Who Wears Short Shorts?

I hardly ever wear short shorts. 5'' shorts are my game, and I rarely ever buy anything shorter than that. I did find though, a FABULOUS pair from Target in the store last time I went:

I snagged these shorts to wear on those occasions when you want dressy, possibly going out shorts. I prefer dresses to go out, but I remember a few times over the summer last year and in the early fall, where I really wished I had a pair of black shorts to go out in. I envision these shorts with knockout wedges and some cute top with a big, chunky, statement necklace.

Thoughts?

I'm really excited about these shorts! They also come in a few different colors that I might have to go back and check again:

This color is called "Calistoga Blue" and I'm slightly obsessed.

"Bright Coral" is also calling my name.

These shorts are fun because they have a bit of stretch and even some sheen to elevate them a bit. Best part? ...they're $17.99. Yep. Just under $18 for these awesome shorts!

xxKatie

Style for a Steal: Lilly Pulitzer Edition

An email I often get asks about where to get preppy fashion for a discount. When you're a college kid or living on a budget, luxury goods are often out of our price range. This leads me to deal hunting!

(via)

Today is the day ladies and gents! I'm going to start a series on where to find different preppy brands for less than full price! No guarantees, but I'll do my best. We're starting with Lilly Pulitzer today. More often than not, I'm donning the bright pinks and greens Lilly prominently features. I've been wearing Lilly since I could decide what I wanted to wear and I've worked the retail side of Lilly as well.

The best place to start is at your local Lilly Pulitzer store. There are both corporate Lilly stores as well as merchant-owned ones called "Signature Stores". Most likely, you'll find that your store has a great sale rack that you can check out. Maybe your state or town doesn't have a store? Pick up the phone and call another store! You'll find that most stores are more than happy to ship to a new customer! Click HERE for a map of all Lilly Pulitzer stores! Lilly P also just finished up a great "New Years Cheer" sale--be sure to hop on the mailing list to make sure you get emails of when big sales like this happen throughout the year.

For flash Lilly sales, Rue La La is a great place to start! TODAY there is a Lilly sale going on! Flash sales can sometimes be harder to track down since they have such a short duration. RLL typically has Lilly one or so a quarter, and items will be a little older, but if you have your eye on something, this is the place to look! You will need an invite to many of these flash sale websites. Get yours HERE!

Depending on where you live (or how much of a Lilly lover you are) the Lilly Pulitzer warehouse sale is another great option! The warehouse sale is a 3-day event held close to the Lilly headquarters in King of Prussia, PA where they are able to unload merchandise for Lilly lovers on a budget. Deals here are among the best! Scarves and shorts--items that you hardly ever find on sale--can sometimes even be tracked down. I've been to the sale twice and each time we've been very successful. My trips and the loot I was able to score were documented here in 2010 and here in 2011.

6pm.com is also a great resource for discounted Lilly merchandise! I shared this site with my Mom who was looking for a co-worker of hers shopping for her daughter and I referred them to 6pm. The prices do change on this site though, so do know that going into shopping. I have purchased a few things from 6pm and the shipping is reliable and fair. The returns are as well--I made a return recently and had no problems. They are a company owned by Zappos (read about it here), so that really comes as no surprise.

I'm very hesitant to say eBay is a good place to find Lilly items. This can be very hit or miss and I'd say it's far more often a miss. eBay items have very little guarantees and you have to trust the seller. What's REALLY stopping someone from saying their gently used item is "NWOT"  (new without tags)? You'd like to think that sellers are honest, but I worry very much about the quality of items on eBay. I would venture to say that eBay is good for finding SPECIFIC pieces that you might be looking for that are very old or harder to find. 

These are just a few ideas of where to start your Lilly bargain hunting! Where do you find your Lilly steals?

xxKatie

Outfit of the Day: Preppy Profesh

When I was at home, my mom and I were able to get a little bit of shopping done. These days, all of our shopping together is usually for clothes that will transition to the real, business world. Thankfully she's got a great eye for business and work outfits and got some really great things for me. We really lucked out when we went to the outlets since they were getting rid of summer stuff and had lots of fall stuff marked down.

This blue ponte knit work dress was one of our shopping picks! I love it and I'm so happy we got it. It fits great and the length is perfect. My boss even told me that I looked cute! I added my Bauble Bar bubble necklace, my new Target watch and neutral Jacks. It was definitely one of my favorite work outfits that I've been able to put together this summer!

I think my new business wardrobe style will be called "Preppy Profesh"! I kind of love it. What do y'all think?

xxKatie

Outfit of the Day: Trendy Colorblocking

April 3 by letsbepreppy featuring longchamp handbags

It's no secret that I'm not trendy. I don't "do" the big trends. I like what I like, and I stick with that about 99% of the time. There is, however, that tiny 1% of the time, when I venture into the world of trends. It's rare and often unseen, but I do it once in awhile. 

Tuesday was one of those rare days. Over the weekend, I found a colorblocked dress on major clearance sale at Old Navy. It was less than $17 dollars and so I figured I'd try it on. (Everyone's been seeming to be singing ON's praises these days anyway, so I had high hopes...) It was a medium so I wasn't sure, but I really liked the fit! It's a little breezy, but a cute day dress that really could probably be considered a work dress too! Toss on a blazer or cardigan and you've got a great work outfit!

The size medium came down to 1/2 inch above my knee and I paired it with Platinum Jacks. It wasn't ever static-y and the only time that it was hard to wear was in ONE of my classes where the air is set really high and it's super hot in the classroom. Other than that, I'm so glad I bought this dress and I know I'll be able to wear it a ton even though it is so trendy!

Do you try trends? Do you stay with classic looks and pieces? What about colorblocking? Do we like it?

xxKatie

Just Call Me a Maxxinista!

I actually kind of hate those commercials, but I have to have to have to share this steal that I got. It was seriously the steal of the century! I found this Lauren Ralph Lauren Blazer in the Clearance section if you'd ever believe that!

(Sorry about the phone picture!)

First price: $290

Second price: $210 (compare at)

Third price: $99

MY PRICE: $49!

Count 'em people! That's 4 discounts! FOUR DISCOUNTS?!

I was at a local TJMaxx and spotted this RL Blazer! I tried on a Tahari suit that I really liked and was $70 and I was carrying it around for awhile debating on my purchase to build up my professional wardrobe. Then I popped over into the Clearance section of TJMaxx and didn't see too much. Then all of a sudden this navy blue blazer caught my eye! I put everything down and tried it on! It doesn't fit like a glove, BUT nothing a little nipping and tucking that I tailor couldn't do! I figured with the amount I'm saving, a little tailoring is nothing! 

Plus, I don't have a real blue blazer since the one I had in high school has since been donated to my newest high school token-tall-girl-family-friend. Gotta look out for each other!

This is the blazer in full view. It has 3 pockets which isn't exactly traditional, but I thought it was a nice shape and it hit my hip at a good height that I figured I could definitely use it! I like the 3 buttons as well:

They're very traditional, and as a plus, all 3 are still well connected! You always have to check that at all those off-price stores!

All of the sleeve buttons we all there too! 

I am so excited about my new blazer and can't wait to get it in tip-top-shape! 

Are you a TJMaxx, Marshall's, Stein Mart, Off Fifth, etc. shopper? I am very proudly!!

xxKatie 

Posh & Panache

A few weeks ago, I was invited to Posh & Panache, one of the media events for Columbia Style Week! CSW is in it's inaugural year and is doing a great job to get the word out for the events happening June 5-9. We had a blast and it was at a beautiful boutique in Columbia's Vista district. 

There was an awesome fashion show!

The owner, Carissa, was happy to speak to everyone who came! We even got a minute to chat and we learned all about her business. She offers and AWESOME shopping experience if you want to attend after hours with a group of friends! As long as you spend a minimum amount (~$100) you all get 20% off! 

M2 Boutique is a lot like a store most of you will be familiar with--Francesca's Collection--but imagine it with all the top of the line pieces and a RIDICULOUS selection of designer jeans. Add that with a posh space and you've got M2.

Carissa started from her living room years ago and her fabulous friends encouraged her to get a storefront! She first went to Atlanta and then packed up and moved to Columbia and is really helping out our major lack of shopping in the city. 

I got to snap a photo with her and we had a great time!

I spent most of the night with Julia, a model and senior editor for our student magazine Garnet and Black, and Hallie, of Garnet and Blog! See her take on the night there too!

xxKatie

City Day!

Today, my Mom, sister and I are three ladies on a mission!

A shopping mission that is! We're off on our adventure to New York City!

Have any good restaurant recommendations that we need to check out? We're big "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" fans in our house so we scoped out a few of those features in NYC! 

Definitely let me know what your city favorites are!!

xxKatie (+ fam!)

Orbitz coupons are always available; visit NYC soon!

Favorite Jeans

I think these are absolutely by far the BEST jeans I've ever bought! I bought them awhile ago when I was at home, but I hadn't gotten a real chance to wear them until recently. BUT WHOA!

They are Citizens of Humanity Ava jeans and straight-leg in the Faith wash. I looked them up online to see what they reviews were since I was such a big fan, and I'm totally not alone. Other people all over have agreed how great these jeans are!

They can be dressed up, dressed down, tucked into boots or even worn over heels as you can see above. I don't think I can sing their praises more! Y'all know how I can be with clothes too, but I would tell everyone right now to go buy them. One of my friends has the same pair (her jeans might be a little lighter) and she's only 5'2'' and they look great on her. I think it says a lot if the same cut of jeans look good on someone who's 5'2'' and someone like me who is 6'1''. I'm partial to dark jeans myself, but I know these come in many different washes.

The Faith wash came a little destroyed in places, and even since I've worn them a few times, I can see they're naturally distressing further. I haven't washed them yet, and that will tell a lot more about how the feel. The only drawback is that they can get VERY linty. I'm not sure if that's because of the nature of the jeans or the nature of what they're touching. Lots of other fabrics do tend to stick with it, but that's certainly nothing a little lint roller of piece of tape can't fix!

Anyone else have these jeans? Don't you just LOVE them?

xxKatie

Shop It To Me: Round 2

Just yesterday I updated all my Shop It To Me settings and it showed me so GREAT new stuff:

Kate Spade--I am ABSOLUTELY in LOVE with this dress! Ohmygoodness...(remember a few days ago how I said I had a problem with shopping for fancy dresses I don't need...yeah, about that)

Trina Turk

J. Crew

Shoshanna

Trina Turk

Trina Turk

J. Crew

Trina Turk

Want to get in on the sales? CLICK HERE to start seeing your own, personalized list of FABulous sales! You get to customize ALL the settings! Be sure to snag an invite if you missed the boat last time I wrote about my picks!! I love shopping...it to me :) (I think that made sense...?) Start shopping...it to you!

xxKatie

Charleston, SC Recap

Just yesterday I got to spend all day in Charleston, SC! What a bad city to be stuck in--right? (wink-wink). I had internship training all day on Daniel Island and we wrapped up earlier than I expected so I got to entertain myself for 2 hours. Not wanting to spend any money but still wanting to shop I found myself in a bit of a bind. Unless you're like me and love weddings...I managed to take what I called in my facebook status the "Charleston bridal boutique tour". I hit up all kinds of different stores along King Street and even headed into a store on Church street when I went back to where I was parked! These were my favorites:

1. Lula Kate

First I headed into LulaKate! I saw this the first time I went to Charleston but unfortunately they were closed. This time I got to window shop for a little longer than what most people would consider "normal" but they had a stunning sleeveless, ruffled v-neck dress. I couldn't get enough! It was similar to this dress from their blog:

2. Modern Trousseau 

They're by appointment, so I browsed from the outside again. I've seen many of their dresses in different magazines but have fallen in love with this dress:

I love the playfulness of the polkadots! I would probably remove the belt because I'm not cool enough at all to pull that off but I love the shape and inlay of the polka dots. It would be so fun with the right colors!

3. Fabulous Frocks

I'd written about Fabulous Frocks during Southern Weddings Week ! I was on my way back to the car when a dress in the window caught my eye. I didn't even realize it was Fabulous Frocks so I got so lucky! 

This dress was in the window! I went in to inquire more about it (and as I told them..."It's never too early! Right?"). This Romona Keveza dress was beautiful in the window. The ruffle detail was so pretty and feminine and delicate that I had to ask! The sales team was all so friendly and nice (even though they're by appointment too I had to pop in) and they even had a Charleston Fashion Week designer in their company!

Then a friend (HEY SASS--enjoy your shoutout my lunch buddy!) and I went to lunch at Virginia's on King which was Southern deliciousness. I had the grilled chicken sandwich special and he had a fab looking tomato and grilled cheese combo! We had a great time and got to enjoy a perfect perch right by the front door which was great for CHS peoplewatching!

As you can tell I had a wonderful time playing around in Charleston! I was very lucky to get this internship as well as have enough time to dillydally around in such a beautiful city all day long!

xxKatie

May Day

One of the biggest traditions in Annapolis is May Day. On May 1, all the historic homes and some businesses compete in the Garden Club's May Day contest.

via The Baltimore Sun this is the Naval Academy's May Basket

The baskets are all around the city and it is one of the most fun days to drive around to see the best ones! Last year our store had a FABULOUS basket made by Wendy of Twist of Lime! Check out her unbelievable May Day basket:

PERFECT for any Lilly Lover!

Meet me at the zoo! xx, Lilly

BIG time winner right there--blue ribbons!!

I can't wait to see what this year's will look like! I'm sure it'll be equally as fabulous! If anyone sees any great ones let me know!!

xxKatie

Weekly Gratitude

1. Thanks to this cute little dog for making me smile every time I look at it.

2. Thanks to the Carolina Cup for providing me a very much needed pick-me-up for the rest of the semester. I've been so busy with schoolwork and other stuff recently that Saturday was the perfect mini-escape from it all.

3. Thanks to my friends who like to eat dinner with me at night. All of our little chats about boys, snacks, dresses, banquets, homework, and everything else you can stuff into an all-you-can-eat buffet dinner from cici's.

4. Thanks to Wal-Mart for putting candy at such ridiculously low prices.

5. Thanks to TLC for running a Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta on Sunday morning when I couldn't move because I was so sleepy and allergy-ridden.

6. Thanks to my fabulous tutor who literally is changing my semester. From confused to little-bits-of-confidence in a class I perpetually struggle in is unbelievable. 

7. Thanks to the absolute pouring rain this past week. You have done wonders for my allergies. Now that we have nice weather again, my nose is stuffy again. I took you for granted.

8. Thanks to the fabulous boy from my shag class who said hello to me on my tour. I wasn't sure you recognized me, but when you did it was so much fun! #classfriends

9. Thanks to everyone's advice via twitter. I needed to know of a tailor here to drop a hem for me on a dressy dress and within 10 minutes I got 2 responses telling me the same place! Voila!

10. Thanks to all of my readers--700 fans this week and 200 facebook fans! Wow!

xxKatie

P.S. (literally P.S. not just an added note.) 11. Thanks to the wise wisdom and advice of a friend. She handwrote me 2 letters that changed my day. Annap sCe, I owe you so much--look for your return letter soon.

Sidewalk Sale

Today I'm headed down to the Devine Street Sidewalk sale! It's supposed to be an unbelievably nice day today...think 63 degrees! I am so excited to see what some of my favorite stores have to offer! I know I'll be hitting up all of these guys:

Pink Sorbet (how cute is there website drawing?!)

Britton's of Columbia

Half Moon Outfitters

Just the Thing!

LaRoque

Van Jean Boutique

I can't wait to see what these stores have to offer! Check out the facebook invite and head down there too!

xxKatie