The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

Hi Everyone,

Hope you're enjoying your Summer and finding some cool fashion buys out there! Can you believe that we're already half way through the Summer season? And real soon we'll be planning our Fall wardrobes.

As I mentioned in my last posting, one of the great things about attending yard/estate sales is the people you meet each week, locally. You just never know, if you might rub elbows with someone famous or purchase an item originally owned by a star.

Recently, I met Janice Liebhart, the back-up singer for eight years with the ultra famous music icon, Michael Bolton. She had a nice yard sale at her house and I bought a black, rayon tunic with metallic accents by designer, aziz for $1. Here's a photo of the shirt:

She told me that she wore the tunic, numerous times while they were on tour...so, now I own a piece of music history!  :) Yeah!

And many years ago, I even bought a decorative planter from a garage sale that was rumored to have been owned by television-great Merv Griffin. As I recall I paid just a couple of dollars for it.
Here's a photo of that image, even though it's not a piece of fashion. It's still pretty awesome and I love how it looks in my kitchen on my antique oak server.

Well, besides making these purchases there's the whole ambiance/environment behind attending yard/estate sales. Some of my most fondest memories include: the lady who baked homemade chocolate chip cookies and served tea and/or coffee to everyone free of charge. Then there's was the backyard sale with freshly, squeezed lemonade drinks prepared from her lemon trees for people wading through merchandise stuff.

Of course, these sales can't all be sunshine, lolipops and roses types of events...some professionally manged estate sales pretty much harass the potential customers by preventing anyone to bring in their purses/handbags into the sales.
They state that it prevents thieves from easily placing merchandise into bags. If a thief wants something that probably won't deter them, but I guess that you have play by the rules sometimes, right?

And last but not least... one of the least appropriate sale items I come across almost every week is people selling their used, lingerie (bras and panties).
Let me just say this...lingerie is to be bought new at the store!!!

There are plenty of discount retail stores, where you can find reasonably priced bras and panties--Ross Dress for Less is one great resource, as well as TJ Max and Marshall's. There should actually be a law against purchasing lingerie used, it's just plain disgusting and WRONG!!

In closing I wish you many happy hours of neighborhood shopping, finding lots of exciting fashions! And remember to always keep an eye out for those weekly, signs posted for yard/estate sales where you'll find 'one man's trash is another man's treasure.'

Until next week!
Barbara

It's a Fashion Jungle Out There!

Hi Everybody,

It's been another awesome Saturday of fashion finds and vintage stuff! It was a hot and humid day and there were many yard sales to be found. Yeah!!! :)
The only question was...which ones to choose from and which ones were 'drive-bys' (sales you look at from your car as you drive past them).
Yes, it seemed like a fashion jungle, I needed to get my imaginary machete knife,  to cut through all of the not so good looking clothing/accessories... just as if they were a huge jungle overgrowth found in the suburbs of the Valley.

Lots of tarp, covered driveways with clothing, as well as hanging clothes from the garage doors could be found.

This was the first sale I visited, and I bought a gray, cable-stitched, Mossimo Supply CO., cotton sweater bought for $1 ($24 retail) and a one, piece Sace, blue print romper outfit for $1 ($19 retail).

At another yard sale later, I actually received a pair of designer, cork wedge shoes by Bamboo for FREE!
Those shoes retail for about $40, and they had not been worn once. They only needed one buckle to be repaired. What a generous lady who gave me  those shoes!

While traveling through the neighborhoods, I came across a couple of middle-aged men selling mainly tools and guy stuff and noticed a large cardboard sign on their garage wall. Here's the photo of the sign that I saw:

Unfortunately, there's an ugly side of people holding yard/garage/estate sales and people stealing stuff from them. So, these homeowners gave all thieves the proper warning!

 See what was I telling you about it being a jungle out there, right? It's hard to think that there are people preying on others at their homes by bringing teams of people to distract the yard sale owners. Shame on those people stealing stuff!!! Hopefully, they'll get caught soon and face legal charges.

Oh well, for the most part, the weekly yard sales are a big adventure and add lots of happiness to people holding them and attending them. 

You just never know who you might meet at one of these sales..there's some interesting characters out there! In my next week's blog, I will describe some of the folks that I've meet through-out the years that were all part of the whole experience.

Until next week! Stay cool and happy shopping to all of you fashion bargain hunters!

Barbara

P.s. Here's an additional photo of a supposed 17th century- English cherry wood, chair for sale at $5,000. Just another example of some unusual items that you see in your journeys.

A New, Designer Wardrobe for Much, Much, Much Less!!!

Hi Everyone,

In today's blog I want to present some photo examples of prior estate, and/or yard sale fashion purchases--along with the cost to purchase at a retail store. You'll be amazed at what awesome fashion finds you can buy just in your local neighborhood!

Here's a Bebe 100%, silk, butterfly dress that I purchased for just $3 and found similar dresses selling by the designer for more than $100. There's also a faux, Chanel leather/chain handbag bought for $2 and those would go for over $60. Then last but, not least there are the Cathy Jean, white leather, strap sandals, I bought for $5, with retail about $40. They were probably worn only once--looked like brand new! So, the whole designer outfit cost me $10 total.  If bought new, for retail the cost about $200. With these savings, you look like a superstar, without the superstar credit card charges, right?

I've got another example of true 'fashionista' discount shopping:

How many girls love Guess/Marciano designer clothing? Nothing says beautiful, quality clothing better than them! I purchased this Marciano, cotton corset, print dress for $5 at a yard sale. And the black riding boots were purchased at Target through their clearance racks for $24.99. So, for $30 you have a great look that would have cost you retail around $120. Think what you can do with these savings?

And one more example:

Can we say designer super outfit? This playful set includes Steve Madden leather shoes, $2, a Kenneth Cole Reaction leather jacket, $3, a Betsy Johnson leather/lace/stud belt,$1, And Candy pug tank top, $1 and ruffled, mini skirt for $1. What a bargain for a cute around the town outfit! :) The retail price cost would be somewhere around $225. But, my cost was only $8!!!

See it really, does pay off to spend your time cruising through your local residential areas and selecting and purchasing fine designer clothes for almost nothing to create a new, exciting wardrobe. And you know what else-- you're being "Green" (ecological)  by recycling this great clothing and accessories by giving them a new life!

Until next time...happy shopping!!!
Barbara

Stayin' Real 4 Fashion

Hi and welcome to my blog!

It's during these tough economic times that us ladies need to keep it real! We want to find awesome clothing that keeps us fresh, with fashion trends and doesn't break our bank accounts. I'm here to tell you how to save big bucks $$$ on designer clothing, as well as your basic fashion pieces and accessories.

You can even look like a rock star and still have money left over to pay your monthly bills. Too, bad there isn't another way out there to cut your rent/mortgage, cable, phone and car payments, right?

I would like to introduce myself to you...I've been lovin' fashion, since I was a wee lil' girl! I think that I must have been born with high heels on, since I can't live without them for sure. I just can't get enough of fashion, it's always on my mind.
I learned about clothing through  attending The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) and have applied those concepts. Also, I read fashion magazines, view the Internet fashion articles and constantly watch TV and movies for inspiration.

Professionally, I was at one time a Visual Merchandiser for Loehmann's who created their store window designs. In addition, I worked as a Comparative Shopper monitoring clothing designs/pricing at many large department and discount retail stores. In between, all that I received a Bachelors of Art in Art (Graphic Design), which taught me much about color, visual elements and more!


Anyways, you know how the fashion trends are always changing frequently and so does my wardrobe. So, I started to add clothing from shopping many, many estate sales and yard/garage sales-- cutting my costs by something like 90%. 
It's basically a treasure hunt of sorts and sometimes you hit the mother load of clothing sales in your nearby neighborhood. By searching through racks, boxes and tables of clothing/rags at these sales you may find your own true fashion riches and save lots of money big time!


I also shop the local discount stores like Target, Old Navy, and even the $.99 Store and find fabulous buys to update my fashion collection in my closet. There's even great fashion buys at charities like Goodwill, the Salvation Army and other organizations, which go to good causes to train and employ workers.


In upcoming blogs, I will share with you some of the best clothing purchases I've made. I can show you how those inexpensive pieces fit together to create some 'hot' outfits for all types of everyday wear (work, dates, casual, vacations, etc.). 


Join me on a journey of frolicking through all kinds of fashion styles that are affordable to everyone. Stay-tuned for future blog updates!


Thanks for stopping-by, and happy shopping!
Barbara