pretty little sample sale

as usual this year, i heard about the prada sample sale WAY too late. actually, i wouldnt even have known if it wasn't for cheryl's blog. but anyways, needless to say, i had to do what i did last year... stalk the registration site until the 2nd or 3rd day when people start to drop out and cancel their appointments for later in the week. and boy... was i glad i did that.

you would think an alarm would have sounded off in my head when i started to read on blogs like Shophound and Racked that the sale was a complete waste of time with nothing but rips, tears, and stains on everything left. but sometimes, i just have to see for myself...

Wednesday, 5:00pm appointment

By late afternoon wednesday, everyone had begun to cancel their appointments so i frantically made one at the earliest possible i could get there after work. i arrive at 5:45 pm, and head straight for shoes. unlike last year, there were actually a couple of size 37s left. i try on a pair of yellow and brown tweed wedges from Fall 2004. they fit, and i carry the box around like a baby wearing dior.

Wandering around the showroom, i stop by a cart next to the shoes, where some abercrombie-ish guy asks me... "um, excuse me, but what is this??" he holds up a flat satin fabric boomerang with some black ribbon hanging off the ends. i know this one. "its a necklace!" ok, i am actually embarrassed that i know. i didnt want to come across like a prada-fashion-snob or anything. i leave the cart before he can ask me what the other mysterious miscellaneous items are.

I linger at every rack and shelf i pass by, making a mental note of all the stuff i see there -- ribbon belts, straw necklaces, fushia turban, navy skullcap looking things, pink leather prada boxes, weird printed see-through button downs, khaki slacks, high waisted undies, random dresses from couture past... all the dresses are still marked $500, even though its a hefty discount from their previous price tags -- $2000-$4000. I fall in love with a wooly corset top that i distinctly remembered from last years fashion mags. The price is $820, and its got a blue dot next to it which means.... 60%. I type the numbers into the giant calculators they have posted up on some of the walls and yikes! its still too much. and everyone around me now knows very clearly from the HUMONGOUS numbers that $300 was my max.

Eventually, i ring up the wedges and a funky wool necklace with sequins on it. And i tried it all on when i got home.

Sure that the next day (last day of the sale) would mean further discounted prices, i made an appointment for the earliest time possible thursday morning.

Thursday, 9:00 am appointment

I get there at 9:10, only to find that they hadnt even begun letting people in yet and there was a huuuuge line in the hallway outside the door. Hot and sweaty, they eventually let us in and I ran straight for the rack where I found that corset top i had wanted so badly the night before.

Score! Top marked down to $50. I grab an armful of the same style in different fabrics and slightly varying cuts. I try all of them on... well, the ones that had working zippers anyway. I chose 2 of them, one a dark grey wool and the other a slate-ish green wool, and wandered over to the lingerie rack where everything was $15. Picked up a pair of plaid organza-ish undies. I like them! and they're only $15 anyway.

Walk over to the dress rack and notice a green dress hanging on the end. As i reach up to touch the fabric, a woman sneaks up behind me and starts playing around with the hem. I'm watching her, as she is doing this, curious, because I wouldve done the same thing. We're both confused about how it works, she's trying to find the opening in the bottom of the dress where the legs would poke through so i try to help her, even though i desperately want her to ditch the dress so i could try it on. Eventually, she's so consumed by confusion and doubt that i was able to ask her politely if it was alright that i take it if she wasnt going to, and she let me! YES! catfight avoided!

I try it on, amazed by the fabric, how lush it looked but also how potentially wacky. someone could easily mistaken it for a curtain. but there was something about it that i really liked and i vaguely remembered seeing it somewhere.. it looked so familiar. Needless to say, $100 for a miu miu dress didn't require much persuasion at all. I ran to the counter before i could pick anything else up and ditched one of the corset tops to lessen the guilt of purchasing the dress.

I then proceed to grin all the way to work.

the wool corset top, which i imagine i will be wearing with a lot of my loose fitting slacks and over tank tops.

the miu miu dress from fall 2006.

and this is why it looked so familiar. mary kate olsen wore it and the image was capture by the paps.

UK has more fun than US

the more i look at the fall/winter balenciaga line, the more in love i am with it. i love the fitted schoolboy looking blazers, the perfectly fringey scarves that will look great and be warm enough for the fall.. but most of all, i love, LOVE the equestrian looking khaki jodhpurs/breeches.

everything goes together quite nice, and most of the stuff in the look can be easily found in any store here. Scarf -- too easy, find in urban outfitters, or any store that sells anything "tibetan." Blazer -- j.crew would probably have something similar, they've been working the whole fitted schoolboy-but-for-women-blazers for a while now. Sock -- just have to be grey. Heels -- strappy high heeled sandals are a dime a dozen, but jeffery campbell makes one suspiciously more-than-similar. but the jodhpurs?? thats where i got stuck.

although some websites are already taking preorders for the fall/winter balenciaga line, $1000+ is more than i would ever be able to spend.. on anything that doesnt also double as a place to live. a quick google search for "balenciaga jodhpurs" turns up enough teasing links -- "Are you ready to jump into jodhpurs?" but... if jodhpurs really are the next big thing in fashion, how come i don't see them here in the US? how come the h&m mannequins aren't wearing them? how come forever 21 hasn't already knocked off a pair? how come urban outfitters... the company that so embraces wacky unusual trends... hasnt come out with their own denim or plaid version?

(gap UK ads, khaki jodhpurs on the left)

get this.. they are so popular in the UK that even GAP is carrying a khaki pair in 2 different colors. there have even been multiple articles stating that GAP has made them "incredibly wearable" and "surprisingly flattering." i sent an email over to their "international queries" inbox and theyre not sure that their khaki jodhpurs would ever make it over to the states. how sad is that? but GAP isnt even the only company in the UK that has come out with a version of jodhpurs. warehouse has a couple too. but they dont ship to the US of course. why does the UK get to have all the fun?!

meanwhile... i'll just have to think up a creative solution. perhaps even attempt to make my own pair from a baggy pair of old pants. i need to get a sewing machine.

p.s. not only is gap UK far superior, so is Urban Outfitters UK. they had carried designers like Alice McCall and Karen Walker. and their current site has goodies like these jackets that i cant find on the US version of the site:

thoughts on the loo

so after work yesterday, i decided to stop by Scoop on my way home to try on this dress that i saw online. now, scoop, is not one of my favorite stores. nowhere even near close. i love shopping, its obvious, and im really not very picky as to which stores i go into. and i dont have crazy demands. all i ask for, when i go shopping, is that i dont encounter pushy salespeople and i think expecting them to be somewhat friendly is really not so odd. ever since scoop moved from the spring street corner to the bigger what-used-to-be the scoop warehouse further south, i havent liked going in. the store is really big and really bright. and theres hardly anyone in there, which i hate because i dont like being the only person shopping in the store. all attention is on me and it makes me feel extremely self conscious.

so of course, yesterday, i go in, and the store is like usual, empty, except for a few other shoppers, i couldve counted them on one hand. i pick up the dress, someone offers to start a fitting room for me, and i continue to browse, picking up some other things along the way...a ka7 top, 2 pairs of jeans, a gauzy beach dress. i go into the fitting room to try them on, only to emerge later with only one pair of jeans in my hands.

superfine denim, on sale for $59. the salesperson who was helping me hurries over, "is this it??" he sighs impatiently.

stuck up salespeople do not make me want to spend money in their stores.

note: scoop needs to do something about their fitting rooms. perhaps if they didnt use crazy heavy velvet curtains to enclose them, some AC would get in and i wouldnt be stuck trying on $400 dresses dripping in sweat. (ew, i know, im sorry to get descriptive) maybe if their mirrors were installed properly then i wouldnt be staring at a wavy distorted reflection. maybe then i wouldve bought more overpriced designer goodies because i'd actually feel like i looked good in them. unfortunately, a wavy sweaty wendy doesn't look good in anything. not even $400 designer duds.

man, i needed to vent.

mobStar

love this tee, just got myself the grey one. find it at MOB

shoe-and-sock-in-one!

while browsing through my usual must-read links, i noticed the "ugly shoe of the week" on shoewawa, this pair by a brand i've never heard of, Luichiny.


i.. actually kinda like it. (hides in shame)

anyway, so i started browsing through Luichiny shoes on zappos and noticed a pair that looked awfully familiar...



very much like marc by marc jacobs


but of course, for like 1/4 of the price.

it's cute! im definitely considering purchasing them (the cheaper pair), but i need to browse through more of the marc jacobs runway images for some outfit inspiration




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QOTD:
hi - was wondering is it hard to sell stuff on ebay? i saw that you posted some shoes - were they completely new or just worn once or twice? How much do you sell it from it's retail price? Is there actually a demand?

Hi Vicky
Thanks for writing. Its not that difficult to sell stuff on ebay. Hopefully when you feel like becoming a seller, you've already got some good feedback so that you come across as being a trustworthy person to your potential buyers. If you are just starting out as a new user, I'd recommend listing some items that you are willing to sell dirt cheap for, before listing luxury-anything that you want to get a lot of money for... as a buyer, i find it incredibly creepy if someone is selling a luxury item for a lot of money with 0 feedback.
Also...when i sell items on ebay, i'm not looking to be the kind of seller that has to make a profit. it's not my job, i use ebay as someplace i can clear out my closet. if i make a profit, thats fantastic! but if i dont, then its ok because it wasn't my goal. Of course, dont list your stuff for really cheap if you dont want to sell it for that amount.
I sell probably an equal amount of used and new stuff. You know how sometimes you decide to buy something, promise yourself you'll wear it, but then never do? I make a lot of those mistakes, so often, those things get listed and are usually new or maybe worn once.I also find I have better luck selling things that are actually worth money...like, instead of selling the sweater i got as a christmas present from grandma, i'll sell a pair of prada platforms i got as a lucky sample sale purchase but never wore.
There is a good demand for luxury or special items and i dont usually sell at retail price unless the tags are still on it and its still available in stores. This happens with purchases i make from places that dont allow me to return them.

I hope this helps, if you ever have any other questions, feel free to ask!

hats off

so i guess im a little slow, catching onto trends... i recently saw this picture of eva mendes in the now defunct Jane magazine and i LOVE her straw fedora. ive always liked fedoras, but never had the courage to wear them when its not halloween (and when my costume isnt something having to do with a mobster). with the recent popularity of the much talked about (love them or hate them) "hipster style" i've started to see straw fedoras popping up everywhere. and i think i will be parading around in my black felt fedora once the whether gets cooler. great for bad hair days right?

meanwhile, i started a frantic search for a straw fedora to keep the sun off my face for the remainder of summer...

love it on mischa barton

but found the one eva was wearing, and was pleasantly surprised at the price tag


this straw fedora is by Brixton and is the Castor style. not bad, priced at around $35.
im expected to receive it by Monday... hopefully it wont look too terrible on me, but if it does... you'll find it posted on ebay!

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QOTD:
Hi there
I found your blog accidentally while browsing online. You have a nice blog. I think your skin is so good and fresh. Why don't you write about your skin care routine. Just a suggestion!


Hey Jill
Thanks for checking out my blog! And thanks for the compliment on my skin.... I used to get that a lot actually, when I was in school because, being an architecture student, we were all expected to have extremely terrible skin from staying up way too late everyday, not getting enough sleep because of school work, and not eating the most healthy foods. I learned what worked for my skin pretty early on and I stick with it -- a simple regimen which consists of Neutrogena acne cleanser (that orange stuff, both the foam and gel work well) followed by the Clinique 7-day scrub (for those pesky blackheads)... and thats pretty much it! sometimes I used a toner, but i havent found one that i cant part with yet. I've tried the purple clinique one, but it just feels like im rubbing alcohol on my skin, which is refreshing, but not good for much else. I've also tried the tea tree toner from Kiehls, but it makes my face feel greasy after. I guess I gotta keep looking for that one...

onesies...one problem.

so a while back (more specifically, like, last summer) i bought a one-piece strapless jumper from forever 21. but like all things found at forever 21, i had a hard time getting even the smallest size to fit right, and being pretty much boobless :( i get paranoid about my top slipping off.

but thanks to fellow fashionistas around the globe and online, it wasn't long before i learned about double sided tape. (can you believe it.. the first time that became mainstream was when j.lo wore that crazy plunging neckline green jungle print chiffon dress? and how shocked america was that she would wear such a risque outfit on the red carpet and manage to prevent any of her lady parts from slipping out?) of course, now i keep a roll of double stick tape handy and today was just like any other day when i've got the perfect use for it, AND i got to test out this new trick i learned for keeping strapless dresses up... stick the double sided tape along the top edge of the strapless top, right underneath your arms. thats really the only place you need to apply it to get the top to stay.

that being said, i applied the tape and got ready for my day. a medium cup of iced coffee later, i found myself in the bathroom trying to figure out if there was a way i could pee without having to remove my one-piece jumper. of course, the answer was no. so all my hard work, getting the sticky tape, being so proud of myself for preventing any embarrassing moments...out the window! i should consider bringing that tape out with me next time... but after i keep a log of how many times i actually use the bathroom each day. its going to be a lot of tape.