Black House White Market Or, the cheap Unfashionista knockoff

You've probably seen that trendy boutique in your local mall--the one where every classy-looking item for sale is white or black or both. My sage advice to you: don't shop there. Black and white are everywhere. You can get that sophisticated look without paying a fortune.

For example, a few months ago (yes, my blog posts are still irreparably behind the times), I got a hankering to wear this white skirt that I'd picked up in a New York thrift store.

A little aside about thrift stores... I was pleased to see that the prices at the Salvation Army store in New York City were comparable to the prices in my favorite Maryland haunts. On the other hand, it's hard to get a really good bargain in a Maryland (or, apparently, NYC) thrift store. A lot of items that you only find used and somewhat abused at a Maryland thrift store, you can find brand-new on an end-of-season clearance rack for pretty much the same price. And for small household items, you can get them cheaper straight off the shelf at Target or Walmart. I suspect this is because real estate is so costly in the DC suburbs that the stores have to keep their prices high to make a profit. But if you're looking for a real bargain, try shopping at a thrift store in Ohio. You haven't seen cheap until you've seen Church Women United Thrift Shop in Holland, OH. Now back to your regularly scheduled fashion.

Bet you can't float in
midair like I can!

I tried on every winter shirt I had, but none of them really worked with the skirt (the problem with a big fluffy skirt is that you need a pretty trim and tight top to go with it, lest you look like a bag lady) until I landed on plain black camisole with white lace at the top and black button-down blouse.

I didn't think anything of this simple ensemble until my roommate commented how nice I looked. So it makes it into the blog.