You Tell Me: Shopping Habits

If you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen that, last week, I vowed to give up shopping for a while.

My sister is getting married in Europe this summer, and my husband and I have promised ourselves that we'd pay for our entire trip without using our credit cards. So that means that we have to save some cash.

Now. I shop a lot. Like, a lot. But I was able to convince myself that it was okay because I'm not an expensive shopper. I buy from stores with lower price points. I buy from sale racks (or more often, sale sections of websites). I use coupon codes. And I never, ever, ever put any type of clothes, shoes, accessories, cosmetics, etc. on a credit card. If I don't have the money in cash on my debit card, I don't buy it. Period. So I'm not as irresponsible as that woman in those books I've never read or that movie I never saw, but I'm not as responsible as I should be.

And all of these little things add up.  I started to realize how much money I could save if I wasn't shopping so much.

So, until we've saved enough money for our trip to Europe, no shopping for me. And I'm posting it here because announcing it to you will keep me accountable. Yes, I know that a shopping ban is one of the most clichéd things that a fashion blogger can do. But it will be good for me and for my family.

Of course there will be a couple of exceptions:

• I need to buy some more gym clothes - specifically some sports bras and workout pants. But I view this as a necessity for wellness, not a frivolity.
• Jason Wu for Target. I know, I know. I'm weak. But I'm not letting that slip by. And, originally, I was going to start my shopping ban after Jason Wu, but then I decided to start it two weeks earlier and just make an exception. This decision has already saved me some money.
• I will only purchase makeup if it's a staple that I'm running out of. For example, I'm low on foundation and eyebrow pencil, so I'll have to buy some soon. That is it.

It's going to be hard. I spend almost all of my free time on Shopstyle, looking at so many pretty, pretty things for this blog. I'm tempted literally every day. But I'm going to be strong, because I have to be. I've unsubscribed from all of my email sale alerts, which will help.

After we've got our vacation money saved, I'm still going to make some changes to my spending habits:

• I'm going to allot myself a specific shopping budget, and I'm going to stick to it.
• If I buy something and don't wear it within a month, I'm going to return it.

Wish me luck!

And now, you tell me: what are your shopping habits? Do you have a monthly budget or any restrictions? What do you splurge on? Have you ever taken a hiatus from shopping? What else can you share? And could I possibly ask any more questions?

You Tell Me: Your Everyday Beauty Regimen?

I always thought that I was a fairly low-maintenance person when it came to beauty, but I think that maybe I was lying to myself. Because, when I think about it, I use a lot of products. I use a mix of drugstore and high-end items, mostly for my body and face. I used to use a TON of hair products, but now that I get the Coppola Keratin treatment, all I need is their special shampoo and conditioner, with some dry shampoo on days I don't wash my hair. I don't need any styling products, which is amazing.

 Here's my beauty regimen, just for every day (no special occasion items today).

First, in the shower:

Clean & Clear Foaming Cleanser $5 // Coppola Keratin Complex Shampoo & Conditioner $16 ea // Philosophy Pure Grace Shower Gel $22 // Clarisonic Cleansing System $195 // White Rain Conditioner (I use this as shaving cream) $1

Then, after the shower:

Secret Clinical Strength Deodorant $8 // Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisturizer $9 // Batiste Dry Shampoo $5 // Eucerin Intensive Repair Body Lotion $5

On my face:

Smashbox Photofinish Primer $36 // Benefit Boi-ing! Concealer $19 // Bare Escentuals BareMinerals Foundation $26 // NARS Orgasm Blush $27 // Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer $30 // Philosophy Supernatural Eye Palette in Truffle $30 // Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner in Crash $18 // Cover Girl LashExact Mascara $7 // Burts Bees Lip Shimmer in Raisin $6

Now you tell me: what products make it into your everyday beauty routine?

You Tell Me: Golden Globes Fashion

Yay! Awards season! I wanted to share some of my favorite and least favorite red carpet looks from last night's Golden Globes, and I'm dying to hear what you thought as well!

Best Dressed:

Charlize Theron in Dior

I wasn't sure about this at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I loved it. She looks pretty much flawless, although I do wish she'd picked more fun shoes.

Dianna Agron in Giles Deacon

This is sort of cracked out but I still loved it. 

 Emma Stone in Lanvin

Beautiful dress. The color suits her perfectly and the eagle belt buckle was the perfect unexpected detail.

Michelle Williams in Jason Wu

Last night I tweeted "Michelle Williams is dressed just like Michelle Williams." Which meant that this is somewhat par for the course for her. But if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I think she looks fab.

 Rooney Mara in Nina Ricci

Last night, I also Tweeted "Unless you're Rooney Mara and it's your 'thing,' there is no reason to wear black on the red carpet. There are so many other colors." And it's true. I'm usually so bored by black on the red carpet. But this dress suits her to a tee.

Worst Dressed:

Amanda Peet

She's so beautiful - why would she wear a stack of doilies?

Angelina Jolie

I'll admit that perhaps my hatred of this dress is irrational. It fits her very well, I'll give her that. And while it's mostly neutral, at least it has some color. I think that my problem with it is that it's so mature. Angelina is a young, gorgeous woman, but she has zero sense of humor, and it shows in the way she dresses. Bleh.

Kelly Osbourne in Zac Posen

When I first saw Kelly, she was sitting down and I really liked the top of this dress with it's sleek shape and strong shoulders. But I've never liked mermaid dresses, and a wrinkled, unflattering mermaid dress is even worse. And that grey hair, isn't doing her any favors either.

Lea Michele in Marchesa

When I saw this, I rolled my eyes so hard I thought they'd pop out of their sockets. Lea is a young, pretty woman, but she insists on these over-the-top, vampy looks. The dress is wearing her, not the other way around, and the hair and makeup totally ages her. Leave the drama queen gowns to Beyonce, Lea. This is not for you.

Naya Rivera in Vera Wang

I adore Naya in Glee (Santana is my favorite) but I can't understand why she'd wear a shapeless grey sack to the Globes. She's better than this.

So now, you tell me: who were your favorite and least favorite at the Golden Globes?

You Tell Me: Share Your Blogs!

It's a quick and easy edition of You Tell Me this Friday. Are you a blogger? If you are, share your blogs in the comments!

You Tell Me: Favorite Stores for Clothes/Shoes/Accessories?

You'd think that, after writing a shopping blog for almost five years, that I'd know every single shop - brick and mortar and online - by now, but at least once a week, I hear about a new site or store that I'd never known about before. I love that the world of fashion is still so prolific!

I'm going to share some of my favorite places to shop for clothes, shoes and accessories, and I want you to tell me! Maybe I'll learn something new, but even if I don't, I'm dying to know where you all like to shop so that I can feature those sites on the blog more often.

So, without further ado, my favorite stores. About 90% of my wardrobe comes from these ten retailers.

And that's it. Nothing groundbreaking, nothing you probably haven't heard of a zillion times. 

So, you tell me: where are your favorite places to shop for clothes, shoes and accessories?

You Tell Me: Favorite Shopping Blogs?

So, we've discussed style blogs, but now let's talk shopping blogs. Not sure of the difference? Well, I personally think of style blogs for inspirational purposes, and shopping blogs for practical purposes, although they certainly offer inspiration as well.

When I'm actually looking to purchase, I usually check my favorite shopping blogs first. Here they are.

See Chloe Shop: I first found Chloe through her style blog, The Chloe Conspiracy, and immediately loved her. Her outfits are incredible and she's pretty hilarious. But her shopping blog is much more useful, with coupon codes and sale alerts.

Grechen's Closet: Grechen also provides coupon codes and sale alerts, as well as sale picks, a newsletter, and outfit of the day posts. She's also got an entire media empire of fashion sites called Grechen Media.

College Fashion: This is a fairly new discovery for me. I'd heard about it but never checked it out because I've been out of college for a long, long time. But it's a great shopping site, full of shopping tips, advice and coupon codes for anyone seeking a bargain - not just college students.

The Look 4 Less: Jen's got a talent for finding lookalike items. If you're coveting something that's out of your price range, shoot her an email. Chances are, she'll know where you can find a similar looking item for much, much less.

So now you tell me: what are your favorite shopping blogs?

You Tell Me: Favorite Style Blogs?

I've never been a big proponent of New Year's Resolutions, but I decided to make some this year. I won't bore you with all of them, but some of them are directly blog-related.

My major resolution is to turn What the Frock? into more of a community, as opposed to more of me just blah-blah-blogging at all of you! See, I spend so much time actually blogging that I don't spend nearly enough time getting to know you readers. I work full-time, and spend almost all of my free time researching outfits, writing posts, Photoshopping collages, etc. It's incredibly time-consuming, but I love it.

But it doesn't leave me a lot of time to engage with the readers, and I feel like I'm missing out on a lot of fun.

I've got some terrible blogger habits: I get a ton of emails and while I read each one as soon as it arrives in my inbox, I'm horrible at replying to them, because it takes so much time. I read each and every one of your comments, but I rarely respond, even though I appreciate every single word. And I've got a few hundred blogs in my Google Reader (some of them are yours, readers!), but I hardly ever comment on any of them. It's not that I don't want to - it's just that I'm spending so much time creating content that I don't have time to socialize.

So, my New Year's Resolution is to engage more with all of you! If you'd like me to, that is.

Every so often, I'll be asking you a question about... whatever. Who knows?! But I'm really looking forward to hearing your feedback!

Today, I want to hear about your favorite style bloggers. I follow a lot of bloggers but am always looking for more inspiration. You can find a large list of my favorite bloggers on my links page, but I wanted to profile a few of my absolute faves:

Kendi Everyday: She's feminine and classic but with a bit of an edge, and almost everything she wears is accessible and affordable.

Tick Tock Vintage: Veronika wears almost exclusively vintage and does her alterations herself. And I've got to give some love to a fellow Philly blogger, right?

Glitter and Ganache: Tabitha is a real-life friend, but I promise you that this isn't favoritism. She's got a knack for putting together the most effortless-looking outfits, like she threw everything on and just happens to look incredible. Her style also has a sense of humor, which is the icing on the glittery cupcake.

Girl with Curves: I love Tanesha because she is stunningly beautiful and knows how to pick pieces that flatter her non-size-zero bod. I wish she gave private shopping lessons!

Flashes of Style: If I was in my early 20's, I'd dress exactly like Bonnie does. And what an enviable head of hair, huh?

The Glamourai: If only I could be half as cool as Kelly. And if only that haircut would work on me. Sigh.

Atlantic-Pacific: I always consider AP to sort of be the West Coast version of The Glamourai. Blair is super-stylish and her use of color is inspiring.

So now, you tell me: who are your favorite style bloggers? Share in the comments, and make sure to link to the blogs!