Today I’m honored that an everyday epistle post is being featured on The Couture Cowgirl.
Celeste Settrini, the site’s creator, is blessed with a positive outlook and energy for life.
She is the founder and president of Couture Cowgirl Communications and fashion editor of Equestre Magazine.
You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter @couturecowgirl7. Or catch her on Rural Route Radio with Trent Loos hosting Fashion Friday.
Or speaking to school children in San Francisco and business people in Sacramento about farming. Or leading the charge as a past president of California Women for Agriculture. Or working on her family ranch in Salinas.
She’s a busy bee. And I’ll bet she wouldn’t have it any other way.
I hope someday when I meet Celeste in person she’ll show me the ropes of being a real cowgirl. But first I need her advice on a good pair of gorgeous cowgirl boots!
Now mosey on over to The Couture Cowgirl, meet my friend Celeste, and read about my favorite fashion strategy in Many Happy Returns.
Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. Ecclesiastes 4:9 NLT
Returns. The ability to take things back. Don’t know how I would shop otherwise.
Sperry cute
The crazy town that is Macy’s during a shoe sale is no place to make a decision. It’s grab and go. Four pairs snagged at the pre-sale this past Saturday should be on their way to me from Kansas City as you read this.
Will I keep all four? Probably not. I don’t need them all. But I couldn’t decide in the store.
They all fit. All comfortable. All on sale. All gorgeous. If I left them in Macy’s unspoken for, I risked losing them to another suitor.
Remember The Limited’s old return policy? No sale is ever final. Those were the days.
Now you have to watch and make sure you don’t overstay the time limit. Sixty days are standard for generous stores and online orders. Thirty at the trendsetters. And always, always, keep your receipts.
put me in, Coach
My method is three-pronged. Try on once I get home. Make a decision as soon as possible. Return upon deciding. Not a moment to lose. While there is still time for the credit to hit my charge card’s current billing cycle.
From the pages of their books and blogs, wardrobe consultants urge me to go in with a list. Shop the list. Buy only what’s on the list.
I had a list this past Saturday. Silver sandals, black sandals, other comfortable shoes.
Macy’s, however, did not get a copy of my list when they sent their buyers a-purchasing for spring 2012. Maybe it’s too early in the season for sandals. Maybe comfort is out this year.
Nothing was a perfect fit for my list. Nothing except for the four pairs that fell into the catch-all category other comfortable shoes.
Sam Edelman stripes done right
Buying and returning is not an efficient way to shop. Yet I think the wardrobe consultants would side against efficiency in this case.
They consistently tell me dressing stylishly and within your means takes an effort. It takes time. And it’s worth the investment.
