Spend a little, look like a mil.

If you've recently been looking wistfully at magazines and catalogs and movies with awesome costumes (specifically, shoes), please join us in commiseration corner. We feel your pain. Since we love you, we've also found some cute online shops that can help you get an au courant look without maxing out your credit card. We chose the following because the online shops had other selections available in the shoe section for your peeping pleasure so you could possibly pick up a couple other things.

These oxfords, available at Ribstein & Wilcox, are a rich brown and boast 1930s styling. Great with skirts, dresses, or pants.

Everything looks better in red. Especially if that thing has...bows. Sigh. Available at The Vintage Mode, these red beauts help dispel the grey days that will be just around the corner. Pair with a neutral leg for maximum pop.

Ornamented in velvet, these shoes are pure drama without making you want to cry...unless they aren't your size! Available at Hooked on Vintage. We'd love to see them peeking out saucily from your jeans or with a trimmed swing coat and glam sunglasses.

Check out these shops for more easy on the wallet goodies!

You smell Mah-velous: Sonoma Scent Studio

Indie shoppers in the know can occasionally feel overwhelmed by all the possible shopping options their hard earned dollars can support, while some of us simply aren't as aware of all the possibilities waiting to be found. Those of us inundated with advertising might feel that we are doomed to a life of department store fare, never realizing that there are niche perfume houses with options that can offer something different. Why smell like everyone else when you're not everyone else?

We ordered some samples from Sonoma Scent Studio to get acquainted with some of the fragrances offered by Laurie Erickson, Sonoma's perfumer, who is based out of Sonoma, California (lovely wine country).

We were looking for a quirky, offbeat scent and were intrigued by her interpretations in Violet. Violet is a scent that is, in our minds, an odd choice for personal scent, though its roots are quite traditional and Victorian. We sampled Wood Violet , Voile de Violette , and Velvet Rose (for reasons we could not understand as we HATE rose).

Voile de Violette's notes include: Soft violet complemented by iris, cedar, vetiver, violet leaf, a touch of rose, myrrh, tonka bean, hay, and musk. The hay note is intriguing; in fact the notes make this perfume exceptional to sniff, each inhale bringing out something new to enjoy. For those who would like an approachable but not sweet and syrupy Violet scent, this would be worth a sample. It evolves gently on the skin, producing a warm halo of scent with a violet-rose aura.

Wood Violet has a more traditional Violet (like a pastille) note, unmistakable and without the rose note we smelled in Voile. The notes include: Violet, plum, cedar, cinnamon, clove, vetiver, sandalwood, violet leaf, and musk. This is a fascinating brew, again a mature (not granny) way to wear Violet, without sugar or powder. The notes blend seamlessly--it's truly faultless. The violet lovers violet, with a yummy dry down. Praise, praise. Gets better every minute, like Voile.

Finally, Velvet Rose, a scent we were not expecting to like, as we really, really, don't like rose. Velvet Rose is a magnificent soliflore , which smells like a real red rose. It's insane. Not only that, it's incredibly clean and fresh and the notes dry down into a cozy clean and pleasurable sniffing experience. Notes: A fresh but deep rose soliflore with Damask rose, bergamot, violet leaf, soft carnation, musk, and subtle patchouli. The notes in this perfume can be polarizing for some sniffers (we personally love bergamont and patch and they are well done indeed here) but after the first thirty minutes (which are very, very rosy), we'd be hard pressed to find anything negative to say about this one.

We toss off our hats to Sonoma Scent Studio. The fragrances are approachable, well blended, and familiar without being stuffy or old fashioned. If Laurie Erickson can get us to wear Rose and Vetiver without complaining, we have a feeling we'll be enjoying anything else she puts together! Some other fragrances available: Ambre Noir, Encens Tranquille, Jour Ensoleille, and upcoming scents include Lieu de Reves and Zen Musk. Samples are available and shipping is quick. Get yourself some samples and start sniffing!

Fashionable, fabulous, and fetching: Funky Frum!

Ever wonder where you can find clothes that are cute, comfortable and classy?

Yes, we said classy.

Class is a commodity one cannot afford to ignore, as it's becoming next to impossible to easily find clothes that don't reveal all our business to the world, or have some crass and ridiculous phrase splashed all over it. Part of what we love about shopping Indie is that we're not mainstream. It's not just about spending our money to help small businesses flourish, it's also about not buying into all the crap the media is constantly trying to sell us. We're not 14. We don't want to look like a baby prostitute, nor do we value the glammed up sexualizing of pubescent children. We also don't want to smell like a whorehouse--at least not when we're buying groceries or picking up the kids. No more 16/60 (16 from the back, 60 from the front). We can dress appropriately while still maintaining a sense of fun and individuality.

Perhaps that's why you like shopping small businesses as well. Or perhaps you have values of a religious or spiritual nature and shopping small and niche shops geared toward your ideals is becoming the only way to dress appropriately and attractively. Whatever your reason, we think you will appreciate this little shop we stumbled upon. Funky Frum carries clothes are modest, au courant, and comfortable.

This dress, called Cappuccino Chip, is a vintage-inspired little black number trimmed at collar, waist and wrists with shiny black satin. We love that the collar is detachable, adding easy variety to the dress. Paired with oxfords, retro styled round toed pumps, or pointy modern heels, and a nude or hosed leg, this dress can support a variety of looks and personalities. Yummy.

The best-ever denim skirt, Blackberry, is a ravishing dark jean skirt with gorgeous detailing! We have never, ever, been able to support denim skirts--they are usually too fantastically ugly to be believed--but this skirt, with its a-line fit, button and sash-like detail make this a resounding exception. One of us is wearing it now, and both of us agree it is a hit! (it runs a tad large, be advised.)

Hats. Certain hats just have the glamour; something nostalgic, romantic, and effortlessly elegant. We felt these sentiments when we saw Parisian Flower. We were stunned into awed silence tinged with paprika colored lust. We would look so good in that we thought, while we began salivating and mentally organizing our available funds simultaneously. It would absolutely make our day, nay, our month, to see anyone sporting this beauty about town!

If these little morsels have piqued your interest in the goodies at Funky Frum, we don't think you'll be disappointed in your visit. The prices are fair, the items are of excellent quality, and the shipping time is fast enough to make you pass out. The new Fall collection will be up in a few short days, as well! Yay! More things to swoon for!