What I'm...

Okay, seriously, I'm going to have to change this blog title to "Finds From a Frugal Fashionista" because did I really just spend a while hopelessly searching for a purse to show you that I found at Payless? Yes, at Payless. Apparently, mine are not to be the words of glamour and cull, but sales and savings. I was totally in a Payless today-

Okayokayokay, back up. First of all Mr. Judgy McJudge-a-lot (I'm looking at you, A.), I did in fact know it was a bad idea to meet a friend for lunch in the shopping district. Second of all, I knew it was a bad idea to get there early. And third, yeah, I went into a Payless. Well, Payless has served me well over the years, especially in a shoe or purse (or pursestrings) emergency. And as I was not allowed to spend money, and as my budget had otherwise confined me to window shopping (a talent and hobby that can be a blessing and a curse), forgive me for entering a Payless.

-- so there I am in Payless, and I swear to god, there was a cute purse there. It came in pale green, light blue, beige and white. I asked. Except for the part where I thought, "Hey, white would be cute..." and they were actually sold out of the white. So I-- waaait for it-- told the Payless salesperson that I would be back to check if it was in. Hahahaha.

I know this is sounding like a "big fish" story. I wanted to show it here to see if I was dying to buy something or if it was actually a cute bag (though no Balenciaga). It wasn't on their rather limited web page. But seriously, if it was sold out I might not be crazy, right? (Avoiding the uncomfortable silence where you ponder that question and we avoid eye contact and you spare me the snippy remark because it's too easy...)

So! Instead of posting about cheap purse finds, I'm going to share some sites of interest.

From BitchPhD's blog, this picture essay about modeling poses and expression in terms of gender and audience. It provides some good examples and ideas about the messages that poses in magazines and ads can send subliminally. BitchPhD got it from a commenter, but I thought it could use some more circulation (and go check out her site, too!).

Next, I know this has been around but in case you haven't seen it, My Virtual Model. You can make a model to almost your exact proportions and then dress 'er up in clothes from a few retailers! Okay, it scared me more than anything, but I did have fun poking around. (And maybe it's healthy to face up to what you look like in virtual proportion?) There are very limited selections to toy with, but if you hit on something cute you might actually be tempted to go out and try a new style you've never considered before.

Here's my best from H&M (yes, those are my most accurate virtual dimensions, we're all friends here):

Sans my brief Payless fix, virtual browsing will have to suffice for this shopless girl!