Sometimes cheap clothes are just cheap and not a good deal

I find myself being annoyed constantly these days. My future in-laws are the definition of difficult, and that's putting it mildly.

I thought I would make myself feel better by buying some fun and cheap summer clothes while I still can, for our honeymoon. I went to Forever 21 because I'd seen some girls wearing cute stuff from there recently -sorry Shaina, I know I promised not to shop there, but just wait, it gets better.

I just could not bring myself to buy anything there. The stuff was cute, but man is it cheap and not in a good way (a bargain is good, just plain cheap is bad). it's worth what you pay for it. Fine for teenagers I suppose although I never like the idea of disposable clothes, but it's definitely no longer for me. It's also the experience of shopping there that I can't stand, the teens who work there really could not care less about the merchandise so they drag it around on the floor and by the time this one girl had brought it into the dressing room for me (which they insist upon doing) one of the dresses was ruined from getting caught on hangers.

So I bought nothing, and went over the Bloomingdales to find something of better quality, but I didnt find a single thing I was interested in. I hardly remember that ever happening.

So I came back to Berkeley and bought some chicken soup and holed up in front of my TV and computer where I found something that did make me smile - wedding shoes!

I love these shoes -




They are classy and classic, already ivory so I don't have to do any dying which just makes me a little crazy when I think about doing something else, AND only $65. awesome.

Bridal Bra!

I made the appointment for my first bridal gown fitting and I have to bring shoes and undergarments with me. uh-oh.

I still can't decide on any shoes , and I hadn't really thought about undergarments. Well, not entirely true, I thought I would just get a really good bustier-type thing. But that doesn't narrow down the field too much. Luckily I have some time to get these things, and I'm sure I will bring several pairs of shoes in and then decide on one, but I'd rather not mess around with more than one bra.

I think found what I want, it's simple, comfortable, and best of all, seems to stay put -



and it's only $69 at Bare Necessities, a bargain considering how much everything else for the wedding costs.

Sign Up Already...

This week is a good week for online sample sales. Rue la la, the Loehmans version is selling AG jeans on wednesday or thursday, and Gilt Group has Banfi Zemberelli shoes TOMORROW. I'm not quite positive I spelled that right, but it doesn't matter once you see those shoes. They are mesmerizing. Shopbop sells a few of them in their designer boutique and I know I have blogged about a pair or two in the past. 

If you aren't a member just send me an email and I can send you an invitation.  it's worth it, they have other spectacular offerings, particularly Gilt Group. 

Designer Bag Sale

Yippee - Piperlime has designer bags on sale!

This is a fun one from Kooba -



I love the blue color and he hardware gives it edge!

I also really like this fun patent Botkier bag -




There are others, and don't forget - Enjoy free shipping and free returns on all the must-have shoe styles from Piperlime.

Good Day

Today is a good day. We ordered our wedding invitations last night, so I feel the wedding planning stress subsiding as we speak. I went to an early morning pilates class and ran, and followed all the healthy exercise up with deep dish pizza for lunch (yes, the bay area actually has one fantastic deep dish pizza place, Zachary's). The sun is shining, it is a good day!

Add on top of those things so many summer sales - shopjake has marked things down to 70% off, Revolve clothing also started their huge sale, I just started to think about things I want to get for our honeymoon! We are thinking South America, which in November will be hot! I'm so looking forward to it and enjoying thinking about all of the colorful dresses and fun sandals I will be thrilled to wear after spending some of November in cold Chicago for the wedding festivities.

ELuxury sale on sale

eLuxury is now offering 25% off of their sale items for 4 days.
Designer Sale Event

This Y-3 Art dress is incredible -


and with the discount this statement dress will be well under $200.

This Karta dress is easier to wear, and also on sale -



you get the picture, good stuff marked down even more.

Including these super hot shoes by Lamb!



Go shopping!

Sale on Sale !

A double sale, just what I like!
For two days sale stuff at Pink Mascara is marked down another 20% - use the code sale48hr.

I love this Ella Moss dress, it's so adorable, and perfect for summer, although not here where its 60 degrees these days. I hear there is still a hot summer somewhere out there.




They also have these fantastic Citizens jeans on sale, the Faye wide leg. I have a pair and I feel incredible whenever I wear them. They have perfectly wide legs that with heels give me a great swagger. The waist band is great too, it doesn't cause muffin top. In other words, the perfect jean!

Summer bags (work bags too)

Piperlime still has a lot of great bags on sale. If you are looking for a non-leather bag I love this bright yellow and great shape. It's also roomy enough to be a work bag if you don't need something more formal. Files and folders would fit, even a laptop. Best of all, it's $59.99:




It comes in a really pretty blue as well:




There also a few Francesco Biasia bags on sale, like this great all-purpose bag -



it comes in white and black as well.

This one too:




lot's of good choices!

morning blahs and good footwear

I generally am a big fan of public transportation, I grew up taking the bus around Chicago and after living in New York never really wanted to drive again. However after three years in the Bay Area I understand completely why people don't like to take public transportation. This morning muni had some kind of outage so i waited forever, then, when I made the connection to a bus - i managed to get a seat on a bus that is ALWAYS crowded - and what happens? crunch.

The bus hit someone's car door.

Annoying. And I feel I can say that freely because no one got hurt. But we all had to get off the bus. I chose to walk the rest of the way. Thank goodness I was wearing comfy flats.

So the lesson from all this? There are two actually: always wear shoes you could walk to work in if need be, and never open your car door when a bus is coming.

Free Shipping at eLuxury

I can't believe I've gone so many days without posting. Wedding planning and vacation got in the way...

Anyway, eLuxury is now offering free shipping on orders over $50 and there are still plenty of sale items to choose from.

Like this Marc by Marc Jacobs dress:

Unlike most of his line, this looks like it could be worn by all different body types thanks to the defined waist, v-neck and flippy skirt. It creates a nice line on the body and a v-neck and those thicker straps draw the eye up where you want it.

For the summer wear it with these glittery pumps:


And into fall wear it with darker shoes.

sales, sales, sales

I am bombarded daily with emails about sales - I'm not complaining, but I'm just saying, I don't always click through to see what is on sale. But I can't resist Yoox - I love designer sales. I admit it.

I love this slouchy white leather bag. It's great for the rest of the summer and you can wear it well into fall - those old rules about white and labor day have been broken!

It will look great with jeans and a tank or this adorable dress -



or even better -

Thunderstorms and Florists

So I'm in Chicago to visit family and plan my wedding, and today there was a serious thunder storm. That just doesn't happen in Northern California and I have to say it was a pleasure to hide out all day and play on my computer and do what I needed to do. That said, I look like crap after a day of hiding inside so I'm contemplating what I will wear for all of my trips to the outside world this week, and this top is looking like a winner -




It's so pretty and easy at the same time, and on sale! all of my favorite things. The perfect top to wear to all my meetings with florists and bands this week.

And this beautiful bag is on sale too!!! -




The shape, the color, I can't handle it. must. have. it. It's not small like it might look out of context, it's the perfect everyday size - which means I cannot, no matter how hard I try, fit my entire apt in there, and thus avoid hurting my shoulder and back even more.

Those two items with my tried and true denim pencil skirt and really cute sandals -


They are also on sale.

I'm all set for all my appointments.

My LA trip

So I realized I never got around to posting about the shopping I did in LA. Wedding planning has really gotten the better of me the past month. We had our tasting today (fun!) and hopefully I will have my life back after I make all our major vendor decisions next week (band, florist, photographer)

So, back to our weekend in LA. I didn't have a ton of time to shop as we were there for a wedding, but I definitely got to check some things out.

First up, Beverly Drive. We checked out the stores that are always in the tabloids like Harmony Lane. They have adorable dresses, as long as you are a size 4, if you are any bigger don't even bother. No wonder Eva Longoria is always "spotted" in there.
I have to say that the Lisa Kline location ( 315 S. Beverly Drive, there are several stores around the city, a commenter didn't like that I wasn't more specific) was a really pleasant experience. The saleswoman was really nice and helpful as opposed to the other location I visited (on Robertson, more later)

The boutique I really liked on Beverly Dr. was Switch. I hadn't remembered reading about it, the people who work in the boutique were really nice. I only realized later the woman helping me was one of the owners. They had a jewelry designer and a clothing designer hanging out talking to people who came in. Their merchandise is different from all the other places on the street which was refreshing, much of it not really appropriate for life in Northern California, but on the sale rack I found a lovely Loeffler Randall dress I'd had my eye on earlier -

The color is gorgeous, and I like the ruffle. I thought it might not work with my broad shoulders, but it looked lovely. It's still listed at full price on the site ($260) but I paid half price in the store.


Sunday morning my friend took me to Robertson Blvd to check out the shops. I was really surprised with Kitson(115 S. Robertson), it was great. They had a fantastic selection of just about everything, especially dresses, bags, and scarves. And in a huge price range. I wouldn't say the people there were helpful or friendly, but the stuff makes it worth a trip. The rest of the stores on the street were nothing exciting or even worth writing about. The young women who work at Lisa Kline on Robertson were unbelievably rude, they pretended we weren't there, even leaning over us to hang something up. They don't even greet people who walk in. And none of the other shops have anything you can't buy elsewhere.

So that was pretty much the extent of my shopping, or the good experiences anyway. I love my dress from Switch, so as far as I'm concerned it was a successful trip!

Love Quotes Scarves on sale

Pink Mascara
is offering a buy one, get one half off deal on Love Quotes scarves (use code LoveQuotes). I love these scarves, a few years ago I got one on a bright pink, I use it as a shawl at afternoon summer weddings. They are also a great way to add color to an outfit, I'm a bit of a scarf addict, so...

Anyway - check these out -
This pink color is called "love" -



I love this light blue also - called Capri -



This powder blue/periwinkle called morning glory is gorgeous!!!