Outlet Scores! Brooks Brothers, Barney's, Vineyard Vines

Why do I love holiday weekends so much? For the insane deals you get at stores...and the even INSANER deals you get at the outlet malls! I headed to the Woodbury Common outlet mall yesterday night to do some...um, Christmas shopping. Early, I know, but it's the last big holiday weekend sale before the craziness of Black Friday (nooo thank you!). Even weirder was the fact that I was Christmas shopping for myself....

...While that may sound strange and/or self-indulgent, it's actually my family's way of maintaining a Christmas tradition for a little while longer. I'm at that weird young-adult stage where I'm no longer a child, but I'm not yet an adult with a legitimate income. Therefore, my parents still like to buy me Christmas presents. However, seeing as how what I mostly want is clothes, and how finding those clothes would mean me having to give my Mom an explicit list and a journey all over the tri-state area, they prefer to give me a budget and have me pick out the gifts myself. The catch is that I don't get to see the clothes again till Christmas morning, when I unwrap them. Most of my friends' parents just give them cash, but this way, my parents still have physical presents to wrap and put under the tree, which in some way preserves the magic a bit longer. Christmas traditions get a bit hairy as you get older...when do/did your parents stop doing the whole stocking & Santa thing? My guess is that it'll stop once my brother and I officially move out. But no rush! :)

Anyway, I managed to find *almost* everything I was looking for. Here's what I got:

**Click to see larger.**

Brooks Brothers Fleece, XS: Oh my goodness! I loved this fleece from the moment I saw it, and even more from the moment I felt it. It's my favorite color, and is as soft and cozy as it gets. I originally went to Vineyard Vines to find a similar sort of pull-over fleece, and was very surprised to end up finding it at BB. Although the Brooks Brothers outlet brand is made-for-outlet, the quality is still wonderful and I got it for a STEAL. I wish I didn't have to wait for Christmas!...

Barney's Wallet: The most challenging part of my hunt was my long and strenuous search for a solid-colored leather wallet in a bright color, for a good price. Kate Spade surprisingly didn't have anything I liked (and a KS wallet I saw a few months back was what I was basing my preference on), Longchamps had several but for unfriendly prices, and everything else was either too sparkly/textured, not leather, or black. As a desperate last attempt, I went into the Barney's New York outlet to see if they had wallets. Imagine my surprise when I see a WALL of genuine leather wallets in every pretty color imaginable, that were on sale for a very reasonable price!! I was ecstatic. Not to mention, it had all the features I needed (long dollar pocket, attached coin purse, many card slots). So I got one in my favorite color.

(P.S.- My current Vera Bradley wallet is in such a sad state of affairs that I'm embarrassed to post a picture...let's just say you can barely make out the pattern, and a pen exploded on it. Never again will I buy a fabric wallet, no matter how pretty!)

Vineyard Vines Tunic, Chid's Medium: Vineyard Vines is always my favorite outlet stop since the clothes come from the actual stores, and are not made for outlet like most outlet shops' clothing. As much as I love the styles, however, Vineyard Vines is NOT petite friendly. I was mislead in that post from March...the skirt I found must have been a lucky find! Some things are worth altering, however, like my Seawater Cardigan which I recently got taken in.
Luckily for petites, though, they have a GREAT kids section! Structure-less items like this cute tunic work, but I would recommend staying away from the dresses and button-downs, since there's no room for curves or shoulders. I was very happy to find this seahorse tunic though, which I got only got for 25% off the outlet price, but also at the bargain of it being a children's item! There's always a silver lining in a world of vanity sizing.

I had wonderful success shopping for my family as well...only I can't post what I'm getting them! That will have to wait till Christmas.

*  *  *
I'm not allowed to take the tags off of them yet, as I'm really not supposed to see these again until Christmas. Expect to see future OOTD posts with these!
And don't walk, RUN to the outlet malls this weekend. Arm yourselves with comfy shoes, a water bottle and plenty of stamina.

***P.S.- College Prep is hosting an awesome Angela Moore giveaway- her bracelets are adorable! Check it out here.***

Happy Shopping!
*ShortBlonde*

New bag, new cardigan! Some excellent scores...

I apologize for my week-long hiatus turning into a 2-week long hiatus, things have been crazy (in a good way). Finals are over, and I finished with a 4.0 GPA for the semester- bring it on, senior year! I've been home since Sunday, and I've kept myself enjoyably occupied doing some things I've been wanting to do for ages.

One of those things was taking a trip to the Woodbury Common outlet mall to find a new bag. I also wanted to see if Vineyard Vines had the Seawater Cardigan I'd had my eye on since March (I posted about it at one point).
 

I called ahead, and was ecstatic to find out that not only did they have an XS, but it was $110 LESS than it was listed for on the website! SCORE!

Cardigan: Vineyard Vines, XS

T-Shirt: Banana Republic, XS
Jeans: Old Navy, sz. 0
Belt: J.Crew, sz. S

I love it. The length is petite-friendly, and the detail is lovely:

However, it's quite wide. I think that's how it's intended to fit, but it's a bit too much for a petite frame, and makes me look kind of boxy:

awful cell phone pic, sorry about that!

Luckily though, it's an easy tailoring job. The sweater isn't tapered, so taking it in should be no problem at all.

As for a bag, I spent 2 hours going to every single store painstakingly searching for "the one." I'm super-picky when it comes to bags, so I figured it would be a long trip. I wanted a small-ish bag, which made my search extra hard since big bags still seem to be in style. I'm also not into bags with the logos patterned across them- I wanted something leather, in a tone that could work for all seasons.

I first tried Coach, where there was a big coupon sale (and very cramped, crowded chaos!) When I entered, there was a woman standing there handing out the 30%-off-everything coupons. She deliberately looked at me and decided not to give me a coupon, which I'm guessing was some sort of age discrimination (everyone else got a coupon!) She probably assumed I was someone's teenage daughter. Petites- does this ever happen to you? So frustrating! No matter how I dress, retailers always seem to assume I'm 15 and not worth their time.

However, it was Dooney and Bourke where I finally found "the one"- on my second trip there, no less. It was perfect! And luckily, offered at a price much less than originally listed.

I decided to jazz it up with a silk scarf from Talbot's and a yellow-and-gold key fob I got with my purchase:




I may or may not keep the key fob there, but I love the scarf!

*   *   *

In other news, I had a wonderful time at the Bronx Zoo yesterday with two of my friends! Here are some pictures from the day:

 Tomorrow I'm heading back to the city to tour the Teacher's College at Columbia University, where I'm looking to go to grad school. It's nice being busy doing things I actually want to do!

Until next time,
*ShortBlonde*

2 Shoe Disappointments + New Vineyard Vines Skirt

I spoke too soon! I got my Sperry rain boots in the mail today...

Lookin' good....but then....

Aargh! Huge calf space!

The boots are ridiculously comfy and the foot-part fits SO WELL...but the calves are enormous! What person with size 5 feet has calves/ankles that wide? So disappointing.The comfort and good foot-fit though are too good to beat, however, so I've decided to keep them.

I also got my neutral Fitzwell pumps in the mail a week ago (sorry for the delay), and took a less-than-great mirror shot:

So cute, right? Unfortunately these are a return ...not because I don't like the way they look or fit, but because the heel height is too high. Lesson learned: I cannot walk in 4-inch heels. I look ridiculous when I do. :)

If only these heels were an inch shorter! At least they're not a total disappointment.

*   *   *

There is good news, though. I had to drive my boyfriend an hour south to pick up his car from a repair shop, and decided to make a stop at the Vineyard Vines outlet at Woodbury Common, which was on the way. Most of the stock hadn't changed since my last visit, but I did manage to snag this adorable white skirt (in a girl's 14, no less!) for the bargain price of $12.99 (as opposed to the original $59.50):

hmm...why does my hair look so dark?
Shirt: Ann Taylor, sz. XS

Skirt: Vineyard Vines, girls sz. 14

Belt: J.Crew, sz. S

Shoes: Rockport, sz. 5

The skirt's a tad on the short side, but the thick material and fitted style will keep it from exposing too much. I also tried on a sz. 0 dress, but with less luck:

Nothing tragic, but just a bit too wide and long. I guess their dresses don't fit as well as their bottoms! However, most companies' shift/sheath style dresses tend to be on the larger side, so I'm not too discouraged.

Spring is finally starting to peak through here in NY!

Hoping there's sunny, warm days ahead,

*ShortBlonde*

Wish List! (6 Friday Favorites)

I realize I forgot to do a Friday Favorite last week! Forgive me, I'm still a rookie when it comes to blogging.

Today, I thought I'd share 6 favorites that I'm currently lusting after (I couldn't pick just one):

Wish List: 

Vineyard Vines- Seawater Cardigan

Lilly Pulitzer- Dolly Dress Embroidered

Modcloth- Orlando Blooms Dress

Vineyard Vines- Dayboat Shorts

Tory Burch Contrast Elastic Espadrille

 Vineyard Vines- Pineapple Tropical Margo Skirt in Vineyard Navy

If only I had the funds! That's what happens when you're a college student. *sigh*

Have a lovely weekend,

*ShortBlonde*

Spotlight on: Vineyard Vines

Although the company's only been around since 1998, Vineyard Vines is already a well-loved icon of preppydom that I'm sure you preppy readers already know and love. For those outside the preppy realm, however, the brand's pretty much unknown (my college friends have NO idea what Vineyard Vines is! Remember, my college is in the middle of hippie country). For my petite readers, I'm delighted to tell you that Vineyard Vines is petite-friendly! (yay!) I recently went on a MASSIVE shopping spree at the VV outlet, and thought I'd share a few finds:

 T-shirt: XS Banana Republic
Belt: Vineyard Vines sz XS
Skirt: Vineyard Vines sz 0

for reference, my measurements are 31-25-34, and I'm 5' tall.

This was my first time trying on bottoms at the store, and I was thrilled! (In my past visit to the VV in Southampton, I've only tried on tops such as their susie-fit polos, which I also had success with.) The company doesn't have a petite line, but many of their smaller-sized items have a petite-friendly length and waistline.On me, the size 0 fits well in the waist and especially in the length, which I was really happy about when buying these shorts:

I got this picture from the website, since my pair is back at my parents house. I bought them in a lovely shade of blue (my oh-so-favorite color), and was very happy with the length, which was flattering to my shortness without being "hooker shorts," as my mom would call them. I also liked the lack of frills on the waistline, which gets in the way when I choose to wear them underneath my shirts rather than over.

They also had a seriously adorable collection of belts, and although the belts covered in little whales and pina coladas were too cute, I opted for this beautiful rope knot design that I could wear regardless of the season:

Unlike Ann Taylor and J.Crew's outlet stores, Vineyard Vines' outlet carries clothes from the actual store that are not made for the outlets (shocking!). Therefore their clothes are of the same quality as the clothing in their regular stores, but are usually from the past seasons. Now I know not to pay full-price for store staples like their polos, since I can get the same shirts for half-off at their outlets!

Blogger ROS over at Cincinnati Prep is giving away either a Vineyard Vines or Lilly Pulitzer drink coozie, depending on the winner's choice! The VV ones feature the adorable pink whale logo, and the Lilly ones come in a super pretty Lilly-style floral design. Check out his prep-tastic blog and his giveaway here.

 

Until next time,

*ShortBlonde*