Fashion Fridays: Foreign Exchange Show!

Happy Friday! This weekend I am going to see one of my fave groups, Foreign Exchange! I am so excited to get to see them again and to spend some quality time with my brother (he's moving to NYC soon)!

 For concerts I good for a cool and comfy vibe. I wanna look put together but feel like I can stand and dance for hours if need be, here's what I put together to wear to the show.

The best part of this outfit is easily the pants. They are amazing. Love the color, love the zebras, another great Buffalo Exchange find!

The Shirt is long and has pockets! It can really go with anything and be easily dressed up or down. I originally bought it to wear to Kanye's show last year but ended up wearing something else. It's a great basic and was a great price at Marshall's. 

The shoes were another steal at Payless. My other black flats died on my trip to NOLA earlier this year and I was able to quickly replace them with this pair. Not quite as great as the last pair but they will do for now.

And my jacket is from Old Navy

Me pretending to be a model, I'm actually incredibly awkward in front of the camera but Ash and I are working on it! Fake it til you make it right!

Have an amazing Friday and a great weekend!

-K

Sustainable Fashion

All of these amazing jackets were found second hand!

Fun fact about us: we love thrifting

When we were in high school we were always really into dressing up for spirit week. While we did babysit and work after school we had to make magic on a budget, thus we went on all-day hunts for the perfect finds at some local thrift stores. 

Since April features Earth Day we wanted to share some sustainable and fashionable tips for helping you look good, save money and be nice to mother earth!


One great way to save money is to shop at thrift stores or other second hand stores. The selection is always varied and sometimes it may seem like there's not much around you would really want to wear, but with a little patience and some digging, greatness can be found!

Insider tip: Be in the mindset to thrift! You will need energy and time for this kind of shopping, do not go on an empty stomach or a sleepy one.

Kira's parrot jacket from Buffalo Exchange is also reversible!

Another great thing about these stores is you can often sell and/or donate your clothes. Selling back is a little more difficult, but worth it if you have pieces in good condition that you no longer wear. Often you get more money in trade than cash but either option great, especially if you shop at the store often. I mean what else are you going to do with clothes in your closet that you no longer wear. Free up some space for yourself, make some cash and donate the rest to others who aren't as lucky to have a surplus of clothing. Its a win-win-win!

Now that you've read how amazing thrifting can be check out some of our fave spots to thrift!

Fave Shops:

Gold greatness from Thrift Town

Thirft Town: multiple locations in the Bay Area. We usually go to the one in El Sobrante. We have found some uh-mazing finds, black body suits, gold cheetah print jackets and everything in between.

Goodwill: Found all over the US, heres some of our local faves
Albany - This Goodwill is newer so its very clean and organized. Ashley was able to find a copy of one of our favorite movies, Save The Last Dance!! While her mom picked up a great Kate Spade bag!

Richmond - One of the smaller Goodwill stores, which means less inventory but also less items to sort through. One of the few thrift stores you can go through quickly. Kira was able to stop by here last new years eve and 20 mins later walked out with the perfect $5 Eileen Fischer sequin top for that night.

*All locations also take donations so do a little cleaning before you head over and reward yourself with some shopping. Whats great about Thrift Town and Goodwill is that there are other items besides clothing. Great place to buy cheap books as well as housewares.


Resell and shop: multiple locations throughout the Bay Area and US.

- Buffalo Exchange: Spent countless hours in Buffalos all over, with many many great finds under our belts. More expensive than a thrift store but with higher quality pieces. Kira's most recent fab find here was a great fitting chambray J. Crew button up for $20 which is a steal compared to the original price tag which was closer to $100. I have also sold clothes back to Buffalo many times. They are picky but its usually a pretty seamless process.

- Crossroads Trading Co:  Very similar to Buffalo. I recently sold clothes back to Crossroads and was very happy with my exchange. I was able to pick up a great J. Crew skirt here too!

Eileen Fisher top and J.Crew skirt mentioned above + Ashley's fave pink blazer from Thrift Town

Wherever and however you like to shop, think about the impact your clothes make on the world. Donate what you can and think sustainability when possible. Lots of little actions can go a long way!

-A&K

Closet Clean Out

I Love a good clean out; closets, drawers, garages... whatever it may be I love getting rid of the excess.

A couple of weeks ago my mother and I cleaned out her closet. I wanted to share the results as well as some tips to clean and organize your own space.

First you need the time and the energy to see the project through start to finish. When cleaning out a space I always manage to make a huge mess in the process, so keep that in mind as you plan your day. You don't want to get half way through and have to leave and come back to a huge mess later.

You will also need a large clear space to start, I suggest you use your bed as a sorting station, that way all the clothes or items that come out of the closet have a place to go.

Also get two large garbage bags. One for items that can be donated and one for items that you think you can resell.

Now sort through everything! And I mean everything, my mom always tries to get away with "Oh i'll go through that later" Trust me, there is no later. Do it all in one sitting and you will thank yourself later.

When sorting keep in mind how often you wear or use the items. Do they fit? Are they in style? Are they functional, practical? My mom had a lot of great stuff in her closet but if she never wears it and it is shoved in the back it's not doing her any good. Better to have less items that you actually wear than a closet full of things you don't.

Once you are through the sorting process begin to put things back in a way that is functional for you. Not everyone's closet should look the same.

Again I like to set aside two bags; one to donate to places like Goodwill and another one of higher quality more current items to try and resell at Buffalo Exchange or any other resale shop of your choosing.

Good luck and enjoy your beautiful new closet!

    

The Bonus of cleaning out my mom's closet was all of the great finds. Above is a beautiful old clutch she gave to me and my great grandmothers shoes.

-K