How to Pack: MAD Style
So with an upcoming family vacation to Las Vegas, it’s time to break out the suitcase and hit the sky! Now for some, packing can be an extreme chore. For me, it’s one of the greatest style challenges.
I use to pack willy-nilly, just throwing shirts and jeans in and hoping things went together when I got there. Now I pack by outfits. It’s much easier to figure out how many days I’ll be gone and pack an outfit for each day. Then I’ll throw in a few extra shirts, an extra pair of jeans and jacket.
So for Vegas: I started with some special pieces I had bought specifically for the trip. Like this awesome one-sleeved, silk burnt-orange shirt from The Limited that just screamed Vegas at me when I saw it online. From there I checked the weather. This is probably the most important piece of research to do before packing. You don’t want to pack shorts if you’re going to need a parka. Vegas’ temps are settling into the low 80s this time of year (boo it’s the freaking desert). So I started with cute shorts and top combos, threw in some jeans for traveling and night time, a leather jacket, a denim jacket and two smaller handbags. A few swimsuits for good measure and I’m ready to roll!
In terms of the physics of packing, I approach it one of two ways. If I’m really worried about wrinkles, I lay items flat on top of one another. If not, I keep shirts folded in half and throw them in. I usually keep dresses and jackets in a garment bag to protect against spills of any kind. Also: Downy Wrinkle Release and Febreze are sold in travel size so always keep some in your bag. Same goes for Scotchgard.
I also used to be the girl who packed five pairs of shoes for a simple weekend away with friends. It seems like such a simple concept, but I read in a magazine to stick to one color combination, say black and white or browns, so make packing easier. Well duh! I try to follow that now so I only end up with one pair of heels, one pair of flats and a pair of sandals. But being me sometimes this doesn’t always work but I’m human so sue me…
Same goes for accessories: I try and stick with a color scheme. The best advice for packing necklaces, especially long ones: invest in small jewelry plastic baggies. When I worked retail, all the jewelry in shipment came in these and I’d bring them home since they would just be thrown away. It’s great for no tangles (let the clasp hang outside the bag; it’ll still close somewhat and be secure). Earrings and rings I toss into a mini Tuperware container from the 80s or my smaller beauty bag in my purse. And of course, wear anything valuable or sentimental during your travels or keep them in your carry-on/purse in case of lost luggage.
I’m a large handbag type of gal and this conviction is proven most useful when traveling. I can save my carry-on bag, which is usually a backpack, for my computer, camera and other electronic supplies. My large handbag can hold my planner, travel itinerary, magazines and other random stuff. I pack smaller handbags to switch into when I arrive.
What’s the best travel packing advice you’ve received? Cheers from sunny Vegas!
MAD’s First Outfit Picture!
AHHH! So it’s been a very long time coming, but I’m happy to present you with the first image of me on MAD About Style! With the help of my very beautiful and talented best friend Emily, I snapped some pictures while relaxing at Famous Fossil Winery in Freeport, IL between a sorority sister’s wedding and reception. It was a gorgeous day to hang with Emily, the other BFF, Molly and most importantly, our DD and Molly’s boyfriend, Craig.
I have to say: posing for these pictures was very awkward! Probably because this is the first time and I felt like I had no idea what I was doing or what I was getting myself into. No going back now though!
Dress: American Eagle
Shoes: Elle (Kohl’s)
Bracelet: Akira
Sunglasses: Coach
My photographer with me below…
Look for more to come! At least everyone knows I’m a real person now!
MAD Finances: This Experiment Isn’t Going as Planned
Keeping this little financial experiment has proved to be much more time consuming than I planned. Well, not really time consuming but hard to fit into my jam packed scheduled. On top of that, my grandmother became ill in early February and eventually passed away on St. Patrick’s Day. So with going back and forth between the hospital and nursing home, plus work and volunteering with my sorority, this fell by the wayside. Majorly. So the month of April is going to serve as a reboot to the experiment. I have more time on weekends now to sit down and calculate things on a weekly basis rather than trying to figure out what’s been entered into the spreadsheet or not.
On a lighter note, my spring shopping is off to a swimming start. The first thing I purchased was new swimsuits (did you get the swimming start quip?!) I hadn’t replaced swimsuits in about three or four years so I figured it was time. I always find cute suits at Old Navy and this year didn’t let me down. The other purchase that had been weighing on my mind was a new white suit. I’m going to a sorority convention in June in Tucson, AZ, and need something white for the ritual ceremony. The Limited not only provided me with said suit but also with two new dresses to wear for summer weddings. American Eagle hasn’t let me down with their spring sweater options. Finally there’s a pair of tan suede ankle boots I purchased from Maurices which are perfect for this in-between weather we’ve been having. Again readers I’m sorry for the lack of pictures but a camera is still on the purchase list for the financial experiment.
More updates to come!
MAD Finances: It’s Not Even a Week Into 2011 and I’m Already Down a Paycheck
Today’s mood tracker: depressed. As stated in the title, it’s Wednesday, January 5, and according to my handy-dandy spreadsheets, one of my hard earned paychecks has already vamonos-ed out the door. Like most people, I made the switch to online bill pay for credit cards within the last few years. For someone like me who forgets how many business day you should allow for the check to get there, this has been a lifesaver of late fees. I get the e-mail alert my monthly statement is ready and I immediately head over to schedule the payment so I don’t have to worry about it. I also keep track of it in the ultimate organizer of my life, my planner. On the day the payment is due, I write to whom it’s owed, how much and a check mark to indicate the payment has been scheduled.
I’ve got some of my payments scheduled and checked off in the planner, so I figured I could switch them over to the spreadsheet. Lo and behold, it shows I’ve already scheduled an entire paycheck worth just on bills. That hurts. But that’s what this little experiment is for: to show exactly where my dineros are going. Stay tuned for more updates!
MAD Musings Volume 4: The I Hate Everything I Own Trap
A few weeks ago, my family and I came back from one of our infamous 20-minute vacations*. Upon opening my closet to put my coat away, I found the bracket holding the bar had pulled out of the wall, leaving the plastic bar bowed in the middle. Now why there was only one bracket holding up a flimsy plastic piece of pipe, I’ll never know. After I moved to Chicago, my younger sister moved into my childhood bedroom and her then-boyfriend rigged a new closet for her. I can’t say it was his fault for this unfortunate occurrence though, because when my dad and cousin went to fix it, they couldn’t find a stud to attach new brackets to.
So I was very peeved to find my closet wasn’t in perfect working order because I’m. Absolutely. Anal. About. My. Closet. Like ridiculously so. Everything goes on the same hanger in the same place. It’s organized by sleeve length and color. If you were to come in and move something, I will notice and it will drive me crazy until I’m able to move it back. In college, my friends would move things around whilst I was out at the fraternity house and I’d come back to the dorm room late. But I’d still take the time to fix their fun. Yeah, that anal.
For almost two weeks, I had a small amount of clothing hanging in my closet and the rest were scattered around the house in piles. Upon initial discovering, my mom came in and asked, “Do you think this means you have too many clothes?” I promptly ROFLMAOd all over the place, stood up, looked her dead in the eye to make sure this was a serious question, and said, “No!”
There was no way I have too many clothes. I’m not sure if it’s possible. Well I’m sure it is possible, but I’m nowhere near that place. Now admittedly if I was a more strict follower of only keeping what fits at this moment in time, I’d have quite a few less items in my closet because of said Mom’s awesome home cooking over the last seven months.
When the closet was finally fixed with two new brackets and a new metal rod to prevent bending, I placed everything back in in its proper place. Then the I hate everything I own trap hit. That almost irresistible urge to give away everything and start over fresh. Of course with my new financial experiment in full force as I write this, that urge must be suppressed. I suppressed that initial urge by stocking up on new basic tees and tanks from Maurices and Old Navy since the old ones were looking kind of ragged. It seems to have worked so far. But who knows when it will creep up again?!
What triggers your I hate everything moments?
*The infamous family 20-minute vacations usually take place within a hundred mile radius of home and are only an overnight thing, maybe two nights away.
I Must Be MAD To Do This But…
The last few months, InStyle magazine has given three of their editors a budget, broken down monthly, on what they can spend on fall fashion. It got me thinking about a very simple question a lot of us ask ourselves: where does all my money actually go? Well kids, I’m about to find out…
Starting January 1, 2011, I’m going to keep track of every single dollar I spend. I’ve already created Excel spreadsheets with separate sheets for monthly bills like credit cards, student loans and rent; groceries, personal care items, household items like paper towels, etc., and laundry fees (for when/if I have to pay for laundry again); clothing, shoes and accessories; entertainment, for restaurants, bars, vacations, etc.; and miscellaneous for any bigger ticket or one time purchase items, like the new bed I’ll need whenever I move out of my parent’s house. And finally the ever scary expenses versus income category. I just had a slight coronary typing that.
Each sheet is broken down into categories and months, so it’s easy to see what categories are the most expensive and hopefully lend a hand in seeing where cutbacks can take place. There’s also a place to keep track of my savings account balance to see how maybe paying off a credit card can pad it a little. Well that and to make sure I actually remember to put money in the damn thing.
To be honest, this scares the absolute crap out of me. But it’s going to be a great learning experience to see what my money is really getting me. And maybe it’ll make me think twice about that new pair of boots or that extra drink with friends. I would love some feedback on this. God knows I’ll need the support once the New Year rolls around!
Just Plain MAD: How Wal-Mart Schooled Me On the Art of Black Friday
Black Friday: the day consumers look forward to all year for the best deals on everything consumer-y and the days those who work retail dread. It’s become a big a part of the American Thanksgiving tradition as the Macy’s parade, turkey and football. My mom, cousins, aunts, sister and I have participated for the last few years and have scored some great deals. And then this year, Wal-Mart happened.
Wal-Mart is usually the last place we stop on Black Friday. But with an advertised opening time of midnight, this year it was our first. Electronics were not supposed to go on sale until 5 a.m., but by the time we entered the store around 10 minutes before midnight, most of those items were already guarded by our fellows shoppers.
Thinking this would be the scenario, I deviated a plan to ensure the 32″ Emerson flat screen TV my mom and two cousins wanted, plus the Kodak digital camera my cousin and I wanted, would come to fruition. I went to Wal-Mart’s website early Thursday evening and placed what I thought were the items we wanted in the shopping cart. Slick, right? Well, hold on…
While our coveted items rested what I thought was safely in cyberspace, we parked our car in the adjacent Ford dealership and braved the 20 degree cold to arrive at Wal-Mart for the midnight opening. For the most part, it was peaceful pandemonium. People were saying “Excuse me,” and “Thank you,” while rushing for their wares. We ended up with everything on our list except a set of sheets: boys’ pajamas, two Shop Vacs, a Bissell three-in-one vacuum, a Jeep luggage set and men’s jeans.
Our divide and conquer strategy worked well until my cousin and I ended up on one side of the store while Mom secured a place in line on the other side. When we arrived at Mom, we found only about half the check out lines at this particular supercenter were open. When my cousin went looking for an explanation, a woman working there said they didn’t expect to be that busy. Now if you advertise an opening time of midnight, wouldn’t you expect to be busy? When we left for our excursion, I knew people would be there guarding the 5 a.m. items and others would be scrambling to pick up the smaller items.
We arrived home right at 1 a.m. and regrouped. I was to stay home and wait for the 5 a.m. Wal-Mart prices to become available online, while Mom and cousin worked on the rest of our lists at Kohl’s, Bergners and Home Depot. I set my alarm every half hour and hit the refresh button on my browser to see when the prices of my online items updated to the good deal price. Finally after unsuccessfully updating, I decided to venture away from my shopping cart to find right under the check your local ad button, another button that said something like “Find these prices online. Click here.”
Alas, the items I was so certain were our 5 a.m. deal items in the shopping cart were not. The TVs were gone by the time I got to the right spot online, but I was able to find the cameras. I quickly updated my cart with the correct cameras and hit checkout. I entered all the correct billing and shipping info and credit card info and hit place order. Then the drama began. I was asked to enter the security code on my debit card three or four times with a note saying something was wrong. I know I entered the correct one and then, because I had tried so many times, Wal-Mart’s website locked my card out. I had no other card to use and the cameras slipped away into cyberspace abyss. And I. Was. Pissed.
Most of the time we treat Black Friday like a laugh: if we get what we want, great. If not, no skin off our teeth. But for some reason, the loss of these cameras made me hit the roof. I blame lack of sleep.
Although Wal-Mart stuck it to us this year, I did get a great deal on a Banana Republic dress for 40 percent off. And next year, I will have the knowledge to get items in the right spot online. Wal-Mart, watch out!
MAD Analysis: Could You Wear Only Six Items for a Month??
A few weeks ago I read this New York Times story about the Six Items or Less project, in which people pick six items from their closet and wear only those six items in rotation for an entire month. Another project listed in the article was the Great American Apparel Diet, where people pledge to not buy a new piece of clothing for an entire YEAR. I feel my blood pressure rising already…
Now in theory, both of these projects sound interesting and something I would consider participating in. I believe I would make a serious, good-faith effort to abide by the six items for a month, but I don’t know how I would fare. Even thinking about the six pieces of clothing I would pick seems like a daunting task. The six items do not include shoes, accessories or undergarments, so you can jazz up your six items endlessly. But then I think, I moved from Chicago back to my hometown almost three months ago with two suitcases of clothing and one of shoes, down from two large dressers and a large closet. So I was literally rotating through the same 10 or 12 shirts, four pairs of jeans and one pair of khaki shorts for work for seven weeks until I was able to get to my storage unit in Chicago to pick up a few more to add. Now I can’t say I was happy about said rotation, but I didn’t have a choice. And eating all this delicious home cooking has limited my wardrobe even more due to a slight increase in pudge around the mid section. Ugh I can’t believe I just admitted that! Eeek!
So if I had to choose and start today, my best attempt at my six items would be a pair of American Eagle skinny jeans in a dark wash; an Express black boyfriend blazer; a red satin flowy tank from Express; a long-sleeve denim shirt from American Eagle; my khaki shorts; and a white Old Navy t-shirt. And looking at those items again, I have no idea how I could rotate them through enough times in four weeks that I wouldn’t want to poke my eyes out from looking at the same thing over and over again. And isn’t this a lot more laundry since you have to wash the same six things all month? And that blazers is dry clean only…better break out the Dryel, which does work very well by the way.
As for the Great American Apparel Diet, I would fail. Miserably…and then some. I’m one of those people that gets the biggest high from snipping the tags of something new and does a little dance when the online shopping package shows up at the door. I thought about this apparel diet while looking through the September issues of InStyle, Elle and Lucky. With the fall fashion season beginning to turn over, how could I not indulge in what they were showing me? Of course not to the extent I would like because the new leather Louis Vuitton skirts are simply out of my price range. But I could probably find a cheaper, non-leather version of a knee-length, pleated skirt to get my hands on. Come to think of it, I already have two in my closet/boxes in storage from Old Navy from two years ago…damn! For me, I simply get bored with my older clothes and get new after donating what the thrift stores will actually take. I don’t follow every single trend and don’t turn over my wardrobe completely every season because I don’t have the cash flow to do so.
My best friend told me last year that I’m more of a classic dresser, which I immediately balked at because sometimes for people in their mid to late twenties, “classic” means “you dress like an old lady.” I’ve been a person who likes to dress up for many years now. Blame in on a lifetime of Catholic education and uniforms/dress codes. Dress pants, a button-up shirt, vest and heels…perfection to me. Every month, InStyle takes a trend or piece of clothing and breaks it down into age ranges and shows options appropriate for each. I always pick the one that’s 40s-50s over the 20s-30s! I noticed it three months in a row! So now I question if I’m not taking enough chances in my wardrobe, or have I learned what works and am sticking to it? Maybe I do need a diet of six items of less…in more ways that one!
Do you think you could do six items or less for a month? Or do you think you could not buy anything but new underwear for a year?
More Professional Dress MADness
I was helping out at a conference a few months ago and saw a woman carrying an Astro Boy messenger bag as her professional bag. Now this seems to be a new trend…or something. Recently I’ve seen a lot of adults with childhood accessories or clothes. I saw many Fozzie Bear hats this winter. I personally feel like at some point the childhood wares should be put away. If you can’t bear to part with your Cabbage Patch Kid or My Buddy, fine. Keep it in your old toy box at your parent’s house or stashed away in your house/apartment. I still have my first baby doll Katie because she’s a part of my history, part of the road I took to becoming who I am today. But I don’t play with her or change her into clothes to match mine like I did when I was five.
This goes for the men too: no cartoon ties!
And especially at a professionally hosted conference, leave the Astro Boy bag at home and opt for a leather or canvas bag instead. I’ve seen great ones at Target even. You can bring your quirky personality through in other ways, with say a great piece of jewelry or funky prints.
MAD Asks…Why Do Women Wear Flip Flops Into the Office?
This is something I have been trying to figure out for some time now. Kind of like why do young professional women in Chicago insist on wearing North Face jackets as winter coats and then complain they’re cold? Because it’s 20 degrees below zero and you’re wearing what essentially qualifies as a windbreaker.
Now I cannot be sure when exactly the dress code policy kicks in when it comes to work. Does it start as soon as you enter the building? When you get to your desk and clock in? For me, I feel most able to start my work day when I’m completely dressed properly, down to my shoes. During the spring, summer and fall, I like to wear flats since I have to walk quite a ways from my apartment to the El station. Most of the time I change into heels once I arrive at work. And when I say change, I mean I pull them out of my bag or tote and put them on, not sorting through a pile of shoes at my desk, which I know a lot of women do. If you want to keep a pair or two stashed in a drawer, out of sight, I have no problem with that. But I worked with a supervisor who literally had about 10 pairs of shoes in plain sight under her desk. Not cool.
I personally feel it looks ridiculous to see a woman dressed in a nice jacket and pants or a dress with plain rubber Havianas or Old Navy flip flops. It takes just as much effort to slip into a cute pair of flats. They don’t even have to be the latest Tory Burch’s. It just looks more professional and put together, especially if you work in an environment that prohibits wearing open toed shoes.
How do you feel about this? Please share your thoughts!
