Well, my nearly-no-shop February went out the window this weekend. I'm working on buying mindfully and less than in previous years, not only for the benefit of keeping my closet and spending habits under control, but to be less wasteful.  But I allowed myself a couple of items this weekend -- one as a replacement item, one as a wild card. 

I took advantage of the Bloomingdales big denim sale to order a few pairs of new mid-rise bootcut jeans to try. One of my old favorite pairs (Lucky Brand) is developing a hole in the inseam (I'm going to take them to the tailor today to see if they can mend or patch somehow to get a bit more life out of them, but I figured it's a good time to look for a replacement pair anyway). I placed the order online and then took the trip to Bloomies an hour away to do a try-on. The winners were the AG Angel bootcut in the not-too-dark wash. The 8.5" rise hits me at the navel, right where I like it (I can semi-tuck a top without looking like my shirt is tucked into my bra band), the length is great and will accommodate a modest heel, and the fit is amazing for me. They're nice and soft and a good medium weight too -- not too heavy, not too thin. AG has been a big go-to for me the last couple of years. You can see these jeans in the try-on photos.

The  J Brand Sallie jeans were nice too, but quite a bit shorter, enough so that if they shrank even a little in length they would not work well for me. They would be good for ladies with shorter legs. The Paige Manhattans are slimmer on the leg, which is OK, but I have a pair from them that is very similar already and I wanted the slightly wider, easier fit of the AG's. 

So the AG Angels were a clear winner for me. The jeans ended up costing $121. Nearly $100 off of the original retail price. 

I also perused the sale jackets online while I was looking for denim, as I have considered adding another blazer to wear casually or rock'n'rolled up. I was smitten with this blue sequin number and thought it would be great for funky/arty casual occasions or even for dressy looks for the holidays next year, so I ordered that to try too. 

I adored the Zadig & Voltaire navy embellished jacket -- it would have been perfect for me as a great "classic with edgy twist" piece in navy, not black, to dress down, but alas, I got a notice that it sold out before they could fulfill my order. Wah.  

When I first tried on the sequin jacket, I thought, whoa, Elvis is in the building! I'm just not used to wearing this amount of bling. But I think the deep colors make it work for my coloring, and help me not feel too OTT. I like that it's structured glam (confession: I ended up returning the sequin duster I got last year because when it came time to wear it, it just didn't feel right with my outfits -- I think I crave more structure, and I just felt a bit like I was wearing a big shiny bathrobe). So it came home with me too. Final price: $38.

My other "downfall" was a trip to the ACC Craft Fair with a friend on Saturday. The fair is always big fun -- like shopping in a museum. Lots of beautiful, unique, well-made pieces. I hadn't been in about 5 years, so I went with a strict budget in mind of what I could spend there, and I stuck with it. I came home with three things:

- a new Fordite/Detroit agate ring. I have one already that has black and white, cobalt blue, and a bit of orange, and I love it. But I liked that this one has red and a bit of crazy sparkly paint in it that doesn't really show up in this photo -- apparently this was formed from paint chunks from a Corvette paint shop. I wear a statement ring every day, so it seems I have an endless supply of rings. I may need to let go of some old, unworn ones. 

- three pairs of cool screen-printed trouser socks in perfectly "me" colors. This is good because I've been upgrading my socks this winter.

- a necklace with a piece of actual birch bark, which is a favorite of mine, along with a river stone, both set in dark metal. You can see from one of my photographs hanging in our room that this piece sang to me.

I was tempted by a few other things (rings are a big weakness of mine, and there were some AMAZING handbags), but I contented myself with getting cards from those vendors in case I decide to shop online at a later date when I budget for those items. 

ETA: what I wore for working at my studio and receiving visitors and then going to the craft fair. Turtlenecks aren’t my most flattering, but I still love this old one from Zara and it looks good with bronze-y accents because of the subtle metallic threads throughout.