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Earn real money with your old stuff!

February 27th, 2013 No Comments

Threadflip Mary Rambin

I’m not going to lie, it’s nice to have checks coming in from my resale sites these days.  Clothes, jewelry, and accessories that I NEVER or rarely wear anymore are now making me real money!  The key is to be smart about where you resell your stuff.

My outlets:

TheRealReal.com

  • Consign top designer brand pieces that are like new.  A concierge will come to your house if you have 10 pieces or more to consign or you can ship them in for assessment.
  • You get 60% of selling price. That’s the best I’ve ever seen.
  • For info or to consign, contact Nicole.Fornaro@therealreal.com

Threadflip

  • DIY consignment
  • Post your own picks to their site, describe the item, and name your own price
  • Share your sale across social platforms to promote
  • They provide shipping label already paid for
  • Fee: 20% of sale price
  • Shop my closet here

Local Consignment Stores

  • Take in your stuff and they pull what they want
  • Usually hangs on the racks for 90 days until which time you donate or take back
  • Labels they accept depends on the store.
  • Ones I use: Labels in Atlanta (will take my Zara!), Little Bird in Houston, tons now in Soho NYC I’ve seen

GoldBuyingGirl

  • Sell all of my old gold and silver jewelry instantly for cash
  • Pay the highest price per ounce I’ve seen
  • Have a party and earn 10% of total they buy
  • Email me Mary@MoreThanMary.com for more details and I can help set you up
  • Have earned THOUSANDS without selling a lot of stuff

Other sites I’ve heard of:

Style.ly

  • Consign any label women’s clothes
  • Fees 38.5% of sale
  • $10 for clean out kit

Glyde.com:

  • Consign iAnything or video games
  • Fees: 12% first 100, 8% after that, $1-3 for shipping kit

Amazon.com/sellyourstuff

  • fee 15% sale price plus $2.34 closing fee

Collectables, furniture, designer goods:


 

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Challenging spring trends should prove to be fun

February 6th, 2013 No Comments

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Some trends that have just hit the racks are what I call the four P’s of spring:

1. Prints
2. Peplum
3. Pink
4. Pedestrian

**Click the image to see it bigger.

You’re probably saying to yourself, those are nothing new. That’s true. It’s just how designers have used them this season that makes them interesting.

Instead of just wearing one print, designers are now juxtaposing prints that don’t necessarily match on one piece. Color palettes and even themes are different. In one outfit, you can pretty much wear any two, three, or even four prints (if you’re daring) and get away with it….IF you do so with confidence. Try it out on a small scale first, then go more playful as the season unfolds. It’s a new way of thinking (at least for my generation) so it should be fun!

I’ll give you peplum tops as not being new, but I think they might be for your closet. They’ve been around in RTW collections for 3 seasons now, so if you don’t have one yet, it’s time to jump on board.

Pink is brighter than ever in every style, print, and form. Find something in neon you don’t have already.

I’m calling jersey combinations “pedestrian” because it’s what I consider comfortable daytime wear. Californians have been running around like this for what seems like centuries, but they have a more boho look about them. This look is more fitted and detailed (see the rouching in the skirt) as opposed to shabby chic. In terms of tones, you see in the picture above a combination of cool and warm neutrals; kind of like how we combo silver and gold these days but on a cotton scale. (Nice work Tina!)

If you have any questions on how to wear these, feel free to leave them in the comments below.

(Photo taken at Tootsies flagship store in Houston. To stay up to date on latest trends and designer pieces to hit the floor, follow them on Twitter or Instagram @shoptootsies. It’s a guilty little pleasure of mine:))

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REAL deals on your favorite designers

November 27th, 2012 No Comments

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Moving to Atlanta gave me another opportunity to clean out my closet! I found a load of designer pieces I was ready to part with.  Some were worn in, most looked like new, and a handful had never been worn (ugh).  What should I do with this stuff?  My first move was to give the cashmere and big brand pieces to friends. I like finding my clothes good fashionista homes :) Then I posted a lot of stuff on Threadflip (get invite here and shop my closet here), the new DIY resale site based in San Fran.  Great concept, big brands, reputable fashion bloggers, beautiful execution, and flawless functionality.  My shoes were the hot ticket item on that platform, but the clothes didn’t sell.  My next move was to go to a local consignment store, but the very day I was on my way over I saw an ad for TheRealReal  in Atlantan magazine. I know, the name is a little weird, but their concept is awesome. They claimed high end designer resale of flawless items, 70% of the selling price to the consigner, in-house pick up with their white glove service, and they will do all of the photography and shipping.  SOLD!

Today, Nicole came over and checked out my stuff with a very critical eye.  The biggest thing she was hunting for was not flaws, but brands.  Online shoppers want the label.  I totally get that.  So unfortunatley she didn’t take it all (honestly, I wouldn’t have either), but she did take a good chunk.  The rest I’m now taking over to the resale store and we’ll see what happens.

Check out TheRealReal to shop for yourself and even gifts, seriously.  I can now attest it’s a legit source for quality designer clothes at a steal price.  If you want to consign, contact Nicole directly at nicole.fornaro@therealreal.com (If you do consign with them, tell them I sent you!)

 

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My method to beat the anxiety of getting dressed for an event.

September 25th, 2012 2 Comments

Over the years so many of you have come to me for advise on getting dressed for events, in particular reunions and weddings.  The biggest obstacle being choosing a dress within your budget.  To make this video, I teamed up with your best resource for designer dresses on a budget:  RentTheRunway There still seems to be a barrier to order due to the size factor, but that’s why they send you two sizes.

What’s next, you ask?  In this video I offer you a checklist to make sure you have everything you need.

When looking for makeup artists and stylists in your city, I have two suggestions: referrals from friends and recommendations from the sales associates on the designer level of clothing stores.  They send their biggest spenders to the best, and they’ll be happy to do the same for you if you simply ask.  You can also check my list of contacts hereThe Dry Bar will give you a great blowout for $35 or $65 for an up-do. If you’d like to refer your stylist, please leave their contact info in the comments below.  Your stylist and MTM readers would greatly appreciate it!

As always, I’m always happy to help you personally if you have specific questions.  Simply email me mary@morethanmary.com.

 

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Help! Which dress should I wear?!

May 15th, 2012 14 Comments

This weekend is Dominique Sachse and Nick Florescu’s wedding at Becca Cason Thrash’s house and I have NOTHING to wear!!! I realize those names mean nothing to most of you, but let me put it this way, it’s the Houston event of the year.

Back in the day when I lived in NYC or LA, getting a dress at the last minute was easy because I could just call a showroom and have a few delivered.  Well, those days are LONG gone.  I would call local designer David Peck, whose designs I adore for their style and price, but I heard through the grapevine (aka my Mom) that the entire city bought at least one at his Tootsies trunk show.

Thankfully I, you, we all now have RentTheRunway at our disposal!

Last night I browsed through their selection of gowns (the wedding is black tie) and found two I like.  My absolute favorite was unavailable, but I love these for their classic silhouettes and bold color.

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I’m leaning towards the first one – it’s a little more me while the second is a little more Julia. I guess it will come down to fit.  Thankfully they send 2 sizes.

But I want to hear what you think! If you would be so kind to leave your thoughts in the comments, I would greatly appreciate it!!

(Full disclosure: RTR is generously sending me the dresses for free in exchange for an honest video review. I’ve never tried the service before.  It seems like the dress will be wearable, but I’m hoping for amazing and not total disappointment.)

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Nice skirt Rebecca!

May 8th, 2012 1 Comment

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Long time friend and reader Rebecca (you might remember her wedding at Starbucks!) saw my post on the new clothing resale site Threadflip and went to check out my goodsUnder my wardrobe, she found a selection of my clothes as well as some some things left over from my Mom’s designer resale store, this fabulous knit skirt being one of them!

Threadflip is growing daily and has a great selection of wardrobes from fashion bloggers, designers, actresses, and girls with great style.  Anyone can post their clothes and share their links on Pinterest, Facebook, or Twitter instantly.

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Gilt (Gone Wild!) is more appealing to me than Groupon

September 13th, 2011 No Comments

When was the last time you browsed around Gilt?

I’ve tried to abstain because I could do some serious damage on their designer sales (tonight they’re featuring M Missoni).  With the popularity of Groupon, they’ve started to up their game.  The site is so much more than clothes now. They have GiltCity – which offers discounts from local businesses in major cities – and GiltTaste – which is a high-end grocery store.

Via twitter, I found out my friend Stacy scored some amazing airline deal on GuiltCity the other day. Crazy, right?!

RueLaLa also recently started offering local discounts too.  So you can sign up for those updates here.

I say the more the merrier when it comes to great discounts.  But I trust Gilt and RueLaLa to feature better quality businesses than Groupon. That being said, I just bought laser hair removal on Groupon and browse their “Groupon Now” deals frequently. Like I said, the more the merrier!

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#FF tumblrs blogging great pics and links for #NYFW

September 9th, 2011 No Comments

Want to see quick recaps of the runway shows?

and behind the scenes action?

Of course you know you can always hit up WWD or Style.com, but following these tumblrs is much faster and more fun!

For livestream coverage, go to Maybelline’s YouTube Channel here.

I know you don’t believe me, but I’m still loving my seat for NYFW at my desk.  No makeup, tight clothes, 4 inch heels for 8 hours a day, 7 days straight.  Going to a show or two, now that would be fun!  And I suppose if I wasn’t working I could enjoy the parties instead of editing videos until the wee hours.  Huh.  Ok, now I miss fashion week.

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