Seasonal investments

I've been a bit reluctant to delve into my coat closet this fall, even though I know it's the last day of October and I'm just in denial. Much like my yearly challenge to delay the first wearing of tights, I'm keeping the coats in the closet for as long as I can and giving myself a little extra layer with vest.

I'm particularly loving the long blazer style of this vest from Rosegal, it adds polish, and that extra bit of warmth I need. When it gets colder I can opt for a fur vest, layer over sweaters, and even layer over lighter jackets. Coats are inevitably coming, but for the moment, I'm holding out.

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The Rundown
Striped Shirt L.L. Bean thrifted
Long Black Vest c/o Rosegal
Black Pants Gap similar
White Mules "Camila" Rebecca Minkoff
Bag "Astor" Linea Pelle
Watch "Classic Sheffield" c/o Daniel Wellington
Faux Pearl Earrings c/o Lydell NYC
Gold Bracelets The Cavernous Jewelry Box
Thin Gold Ring Etsy via Sweet Olive Jewelry
Pearl and Pave Ring Forever 21
Sunglasses c/o Sicky
Nail Color "Marshmallow" Essie




and
Monday Mingle
and
Fizz and Frosting's Mix it Monday

Thanks to Rosegal for sponsoring this post. 

October Budget

How could it possibly be the end of October? I'm pretty much flabbergasted, and that is a word I don't use too often. I did a bit better with my spending this month, got some great sales at Banana Republic and Anthropolgie, as well as more thrift/posh/ebay finds.

I finally visited the Goodwill in Westport, CT, which is significantly nicer than other Goodwills in the area, just based on the town's wealth, I suppose. I found a fun pair of Haute Hippie silk printed joggers and pair of gap jeans and only spent $12 on both! There were lots of other pieces I wanted too but that weren't my size, particularly a brand new Ann Taylor pencil skirt, and a pair of Hermes slide sandals. I did manage to snag a pair of brown Ferragamo loafers on Poshmark for only $15, which I'm quite pleased with.

Also I feel like I should note that all the secondhand and TJMaxx items pictured are only stand-ins, but they are pretty close to what I actually got.



Ferragamo Brown Bow Oxfords, $15 via Poshmark
Banana Republic Black Lace Top, $24
Rebecca S White Culottes, $10 via Ebay 
Anthropologie Fringed Sweater Dress, $30
Cynthia Rowely Navy Knit Skirt, $24 via TJMaxx
Star Ring, $13 via TJMaxx
Gap Cropped Flared Jeans, $6 via Goodwill
Haute Hippie Silk Joggers, $6 via Goodwill

Total = $128

Gifted Items
Sicky Sunglasses
Irisie Off The Shoulder Top

Autumn stroll

The struggle to get blog worthy outfit photos with Chloe is real. She is never too keen on my parading her around dog show style, to try and capture the perfect in walking in stride shot. She resists as much as she can, and that is clearly evidenced in these photos.

Never the less, I wasn't going to leave her home on such a perfect fall afternoon, with the luxury of bare legs and sandals, and a cone of double chocolate chip from Ashley's. It was but a week ago, yet overnight the chill set in and now that afternoon feels like it was ages ago.

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The Rundown
Black Shirt Dress Old Navy
Sandals Franco Sarto via TJMaxx similar
Vintage Japanese Bamboo Bag via eBay similar
Pave Triangle Necklace Meredith Leigh via TJMaxx similar
Twisted Gold Bracelet The Cavernous Jewelry Box
Stacked Rings Gorjana via TJMaxx similar
Sunglasses c/o Sicky
Nail Color "Marshmallow" Essie
Dog Chloe
Pearl Leash Fabuleash



and

Cha Cha

Sometimes the craving for a piece that is just a little bit over the top and a little bit impractical needs to be satisfied. The off the shoulder trend, combined with a very voluminous bell sleeve and then adorned with pearls made this top from Irisie so striking, fun, and hard to resist at a price point of under $20.

While I know we can be inundated with fast fashion sites, what I like about Irisie is that it's a bit more curated, not just endless pages of items, and apparently I really love how they style their product photos, because I completely, and I swear unintentionally, copied their look for this top!

At least my styling gives a sense of how the top works on a different body type, and I will say that I liked the cut of the top, as it stays off the shoulder where it should be and additionally, the elastic gives it a defined waist. I will comment that anyone wishing to own this top will definitely need access to a steamer - the pearls make it impossible to use an iron on it, and it does wrinkle somewhat easily. Otherwise I have no complaints about the quality of the piece at all.

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The Rundown
Off The Shoulder Bell Sleeve Blouse c/o Irisie
Cropped Flared Jeans Gap thrifted similar
Toe Cap Heels Me Too via TJMaxx similar
Scalloped Clutch "Tilly" Matine
Braided Leather Choker The Cavernous Jewerly Box similar
Stacked Rings Gorjana via TJMaxx similar
Chevron Ring Etsy via Silver Canyon Jewelry
Sunglasses Halston thrifted




Irisie provided me with this top for the purpose of this post. Thanks for supporting the brands who support Chic on the Cheap.

Afternoon in Central Park

Last week, after having watched the weather forecast like it was an out of stock item I was hoping would pop back, and I determined that Tuesday would probably be the last summer-like day we'd have, I decided to take a personal day and hop on the train to New York with Sean.

In all my trips to the city, I've never spent much time in Central Park, and I have no idea why - it's just such a gorgeous, huge park. I knew exactly how I wanted to spend the day there, starting off with a picnic from Perfect Picnic NYC. It's a brilliant concept, because while I love the idea of packing a picnic myself, my follow through is terrible. Perfect Picnic takes care of everything, including the blanket, and delivers right to Central Park. For $15 a person, it's completely worth it. You can get fancier picnics for much more, but I was pretty pleased, and full after my little smoked duck baguettes.

Next on my list was taking a paddle around the lake in a rowboat. The Loeb Boathouse provides the rentals, and is also beautiful restaurant. When I saw how lovely the views were, I added stopping for a cocktail there to my list. As it was such a gorgeous day and everyone was out, the lake was a bit crowded, but it was still really fun.

After docking we went for a stroll through the park in the direction of the Guggenheim museum. It's a pretty small museum and doesn't take long to take it all in. I did spend a little time waiting in line to partake in Maurizio Cattelan's “America”.

After that, a walk back to Grand Central, oysters at the Oyster Bar, and then back to the realities of life, work, and real fall weather.

Though it was such a delight to have a perfect summer day in Central Park in October.

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The Rundown
Dress Florence Broadhurst for Kate Spade via Poshmark
Vintage Japanese Bamboo Bag via eBay similar
White Mules "Camila" Rebecca Minkoff
Necklace "Greer V" Gorjana
Stacked Rings Gorjana via TJMaxx similar
Gold Herkimer Diamond Ring c/o Lumo
Chevron Ring Etsy via Silver Canyon Jewelry
Sunglasses c/o Sicky
Nail Color "Marshmallow" Essie




and

The sweep

Getting just the right length on a maxi dress is always a challenge. If you want to wear it with flats, it needs to be long enough that it still feels like a maxi, but short enough that it isn't pooling on top of your feet. You don't want to be catching the hem under your heels or tripping over it on stairs.

I know the saying is 'measure twice, cut once', but I just chopped a solid four inches off this dress and hoped for the best!

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The Rundown
Maxi Dress Club L via ASOS
White Cardigan Old Navy similar
Lace-up Flats Gap similar
Red Willis Bag Vintage Coach via eBay similar
Bling Earrings c/o JoJo Loves You
Blue Teardrop Necklace c/o A Jewelry Crush
White and Rose Gold Link Bracelet c/o Jeweshop
Gold Ring Thrifted
Sunglasses c/o Sicky




Linking up with Jeans and a Teacup's Flashback Friday (one year ago today)

Sicky Eyewear

I'm delighted to be sharing a new-to-me eyewear brand, Sicky. The frames are designed in Malibu, crafted in Japan, and offer standout silhouettes and unique takes on classics. I decided to choose the CS S10 frames because the round shape is different than any pair I have, and I've always shied away from the shape as I worried it didn't suit me. However the these frames removed that doubt. The sizing is perfect, and I'm smitten with the tortoise.

Sicky offers a wide range of frames from the subtle standout, to the attention getters, and I hope to add more pieces from their collection to my own.

This post is sponsored by Sicky, thanks for supporting the brands who support Chic on the Cheap.

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The Rundown
Striped Turtleneck Ralph Lauren via TJMaxx similar
Lace Pencil Skirt Banana Republic
Pumps "Gennie" Coach thrifted similar
Navy Foldover Clutch Clare V.
Pearl Ear Jackets c/o Lydell NYC similar
Bracelets The Cavernous Jewelry Box similar
Pearl and Pave Ring Forever 21
Sunglasses c/o Sicky