I don't work for Carson Pirie Scott

...and am not associated with them in any way butterumahhh they always have the best sales. Any store that has 80% off, Imma give a shoutout.  And also I'm starting to find that retail prices for clothes at some stores are starting to be competitive with thrifted clothing.  Unless the dress, shoe, accessory, etc is a complete one of a kind, I would definitely buy it or something comparable new.  This isn't the case all the time, of course.  The thrift store will always have my heart but I'm finding if you catch a store in the right time of the season and on the right day, you could find some good stuff for the lowlow.  And let it be known that I also believe that "just because its on sale, doesn't mean its cute" Lets def. put that out there.
Anyway, I pulled out about 11 dresses to try on and literally snatched three. You ever been shopping in your size and its somebody EXACTLY your size shopping beside you looking at everything you pick out?  Well it was this short lady I had to size up really quick to make sure her paws weren't touching anything I  hadn't selected, inspected, and rejected yet.  I change into a different person while shopping.  That's why I can't stand Christmas time shopping.  Anyway, two dresses were semi formal and one was casual(my usual style).  And let me just say that Jessica Simpson is after my heart.  Me and her still have some issues to work out regarding her jewelry line and some of her clothes too, but I find myself picking out pieces from her more and more now.











go-go boots are Enzo Angiolini from a previous post.

Carson Pirie Scott.

Their shoe section is kind of the bomb. I scoped out the shoes below while browsing just the shoe section for about an hour or so.  I hadn't visited a Carson's in a few years because the ones near me have closed.  I loved them partly for nostalgic purposes just as some folks love a Macy's or a Marshall Field's for their Christmas memories.  Carson's or Bergner's as they were known in Detroit in the 90s remind me of my granny who was a stylish lady who shopped there all the time.  My granny bought my eighth grade graduation shoes from there in fact and I would get to know them over the years for having quality clothing for good prices.......memories. My granny is second from left. And my great Aunt is second from right.

 


Grandparents at my Mom's HS Graduation

Then I went to high school and Carson's always seemed to carry dresses and shoes geared towards church ladies and Grannies that were stuck in a time warp.  At the time I was interested in sharp creases in my jeans that were cuffed under at the bottom and drooling over Coach belts that I couldn't afford. I know, ew.  I didn't see where Carson's fit in my style matrix at the time.  So when I was in there the other day, I did see an abundance of Church Lady dresses, shoes, and hats, but I also saw a lot of dresses that would be considered vintage and hip today.  And the shoe section wasn't bad AT ALL.  All the cute shoes for summer were out at full price of course, but I was happy to be put on to some more shoes!:


Nine West Angelica


Nine West Altan


Miz Mooz Avalon


Lauren by Ralph Lauren Charla


Lucky Band Peggy


Guess Belloma


Nine West Kendrick


Nine West Yarrow (the leather was so soft on these.)


Franco Sarto Alloy


Dolce Vita Sancia

Lucky Brand Maris


Born Tour


Steve Madden Fraid


Only downside was that their shoe sale selection wasn't good at all and comparable to say a DSW sale section or Nordstrom Rack sale  their sale shoes were kinda blah .

Not a morning person

But here's one of the sunrises I was able to witness this week and the outfit  I wore to face the beautiful springy day. And by springy, I mean over 35 degrees and no snow.





The sunrise was definitely an inspiration as I kept with the gray  and dark blue theme of winter from head to toe and added a bright peach cover up in the middle.The boots are some oldie but goodie tie @ the top boots from Wanted that i slouched down. These boots have come really close to being in a give away bag on a couple of occasions because I just didn't like them anymore or because they didn't fit the phase I was going through at the time. Glad they were saved because I have worn them with dress, work, and chill out fits.






 

Até-logo winter!

Imma go out on a limb and say buh-bye to winter preemptively and give winter until March 1st.  I'm completely over this snow, salt, repeat routine. So according to my internal calendar, tomorrow is the last day of spring! Yep, that's right.  And I'm so excited too.
I'm confident we'll be getting more of these clear and warmer days




I've def. been dressing for spring and dug up a summer blouses in preparation. I decided to hold off on the sandals for now though.








 

My outfit in pieces.

I'm posting this outfit in pieces today.  I had to get a tad bit creative to keep my laid back outfit a tad bit interesting.  The silk scarf is a remnant piece of a poncho from about 2005.  Remember when ponchos were in high gear?  I had about five in my repertoire. I still have 3, but two of those ponchos are currently multi-purpose scarves.  This is one of them, bowed and hanged.

Utility skinnies are Old navy again, sweater Old navy and top is Forever.  And these boots are a favorite of mine and I continually get compliments on them.  The color is what's most attractive about them to me.  They have a skin tone yellow leather look. I kind of want to know what they would look like wedged to give me at least 3 more inches, but they actually work very well with winter conditions here while maintaining some cuteness about the foot area.  If Volatile starts making cute shoes consistently, I might have to invest in stock.





On another note, 59 degrees on Thursday! in Chicago? IN FEBRUARY? I think I might actually do the speed limit tomorrow in honor of the tropical like weather.

sigh....had to take a sabbatiatus

I'm back and looking for inspiration in the thrift stores again.  After my hiatus from thrifting, I have noticed that their popularity has pushed up the prices a tad and require frequent trips to snatch up the good stuff.  Even my favorite spots in the suburbian nooks and crannies that I thought I had to myself, the local residents, and die hard hippies seem to be rummaged through every time I go. The last trip I made this week, I found a mix of accessories. I'm also in the middle of configuring a way to store and display my shoes for effective dressing. yay!!!


Salvation Army cloissonne stud earrings.  Call me fiscally conservative or cheap...but I think I overpaid for them @ $2, but they were eerily similar to  the style of cloissonne studs I buy sometimes from etsy.


Mugs, bookshelf, bracelets - Salvation Army
I had to get the mugs because they're going to jazz up the sea foam green theme I had in a vision and they were too cool eventhough they only hold 9 oz.  I usually drink 9 ozs. in my sleep and 16 oz of anything ..is usually my minimum but these mugs were too cute and perfect for hot chocolate. 


My $2.00 lamp from Goodwill. Don't know the plans for it yet, but wait................




Here is the bookcase that I bought from Salvation.  I've started the sanding phase and am planning to paint it a  light sea foamish  green............................................................................with teal undertones, of course.



Wicker Bangle from Salvation Had to get it even though it was a tad bit big, I can def. mix it with some brass bangles that I already have that fit a bit tighter.


Silk scarf (Salvation) - Keeps my hair from being brittle and unruly.


Even  though this seat-slash-storage bin  is more lime than sea foam, I'm going to proceed and see how it goes.  The beauty of buying second-hand!


Sidenote that has nothin' to do with this post:
So I'm in line with the new Essence magazine with the actress Angela Bassett on it, trying to find the horoscopes in the back of the mag.  They have Angela Basset on the cover @ least once a year but she is looking mightily fierce this month.  So the checkout guy at the Target is feeling tre' chatty and says that he thinks Angie looks kinda good on the cover despite her age AND despite the fact that he doesn't think she looks all that great at other times.  I say "Hey. What if Angela Basset was my momma in real life. How you goin' to say she not pretty."  My reaction was VERY instinctual as I have always loved Angela Bassett.  She's just BAD! And doesn't take "being BAD" lightly in dress, how she carries herself, and her profession.  I just wish she could get some acting roles that fit her skill set.  Way to go tangent!  Anyway, apparently Target checkout guy thinks I'm funny, cause he was still laughing as I walked away.  I looked back at him thinking that wasn't that funny homie, but you have a goodnite.

Count of folx that think I'm funny:  I think I'm funny, my momma thinks I'm funny(she's corny though), sometimes my brother(+insert 15  cool points), and some random people at work, and now Target checkout guy!

Trying on shoes

Had some free time to kill and stopped in Famous Footwear one day last week.  I spent a good 2 hours trying on shoes.  Took pics of these cause for a good thirty minutes, I thought I wanted them.

 

 





 
Steve Madden p-roxi in blush

I was contemplating these for a while because of the light rose color and the rise of the heel.
I didn't get them though. I still might go back, I have to marinate on the shape of the toe some more.Yeah, I don't think I like them anymore. I don't think I'm going back for them they did hurt my pinkie toes.  DECISIONS

Had to try on sandals to keep me enthused for the "Yes We Can" warm up that's coming sometime in the near eventually:


 
 Still wearing my thrifted cord military jacket that I got from the thrift store. Scarves are NY&Co / TJ Maxx. And the military skinnies are Old Navy. Wedge boots are from Sheikh Shoes.