women's, though their clothes section was probably 1/3 the size of the women's. But given the much smaller population of males at the sale, odds were definitely in their favor. There was also a small section for baby/kids clothes.

- After hearing stories from friends who have been to Barneys warehouse sales and the like, I was ready for a no holds barred-type of atmosphere. Instead, everyone was so civilized! I heard multiple "Oh I'm sorry" when two girls reached for the same item. When a girl realized she was cutting in front of me, she apologized and moved behind me. I shot her a befuddled look because I'm not sure I would've done the same. Afterwards, I talked to SIL about this and she said it's probably a DC thing because in NY, there are no apologies to be heard. Or perhaps this is just a non-NY thing? Regardless, it was quite interesting.

- Would I go to another Gilt warehouse sale? Sure, if I somehow become an overnight VIP. Otherwise, I don't know. $10 isn't horrible in the grand scheme of things because Gilt provides alcoholic refreshments/water, snacks, and a DJ, so it's something fun to do with friends for a couple of hours.

If today's photos look a bit different, it's because I forgot to lower the ISO setting on my camera back down. I usually don't have to tweak the settings on my camera much as I pretty much use it to take photos outdoors. Over the weekend, I couldn't resist taking the camera out when my cousin visited with her newborn baby. He's the first baby I've ever held. The tiny hands and feet! Not to mention adorable facial expressions. Oh my ovaries. But I digress. So, do ignore the graininess of the photos please.

The weather has cooled just enough, the leaves are slowly changing color... fall in Virginia is a beautiful thing. Let the layering begin!

I don't actually have any thoughts to share. I just really like puns because they're so clever. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Sale alert: Two F&F events going on the next few days:

1) Take 25% off at Shopbop's F&F through 10/17 with code INTHEFAMILY25.

Closet favorites include:
- Blank NYC spray-on jeans - $66.00 with code (I sized up to 26 / outfits here)

2) Take 25% off at Saks' F&F through 10/20 with code FRNFAM.

Closet favorites include:
- Burberry Marystow trench - $821.25 with code (I'm wearing sz 2 / outfit below; also here, here)
- Longchamp large Le Pliage - $108.74 with code (outfits with bag: here, here, here)

I'd also suggest Tory Burch riding boots (love my Nadine from last year): the Bristol ($371.25), the Lizzie ($393.75).

Every time I do a closet inventory, this lace dress ends up in the should-I-or-should-I-not pile. Should I sell it because the fit is off? Or should I keep it because I can cheat and double the dress as a skirt? The result is the same every time (thus far). I've had no problems whittling down the dress section in my wardrobe, but this one? I can't seem to let go.

I'm not usually one to choose matchy-matchy accessories... so I'm not sure what came over me today. Cheers to red accents galore?

Sale alert: Take 50% off everything at J.Crew Factory through 10/14 (prices as marked).

Recent buys that are still available:
- Stripe racerback cami - $27.00 (TTS - I'm wearing sz 00 / outfits: here, here, here)
- Skimmer pant in wool - $44.50 (last season's fit TTS / outfits: here, here, here)

Sold out online, but may still be in stores:
- Printed silk blouse - $49.00 (TTS - I'm wearing sz XXS / outfits: here, here, here)

Last year's wool mini skirt sold out rather quickly in small sizes, so I quickly snatched up this year's version upon release.

See right side bar for more sales this holiday weekend. Happy shopping!

To my dismay, it's been raining on and off all week long. To brighten my mood, I turned to the color side of my wardrobe. Red, blue, and green just so happened to be additive colors -- a term that I didn't learn until today. Actually, right now when I was googling primary and secondary colors *sheepish grin* Hey, learning something new everyday keeps the brain sharp.

This is most likely the last summer outfit of the year. Sniff sniff. I wore it over the weekend when DH and I caught Linsanity on the big screen. DH had been waiting for months for the movie release, whereas I happily tagged along for delicious Chinese food -- can't beat bubble tea with Taiwanese fried chicken!

I picked up this shawl-style open cardigan over Labor Day weekend to fill my void of a cozy sweater. It was an essential travel item when I visited San Francisco a few weeks ago (see photo montages from SPG and Jean) -- practically wore it everyday! -- but haven't had many other opportunities to wear the sweater due to the warm weather here in DC. If there's a silly thing I'm impatient about, it's buying out-of-season clothing while waiting for the appropriate season to roll around.

As the title suggests, today's outfit color scheme consists of blues and black. It's also a shout-out to my favorite boy band. No matter the age, I'll always be a teenybopper at heart.

Hope you have a good Sunday!

Sale alert: Take 40% off everything at LOFT through 10/5 with code SHOP40.

- Pleated tie neck shell - $29.70 (TTS - I'm wearing sz XXS / outfit below; also here, here, here)
- Pamela scalloped Mary Jane pumps - $53.70 (TTS - I'm wearing sz 6 - review / outfits: here, here, here)
- Vaughn t-strap sandals - $14.93 in snakeskin (TTS - I'm wearing sz 6 / outfits: below; also: here, here)

I'm considering placing an order for the following: jewel embellished sweatshirt ($32.70 - similar to J.Crew's), colorblocked collar blouse ($29.70), halter neck maxi dress ($58.80).

Now that my hair is shorter, I can't just tie it back in a ponytail when I'm on 3rd/4th day hair. I've been using dry shampoo in-between washes (great time saver for lazy people). Still, nothing beats good ol' regular shampoo with water to rinse out the greasiness. Then there's the option of hats (which for some reason I didn't think to wear more often). I used to treat hats as more of an accessory than for practical purposes. No more! They're great for hiding day(s) old hair.

The more I re-wear items from my closet, the less I have to write about. Even when I am wearing new pieces for the first time, I still find myself at a loss of words sometimes. Perhaps this is just an excuse to ramble less and post more photos. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words, right?

Sale alert: Take 20% off Bloomingdale's F&F sale through 10/6 with code FRIENDS (designer exclusions apply).

A few closet favorites at a discount:
- Burberry Marystow trench - $876 with code (I'm wearing sz 2 / outfits: here, here, here)
- Longchamp large Le Pliage tote - $116 with code (outfits with bag: here, here, here)
- Longchamp medium LM metal tote - $128 in black (review here / outfits with bag: here, here, here)

At Gap, take 40% off today only (10/1) with code GAPDEAL.
- Broken-in straight khakis - $20.99-$29.97 with code (I'm wearing sz 00R / outfits: here, here, here)
- Driving moccasins - may still be in stores - item #6040180120007 (runs narrow; I sized up to 7 / outfits: here, here, here)

At Banana Republic, take 40% off today only (10/1) with code BROCTOBER.
- Leopard haircalf skinny belt - $29.70 with code (TTS if worn at waist, size up if worn at hips / outfits: here, here)

Happy October, everyone!