Jumpsuits: Not Cool, Not Cool At All!

I learned a very important fashion lesson today about jumpsuits. They truly are an abomination designed by a man to torture women.  As part of my "crazy old cat lady" Halloween costume, I found a cat-patterned jersey jumpsuit. Sounded like a great idea until 10am this morning when my 20oz of coffee had served its purpose. It was then that I learned how annoying a jumpsuit is, particularly one that zips all the way up the back.

Jumpsuits are now officially added to my list of banned fashion items, along with over-the-knee boots. Please do not tell me how awesome they are. I refuse to believe you, this time, based on experience.
- alison

Ahh, that's better

Thanks, Diane von Furstenberg! I feel much better now that I've purchased a super cute sweater dress.
And thanks, Neiman Marcus, for discounting my sweater dress.
Now if dvf.com would just hurry up and ship my over-the-top pom-pom hat so I can wear my new sweater dress appropriately, then life will be good again.
I anxiously await the big sales, there's still 3 or 4 more things I really want to get from Diane! I almost bought a dress from bloomingdales.com this morning because of the sale price, but after I saw they wanted to charge $16 for ground shipping I changed my mind. See, I do occasionally have some self-restraint.
- alison

The Shopping gods are against me!

Have I angered the shopping gods, or the financial future gods are actually looking out for me. Whichever way you look at it, I had a very disappointing shopping day on Tuesday. I was feeling down and really needed some kind of pick-me-up, preferably in the form of a new dress. And since I still had a couple of days to utilize my Angelitos 20% discount card at South Coast Plaza, I thought it was a sign that I'm supposed to go shopping. I drive all the way down there after work, and go straight to Intermix...nothing. Then Barneys Co-op, J. Crew, Gap, Mango. Ziltch.  I thought, okay, I know I didn't want to spend a lot of money, but I drove all the way here, I can't walk out empty-handed, right?  So, off to Balenciaga and TSE. At Gucci, a couple pairs of shoes attracted my attention, but they didn't have my size. As a last resort, I started going into stores I've never even looked at before. What I got was a giant goose egg. I stayed away from Marni since I had already purchased a pair of pants, sweater and socks there last week.

I left the mall completely empty handed, but with the knowledge that the Miu Miu and Prada stores that were supposed to open last spring are supposedly opening in November. On the way home, I tried to order some Thai food from my favorite delivery place, only to find they are closed on Tuesdays.  What exactly does this all mean?

Fortunately, Neiman Marcus is always looking out for me. They sent me an email yesterday letting me know that I could get $100 off a purchase between Oct 29 and Nov 2. Of course, I have to spend $400 to get the discount.  But, to top it off, I also received in the mail yesterday a reminder of said sales event, with additional incentive to buy in the form of a $50 gift card. I already know exactly what I want to buy, but I have sneaky suspicion that the items will not exist anywhere in the NM inventory in my size. There is something really screwy going on with my shopping karma.

If nothing else, I will wear my new Marni socks tomorrow to soften the potential disappointment.
- alison

Stella McCartney for Gap: Mini-Me!

I know what you are thinking, "the Gap, again? are you crying wolf?"  I can only hope that the Gap wouldn't be so irresponsible as to actually run print ads for the Stella McCartney collection for GapKids if they weren't going to ship it.  I never claimed to see actual ads for Pierre Hardy, so don't shoot the messenger.

As you can see in the print ad, some of the clothes actually mimic her Fall line, though hopefully not in price. I might even be tempted to buy the band jacket for my youngest nephew and the sweater for my youngest niece. Ad claims the product will be in select stores and online November 2nd. Please, Gap, don't fail me again!
- alison

Zac Attack!

Yesterday was quite the day, I had the pleasure of scheduling a lunch and for some strange reason I thought the top floor at Neiman Marcus in Fashion Island would be lovely. Obviously a subconscious attempt to catch myself in a department store midday. As I was of course rushing in frantically to meet my friend, I saw "Zac Posen…Wednesday" on the window at Neiman's and thought to myself how cool it would be to meet him, but then quickly remembered the horrendous line I stood in to meet Christian Louboutin (I know), then immediately figured I had no time. As I'm rushing up the escalator, I bump into an adorable little man, OMG I realized it was Zac himself! I hardly knew what to say, I had a complete Zac Attack. Yes, he is more adorable in real life. I just about asked him to sign my coat but then I quickly realized I wasn't backstage at a Motley Crue concert (phew).

 

Moving on…..my Balenciaga leather motorcycle jacket has become a true obsession. In a flurry to afford it, I figured I need to sell, sell, sell stuff. This had to be "incremental" money and I had to feel the pain. I managed to come up with bags of stuff to bring to an OC consignment store. I'm too lazy to drive to Decades and figured rich, white OC people will have more money these days anyway. I brought some awesome pieces, a Zac Posen wool jacket, brand new Stella McCartney wool coat, Proenza Schouler leather motorcycle jacket (don't ask), the list goes on. NEVER bring your duds to an OC consignment store unless you actually were on the set of Dynasty (it's how they dress). I'm sorry but the bitches at that store were insulting, wanting to sell my Proenza coat for $498, and my Stella coat for $398 – you don't want to know what I paid for them. I will be polite and not name names, but it rhymes with "Hue".

 

After insisting they give me back my Proenza leather coat, I commented that their low price-points were far beneath what established consignment stores demand (Decades) and then realized with my outside voice that "fashionistas in Los Angeles are just much more willing to pay for what they love, and the difference between LA people and OC people is that OC people only care about their outsides, and only buy what is brand new, regardless of how tacky it is". I got more sneers and a "your style is so much more LA than OC anyway" snip, which at least left me exiting on a high note. I would rather be an "LA person" than an "OC person" any day.

Jimmy Choo for H&M: I'm already over it

We are still three weeks away from the Jimmy Choo launch for H&M, and I can already tell that it is going to be annoying. I watched the video on the H&M website, and while I was pleasantly surprised by the apparel and jewelry offerings, I wasn't terribly crazy about the shoes and handbags. I've never been a fan of Jimmy Choo shoes (nor Manolo Blahnik), they look like they are made for women who buy a new wardrobe of shoes every season, sort of hoochy/real housewives of Orange County-type styles. And this is coming from a woman who owns a lot of shoes.

The further I checked out the H&M site, I learned the really important information, which resulted in my cold shoulder:  there are only 2 stores in California that will carry the line:  South Coast Plaza and Beverly Center. AND, they had a whole section on the rules for getting access to the shop:

The first 160 people in line on November 14th will get a bracelet which will indicate what time you will be admitted to the store to access the shoes, handbags and accessories. Your bracelet does not guarantee that  you will get any items from the collection. Apparently the clothes which I thought decent will be available to all shoppers at any time.  If you are not one of the first 160, you are free to shop the Jimmy Choo clothes or the rest of the H&M store.  Two hours after the store opens, all customers will be allowed into the area where the shoes, handbags and accessories are located. Customers are limited to purchasing a maximum of one piece of each item (no buying multiple sizes to sell on ebay).

First of all, I'm way too old to be fighting off a crowd for a bracelet.  Secondly, I would rather wait and shop in a civilized manner for the the frontline Jimmy Choo (not that I would buy any Jimmy Choo) when all the department stores start having their sales in November, marking items down to the same price I would be paying for the H&M line.

Hey, but that's just me.  For the rest of you, I've included a link to the official Jimmy Choo page on H&M. I tried to add a countdown clock for when the line goes on sale, but I could not figure it out. Enjoy and good luck!
- alison

Top 5 Marni Fall/Winter Wishlist

Originally this was going to be a Top 10 list, then as I was making my list, it turned into a Top 10 Accessories and Top 10 Apparel.  Then I realized how totally disgusting that was considering my current financials, so the final Top 5 is based on pure fantasy, as if I had won the lottery last weekend instead of losing $5. I've lumped several items into one wish, since this all fantasy, remember. Let's begin!

#1  Fancy Party Outfit: Neither of these colors really works on me, but I can't help but love the whole look. In my fantasy world, I will try on both and let my friendly sales girl tell me which color looks better. And of course I will need at least one if not more of the gigantic bib necklaces to complete the outfit

 

#2  Crazy Cat Lady Meets Jackie O: This is the epitome of Marni. Giant shapeless dresses in peculiar mismatched patterns with some totally nonfunctional accessories, and ginormous sunglasses. It almost makes me want to wear my contact lenses.

  

#3  Sorta party dress that I would probably wear to work anyway. This color much better suited for me, is slightly less shapeless. Add some unique accessories, and voila! I'm totally overdressed for the office, which is how I prefer to look.

#4  Nerdy Librarian:  Between the plaid skirt and the sweater/capelet combo, I'm in librarian heaven. It was always my secret dream to become librarian until research told me that I would have to get a college degree in Information Sciences and there were no local schools offering the program. Well, I can still pretend, can't I?

#5  The Rest of It:  Who can't use a cute new coat (again, nonfunctional with the short sleeves), striped capelet or a belt?  I know I could use it.

 

Now, if only this weekend's lottery numbers come through.  Cross your fingers for me!

 - alison

Ah Ah Ah CHOO!

Jimmy Choo at select H&M stores November 14^th!!

 

Diary of a Junkie

I became obsessed with the Balenciaga leather jacket. Obsessed. I dreamt of it. Sick I know. The price is ridiculous, but an obsession is an obsession. I knew no matter what I could not buy this thing without feeling the pain. I forced myself to find enough stuff in my closet to sell and hopefully fund this new obsession….I was actually quite surprised at A) How much crap I already had to sell and B) how much stuff I own that I really don’t care about. That dress I saw in Paris that I HAD TO HAVE? Never worn. That fur collar that “completed” my closet? Never worn. That Stella McCartney black wool coat that was SO AWESOME? Never worn. Shame!! I brought a boatload of stuff to the consignment store today, tomorrow they will give me the tally. I will be accountable friends, so stay tuned. I promise to return the Balenciaga jacket if I cannot raise the funds by selling the contents of my closet. Just be warned, you may see me walking around with nothing on but my beloved leather jacket, oh an my bag of course.

Gap - Winner of lamest customer support response

Yesterday, I decided to cut to the chase regarding the missing Pierre Hardy boots (referenced in post below) by emailing Gap customer support.  I asked which Gap stores would have these shoes, assuming they even showed up this week, since once again, they were a no-show on Oct 19.  24 hours later, I received a reply saying:

Thank you for your email and interest in the Pierre Hardy Boots, item #708723.  We apologize for any trouble you encountered when looking for these fabulous Boots.  Many of our featured items are shown in magazines and other forms of media about 4-6 weeks before we actually have them available for sale.  We?re expecting the Boots to be online and in stores soon, so we hope you?ll check gap.com regularly and place an order once it?s available.

LAME. No date, and stupid excuse since they also claimed in the magazine features back in JULY that they would be available late September.  I'm starting to lose steam on this one, people. I think I shall focus my efforts on my beloved Marni instead. I've even been inspired enough by Fashionocracy fan, Pava, to create a Top 10 list. Later today, you will see the Top 10 items I would like to buy at Marni this week during the 20% off promotion.

- alison

Found!? Pierre Hardy Boots for Gap

I had nearly given up on the idea that the Pierre Hardy boots ever existed, but today I saw a post claiming that they would be in all Gap stores on October 19th. That would be this Monday. And trust me, people, I will certainly verify this story for you. My greatest fear is that when I do see these long-awaited shoes, they will be extremely fugly in person. But, until then, I will spend the weekend figuring out which Gap I shall go to and when I shall go.  Let me know if you have any suggestions on which Gap is the best Gap on the west side.

- alison

Lock up Your Wallet! Balenciaga Jacket and Marni Sale are here

After being out of the office for a couple days and not checking email, I nearly hit the floor when I went through my personal email account.  Not only did my oh-so-favorite sales person from the Marni South Coast Plaza send me an email, there was also an email from Balenciaga announcing their new jackets. Marni is my ultimate weakness, and Balenciaga is Kym's ultimate weakness.

The scoop on Marni:  At the South Coast Plaza store, they are participating in the annual Angelitos charity event which helps out the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Orange County.  You buy a card for $60 and various shops in SCP (including Marni) will give you a 20% discount off your purchase during the event, Oct 22-28.  This includes handbags and accessories!  I remember last year, all the great designer boutiques in the mall participated. Some only made select merch available (no Balenciaga handbags, but clothes were discounted), but still, what a great way to jump start the sales season. And I LOVE Marni so much, it really is frightening me what I might do during this promotion. I just bought some Marni earrings to wear to Nite to Unite, and I would love to show them to you but I cannot find a picture of them anywhere online or in the Marni catalogs.

Now, Balenciaga.  The house known for the lovely handbags of which Kym owns many, now offers a motorcycle jacket in 3 colors: black, brown and beige. I'm sure the leather is absolutely amazing.  Maybe they will have it at the SCP store and it can be purchased for 20% discount.

Kym - do we need to schedule an important meeting in the near future?

- alison

This one's for Jamie

While I was channeling my 80s glory days in hot pink skinny cords, black tee with sequined shoulders (instead of shoulder pads), gray denim stone-washed jacket, black peep-toe pumps and some rhinestone & silver bracelets, Jamie looked like she was ripped from the pages of Anthropologie. Absolutely adorable and cozy considering the office has been 40 degrees all day long.

Jamie was also kind enough to complement me on my platform ankle boots I wore to the office (despite popular opinion of Lucky readers, see post down below), which reminded me that I saw a very good knockoff of these shoes online.  These are from Sam Edelman, probably available at Macy's and whatnot, though still not cheap. And it only took 2 years, but I still think they look great. Here's a pic of the knockoffs. Do you know who made the original?

- alison

Wardrobe Advice - Fancy Cocktail Party

Kym and I will be in San Francisco next week for a fancy cocktail party/charity dinner.  My current plan, assuming my 5-day detox is a success is to wear this Jil Sander dress from the Spring 09 collection:

Now, I can either wear them with Jil Sander black d'orsay heels from the same collection (not too dissimilar from what the model is wearing) or I was thinking of wearing my Balenciaga heels from the Fall 08 collection:

 

 Thoughts? I also need advice on accessories. I'd love to find something spiky or chunky in silver, but since I don't currently have anything, that means I have to go shopping. As for a purse, I have a vintage black clutch, but again, any suggestions are welcome.

Now is your chance to claim responsiblity for my fabulousness! You have until Monday night, so chop, chop!

- alison

Project Runway Video Game

Finally I can learn to walk like a model…using the Wii Balance Board?

 

New York Times
‘Project Runway’ Video Game Is Planned
In a news release, Atari said that the “Project Runway” game will allow players to tap into their inner fashion designers, create designs and choose hair, makeup and accessories for their models. Players can then become the model and strut their creations down the runway using the Wii Balance Board accessory.

What a sad little world we work in

I was on the Lucky Magazine website, testing my luck (no pun intended) on their various sweepstakes. I figure if I've won once before, maybe I can win again, maybe this time I'll win something more exciting than hair care products that don't really work for my hair.

On the homepage, there was a poll regarding Platform Heels and whether they are appropriate in the workplace. I was shocked and dismayed by the results:

• Only 11.78% felt that Platform Heels were their go-to shoe for work!
• 29.03% said they would prefer to wear comfortable flats, the horror!
• And an appalling 59.19% said Platform Heels might be okay if paired with the right outfit. What exactly are women who read Lucky wearing to work that isn't appropriate to pair with Platform Heels?

Do Kym and I live in some magical fantasy land since we believe every day is an appropriate day to wear the tallest shoes we can squeeze our feet into? Is it some secret that you all have been keeping us in order for us to entertain you? Surely, not.  Do you dare deny me the opportunity wear something as fabulous as this peep-toe python bootie?

I encourage you all to change this depressing view of the office world by submitting the correct answer to the Lucky poll here: http://www.luckymag.com/

Together, we can change the world for the fashionably better!
- alison

Ho Hum

I’m a bit blue about shopping as well. Thank God for my husband who keeps most of my hard earned money under lock and key. I don’t know where it all went, but I’m in the red on my allowance. After watching Rachel Zoe (I know you hate her Alison) last night I was all ready to wear my fabulous Ostrich Fur coat today that I bought in Paris. Last night it seemed like such a fabulous idea, and this morning not so much…..what is a girl to do when in her heart she yearns to live on the runway, but real life is coming to work where game developers work in dark, computer-lit rooms? I’m headed to Decades with Alison this afternoon and I can already feel my heart beating faster at the prospect of finding something to absolutely die for. Unfortunately I’m poor this week and I even wonder if they will care about the designer bags I want to pawn……

 

I also have to work on getting my shit together and inspiring Corey Parks to start an affordable rocker-chic label with me. Maybe the 3 of us including Alison can pull it off……

Slow Shopping Week: I Must Be Broke

Last week was pretty uneventful for shopping. Especially since the Pierre Hardy boots never materialized, and I had to pay my mortgage and buy a wedding gift. Let's hope this week is more exciting. It's cool enough that I get to wear some fall clothes like cords and new socks and tights and boots. Sadly, this is what excites me these days, changing my wardrobe from summer to fall.

I did read this weekend that Carlos Falchi will be releasing a line of handbags for Target starting Nov 1 thru the end of the year. Lots of faux snakeskin. Now, before you poo-poo the faux snakeskin, please keep in mind that all the uber-expensive stuff from Stella McCartney is all faux leather, too.

And to end today's post, Kym and I have an exciting appointment at Decades in the hopes they will take some of our items for consignment. Sorry ladies, if these things don't sell, they are staying in my closet. Don't ask me why I'm okay with having them sit in my closet unused rather than giving them away to someone who will use them if Decades can't sell them.  That's just how I feel about these things right now.

- alison