Newbury Street Shopping Spree

My mom and I have a new tradition that we absolutely love. Every year, about a month or so after the holidays, we take a drive down to Newbury Street in Boston and spend the day shopping at all the consignment shops there. We try to time it just right so that all the rich people in Boston have had time to clean out their closets after getting lots of new things for Christmas. Our goal is to snatch up all the best pieces. Once we've finished our retail therapy, we treat ourselves to a nice dinner and then go home to review and enjoy our spoils.

In the past, it's been a great opportunity to stock up on discount cashmere and new boots, but we're always open to an exciting find. Last year, my mom came home with a super chic pair of tan cowboy boots that she got at a mere fraction of their retail price. This year, I wasn't on the hunt for much. Instead I was happy to see what was out there and if I found something fabulous, great. If not, no big deal.

Yesterday was the day of our 2013 Newbury Street Shopping Spree and while neither of us hauled in a large quantity of pieces, we both felt great that we'd made great purchases and found great bargains. It was all about quality yesterday and we nailed it. Every purchase was perfectly in line with my new "Elevate" theme this year.

We stopped first at Athleta, because Sadie works there now and I couldn't possibly be on Newbury Street without stopping by to say "Hi!" to her. Both my mom and I found amazing new pieces at Athleta, but unfortunately they were full-price. In my opinion, they were worth every penny, but since it's supposed to be a bargain shopping excursion, paying full price had a little sting. Regardless, the quality of Athleta's clothes is amazing. I found an incredible pair of pants that I actually plan to wear to work. They are a tiny bit sporty, but they are definitely dressy enough that I can feel confident wearing them at MD. And holy cow does my butt look great in them! Check 'em out!

Low rise dipper pants, Athleta, $79

I came extremely close to also getting the Bettona Classic Pants because they look just like a nice pair of fitted black pants, but (spoiler alert!) they are actually just like yoga pants. The zipper is a total fake-out! You just pull 'em on like any other stretchy pants! Amazing! In the end, I chose the Dipper Pants because they'll keep me honest. A pair of non-pants that allow me to eat multiple large pizzas and pints of Ben & Jerry's while still fitting into them with ease? Sounds like a slippery slope to me. I'll take the non-stretchy ones and make sure I opt for a salad instead of a steak & cheese sub. However, I could hardly deprive you of the info for these pants should you decide that stretchy non-pants are just the thing for you: 

Bettona Classic Pants, Athleta, $79

Did I mention they come in classic, boyfriend and jegging styles? I think a pair of these in the jegging style with my favorite knee-high boots and a sporty sweater would be the ideal casual weekend outfit. I also think it would be great for traveling. As soon as I got home from shopping, I found myself thinking more and more about both of these pants- the Dippers and the Bettonas. I hopped on over to the Athleta website and found a few that were on sale for less than half price! I snatched 'em up right away and I can't wait to get them! I got two pair of the Dippers and one pair of the Bettonas in the jeggings style. (I figure that since I also got the Dippers, they'll keep me honest.) Did you know that at Athleta there is absolutely no limit on returns? You can bring anything back for any reason at any time. How amazing is that? 

Anyway, as exciting as the pants were for me, they weren't the only exciting purchase of the day. In fact, the single most exciting purchase wasn't even mine! It was my mom's! She found the most beautiful fox fur hat I have ever seen. But in all honesty, I have to admit that when she first showed it to me, I thought she was making a joke. I didn't believe she was serious about actually liking let alone buying it. But she was! And she bought it and she wore it the rest of the day and eventually it grew on me until I was thinking to myself, "I might want to borrow that..." So, without further ado, I present to you the most fabulous fox fur hat on the planet, proudly modeled by my lovely mother:

It was a beastly, bitterly cold day in New England yesterday- we were both wearing our shearling-lined boots, down feather puffy coats with fur-trimmed hoods and our warmest cashmere sweaters. The temperature hovered around 10 degrees for most of the day, and it was windy! I'm sure she'll wear it a lot in the future, but the hat has already been a worthwhile purchase since it kept her warm for most of the day yesterday! 

By the time we got home, I'd fallen in love with the hat. It makes me giggle a little, but I have to admit that I was wrong about it in the beginning. Maybe it's just because it's so different from just about anything my mom wears that I had trouble picturing it on her. When we got home, we had a little fun snapping photos of each other in the hat. The truth is that it looks amazing with my vintage fur-collar coat. 

She's such a fashionista. 

The front view. 

The side view. 

With my fur-trimmed coat and Coach sunglasses. I said this was my "movie star" look! Haha! 

So pretty! Look at all that luxurious fur! 

Side view with the fur coat. 

Love it! 

I'll be sure to post photos of the new dress I bought as well. It was a brand-new Jones New York charcoal grey dress that has lace detail on the shoulders with a gorgeous slim skirt and a matching belt. It's just stunning and I can't wait to wear it! It had the original tags still on it with a retail price of $150. At Second Time Around, I paid $62 for it! Bargain! I also snagged a pair of sparkly ballet flats for $44. A little pricey for second hand, but they are gorgeous, so I splurged. I found them at The Closet, a consignment shop that specializes in super high-end clothes and accessories including Valentino, Manolo Blahnik, Louboutin, Prada, etc. On last year's Newbury Street Shopping Spree, I scored a simple cashmere cardigan there. It's a tiny shop that's packed with gorgeous clothes and accessories. We once saw a handful of stunning Hermes ties there. Anyway, back to my shoes- I promise to post a photo on Shoesday Tuesday next week so you can see them in all their glory. (But don't get too excited- they're not a high end designer or anything. Just pretty.) 

Do you have a special shopping event at any point in the year? Who do you share it with? Where do you go? Leave a comment and tell me all about it. And as always, thanks for reading!