Shopping in LA? Nobody shops in LA.

I was super lazy today and slept in after a long Friday night out. This afternoon I finally got some motivation to get out of the house. I went down to Melrose Ave and had a great afternoon. The last time I shopped on Melrose was in high school. I called in sick to work at Cold Stone Creamery so my girlfriend Jennifer and I could drive up from Huntington Beach to look for vintage prom dresses. :)

My first stop was an antique store I had driven by recently and it caught my attention. Of course I'm still on the hunt for milk glass and other great finds for my new place! Early California Antiques wasn't what I expected but wonderful all the same! The store is filled from floor to ceiling with treasures from an era as described in the store name. They didn't have any milk glass but beautiful wood work, wrought iron and upholstered pieces in perfect condition, amazing paintings and so much more. Also the outside has some awesome artwork!

Next stop was Wasteland were I shopped and lusted for hours. They have new/used clothing and shoes. The store carries great vintage and designer brands at bargain prices if used. There are some great clothing brands with new clothes and most are reasonably priced. Of course there were tons of great shoes that broke my heart since I was only allowed to look at them (and maybe try them on). I scored two useroo blouses, pair of jeans and a skirt. I know I'll be heading back there again soon!!!

Unfortunately all my photos are blurry from the shop.

Its probably because I was too excited and didn't want to waste time taking photos!

Crazy for kitties

I have been searching for used pairs of either the Jeffrey Campbell Lita or Damsel in this amazing cat tapestry. I haven't found them in my size yet but I'll continue to search. I'm sure by the time I do find a pair and purchase them, they will be completely out of style and old news...but I don't care! I love them and I love kitties. :)

Jeffrey Campbell Lita

Jeffrey Campbell Damsel

Recently my aunts, cousins, mom and myself went through all of my grandmother's possessions (5 months later but it was the right time) and divided everything up amongst our families. We were able to go through pictures, jewelry, furniture and silly little things that made us laugh. There were only a few special keepsakes I really wanted but found one that I had to have. I am now the proud owner of this purse/backpack and I love it!

The bag reminds me of the mid 90's when everyone was using small backpacks for purses, to go with their baby doll tees and knee highs. It is completely on trend with the corky Jeffrey Campbell shoes. I guess if I’m not able to find my useroo Litas or Damsels, I still have this amazing purse with sentiment and a story. That is good enough for me!

In search of sunnies...

I have been dying to find a new pair of sunglasses. I have looked on Etsy, eBay and Craigslist for what I have in mind but each search has been unsuccessful. So of course, I decided to stop into H&M to see if they had what I was looking for. Aaaaaand they did. I contemplated having my mom buy them for me or me buy them and not tell anyone but I did neither. I will continue to search for something similar online.

Vintage Indian Motorcycles sweatshirt, B Makowski purse, H&M sunglasses, OPI nail lacquer

After torturing myself, I went to Buffalo Exchange and bought shoes. It made me feel better.

Active pants, Jessica Simpson heels

Vintage menswear spectators

Tips for useroos like me

I came across this article today on Yahoo about 8 Things You Should Never Buy Used. They are all helpful, if not logical but I paid most attention to the shoes. The argument wasn't that strong advising people not to get secondhand shoes but it added to my growing discomfort of wearing strangers' gear. I just bought a new used pair of heels for work today and even before reading this, I was kind of grossed out. The shoes are perfect for work, what I was looking for, tacky and only $12 from Out of the Closet. Unfortunately, the gold lining inside is flaking and turning to powder on my black, opaque tights. The dust is more an annoyance than anything else because it looks like I dipped my toes in buckets of saw dust. On the up side, they are well made, have leather soles and are extremely comfortable. Once I wear them in, I'm sure it will be fine but I really want to tear them off of my feet and throw them right now!

Buying used shoes has been a challenge for me since January. I like the idea but I can't help but feel the need to wash my feet after sliding a covered or worse bare foot into someone else's shoes. I don't know these people. I don't know where they have been or how clean they were. Plus, the shoes are normally formed to someone else's foot which can be initially uncomfortable. For the last 10+ years, I haven't walked around barefoot in my home, at the pool or anywhere else because I find it unsanitary and get creeped out. These shoes take my neuroses to extremes. I still love this challenge and feel like I have become very creative with my purchases but it also reminds me that I am really pushing my comfort levels. Its been fun finding dishes, paintings, cabinets and lamps but shoes are tough. Luckily I have enough underwear and socks to get me thru this year...because I won't do either of those secondhand!

Note-I was going to post some gross pictures of what I imagine the previous owners' feet look like but I was so disgusted with the images I saw, I didn't want to scare off my small number of readers! Instead, I thought these were fun:

Update-now I'm off work and took a picture. Ewwwwww!