And here I thought the discount Absolut was the best part of my Costco membership...

Chanel at Costco? STFU.

I thought the only thing of value they had there was the 40-pack of Trojans for a mere $10. Who knew that between the 80 rolls of Angel Soft toilet paper and the caskets, a myriad of designer brand names could be found at your local Costco warehouse?

New York City residents celebrated the opening of its first Costco by rushing the doors and buying out their stock of Louis Vuitton and Chanel handbags. Oh, did I forget to mention they had Burberry and Coach available for purchase as well? Shock me, shock me, shock me, Costco, with your fabulous merchandise. As if the Costco brand wasn’t designer enough already.

And it doesn’t stop there. 7 For All Mankind jeans? You got it. Michele watches?  No big deal. Paris Hilton’s latest perfume… well I’ll pass on that, but if I ever get the urge to smell like a Can Can dancer, I’ll know where to go.

Costco people are a special brand of human. We live life large. Extra large, if possible. Our carts are always filled to the brim with giant boxes of whatever we can get our hands on. And just when we thought life couldn’t get any better, Costco delivers us the crème de la crème of a shopper’s paradise.

These goodies aren’t available at all Costco’s nationwide (…yet), but I’m just happy to live in a world where it’s OK to purchase a discount case of hot dogs and a Chanel purse at the same time.

As you may have gathered from my previous articles, I am a shopaholic.  Even if I have no money, I can’t help but scour the internet for deals at the online sample sales (seriously, check out Ideeli, it’s amazing).  And even though I can’t always buy sustainable products, I still try to buy in sustainable ways.

Here are my favorite shopping tips to don’t just save the environment, but they can also save you money.

Read on, my fellow “Frugalista” (thank you, Target.)

Shop in stores.  Preferably ones you can walk or carpool to.  Retailers get their shipments in bulk, which decreases the amount of packaging material used to deliver the products.  When you shop online, shipping costs (and all that wasted paper and cardboard) can add up quickly, so spare yourself and hit the local mall (with your reusable tote!). Be sure to try on before you buy so you can avoid the extra gas needed to return something to the store.

Look for local labels.  Try to buy from companies that are based in the your state to cut down on energy needed for transportation.  If that’s not possible, look for brands that produce their products within the United States.  American Apparel, C&C Cailfornia, Splendid, J.Crew, Lucky Jeans, Joe’s Jeans, True Religion, Juicy Couture, 7 For All Mankind, Citizens of Humanity, and Rock and Republic (just to name a few) all manufacture their clothing in the U.S. Read More »

[Do you ever feel like you can’t pull something off? Have trendy pieces in your closet that you would never have the courage to actually wear out? Well take those pieces out, shake off the dust, and continue reading!

In this series, I will choose a different piece that can be difficult to incorporate into an outfit and give you ideas on how to wear it. If there’s anything you would like to read about in the future, please leave a comment!]

Is anyone else getting tired of skinny jeans? I mean they look great on people like Kate Moss and Nicole Richie, but for those of us without personal trainers rocking skinny jeans can make one feel a little self-conscious. If you feel more comfortable with a wider pant (something a little more forgiving of that 3 a.m. Chinese food feast), then I suggest my current favorite style: wide leg jeans. Read More »