CHEAP CHIC is back!

OK. I just copied and pasted from the publisher's website. Anyway, THIS was the book we used to pass around the vintage clothing store where I worked. THIS was the book that taught me about COST PER WEAR. THIS was the out-of-print book that was going for big bucks on Amazon.  Did you read this book back in the day?

The Ultimate Fashion Bible CHEAP CHIC Is Back in Print!

40th Anniversary Edition -- With A New Foreword by Tim Gunn

CHEAP CHIC

CATERINE MILINAIRE & CAROL TROY

• Imprint: Three Rivers Press
• On sale: 9/1/15
• Price: $16.00
• Pages: 224
• ISBN: 9781101903421

CONTACT:Rebecca Marsh
212-572-2544
rmarsh@penguinrandomhouse.com

With a new foreword by Tim Gunn and hundreds of timeless tips and tricks, the ultimate fashion bible CHEAP CHIC is back in print.

“I think it’s terrific.” –Diane von Furstenberg, of the original edition of Cheap Chic

Before there were street-style blogs and ‘zines, there was CHEAP CHIC by Caterine Milinaire and Carol Troy. Originally published in 1975, this little book about personal style sold hundreds of thousands of copies in its first iteration and was an international hit. Decades later, it continues to inspire designers and attract fashion lovers, gaining a reputation as a cult classic.

Back in print and with a new foreword by Tim Gunn, the fortieth anniversary edition of CHEAP CHIC: Hundreds of Money-Saving Hints to Create Your Own Great Look (Three Rivers Press; Trade Paperback; $16.00; On Sale September 1, 2015) is both a fascinating fashion artifact and a timeless style guide. It was one of the first fashion books to show photographs of “street style” intermixed with couture.

Whether you’re a lover of designer labels or a master thrifter, CHEAP CHIC is about cultivating your personal style on any budget.CHEAP CHIC covers all the basics, and provides advice for stocking up on must-have items such as T-shirts, denim, exercise gear, and one-of-a-kind couture pieces. There’s a reason that classics – like a good pair of leather boots or a navy blazer – never go out of style, and CHEAP CHIC is proof of their staying power.

Astonishingly relevant forty years later, CHEAP CHIC provides great practical advice for creating an affordable, personal wardrobe strategy: what to buy, where to buy it, and how to put it all together to make your own distinctive fashion statement without going broke. It is the original fashion bible that proves you don’t have to be wealthy to be stylish.

CHEAP CHIC also includes interviews with fashion icons like Diana Vreeland and Yves Saint Laurent, along with beautiful vintage photos of stylish celebrities from Greta Garbo to James Dean to Cher. The model on the cover, swinging from the logo designed by Bea Feitler, is Jerry Hall.

CHEAP CHIC provides excellent tips on thrifting, layering, and more – readers will even learn how to make a bikini or tie a headscarf properly. Packed with style ideas, shopping tips, and ways to develop your unique look, CHEAP CHIC is a go-to for fashion inspiration.

If Janice Can Do It, I Can Do It

Pretty much everyone in the entire universe reads and learns from the Vivienne Files, right? Well, in case you missed it, Janice is now thinking of selling some of her beautiful Hermes scarves.

Well, if she can de-accession items of such beauty and quality, why am I having so much trouble donating...let's see, a St John sweater with a hole in it in an unflattering color? A camouflage jumpsuit that I thought Frugal Son would like for a Halloween costume? An Armani sport jacket that is cut way too big for the men in my life? You get the idea.

Guess what? All these items came to me courtesy of the thrift store. I did some good for a charity by buying them. I can double my goodness (so to speak) by giving them back to be sold to the next person (except the St J, which will probably go--via the thrift store--to a bulk fabric buyer).

Really, if Janice can say good-bye to such beautiful things, I should be able to do the same to my motley collection.

Thank you, Janice, for the inspiration.

Second Hand Shopping: Reality Check

The great Janice of the great Viviennefiles has a new goal: to buy only secondhand for the next year. I got so excited by this that I kept returning to read the comments and left several myself. At last, something in which I have expertise!

Along with tales of fabulous finds (cashmere and more)I detected a bit of anxiety amongst the commenters: can you really find great stuff at thrift stores?

My answer: it depends where you live. I myself have thrifted in various places. Right now, I live in a small town with a tiny affluent population, a mid-sized middle class, and a large very poor population. Surprisingly nice things show up on occasion and the prices are very low. There is little competition for the things I look for.

I once lived in a small town with a small college. The town had been decimated by unemployment. I dutifully wandered over to the Salvation Army once a week for a year and found perhaps two items. That may be stretching it.

When we visit relatives in affluent Northern California, I have seen great things, usually clutched by others. There are lines of what look like bonafide hippies circa 1971 lined up outside a tiny thrift shop in Marin. When it opens, they rush in; within minutes, the stock is decimated. 

So--to oversimplify--what you find depends on the population and the competition. There are zillions of other people shopping, many with more expertise than you possess. A large proportion of the shoppers are shopping for a living. They know what they are doing. Many go every day. One of my thrift friends is an expert in jewelry: she laments the fact that she can no longer find Danish silver to sell on Ebay.

If you try a few times and find mostly ugly overpriced stuff...well, that is the way it is most places. I am lucky because I buy things for my whole family: my chances of success are higher than if I were shopping for just me. And I'm mostly looking for quotidien stuff: a colander for Frugal Son, some books to read, etc.

Recently, I have discovered the joys of on-line second hand: not terribly cheap, but reasonable. My favorite so far is Poshmark. Check it out. (Since I wrote this I've noted that some of the on-line resale sites have really raised their prices. On Poshmark and Tradesy, the seller sets the price. Twice Clothing, in particular, seems to have really jacked up its prices).

In the more than 30 years I've been thrifting, I've found a vintage Gucci bag, a pair of Chanel loafers, and a single Hermes scarf. That's one status item every ten years. My best find this year: a set of Sferra sheets (no cases).

Shopping in bad thrift stores is time-consuming and depressing. If the pickings are always slim, it's not you. 

Donation Dilemma: Fake Vuitton Bag (No, I didn't buy it)

Let me reiterate: I didn't buy it. A relative bought a fake Vuitton (two, actually, one for me and one for Miss Em) in Chinatown. We thanked the relative profusely and never used them.

Now that I'm pretending to declutter, these are on the chopping block. But what to do? There are plenty of people frequenting thrift stores who would love to carry an LV, real or fake. I'd be happy to let them have the bag.

There are also plenty of people who would BUY the fake bag and sell it as authentic on Ebay, local consignment, or similar. I do not want to be part of the process.

There is also the possibility that the thrift shop would put a large price on these bags and get it. In fact, I've seen this happen. The customers were ecstatic and the thrift store got some dough. I'm not too thrilled with being part of this process either.

So...what do you advise? I was thinking of defacing the bags, by writing REPLICA on the INSIDE with magic marker. I fear the ethical path would involve cutting them to bits with scissors.

Fake Bag Anecdote. One of my students was carrying a Chanel bag.  She showed it to me. Figuring that she knew it was a replica, I remarked that it looked real. This was a booboo. I thought she would know. She got very huffy and told me that TINY TOWN, Louisiana got ALL the "seconds" of Chanel bags direct from France. She said she had paid $40 for the bag and showed me a certificate declaring authenticity in several languages. She said she happened to have put a good deal of study into the bag. She was getting really angry at me.

Since I didn't want this episode to appear on "Rate My Professor," I said, "Wow. You are really lucky!"

Again, dear readers, I await your words of wisdom.

Is John Rosselli Watching Over Me?

Yesterday, I recounted how cheered I was by the advice of high-end decor maven John Rosselli. The advice: simply cover your shabby sofa with some fabric. Who am I to argue with a luminary?

Well, I took a trip back to the thrift store to check on delivery of my sofa (not till next week). While I was there, I looked around. I saw a big white lump. It was labeled "king size comforter cover $5.00." It felt like linen. I stuck my head inside and found an Eileen Fisher Home label. I think these are made for Garnet Hill, the fancy catalogue I have mooned over for many, many years. So thrilled was I that I bought it within 5 seconds: it would be the perfect cover for my sofa.  I did not do my usual inspection.

When I got home, I unfurled it and discovered a bunch of holes. UGH. I think the previous owner must have been overzealous with the bleach: linen doesn't like bleach.

I was feeling kind of bad about wasting my money. Then I realized that the previous owner would not have donated it sans holes. I can live with the holes.  They don't really show--and have a certain je ne sais quoi-- and I can have Miss Em do some mending when she returns from Serbia.

Imperfect as it is, I still think this will be the perfect cover for my sofa. I wish I could ask Mr Rosselli if he would use a linen cover with holes. I think he might.

Would you?

Oops, I Did It Again

On the same thrift store foray where I spoke to the smug and loud Chevron volunteers, I bought a sofa. This was not a good idea. I have been resisting well-made but unnecessary sofas for several years, even (and this pains me) a down filled number with the signatures of all who were involved in its construction. You see, I will not need a sofa for around 2 years, when my current one will have reached a sufficiently bedraggled state. 

Then the Food Bank Thrift received a GOOD sofa. upholstered. The sofa had been there for at least a week. No one wanted it. Every time I said I liked it, I was offered a better price. Eventually, the manager said I could have it for $25. I was the only one who had expressed interest.

And free delivery! On that fateful day, I caved. You see, it's a sofa by Sherrill. That is--as far as I can tell--a good brand. Well-made. The fabric has some issues, of course.

I do not consider this a $25.00 sofa. That is because the fabric looks bad in some spots (though mostly hidden ones). Reupholstery or slipcovers=expensive. The couch might end up costing as much as a new one. Still, it would cost FAR LESS than a new sofa of comparable quality. 

Almost thirty years ago, when I taught at a little college in a decimated-by-unemployment small town in Michigan, I saw a chair at a yard sale. It was a quarter. I passed. Later, the wife of a colleague invited me over to see her 25 cent chair. It was, of course, the same one. I asked her how much the upholstery job had cost. $300.00! It makes a better story to refer to it as a 25 cent chair. I just did a search on the colleague and his wife and discovered that they were divorced many years ago. I wonder what became of that chair.

I guess I should stop regarding thrift store trips as rescue missions. Still, check out the beautiful chairs belonging to Frugalshrink, a favorite blogger. I think she got some gorgeous chairs at a good price, even after one takes the upholstery costs into account.

Have you ever "rescued" some unappreciated item?

Class Consciousness at the Thrift Store: Was I Out of Line with the Chevron Peeps?

Between end of the semester stress (still have much grading to do) and the constant temptations of holiday shopping, I needed---surprise--a trip to the thrift store. As is my new wont, I went to the Food Bank Thrift because it is only about a 3 minute drive from my house. It is also the thrift store that attracts the poorest demographic and, indeed, many customers have vouchers from the Food Bank across the street.

The overworked and harried workers! They are understaffed and the donations are piling up inside, outside, everywhere.

Today the workload was--presumably--eased by the presence of three youngish volunteers. They were in the back. As far as I could tell (the door was open), they were engaged in a gab fest and not doing anything else. The subject of the gabfest was how much money they made working for Chevron, how great their retirement  and other benefits were, how it was good to look for romance within the company because women who learned you worked for Chevron would be after your money, and on and on.  Their entitled voices carried through the small store.

How nice of Chevron to let them volunteer at the thrift store during their paid work hours! What wonderful community relations!

Two of the fellows emerged from the back and entered the store. And--I JUST HAD TO SAY SOMETHING. So I put on my teacher voice and said "I think it's really nice that Chevron is sending you here to do volunteer work for the community. But it is insensitive and hurtful to discuss your fabulous salaries and benefits in loud voices that are heard by the customers, many of whom do not shop here by choice."

The two Mr Chevrons looked chastened. I said I wasn't trying to be mean, but to alert them to the fact that they may have been inadvertently insensitive. (Perhaps I was trying to be a LITTLE MEAN.)

Then I left. I wonder what they said after I was out the door.

Was I out of line? What would you do?

Drycleaning Tags at the Thrift Store: A Small Town Story

It's that time of year. As a teacher, I am inundated with work to grade. At home, I receive zillions of catalogs from places I've never shopped. Oh yeah, and my email inbox is full of tempting offers. I'm only human. I AM tempted.

As always in such situations, I engage in prophylactic shopping. I go to the thrift store. Last week, I went to Goodwill for the first time in a long time. There I looked around and saw nothing, thereby confirming my recently adopted NO GOODWILL policy.

Then I wandered over to the men's section. Mr FS and Frugal Son keep telling me they have enough. Plus, men's clothing is usually in short supply, in bad shape, and of poor quality. Then I saw a little node. In the node were a bunch of Zegna linen shirts in the very size of the two men in my life. So I looked around the men's section and filled up my cart (or buggy, as it's called in these parts).

I sat down with my finds and only kept the very, very best: a few shirts, an unworn cashmere muted plaid blazer, and a few other things. With misgivings, I put the rest back, knowing that I would probably never see another $5.99 Armani suit in the very size of my beloved men. It was not in good shape, alas.

Then I saw a cleaning tag: B Colwell. B Colwell, B Colwell, I mused. Could BC be a doctor? I once purchased a Burberry shirt that had the tag of the oral surgeon where I've dropped so much money. I once saw--but did not purchase owing to bad karma--a men's cashmere sweater with the tag of the dentist who dismissed us from her practice earlier this year. And, of course, all the fancy Italian women's clothing I bought a while back  had the tags of a doctor specializing in breast augmentation and tummy tucks.

Then I remembered who B Colwell is! He is the husband/partner of the woman who founded a retail empire of elegant clothing and furniture in my little town and elsewhere. I think her elegant empire may be down to one furniture store in New Orleans now.

Coincidentally, the local paper ran a story about the elegant couple just the other day. You can scroll through the pics and see their all-white apartment in New Orleans. Their big house has been for sale for a few years. You can buy it!

Thanks Bryan for the donations. I am enough of a bad person to wonder if Vicki donated some of her wardrobe. I didn't see anything. A few years ago, Vicki and her equally beautiful mom Audrey and sister Tricia had a yard sale at the fancy house. It attracted hundreds of mostly women who were willing to pay almost full price for their used garments and furniture. She is a retail genius.

Watching things circulate through a little town....interesting. Peace on earth, GOODWILL TO MEN.

After One, Le Deluge? How do you stop shopping?

Last year, when I turned 60, I made a list of four Eileen Fisher basics that I wanted. I decided that it was too hard to find basics (plain black whatevers) at thrift stores, my usual haunt. And luckily enough, without squandering too much time, I got all of them at around 60% off. As I mentioned in my last post, I call Nordstrom and have them price match if possible. Then I get the famous Nordies guarantee.

Luckily too, my purchases came right before I went away for 6 weeks. I seldom shop for clothing when I'm on the road. So there was an endpoint.

However, as I mentioned also in my last post, I bought a long EF black skirt to replace the one I wore last summer. But then...the desires swelled. I also put about eight items in my shopping cart.  I waited a few hours and all but two were sold out. Thank heavens!

Sometimes I think I am addicted shopper using thrift stores as my methadone.  Buying another of a beloved skirt led, in my case, not to satiety, but to desire.

Is that normal? What does one do to turn desire to satisfaction?

Succumbing and Not Succumbing to Sale Temptations

It's that time of year. When all the things you rejected as too expensive are now 40% off.  Sometimes more.

For me, the true tempters are simple basics. Usually--and here I reveal  my age, socioeconomic whatever, and aesthetic (not to mention my lack of a waistline)--I crave Eileen Fisher. The crepe pants, the plain skirts, the long tanks. These are not show stoppers, but workhorses. Last year, I decided to get over my tooooo cheap ways, and buy a few pieces. I eventually found them all at an acceptable price (for me) and they went a long way towards making getting dressed easier.

Within the last few days, most every blog in the universe announced the arrival of a Nordstroms 40% off sale. I did what I always do. Put a whole bunch of EF items into my shopping cart. Then--in an effort at prophylactic shopping--I headed over to the Food Bank Thrift. There I found a forlorn and filthy looking long cashmere cardi of a brand I like as well as EF. I bought it. I washed it. It is nice! I saved it from an ignominious fate!

I checked back at Nordstroms and was relieved to see that several items had sold out. Phew. I was till tempted by one skirt: the long EF foldover waist skirt. I got one last year and wore it at least 30 times in Europe. It is rather raglike at this point. I found one even cheaper at Saks, so I had Nordies match the price.

Love: price matching, free returns, free ship, no deadlines.

Today I'm tempted by another EF item at another place. Always another temptation. I try to counter this with my knowledge that there is always another bargain.

How do you resist temptation? (No pictures of the things that are tempting me. I don't want to tempt you. Plus, I'm lazy. Win-Win)

Frugality: Is it Fun?

I wrote a followup to my post on selling excess clothing on Tradesy. I received a rather horrified comment from Shelley to the effect that all this "in and out" made her head spin. She seemed to marvel that I found it fun.

But I do. So does at least one other blogger--Frugalshrink--who is doing similar things not because she has to, but because she likes to.

My family of 4 spends less than $1000 a year on clothing (not all is 2nd hand). I still treat both my 20something kids in this department because I have the time to do it. It is a major component of my frugal practice.

The other component is killer grocery shopping, sans coupons, but keeping an eye out and stocking up. This must work because I occasionally have to institute a "shopping fast" in this area and use up the stuff in my freezer. I mentioned in a blog comment the other day that my family has always spent well under the food stamp budget--not that I even knew what that budget was till recently.

My Partner in Frugality--Mr FS--would break out in hives doing my above fun activities (though he sometimes accompanies me on walks to a nearby grocery store). His frugal practices involve doing all the yard work and fixing whatever can be fixed. 

There are zillions of ways to be frugal. Read The Tightwad Gazette for ideas. Or check out the relevant chapter in Your Money of Your Life. 

My parents were pretty frugal when I was growing up (and my parents were self-employed for many years, which necessitates careful budgeting). They pretty much stopped when they moved to a fun golf community in Florida (at the exact ages of me and Mr FS!!!). I guess frugality wasn't fun for them.

I'm kind of curious to see how I may change in the frugal department when I retire. In graduate school (talk about stressful days!) I was frugal by necessity. Now, I am frugal by choice. That is the greatest luxury as far as I'm concerned. I don't think I would do it if it weren't fun.

Do my frugal adventures sound like fun to you or do they evoke "the horror! the horror!"? Do YOU think frugality can be fun?

How I Ended Up with a Wedding Dress and What Will Become of It: Tales from the Thrift Store

A while ago, I was at one of the two thrift stores I frequent. There was a huge rack of used wedding dresses at ridiculous prices (high ones, that is). Needless to say--having already done a wedding in a green dress at the courthouse--I did not give them more than a glance.

The employee asked me if I wanted a wedding dress. I said no, for the above reason. He said We'll never sell them and they are taking up a lot of space. You can have them for $3 each.

I felt a bit sorry for him. So I picked out JUST ONE, figuring I could perhaps take it to the Buffalo Exchange for Halloween. I took a silk one and thought that the creative and handy Miss Em could use the fabric for something. Two possibilities.

Miss Em and I asked at the Buf. No, they didn't want wedding dresses for Halloween. Miss Em thought the dress was too nice to cut up. We put it in the DONATE pile.

Then--the fateful sentence: Maybe I'll try this on.  Then an exclamation: It fits perfectly.

We put it back in the DONATE pile. Miss Em is not planning a wedding at the moment and she's sufficiently contrarian to NOT want a traditional white dress.

An hour later, another fateful sentence: I've always wanted to make a Snow Queen costume for Halloween.

No, I am not allowed to post a photo. (Below from Once Upon a Time wiki)

The Snow Queen

Decluttering: Tradesy and Buffalo Exchange Report

I am reading a new-to-me blog: An Exacting Life. This woman is impressive; she keeps track of EVERYTHING.  I just stagger along in my un-exact way. 

Miss Em--back from Serbia--will be making a return trip  from October to February . While I have the only exacting member of my family of 4 around, I am shamelessly using her.  To declutter. What else is new?

It's a win-win. She needs some money and I need to get rid of stuff. She is in charge of picking stuff out for the Buffalo Exchange and selling the more desirable items on Tradesy (she photographs, writes descriptions with a bit of help from yours truly). She gets all the proceeds.

So far: 

Miss Em took a trip to Tuscaloosa AL (where she went to college) to speak at an event. That town has an outstanding resale shop, Twice as Nice. We left some items there before she graduated and she returned from her trip with a few items and $35.

3 trips to the Buffalo Exchange. We always stop by when we visit Frugal Son, since he lives just a few blocks away. This is always fun. The people who work there are so great. Three trips netted $200 in cash and Miss Em used some credit to buy a few items. I really think going to the Buf keeps me from getting too stodgy--kind of like teaching. It's hard to be 60 among the young, but it's worth it.

Tradesy: This is like the world's biggest yard sale. Most people sell their stuff for WAY TOO MUCH. We price low. Miss Em has picked up about $400 from that venue and we've listed lots of things. Every now and then something sells. 

Miss Em also instituted a rule, which I am abiding by voluntarily: we must donate 15 items to "earn" a trip to Goodwill. So far I've earned a few trips.

Miss Em has netted about $600, which I find rather astonishing. While I know how much cash we've taken in, I have no idea what the numbers are as far as items. Miss Em has brought home perhaps 10 items (all second hand) since her return from Serbia. I've only bought 3 items since June. We've gotten rid of a lot more than that. But my question remains: why do I still have too much stuff??

the new orleans store

How Not to Buy: NOrdstrom and Sundance

I don't mean to project an image of a virtuous self here. Just like a lot of people, I shop too much, over-accumulate, etc etc. And--because the thrifts in my little town are good and cheap--I can REALLY over-accumulate: a sweater a week would add up to a mere $150 and put 52 items into my closet.

A few years ago, I realized that I found thrift stores de-stressing and that I found enough for my family and friends to make my time--sort of--worth it. So I decided to limit my shopping in "real stores." LAst year, I decided to up my shopping in "real stores" so I could get some simple basics at higher than my usual price point.

When you venture into the world of "real stores," you are subject to all sorts of temptations. Even though I don't have a Nordstrom charge, I was sent the Anniversary Catalog, with a note that I could shop early if I got the charge.

How to say NO to Nordstrom? Well, last year, I had a few things on my "list": Eileen Fisher tunic, Furla bag (one of these days), Zella leggings, JAG jeans. Last year, every one of the items was "sold out." Boohoo. I left them in my cart.

Lo and behold, several months later, every one of the items re-appeared and at an even lower price! By that time, I didn't really want the items anyway and decided to wait for 2014.

This year, my list is exactly the same. Some of the items are already sold out in my size. The Furla bag is even nicer than the one last year. But--ugh--I don't need anything right now.

I think I'll wait till 2015. By that time, some of my current wardrobe might be sufficiently worn out. I'm pretty sure the sale will always feature Eileen Fisher tunic, Furla bag, Zella leggings, and JAG jeans.

So I'm not saying NO to Nordstrom; I'm waiting.

What about Sundance? Why I get the catalog, I do not know. I have never bought anything from Sundance. Today, while I was cleaning out my "stuff I might be interested in" basket, I found a picture torn from the 2013 catalog.  "Lotus Petal Flats." Looked comfy. $168. UGH. Today--about a year later--I looked up the flats. They are still $168. They have some reviews about how UNcomfy they are. Desire dissipation: immediate.

Saying NO: it's just temporary.

Lotus Petal Flats

An updated version of an age-old design worn in Chinese monasteries. Lotus petal flat shoes are simple, beautiful and supremely comfortable with softest suede that cradles with each step. Imported. Euro whole sizes 36 to 41. 36 (US 6.75), 37 (US 7.5), 38 (US 8.25), 39 (US 9), 40 (US 9.75), 41 (US 10.5).

Average Customer Rating:

 

3.4

 out of 

5

 (7 Reviews)

6 out of 7(86%)reviewers would recommend this product to a friend.

  Choose a sort order   Date - Newest First   Date - Oldest First   Rating - High to Low   Rating - Low to High   Helpfulness - High to Low  Customer Reviews for Lotus Petal Flats

Runs Large

November 6, 2013

ShoeFox

Location: Northern California

This is an attractive shoe with very soft suede. However, my usual European size
was much too large so I ordered the next smaller size. It was also too large, so I
tried the next size down which was too small. In the end I kept a pair with the middle
size and will try adding inserts. What is needed is a half size, currently not available.

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Review 2 for Lotus Petal Flats

Very Zen

October 27, 2013

sanssoleil

Location: Boston area

I do actually like these flats a lot. I was worried about sizing, given other reviews, but the flats fit my size 9 feet perfectly. I sometimes wonder if I should order up--not all 9s work for me, but 9.5 is always too big. These worked very well. At first I was taken aback by the absence of a heel, but in fact came to love walking around on perfectly flat soles--very zen. I love the soft lush suede; only drawback is that it seems to wear quickly, because shoes are so close to the ground with no heel. I got the cinnamon--it's lovely, exactly as pictured. Kind of wish I'd gotten teal, though, as it would go with more of what I usually wear. If they weren't so expensive I'd order a second pair.

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Review 3 for Lotus Petal Flats

Very disappointed

October 12, 2013

Longhorn

Location: Fort Worth, TX

They were not true to size very large, however; very narrow and No padding or arch support I returned them.

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Review 4 for Lotus Petal Flats

Lotus Petal Flats

October 10, 2013

BCMOM

Love these shoes. However, they run a full size too large. Buyer beware.

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Review 5 for Lotus Petal Flats

Too big...too flat

September 10, 2013

cmk311

Location: Los Angeles, CA

I really wanted to like these shoes...they seem different than many flats and I was looking forward to suede for the fall. I ordered my usual size 9.5 (size 40) however they were too big and too flat. Sorry Sundance these won't work for me. I would recommend for others in the correct sizing.

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Review 6 for Lotus Petal Flats

very best purchase ever

September 10, 2013

kaoieoka

Location: charlotte n c

An elegant and comfortable shoe. I feel like owning all 3 colors.

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Review 7 for Lotus Petal Flats

cute flats!

August 19, 2013

fuzy

I ordered these in cinnamon in a 38, which is my usual size. They are very cute, seem comfy, but about one size too large. Sent them back for a 37. The cinnamon color is nice, but paler than the photo. When doing an exchange with Sundance, you have to pay return postage to use the smart label - lots of other catalogs do not charge for an exchange.