Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Old Velvet, New Make Up

My cousin Shelley Ann turned 30 and there was A Big Party.  Cocktail attire requested. 


hand me down red velvet shawl from Aunt Mim with glittery beads:  $0
black tank from TJMaxx: $3
cast off black skirt from same aunt: $0
lace hose: $ 9
break-my-ankle silver heels from Shana:  $0
rhinestone bracelet from downtown boutique: $30
borrowed dangly earrings from Shelley Ann at the party proper:  $0

Total outfit:  $42

This is a game my best girl A started in high school.  We would add up the cost of our outfits and whoever's was cheapest was the winner.  A usually won because she always had hand me down clothes.  But I'm going to beat her at her own game - my thrifting skills have gotten much sharper and I've had an influx of cast off clothes.  In another post, I'll tell you how you can play too.


The new thing I was wearing was my Benefit Erase Paste, bought at a gaspy experience at Sephora.   Ben recently dumped my college bottle of Mary Kay foundation all over the bed (it was as bad as you can imagine), so I needed a replacement under-eye concealer.  I have not shopped at the mall for so long.  The Sephora salesgirls were very nice, but I'm sure I was breaktime conversation with my naked face and cut-to-the-chase shopping speed.  I use very little make up, but I buy the good stuff. Because it was Shelley's bash and she adores shoes and make up, I tried to go all out for her.

13 comments:

Karena said...

absolutely stunning!

Rebecca said...

It may have cost $42, but you look like a million bucks, baby.

A said...

1. I was just telling somebody about German class "Outfit Check" recently! Tim and Tom would never win because their moms bought them real clothes from real stores.
2. Here's an outfit assessment from our other favorite game: Your outfit was Ravishing in Red, Beguiling in Black, and Stunning in Silver.
3. I want that shawl--I mean, Peacock Feathers?!
4. I see you still have one of those calligraphy pen hair-bun sticks. Sadly one of the ones you gave me broke off ages ago, and the other disappeared. I'm not sure I could still get them to hold up my hair but I loved them so.
5. xxo

Jacinta said...

You look gorgeous! It's nice to have an excuse to get all dressed up once in a while. And fab about the cost. Well done!
xo MODELmumma

Margo said...

A, I love your games! Do you think "outfit check" is catchy enough for the game I'm proposing here?
It does seem ages since I got my hair to stay up with sticks.
xo to you

A said...

You mean as opposed to "Ha Ha My Outfit Cost Less than Yours, SUCKER!" I'm just calling it what it was: Someone would say "Outfit Check!" and then we would each stop paying attention to class, silently add up our outfits including shoes and underwear, and then proudly share the results for a winner.

Unknown said...

Stunning! I LOVE the shawl - so luxuriant and the most beautiful red.
Love the game idea too : ) It challenges women to dress with style and do it with thrift. I'll bet there were some surprises: "You look fabulous and it only cost $__! Wow!"

Susan said...

Lady M, you do look lovely! And let's just say it's not a mystery what cultural background you and A come from, given your Outfit Check game, being guilty as charged myself :)

I looked up the benefit erase paste you mentioned and love that it comes with a "spatula"! How could you resist?! I might have to get some myself, just for the spatula!

Margo said...

Susan, yes, I do love that spatula. The salesgirl had my number, too, because she pointed out how thrifty it is. heh. And the erase paste itself is marvelously effective.

Deanna Beth said...

I don't doubt that Tom and Tim lost, since their mothers bought "real" clothes at "real" stores, but I have a hard time believing that anyone named Tom and Tim whose mothers did their shopping could even play along! Did those boys actually have a clue as to what their clothes cost?

Deanna Beth said...

Sorry for dominating the conversation, but this seems like a good time to tell you something I know will make you smile. About a year ago, there was a meme going around Facebook, asking people to publish a list of 25 Things People Don't Know About You. The teachers at my girls' school thought it would be fun for all the staff to make a list about themselves and to hang all of them up in the teacher's lounge. Our music teacher, who is younger than us, and who grew up in Ohio as a Mennonite, said that she was 13 years old before she ever wore a store-bought outfit to church. Everything up to that point had been sewn by her mother.

Margo said...

DB, I don't remember the boys playing this game at all. I do remember said boys, however, acting out Dead Poets' "O Captain, my Captain" for our unamused German teacher, standing on desks and everything. I learned so much in that class and none of it German.

Margo said...

And I meant to say, AMAZING about the Mennonite with the handmade clothes. And even more amazing is that she probably wasn't that unusual at that time!