Live As An Under Buyer

Today I'm playing a game called all the jewelry I'd buy at Macy's if I wasn't a mindful, Savvy Shopper. Sometimes I play this game at Tiffany, Hermès, Bergdorf Goodman, Chanel, Saks, or any number of retailers with upscale merchandise, but today let's play the game of jewelry web shopping at Macy's. 

Most of us have the good sense not to spend a million dollars for a piece of jewelry since it's much more than many of us could ever pay off. The temptation is greater for things we perceive as stretching our budget -- yes -- that we could somehow, someway reach with effort and a dose of wishful thinking. Nevertheless, if we are not realistic, mindful, savvy shoppers such pricey luxury buys will land us into credit card debt.

THE SAVVY SHOPPER way requires separating our wants from our needs. Sure we can splurge occasionally, but as a general rule, be an under buyer and seldom, rarely, or never become an impulse buyer. So often impulse buys are emotional purchases triggered when we are bored, stressed, or blue. Don't let regret, waste, clutter, or debt follow a day of retail therapy! Frequently going for a walk or exercising will lift our moods just as much as an impulse buy. Luckily I'm an under buyer because my walks take me to T.J. Maxx!😊

What's more, the sibling of impulse buying is buying more than what we need. Buy enough (sometimes called creating a capsule of clothes, shoes, jewelry, etc.), not more than enough. It's likely my small New York City apartment keeps me in line by giving me the disciple to not bring home beautiful things I don't really need, but only think I do when standing in front of it.

 

Falling for beautiful, impractical and yet ultimately useless things will clutter up your home before you realize it! Always value your space as much as anything you put into it. To look its best a room needs the right ratio of space to furniture. Every nook and corner need not be filled with stuff whether it's furniture, clothes, handbags, shoes, nick-nacks, or even jewelry.

Moreover, it won't do your bank account any favors. COVID has taught us the importance of having an emergency fund for food and bills. As much as I love jewelry, I browse 99.99% of the time and buy .01% of the time. And the very few pieces I splurge on are well within my budget. Moreover, I know where to compromise: The stones are eye clean and not the biggest, most flawless, or most translucent stones I desire. At Tiffany, I only browse as its colored gemstones are the top of the line (i.e. budget-busters for regular people), and at other retailers, I'm still selective!

Over to the right is a gorgeous 4 7/8 t.w. carat emerald and diamond (1/2 carat diamond) ring I love and visit whenever I go to Macy's Herald Square, but any stone over 2 carats gets very pricey, so it stays at Macy's for me to peer at occasionally. The diamond stud earrings (↑above left) are called martini studs as the setting looks like martini glasses, and in my fantasy, I'd buy 4-carat studs, however, too expensive for me to undertake! [For the look, check out this white sapphire pair instead. Not affiliated with this blog, only a tip.]

Being financially responsible means focusing on the big picture: Your financial security. Separating your wants from your needs helps you to spend what you must and save what you should. Staying out of debt gives you more money to cover tomorrow's essentials. Plus freedom. Freedom from worry. Freedom from working just to pay bills. Freedom from losing your home.

All of today's featured pieces are classic and very wearable temptations. Although not buying, I love them all. Planning a splurge every now and then is fine if you are mindful (consider how often you'd wear it) and make the splurge one you can afford. Finally, if considering a purchase, think capsule, not collection. Stop buying after reaching enough! We don't need more than enough.

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Betsey Johnson Is One of A Kind

Betsey Johnson today at Macy's

Betsey Johnson, the Queen of Pop-Art Fashion, turned 80 years old this year on August 10th. She was part of Andy Warhol's and the Velvet Underground's scene, opening her 1st shop in 1969. Her retail stores (one was located in my Upper East Side neighborhood) have shut their doors, but she still designs clothes that sell in major department stores like Macy's. I admire her tremendously, and yet as a growing minimalist, I don't buy apparel that stands out to the extent that everybody notices every time I wear it. Where I think Savvy Shoppers can do especially well are her shoes and accessories to add brightness to our black and neutral shirts and dresses. A patterned tote or floral boots can make an outfit pop! What's more, you can also count on the designer for sparkle.

Certainly, the dresses in the top photo are fun and more subdued than the designer's usual bubble gum pink solids adorned with ribbons and bows that are lively and cheerful, yes, but not very grown-up or practical. The 1980s when Betsey Johnson's business exploded was more of an over-the-top time. By comparison, the 21st century has gotten more mindful, more pragmatic, less exorbitant, and theatrical. It's because we now want to own less but do more with it. Betsey seems to understand this and has expanded her collection to fit our more restrained era. 

Nonetheless, I like the playfulness and/or pazzazz of a Betsey Johnson creation. She uses comfortable, stretchy, easy-to-machine wash and dry fabrics, and many of her designs are super wearable. Some are timeless and all are one-of-a-kind like Betsey Johnson, herself. We can let Betsey do Betsey and easily adapt one of her fun-loving pieces to suit our own personal style. That bit of shimmer or pop of color keeps neutral shades from being boring!

Of course with her dresses, shoes and accessories, feel free to get as pop art crazy as you like. Happy 80th year and 53 years of success Ms. Betsey Johnson! Party on!🎉🥳

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Vivaia Shoes Are Machine Washable

It takes a different kind of shoe for me to consider shoes that are not real leather because I always have trouble wearing man-made, non-leather shoes. Either they are too stiff and I can never break them in, or they are too hot, or they click and clack with every step. In fact, I've sworn off so-called liberated leather shoes.

Then along comes Vivaia shoes (established in 2020), a sustainable shoe company on a mission to make quality, comfortable and stylish footwear using recycled materials that are sourced from nature. Believe it or not, Vivaia shoes are made of recycled plastic water bottles. Plastic water bottles are turned into spools of flexible thread that is knitted into form. According to the merchant, Vivaia flats feel like sneakers. Their signature sustainable material is not only soft, cozy, and breathable, but they will last for years to come, and they are reasonably priced too!

Indeed, Vivaia shoes and boots are super fashionable: classic and understated, as well as, ultra-modern with vitality and pizzazz. The fashion-forward shoes won't go out of style.

Moreover not only is attention paid to the exterior design, but also to the interior of the footwear. The inside heel is cushioned to avoid blisters, and insoles are added to provide high rebound (or bounce), and arch support.

The over-the-knee boots are made with recycled plastic water bottles plus wool for warmth in cold weather. They pull up like thick socks and stay put (as in don't fall down during the day). Furthermore, all Vivaia shoes and boots are machine washable. Now that's different, it means they're easy to clean!

Moreover, the retailer says their shoes are perfect for people with wide feet and bunions. In Vivaia shoes, "your feet won't be squeezed, pushed, pulled, or bent out of shape."

For comfort is the main reason to buy Vivaia shoes. As for sustainability, sources such as the Harvard Business Review argue that sustainable fashion is a myth. Once a plastic bottle is turned into fashion, it's no longer recyclable, but goes into a landfill. In fact, the best way of saving our environment is to buy less and re-use (i.e., shop 2nd hand) fashion. I must confess to never buying 2nd hand shoes, but I only buy the footwear I need and stop buying until I need replacement shoes or boots. That said ...

Enough colors and styles are offered for a day of work, a night out on the town, or a walk through the park. Certainly, Vivaia shoes are worth a browse, an open mind, and some serious consideration.

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Collonil Leather Gel

Note to self: Order Collonil Leather Gel to repair scratches and protect fine leather goods such as shoes, purses, and apparel, as well as, my mother's leather couches that get scuffed. It conditions and won't harm or remove the color while removing the scratches and scuff marks. Also provides waterproof protection and is suitable for all suede and smooth leathers. Sold!

Renapur is another brand loved by Amazon customers to keep on my radar. Ok ... I can return here again to find both ... and so can you, my readers!

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Best Dollar Store Investment Buys

Sometimes you need to buy top-of-the-line household items and sometimes you can settle for good enough for its intended purpose. That's where dollar stores come in!  

For fun I'll share five $1 articles so surprisingly durable -- i.e. I've gotten years of unexpected use out of them -- that each one deserves to fall under the heading of Great $1 Investments: 

1) Microwave anti-splatter cover - There's no need to shop elsewhere where microwave food covers cost more money. The dollar store offers the same quality and it's as durable as any I've encountered. I only need one cover and don't know why more than one is needed, but hey for $1, who can quibble about the expense?

2) Shower comb with huge teeth - I bought a total of 3 combs for 2 teenagers and one for me to hang in my shower. I use it every day to untangle my freshly shampooed and conditioned hair. Also, I like taking it on overnight trips so I can style my hair by combing it through as I blowdryer it -- leaving my hairbrush and straightener at home. It works beautifully!

3) I found these flat stainless steel measuring spoons at an Odd Lot Trading store. 99 cents stores and Walmart also sell them. They are thin and compact, taking up little space in a kitchen drawer. They'll easily bend if abused but will last forever to measure spices, vanilla, and baking powder. They are cheap, but get the job done, so why replace them with a bulky expensive set? Heavier metal doesn't measure more accurately.

4) I needed a shoehorn and was unsure how long plastic would last but was sold on the 24-inch length so I don't have to bend so far down to slide into a pair of shoes! Turns out the plastic is super durable. I've used the shoehorn for years now and especially like the practical loop for hanging ... a feature I didn't even know I needed!

5) I like the flat, multi-sink stopper shown below👇. It's become the only type I buy for a kitchen sink, bathroom sink, and bathroom tub. I have one that stays in the kitchen and another for the bathroom. They fit all-size holes and the rubber is thick and flexible. At $1 each a true bargain!

Sometimes the best things in life aren't exactly free, but from a dollar store, they come very close! $5 well spent for 5 lasting buys!

Have you bought anything for $1 and still using it years later?

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My 5 Key Organizing Tips

Photo courtesy of Walmart.

Since moving to Manhattan where space is at a premium, I've become super organized. Life is simpler when all your things have a home and you can easily fetch them. You spend less time searching for possessions and don't re-buy something you already own. I like to say I'm too lazy and cheap to be unorganized. Once a friend, Dru, on a visit to my apartment with her husband, A.J., asked if she could show him my closets. I was so flattered she had noticed my tidiness on her previous visits. She made my day!

While I'm always open to perfecting my system, here are 5 Organizing Tips I can share:

1) In my clothes closets - I group alike-garments together: First by seasons -- warm weather versus cold weather -- then within the seasons, coats; sweaters; vests; blouses and tops; trousers; and dresses, etc. 

Although for Manhattan I have 2 good-sized wardrobe closets I still must shift my spring/summer and winter/fall clothes to the front or back of the closets as the seasons change. I don't have the luxury of a 3rd wardrobe closet to avoid moving my clothes each season. Rats!!! I envy people with more than 2 closets. From time to time I also purge my clothes of what I no longer wear so I can always fit everything I own in my 2 closets, never overflowing them. In New York City, our lack of spacious apartments is just too unforgiving to keep things we never grab. I donate my still in good condition clothes to Housing Works or Goodwill. 

2) Outside my bathroom I have a personal care shelf - Here again I like to group similar items together - I gather the skincare products together; the shampoos and hair conditioners together; the toothpaste and mouthwash together, the pain relievers - aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, acetaminophen together; wound treatments together and hair tools, etc. Since these items are stationary on a shelf, I simply stack them up so I can easily grab them. At times baskets and such help organize, at other times they just hog more space so you can't stack items. When bars of soap or boxes of toothpaste stay put, you don't need containers that become just another takedown before you can reach your articles. What I do find helpful in organizing small personal care stuff like extra dental floss, hairpins, or cotton balls is storing them inside a repurposed plastic sheet set protector. It has structure, transparency, a zipper, and a slim body that sides in against the wall -- perfect for the job! And, you already own it. In fact, save a couple of sheet protectors to protect other goods too. Great for separating, or keeping categories of things together!

3) Shoes and odds and ends - The shoes I slip into most often are on the floor of my wardrobe closet. The shoes I wear occasionally, I stack up in clear plastic shoebox-shaped containers. 

Additionally, I use one of the plastic shoeboxes to keep receipts ... a 2nd to store extra makeup I have for when I run out of what I'm presently using ... and a 3rd plastic shoebox for extra lightbulbs along with extra vacuum cleaner bags. These clear plastic shoeboxes are terrific for organizing all kinds of things. I even have a collection of photos in a 4th plastic shoebox. They only cost $1 - $2 apiece (depending on the retailer), are compact, strong, see-through, and hold lots of stuff. You can't go wrong buying them for storage. (The above image shows belts inside one box, but I think belts are best grouped hanging on a clothes hanger.)

4) Other odds and ends only needed at certain times (for example wool clothing, or a pump for an air mattress) get kept inside clear plastic 13-gallon trash bags before going on a shelf. The 13-gallon size is ideal, not too big or small a size to keep similar things together, as well as, dust-free, and since you can see through the bags, you don't waste time labeling or opening them to remember what's inside.

5) Ziploc bags of various sizes fit the smaller items you need to keep together, Q-tips, nails, whatever. Easy to see what's inside and open.

Believe it or not, you don't want to spend hours of time organizing. Aim to reduce your steps to keep organizing simple and efficient. Moreover, try not to spend too much money on the supplies you use to keep your things together and in good condition ... just a few bucks for the containers you need. The right organizing system should save you time, money, and work. Starting with these 5 tips, join me in being too lazy and cheap to be unorganized!

Happy upcoming Earth Day on April 22nd! A perfect time to get organized.🌍🌎🌏

Do you have brilliant organizing tips of your own to share?

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The Pillow Shoe Is A Fad

There's a new fad in town: The Pillow Shoes. They are the rage of TicTac, and I think for good reason. They are cheap, comfortable and casual smart. Although not enough support to walk miles and miles in, pillow shoes offer good enough support to loaf around the house, as well as, run quick errands in the neighborhood.

In warm weather I normally wear $2 Old Navy flip flops around my apartment, but these offer greater support and are arguably more stylish. There are a number of retailers making the shoe style, but I like the brand, Mesh Beach Shoes for their anti-slip soles and ergonomic design claim which is supposed to evenly distribute the pressure between you feet and hips to help avoid the pain of knots and cramps. They are lightweight, waterproof and have lots of happy customers based upon what reads like honest reviews. The website features 6 colors including blue and beige. 

More expensive than flip flops for sure, but you get durability, support and style ... a fair trade off ... and hey, you can add a few inches to your height by slipping into a pair.🦶🩴

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The Perfect Pants Blouse

Say what you will about Amazon, but they do have most everything consumers need, plus free shipping with a $25 order. If you don't own a car; are a shut-in; or work-crazy-long-hours they can be your lifeline to the outside world of necessities. Not to mention, due to a number of sellers across the country offering different price points on its platform, an Amazon purchase can save you money, and the telephone associates are fantastic if orders go wrong. THE SAVVY SHOPPER says, there's nothing wrong with supporting Amazon, a brilliant and successful business along with small Mom-and-Pop shops. Life need not be about supporting one at the exclusion of the others.

I just found a stylin' blouse on Amazon that is perfect when paired with leggings and nearly any style of trousers.

It's feminine with slight (not over-the-top) ruffles at the neck and cap sleeves. Because it's a tunic, it's long enough to cover your hindquarters, a must if you wish to look polished. You can also buckle a belt around the blouse at the waist to change its look. I love a summer casual look that can be dressed up or down with shoes and accessories, and this blouse fits the bill. A great spring transitional piece that is also suitable for hot August nights. 

This fashionable blouse won't break the bank; comes in 29 printed colors; can be machine washed and dried; and you'll never look sloppy wearing it. Definitely, Savvy Shopper approved as a smart and adorable splurge.

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When I came to help my mom, who took a fall fracturing her fibula, I packed all winter clothes, including leggings, t-shirts, and two cardigans since I only thought I'd be away for about 4 weeks, but she is undergoing physical and occupational therapy and I'm still here. Spring has arrived and all my spring and summer clothing is at home. I only packed one dress (this one) that I can wear on a chilly, early, spring day, but not on a balmy, global warming-created day.

So in anticipation of 80 degree F days (in fact we had one today), I bought 2 Sub-Knit Short Sleeve Tiered Swing Dresses in hot pink and medium-navy blue from Old Navy, as well as, a black pair of $2 flip flops to wear around the house. Old Navy's flip flops are great, no need to pay more elsewhere, and I'm happy the retailer once again manufactures 100% cotton dresses. Not polyester, not rayon, no blends, all-cotton dresses!!! ON is forever offering deals. Wait for one to get a dress dirt cheap!

Hopefully, between my ballet flats, Nike sneakers, and the new flip flops I won't lack shoes to wear as the weather warms up. The all-weather mocs I also brought with me will soon be retired until early autumn. 

The thought crosses my mind I'll be wearing the same style of dress over and over like a uniform, but I bet real money the majority of people rarely notice what we wear when we encounter them. They sense if we are disheveled and not coordinated, but can't recall our particular outfits. What do you think?

My life as a minimalist-want-to-be is being tested and frankly, I'm enjoying the noble less-is-more experiment. So far, I'm managing!

Moreover, ladies, look at this handsome guy! Hubba, Hubba!! Posting him fits into our spring fashion topic. Colorful shirts in a breezy linen blend have just arrived at L.L. Bean for men. The fabric wicks moisture and dries fast. 

Get ready, Betty ... Freddy for cotton dresses, linen shirts, and shorts season. 

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