Just FYI, this is an exceptionally long blog post that promises nothing but mild entertainment for some, great entertainment for those wanting to relive or imagine the yardsale, and perhaps, just maybe, a photo of my dog dressed as a banana.

Well, okay, every weekend somehow involves PUG for me, but this one was special. I won the triple crown of PUG shopping: I purchased something at the Boutique, some things at the yardsale, and finally made use of my gift card online at pinupgirlclothing.com... all in the span of 24 hours. Yes, I am very fortunate (thank goodness for unexpected work on the side and overtime at my regular job)!

The last Friday evening of each month Magnolia Blvd. in Burbank, CA puts on Ladies Night Out, which if you get a chance to go truly is a lot of fun. Food trucks, music, and shops open late are what you can expect on this night. It's a fun way to check out the neat shops on Magnolia Blvd. and to enjoy the special discounts that many of them offer at the event. The Pinup Girl Boutique is a part of this celebration. They offer 10% off the entire shop, great music, drinks, and their hours are extended. Since I work in Hollywood, the only day I can usually shop at the Boutique is Sunday on my day off, since I otherwise can't make it over during normal business hours. So I love the extended hours, especially since most of the ladies we see on the website are there either modeling upcoming and new outfits or are just there to hang out with everyone. It's still so surprising to me that Laura, Micheline, and Doris know me by name (I still get giddy and shy around them... they're awesome!), and the atmosphere in general is amazing. The Boutique really does have an elegance to it that we just don't see anymore in most shops. So many small shops veer towards the cluttered side in an attempt to fit as much stock in as possible (I work in a small shop and it's always a struggle to have it be tidy and full), but the Boutique is spacious and pleasant to browse around in. And the ladies that work there are all so nice and helpful, so it's a treat to spend some time there. Not every style that Pinup Girl produces is in stock there, which I personally like since it makes it fun to look around and see what was selected to be in the shop. I knew I didn't want to go too crazy shopping since the big yardsale was the next day, but I saw the grey Dovima in my size and had to try it on. My bust is a bit below the smallest measurement, so I had hesitated about getting it online fearing that it would look unflattering on me.Fortunately, the cut is suitable for a wide range of bust sizes, and I love how it looks! It's fitted in the hips and waist, super comfortable, and the top drapes beautifully so that it gives a lovely hourglass shape. And the seaming! I love interesting seaming, and this dress satisfies that desire without question. It really does bring out the curves, and the fabric is memory stretch so it moulds itself to the body and doesn't stretch out and get baggy. I have several LB Black Label pieces in this fabric, and it's wonderful. I would say the grey has more give than the navy for sure, but it's a bit thicker than the green. I can't wait for it to cool down out here so that I can really wear it. And it was only $70.00! You can't buy class, but you can buy a dress that practically drips with class. And all for $70.00! Woo hoo!

So after making my usual awkward goodbyes to the ladies (I swear, I can put together a coherent sentence), I headed home to try and sleep in preparation for the big sale. Surprisingly, I did not have any ridiculous dreams about PUG, though ever since I found out that I'd be able to go to it I'd been having some rather interesting ones, including one where I was Rosalind Russell escaping from some criminals and throwing all of my PUG dresses into a garbage bag and making a run for it (Auntie Mame clearly had a strong effect on me). Justine from the Boutique suggested that I get to the venue at least an hour if not earlier to get a good spot in line. I got there a little over an hour before it started, and already there was a huge line. Any worries that I had about out of control women beating down the doors were dispelled immediately as everyone around me was friendly and chatting away with one another. I think the first lesson to a successful yardsale is to make friends with the other people there. People aren't as likely to trample you if you've just spent time having a pleasant conversation together. There wasn't any pushing and shoving once the doors opened, and the whole process of getting in was smooth thanks to good planning and a great crowd. I'm generally an XS with few exceptions, and the rack with that size was right as soon as I stepped into the room. I didn't take any photos of the place, so just to give a general feel for the place, when you first walk in, on your left are all of the PUG clothing racks, organized by size from XS to 2X. For some reason (this was my first PUG yardsale), I had thought that the separates would be, well, separated from the dresses by size. Not so... everything was mixed together on the rack. In the back left corner was one huge communal changing room. To the right of that was Heartbreaker Fashions, who brought a ton of their own clothes to sell at the sale. Center back wall was a huge bar (always a plus, though I'm a total lightweight and prone to making ridiculous conversations with people when I drink, so I held off), and to the right of that in the back right corner was another huge communal changing room. Center right along the wall was the line for the cashiers, which were in the front right corner. Running alongside the line area was Audrey K, a local designer who also has a shop on Magnolia who brought a selection of her designs to the sale. In the center of the room next to the racks of PUG clothing were tables upon tables of accessories and costumes, boxes filled with swimsuits, costumes, some odds and ends (a lot of Evelyn boleros), and dresses that there were an abundance of. In between this and Audrey K's area were circular tables piled high with shoes. And last but not least, to the right when you first walked in was a stage where the Tikiyaki Orchestra played, and they were EXCELLENT! Not to mention pretty darn funny in between songs. So hopefully this gives you a good idea of what I was walking into. Oh, and I almost forgot. All of us PUG fanatics were there as well. Even though I had a fairly good spot in line, the XS rack was already half empty when I got to it. No matter, still lots of good stuff. I grabbed a few items that looked promising, and then headed to the changing room in the far right back corner. And here we get to lesson number two... don't be shy! There was no body judging or people trying to snatch up one of your chosen treasures while you were trying to pull a too-small dress over your head. All of the ladies were chatty and really looking out for each other, zipping up a long zipper, giving advice on fits and alterations, etc. The woman next to at one point pulled off a dress she was trying on, and said to me, "This dress isn't fitting me too well, but I think it would fit you perfectly. You should try it on!". I did, and the turquoise Vivian is now hanging in my closet thanks to a complete stranger's generosity. I was really blown away that someone would do that for me (remember, lesson number one!), but that was the kind of day it was. A lot of the dresses I tried on I found to be too tight for me in the hips (remember, a lot of these dresses were ones that were rejected for regular sale since they didn't quite fit the measurements that PUG wanted them to be), and after talking with a few ladies that seems to have been the case for a lot of them. Lesson number three, try it on before you buy it. I didn't bring a tape measure since I planned on spending the day at the event and would therefore have time to try things on, but if you can't try it on at least measure it first. The dresses that I saw that were marked down for 'damage', well, you could barely see the damage on them. I saw one dress that had a miniscule snag on it, and one that had a small smudge inside of it. They were not your usual sale rack damages that have unfixable gaping holes in them. They were in great shape, and a great testament to PUG's quality control since most retailers wouldn't bat an eye at selling them at full price. At this point I had a discontinued brush stroke Doris skirt and the Vivian dress in my hands. The rest I put back on the go backs rack that they had outside of the changing rooms (another great place to find something, though I personally didn't find anything at this sale from there). I went back over the XS rack to see if anything new had appeared, but nothing caught my eye. I did notice a Pinup Couture dress that I've never seen before and I cant imagine how old it is since it looks new but nothing like their current collections. It wasn't my style, but I thought it was cool to see a little piece of PUG history just hanging out on the rack. While I was waiting by that rack for a restock, there were a few other ladies with friends and family next to me who were trading pieces amongst themselves. We all started talking a bit, and then one dress, the discontinued pink and black Violet dress, that neither wanted ended up in my hands. I've always liked this dress, and even though I know they're re-releasing it this winter with different fabrics I had still been hoping to snag one at the sale to save more money for other new dresses :) I ended up altering the neck tie slightly to make it smaller to suit my small bust, but that was all I had to do. Again, lesson number one! Be friendly with your fellow ladies (and their friends and family). After a bit we were all asked to form lines in front of the size rack we were waiting for. All of us XS's got that done quickly, since the placement of the rack was right where there was a clear area in between the stage and the tables. The other sizes I think had a bit more difficulty with this since the tables were in their way. We all waited until they rolled out the newly filled racks, and then they signaled for us to go. Everyone went forward, and it was a bit chaotic. I didn't encounter any shoving or rudeness near me (I did get bonked in the head by a box that someone was carrying but they apologized profusely and asked me if I was okay, which I absolutely was so it was all good). With the amount of people around the rack there wasn't much left once I got to it, so I picked out a champagne Film Noir that I ended up putting back since the color didn't suit me as well as I had hoped it would. While this was happening apparently there was some shoving in one of the other racks. I don't know what happened, but Micheline, Natasha, and the other PUG ladies immediately put a stop to it and came up with a new game plan for the next round of refills. I think part of the reason why I didn't see any of that behavior was in large part due to the placement of the XS rack. There was a rack of Smalls on one side of it, but there there was about 6' or more of space between the XS rack and the wall. We could all go over to the rack and stand off to the side until we could get at a spot. The other racks didn't have this kind of space, so congestion was inevitable with that many excited ladies, and I guess some of them didn't handle it very well. By the way, at this point I should point out that Micheline and Natasha, aka La Cholita, really made sure that the rules were being followed and that people breaking them weren't to be tolerated. I only saw one instance of clothes hoarding, and Natasha put a stop to that right away. They announced that they were going to do another restock, and to get in lines again by size. I happened to be standing right where the XS line was supposed to start, with only one woman in front of me, so I really got lucky. They announced that they would be letting ladies go in by 3's to avoid the mess that happened before, so I was even more psyched. While I was waiting I got to chat with the ladies around me and we compared our finds with each other (we all had the brush stroke Doris skirt!), so that made the time pass quickly. Once they had everything refilled we got to go up and pick out no more than 4 items to take off the rack per person to make it fair. I found a red Dixiefried Perfect Pencil skirt, something I have been wanting for some time, and a Rose L'Amour dress. I went to try them on (hooray for no line for the fitting room), and found the skirt a perfect fit (it runs small in the waist but so do I so it was a good match), but the L'Amour was a sample and just didn't fit the way I hoped it would. It was a gorgeous dress, and I thought about trying to alter it, but figured I should save the money for other PUG items. But while I was in there I met the fabulous Erica Monique Bass, who I think anyone that's ever been on PUG's Facebook page knows well :) She's an awesome person, and I enjoyed my brief chat with her then. At this point it was 1 o'clock, and I was ready to sit down and enjoy my new purchases, so I went to check out. I saw Justine from the Boutique working there who called out to me and I thanked her for the early arrival advice. Vanessa, who I'd never met, rang me out and despite what must have been a long day had a smile on her face and was just lovely. It was a great day, tiring, but so much fun to meet different people and pick up some sweet new items. For the two dresses and two skirts, I only paid $85! And then I went home and ordered the DF Banana Tiki Dress that I've been wanting since I got my other DF Tiki Dress with my gift card and 20% off code. Whew! I should get that this Tuesday, provided my new billing address isn't an issue (why does my bank and the USPS think I live in North Hollywood when city zoning says I live in Studio City?!? Look at a map!).

So that was my PUG weekend. Long story short, I haven't had this much fun in a while, and I'm excited for the Halloween shindig at the Boutique this October. For all of you that couldn't make the sale, I'm sorry that you missed out on a good time. But I have to say, I think that the idea of an online yard sale or even an online grab bag would be really difficult if not impossible. All of those clothes had to be looked over and tagged based upon what 'flaw' they had, which varies greatly. I saw the same style dresses at different prices depending on what their condition was. They also all had to be organized by size, which with the sizes being a bit off for some of the sample was tricky. To do this online PUG would pretty much have to list each dress separately so that we would know what the condition was, price, measurements if different, and people would probably want a photo of it to see it for themselves. If I bought something 'damaged', I would! To do this would be time consuming and all for items that the company probably doesn't make any profit on at all (my Vivian dress was $20... there's no way they didn't lose money on that). They would also have to label each item at the warehouse to make sure that they right one shipped out to the right customer. Even the grab bag idea, which I thought was a good one, would be tricky with the whole sample size situation. There were dresses that normally fit me that were too small to get over my hips, and other women said that they had issues with the hips or bust being smaller than usual on them thanks to the sizing being off. So even if you were to order a grab bag in your size, your size might not fit you, which would be a shame indeed since you can't return them. It would be a big risk for everyone involved, sadly. So make the most of the great sales that PUG does offer online! And if you can make it to the yardsale, just stick to the rules that PUG lays out and you'll do fine. Remember, you're basically their guest for the day... they've put in hours of work to get the clothes ready, provided free hors d'oeuvres, free valet parking, a great live band, unbelievable discounts on their clothing, and a bar right next to the shoes. Going by their guidelines isn't too much to ask! I hope everyone else that went had a great time and will be sharing their stories on here as well :)

Since I don't have the Banana Tiki Dress yet, here's a photo of my dog dressed as a banana in the meantime.  Look, it wasn't a self-taken shot in the mirror!