April 15, 2009 • 6:24 pm 0
Bad economy = deflation = big sales for girls who shop *grin.*
Sephora (which we all know only tends to offer a 20% discount during it’s 1 annual Friends and Family event) is offering a 1 week 15% discount both in-store and online. Click here to get a printable version.
Filed under: Shopping Tip
March 19, 2009 • 7:57 pm 0
Lately, I’ve been getting into vintage after discovering that:
1) Vintage sizing tends to run small (i.e. clothes tend to run small, watches tend to fit smaller wrists, etc).
2) Great quality vintage can have. Heck, if it hasn’t broken down in 20+ years, it may just have a good chance of lasting for another 20. That said, unless you are very talented at repair/upcycle work, broken down, torn vintage just isn’t pretty. Be picky.
3) Amazingly unique designs you cannot find today in a mall.
Some recommends:
Vintage Fashion Guild – great online website with a huge database of vintage designers and examples of vintage labels. Cuz fakes aren’t cool.
Shopping for Vintage by Funmi Odulate- Gorgeously illustrated, easy to read book on vintage designers. Has an exhaustive, international lists of places to buy vintage. Literally.
Etsy Vintage – Really great, reasonable prices for vintage goods. Unlike that overpriced antique shop with musty smells.
Check these out:
Vintage Marcasite Brooch in Sterling
Art Nouveau Carved Elephant Ivory Bangle (pre-ban)
Filed under: Shopping Tip , ivory, reading, resources, sterling, vintage
March 15, 2009 • 4:15 pm 0
I got the following tantalizing snippet in my email inbox today. Apparently there will be an expanded sale starting March 16th in the Anthro stores. Clicking on the invite just brought me to the Store Locator page on their website below:
Would love to hear comments on any spectacular finds!
Update: I did a quick run to the store and found out the following:
- Any items on sale in the store will also be on sale online. Keep in mind though that sometimes there are online exclusive items and items which are specific to the store alone.
- Sale items were not just relegated to the sale room but were in the general display areas as well
- If you are looking for a specific item, definitely ask a sales associate even if you don’t see it on the floor. Apparently if there are too few of an item to display on the floor and it’s not a sale item, sometimes they are stored in the backroom.
Happy Shopping!
Filed under: Shopping Tip , Anthroplogie, sale
March 6, 2009 • 6:40 pm 0
I absolutely hate spending money on clothing that ends up pilling, hardening, or otherwise ending up in my charity donation bin over time. So here’s a few pointers:
1) Always check the tag so you know what the content of the fabric is.
2) Fabrics from nature are worthwhile, manmade (blends or otherwise) are usually not.
Items to spend good money on:
100% Cashmere – must be amazingly soft to the touch. High quality cashmere does not pill and can be handwashed. See The Laundress website for full instructional video. I’m obsessed with their Wool and Cashmere Shampoo.
100% Merino Wool – unlike plain “wool,” merino wool is typically of higher quality and does not itch. If it feels scratchy, do NOT buy it.
100% Cotton – Nothing breathes like cotton and has so much versatility. Cold water wash only! Mercerized or Pima cotton is even better. If you want stretch, get cotton blended with at least 5% Spandex/Lycra.
Cotton/Cashmere Blends or Cotton/Silk Blends- typically are lower on the cashmere or silk side of things, but feel fabulous.
100% Silk - Should feel super smooth to the touch and have a bit of a sheen to it. Watch for snags before you bring it home.
Items to avoid or spend only loose change on:
Wool/Acrylic Blends – will pill after time with washing and start looking old.
Angora Blends – Cheap way for manufacturer to create a “fluffy” looking sweater. Bad ones will shed like animal hair on you in the store. Good ones will pill slightly.
100% Acrylic - hardens over time with washing.
Silk/Nylon Blends – easily pills and snags. Buy 100% silk or silk/cotton blend instead if possible.
Polyester/Rayon/I don’t even know what this ?!@ is - Then why are you buying it?
Filed under: Fashion, Shopping Tip
February 21, 2009 • 10:35 am 0
Sephora has started selling solid perfumes from a French brand named “Crazylibellule and the Poppies” for $18 a pop.
Truth is, they are currently on clearance at Anthropologie stores for around $3-4 a pop, I’m guessing mostly due to low brand recognition and also perhaps the American audience is not too crazy about solid perfumes yet.
Anyhow I thought the following was the best scent in the line:
Shanghaijava Blue Orchidée, $18
Happy Shopping!
Filed under: Beauty, Shopping Tip , solid perfume
February 16, 2009 • 8:50 pm 0
It’s that time of the year. When bathing suits come out into stores, winter gear goes on heavy clearance. It’s a great time to bargain hunt for cashmere, wool, winter layering pieces and other such items.
I found the cute Free People top below at the Rack for $16, as opposed to the regular price of $98 (or the online sales price of $69).
Free People Diamonds and Lace Turtleneck
Also it’s a great time to check out all the Spring collections to decide which new items you want. Currently on my list:
1) Oversized leather clutch, preferably in a rich candy colour with faux snakeskin texture.
2) Fitted long-sleeve blazer a la Serena visits Yale. Why Ralph Lauren has not reproduced this blazer I have still yet to understand. Does Mr. Ralph not understand the Gossip Girl fangirl needs?
3) A casual white cotton/denim/corduroy pant. Still debating the “sailor” pant look. Definitely not going for the dropped crotch, slouchy, or volume pants. Not looks for the petite types like me.
4) J. Crew cardigan in a gorgeous aqua blue (because you cannot have one too many)
Filed under: Fashion, Shopping Tip , free people, winter
February 13, 2009 • 5:04 pm 3
As a petite 5 ft 1 in, I’ve learned that buying pants is always the toughest. Hemming is not so much an issue as much as just finding the right fit.
Some things I’ve learned
1) Merely buying a smaller size in regular pants results in the “saggy butt” look which will not flatter you at all. This is because the pant was just not cut for little girls.
2) On the rack, if the waistline of the pant is cut very straight across rather than in a gentle curve, this tends to result in gaps. Visible undies is not a look, it’s a faux pas.
3) Believe it or not, petite girls with short legs but long torsos can wear high rise pants. In fact it can actually help balance your proportions out. Obviously, try to pick a high rise pant that looks retro, not granny.
4) Stay away from cropped lengths as they just make your legs look shorter. In fact, walk around the mall and just watch what looks more flattering on other women and you will see that cropped pants and pants that “float” above the shoes are not flattering.
5) Before hemming pants, decide what type of shoes (heels? flats?) you are going to wear with those pants. Then decide how short they need to be hemmed. Ideally, for longer looking legs, they should cover the top part of your shoe and even better, nearly reach the floor. I’m not into pants that touch the floor, but it is an option to go for with denim.
6) As counterintuitive as it sounds, pants with wide legs do not make your bottom look bigger. Tapered legs do because the biggest thing left on you is your bottom. Try a wide leg, see if you like it.
So far my major sources for petite pants have been the ones below. However, I will note that all of them require hemming after I buy:
1) Ann Taylor (in regular, Loft, and Outlet flavors) – reliably stocks 0 and 00 petite work trousers. Sizing tends to run a bit on the roomier end of the scale so consider sizing down. Not a good source for denim. Tends to be classic rather than trendy. Good fabrics.
2) New York and Company – website reliably stocks 0 petites, but you’re less likely to find a full range of petite items in-store. Sizing tends to run a bit smaller so you may want to consider sizing up. Has slightly trendier styles, but colours are limited to black, brown, navy, grey, khaki, and white. Any fabrics with manmade blends tend to pill after time so don’t bother splurging on them. Good denim selection.
3) American Apparel – I love their Cotton Spandex Jersey Yoga Pant. Haven’t tried their other styles.
4) Pathetic as it sounds, digging around the children’s sections of places like Nordstroms for size 14-16 girls pants that can pass off as adult pants. Occasionally, items can be found.
Most recently I came across a site called 5ft2in which specializes in pants for women 5 ft 2 inches and below so you can finally quit hemming them, damnit. I have not ordered as so far the selection is rather skimpy and not cheap, but it will be interesting to see if additional styles are added.
Finally, when will someone open a store with trendier pants for petite women?
Filed under: Fashion, Shopping Tip , pants, petites
January 30, 2009 • 4:56 pm 1
Barney’s is having it’s Warehouse Sale with 50-75% off it’s regular prices Feb 5th thru Feb 1th 2009. For those of you lucky ones near L.A. here it is:
Santa Monica Air Center
3021 Airport Avenue
310 777 5700
Filed under: Shopping Tip
January 25, 2009 • 2:52 am 0
Besides finding coupon codes on RetailMeNot.com (which typically have a minimum purchase requirement), the other method to get free shipping is thus:
1) Write down the style numbers for the items you want from Anthropologie.com
2) Drive to your nearest Anthropologie store. I know sounds funky, but bear with me. If the store does not have the item in stock, you can proceed by asking the salesgirl if you can have them order online.
She can then
1) Bring up the actual Anthropologie.com site on her register’s monitor. You can either show her what you want or provide the style numbers you have handy ;)
2) She will then call Anthroplogie.com with the style numbers.
3) Then, you get handed the phone and confirm details such as
Your online Anthro account
Your shipping address
Your billing address
Your method of payment
4) You then get a confirmation number over the phone with shipping fees waived. It’s always good to double check of course that they were waived before confirming your credit card.
When I asked the salesgirl why they didn’t just provide free shipping for all Anthro cardholders (to make the process easier), she said she didn’t know. So I’m guessing this might be a weird way for Anthro to offer free shipping but drive traffic to the stores?
Filed under: Shopping Tip
