My 85% off Altuzarra Birthday Bag

It's been a while since I've really treated myself, so for my 43rd birthday, I decided to take home something special from the Altuzarra sample sale. Most of you know how thrifty I am so it's rare I splurge on a single purchase. I walked into the Altuzarra sale a couple weeks ago and I made a beeline for this bag. I was hoping for something similar in brown but alas my search is still on for the perfect brown bag. It feels pretty similar to the Chloe I was lusting after but I'm happy to share that this bag is actually MUCH lighter - and it was cheaper than any similar designer bag I coveted. The funny thing is that I have a few inexpensive Rebecca Minkoff knockoffs that I didn't even realize were inspired by my Ghianda bullrope saddle bag. That said, I like this one waaaay more than any of those.

When deciding at the showroom I tried googling the bag but only ever found the studded version on the runway. I asked the employees and they told me the plain version was almost $3,000 - this one retailed for much more. And then I felt much better about taking it home with me.

It's a hard bag to style for summer but I needed to take it for a spin. I packed it up for the last day of the Bottega Veneta sample sale (they promised huge markdowns but failed to deliver) - and paired it with my white embroidered midi dress from last year and a pair of my $20 L.K. Bennett sample sale steals (you can read more about that epic sale here). Ideally I'd like a pair of black espadrilles to wear with it. I found a pair at the Zara sale but the sizes were mismatched. Ugh.

Head to toe:

• Sunglasses: Posey bifocal sun reader, Readers.com, C/O (RV $17.95)
• Dress: Zaful, c/o (previously seen here)
• Bag: Altuzarra, sample sale, $500 (RV $3,000+)
• Shoes: L.K. Bennett Summer Sandals, sample sale, $20 (RV $545!)

You can shop my style here:

Thank you Belle, @LittleFashionStylist for this round of pictures. I was so cranky from the heat and the disappointment at Bottega that I almost didn't shoot - but then I saw this little spot by the Union Square Café and needed to stop.

In addition to the Fivestory sale I mentioned in my previous post (don't miss it!) a couple other sales popped up on my radar. The Mahna Mahna showroom sale is back (lots of second-hand treasures) as well as Sachin & Babi - promising prices ranging between $40 to $75! On the Zara front, they had another markdown and now everything on sale is $29.99 or less. Keep checking for returns but I'm really waiting for the next markdown where everything is $19.99 or less!!

Sachin & Babi
August 14-16, 9-6
132 West 36th Street, 9th Fl

Mahna Mahna Showroom
August 22-25, 11-6
134 Spring St, #304

Lastly, anyone else watching A Handmaid's Tale? How did I never read the book? OMG I'm dying to binge it on Hulu but I'm trying to get other stuff done LOL. Is there anything on Amazon or Netflix that I need to watch right now? I feel like I've watched everything - which is why I was excited to discover A Handmaid's Tale.

Happy shopping (and binge watching)!

XO
Michelle

Wynwood Walls

Despite running camp mom for my three kids this summer, I've been sneaking in some me-time (work and shopping!) where I can. I FINALLY got around to editing more of my pictures from my Miami trip. One of my biggest blogger problems is that I always overshoot so I end up with thousands of pictures - and it takes me hours (sometimes days) to edit through them. My photos from my trip to Wynwood Walls was particularly difficult because there were so many beautiful, colorful walls. It's literally an Instagramer's dream. I also made a rookie mistake and only had the one bargainista look I was wearing. Ella on the other hand had just picked up a few pieces at Goodwill for $.99 so she put together a second look in the car. The apprentice surpasses the master LOL.

We got there in the afternoon so I had to choose my walls based on the lighting. If you plan a trip there be sure to go for several hours so you can get all the walls! You can see a mini-tour on Ella's Insta here.

Everything in this look is head to toe favorites, all on repeat:

• Sunglasses: Moschino, Century 21, free after rewards (they were selling them for $59.99), RV $295
• Dress: Shein (sold out), RV $22, gifted
• Bag Strap: Rebecca Minkoff, sample sale, $10 - see other scores here!
• Bag: Chanel, Neiman Marcus, 75% off - read about it here.
• Bracelet: Eddie Borgo, sample sale, $10 (closure was damaged so they discounted it)
• Shoes: Sophia Webster Lacey heels, sample sale, $95 - read about that epic sale here.

You can shop my style here:

We had done some thrift shopping in Florida and Ava was particularly excited about her two new Baby Alive dolls. She's a little obsessed and has a collection of about 15 right now. She can watch those YouTube videos of grown women pretending to be kids playing with dolls all day. I told her to just make her own videos already. She's wearing a thrifted Lilly Pulitzer dress that's a hand me down from Ella. I thrift Lilly left and right for the girls - even used, their colors hold up beautifully.

Ella is the queen of handstands and cartwheels so you know this shot was coming. There's a reason she always has a pair of biker shorts under her dresses.

And now a quick shout out to my super talented 12 year old son, Akiva, my photographer. He found these walls in the streets and insisted on a picture. When he was little I used to dress him to the nines. These days he has a basic formula of tee + shorts = outfit.

As a Justice, Girls With Heart brand ambassador, Ella was toting around Charlie the Dog for most of that trip LOL. Truthfully she didn't wear a lot of Justice until she signed on because so much of her wardrobe is thrifted and penny finds, but lately we've been hitting the Justice sale rack and doing pretty well. Her fringed bag here is Justice and was around $4. Her striped dress was a TJ Maxx $3 yellow sticker find. Anyone else looking forward to the next yellow sticker sale?

It seems in Florida, Goodwill only charges $1.99 for kids items so Ella loaded up her cart. In the NY/NJ area kids stuff starts at $4.99 which is insane for used kids stuff so I don't even bother stepping in to local Goodwills anymore. She snapped up this cute Lilly for Target top and paired it with this colorful pleated skirt. Her sunglasses were $1 Dollar Tree finds - she picked them up on the trip because the ones she brought with her broke. When we got to Wynwood she rifled through her bag which was in the car and put this look together. She did swipe my Jimmy Choo clutch (scored for just $25 at the sample sale a while back!!) which I had in the car as a backup for my Chanel.

As they say in Yiddish, I was totally shepping nachas (loosely translated as taking pleasure) when I was looking these over. I know I'm biased but my kids are pretty awesome.

It's been a while since I shared sample sale picks but the summer tends to be pretty quiet. This week is Altuzarra and I confess I splurged and got myself a birthday bag. Stay tuned for my new pretty. My only other pick is Adam Lippes next week just because I like his stuff but I'm not sure about pricing. I also popped in to Century yesterday to check out the status of the sale and it's terrible. I checked out the sale bags and even with a second cut, most bags were over $1,000 and overpriced. I'm currently waiting for Zara to have another cut before I hit that sale hard. So for now I'm in holding, waiting for the good stuff to start already!

Altuzarra*
July 19-21, 8:30-7
233 Broadway, 14th Fl

* I shared pics in my Insta stories that may still be up. Bags were $300-750, runway shoes (Sz 39,40) were $100, most clothing was under $200. No samples this round.

Adam Lippes
July 25-27, 8:30-7
1133 Broadway, Suite 426

Happy shopping!

XO
Michelle

Meeting My Shoe Crush, Sophia Webster

One of my favorite things about living near/in NYC is access. Access to fashion shows, access to sample sales and even access to celebrities. You never know who you're going to run into walking down the street or even grabbing a drink at Starbucks. I've literally bumped into Ben Stiller in Central Park, Harrison Ford waved to me while riding on a bike and I passed right by Woody Allen and Soon-Yi taking a walk. At any given moment there is always something free and or interesting happening in NYC that anyone in the know can attend. One night, Belle got invited to a Vogue party - and I saw that Sophia Webster was having a pop up shop (Webster on Wooster) downtown, so I figured we'd kill two birds with one stone and hit up both for the night. I'm such a HUGE Sophia fan. I'm sure you figured that out as every other pic on my Insta lately has been SW. Her shoes are colorful, playful and comfortable - which is pretty much everything I love in a shoe.

Of course, we first stopped for pictures on the steps of the NYC Midtown Library which was right next to the party at Lord & Taylor.

From head to toe:

• Jacket: Marshalls, $24.99
• Dress: Shop Tobi, gifted (also seen here)
• Bag: Jimmy Choo Lockett, sample sale, $350 (RV $2,895)
• Fringed belt: Zadig & Voltaire, sample sale, $40
• Shoes: Sophia Webster Keira Doiley sandals, sample sale, $95 (RV $750)

You can shop my look here:

Thank you to Belle for taking my pics! I shot her on the steps as well. Here she's wearing her new Rebecca Minkoff initialed MAC and studded guitar strap that she got at their last sample sale. Those straps are pretty amazing, right?! They elevate any bag. I wear mine a lot with my Chanel (seen here) because it was a 75% off seasonal bag that came with an ugly short brown strap.

The party was uneventful (it was for Karl Lagerfeld's new collection) but they did have cute free Tattly temporary tattoos - and mine lasted for about 2 weeks after. They're pretty realistic and even my brother thought I got a real tattoo LOL. (You can see my tat on my leg below.) We cut out a little early and headed downtown to Webster on Wooster because when I messaged my contact for SW, he told me Sophia was in the store doing a private meet and greet. My only regret is not getting her to sign my shoes but in retrospect that would have been a little gross asking her to sign my sweaty shoes LOL.

Sophia is such a doll! She was just hanging out in the store and chatting with customers. I actually recognized a bunch of her crew from their Insta stories. If you don't already watch them, you should - they share really cute behind the scenes from their London headquarters.

We ran into Katya at the Vogue party and I invited her along to meet Sophia. I tried taking pics in the birdcage but did look nearly as cute as Sophia.

As for NYC sample sales, there isn't much on the calendar but there are a few good ones!

Rebecca Taylor popped up out of nowhere and started yesterday. I got there a little late and didn't get much. Everything is sample sized which will fit 2-6. Today is the second day so not sure what's left. Sorry no advance notice but I did share on my Insta stories yesterday so be sure you're following along so you don't miss a thing!

Rebecca Taylor
July 29, 8-6
80 West 40th St., 5th Fl

I like their shoes but last sale was a little expensive for me. This time they said shoes start at $30 so it may be worth a peek :)

Miista
July 7-9
Fri & Sat 10-7, Sun 10-6
Circle Studios, 83A Hester Street

I love her dresses - it's mostly sample sized 4/6 but they do get some stock sizing as well.

Tracy Reese
July 11-12, 10-8
260 West 39th Street, 19 Fl

Kicking myself for missing their last sale. Won't be making that mistake again...

Eddie Borgo
July 13-14
Th 9-7, F 10-6
204 Elizabeth St., 2nd Fl

So far my summer is going nicely. We jumped in the car and drove to Atlantic City with my two nieces so I had 5 kids in tow. Honestly it wasn't that bad because I didn't have any kids under 8 (my Ava) - and they're all pretty good kids. Honestly without littles #momlife is a piece of cake. Don't get me wrong, they can be a handful and I need a break every now and then but it does get easier as they get bigger and more independent.

Ella actually has a photoshoot with Justice today (she's a #girlswithheart brand ambassador) - I'll be sharing behind the scenes on my Insta stories today! Yeah, I'm one proud mama.

Wishing you all a happy 4th of July weekend!

XO
Michelle

My Magic Rebecca Taylor Dress

I'm sure you recognize my favorite Rebecca Taylor Kiku print dress from last year (and the year before LOL) but what you don't know about it is that it's magic. When I purchased the dress I was 40 lbs. lighter (as seen on me here) and at the time I was surprised I could fit into a sample size 2. And somehow it still miraculously fits. OK it's a little snug across the chest but it's still wearable and pretty flattering. For summer I'm all about easy summer dresses - and now that it's finally warm around here, be prepared to see a parade of new dresses. I finally caved and picked up a few so I'd have a few options that fit my new size :)

From head to toe:

• Sunglasses: Dolce & Gabbana, Century 21, $15
• Dress: Rebecca Taylor, sample sale, $50 (RV $550)
• Bag: Street Level fringe bag, Nordstrom Rack (clear the Rack find!) $7.50, RV $50
• Bracelet: Dannijo Lacey cuff, sample sale, $25 (RV approx. $350)
• Heels: Loeffler Randall x Suno, sample sale, $75

You can shop my style here:

Thank you Belle for this round of pics :)

In addition to my sample sale picks from last week, Jonathan Simkhai is the only one that catches my eye. J. Crew and MCM are on right now but J. Crew tends to have tons of randomness and MCM isn't cheap.

Jonathan Simkhai
June 21-22, 10-7
252 West 37th Street, 3rd Fl

J.Crew & Madewell
June 19-25
W-Sat 10-8, Sun 10-5
260 Fifth Avenue

MCM
June 21-25
W-Sat 11-8, Sun 11-6
150 Greene Street

Kids are officially done with school so I'm in full-time mommy mode. We're still working out summer plans (I'm a last minute kinda gal) but I have wanderlust in my veins so let's see where that takes us :)

XO
Michelle

The Storyteller

I've always felt that my clothing tells a story. Some stories are more complex than others - and some are just short stories. Someone messaged me on Insta the other day asking how I came up with the name LeHoarder. To me it's obvious but I guess I should explain. Simply put, I love clothing. I'm a fashion hoarder. I collect shoes and bags like they are memories - because they are. I can still remember what I wore to school on my first day of nursery. I even remember shopping with my dad and choosing it for myself at the store. The 'Le' is just because the name Michelle is French. When I was looking for a blog name I wanted something that stood out and was just a tiny bit wrong. Ergo, LeHoarder. For years I had the nickname 'Shoppinggal' - but now at almost 43 years old it doesn't really fit anymore. I'm not just about shopping, or the acquisition of the goods. I'm a collector and storyteller, creating memories as I go.

Just below this pic there is a Lookbook button. I still haven't quite figured Lookbook out because I barely get any views on my pictures there. If you can take a moment to click on it and like it, I'd really appreciate it. Otherwise this is the last time I use it. If you use Lookbook and have any tips, I'd love to hear them!

I can't tell you how many times I head to the City in one thing - and leave in another. Such is sample sale life LOL. I made the mistake of lugging the cutest slides to shoot, but after purchasing these Lena Glitsnake glitter heeled booties at the Zadig et Voltare sale for just $75 (RV $498!) I wore these around NYC for the rest of the day. They are probably the most comfortable booties I own right now. For some reason I find a low heel more comfortable than a flat. Anyone else feel that way too? I'm a little sad to finally put them away for the season now that it's finally warmed up around here.

I didn't get a ton at the Zadig sale - just these boots (and trust me, I tried on a TON of shoes!), my $40 fringed leather belt (seen here) and my new $20 skull clutch, which I can't believe I haven't shared yet. It fits my giant phone and I take it into every sample sale these days. The great thing (for me) about the Zadig sale is that all the shoes are pretty much size 40 (yes!) and the clothing is all size small/medium - and all current season samples. I'll be sure to give you guys a heads up the next time it's announced.





I had been looking for the perfect (inexpensive) longer denim jacket for ages. Every time I try to loose 20 lbs, I gain 20 lbs. Sigh. I just wanted a need a little more coverage right now. Plus a longer line jacket = a vertical line, which will always make you appear taller and thinner. This was a lucky find from Marshalls. I went hunting for a few colorful spring accessories and had almost given up on finding a jacket like this. So when I found the last one in the store for $25 I did a little happy dance.

Everything else is on repeat so I'll just break it down:

• Sunglasses: Moschino, Century 21, free with rewards
• Jacket: Marshalls, $24.99
• Dress: H&M, $5
• Bag: Rebecca Minkoff, sample sale, $75
• Bracelet: Dannijo, sample sale, $50 (RV $595)
• Boots: Zadig et Voltaire, sample sale, $75 (RV $498)

You can shop my style here:

This wall is outside Fashion Institute of Technology, my alma mater. Belle and I were passing by and I was inspired. I never plan where I'm going to shoot - I usually wander around until something catches my eye. There are so many colorful locations around NYC but I'm just not organized enough to go running around looking for specific walls. I'm a little more in the moment, sharing looks I actually wear as I wear them. But I am learning that where you shoot is almost as important and what you shoot. I look for a background that will make my look pop. Be it with color or contrast. At some point I really want to take a photography class so I can put all the ideas in my head into words and learn the more technical aspects.

Belle had just picked up this cute coat at the Christian Siriano sale that morning (we split up to divide and conquer LOL) so I had to take a couple pics of her too. Christian actually designed her custom wedding gown (you can see it here) and honestly it's once of the most beautiful gowns I've ever seen. She said she tried on over 100 dresses before having him design this one for her. I did take a few pics of her at his showroom at her last fitting that I'll probably share them at some point. When I was getting married I went to the Badgley Mischka sample sale and purchased the first dress I tried on. I saw it and just knew. Plus you know that a $20,000 gown for less than $1,000 just had to come home with me. But back in the day (I'm talking 10-20 years ago) sample sales were crazy cheap - deals like that don't really exist anymore.

Belle's now husband Bren surprised her with her new Chanel bag as an engagement gift. He's right up there with my brother who treated my SIL to a Birkin when they got engaged. I'm still waiting for my Birkin. I wish I splurged 20 years ago when I was single and had lots of disposable income. Chanel and Hermes are great investment bags. They last forever and their prices just keep going up...





Now on to the sample sale front. Clothingline has a few blowouts on the schedule right now which never disappoint. Dannijo started today but I'm sitting this round out. The last sale wasn't all that inspiring and not much cute stuff on the cheap. Ulla Johnson also started today and Miguelina starts next week, but I'm not sure what their pricing looks like (I do love their beachy, boho vibes thou). Alice and Olivia is still going on but I decided to skip this year (I have enough) - plus at this point all the best pieces are long gone (so if you haven't already gone, don't bother). La Perla is another fan favorite but I don't really do lingerie sales anymore. Give me a $12.99 nude Wacoal from Century and I'm a happy camper.

Milly (blowout sale!)*
June 14-15, 11-7
261 West 36th Street, 2nd Fl
*everything is sample size 4/6

Dannijo
June 14-15
W 10-8, Th 4-8
263 11th Avenue, 2nd Fl

Ulla Johnson
June 14-15
Weds 10-7, Th 10-6
168 Bowery

La Perla
June 14-18
W-Sat 11-7, Sun 11-5
150 Greene Street

Rachel Zoe + Karen Millen (blowout sale!)*
June 20-22, 11-7
261 West 36th Street, 2nd Fl
*not just sample sizes at this one!

Miguelina
June 21-23, 10-6
325 West 37th Street, 2nd Fl

Happy shopping! I've been bitten by the travel bug and the kids have been asking for an adventure. It's been a while since we jumped in the car and road tripped or even hopped on a plane. Ella told me she wants to go to Paris LOL. What are you doing this summer? If you have any family friendly travel ideas I'd love to hear them!

XO
Michelle