Luxe Fashion, Bargain Basement Prices.

I just read a great piece in Times today about vintage clothing and Manhattan thrift stores.

Deidre Schoo for The New York Times

It got me to thinking about the few great things I've purchased from ebay lately.
(Let me preface following story with back story... I never "ebay-ed" until a month ago.  I had heard some bad stories, hadn't really thought about it as an outlet for great things, blah blah blah.  UNTIL I was searching for the perfect Coach briefcase ONLY to learn that Coach no longer cares about sleek lines, vintage style, and great American-made leather-goods.  Seriously.  So, the only place I knew to look for a vintage briefcase was ebay.  I found one.  On that particular day, the auction for this particular Beekman briefcase was ending that evening.  I figured that if I staked it out and remained the high bidder I'd win.  False.  Apparently everything in ebay comes down to the last seconds.  And I even had a high reserve.  I wanted this (used) bag $300 worth.  Sadly, someone else wanted it $306 worth.)
Even though I was completely deflated and still sans briefcase, I attempted ebay again a few days later.  This time, I utilized the precious, oh-so-glorious "buy-it-now" feature and secured this AMAZING bag:

After this initial boost of confidence and retail encouragement, (and an expense check from the school) I ventured into the world of ebay once more for a pair of frye boots.  Although I live in Ohio now, I am a true southern girl with MUCH need for boots in the summer (skirts and picnics, duh).  After much looking over a few days, I found a pair of distressed frye harness boots originally sold at Anthropologie.  Even though they were a 1/2 size too big, I purchased.  And I fell in love.  They are hands down the greatest boots I have ever owned.  And I got them for less than 1/2 price.  In fact, I saw the same boots at Saks today for $250.00. (score.)  these are the lovies:

( I love them too much to only put one pic)

This post is simply to state that although the title of this blog is 'Abounding Luxe,'  Luxe, and great, GREAT pieces of fashion, can be found anywhere at any price point.  Search around for those little gem-of-a-stores akin to those in the Times article.  Embrace vintage and ebay and thrift!