I had a business meeting the other day and wore the dress I purchased when I went thrift shopping with Inez of Style Chic 360. Out of all the things I bought that day, this one is my favorite.  It fits me very well since it is a petite dress. The proportions are just right. I normally wear really huge earrings but kept it classic with small sterling silver ones.  My shoes are a Chinese Laundry kitten heel shoe.  When I put them on, all I could hear was Evelyn from Basketball Wives talking about me. 

I’m sorry, but I live in New York City which requires trucking it up and down subway stairs all day long.  I’m not wearing stilettos.  And I see some of you walking in those sky high shoes that clearly hurt your feet because you are walking all kinds of crazy.  Just the other day I was standing in front of the 7-11 talking to a friend on the phone and this chick walked by wobbling.  The lady next to me who didn’t speak any English was witnessing my same view.  We both looked at each other and could only shake our heads out of agreement that what we just saw was crazy and didn’t make any sense.  Kudos to you if stilettos don’t hurt your feet and you can do summersaults in them. More power to you.

Any who, I thought the kitten heels complimented the Mad Men look I was trying to achieve.  Granted this outfit doesn’t channel the sexiness of Joan, but I think I’m pulling off Betty (I’m still on Season 3) quite well.  I added a rope belt that I borrowed from another dress.  The dress originally had shoulder pads in it but I removed them.  I truly do regret removing them. I thought it added to the dress.

Here I am acting a fool.  If you know me, then you know this isn’t out of the ordinary and that I’m quite silly. Oh…and please excuse my scowl in the pictures. The sun was in my eyes. One day I will learn to take a decent picture of myself.  I’m great at taking pictures of others, not of myself.

I am not a thrifter nor do I claim to be.  I have tried it before and have had mini successes, but it is not something I do on the regular.  I do better with personalized shopping in a boutique atmosphere. I get overwhelmed and immediately walk out. Another reason why I don’t do it is that I think that thrift shopping in NYC is very expensive in comparison to other cities.  But perhaps I don’t know where to go.  My friend T. Nicole of Pint Sized Influence always finds wonderful things thrifting.

When I was home a couple of months ago (yes, this post is long overdue) I had the chance to go thrift shopping with Inez of Style Chic 360. I had a wonderful time. Inez is a wealth of information when it comes to thrifting.  She really has that eye and can see potential in something that I would have found ugly and old.  We ended up meeting up at Value World. Inez had got there early and already had some items picked out for me. She explained that she likes to go in with an idea in mind of what she needs to make shopping easier.

Therefore I started with skirts and dresses. I must say that the Value World was very clean and organized.  It was even stylized by color which made shopping so easy.  I have never been in a thrift store that was maintained so nicely.  If more stores looked like this, perhaps I would thrift more often.

I had a ball trying on different clothes.  Inez picked out the above skirt for me and it fit like a glove.  Of course I had to take it home.

The above are some of the items I purchased .  I budgeted myself to spend only $30 and I kept it under that. The skirts I purchased were less than $4! You can’t beat that with a stick.

I was even able to get some vintage patterns for30 cents. Doesn’t this one look like something Rachel Zoe would wear?  I will be making this for the fall.

Here I am wearing my thrifted skirt.  I had a chance to wear it the BlogHer 2012 ConferenceI. (I still need to fill you guys in on that too…I’m so behind in blogging.) Did I mention that the majority of my skirts have pockets? I LOVE pockets!

I thrifted a scarf that I used for my hair.  I love the pop of color it adds to my hair.

How have you faired thrift shopping? I’d love to hear your thoughts on thrifting.

Last week I had the pleasure of being invited to a private showing at Brooklyn Bleu. I really didn’t know what to expect when I went. I had assumed it was a store front and not a residential home. Therefore I walked right past the location. I realized my mistake and walked back to find the place.  I rang the bell and a gentlemen answered the door. All I could think of was that Google Maps lead me to the wrong location and now I have disturbed this man’s dinner. I shyly asked if this was Brooklyn Bleu and he replied yes with a smile. He told me to go upstairs. I thought “Lord, where am I and what type of mess did I get invited to?”

I slowly walked up the stairs of the brownstone and turned the corner at the top of the stairs. To my surprise, I saw a beautifully laid out show room filled with lovely vintage clothes and accessories. I was in shock! The merchandising of the place was very unexpected.

The showroom was merchandised like a huge walk-in closet but with a 1960s flare. Did I mention it was beautiful? I was a visual merchandiser in my former life so I always notice how a store is laid out. The owner and her team did an excellent job.  I felt like I was in my fictitious rich grand-auntie’s closet sifting through her vintage pieces hoping she would let me borrow something.

The appointment only show room is co-owned by Tenisha Light-Caba and Lakeishia Light-Clay. She and her twin sister shop both the East and West Coast for vintage pieces. And they do an excellent job I might add. What I especially loved about Brooklyn Bleu was that the prices were very reasonable and affordable. Living in NYC combined with thrifting being such a fad right now, prices here can get pretty outrageous.

There were so many things I wanted to buy, but I settled on a silver choker and ring.

I was too geeked about my purchase!

Co-Owner Tenisha Light-Caba

If you are in the NYC area or plan on making a visit, I would make an appointment with Tenisha at Brooklyn Bleu via phone (310.927.2093) or email. The boutique is located on the 2nd floor of a private brownstone built in the 1880s.