Situation: #coloredpantsproblems

Fine.  I admit it.  I wasn't a fan of the colored pants when they made their debut this past spring in soft pastels and bright hues and whatnot.  Being slightly curvy, I looked super-duper heavy in Easter yellow and robin's egg blue pants (two colors that accentuate hips and thighs remarkably), and I came to the sad realization that I'll be a jegging- and legging-wearing girl fo' lyfe.  Which is fine.  I'm obviously over it.  LOLZ to colored pants.

And then.  A miracle happened.  I call it: my Joe Fresh shopping spree.

Photo courtesy of Racked NY

For those who aren't familiar with the Joe Fresh name, you should be.  It's Canadian, eh!  The one I visited near 43rd Street and 5th Avenue opened this past March and is HUGE, like two levels huge, apparently much larger than one way down 5th near West 16th.  There's also a store near Penn Station on 34th and 7th and on the Upper East Side on East 80th and Madison.  Other than that, there's a store in Long Island and one at the Bridgewater Commons in New Jersey (about a half hour from where I used to live, go figure), and that's IT for stores in the states.  Damn you, Canada!  Give us more Joe Fresh!

You know when you're watching a movie and the female protagonist sees the man of her dreams and it's like the stars are aligned?  And then "At Last" seems to begin right on cue and then she's sobbing and then YOU'RE sobbing?  Well that's exactly how I felt yesterday morning as I entered the store and noticed the first price tag on a pair of skinny corduroy pants.  $19.  It.  Was.  SO.  Beautiful.

Sadly, the online store totally sucks, so YAY to New Yorkers and BOO to everyone else.

I took about 245 things into the dressing room, including a few pairs of the dreaded colored pants, and went wild.

What I loved:

Never Have I Ever worn Size 6 pants.

1. Pants RUN LARGE.  One pair of incredibly dapper maroon velvet(ish) pants only came in a Size 4, and I asked someone working if they had anything larger.  They didn't.  I tried them on.  They fit.  When has this ever happened to me?!?!  Never.
2. The quality of fabric and stitching is ACTUALLY GOOD.  LOLZ to shopping at Forever21 anymore.  Joe Fresh was looking better than even Zara, my old favorite store.  Zara, out, Joe Fresh, in.
3. Cheap prices.  Duh.
4. The store was organized, clean, and spread out.  What a concept!!!!!  I'm looking at YOU, H&M.

My final purchase consisted of a soft brown fur vest, navy/grey/white colorblock sweater, navy short-sleeve tweed shirt, forest green pants, brown skinny corduroys, and maroon velvet(ish) pants.  Total cost: $204.  As excited as I was about my much-needed seasonal spree, I overcame my fear of colored pants.  The darker colors are much more flattering, as well as the stretch of the pant and quality of the material.

What do you think?  Is the colored pants trend here to stay, or are you over it?  Comment away!

Cheap S%$T Pick of the Week: eBay

This is a fun little story about the worlds of two recessionistas colliding.

While working at the Union Club of Boston, I managed to do a lot of people-watching (standing behind a bar for three-hour-long private parties will do that to a girl).  I didn't just observe awkward people in social situations, I observed shoes.  Bags.  Dresses.  Jewelry.  A lot of jewelry.  One necklace, in particular, caught my attention back in April or May this past year.  I'd seen it recently on a mannequin display at J. Crew in a different color, and I knew it was quickly becoming a trend.  Here it is on the J.Crew website for a whopping $150:

Upon handing her her fifth or sixth glass of champagne of the evening, I complimented her for her necklace and asked where it was from.  Her response?  "eBay."  I couldn't tell if the booze was catching up to her or if I had heard wrong, but I couldn't wrap my head around it.  eBay?  Really?  For a necklace?

(For the record, this chick is totally normal and offered to help me get a job in PR.  Love ya, Shannon.)

Thus, my eBay jewelry research began.  To my disbelief, I found A TON of really really cute and trendy necklaces on the website, and immediately began shopping.  My final purchase consisted of four necklaces, two of which were this bubble bib necklace in yellow and teal, for under $40 including shipping.  Unheard of, right?

I got my jewelry in the mail (which took quite a while due to the fact that the bubble bib necklaces were being made in China) and had two realizations.  One, they're IDENTICAL to the J.Crew necklaces.  I beat the bubble bib necklace system.  And two, I realized I hated the yellow.  HATED.  I became a huge fan of yellow this summer but this necklace was just too much.  After reading a blog post about painting costume jewelry with nail polish, I realized the task ahead of me.  I would paint the yellow necklace a fall color.  The necklace cost me $8 at most, and I knew I would wear it if it was a different color, especially if it was a nice purple-ish grey for the fall.  I AM THE MOST BRILLIANT.

Before:

During:

 

So, I chose a nail color I had that I didn't wear often but really liked the color, Smokin' Hot by Essie, and painted the entire necklace.

It took a few days to paint one half of a bead, wait a few hours, and then paint the other side, but it looks fantastic.  You really wouldn't know unless you looked WAY up close and saw that I couldn't paint underneath the metal part of each bead.

After:

This HUGE website with endless options may get a bit overwhelming, so eBay shoppers, be weary: make sure you know what you're looking for before you start searching, and start by Google-ing some search terms so you know exactly what your piece is called.  I had to Google "bib necklaces" for quite a while before I actually found what I was looking for.

I like to think that I've done an eco-friendly deed by following the Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle mantra.  Instead of throwing out my yellow necklace and buying a new one, I'm making an effort to "reuse" as well as save myself some money.

Do you have old jewelry in need of a fresh coat of paint?  Is it worth painting over old pieces, or would you rather buy a new piece of jewelry with a whole new feel and look?  Comment away!