a little bit of shopping.

Today was the flea market, which means new clothes for me! The Bring Your Own Bag policy has finally hit my city, and I haven't quite gotten used to it yet, so I brought my unicorn tote bag which is pretty big in my standards, but in reality can only fit up to three garments. It got to a point where I had to carry everything I bought in my arms, so a nice lady gave me a few extra bags to hold everything in.

Today's haul!

a scottish wool sweater. It's a bit scratchy

eyeball sweater!!

saxe blue nightgown.

tricot bed jacket. I have a similar one with short puff sleeves.

another nightgown! This one has no flare so I wore it unbuttoned with a petticoat I found at Goodwill.

Also got this cute pillow!

In addition to my flea market things, I received my Bodyline order today! I got a pair of shoes, some bloomers, and a cardigan.

Flea market days are good days.

Love, Kaia

seasons a-changing

I used to post all of the clothes that I got from thrifting and shopping trips on this blog. I wonder if anyone noticed that I haven't done that very much this past year. The reason for that is pretty straightforward. I haven't done much shopping at all since I got to college. It's been getting pretty chilly lately, and I've been wearing the same jacket pretty much every day for the past month. I think that was a sign that I needed to get some new jackets, so I went to Goodwill to check up on outerwear.
From Goodwill, I got the two items on the bottom, a knit vest and a cropped coat jacket. The knit jacket and bear hat are from Beacons Closet.
Some sweaters! I love sweaters more than anything. The one on the right is from Goodwill, and the other two are from the swap and drop box on my dorm floor (freebies!) Overall, I didn't get much that's think enough to substitute for my everyday jacket. Probably have to keep my eyes out. Something else I got recently, this t-shirt by EmmyC on threadless. It has a cute allover design with businessmen all over it. I like to stop to read it sometimes.
I need more long sleeves.

Love,
Kaia

thrift shopping in the upper east side.

Today I had to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a field trip, so I decided to make a round to the Upper East Side Goodwill, because I've been wanting to visit for months. Before moving to New York, I had always wondered if the clothes would be any different in thrift shops if they were donated in the Upper east and west side. Just the front of the shop gave me a pretty good first impression. It looked a little bit different than all the other Goodwills I've been to.
The inside isn't really much different than most other Goodwills. There are still some parts that are kind of grimy, especially the fitting room.

The difference is that it's true. That the price for clothes are a little bit more expensive. And big brands are everywhere. Really. There are still the Target items, of course. A pair of shoes from Target were $15. They would have been half that price at the Goodwill back at home. Brands like Steve Madden and Nine West and Stuart Weitzman and BCBG are $25.

In this location, they have their boutique items and regular items. Boutique items are more expensive, but it's not hard for me to find something I really love. I found a beautiful printed silk dress from Tracy Reese, which would have retailed for over $400, for just $25. Definitely a markdown. It looked really new too. I would have leaped to buy it, but it was three sizes too big, and chances are I would just have it hanging in my closet if it's not my size.

I was in the shop for a pretty long time; definitely past an hour. And I hadn't even looked through everything. The shop is pretty small, but I found several things that I wanted to try on. After trying on piles and piles of clothes, I narrowed down to three pieces.
The left one is the expensive one; a $60 Coach coat. The middle one is $20 Esprit, and the right is $8 J. Jill. I'm not kidding when I say brands everywhere. There is the occasional designer piece, too. I'm still a little sad about the Tracy Reese dress. It would have been smart to take a picture.
That's the end of my thrifting trip. There were a few other instances where I've gone thrift shopping since I got here, but I haven't written about them. I was in the 23rd street area where a lot of the thrift stores are, and went to the Goodwill, Salvation Army, and Housing Works there. Because of limited time, I was only in Housing Works for five minutes. My friend went to check prices, though and it's not very cheap, it seems. I'll have to go back to see. The interiors are very nice, though. It's not the usual grimy thrift shop feel. In the five minutes I was there, I bought a tea pot that was missing a lid which I decided to use as a vase for my newly dried flowers.
I've been getting a lot of acne since school started. It's not going away until I get enough sleep and stop stressing, which wont happen until winter break. I an so looking forward to breaks.

Back to the museum, I was supposed to meet my class there at 10am this morning, but because of slight miscalculation on my part, and all the trains that were under construction today (everything, pretty much), I arrived at the museum past 11. I don't think I found my class until around 11:30. Just being able to find them was pretty lucky.
I didn't want to stay around to long when there were so many people and the Costume Institute doesn't have an exhibit, so I'd only been around for an hour.

I did visit the gift shop, though. There are some nice things, but nothing is cheap. I found a bookmark that I wanted to buy as a present to my friend, but for the bookmark alone was $17.

There was also a shirt that I was digging. It's a cityscape photo style shirt, made of cotton and spandex. This t-shirt is $55 if I remember correctly.

Their selection of handkerchiefs are so nice. There are two sides of handkerchiefs. My friend bought me one for my birthday last month, and I've been wearing it pretty frequently recently. It's the one that I'm wearing on my head in the picture with my vase.
While leaving the Met, I dropped a piece of paper, and a guard was trying to call me, and he seemed pretty confused. He called, "lady...sir!" like he couldn't decide if I were male or female. I don't know how many times this has happened. I don't find myself to be all that masculine.

I'm in the workroom tonight, working on homework. Hopefully I can get something done, at least.

Love, Kaia

save the splurge.

Tank top from Juicy Couture, two tank tops worn as a cape (left from Macy's, right from Peace Now), clip bow from F21, necklace from Sex Pot Revenge, Peace Now pants, Doc Martens from Buffalo Exchange.

I went to San Francisco on Saturday with my best friend to pick up an item she reserved. I went to look for this one pair of pants that I'd been saving up for. Unfortunately for me, by the time I got there, the pants that I wanted were already sold out. To console myself, I splurged a whole $150 on a different pair. I regret it already. I just really want that other pair.
These are pretty darn cute, though. There's a Evy mascot peeping out of the pocket, and drawstrings on the bottom to make it scrunched up or a relaxed fit.
Should have saved that money and splurged on a new dress. I think I'll sell some of my old dresses so I can buy myself a new dress. Only a few more days till graduation!

Love, Kai

oh wind, just take me away.

Thank you for all of the input on yesterday's post so far! It makes me smile just reading them. This was yesterday's outfit, but I fell asleep before finishing the post. Actually, I fell asleep at 4:30am, but that's a different story.

I had planned on going to the San Francisco cherry blossom festival last weekend, but because I was stuck in New York, I missed the festivities. So instead, my best friend and I caught a train to go to San Francisco together this Tuesday.

Elle cardigan from Goodwill, dress from H&M, parasol from Baby the Stars Shine Bright, Zigi Soho shoes from Salvation Army, pearl necklace from Angelic Pretty, DIY timepiece necklace with parts from Taiwan.
Missing my second leg in this picture, woops. I think it's just conveniently behind my other leg. Sneaky. Here are the things I bought in San Fran, minus the eyelashes and hanger from Daiso. I forgot about those.
I was desperately in need of going to San Francisco before the parasols at Baby sold out. I broke my white one by opening it too fast, and a string snapped. The dress and top are both from H&M. I haven't bought new clothes from a retail store in so long. It feels good.

I always end up wearing what I buy on the next day. I wasn't going to wear the dress for another week because there was a same style dress in dusty pink that I really wanted to get too. But I already have a couple dresses in that color, so I didn't let myself buy it. Regretting it a little bit. But I might be regretting it too if I bought it. It's a lose lose situation.
Also, I don't buy white very often. I don't like how white looks on me, so I try to buy things that are more of a cream shade or something dark and neutral like grey or black.
This parasol is flipping amazing. It's my sixth one. I don't mind spending on parasols as much as other things because I have to take one out when I go out every day. This is my first Alice and the Pirates one, though.
My friend spotted a similar necklace at Angelic Pretty in San Francisco. It was the same one in a darker pink, but it was $20 more than I bought it for in Angelic Pretty Osaka. Darn import and exchange rate.
Wearing the cropped jersey cloth shirt I bought at H&M. Ten bucks well spent. It's so incredibly comfy. I'm missing the general basics in my closet. That's why tees and tanks make me so excited.
Showing off my white bag. I bought it a year ago in Taiwan, but it's the first time I used it. Taiwan has a bunch of awesomely affordable things. Planning on buying extra things this year to give away here. My face looks the same in every picture. It kind of creeps me out. But I guess that's how faces work.
I love how flowy this dress it. It makes me want to, I don't know, go to the beach or something. With a boater hat, with the wind blowing. When I was little, I use to be blown away by the wind. I hadn't had that happen to me for years. Until I went to New York. Being carried away by the wind. My dad though I was being silly.
This has got to be one of the longest outfit posts I have. It's kind of awkward to stare at myself for so long.

Love, Kai

characteristic immoderation.

The flea market was yesterday! It was the first time I went to the flea market in about a year. I used to go every month, but I haven't been able to for a while. Yesterday, I went with a couple friends to look for supplies for the cultural festival at our school. My side goals were to get a present for my friend and that Minolta I've been trying to hunt down. I'll talk a bit about my purchases later.

Today's outfit. I didn't really go anywhere today, so I just dressed up at home. I almost never wear this skirt.

cardigan from Thrift Town, scarf from Goodwill, Pea in a Pod camisole from Goodwill, skirt from Bodyline, shoes from Taiwan.
My eyebrow is showing. This will never happen again.
This scarf was purchased at a thrift shop for $3 yesterday. Not bad at all. The material is extremely soft!
And my favorite necklace that the scarf was covering.

I love this floral! Rose prints are my favorites, and this one has a nice, classical color scheme. Kind of refreshing.

Yeah, so about that flea market trip. Goal one: buy tea cups. That never happened. The prices didn't quite work out. Goal two: buy my Minolta. I found a few different Yashica and Canon and Kodak models, but they were all out of my price range.

What I ended up buying: a box of clay flowers. They were swooshing around in my backpack so a few of them ended up breaking before I got home.

What I ended up buying part 2: socks. The elastic on the white pairs looks like underwear. And the color of the pairs for flats looks like underwear colors. So when I see them, I always think it's underwear.

Because I wasn't able to find the camera at the flea market, I went to four different thrift shops afterwards to look for it. One Goodwill did end up carrying a nice Yashica one, but for $45, which was more expensive than the nice ones at the flea market.

I ended up getting a Gunne Sax dress. I will never in my life be able to fit into it. I'm hoping to be able to alter and redesign it.
Funny thing, my dad was lecturing me about how to design clothes today. He said "you have to make them look like stuff you can buy in stores! Like normal clothes! Clothes are made for wearing!" Oh dad.

Love, Kai

got mail?

Today's mail! It's a package from David at Seibei. I bought a couple mystery tees. Usually when I get grab bags, I get really nervous about getting something I don't like. But with Seibei, I was pretty confident that anything he gave me, I would like.
Open! Prepare for awesome.
Celebration, commence! And here, I got two of the ones I wanted the most! David is some kind of mind reader. The mint one is the one I wanted to buy last December at the Renegade Crafts Fair, but ran out of money for. I let my brother try on the SF Dino one, and now he wants to wear it to school. It looks good on him and I'd love to let him borrow it, but he always gets food or snot or something or the other on the shirts I let him borrow. The woes of being the same size as my brothers.

Here's me showing off my new favorite shirt. I don't know why I get so excited over bright colors when it comes to t-shirts. I wish I had bought more. Two's not enough! Though, there's no way I can buy anything more on my card in secret. Looks like I'll have to wait till the next crafts fair.

I've been getting a good amount of mail lately. Which is exciting. But 50% of it is stuff from colleges about financial aid and housing and gatherings and open house kind of stuff. The other percentages are college decision letters and magazines. I don't have time to read magazines anymore. 24 hours a day is not enough.

I received a few acceptance letters so far. I haven't shared any on my blog, I don't think, but because I've posted several times during the portfolio process, I wanted to share that I've been accepted at FIT!

Ayup, that's all for now.
Love, Kai

lazy days.

Days when I have absolutely nothing to do are my favorite days. The days where I can just laze around and chilax without having to worry about wearing pants and fixing my hair. Weekends aren't long enough.A couple days ago, I went to Forever 21 to look for a sale item that I wanted. I wasn't there, so I bought a $4 slouchy tank.

Today is the North American release date for the two new Pokemon games. I bought black and my little brother has white. I woke up at 7 in case I wanted to buy it at Target, but liked I ended up at Toys R Us because I liked the deal there better.
I'm trying to decide if I want to play right now or do my homework or catch up on sleep or read ahead in Into the Wild or read manga. Decisions.

I tried on some nail colors at Nordstrom. My mom saw and her face scrunched up. My brother saw and he made barfing sounds.
From left to right, Chanel Jade Rose, Deborah Lippmann Waking up in Vegas, Chanel Particuliere, NARS Bad Influence. I was trying out the topcoat at some Korean makeup store, and ran out of fingers so used it on the right two. Going back for the Lippmann when I have monies.

Love, Kai

I am not a shopaholic.

Admittedly, I probably spend more money than anyone else in the family. But that's a given. No one else buys clothes. I was accused of being a shopaholic today for making 'several' purchases in the past week. Wearing a couple of them here.
Obey t-shirt and Docs from Buffalo Exchange, padlock chain necklace from Sex Pot Revenge, freebie donation tights.

While I was in LA, I passed by a Buffalo Exchange store, and thought it looked like a thrift store and wanted to go in, but I was in a hurry and wasn't able to. Coincidentally, I stumbled upon another one while I was in the OC.

After passing by the LA one, I looked for some reviews, and it's a pretty mixed bag. Personally, I really like the store. Because I was on my way to the airport when I passed by the shop, I only had about 20 minutes in the store. If I were at Goodwill, 20 minutes isn't nearly enough time for me to find something I like. I was surprised how quickly I was able to find things I liked at Buffalo Exchange. The clothes are screened and hand picked, so there were a lot of good pieces being sold. The catch is the prices. The prices are reminiscent of what you would see at Forever 21. Which isn't too bad, really. Though everything is secondhand, it all looks pretty new and free of rips and holes.

I left the store with two items.
An oversized Obey Clothing t-shirt and
A pair of vintage Doc Martens. They're design number 2071047, not the well known 1460 with yellow stitches, so I hesitated a little. But they're made in England and extremely comfortable and fit perfectly, so I could pass them up.

The total for these two items came up to be around $35, which is a lot more than I would spend at say, the Salvation Army. But I wouldn't mind visiting every once in a while as a treat.

On my last trip to Goodwill, I saw a pair of Dolce Vita Target shoes that I wanted, but were three full sizes too big for me. I planned on searching for them on eBay, but ended up not having to. They're on clearance on the Target website for $12, or $18 after shipping and tax. Bomb! New shoes under $20.


And the last of the purchases. I've made three separate trips to three different Kinokuniyas in the past week. I've now been to all four locations in California! Now I know price differences and that kind of stuff.
I was really surprised to see that the Los Angeles store had airmail magazines, and swoop up the April issue right away. I was so excited to get it because Midori is this month's covergirl. In the San Jose store, magazines take about a month to arrive, so I always get my issues a month late. I later went to the Costa Mesa location, which also had the airmail magazine, except a dollar cheaper. Ffffffff. And then saw that their Japanese manga were $1.40 cheaper. Fffffff. Japanese manga is expensive now, man. I might as well learn to read Chinese so I can buy Chinese manga and actually read it.

Oh wait, I lied.
I also bought more Seibei shirts yesterday. Couldn't help it.

Love, Kai