One-Dollar Wonders

39 Comments

• catgirl replied 10 years ago

  What is the jacket?! I am on my phone - much more to add when I am home!

• rae replied 10 years ago

  Una, it is Ellie Tahari off of Bluefly. Zap had the S, I got XS. Thanks for making me go to the link, it is on sale, and I just wrote in about a price adjustment! Fingers crossed... 

  It comes in black and brown, too. 
  http://www.bluefly.com/Elie-Ta.....9626702/de

• replied 10 years ago

  Great jacket!

• Mo replied 10 years ago

  You're ditching the Bebe??? Say it isn't so!  Not even for off work, play time?  I did get the DP Moto and can't wait to wear it.  I've never worn a pleather jacket before.  I was sorely tempted by an ivory Guess one a few seasons back but never jumped.  
  I can understand the gold moto being more outgoing than you ;)  And the moon butt LOL.  But the Bebe?

• Joy replied 10 years ago

  Yes, what is that jacket in 1? Really outstanding.

• Joy replied 10 years ago

  Ah, I see it,. Cross posted

• Transcona Shannon replied 10 years ago

  Can't stop laughing at "moon butt" - lol!

  So glad you found The One Rae. I think experimenting with different versions of an item until you find the right one is pretty common. You don't know exactly what you're looking for until you weed through the others - that's how we figure out fit and details that we like and don't like.

• Amy replied 10 years ago

  Rae, your newest jacket is absolutely beautiful. I love the color on you and the material looks so...sumptuous compared to some of the others. I'm sad about the galaxy jacket though. Patterns can be unfortunate sometimes.

  Yes, I've gone through multiple iterations of particular items like you have here. Pumps...argh.

• shedev replied 10 years ago

  Love the new jacket, Rae.

• goldenpig replied 10 years ago

  Maybe I should wear the moon butt jacket! It would be perfect for my line of work! :D
  Love the new jacket. Glad you found the one.
  But I second Mo, you should keep the white Bebe!
  I am doing this very expensive very obsessive search for the perfect blue pumps. Fingers crossed that I found the right one--the dragonfly pumps are on the way!

• rachylou replied 10 years ago

  I can see why you're going with #1 and ditching the rest. It's got your vibe, the right balance of masculine and feminine, fashion-forward but not in-your-face.

  I think I do the same thing often enough - buy 'til I land on the right one, and then that's it. I feel I might even have had this thought recently about something. I was just satisfied and *done*... funny, I can't quite remember what it was though.

• deb replied 10 years ago

  The new jacket is beautiful! I wondered if you would keep the moon butt jacket. I would have a hard time with it also. The others, well you now have a better understanding of what you want/like and can move forward.

• Jaime replied 10 years ago

  I totally get this. Giving up objectively nice stuff is an advanced style skill!

• catgirl replied 10 years ago

  Cool! It is similar to the Spiegel, at least in look- have you been wearing that?

  As sorry as I was to let go of the galaxy moto, it was seeing you in it hat made me realize I couldn't compare! And am sad about the Ella Moss. Can you keep for casual?

  Maybe the right jacket is like the Brahmin - it replaces everything in its class!

• Elizabeth P replied 10 years ago

  Beautiful jacket. And I'm impressed with your ability to get rid of the rest, cuz they look pretty great on you too. But of course I don't know his they feel on you.

• replied 10 years ago

  Are you kidding me???? Ack, I am so honored. You look amazing. That jacket is really versatile. I even layer over it, it is a great piece, if I say so myself. I hope you enjoy it for years to come.

• CocoLion replied 10 years ago

  What a gorgeous jacket!  And I love the way you've styled it.

  And yes, I do this -- buy something until I find "the one."  I do it with jeans, sweaters, jackets, shoes. :-(   Less so with tops, bags and other accessories. :-) 

• Suz replied 10 years ago

  The jacket is lovely, Rae. Great purchase. And great decisions about your returns. 

  And yes. I do this for sure. Not really consciously, usually...it's just a process of refinement. Then, once I figure out the elements that will make a specific kind of piece work for me, I don't have to do it so often. 

• rae replied 10 years ago

  Mo, I know. I wore that thing like once a week at the office. It was perfect for the long days of arctic air conditioning. I have been trying to wear it for play, but my play so rarely involves the right mix of dressiness, low activity levels, and low temperatures. Heck, it's still around 80 degrees here, smack in the middle of November. :T

  Una, it is much lighter than the Spiegel jacket. I did wear the Spiegel in Missouri, and it was great, but it's still too hot to wear that one much. It's going to have to be a coat alternative for me.

  Zap, I am just bowing down to your magic eye for outerwear.

  Shannon, I guess that's what it is... I had been in such a controlled bubble of an environment that I didn't have much reason to dislike anything... 

  Suz, I don't think I do it consciously, either. If I knew I was doing it while I was doing it, then I wouldn't do it! lol. But refinement is the word... I keep inching closer as new quibbles continue to reveal themselves. 

• AnnieMouse replied 10 years ago

  I'm so sad you already sold the Muubaa - I keep looking for one, thanks to your post when you picked it up. But I love that you've [finally] found a jacket that works for you!

• texstyle replied 10 years ago

  Love this jacket Rae - and great choices all around I'd say. I notice the lining is still polyester - I guess it's more breathable than some? I ask because I have such warm weather here too that pretty much *any* leather jacket is dead of winter only - and not indoor wear ever.

• rae replied 10 years ago

  Yes, texstyle, it's true. I would not have ordered it if I hadn't tried on Zap's first. The sleeves are half cotton, and the jacket is so darn lightweight it hardly holds any heat at all. 

• ironkurtin replied 10 years ago

  I hear you, Rae.  I do this a lot myself.  It's why my wardrobe churns so much.

• Lisa replied 10 years ago

  Great new jacket.  And yes, I have done this.  Unfortunately the best way to learn is to make mistakes sometimes.

• replied 10 years ago

  That jacket looks fantastic on you Rae. I think it was a great purchase. This one will be so much more versatile (comfort and stylewise) that it will be a workhorse for you. Good call to let the rose gold one go. I would also sell the Bebe as long as you have another white leather jacket (you have the Danier that Vicki and others have, right?). This new jacket has the draped collar as the Bebe and the Danier will cover your need for a white leather jacket. Great neutral color too. That Zap has great taste, doesn't she?

• unfrumped replied 10 years ago

  Great jacket and great revelations.
  I am quite guilty of this, and I blame lack of exposure to cool stuff--don't have enough for comparison,  but I expect it's me. My "almost right " eyes have been in control for so long   that I keep thinking that's the way something is supposed to look, or feel, until, whap, the real deal  hits and I go, what was I thinking? Probably will post more of the same this month and have to be hit with a revelation, too.

  The good thing is, it isn't always the more expensive thing, but, um, sometimes it is working out that way.

  So the problem becomes, if you don't know what "great" is how do you know to wait for it and it will turn up? What's funny is, sometimes that "great" doesn't translate between clothing items except in a generic "how you feel about it" reaction.
  For example, I may have a bar that shoes have to clear now, so I think I can assess shoes, but I may not be translating that into creating a similar bar for tops, or jackets, if I don't have a prototype top or jacket for reference. Unless I just envision "fabness" and try to put the item up against that.

  I think that gets back to training self to leave wardrobe holes and breathing space.

• cciele replied 10 years ago

  Unfrumped, you should start a new thread -- that's a great topic and has got me thinking!

• rae replied 10 years ago

  Claire, I actually resold the Danier, too. Should have added that to the list of mistakes (yikes, I guess I made even more this year than I was thinking). Once again: I loved it, it looked good, the materials were right... but it was too heavy for for my activities. What a slow process of learning what an "indoor" jacket is for me! 

  Unfrumped, that is an interesting point about consciously leaving wardrobe holes unfilled. What determines the fill-by date, so to speak? High-level boredom? Laundry bottleneck? Wear and tear? I suppose eventually one of these things will make unhappiness reach critical-mass... but ideally one should fill the hole before then so that you don't snap and buy the next thing you see. 

• Angie replied 10 years ago

  YES. I have been preaching forever that leather jackets come in weights. I'm thrilled you've seen the light. You need a lightweight leather moto. I wore my blush moto in Santa Monica in Sept and was very comfortable. 

• Mochi replied 10 years ago

  I admired all of Lina's jackets during the weekend, and this one you're showcasing is no exception. I dont even usually like that prominent drapey collar, but it looks so relaxed and cool. And I know the leather is gorgeous. Glad you are enjoying your new crush. I still love the muubaa but guess it wasn't meant to be. :)

• rae replied 10 years ago

  Angie, I had no idea. I thought I did, but I didn't. I mean, all this time I thought an "outdoor" weight was what my dad wore to ride his motorcycle! I am honest when saying I had not encountered this weight of jacket before - and of course it came from the East Coast, go figure... I wish we had more like this in California. Are all lamb leathers this light - maybe that is the trick?

• Debra replied 10 years ago

  Gorgeous jacket :)

• Angie replied 10 years ago

  I don't think it's a brand thing, Rae. I have several leather jackets, some the same brand, all different weights. My blush moto is very lightweight and less warm than some of my wool blazers. My June leather jacket is heavyweight. My Danier, vintage and LAMB leather jackets are in-between. 

• gryffin replied 10 years ago

  Rae - I just wanted to say that I think what you did was really brave.  It's hard to admit that some pieces of clothing that we really love and look good on just don't work in real life.  So many factors go into that perfect piece that it's almost like magic and I really am really feeling what Unfrumped said, how can you know perfect if you have not experienced it?  I think it's just like a jigsaw puzzle you keep trying until you actually find that perfect fit.  It's a bear that it's so expensive but you are amazing at resell, girl math and ebaying!! Kudos!!  You have an amazing eye and you always look wonderful.  I think you've just taken it to the next level of what not only looks great but functions perfectly.  Just remember that the rest of us wish we were as far along on the path as you are!!  Hang in there and the new jacket looks wonderful.  Hope you really enjoy it!!

• cciele replied 10 years ago

  By the way, forgot to mention that you look fantastic in the jacket! I was totally admiring it on Zap. So glad this one fills a jacket niche for you. I also admire your buying and selling as you search for The One, whatever it may be. I do well with the buying part, not so much on the selling. It's especially hard when I shell out a bunch of money on something that becomes an orphan.

• replied 10 years ago

  Rae, I did talk to a SA at Kenneth Cole about that leather texture a while back, with a jacket I tried but did not work. When I first touched. it, I thought it was fabric and the SA told me the leather was processed to behave like fabric, that's why you can even layer the jacket like a sweater. I can't remember the name of the leather but check Kenneth Cole, Fall 2012 collection. That material was on everything. Also on BCBG's jackets, same time period.

  This is a much thinner lambskin, not your regular one

• rae replied 10 years ago

  Ah, thanks, Angie! That is great to know as well, though I was not even thinking about LAMB but lambskin (as opposed to cow leather). I think Zap has sorted me out... it's a special treatment. Rats, I guess I have to see things in person and not just google lambskin.

  Gryffin, thank you for the kind words. It IS hard to admit that something doesn't work. Especially when it doesn't work because... um, I'm not comfortable wearing it in public. It would seem like I should know that first thing, right? o_0 

• gryffin replied 10 years ago

  Rae, I can't tell you how many times I have done that. ie purchased something that can be enjoyed for closet display only.  But how can you decide if it's out of your comfort zone (literally or figuratively) vs pushing boundaries to a new level without making the plunge?  I think we all just have to give ourselves permission to make mistakes.  But the great thing is you realized it, you took action, and you made a better choice.  That's the real trick!!  Honestly, brava and well done!! 

• Adelfa replied 10 years ago

  I've been doing that with gray tees. Odd, but I was compelled. I wanted to find drapey tees that worked (as you know). My latest purchase I'm over the moon about--it is a linen tee from J. Crew (haven't bought anything from there in years). I was finding that rayon tees draped but they sort of clung in between the drapes--while this linen tee drapes gorgeously but has enough body not to cling.  Only problem being this tee says "merci" all over it and doesn't seem to come in solid colors! So the search will continue!