A Blog is Born

It's been a while since I have added a new blog, and since I've blogged period. But here I am, and I'm thrilled. En vogue bon marché literally translates as: "in fashion inexpensive", and that is exactly what I'm all about. I love looking through fashion mags, and recreating the outfits, or ensemblés (ohn-sahm-bleys) on a budget. Unfortunately as a part-time working mother of 2, I don't have thousands of dollars lying around begging to be spent on fashion.

I've been on a quest recently: to put together an ensemblé that I had torn from the pages of an issue of my beloved Lucky magazine. Years ago I started what I called a style book. Basically, I tore out pictures of outfits I loved and/or felt would look good on me, and assembled them together in a large hardback sketchbook. Slowly, I began creating a piece here or there - skirts mostly. Every year, it seemed I would sew a new fall/winter skirt. Living in Florida, this is quite feasible. Back to my quest...

I bought a book of croquis at Jo-Ann Fabrics and started sketching renditions of some of my favorite outfits. Having my style book for several years now, I've found my taste has changed.

Croquis are pre-sketched forms that make it simpler to sketch or design clothing. You don't have to worry about proportion, or do you? But I'll get to that later.

Here is my first sketch. I put a wonderful skirt found on Pinterest.com with a blouse/sweater combo found in a Cotton ad worn by Zooey Deschanel. I thought it looked nice together. Just realized that her face and legs still lack color. Must rectify that tonight.

I recently became fascinated with owning a pair of wingtips, so they tend to make regular appearances. I love menswear-inspired women's shoes. Love.

The next sketch I did was verbatim from a Lucky photoshoot. This fanastic, slightly hipster, layered number consisting of overalls, silk polka dot blouse, flannel jacket, striped kneesocks and the wingtips. They were in the picture - I swear!

As you can see, I'm still not done with it. Finished! However, I still flip to it and stare at it longingly. For fun, I added up the cost of buying it piece by piece. Not fun. It tallied up to over $1300. The shoes alone were $595. Denim overalls, silk blouse, wool flannel jacket, etc. That was heartbreak #1. Heartbreak #2 came when I started trying to find stylish overalls. The fashion house listed on the glossy page no longer sold the pair shown - or any at all. I would not give up.

My joy came one day when I stumbled onto a website that had a lovely pair of Aldo wingtips.

They weren't the exact color I wanted, but they were close and the price was unbeatable at $33 (originally $105). I would have this dream ensemblé. And truly, I did dream about it. I pictured myself wearing it while strolling the streets of Bath in England. I began scouring websites. Googling things like "fashion overalls". Visiting, um, ethnic clothing stores. I recalled the "Casual Friday" episode of The Office. Kelly (Mindy Kaling) had worn a cute pair of overalls and compared herself to J. Lo. Alas, it was still not to be.

Why are overalls always associated with farming? I was NOT looking for a pair of Jethro overalls. I put it off for a week or two and thought of other things. Meanwhile, I purchased a nice grey flat sheet for $5 from which to make my lovely grey skirt.

Finally, one day on ebay, I struck gold. Or so I thought.

I found these super cute, relaxed fit* overalls for only $24. 

*Even though pre-sketched croquis are convenient and make you look like a pro, they are not true to my proportions. I am, well, average. I'm 5'5" and weigh slightly more than I would like to. Let's just say I'm pear-shaped. But I am working on it. So, I ordered a pair, size large. Those lucky Asian women, with their petite frames! You can always take in, but you can't always let out.

Next I found not one, but two great plaid jackets. A red flannel plaid trench! Genius!

And the smaller, more fitted coat was adorable! Had to get both at $18 each.

Last was that silk blouse. I searched "polka dot blouse", "navy blouse", "navy polka dot blouse" and even just "blouse". I finally found several different styles to choose from, and then just two that were navy and the right size of polka dot.

I picked this one up for $17! For those of you playing at home, that means that I was able to assemble the entire outfit for $92. That's a savings of $1200 from the original.

I have yet to receive all of my pieces from Korea, Taiwan, etc. But I just received the blouse yesterday. Super cute! By the way, the shoes are of excellent value and really comfortable. I've also received the trench. So far, everything fits.

In the midst of my quest I realized how much I loved the hunt. Finding that perfect piece for the perfect price. I want to extend my services to others who have seen that outfit they must have, but cannot afford. I want to help others put the pieces together and be thrilled with the results. So that's what I'm here for...

Can't wait to start on my next adventure in shopping!