Items for Sale

I have procrastinated long enough so, I finally cleaned and organized my room today. What else can I do when I am snowed in with 2 ft of snow?!

Thanks to all the cleaning and organizing, I am listing my Forever 21 satin black dress and Cole Haan boots for sale.

Forever 21 Satin Black Dress

Cole Haan Snakeskin Embossed Boots

I have a few more pieces of clothing but I think I will most likely bring those to a consignment store. I do still of course have the Marc by Marc Jacobs Owl Lady bag in Fire that needs to go to a new home of course.

Marc by Marc Jacobs Owl Lady bag in Fire

The listings for my items can be found in my booth on Bonanzle. There is a widget on the right that should direct you to the booth, should you be interested.

Help me clear my wardrobe, will ya? Heh.

Outfit for the Day

Here's something simple for a quick run to campus to meet with my adviser yesterday:

Tank top: Benetton
Blouse: H&M
Cargo pants: Forever 21
Shoes: Banana Republic (Ebay find!)
Necklace: White gold necklace with star pendant
Bracelet: Long black beaded necklace from Uganda as posted here
Bag: Marc Jacobs Christy in Bordeaux as posted here

Window Shopping and Outfit for the Day

Every so often I like to go window shop at the high-end departmental stores i.e. Saks, Bloomingdales and Neiman Marcus to check out the latest and sale items they have in store. I haven't been to the high-end stores since my birthday at the end of May, so I decided to hit them up today as I was curious to check out the new Fall/Winter collection items. Specifically, I wanted to check out the new Marc Jacobs scarves and bags and of course Chanel is a must! Heh. However, the Marc Jacobs scarves weren't in store yet and there weren't many bags from the new collection on display either. I did however, checked out the gold and bronze reissue colors for Chanel's Fall Act I.

Here's what I wore for my window shopping trip...

Top: H&M
Blazer: ZARA
Shorts: The Limited (from TJ Maxx)
Shoes: Banana Republic (Ebay find!)
Bag: Marc Jacobs Christy in Bordeaux as posted here
Necklace: Forever 21 and white gold necklace with star pendant
Bracelet: Glass beaded necklace as posted here
Brooch: Chanel as posted here
Watch: Swatch

As you can tell, my black ballet flats are a staple and I consider it to be my signature style. While shoe browsing at Bloomingdales, a lovely sales assistant asked if my shoe size was 8.5/9 to which I responded "Yes!" He told me they received a pair of Chanel flats as a return and if I wanted to try it on. Without much hesitation, I said "Yes, pls!" I mean, Chanel is my weakness! The pair of capped two tone ballet flats was lovely and very classic but a tad too small. Even if it wasn't, I wouldn't be purchasing it coz the price is just Chanel, you know?

Chanel Two Tone Ballet Flats (pic nicked from Ebay seller authentic.lv)

I also tried on the new Ferragamo bow ballet flats which was lovely but the leather was rather stiff. I think I like the Varinas a bit better coz they fit snugly and I didn't want to take them off the last time I tried it!

Ferragamo Bow Ballet Flats (left) Ferragamo Varina Ballet Flats (right)

As I browse around, some of the Sam Edelman shoes captured my eyes. I didn't try them but I like these two pairs and would probably check them out come sale time!

Luxury is Here to Stay

Survey Says: Luxury is Here to Stay, Topshop & Chanel Unshakable

by Alisa Gould-Simon

These days, front and center in the dialogue on the recession and its effect on fashion is where high fashions fits into the picture. Will the economic downturn wipe out the luxury market for good, or merely sour its sales temporarily? According the findings of an Abrams Institute survey released yesterday on the subject, luxury fashion is here to stay. “A whopping 96% of respondents said that they thought the luxury goods market would endure the recession. 36.8% thought a ‘stronger, smaller core’ would make it, and 34.9% were confident that the aspirational noveau riche would keep business brisk. Only 4% thought that the recession had killed conspicuous consumption.” As for the quality that will most ensure luxury brands’ staying power: timelesness (which seems like somewhat circular logic).

Sadly, the art market didn’t fare so well in the eyes of the surveys’ participants: “Of six choices—Fine Art, Fine Wine, Couture Clothing, Designer Jewelry + Timepieces, Leather Goods and High-End Home Furnishings ... 31% of our experts think that Fine Art will be the first luxury to be cut from luxury budgets.” As far as online shopping is concerned, not surprisingly, Net-a-Porter and Gilt Groupe were voted the web’s premiere portholes. As for the brands with the most staying power: Topshop - 34.1%, Chanel - 28%, Louis Vuitton - 21.9%, Forever 21 - 13.4%, H&M - 13.4%, Marc Jacobs - 13.4%, Hermès - 7.3%, J. Crew - 6.1%. I found this final reading one of the most interesting from the survey. A street-smart sense about fashion that’s been brewing in mainstream consumers’ consciousness for some time—that of melding high fashion with low (a sartorial approach that has likewise garnered Michelle Obama plenty of praise) --- has reached a fever pitch, as is evidenced by survey takers citing H&M, Forever 21, and Marc Jacobs as having equal staying power. Luxury fashion may not be dying out just yet, but high street and discount retailers notorious for knocking off high fashion brands still reign as king.

*article taken from Blackbookmag.com*

I find this article rather interesting as Chanel & Marc Jacobs are clearly my favorite luxury brands while H&M and Forever 21 are my fix for trendy items. J. Crew is another brand I adore but the price tags keeps me from purchasing as even on sale their items are still pricey in my opinion. But I guess having the First Lady as your walking billboard helps to justify your atrocious prices? Oh well.. I shall stick to Banana Republic and Club Monaco for my classic needs.