Fashion – Yoojin Cho

A Splash of Color

Oh helloooooo!

It’s been a while…

So why not make my first post after a long hiatus about my favorite topic, clothes?

Many people know already I love shopping. Of course I do not have a reserve pot of gold to spend on clothes, but I do my best to bargain shop and keep up with the trend.

The latest trend I noticed… skinny colorful pants.

I was at first very, very, very hesitant to try them on. Why? Well, as you can imagine, going bright is always tricky, and when you bring that brightness to pants… to skinny pants… it gets even trickier.

But I was inspired after seeing this:

Former Kate Middleton, now known as Duchess of Cambridge, rocked red skinny denim at a field hockey game. And she looked fabulous! So why not? Give it a try.

I found these cords at Loft. On sale, not skinny, but straight legs.

I knew the light pink pair would be a great addition to my closet because one of my friends had bought them the last time we went on a shopping spree in Boston.

Then I decided to be a little more bold and try different colors. Sadly in my size, my options were limited to green and magenta.

Not going to lie… magenta – deep pink-ish purple-ish – didn’t quite look right. Perhaps a little too bright. But emerald green surprised me! Who knew you could wear green pants after St. Patrick’s Day?

Now my next challenge is finding tops that would match my new pants. Obviously dark colors for the light pink pair… but I’m also thinking faint yellow for emerald green could work too.

Don’t Overspend!

We all know I love love love shopping. My closet back in Boston has an extra bar installed to accommodate all my tops, and my closet in Dallas houses quite a bit of outfits as well.

While I do admit I spend more money on clothes than I should, I can still take pride in that I never ever pay full price. Yes, I shop sales and hot deals.

For example, yesterday, my parents and I made a quick trip to Galleria Dallas where we found both Ann Taylor & Banana Republic offering extra 40% off.

I found this gray tweed coat for only $89.99…

And this fabulous relaxed top for only $11.39.

Especially between gift searches and dress shopping for holiday parties in December, we frequent shopping malls and without realizing, drain our bank accounts. So here are some tips I learned in saving money while looking fabulous!

Shop those extra 40% off deals

I was very successful, wasn’t I? Early in the holiday season, many stores offer 20% or 30% off full-priced items. Sounds extremely tempting, but be patient and wait until the promotion changes to 40% or more off your ENTIRE purchase. That means if you score a sale item, it could be as affordable as 10 or 20 bucks.

Take advantage of free shipping

If you’re a student, get Amazon Prime. If you’re online shopping on other retail websites, look for minimum purchase amount or special items that have free shipping options. Sometimes you may find a cute purse for $5, and you immediately add it to your cart, only to realize at “proceed to checkout,” the shipping is $10. Yikes.

But really really really try to go to the store

You can always shop from the comfort of your own couch. Online shopping can save you time, but it doesn’t always save you money. While some online deals are irresistible, online prices are not always as low as actual prices offered in-store. My new coat’s online price: $199.99, in-store sale price: $149.99, I spent: $89.99. Enough said, right?

Always ask about college – student or faculty – discounts

J.Crew and Ann Taylor both offer special college discount with your student ID. That extra 20% can save you a lot in the end.

Earn those rewards points

If you have a store credit card, use it and pay off right away. The more you use those credit cards, the more reward points you’ll get, meaning more exclusive sales and discounts. One caveat though, I am NOT encouraging opening new credit cards… I’m saying, if you have one already, take advantage. And obviously, remember to pay it off right away.

Don’t be afraid to shop outlets

Texas is especially great for outlet shopping. Many people have this preconceived notion of outlets as damaged, unwanted, less desirable items. Well, WRONG. J.Crew, Banana Republic and Nordstrom all have great outlet stores that carry cheaper items that are still stylish, amazing and wonderful.

Look for those cute little postcards in your mail

Don’t just toss all your “junk” mail. Look through those coupon books or catalogs for discount coupons.

Ciao Ciao Firenze (Italy Pt. 2)

The train ride on Eurostar from Rome to Florence took a little less than two hours – perfect for a little nap to get ready for a new city. If Sicily equates to a haven for nice local Sicilians and Rome for thousands of tourists, Florence was interestingly a mixture of both.

While we continued to encounter small and large groups of vacationers, here and there we met nice smiling faces of Italians. Once again, besides the architecture and art, FOOD definitely won my heart over yet again.

We devoured (classy, I promise) sandwiches with the freshest mozzarella, delicious gelato and fantastic lasagna. We walked around the small city, and we drank some quality wine and Italian beer. But don’t you worry, we also visited important sights and admired Michelangelo’s David.

Duomo didn’t disappoint… as you can see:

The sandwich guys… (i due fratellini) — Thanks Christina for the suggestion! Cafe Deluxee was superb as well. Why did I ever leave…

On our way to Piazza Michelangelo:

The bronze David:

The fantastic view from Piazza Michelangelo:

We also visited Dante’s house, sat on the roof of our hostel and watched sunset and enjoyed a long dinner. What a beautiful country! Italy quickly became one of my favorite countries. Even though I still don’t know much Italian – besides GRAZZIE! – exploring unfamiliar cities and subsequently discovering their best treasures made me fall in love with Sicilia, Roma and Firenze.

Till next time… Good night Italia!

Definitely on My Shopping List – Hunter Boots

One of about million things on my mind as I prepare to leave for London is definitely the weather. Anyone with common sense knows it rains a whole lot over there, and because I didn’t have enough room in my suitcase, I threw out my Urban Outfitters rainboots before leaving Boston. Mistake? Well… When you already have 10 or so boxes stored with your friends and bringing 4 bags on the plane, if you can’t exactly fit those heavy rubbery boots in your bag, you give up – especially when the left one has a hole.

I tried to see if any weather website had the capacity to predict what the weather is going to be this January through March. Obviously, I didn’t succeed too much there, BUT I did find these thanks to http://www.visitlondon.com/weather/ website.

This is the annual temperature pattern for London. Hovering just above 32 Fahrenheit, I think if I survived the horrible blizzard and wind in Boston in the past two years, I might do a little better in London. And more importantly, rainfall…

Yup, definitely will need a new pair of rainboots there. So as I was gently placing my old pair in the trash, I decided I will invest in a nice pair as soon as I cross the pond, and this is what I have in mind: Hunter Boots.

I heard some great things about them from friends. A bit pricey, but I think worth it. Hopefully in 3 weeks or so, you can see me actually sporting this pair of green Hunters, roaming around the winding streets of London. Any other suggestions for amazing rainboots are obviously always welcome!

-Yoojin