Ruffle It Up

Every morning when I wake up, I immediately enter my mental closet and try and pick out a fabulous outfit for the day. I'm on a mission to wear everything in there at least once instead of just falling back on the old standards. There have definitely been some out of the box ensembles. It's a sure bet that "Business Casual" can mean many different things unfortunately, one might find it easier to just throw on a button down shirt and neutral colored bottom every day of the week. It's a tragedy!

Here is another option, which I spotted while out shopping for my birthday, embellished tops. They go well with pants or skirts, pinstripes or tweed. You can dress them up for the office or a night out but, these tops would still look great with jeans while running errands around town. Now, which one is more pricey?

Splurge/Budget Ruffle Tops by She Spys The Buys on Polyvore.com

The top one is the more expensive LOFT version and the bottom one is the more budget New York & Company. version. They both come in an assortment of colors which are great for fall.

On another note right now all full price items at LOFT are 20% off. So, if you like the top one better hurry over and snag one. Either way you can get your self away from the potentially boring business casual or just ruffle up your casual wardrobe.

Ann Taylor LOFT Sweepstakes

Would you like some free clothes? What fashionista wouldn't? Enter to win a $1,500.00 LOFT shopping spree in NYC. I'm halfway there... I live in the big apple but, clothes on someone else's buck is always a fav!

Gilt Free

You may have heard of the online sample-sale Gilt Groupe, if not you should sign up and check it out they have great deals... few and far between. For the most part you will probably lust over some of the luxe offerings they have but, reality check yourself into realizing that 50% of $600.00 is still $300.00 for a dress... Thankfully, the launch of sibling-site GILT FUSE today at 12:00 noon should quell those concerns. It will feature contemporary brands at lower price points than it's predecessor. The first brands to debut on the site, at prices up to 70% off retail, include Plenty by Tracy Reese, Kova & T, Modern Amusement, CC Skye, TKO Orologi, RJ Graziano and BCBG. Access to Gilt Fuse will be invitation-only so if you want an invite please feel free to shoot me an email. The good news? If you join Gilt Groupe now you'll be automatically invited to shop at Fuse, too. I'm excited to see if they can stick to what they are saying now.

"Gilt Groupe is thrilled to announce the debut of Gilt Fuse, exclusively for women. It‘s a great new way to mix and match today‘s most-wanted labels with tomorrow‘s hottest emerging brands at prices that are impossible to resist."

Purple

I have been thinking about what I need to take my wardrobe from summer to fall with the autumn months just around the corner. My final conclusion, PURPLE! Not everything purple just purple accessories to spice up my existing outfits. It's always nice when a few small inexpensive purchases can make a big impact on your wardrobe. While I was out this past weekend I ended up snagging the top two items below. First, the Mossimo flats from Target which are on sale for $10.00, what a steal! Then the Coach large Zoe bag in Berry from the outlet, originally $548.00, down to $140.00. Not exactly inexpensive but, not breaking the bank in my opinion considering Coach is quality leather goods. The other items below are different mostly budget options for purple if you're on the same page I am. Hopefully you hit a purple patch!

Purple by She Spys The Buys

Birthday Shopping

First of all...
That being said, the only thing that I really wanted for my birthday this year was to go shopping. So, I grabbed my coupons, because as one lady said while we were out, "never shop without coupons!" and headed out with my mom who is amazing and funded the extravaganza. Here are some of the things I picked up to fill in some gaps in my wardrobe and get ready for the fall.

Old Navy Birthday Shopping by She Spys The Buys featuring Old Navy

Ann Taylor Loft Birthday Shopping* by She Spys The Buys on Polyvore.com

New York & Co. Birthday Shopping by She Spys The Buys on Polyvore.com

Overall, it's kind of a mish-mosh of things but, they fill in some spaces, or I just really liked them, plus they new additions really give my business casual look a refresher because when you see the same people everyday you don't want to look like a one note... Happy Birthday to Me!!!

Late Bloomer

Although we are closing in on the end of the summer I have recently developed a great interest in sandals. And while it is extremely late in the season, it's just in time to catch all the sales! I went shopping and picked up these fantastic ones at DSW for $99.00. Yes, a major splurge but the bronze ones are so neutral I can wear them with everything so, in my opinion they were very worth it (even my bf thought they were a good buy!). Then I decided that I needed a black pair because, if you couldn't tell, I'm really into the neutrals. So, I began the search for black and this style was the favorite of what I found...

Splurge/Budget Sandal by She Spys The Buys featuring DV by Dolce Vita shoes

I'm sure you can tell what the difference between the Splurge and the Budget sandal but I tried both on and they are really very comparable. Since the "splurge" Dolce Vita sandals went on sale I got them. I'm all about quality in the end and leather always wins. I think it was a good choice and I've gotten tons of compliments on them.

FYI-There are also these Kelly & Katie sandals which are exactly the same style and a decent price but if you can find the DV ones in your size (Nordstrom or DSW) I would pick those up.