Day 56: Kate Moss Christmas 2008 at Topshop

The Christmas 2008 Kate Moss Topshop Collection launched today.

I'm not really obsessed with anything in the collection, sadly. What I am obsessed with is almost everything Topshop is selling under their "Premium" collection! I will take one of every dress, top, coat and jacket, please!

Day 55: Over-the-knee Socks

I must admit, I'm digging the thigh-high-sock look. Thigh-high boots? A little scary. Thigh-high socks? I think I could rock them, a la Carrie Bradshaw in the Sex and the City Movie. Picture them with a pair of lace-up booties and a short skirt - so school-girl sexy! I'm not sure when in my life this look would be appropriate, but maybe brunch (if I was actually inclined to dress cutely) or a casual drink or dinner out.

Day 50

It's spreading!  A friend and coworker, Jess, vows she is not buying ANYTHING for the next month.  Wow, that's rough.  Other retail outlets are becoming my refuge from the clothing stores during The Challenge.  I can't imagine if I wasn't even allowed to go to Ikea on Sunday and spend $30 to give the bathroom a mini-makeover.  Is Jess crazy?  Or SO SANE?

Day 48

Classic tall Uggs in grey! I want, I want, I want!!!

Day 41

Success!  I was at my parents' this weekend, and maybe I do have potential as a vintage shopper.  I "shopped" in their closets.  I have a black-tie wedding to attend in less than three weeks.  My bud Trish lent me two dresses to try out as wardrobe options.  Both are gorgeous dresses (one she even found while I was with her at - what else? - a vintage store!), but I wanted to make sure I exhausted all my resources. 

My mom and I pulled out all the gowns from the high school and college proms and formals my sister and I went to.  A lot of them were distinctly "high school" or "prom:" either from the juniors section of a department store or covered with rhinestones or a super bright color.  But I tried on my senior prom dress, a sleek, silver, strapless, floor-length gown.  Very simple and classic.  I had good taste when I was 17!  The fit is a leeeeetle bit tight, so I will either need to be careful what I eat for the next few weeks, suck in the entire time or invest in some spanx.  But with The Challenge still going strong, I can't just trot out and buy new underpinnings!  I guess watching what goes in my mouth is the cheapest and most-logical option.  Plus, the BF and I are going to Puerto Rico the Monday after the wedding, so eating healthy for the next few weeks will be like double-dipping.  Look good at the wedding, look good on the beach.

With all the excitement of finding another outfit option, I started looking through other things hanging around the house.  I ended up bringing home a pair of white, opera-length gloves with pearl buttons (fake, I'm sure) at the wrists; a swingy, roomy gray coat that will work for formal options (I always struggle with what to top my nice dresses with on chilly nights) and a small, preppy bag that I can use to tote my gym clothes.  Oh, the coat was my grandmother's... I am SO vintage!

Day 37

Can't stop reading this blog: http://rantingsofafashionaddict.blogspot.com/. I am so envious of Fashion Addict's flair for vintage style! She is one adorable Canadian.

Day 36

Lately, I've been thinking about vintage fashion. Maybe it's all the Sex and the City I've been watching or The Rachel Zoe Project, but either way, I wish I were one of those women who could carry it off. Whenever I am in secondhand stores, I think, "Is this cool? Or does it just look used?" Even though I myself merely aspire to be a funky, downtown-cool chick, for those who actually are, check out this link: http://www.malenasboutique.com/. I went to high school with Malena, and she was a friend of my brother's. I think it's awesome that she's introducing some vintage style to our old hometown (for reference, preppy stand-bys Abercrombie, J.Crew and Gap were the most-popular labels among my classmates).

As you know, I'm trying to curb clothing purchases, so maybe I will cut my vintage style teeth at my aunt's house. She never ever throws anything away if it can be salvaged; she's held onto a custom-made jacket she had made in Italy probably 30 years ago along with boxes galore of other items. Could be some hidden treasures somewhere in there... if I can recognize them!

Day 31

Am I a shopaholic? My boss sent me this link: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26840446/ which details a test developed to identify "compulsive buyers." The test is made up of six statements, and you have to rank on a seven-point scale how strongly you agree with the statement. My results:

1. "My closet has unopened shopping bags in it."
Ha! Zero points for this one. I open my shopping right away! Except for that one bag from Target with a pair of leggings in it that I bought a month ago. Ok, 1 point.

2. "Others might consider me a 'shopaholic.'"
I don't think people consider me a shopaholic. I hardly ever buy things when I go shopping with friends or family. I'm more of a shopping loner. But...coworkers have caught me with shopping bags after lunch on many occasions, who knows what they think? 1 point.

3. "Much of my life centers around buying things."
Yes. I love buying things: for myself and for others, as gifts. It's a form of entertainment, and it feels soooo good. But I have balance too: work, relationships and hobbies (reading, running, traveling when possible). I'll give myself.... 4 points.

4. "I buy things I don't need."
Doesn't everyone? 6 points.

5. "I buy things I did not plan to buy."
Yes. Magazines in the grocery store checkout? Check. Clothes so on sale I can't pass them up? Check. Anything that strikes my fancy when I'm really hungover/still drunk? Check. But at least I don't collect sofas, like my mom. 5 points.

6. "I consider myself an impulse purchaser."
Isn't this the same as question 5?? 5 points.

Score: 22 points. Woohoo! "Respondents who score 25 or higher would be considered compulsive buyers," aka, NOT ME.

Day 30

!! One month down! Only eleven to go! I've found a band-aid for my self-inflicted non-shopping wounds: Sephora.com. I can seriously spend hours "window shopping" there. When I find a product I think I may like, I wander over to MakeupAlley.com and read some reviews. If I find good reviews, I put the product in my Sephora list of favorites to purchase later. (My list of favorites is getting pretty long.) I placed an order Monday evening for Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion, Bare Escentuals Essential Brow Kit and Frederic Fekkai Sheer Hold Hairspray - all new products to me, but hey, gotta spend >$50 to get the free shipping! Plus, they throw in SO MANY samples. I'm getting three samples PLUS one "deluxe" sample PLUS a seven-piece "ultimate eye sampler." According to my tracking number, my package should be arriving today. Yippeeeeee!!! The great thing about online shopping is you have the gratification of placing the order, the anticipation of waiting for your order and then the gratification of receiving and opening your order.