Tuesday, February 21, 2023
I thought I would update you all from time to time on how I’m doing now that I have officially decided 23 for 23 was a dumb idea! I was only going to buy 23 new items this year but let myself buy unlimited consignment items. Even though I have already bought several new things, I feel that I am being more discerning and intentional, so I am not really mad at myself.
Here is what I have bought since January 1, 2023…
Earrings:
Hot pink Gucci-esque bees from local boutique – I still love them but have only worn them twice so far.
Slim gold hoops from J.Crew Factory – what a great purchase! I have worn these multiple times a week. Dare I say that every woman needs gold hoops in her earring wardrobe?
Scarves:
Amazon black leopard patterned – I have worn this twice and I really like wearing it “bandana style”.
Consignment store green, yellow, white – I have not worn this yet because it is very springy, but I have plans for how to style it!
Clothes:
Old Navy:
I need to stop making declarations about things, because I am always made to look like a fool. I had said that I hardly shop at Old Navy anymore and then, look what I did below!
white polo pullover sweatshirt – absolutely love this!
Ecru collared blouse – love! I think I will wear this more and more as spring approaches!
Chambray collared blouse (identical to Ecru) – I have worn this more than the ecru above. I just wore this last week. It’s so easy to throw on and look fairly decent.
Vive Feliz t-shirt – this was on sale for $3 and it is so cute. I just wore it last weekend.
Jeans:
Target Universal Thread slim straight jeans in light wash (identical to black ones I had)
Target Universal Thread slim straight jeans in medium wash (identical to black ones I had)
I have already worn each pair of jeans at least 8 times.
Loft: (I will show you these very soon!)
green floral blouse – wore it once and can’t wait to wear it again!
green/white striped button down shirt – can’t wait to wear this!
white/cream sweater jacket (kind of a hybrid between a sweater and a blazer a la Chanel) – can’t wait to wear this!
Fails:
Vaugu – I succumbed to a Facebook or Instagram ad. I ordered the above shirt and two dresses. They were each around $30, bringing my order to about $108 including shipping. The order took 31 days to arrive. The sizing was off and the material was flimsy, slimy, and tragic. I immediately emailed their contact – I could not find a phone number.
Here is what we have been doing back and forth…
I think the next email offered me $55.
We ended on this:
What the what? So, I think I will get all but shipping costs back and I’m ok with that. I will feel awful if I influenced anyone to shop with them, though.
Wishlist:
I have done really well with shoes. I have not bought any yet this year. But, I have my eye on a couple of pairs:
Nike Daybreak sneakers in white on white
Olukai woven brown slip on mules
Then, I recently saw these and thought they would be great for summer!
I am a big fan of Birks and have several classic and rubber pairs (not real Birks) in my summer shoe wardrobe. I wear them all the time.
To wrap this up, I did not buy any winter clothing. All of my purchases can be worn now and into spring.
Any thoughts on how I did?
What have you bought so far this year? Any retailer you are loving in 2023?
Amy
Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa 
I think you are doing great and buying things you really like!
Too bad about that online boutique and I HATE when they start negotiating, um, no, refund me! Lesson learned for sure, I honestly have become so skeptical about so many of these online boutiques, it’s a shame because I bet there are a few good ones.
Happy Tuesday!
xo,
Kellyann
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Thank you!
I know – but lesson learned. It has kind of helped me to not shop over the last week, too! It really does hurt the honest ones and I hate that!
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In my last Shop Style Your Senses order, they gifted me a pair of gold hoops. I always wear stud earrings…very rarely anything that dangles. But I love the ones I sent and wear them often. Hadley and friends wear gold hoops…so it just be the trend 😂 I love your bandana!
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That’s so nice of them! They really work with everything! Thank you!
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Online ordering is a gamble for sure. I think I have officially decided to stop ordering any clothes from Amazon because nothing ever works. Luckily I can return to my local kohl’s but it’s still a pain. The best is Nordstrom because shipping is free BOTH ways. Yes, you need to pack it and take to usps, but at least you get a full refund. You look so great in the green blouse-your color!
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It sure is! I think the trick with Amazon is the higher price points and trusted brands. Amazon Essentials is almost always a hit for me.
I totally agree about Nordstrom. They are the best about that and have excellent customer service.
Thank you so much! I think this is my only piece in this color!
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Considering how you didn’t buy anything for winter, I think you did great. I do think it’s good to update some things each year, and you’ve done that. I love all the purchases you made! I will say that when I went to look at the Vaugu store online, I never could find them. That seemed very sketchy to me…maybe now I see why. I am like you and would be willing to live with eating the shipping cost, as long as you get the rest back. After you get your money back, I would consider reporting them!
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Thank you! That was my goal. I knew I had plenty for winter and with my classroom being 80 degrees, it just didn’t make sense.
My Thursday post will have the Vaugu link embedded, click on it and look at the pictures. Tell me if you also think they stole the photos from another or several online boutiques. I will see how this plays out. They should get my return today and I am going to check to see if my cc is credited back the money.
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Ugh! I hate when I get the runaround about returns. But I totally agree that the fabric is tragic. I hate that; I have a tank top from Amazon in a plain black that I love and then I ordered the same tank (from the same supplier!) in a print and the fabric was just awful. It’s so hard to tell online and makes me leery of shopping with companies I don’t know.
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I know! Who doesn’t accept returns in 2023? I have also had that happen where two different patterns are different fabrics. At least Amazon is great about returns.
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I feel the same way about online shopping from some of the boutiques that I see on Facebook and some on Instagram. Some of the influencers advertise some but I feel like they order from them and return after they wear them to show. My daughter order from a Facebook onetime and the order was never received nor money returned. All to say this puts the good ones in the barrel with the bad ones. So sad.
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I agree. I wish there was more transparency on what they really keep/have. Wow – that’s horrible. It really does hurt the good ones. I have found a few that I like and trust. They are super fast with shipping. One of them is Shop Set Apart.
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Thanks for your recommendation. I will check this one out.
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I have only ordered one thing, but it was a good experience!
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Love the bee earrings. Super cute.
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I thought so! It was love at first sight!
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I love the outfit with the pink jacket and black leopard scarf!!
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Thank you! I really like pink and black together, too. I need to try wearing it with white or cream!
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I only buy clothes in person now. I’ve been burned too many times. I suggest opening a dispute with the company through your CC company. We pay with my husband’s gold AmEx if we think there could be a problem. They’ve been good about pulling the money from the company and refunding it to us. I haven’t always remembered to use AmEx tho and found out it was next to impossible to do a chargeback with a debit card. I think you’re doing well with your purchases so far! I try to be intentional, and since I don’t buy online and rarely get to the mall, it’s easy for me to just wear what I have. I’ve been trying to wear a bigger variety of my clothes, and that’s going well. Today I realized I didn’t have a belt on and considered going home to get it! Ridiculous! And I was okay without it!
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That’s probably very, very smart. I will still order from retailers that I know and know my sizing in like Loft probably. I also only like to order from retailers where I can go to their brick and mortar store for returns in my city. I didn’t think about going through cc but I will do that if I have to. My hub has an Amex that he/we use very rarely, but it saved our butts when we broke our flat screen tv or it came broken.
It is so great that you are wearing a bigger variety of what you have. Maybe you can weed things out as you go through them, too. I feel better with a smaller wardrobe believe it or not!
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I have purchased a couple cute dresses from Amazon and been very fortunate that they fit great and are so cute. I wore them to Mexico last month. Quince is my newest obsession. I was skeptical and everything (but 1 dress and that is just me) has been fabulous. My daughter bought bamboo sheets and says they are better than her Cozy Earth ones. I sent the dress back and had an instant credit to my account. Knew I would be buying something else from them so decided to keep the money there to use later. Loved the green blouse on you!!
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I think it depends on the brand on Amazon. There are some really decent pieces. I looked at Quince but there is nothing that really caught my eye right now. I guess that’s a good thing that I didn’t feel compelled to buy!
Thank you!
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