Is Lululemon worth it?

I finally gave in and bought some Lululemon Wunder under leggings! Swipping my credit card to pay for leggings so expensive could have killed me.
Shopping in the Lululemon store was actually such a pleasure though! The women who worked there were extremely helpful and didn't treat me like any less of a human being than the wealthy middle aged housewives, just because I am a teenager. For reference, I typically wear a size 0 or 2 in most stores, and a 00 in JCrew. I bought a size 4 Wunder Under!! I don't know if they run small, but I just felt more comfortable in the bigger size. I also feel like they will be less see-through than if they needed to stretch more. I won't have the opportunity to wear them for a while, because it is in the 90's where I live right now, but I can't wait until I can pull them out when the winter comes around.

But forreal, is Lululemon worth the steep prices? Im expecting these leggings to be the nectar of the gods for the amount of cash I shelled out for them.

Reflections On That Retail Life

Today I am closing in on my second week in retail. I can honestly say there are a lot of things I love about it. I am still very new though, and still trying to get the hang of it. I have only bought one thing there so far, despite my 50% discount. I will probably head in some time next week when I'm not working to look around because I feel like I'm not really taking advantage of my really good discount. Its really awkward for me to go into the store to shop. I feel bad asking someome I work with, but don't know that well yet, to open fitting rooms for me. Oh well. I'm sure it will only get better with time.

I have officially joined the retail work force!

I officially work in retail!

And I also practically signed myself up for the craziest summer of my life. My Lilly Pulitzer monthly planner is almost bursting at the seams with times I am supposed to be places. I currently have three jobs. I have to fund my shopping habit somehow ;)

My newest job is my first in retail! It is at a small boutique that is located in a trendy district close to my house. Although my store is not a stand alone (they do have a few other stores in different cities) I think that is better than working in a mall store. Mall stores  seem so much more high-stress than I think this will be. I go to it often and it never seems too busy. I am also excited for the discount!

I am not sure how much of the clothes I will buy, however, because most of it is Forever21 quality. As much as I love occasional Forever21 pieces, I try not to shop there too often because the clothes tend to look cheep and not be worth it in the end when they fall apart after the first wash.

I'll let you know how my first retail experience goes after my first shift next week!

Bargain Shoppers OOTD

So I will admit it, I can not turn down a great deal! I live for websites like Ebay and Etsy (and recently Poshmark!) I could be the poster child for Marshalls and TJ Maxx. I can not remember the last time I payed full price for anything. Here is a simple, preppy, outfit of the day that demonstrates my obsession with discounts...

Every single piece of this outfit was discounted. I even bought my Sperry Topsiders on Black Friday a few years back.

The shorts I am wearing are the J Crew Chino Shorts with a 3" inseam. This is the color Felt Green. They were on sale at the store for $29. On top of that, J Crew was having 30% off all sale clothing. I also got the 15% student discount. Ultimately, the shorts cost me around $17. :)

I scored this Kate Spade Ellen bag on Poshmark for a great deal! Check out my last post for details about Poshmark (AKA my new love)
The belt is from my mothers closet and doesn't have any tags on it. 

My tie-button up is from Marshalls. No matter what craziness is happening in my life, Marshalls is always a constant ;)

I hope you all have a great week!

-Polka Dots

POSHMARK iphone ipad app Review! And $5 Credit Code

With the help of Poshmark, deal-hunters can buy and sell items from each others closets. Poshmark is a fashionistas safe haven. I can honestly say that I have seen deals on Poshmark that can not be found on other websites like Etsy and Ebay. This app is currently only available for iPhone, however, non-iPhone users can still shop through Poshmark.com.

Poshmark seems to be more of a score for buyers than for sellers. Sellers on Poshmark pay a 20% commission on their sales to the website. This seems to drive many sellers to make side-deals through Paypal. Some sellers offer discounts to buyers if they are willing to use Paypal. Personally, I wouldn't make a purchase through Paypal. It is illegal in the Poshmark community, and your purchase will not be covered by Poshmark if anything were to go wrong.

The best thing about Poshmark is the ability to bargain! If a seller lists something for $55 who's to say they won't be willing to sell for $30. It never hurts to ask! Besides the occasion rude seller, I have found most people to be incredibly nice on Poshmark. Many sellers are more than willing to give you a bargain.

The only downside I see to Poshmark so far is the layout. Sometimes I feel like "the perfect bag" or "the perfect jacket" is on the website at a great price, but I just can't find it! It can be incredibly frustrating! However, I also think that is kind of the magic of Poshmark. If everything was easy to find then the market would be greater and buyers wouldn't get as great of deals!

In conclusion, I was actually really scared to purchase on Poshmark when I first found it. It seemed shady, and I didn't want to give them my card number. However, I went for it and got a great deal!

This is the Kate Spade Ellen Bag. I scored it for $35 before shipping (Crazy I know!).

When you sign up, please use the code HRDVM. You will get a free $5 credit! (and so will I!)

Hitting The Town

Tonight I am going out to a late dinner with my friends and I am so excited! I love the experience of going to urban restaurants where I can sit at a table on the sidewalk and watch everything going on around me- yes I am a bit of a people-watcher. I also love getting dressed up. This is my "Outfit of the Day."

The jean jacket is from American Eagle. I got it for 40% off during one of their sales. The skirt is from Nordstrom BP

This is an up close of the skirt and belt. The belt is Ralph Lauren a la my mothers closet.

This is the bag I carried. I am pretty sure it is a Dooney and Bourke knock-off because I got it in a vintage clothing store and it was very cheap.

I Survived My First Year of College!

I am back at home for the summer and finished unpacking all of my boxes upon boxes of stuff (most of which I did not have when I left for school.) This is the first chance I have really had to reflect on the year because, honestly, while I was at school I was constantly in go-mode.  I truly had an amazing first year, and I can attribute that primarily to all of the friends I made. While I can not describe my whole first year experience to you in a single blog post, I will give you a quick glimpse into it though three things that stood out to me most while reflecting back.

1. Throughout the entire year I was at school, there was not a single moment when I was homesick. 

I love my home, my family, and my friends, but while at school I was too busy to be homesick. I am the type of person who lives completely in the present. While that is not always good, it really was a benefit to my freshmen year. I felt bad for all of the kids who were homesick, because I wasn't able to sympathize with them. 

2. I was extremely sleep deprived for months at a time.

My regular week schedule consisted of me going to bed at 2:30 AM and then waking up again at 6:50. On the weekends I would rarely climb into bed before 4. I was so exhausted sometimes that I would fall asleep sitting up while studying in the middle of the day! Before I went to college I couldn't even fall asleep with the TV on, or in a car! My body felt weak all the time. The only recovery time I had was when I went home for holidays every couple of months. This is the first bad habbit that I am determined to quit next year. 

3. I went nine months eating basically the same three foods.

*Bread, cheese, and chicken* now that looks like a diet of champions if I've seen one. Essentially, I ate chicken and cheese quesadillas, grilled cheeses, Turkey sandwiches, bagels and cream cheese, and grilled chicken every day while I was at school. While I did have other side dishes, and a lot of fruit, my main dish was almost always one (or a combination) of the core three. My parents, who are both big proponents of a "balanced diet" and always make sure I am very well fed while at home, were extremely concerned when they found this out.

I hope all of you college students had as great of a year as I did! If any future freshmen have any questions about what to expect I would love to answer them. 

Here's to a summer to remember,

Polka Dots