Christmas in Boston

Boston Street Style
























What I Wore: tip to toe

• beret-???
• coat- Free People
• leggings- Xoxo
• knee socks- Juicy Couture
• bag- J.Crew
• glasses- Personal Style Optical (Ebay)
• boots- Rockport

No place like home...for the holidays!

Running Late? We're not. -Frontier Airlines
Funny your 10:04am flight from LAX-MKE has been landing up to 25min late for the past two weeks according to your gate agents, causing a misconnection for Midwest Airlines flights. Running Late? I'm not...but you are. Thanks for leaving me stranded in 15 degree weather with my dog...AND since you demanded to gate check my coat and dogs are not allowed inside of the Milwaukee Airport it was fun shivering outside.

I've been Googled

My mother Googled me!

A complete outfit for $350: J.Crew

Keaton tuxedo cardigan, $118

Stretch wool élan trouser $118
Satin ballet flats with constrast trim $98

A complete outfit for $250: J.Crew

Pixie Pant, $88
Montebello Driving Mocs, $128

Organza sash tissue tank, $35

Dear Santa,

All I want for Christmas...

Gratuitous Doggie Pics

Shopping Ban Update: Turkey is the new black

Black Friday is rapidly approaching, like a freight train headed towards me while I lean down to pick up a penny from the tracks. Despite my best efforts at a shopping ban, the stores are pulling out all the stops...even before Turkey day!

I already posted about PH8, the new athletic store from Bebe (think a Eurotrash version of Lululemon) which is launching just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Now Rachel by Rachel Roy, sold online and at Macy's, is tempting me to break my shopping ban with 30% off coupons! I'm taking it one sale at a time, so far so good...if you don't count the 5 for $25 sale I hit up at Victoria's Secret Pink. In my defense I sold $25 worth of clothes at Crossroads last week and had yet to use the cash, so technically this wasn't a purchase as much as recycling...eww recycled undies ; )

The Fate of Bebe Sport

If you're like me you probably thought Bebe Sport died a long time ago...but we'd both be wrong! Bebe Sport, the athletic based retail spin off of Bebe, has been reincarnated as the hipster hangout...PH8 (pronounced "fate") Check it out at Glendale, San Francisco Center, Townsend, and Pentagon City. The store still carries athletic "weekend wear" but with an edgier twist; think Stella McCartney for Adidas. Check out these coupons for up to $100 off in stores!

Gratuitous Doggie Posts

Update on Shopping Ban: I just can't get enough

So of course as soon as I put those Dolce Vita gold shoes back on the shelf I missed them! So I took the rejects from my Weho Crossroads trip to another Crossroads location that took a few more items and gave me store credit for $42.50...then I went back to the Weho Crossroads, but the gold shoes, which are $22.50 are a bit snug...and I found a pair of Ferragamo sling-back kitten heels for...you guessed it $42.50! Dilemna! Both pair are on hold at the store right now...which should I get?

Update on Shopping Ban: Relapse is a part of recovery

In the interest of transparency and full disclosure...I have to admit I've suffered a relapse.

I started off with the best intentions when I packed my trunk full of clothes and set off to Crossroads Trading Company. I wanted to sell a Halloween costume that I had somehow inherited in my move from SF to LA; a friend was moving at the same time and hadn't been able to schedule a Salvation Army pick up before she had to be out of her apt so I drove all of her cast offs to my place and threw them on the pile. I might have gone through the items once or twice while waiting for Salvation Army to arrive and somehow I ended up with her old tennis racket, Gap puffer vest, and tarty Bumblebee costume! My sister is looking to sell her Paris Hilton costume from last year and I thought...oh I'll make a few dollars selling that Bumblebee get up. I wanted to use the cash to buy condoms to pass out instead of candy since I live in Weho, which is full of SINKs (Single Income No Kids), but alas my shopping addiction foils even the best laid plans.
As you can tell by the new shoes I'm wearing in today's Tip to Toe not only did I not walk out with cash in hand, but I owed Crossroads money! I gathered some shoes and clothes from my closet and made $31 in store credit, but purchased $45 shoes! They don't even buy Halloween costumes! Who was I kidding...this was all an elaborate ruse to disguise a shopping trip!
In my defense...I did leave behind some amazing Gold Dolce Vita brand Oxfords; and if you see me lurking around Crossroads on Santa Monica with my debit card and a pair of gold shoes in hand...call my sponsor!

MY NAME IS BREA...AND I'M A SHOPAHOLIC!

(BTW my sister went as Nicole Ritchie last Halloween, but the costume is for Paris Hilton. Leave a comment if you're interested in buying her outfit...it's a size small and is a steal at $15 which includes a Jailbird mini-dress, blonde wig that is dead-on, and purse with a faux Tinkerbelle sticking out)

Brea's Picks: Holiday Edition

If you're anything like me you're already thinking 2-3 holidays ahead. I heart Halloween in a big huge way, but my radar is already set to Christmas. And with Thanksgiving (and more importantly Black Friday) up next there isn't much time to hunt for items that are unique to the recipient. After all it's the thought that counts and if you wait until the second week of December to start shopping everyone will be getting gifts from the drugstore and you'll be getting coal! Here are my picks for the whole family. All items will be arriving soon at JCrew in Santa Monica, CA on the Third Street Promenade. Stop by today for the first day of the FALL SALE: up to 30% off!

For your mommy (or mother-in-law, or that fabulous lady at your church with the amazing hats)

• Cashmere-Lined Leather Gloves (in ripe avocado) $88 If they're good enough for the first lady...These are replicas of the one's JCrew supplied Mrs-O for the inauguration

For your BBF (or sorority sister, chic cousin...or any other Buppie Best Friend)

• Stardust Pencil Skirt (in gunmetal) $118 Because everybody looks good in a pencil skirt, and what is more appropriate for the office holiday party than this? Make sure to pick up a petite if (without her stilettos) she stands below 5'6 like my cute cousin!

For Granny (or Godmother, or Annie Hall lovin' Auntie)

• Elsbeth Leather Oxfords (in chocolate) $225 Things aren't made like they used to be, and Granny knows it These are the best our generation has to offer her in the way of handmade Italian leather shoes; with good support and elegant craftsmanship Granny will swear "I had a pair just like these"
  

For your Niece (or any terrible tween or teen)

• Ribbed Cashmere Hat (in flamingo or fresh pear) $48 In shades like bright pink this luxury item is a great stocking stuffer that will make her a Gossip Girl hit at the (junior) high school.

For the girliest girl you know (um that would be me)

• Dapple Dot Cardigan $98 With its Mad Men cropped cardi cut, and pale pink polka dot print this little number is an instant classic! Ruffles and bows and sequins...oh my!
  

Update on Shopping Ban: The Universe Says...sit down!

If you've been following my shopping ban over at http://howwasyourday.tumblr.com then you know it all started off so well. It's been a few weeks but I've survived without any retail therapy. Last night I almost relapsed, but divine intervention stepped in. I tried to purchase the Madewell Patent Leather Oxford shoes pictured in the Denim Tour post, but some confusion over my discount (I have a professional relationship with their parent company) left me empty handed at the end of the night.
What is worse than being denied something I wasn't supposed to have anyway is my irrational reaction to it. My mom called while I was in line to pay for the shoes that I wasn't supposed to be buying and I got all flustered and hung up on her! It was the night before her birthday and I hung up on her b/c she was calling while I was clearly doing something I wasn't supposed to and I didn't want to be caught...from thousands of miles away! Then after I left the store, without the shoes I called her back but rushed her off the phone because I was in such a funk for not being able to have the shoes. Ridic!
If this isn't a sign I NEED to be on a shopping ban...I don't know what is! Clearly I have an unhealthy relationship with shopping.

MY NAME IS BREA...AND I'M A SHOPAHOLIC!

Madewell1937 Denim Tour with Lucky Magazine