OH MY!!!

YOOX SAMPLE SALE?!?!?!

NEIMAN MARCUS DESIGNER SALE?!?!?!

Pay It Forward

I recently discovered that two great places reward me for telling a friend about the site.

First is Gotham City Online. This place has great shoes, handbags and jewelry. The deals on these items is amazing. Best of all, if you already have an account on the site you get $10 for every person you refer!

Also, Linda Trent Jewelry has a similar policy. When you order from Linda Trent, 3 coupon codes with different deals are sent with each order. You can use these deals yourself, or if you give the coupons to your friends and they use it, for every code used, you get $10! Ms. Trent has been really great throughout the whole order process (from the e-mail confirmation to the adorable handwritten note that came with my order to the e-mail she sent me checking that I'm enjoying my purchase). Highly highly recommended.

A new place I ordered from this week was BeautyDeals.net. I wanted to order some cute nail polish (ahem, summer came around and I realized I had um...none) and I found that the prices here were great! They'll also take $2 off your first order with the code 258. Plus, they'll ship every order via 3 day instead of ground at no extra charge. Oh, and free shipping if you order over $75 (I didn't use that deal since I didn't need THAT much nail polish).

Running Around In Circles!

So, the two things I have been desparately needing recently have been a pair of grey pants and a dress for that wedding. Of course, in trying to find these things, I have found some awesome stuff, but of course not what I need.While browsing for dresses on Anthropologie, I was suggested to purchase these two purses.
Left: Palm Tree Hobo
Right: Skate Key Duffle

I think I'm so enamoured because I finally feel comfortable with the number of neutral handbags that will work for almost any outfit and these are SO fun and summery.

Here are the two dresses that these purses were suggested purchases for.

Left: Forth of July Dress
Right: Paperback Dress

I had some concerns that the Paperback dress was too much white, but the description clearly states that the dress blue and brown striped voile (with NO mention of white) so I don't really think the color would be a problem.


I found this wonderful dress (on the right) at Urban Outfitters, but I can't can't can't wear a black dress for a wedding!!!

Also, ahem, how hot is this dress (on the left) from Nordstroms? Problem is, according to the size chart, the small might be a little too large on me. I will have to check in with the designer friend about how easy tencel lyocell/cotton is to tailor.


Well...the hunt continues.

Day and Night

You're sick of carrying your boring old tote, eh? Want something to wake up your entire outfit? Try something my fabulous designing friend is into right now...use an evening purse during the day. It's really amazing how your whole outfit will suddenly pop once you add one of these little gems . Think of your purse as jewelry...after all, it IS an accessory and it can definitely make or break your outfit. Really...the purse isn't given as much kudos as it deserves.

From left: Emma Hope Velvet Fringe Purse, Nine West Orange Frame Purse, Borbonese Small Fabric Frame Purse with beads and sequins, Inge Christopher Turquoise Beaded Clutch,
Judith Leiber Diamond Box.

It's not that difficult to match an evening purse to an outfit, just use the same rules you would for jewelry or any other accessory you use. Make sure the colors go together and make sure that the more ornate or elaborate your purse, the more toned down your outfit should be. Particularly attention grabbing purses should remain the focus of your outfit.

Think of your most boring fallback outfit (for me, that's my Paige denim jeans with a black or white tee and black pointy flats) then add one of these stellar jewels and TADA...you're stylin' baby.

Also, if you want a wake up, check out these great sales!:

• J.Crew select Chinos 30% off
• Urban Outfitters new markdowns
• Zappos Clearance Sale

And if you're looking for yet another great place to find shoes - check out Gotham City Online.

Too Slow!

Ahem...so I totally failed at purchasing the dress I was going to buy for my friend's wedding and I do this from time to time. I will love something but think, "Maybe if I wait, it'll go on sale...or maybe I should just wait to get it."

I think I try to hold off on buying certain items because I have bought items on impulse before and then not worn it for weeks, perhaps months (actually, the skirt pictured on the left from Ann Taylor Loft has been sitting in my wardrobe with the tags still on since the end of March...it's a good thing that (a) the periwinkle color I bought is no longer in stock (b) it is still not on sale (c) the weather hasn't been very light-skirt appropriate or I'd feel like a complete fool).

Anyway, since it was back to the drawing board with the what I was going to wear to the wedding, I started browsing around for ideas and I came across this gem by Miguelina at Bleu Clothing. It's such a steal. I really wish I could justify purchasing it but I just don't know what I would do with it since it would just end up sitting in my wardrobe until one day I needed a beautiful gown (and let's just face it, I just don't have very many places that would require me to wear something so gorgeous). If only the color wasn't perfect for my skin tone!! Oh, the dilemmas of looking perfect on a budget!

Pumpin'

I have obviously been on somewhat of a shoe binge recently and lately I have been craving a pair of cute pointy pumps that are a little different but still really versatile. Obviously, Zappos is one of my first stops as well as SmartBargains.

From top left: Type Z CH 680/TWTL, Issac Mizrahi Versus, Sam & Libby Camryn, Restricted Celery Stick, Steve Madden Sybel, Chinese Laundry Kitten Heel.

The first pair are funky, but perhaps a little too over the top for my usual tastes. The Issac Mizrahi kitten heel pumps are a cute color, but I can see them not looking great in person. I like the Sam & Libby pair since they are a great neutral color and will go with everything, but they have great details that make them unique. Celery Sick by Restricted, Sybel by Steve Madden and the Chinese Laundry Kitten Heels are all really great metallic shoes which can be dressed up or down plus, they all have small heels which will mean I can hit the town and wear them all night long.

Everything Under $60?! & Jewels Update

I always love it when my favorite blogs/newletters look out for great deals. This morning, StyleBakery sent out a "Super Cheap Chic Special" with some great deals browse! My picks were the Chant birthstone necklace from Girlshop and dELiA*s printed ballet flats.

Also, I recently received my Linda Trent necklace and it is stunning. I am now a big fan! The last time I browsed Linda's site, I completely missed her "Rings" section since it is tucked away on the end, but I love her Carnival and Purple Mookaite rings!

Wedding Dressing

I have a friend who is getting married in August. It's my first "friend's wedding" and so I'm pretty excited and I'm even more excited for the happy couple and I want everything to be perfect! I found this dress on Anthropologie and I think it would be PERFECT for a summer wedding.

However, I do not have the accessories to go with this dress. For shoes, I want heels that are not TOO tall. I like Steve Madden's Kisses (left) and I think that Naturalizer's Starlet (right) would also go with the dress.

I can't even bring myself to look at purses and jewelry yet, but it's nice to have an idea of what I'd like to wear and of course the shoes. At least I still have 3 months to figure the rest out!

The Nine West shoes from my "Nude Pumps" post arrived from Zappos, but I found that the shoes were slightly too large for me and the heel height was fine, but I wanted something slightly shorter. Luckily the Max de Carlo pumps from SmartBargains are on their way!

Nude Pumps

I have been searching for a pair of beige/tan/nude shoes
to add to my shoe wardrobe. These shoes are great since they lengthen the line making the wearer look taller. Here are two pairs I'm currently contemplating:

I love this first pair (Frolic by Nine West at Zappos.com) because of their unique, sexy style. These shoes are great for the office but would also be perfect for evenings.

The second pair (Max de Carlo Women's Beige Pointed Toe Pump at SmartBargains.com) is a much more basic pump, but they are just as versatile although they do fit the office shoe niche more than evening. However, with the right outfit, these shoes would still be pretty hot.

To solve the question of which pair would be better for me, I think I would need to try them in person and with Zappos' free shipping, it makes the whole buying and trying part of things a lot more user friendly. Also, for SmartBargains e-mail subscribers, there's free shipping through Sunday.

If you want to check out some great deals happening now, there's the Neiman Marcus First Call Sale.

Also, I have found that there are some great deals on this FatWallet Forum every so often where FatWallet customers request discounts on Overstock items.

Sandals with a Little Twinkle

I spent a few days looking for some sandals that were a little dressier than my Reef flip flops, but just as comfortable. I wanted something with a little shimmer to it, but not overly glittery.

I found these cute thong sandals at Thom Brown and they fit the bill perfectly. I can't wait to try these out but apparently this spring the saying is May showers bring June flowers and so I'll have to wait.

And for your shopping pleasure, Banana Republic has a deal where you'll get a $25 "Shop Card" for every $150 spent. If you're going to spend $150 at BR, now would be a great time!

Pretty Little Birdies

So I've been browsing and I notice that birds are gaining quite a bit of popularity. The Blueberry Bird Necklace by Jeannie is definitely one of my favorite pieces. It's so adorably springy!

Another personal favorite is the Slow Ride Tunic by Pink Spike (particularly in the plum color). The design is pretty and unique but isn't in your face which I sometimes find unattractive in a print.


I've also added a few more sites to browse during my downtime:

• GirlShop
• Shop Emily Grace
• Detour Clothing Store
• Big Drop New York City
  
• Blue Genes

And if you haven't already, check out the Neiman Marcus First Call Sale!

Jewels

I tend to wear clothes that are classic and I love the basics in my wardrobe. If I do buy trendy pieces for my wardrobe, they're usually cheaper pieces that are great but I don't feel bad about retiring them after a trend.

However, I really want to jazz up my basic, classic wardrobe with some jewelry. I thought I would ease my way into the jewelry wearing world with this elegant, simple single chalcedony drop by Linda Trent. It's beautiful and simple, like the way I love my clothes, but it will definitely add some interest to my wardrobe and I will start to figure out how to incorporate more jewelry into my wardrobe.

Neverending Browsing

So once I felt like I had exhausted Anthropologie, I decided to stop by some other sites like:

• Bleu Clothing
• ShopBop
• ShopRapunzels
• Yoox
• Shop Intuition
• Revolve Clothing
• Couture Candy
  

Also, perhaps this will officially make me a thrifty loser, but I have to say I've had some great finds at Payless and so the news of "Payless Shoes Goes Designer with Abaete" was pretty exciting to me.

Rainy Days

The work day feels longer when it's pouring with rain and it's pretty dreary when work lets out too. I've been keeping my spirits up by browsing the sale sections of the Anthroplogie website for beautiful springy items like these:



I've also been spending a lot of time on Planet Lulu but haven't found anything I've really fallen in love with even though there's tons of great stuff available.

I've also been spending a lot of time taking the quizzes and reading the articles on Glam.com.

Hopefully the rain will clear up in the next few days as the weather forecast is predicting so we can all be back to our regularly scheduled spring outfits.

On Boston's New Additions

I stopped over at Copley Place Mall over the weekend and I visited new additions Jimmy Choo and Max Studio. I am so happy to see great new stores come to Boston.

With these and beauty giant, Shu Uemura, coming to town, perhaps Boston's "fashionability" will start to increase and attract more big names.

If you haven't heard of or been to Shu Uemura, let me give you a little introduction by talking about one of my fave Shu Uemura products. The great eyelash curlerthat's curved just the right amount and seems to just be more comfortable than any other I've tried. It works wonders on my stick straight eyelashes!

Another favorite stop of mine at Copley is Gucci. I always find something that will make a great addition to my wardrobe and the ambiance of that store is also perfect, but I suppose I wouldn't expect any less from Gucci...