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"Okay, the &amp;quot;new&amp;quot; part is a stretch since it&amp;#x27;s only really new to me, but since I&amp;#x27;m a sucker for a happy ending--in everything from cheesy rom-coms to a beat-the-system shopping tale--I just have to share this story with you: last week I had my first Etsy experience, and let me tell you, it was something special.At some point during the last few weeks, I got it into my head that I wanted--no, make that needed a--a velvet blazer for fall. A crimson velvet blazer, to be specific. I spent some QT on the glamour.com shopping page and was surprised to see that while there were a lot of snazzy velvet blazers, very few of them synced up with the sassy red number that I&amp;#x27;d whipped up in my imagination. Plus, they were all a little more than I was looking to spend on something that could just be an impulse buy. (I mean really: a Hugh Hefner-y red blazer? Where do I come up with these things?) Since hitting up all the vintage stores in my neighborhood couldn&amp;#x27;t really be squeezed into my brunching-cleaning-bill-paying-drinking-and-sleeping weekend plans, I thought that maybe I&amp;#x27;d just see if Etsy--the online emporium for handmade and vintage goodies--had something that would fit the bill. Low and behold there were dozens and dozens of vintage velvet blazers just waiting for me in the Etsy archives! I snapped a &amp;#x27;70s version for $25, the seller sent it to me within the week and I wore it happily (make that very, very happily) all weekend! Now I know some of you are freaked out by smelly old vintage stores but that&amp;#x27;s exactly why I&amp;#x27;m getting all gushy about Etsy: I didn&amp;#x27;t have to paw through any dusty racks to find what I wanted, my jacket was exactly as described (plus it was clean and in mint condition!). It even arrived wrapped up in tissue paper and thin pink ribbon! It was exactly what I wanted--actually, since it was only $20, I think it was even better than anything I could have found in a store! Anyhow, I just wanted to share that story with you in case you were thinking about buying a certain fall piece, but couldn&amp;#x27;t find it anywhere, I say give Etsy a shot. Meanwhile, check out these other gorgeous velvet finds that are currently on the site! Vintage strapless velvet dress, $168 at 13Bees Vintage brown velvet bag, $34 at TheRubyKitten Vintage velvet blazer, $24 at SnapVintage Have you ever bought anything on Etsy before? Or are you more of an Ebay kind of girl? Did you know that Etsy has beauty stuff too? Is there anything that you&amp;#x27;ve really wanted to buy that you&amp;#x27;ve had a hard time tracking down? What other ways/ideas/sources did you try? "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/fashion/blogs/dressed/2009/09/a-new-and-affordable-way-to-sa>