Plaid Shirt and Combat Boots; Mini Fashionista Style

It's been a while since I've featured any mini fashionista style. Now that cooler weather is finally here, Ella wanted to share a little Fall Fashion with you.

To be honest, this look is really about her new boots. We first spotted these Nina Kids Carmyn boots when Ava was tried them on for size (read about her fit modeling adventure here) at the showroom. It was love at first sight. We've waited patiently for almost two months for them to be released and are so excited to share them with you!

ETA: Nina Kids shoes just shared a promo code for 20% off everything on the Nina website! Code is NINAKIDSSHOES and it's good for the month of October!

Ella pulled out one of her new tops from Justice that we scored with her gift card that they sent her for signing up to be a brand ambassador. It's a $20 style buy and still available online! She raided my closet for accessories. My mini me has a thing for Rebecca Minkoff so she grabbed my black Love bag and a spiked necklace for a little bling.

From head to toe:

• Hat: Jack & Lucy Bicoastal Wide Brim Hat, POPSUGAR Must Have Box***, gifted (RV $58) - see below!
• Necklace: Slate, Rocksbox, gifted (RV $82)
• Shirt: Justice, $20 (but used gift card that was gifted to us)
• Bag: Rebecca Minkoff, sample sale, $30 (RV $295)
• Leggings: Circo, Target, about $10
• Boots: Nina Kids Carmyn, gifted - thanks guys! (RV $80)

You can shop her look here:

***POPSUGAR sent me this Must Have Box to try - and it's probably my favorite box yet!

Ella swiped the hat and Smith & Cult Lip Lacquer (in The Warning) for her pictures and I'm not sure I'm getting them back LOL. I did eat all the Gluten Free Bites already because they were delish! Also included was a Flint lint roller (which I should have opened for the hat), a NCLA MANI-ER Tool Kit and a Briogeo Don't Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Mask. The total retail was over $145!

Bonus - if you use the code SHOP5 (which never expires) you get $5 off your FIRST Must Have Box!

FYI the Paul Andrew Sample sale is Saturday, October 1st! It's from 10-2 at 41 W 58th St., 2A. I can't go because it's on a Saturday so PLMK what you find if you go. Truthfully I have not even worn any of the shoes I got at the last sale - you can read about what I picked up here.

Have a great weekend and happy New Years to everyone celebrating Rosh Hashanah!

XO
Shoppinggal

Backstage and Broken Heels; Day 2 NYFW Recap

Last year I was lucky enough to go backstage with Elizabeth Arden for the Dennis Basso show, so I was super excited when I got a few invites for backstage this year. I was given full access to check out beauty and the fashion - it was amazing! Unfortunately the only backstage that worked into my schedule this year was to go backstage with Aveda for the TOME show.

When arrived I was a little disappointed to be given an Aveda wristband for beauty only instead of a full access pass. I decided to make the best of it until I was told it was too crowded so instead of staying for 2 hours, I could only stay for 20 minutes. Again, I made the best of it by chatting up the stylists and taking lots of pics. I was also treated to a hand massage and a hair styling - but with this super short hair of mine, all they could do was a small braid. I loved that they were doing individual styling for the models who were all shapes, sizes and colors. They did all get a unique brushstroke on their face which was so fresh - totally obsessed!

When my time was up I was told I could go into the other beauty area of Tata Harper who was doing the skincare for the model. She was so sweet and demonstrated several of the products on all of us, bloggers and models alike. Her little girls danced around backstage - they were so darling and totally stole the show. They did have a table of swag but the models totally hoarded the goods before I could get my hands on any. Too bad.

And then my heel fell off. I was shocked. It was the first time I wore these Rebecca Taylor booties and I was a little disappointed. I scooped up the heel and limped out of there.

Then I had my niece meet me outside to shoot my look - sans heel. You do what you gotta do sometimes.

This is one of the dresses I pulled out of the $10 damage bin a while back at the Rebecca Taylor sample sale. It was torn but my seamstress mended it for me. I actually got two of these - a size 2 (they run big) and a 12. I packed on a few pounds so instead of even trying the 2 (which did fit me when I got it) I grabbed the 12 knowing it would be large. It probably bulked me up a bit so I regret not squeezing into the smaller. When you get heavy your first impulse is to wear loose clothing to cover up - but you really need to resist and wear clothing that fits or you can look even larger.

From head to toe:

• Sunglasses: Lumete eyewear, Nordstrom Rack (unsure but had to be cheap - probably $0.01 LOL, RV about $200)
• Necklace: Nanette Lepore, sample sale, $5 (It's actually a belt!)
• Dress: Rebecca Taylor, sample sale, $10 (RV $550)
• Bracelet: Dannijo Lacey cuff, sample sale, $25 (RV approx. $350)
• Bag: Rebecca Minkoff Jumbo Love, sample sale, $50 (RV $355) - may have had a press discount so actually $35 :)
• Boots: Rebecca Taylor, sample sale, $25 (RV $395)

So about $100 for a $1,800+ look. Not bad!

You can shop my look here:

I still owe you my last day of NYFW (you can read my first day here) and I'm super behind on sharing some amazing deals and pieces that have shown up in my mailbox.

Some super exciting news that I shared on an Insta story last week is that Ella has been selected to be a brand ambassador for Justice! A huge box of goodies, including a phone and a $100 gift card came and we've been shopping to put together some super cute looks for her!

My parents have finally closed on their house today so I'm done driving 45 minutes each way to spend all day cleaning and emptying their house...when I should be cleaning mine LOL. Half of their stuff has magically shown up in my house (including my youngest brother) so it's gonna take me a while to get my home settled. At this point I'm going to have to cut back on shopping but I'll be sure to still hit the really good ones.

As for this week's sales you can check out Lazar Shopping for a full list but The Rent the Runway sample sale started tonight at 260 Sample Sale (260 5th Ave.) and is on thru Sunday. I doubt it will be good as the NJ sales they used to have. You can read about those glory days here and here. Lionette is another fave of mine this week but I'm not sure I can make it in - you can read some of my past reports here and here.

Wishing you all a great week!

XO
Shoppinggal

Fashion Week Recap; Part 1

One of my fashion dreams has always been to participate at NYFW. Last season I wrote hundreds of emails to designers and their mothers to let me in. You can read my recaps here, here, here, here, here and here. I went to almost every show I was invited to and it was exhausting. This season I took a less aggressive approach and pretty much relied on whatever came my way. The good news is that little by little I'm getting on PR lists and being including. I also only attended three days of festivities as that's all my schedule allowed.

When I looked at the forecast that morning I saw 90+ degree heat and knew I was in trouble. I have an amazing wardrobe. But most of it is too small right now as I've packed on 20 lbs. So not only did my planned outfits not quite fit, it was just too darn hot to wear them all day. Plus I had just chopped all my hair off the day before and it was not as successfully as I would have liked. So I choked. I totally chickened out and wore the H&M dress I've been wearing all summer. Everyone else was in all black or insanely dressed in winter clothing LOL. 

From head to toe:

• Sunglasses: Jason Wu, Modo sample sale, $20
• Necklace: Nanette Lepore, sample sale, $5*
• Dress: H&M, $16 after 20% mall coupon
• Bag: Balenciaga, Nordstrom Rack
• Shoes: Loeffler Randall Luz tassel sandals, Rebecca Taylor sample sale, $50 (RV $395)* - Thank you to Mushkie for pointing them out to me at the sale!

*This are the first time I'm sharing these on the blog. As I move away from sample sale reports to more personal style and monthly sale recaps, I'll be sharing my behind the scene deals on my Insta stories - be sure to be following so you don't miss a sale! I'm considering posting this info on my Facebook page too so it doesn't disappear after 24 hours. What do you think?

I had back to back shows for most of the day, and of course none of them were in the same location. If you're Anna Wintour or a high level influencer you get shuttled around town by Lexus or Uber on the house. I purchased an unlimited 7-day subway card for about $30. Nothing is faster thru rush hour traffic. Nothing. And you can't beat the price. 

My schedule was too tightly packed so I had some decisions to make. I was going to skip my 12:30 show to do a 10:30 show then a 11:30 backstage (both at different venues of course) until I heard The Double Take Girls were going to be at the 12:30 and I wanted to finally meet them in person. So I skipped my backstage and went directly to my 10:30 and then on to my 12:30.

My 10:30 show was Jeans for Refugees and I ended up in second row. Problem is, it's impossible to get a good picture in second row. I did get a goodie bag but only took out a hair band and a hair product. This year I did not want to tote around giant gift bags all day so I selectively took goods out of them and put them in my Balenciaga. 

After the show I bumped into a photographer I had met the previous fashion week (she was the one who took my pic above). We took the subway to the next venue together the the Supima Design Competition show and I finally met the twins. I dragged them to better seats but we were too late to get a front row seat. It's a pity because I came home with a tee shirt and a Brooks Brothers leather card holder - front row got a full set of plush towels. 

Personally I was a fan of the gold leaf designs by Duston Jasso but it was Jeffrey Taylor who took the $10,000 prize. Olivia Culpo hosted the event. 

Then I headed back to 33rd street for the Michael Costello show. This time I was determined to sit front row...so I did. I sat right near the celebs - right next to some of the WAGS (I watch a lot of reality TV LOL) and across from Paris Hilton who pretty much ran out right after the show. 

It was a great show, chock full of red carpet looks. 

Everyone cheered and pulled out their phones when Tyson came out :)

After the show I had some time to walk around and explore. Tresemme once again had their free hair salon set up but I have no hair left to style so I went inside and scored a few samples. The lounge was sponsored by Jimmy Choo but this year I wasn't able to find any connections to let me in the lounge. 

Aquafina and Papyrus sponsored the snack area and handed out free waters, candy and cards. 

An airline sponsored free leather luggage tags that were stamped with your initials. I asked nicely and got two :) I'll have to take a pic of all my swag for my next roundup post. 

I didn't have another show until evening so I went across the street to the hotel lobby to sit, upload a few pics and charge my phone. I decided to head to the Style Watch party downtown solo. I got there super early but they let me in anyway. I got my hair braided (not much to braid) and met a luckily bunch of friendly bloggers. I was so beat that I didn't even bother to put my heels on - I wore my Crocs the whole time and then went home after (skipping 2 other parties and a show).

I figured that three shows, a party, freebies, and several new friends was a successful day and I was more than happy to call it a night. 

It was a LONG day! Stay tuned for more of my NYFW adventures! If you attended, what was your favorite show?

XO

Shoppinggal

Floral Dreams.

I picked up this floral embroidered dress at the Teri Jon sample sale a few months back for my brother's wedding. When they changed the color to navy a couple weeks before, I had to scramble to find another look - seen here. Luckily a week after his wedding I had another family affair so I finally got to wear my amazing dress.

This confection is a one-of-a-kind sample and was never produced. It makes me feel like I just walked out of a Dolce & Gabbana dream. I matched up the shrug at the sale and it honestly looks like it came together. I love sample sales for pieces just like this. Special. Unique. And it's the closest I'm gonna get to couture.

When I got the dress I immediately matched up my Kotur clutch from the Net a Porter sale. For some reason I don't seem to have a black satin evening shoe (go figure?!) so I matched up my patent leather Charlotte Olympia sample sale heels.

Head to toe:

• Earrings: A.V. Max, sample sale, $4 (approx RV $40)
• Dress & Shrug: Teri Jon, sample sale, $70 (est. retail $800)
• Ring: Lionette double Ashley ring, sample sale, $20 (RV $135)
• Bag: Kotur Fitzgerald perspex with dragon and tassel clutch, Net a Porter sale, $100 (RV $895)
• Shoes: Charlotte Olympia x Agent Provocateur Bellatrix, sample sale, $150 (RV $895)

So retail value $2,765, and I spent $344. Not bad :)

You can shop my look here:

Thank you to my photographers. My husband got a little grumpy after 10 minutes of shooting (it's hard to tear him away from a smorgasbord) so I enlisted my SIL who was a good sport but took lots of blurry photos. I also grabbed a cousin who took the wall pics. It takes a village, people. I can't always take my trained Insta kids with me :)

So fashion week has begun. I hit several shows last week and I have a bunch this week too. Be sure to follow my Insta stories for a peek inside my adventures!

XO
Shoppinggal