@mtnrdredux_gw, when DD was little, I ordered her a pair of white shorts from Lands’ End. The customer service rep and I got to chatting about keeping small children’s clothes clean. She told me to treat tomato based stains with Dawn dishwashing liquid. Worked every time.

Must have been some good calarmari. 😁

@mtnrdredux_gw you may already know, but I use this stain remover on everything and it's amazing. Worth a try if wash #4 and dawn dish soap don't work.

Linky link: Miss Mouth's Stain Remover

Sue, love the jeans, color amd length! The nice thing about them is that they literally go with everything.

I love white jeans, and Sue those look perfect.

I love a monochromatic outfit with white jeans -- a tan/beige/cream top, white jeans and neutral shoes/sandals. Perfection!

Sue, those jeans look great on you! You must share for the rest of us. I just tried on a pair I ordered and they were a swing and a miss.

Also, Sue, did the pale pink jeans work? I'm intrigued. I think I would like pale pink jeans.

Also interested in pale pink jeans!

Ugh, no, the pink jeans were not as cute IRL! They were super heavy denim and very high waisted. They were Levi’s 501 Original. The color wasn’t what I expected, either.

The jeans I kept are Levi’s “boyfriend midrise” jeans. Oddly, I ordered the same in a gray color and they didn’t fit as well. I hate it when different colors of the same thing fit differently.

With all this discussion of white jeans, I realized I needed to try on the new pair of jeans I’m wearing to my niece’s rehearsal dinner (very casual, outdoors). Sure enough they need to be hemmed. The alterations lady I use will not hem/alter any washable garment until you have washed it at least once.

Sue, I love those on you! And not to be trite, but nothing makes a shirt "pop" like white slacks. Brava!

I love a monochromatic outfit with white jeans -- a tan/beige/cream top, white jeans and neutral shoes/sandals. Perfection!

I agree 100%

She told me to treat tomato based stains with Dawn dishwashing liquid. Worked every time.

I don't use Dawn but they had it in the Airbnb we stayed at so, yes, after Shout I moved to Dawn. Then back to shout. Then Oxiclean. I think it is pretty much invisible now. But I was so focussed on the one leg where i got tomato sauce, I forgot to look at anything else and now I see random dirt (albeit not much more than a speck) on the other leg. Arggh

Must have been some good calamari.

It was but I think the issue was more than it was not mine so I had to keep reaching over to steal it and I was unwittingly leaving a trail.

I can have a $10 t-shirt for 10 years that never gets a stain on it. I have had $100 dress shirts that get something on them the first time I wear them that also Never comes out.

Pal, I'm sure there's a correlation between how much you pay for something and how easy it is to stain or otherwise damage it. My Old Navy and Penney's tshirts threaten to outlive me.

This might be an interesting read for those individuals who want to comparison shop for the best price. The article was in today's NYTimes and describes the development of Phia - an App that will show you the best price on new and secondhand online merchandise. It was created by Phoebe Gates (yes, that Gates) and her friend Sophia Kianni and went online today. The description states that it requires Apple - both an iPhone and Safari. The site compares prices and in graph form shows if the price is low, medium, high. It also lists cheaper alternative items. They claim to have a database of over 250 million secondhand items and includes Poshmark, The Real Real, Thred Up and others.......and it's free. I haven't tried it yet - but it sounds promising.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/24/style/phoebe-gates-bill-gates-resale-phia.html

App

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/phia-best-price-in-one-click/id6739351340

Interesting ,Maire.. as one with an android and chromebook ( non- Apple), I use honey which is probably not as great as the app you shared, but it does search around for the same item at different sources and also tried to find coupons. Most of the time I'm told I already have the best price but it's pretty easy and it has helped at times.

Re the stains I agree and have learned on a related note that if you buy $$ sunglasses you will lose them. If you buy cheap sunglasses, you will have them for years.

Thanks Salonva for the 'Honey' tip. I had heard about that site but haven't tried any of the shopping tools. Probably because I'm not a frequent shopper and tend to be lazy when I do shop. Rather than hunting for a particular item I'm more apt to browse through a store catalog or online site to see if something interests me. Which goes a long way to explain why my closet is full of separates which don't always play well together. I should be more focused.

Love the white jeans, Sue-- they look great on you and I love the cut and length!

I have worn lots of the brands of jeans above-- but sis/niece said it is the cut I need to change. I need a slimmer cut (Ihave been wearing straight legs). I will be trying some new cuts here in the coming weeks.

Returning a lot from the recent purchase also. The vince sweater is a huge disapointment not a nice cut but mostly it is thick and heavy! It doesnt hang nicely or feel nice on. The Jjill split neck sweater hasnt arrived yet but every time I look at the photo, I think it looks boring and not for the season.

YES! for a week I have been trying to remember the name of the mall store where I (everyone!) bought my carpenter jeans in HS -- it was the Rams Horn! Was that just local or did others wear the same?

I have used Honey for several years. I wish they would add a cellphone feature but I think they can only be used on desktop. To my surprise I received an email from them saying my Honey points were about to expire. I never paid attention to these points and had no idea how I got them or how to use them. The email stated they could be deposited into my PayPal account so I decided to link the two. They deposited $54 in exchange for my points! I was over the moon. I mention all of this as a reminder to check those points.

At the end of last summer, I bought the blouse below and never got around to wearing it. The front is small, clear, rectangular sequins - more shimmer than sparkle. I want to wear it to a casual outdoor luncheon next week with white jeans (yep, before Memorial Day. I’m a rebel. 😆). I tried it on yesterday and thought it was very blah. I need to accessorize it, but with the sequins, I’m stymied. I don’t want to look too over-the-top, but wearing no jewelry won’t work either. WWYD?

bbstx - assuming you won't need a sweater or a wrap of any kind I'd wear a pair of earrings and maybe a delicate 'barely' there chain necklace or bracelet (not both). What kind of shoes will you wear?

You need a pink and blue sardine purse.

I will either wear Jack Rogers gold sandals or nude flats. And you’re right, no wrap. It will be in the high 70s / low 80s. I absolutely need a pink and blue sardine purse for my sunglasses!

I have a gold omega chain that lays on my collarbone. It isn’t wide, but it isn’t barely there. I shy away from delicate jewelry. I’m 5’6”, carrying a few more pounds than I ought to (understatement), and not delicate looking.

White enamel bangle? Gold 1” diameter hoops? Large pearl studs? Pearl necklace that subtly lays just inside the collar of the shirt?

I say go with either white or blue jewelry—- LOVE enameled earrings and bangles in white and/or blue,. Or you could try a pearl necklace, either a small strand inside your collar or a bigger / longer strand outside the collar. With the bigger strand or big pearl earrings (and a small gold chain?) would def go with the gold sandals. Alternatively, lapis would be a good choice for earrings or necklace. I love saphhires but they probably would not strike the right note. Silver with navy enamel would also be great!

Silver and lapis bracelet

Silver and enamel bangle and earrings

Just some ideas! And would wear the silver jewelry (if you had it) with your gold shoes…after all, you’re a wild and crazy rule breaker 😁

I am not sure i can embrace enamel jewelry with sequins .. just my opinion but it feels like a mismatch -to me- ymmv

Didnt you have two other tops that you had planned for this event? A green one and a neutral one? Did they fall out of favor?

Funky normally I would agree with you, but if you click in the picture those are clear flat square sequins that do not give off an evening vibe at all. the event is a casual outdoor luncheon… this is not the rehearsal dinner at which the green blouse will be worn. (Hope I’ve got that right BB.)

sorry, poor vision. i cant see the sequins in the photo so I defer to those of you who can .. i was going by what I picture in my head as "sequins".

@Funkyart, I would say these sequins give more of a shimmer to the blue shirt fabric. They are clear so the shirt color comes through. It might help if I had mentioned that the shirt fabric is end-on-end which is a classic men’s shirting fabric. It is woven with white threads one way and, in this case, light blue threads the other way. Although 2 different color threads are used, it looks solid but the color has more life to it. OMG, I’ve gotten off in the shirting weeds here!

@Kswl, yes, you’ve gotten the ”wedding wardrobe” right. Green print top with white dress pants to the bridesmaids’ luncheon; gold and white top with white jeans to the rehearsal dinner.

I had totally forgotten I have a strand of lapis beads and pearls. I need to dig it out and see how it looks with the shirt. I also have lapis and gold button earrings from the 90s. They may look a bit dated, though. If the lapis and pearl necklace works, I can always wear my big pearl studs.

I thought the same thing about my lapis bead necklace BB so I had it restrung in a shorter length (that still goes over my head) with added gold beads here and there. It really looks great with one or two other large link 14 kt chains. I wore it with a blue and white seersucker dress a few days ago and it looked mahvellous. At least….I thought it did, maybe no one had the heart to tell me otherwise 🙄

Love both tops but the gold and white is really speaking to me. Did you tell us where you got it?

They are both Lilly Pulitzer tops.

Oooh, I love the idea of gold beads mixed in with the lapis and pearls. My lapis necklace needs lengthening. Gold beads may be just the ticket! And I’ll bet yours looked great with your seersucker dress.

@mtnrdredux_gw, did you ever find a terry-lined seersucker robe?

I’ve just read that mesh shoes are the latest craze. I’ve been seeing them at places like J. Crew and Anthropologie. ARTICLE

What do you think? I don’t believe I’ll be participating but it is interesting to be a spectator.

Photo caption: High-end designers have also embraced the see-through mesh trend, as seen with these from KHAITE. Find the pair on the left for $790 and the pair on the right for $950 HERE. I have to say, their other styles, embellished with crystals ($1,200), and these above would be pretty fabulous and comfortable with a ball gown. Image: KHAITE

Honestly....hate mesh shoes. Didn't know they were a thang. Was in the dentists office yesterday, lady had on bedroom slippers. No ....uh...uh...

Looks like they were inspired by Kanye's wife.

Moschino Dry Cleaning Bag dress; $735. Under slip-dress not included.

I need to step away from Instagram!

Don't forget the sock purse!

HA! I tried to find the sock purse. Google ”sock purse” and you get way more hits than you think you would, but most of them were coin purses.

I guess they have a line of products made of trash. The sock bag is part of this line.

https://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/fashion/a8985938/moschino-toilet-paper-bag/

🤦🏻‍♀️

Went to a great thrift shop in another town where we overnighted for dinner and a concert (and a lovely meetup with a GW'er and their SO!).

I got two Armani jackets, one cashmere. Both dropped off at the cleaners already. I got a cute sunshirt/pullover jacket thingy.

This Talbot's raincoat: ( i rolled up the sleeves for no particular reason other than do you notice how often influencers do? Like whatever they try on?) I digress.

I also got this St John knit evening jacket

And three linen shirts. Two from Rachel and Zoe and one from Saks.

Very nice, Mtn! Love them all, esp the green and white toile blouse.

The Talbots in my town just closed. Anthropologie is going into its space.

I’ve never been in thrift shop, but I’d like to see one - a good one. There used to be one in my town, but a friend who went in said it was mostly work clothes (think jeans and scrubs). Those look like good buys, Mtn!

My DDs have been into it since HS; they love the variety as well as recycling.

I have bought stuff NWT online when I could not find something anywhere else, but I only started looking at clothes for myself at thrift shops this past fall when my BFF hooked me on it.

The best thrift stores tend to be associated with causes. Go to East Hampton, NY, and check out the Ladies Village Improvement Society.

“The best thrift stores tend to be associated with causes.”

IME this is true. Our Junior League (FL) had a nearly new shop to which all members were required to donate.. Women from all over the area shopped there.

We also provided women from area shelters going through a ready to work program at least three job appropriate outfits. They came in by appointment and of course it was all given free of charge and bags and shoes were included whenever possible. The store continues to be one of the group’s largest ongoing sources of funds for their other projects.

We have a good consignment shop in our town, higher-end labels but not super high end (they don’t sell, say, Gap, but they have a fair amount of Eileen Fisher and some Lilly P.). I usually have a credit in their system because I bring stuff to consign, so I get ”free” stuff. That’s fun! Obviously it is very hit or miss, but I have gotten some nice things there. They have jewelry, too, and bags and scarves.

I have been on a poshmark tear lately but too many things end up not fitting, or not being what I expected, so I think I am done with PM, at least for clothing. I did get some great Anthro plates, glassware, etc., though.

I love thrift shopping because of the serendipity! It’s so much fun!! These days I buy almost all my clothes on internet resale sites ie eBay, TRR, and Poshmark. As I only buy a very select few favorite brands/ designers, I have a good idea of the quality and fit- and I’d otherwise have to travel to NYC or Europe to even find these brands in a shop.

Exactly, it has a treasure hunt quality to it

Off this am to play golf with DS1 who is leaving tomorrow from his Easter visit. Please notice the NYT Spelling Bee baseball cap; today is my 1,375th consecutive 👑🐝 !

Well, you look like the wueen bee of the golf course in that outfit.I really do love it.

I bow down to you for making QB that often and consecutively. I try to make it to Amazing, sometimes Genius but rarely QB.

Love the SB golf hat. I’m trying to come up with a relatively inexpensive (under $50) wedding gift that is Bee related.

Hit ’em long and straight!

I did pretty well this morning. DS and I went out to lunch after and I cleaned the golf cart when we got home (full wash and Armor All) and now getting ready for choral society—we have two big concerts this Friday and Saturday… SO excited! We are singing The Armed Man by Karl Jenkins accompanied by a full orchestra and with a ballet set to the music performed onstage behind us. Big deal for our little town! The Masterworks concert was last Thursday night and that went swimmingly. I am still humming O Thou The Central Orb, lol.

Bbstx the Times has all kinds of Spelling Bee merch, hats hats, tees, totes, etc.