My cousin's wedding

My cousin is getting married in January 2011! Below is her choice of bridesmaid dress (from Vera Wang) in the two colors she's choosing between. Can't decide which I like better...but I'm excited to wear it :)

ThredUP

My last aimless facebook perusal led me to this interesting website:

www.thredup.com



It's kind of a netflix meets Plato's Closet meets Rent the Runway sort of sitaution. The premise: lots of people get tired of or grow out of clothes they thought they loved, so why not switch? You pay a set rate for envelopes, which thredUP sends you. You tell them what you have and you set preferences for what kinds of clothes you like. You send them your new or like new clothing, and they send you something in return!

Sounds good, yeah? Well, kind of. I registered in no time, but after further investigation realized that you don't actually get much say as to what they send you other than your size, color preference, and brand preference. Furthermore, you have to pay money each time you "thredUP" for the envelopes, and you can only thredUP if you have given them something. If I'm getting rid of a Banana Republic shirt, I can get a different Banana Republic shirt (or similar brand), but I can only request a brand that's similar in price range to what I'm trading. The other downfall is they are still fairly new and currently limited to trading only male and female shirts - no skirts, pants, or dresses...yet.

That said, it's an innovative concept, and if they work out some of the kinks, it could one day be worth your time!