Tuesday, February 28, 2012


Last week I went to check out the Sam Edelman for American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) collection at the Union Square AEO location.  Luckily, the first location I went to had a decent selection of the shoes.  I know there are only certain AEO locations in the City that carry the Sam Edelman line...the ones I know of include the one listed above and the Times Square Location.

Going in with high hopes, since I am a fan of Sam Edelman shoes, I was a touch disappointed when I saw and felt the shoes.  The  shoes were not made of leather but rather of man made materials.  On the AEO website, it's hard to tell the difference as the color andd esign of the shoes are most accurately displayed on the computer screen.  Considering that the price of these shoes range from $39.50 to $59.50, I thought they would've used better materials.

Nevertheless, there were 2 pairs of shoes that I liked and would consider buying when the weather gets warmer (it's still in the 40's here)!  The first pair, black crocheted ballet flats, would be perfect for a casual day in Spring.  When I tried them on, they were super comfy...which is so important for a girl living in the City.  I also loved the details of the crochet on the shoes, so cute!

The second pair was more representative of the signature Sam Edelman gladiator sandals.  I really liked these sandals and reallllly wanted to buy them...but considering I already have a pair of gladiator sandals, I reluctantly put them down.  Who knows, I might end up buying them later.  Don't they look really good with my toe polish?? 

Have any of you bought a pair of the Sam Edelman for AEO shoes?  If so, which ones did you end up getting??
SO I have been seeing this new trend EVERYWHERE. Satchels are the new IT bag! I absolutely love it because cross body bags like these can be worn so many different ways! I saw one at H&M in white and it was seriously cute but I just didn't like the material very much. So I kept searching and searching until I came across this lovely beauty (below) from Kate Spade's online sample sale. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Sample sales and I got this satchel (which was originally $395) for only $130!!! What a steal! They had it in this patent leather white and black. I opted for the white, good color for spring and summer!  what do you think?


Bebe wanted to model it for you all so you know how big this bag is. Its a perfect size for me. Fits everything nicely and I don't need to dig around my purse to find my keys anymore. I also love love love the light gold polkadots on the inside of this bag. soo cute!


If you want to get a cute satchel and can't get this deal from Kate Spade anymore, I recommend looking at the Cambridge Satchel Company! They specialize in satchels of all colors and sizes. You can even customize your own! Its super adorable and my east coast co-blogger just got one! If you have any questions about it you can leave a comment here and she will help you answer them! 




what do you think? which one would you want? 


Thanks for reading!

Monday, February 20, 2012

Jason Wu for Target that is! Happy Presidents day everyone! Unfortunately I am at work, but that won't stop me from posting about some great finds!

So Jason Wu did a highly coveted line for target recently! Everything in stores sold out within the hour. It was MAYHEM to get anything in the stores, but I luckily scored two great finds ONLINE! Then just this weekend I was at a local Target (that never carried the line because it was a smaller store) and found they had a rack of returns from online orders that NO ONE KNEW ABOUT! SCORE #3! Honestly when I first heard about Jason Wu's collaboration with Target I was really excited. I really like him as a designer. His looks were youthful, chic and at Target prices!

There were a lot of issues though with how Target handled this line. There were a lot of people who lined up early and bought almost EVERYTHING in the line to resell on ebay. Shoppers were really upset that Target didnt put a limit on how much customers can buy from the collection, unlike H&M who put a limit of (I believe) 5 items per customer. I really hope Target takes this into their consideration for the next collaboration they have.

Got this cute collared cap sleeve pleated bouse in mustard. Its a bit big for me, so I will probably have to do alterations to it. The detailing is really beautiful and the fabric is really nice.

I scored this little number at a small local Target in the returns rack. I was so lucky cus there would have been no chance for me to get this at the bigger stores, and this dress was tucked away on a rack with a few other Jason Wu returns. I love the simplicity of this dress. The cute black color and pleating.
This last beauty I scored online. Target restocked some of their items after they initially sold out, so after refreshing a few times I was able to get this cute Poplin dress in navy. This dress is very quirky and flirty. I have to say the fit is pretty spot on. I am usually a size 4 or 6 and  this dress is a 4 and i find that it fits really well.

Some pointers on future collaboration shopping!
1) Go really really early to line up (usually stores open at 8am, I know people will start lining up at 6am or earlier)
2) Try to avoid big city or big mall stores (if you go to more rural stores, theres usually a smaller concentration of fashionistas that will line up for the collaboration)
3) Shop ONLINE! Target usually offers some of the collection online
4) Wait for returns and purchase at the store later (when people are grabbing things in a frenzy at the shops they dont always try them on till they get home and if it doesnt fit they return it. OR if people buy these items online theres no way of knowing how they will fit and there will most likely be returns at a discounted rate)

p.s. brownie points for anyone who can spot my cutie doggie, BEBE!

Friday, February 17, 2012

One of the hottest trends this season are smoking flats! What are smoking flats? Its a reinterpretation of loafers men usally wear to lounge around, it has that signature inward curve on the top.
I absolutely adore them! But when I first started to look for them I kept finding them for $100 and up! I cant justify paying more than maybe $50 for flats. I wear flats all the time and they wear out so quickly, why would I spend so much money on a pair?

Solution??? Go bargain hunting! I went to Nordstroms Rack and found a BEAUTIFUL pair of Leopard printed Report flats for $35! I normally don't do animal print, but I think the smoking flat style can easily look old man-ish, so getting them in bold colors or patterns will be the way to make this look young and fashion forward!

My next great find was actually at Urban Outfitters. They had an adorable pair of BDG woven tassel loafers in white!These beauties cost me $39! not bad for something so adorable and its real leather! I think this color and style is simple and chic. Its so easy to match with more colorful outfits!
Last but not least! If you really want to save money, I would recommend actually looking at Target! I found these beauties at a local Target and they were on sale for only $14! How incredible is that? I love that they are bright and colorful, although its not real leather, they are comfy and stylish!
Heres a final look of these 3 beauties!

Whats your favorite trend right now?!

Monday, February 13, 2012

Winter Glitz Manicure

I do love myself a fancy manicure once in a while but nothing beats customizing your own nails on a whim.  Since it's still fairly cold in New York I have been drawn to darker and bolder colors for my nails. Ever since I got the Sephora by OPI Spark-tacular Top Coat (pictured below) for Christmas, I have been really obsessed with overlaying this Top Coat on all of my nail lacquers.  I loved this topcoat so much I had to continue wearing it after the holiday season.  Who says glitz is only for the holiday season? Not me!  I coupled this top coat with a dark indigo blue nail lacquer (pictured below) and the end product was so much more fantastic than either the dark indigo blue or the sparkles alone. 
Sephora by OPI "Spark-tacular" Top Coat ($9.50),  OPI "Road House Blues" ($8.50)

I started with two coats of the "Road House Blues" color and let my nails dry for at least 5 minutes.  I do this so that the dark base color does not run when I'm applying a top coat with any type of glitter.  For those that  haven't used a glitter top coat before, it can be a little tricky when it comes to equally distributing the glitter on the nail.  It helps to thickly lay the top coat on to adjust the glitter on the nail.  The combination of the two is really amazing and so appropriate for a winter glitz look.  You can see the final look below.