Louboutins for $200?! Fashion Finds on the Cheap: Shop Hers

As you guys have probably noticed from my posts (or you soon will) I love shopping. I love clothes and shoes and bags and anything really, I could get excited buying oatmeal. What I really love is finding an amazing deal. Later this week I'm going to post some of my recent amazing finds, designer deals! I'm the kind of person who will mix no name with brand name. For me it's all about the quality of the piece, who cares if the shirt cost me $2? It's a great find! I can't deny though that I do drool over gorgeous designer pieces, who amongst us hasn't?

So considering my passion for fashion, imagine my delight when yesterday I came across Shop Hers. It's basically an eBay from my dreams. The setup almost reminds of Pinterest, but with the danger that I can actually buy all these lovely images on my screen. Before you start thinking that this is just a online yard sale of someone's closet rejects, just know that they only accept certain designers that they deem worthy and there's a quality check. So it's more swap party meets sample sale.

To get started you sign up and put in a your information, like selecting some of your favorite designers from a list and entering in your size. This helps when you're trying to sort through the clothes and shoes, because an icon will light up if it's labeled as your size. The best part for me is that Shop Hers gets the items from the sellers before they are listed and completely quality check them, which means two things: you're getting a top notch quality piece and you're actually going to receive it. I've known people who have tried to purchase things on eBay only to be out a few hundred dollars and get scammed.

Another favorite feature is that there is a section of under $200. This is where you will find some really amazing deals, at first glance I saw some Louboutins and a pair of Prada heels as well as Manolo Blahniks and so much more. You can also shop by type of piece (tops, dresses, shoes, etc.) or designer (the list is amazing.)

If you are looking to sell some pieces in your closet (hey you have to make room for more clothes somehow) they walk you through the process. You choose your own pricing, but they ask that you try to list what you originally paid for the item (this also helps you see the deal you are getting.) There is an 18% fee for each sold item and there is a team that can assist you with your listing at any time. 

A really interesting feature they have is called Flaunting. Even if you don't want to sell an item, you can show it off. Some people use it as an opportunity to say, make me an offer I can't refuse, others just to show off what they have.

It's a great way to get to do some high end shopping on a low end budget.

ModCloth Cabin Fever Sale

You guys have to get over to ModCloth in a hurry. I've told you about the great deals I've scored during sales and how they have some really fun, unique pieces on their site. This Cabin Fever sale is crazy, there are 2,204 pieces on sale at up to 70% off. There are a ton of things I want (and a few have already sold out) and there's really something for everyone.

Go check it out!

Blog Update: New Features

Hey guys, so as you know I'm in the middle of moving. Oh, the fabulous confusion of living in a forest of cardboard boxes... Anyway, this has made it a little bit hard to keep up with one of my New Year's resolutions, a new recipe every week. If you've read the About Me post, you know that my current kitchen is a makeshift shamble of a plug in 2 burner unit and a toaster oven that's pretty much a grown up Easy Bake Oven. In order to make it up to myself and to you guys, once I'm fully moved in I'm going to do one week of a new recipe every day. If there's a certain kind of recipe you guys want to see, let me know in the comments below. After that I'll pick a day of the week that will be home to the new recipe each week. The other new thing I want to feature is a Fashion Friday post. At my main job I wear scrubs every day so I don't get to showcase any of my fabulous clothes and accessories. I convinced the big boss (a.k.a. my mom, yes it's a family business) that we should have a dress down day. Her response? No, but we could have a dress UP day. Even better. So I'm going to try to do an OOTD/OOTW on here.

If there's something you guys want to see, let me know in the comments. 


What new feature do you want to see on Gorgeous, Cupcake?

TJ Maxx will be the death of me...

Well somehow I ended up spending money again. Greg is starting a new job and since he's going from welding to a bank job, he needed a bit of a wardrobe update. He has some business clothing, but not a lot since he didn't ever need much of it. Mostly he needed some new pants and a nice work appropriate coat. We started out at Kohl's where much to our surprise there was a huge store-wide sale going on. He found two pairs of great fitting pants and they were $20 each! Next we were off to TJ Maxx, but I warned him not to let me go too crazy. Every time I go in there it's like they know I'm coming and put everything I like out, or maybe I just like everything. We found him a nice new Calvin Klein tie for $14 and a Michael Kors belt that was originally $85, was just $7! He also got a nice new peacoat by Kenneth Cole for $70. If you add in the price of his new dress shoes last week, this whole thing cost only about $150 which is very reasonable. Especially when you consider that the last suit he liked was nearly $2000 with jacket, pants, shirt, tie, shoes, and belt. Let's not even dare to imagine that I didn't get something for myself. Confessions of a shopaholic my friends. I found a cute summer dress, lightweight snake print asymmetrical and clearance! That was just $14 and I can already picture wearing it next summer.

 While we were browsing Greg mentioned that I might find a suit for myself since I have been saying I need one for umpteen years. All of a sudden he holds up a blazer and says: “What do you think of this one?” Please keep in mind that I am very near-sighted and a few racks away when I burst out with: “Is that Tory Burch???” He of course had no clue whether it was or wasn't, but he is still a freshman in the world of designers. Sure enough it was a beautiful, charcoal gray, one button Tory Burch blazer. Originally $450 and only $199. This is where it gets ugly and the inner turmoil begins. Those who are faint of heart should turn away now. I started on a desperate hunt to find the pants or skirt that went along with it for about 45 minutes to no avail. The fact that the blazer was a rare find was reinforced to me by multiple associates. You see, some TJ Maxx stores carry what they call Runway, but not usually at any of the stores in my area, and they were nearly positive no one would have a match. I started trying to justify the purchase in my head. I can afford to buy it, I just have to be really frugal the next few weeks. On the other hand, it's 200 freaking dollars! I could definitely find another blazer somewhere else, in fact I found another one on the same rack for $30, but it just didn't compare. I tried both on, certain that the stars would align and I would hate the Tory Burch blazer and accept it as fate that it was not meant to be... of course not. I don't have that kind of luck. It looked perfect. The charcoal color was beautiful on me, the waist nipped in just right and the fit was perfection. This was a dilemma. My biggest problem is that if I really like something, I can manage a way to justify it's purchase. I hate to be anticlimactic, but for now I didn't buy it. I put it on a 24 hour hold and I'm going to try some healthy separation. If by tomorrow I still really want it and can reasonably afford it, I will go get it, if not, then there will be others. Let's just say I've been trying to find the matching pants online all night though.

 Do you think designer pieces are worth the splurge? I think if it's a classic piece that you can use for life go for it, but what about seasonal pieces that are only in the now? Let me know what you think.

Update: So you know I went back and bought it, right? Yeah, everyone knew how that was going to really end.