LeHoarder: GAP

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Obsessed with the Dress.

My name is Michelle and I have an H&M problem. I'm addicted to cheap fashion - almost as much as my high end stuff. This dress was on promo at H&M for $20 and it was love at first sight. Unfortunately they only had one left in my store on the mannequin and it was already promised to another customer. Let's just say 3 stores later and this lovely was mine. When I finally found it - it was the last dress in the store and happened to be my size! Score!

From head to toe:

Earrings: Rebecca Minkoff, sample sale, $5 (RV $48)
Dress: H&M, $20
Top: Boyfriend Halftee layering top, Amazon, $15 (RV $19.99)
Jacket: Gap, $8 (RV $69.95)
Bracelets: Dannijo, sample sale, $25 each
Ring: Dannijo, sample sale, $25
Shoes: Sophia Webster Keira Doiley sandals, sample sale, $95 (RV $750)

So let's talk shoes! I had a pair of new Rebecca Minkoff tassel sandals that I scored from the sample sale for just $5 that I wanted to wear but the dress was sweeping the floor (I'm 5'5") so I needed a heel. Don't worry, I'll be sharing my hauls soon! I've just been so busy shopping all the amazing sales of late. These Sophia Webster sample sale scores were a last second grab as I was out the door but I think they make the outfit. While we were shooting a little old lady stopped to admire my shoes LOL.

The dress has a lot of fabric and it can easily overwhelm you. I'm thinking about cutting it to knee length to make it more wearable.

It was actually deceptively cold that day. If you look closely you can see the tiny hairs on my legs standing up. I think this was the last of the really cold days this season. I always layer with my denim jackets for transitional weather because they add such a cheerful pop of color.

By the end of the shoot my son decided to join in. I can't believe Akiva is so big! He's 11 and almost as tall as me (I'm wearing heels here) - and his feet are almost as big as my giant ones.

You can shop my look below:

A huge thank you to Misha Rodionov Photography. Check out his website here, and follow him on Instagram here and Facebook here.

Now it's really last call to enter my Rebecca Minkoff earring giveaway - I just extended it thru the weekend. You can win a pair of these beauties here.

Sadly I won't be attending the Alice and Olivia sample sale on Monday (stupid Jewish Holiday...) so save some good stuff for me on Tuesday! You can buy a $10 VIP pass to cut the line and get in at 9:30 instead of noon here.

As always, if you see me there, be sure to say hello!

XO
Shoppinggal

Cocktails, Couture...and a Red Lip.

I'm not really a mall girl (you know I don't pay retail) but when I scored an invite to Cocktails & Couture at Garden State Plaza I figured it would be fun to meet Bethenny Frankel (of the Real Housewives of New York) and grab a few freebies.

Luckily the first thing I did was get on line to take a picture with Bethenny, because moments later, they stopped the meet and greet. I told her I appreciated her hustle. I decided not to share that my brother-in-law was actually on her talk show - he was so inappropriate that they had to bleep out half of what he said.

Sadly the lighting was terrible on the red carpet.

After seeing these pics I decided my nude lip wouldn't do so I walked over to the Nars lip bar that they had set up and asked for a red lip. Me thinks I need to head to Nordstrom (to use my notes) to buy this cherry red lippie! The color is Annabella, from their Audacious line. After I put it on an older couple stopped me and asked if anyone had ever told me that I looked like Taylor Swift. I told them that I was probably old enough to be Taylor's mom, but thank you. It's amazing how just a change of lipstick can totally make your look.

As always, when I'm solo I depend on the kindness of others to take my picture. Here's the best of the bunch...

My look from head to toe:

Dress: Elizabeth and James, sample sale, $50
Jacket: Gap, $8 (after stacking code glitch)
Bracelets: A.V. Max, sample sale, $15 each
Bag: Marc Jacobs small Antonia, Nordstrom Rack, $25 (After using my notes - retail $1,095!)
Shoes: Manolo Blahnik, Century 21, $100 (75% off sale)

I'm linking some of these pieces (or similar) here:

On my way out I snapped a couple shot of my bag and shoes because I know you want to see more pics of those. It's actually the first time I took either of them for a spin. I couldn't find my Rockstuds but these Blahniks were perfection. I love how playful they are - and that they're not as matronly as most Monolos.

And because I know you want to take a peek inside, I went to the second floor to get a better shot of the private event. You can see Bethenny in the top pic, on the right chatting with a few people. There were probably a handful of other celebs in the mix but I'm so bad at recognizing anyone not A list LOL.

On the way home I stopped in at the Rack (nada) and then at the supermarket a little girl came over to me and said "Excuse me, you're very pretty." Totally made my day. It's the power of a red lip :)

XOXO
Shoppinggal

My Building a Closet at IKEA Look :)

When you move into a older house, chances are you're going to have tiny closets. Mine are minuscule to non-existent. I gave my husband the two small ones we have in our bedroom because there was no way either (or even both) were going to work for me. So three years later I have mountains of clothing all over my room with nowhere to go. I've been using an old IKEA armoire from my City apartment and rotating out non-seasonal pieces into my basement and attic. For my anniversary I told my husband I was done and it was time to build a closet.

We headed to IKEA with our measurements to see what they had. This is what I wore :)

My look from head to toe-

Sunglasses: Moschino, Century 21, free with rewards (were $60)
Earrings: Kendra Scott Danielle, Nordstrom Rack, $12 (had them adjusted at CTR)
Jacket: Gap denim jacket - this is actually a tall b/c I have long arms, $8 (Gap code stacking!)
Top: Gap cropped T, $2.34 (Stacking again!)
Skirt: Halogen satin skirt, Nordstrom Rack, $20
Bag: Balenciaga Velo, Nordstrom Rack (Refurb)
Shoes: Vince Camuto, Nordstrom Rack, $.01 (Yep!)

I forgot my earrings in the first shot so my husband snapped me putting them on.

The following picture is dedicated to my friend Devorah. We spent most of our twenties together in IKEA, especially in that AS-IS room. I always pop in just to see what they have but I really haven't found anything since the good 'ole days.

Linking a few of my pieces (or similar) for you to shop :)

I decided to wait to see if they would be going on sale for Black Friday but I'm getting impatient. Fingers crossed and I'll keep you updated!

XOXO
Shoppinggal

Wedding glam - bargainista style.

My daughter's teacher got married on Sunday and she was invited to the ceremony. Any excuse to dress up and I'm in :)

My look started with my recent Tamara Mellon sample sale find, this $1,495 leather halter dress that I scored for just $100! They only had a size 2 (not gonna happen) and an 8 - so I sized up because I was not leaving this dress behind. In TM I typically take a 4 on top and 6 on bottom.

Model Alessandra Ambrosio actually wore this dress last month to a party and posted this picture on Instagram. It was a modest affair so I had to get a little creative with the styling. I layered it with a $10 top I had picked up in Burlington Coat Factory recently. If you haven't been to Burlington in a while, it's seriously worth a look.

So let's talk details...

Shoes: Sergio Rossi, $99, DSW
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff glitter clutch, $20, sample sale
Bracelet: Charlene K blue agate cuff, Rocksbox - get your first month free with code SHOPPINGGALXOXO
Earrings: Argento Vivo, $25, Nordstrom Rack
Lipstick: MAC Miley Cyrus Viva Glam - hands down my favorite lippie purchase in a long time.

That bracelet was the best piece in my Rockbox this shipment - love it against my Minkoff clutch!

And now let's talk shoes. I blogged about them when I got them and every time I pull them out I do a little happy dance. They are SPECTACULAR so now you're going to have to look at a whole bunch of pictures of them LOL.

My daughter Ella, who was my photographer for the evening, also wanted to share some of her details too :) Yes, I train them young. She styled herself and she's getting pretty good with my camera. She was particular proud of her furry Gap Kids purse that we picked up a while back for $3. She raided my jewelry box and is wearing a pair of my gold earrings (as in 14k) from the Rack that I found on clearance for about $10. Her Ruby & Bloom sweater was $1 at the Rack, and the Les Touts Petite dress was from Daffy's - it was probably $3-4 at the end of season. I miss Daffy's :(

Ella took this shot too :)

It's her birthday tomorrow - my little big girl turns 8. That means that next month my other two kids turn 6 &10. Time really does fly.

I suppose I should actually say something about the wedding LOL. It was a beautiful affair. The bride's makeup, extensions and jeweled headpiece were perfection. I actually had a shot with the bride and Ella but my stupid camera likes to not work sometimes :( Here's a pic of the bride walking down the aisle to the Chuppah.