I love the rugged, edgy appeal of these washed-canvas bags with leather accents and metal hardware from Pottery Barn. Great fall colors but terrific for carrying all your summer gear too!
0 Comments
The real thing: a VS clearance catalog A dear friend of mine, formerly an employee at Victoria's Secret, once gave me a $50 VS gift card saying something to the effect of "I know you'll make this go 3x farther than its value." It's true that I've become pretty good at getting my favorite VS items for less. Here are a few of Victoria's secrets I've uncovered over the years: 1. The best prices are in the VS clearance catalog. Unlike the other VS catalogs that arrive in droves (including the ones that say "Sale"), this rare, slim catalog comes only once a month or is enclosed with an order. The catalog is half the width of a typical VS catalog. Almost everything makes its way there eventually. The highest prices are in the VS mall store. 2. The same item may have different prices in different catalogs. The item number dictates the price. Many items get reduced to $19.99 or as low as $4.99--sometimes the exact same items that appear at higher prices in a different catalog. 3. You must have the item number to get the best price. Most items in the VS clearance catalog cannot be "searched" for by style via the VS search box at their online site. The price of the item in the VS clearance catalog is often lower than the web-posted price if you do try to search for the style. You can usually find even items from old catalogs if you have the item numbers. A little love for Victoria: --Victoria's Secret has high quality merchandise! How many of you are wearing a VS bra you bought more than 5 years ago? They typically do last. --Their pants are awesome!--very flattering. --I've almost never received an item from VS that I didn't love. And VS will quickly return or exchange any item, no matter when you bought it. Their shipping has also become wicked fast--typically 2 or 3 days. --VS frequently offers discount codes and free shipping if you sign up for their email notifications. --VS has a huge inventory. I picture a massive warehouse in Ohio--oh, how wish I could visit it! Do you love-hate Victoria? Please spill any secrets you've got. What are your best hints for shopping from this company? There's a lot to love about the indie t-shirt maker Ugmonk (pronounced "ugg-munk"). Ugmonk's mission is "to provide high-quality products with simple, fresh graphics." They have a commitment to simple design and quality. They contribute a portion of their sales to Rice Bowls, which provides food for orphaned children around the world. Ugmonk has an uncluttered, easy-on-the-eyes website. And I especially love the "Do what you LOVE what you do" tee--what great motto to wear and live by!
Lovely to imagine curling up with a big scarf while the snow falls outside or taking a walk through huge snowflakes.
This scarf--light heather gray, almost natural colored--is just the thing--found it in a sale bin at Forever 21 about a week ago--only $4.99! Bring on the cold front! Have you noticed how waistlines on dresses have been rising over the past couple years?--not up to an empire waist but up around the rib area. A popular dress style, especially for teens, is the corset dress, which has a high bodice (often strapless) and a skirt with tiered ruffles or pleats--so playful and cute! I've been seeing higher waists and belts cinched up high on dresses for women of all ages; you may want to add a high belt to update your look or renew an old dress. Higher waistlines are flattering since they draw attention to the narrowest part of your figure. Do you have a high-waist dress? Can I borrow it? Just kidding :-) Will you recommend a store that carries them? Not enough athletic shoe options for you? Design your own! Reebok and Nike allow you to customize every detail--from tongue color to laces--with your favorite colors and put your name on the spine for just a slightly higher cost than the standard ones. My kids took advantage of every Reebok option; here are the shoes they designed (a little too loud for me :-)--we haven't purchased them yet. The designing process sure is fun whether or not you decide to buy them. Did you already know about this? Do you have some customized tennies? Will you share a photo of them with us? Some people wear silver; some people wear gold. Do you ever mix the two? I find it freeing to wear both together. I love these boy shorts/swim bottom, and I'm wondering if I could pull off wearing them as shorts/hot pants. How 'bout if I added a belt?
Yesterday we visited the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. With 520 stores, an aquarium, flight simulators, a mirror maze, and a 7-acre amusement park (picture Nickelodeon rollercoasters, log chute, ferris wheel, etc., etc.), the mall is definitely overstimulating. Retail wise the mall has it all (almost): you'll find stores like Old Navy, Marshalls, and Nordstrom Rack that are usually housed in strip malls; stores from the past like 5-7-9 and Spencer's; a few stores that are typically catalog-only like deliA*s, Long Tall Sally, and American Girl; and traditional mall fare like Banana Republic, Macy's, etc. Noticeably missing: Talbots and Anthropologie! A couple highlights: Stuart Weitzman, a Dr. Marten's store opening soon, a Peeps store, and a Swatch store, which I've only seen before in Times Square. The mall is a huge tourist attraction, so you find people of all types and from many countries. After a while the Mall of America does feel like any other mall, but maybe it's worth the trip here since there's no tax on clothes and shoes! Want more info? Check out www.mallofamerica.com. Have you been there? What did you think? Spence's favorite thing ever is sharks, so he loves this scary, realistic 3-D shirt with a picture of a Great White.
He also loves the added value of an FM radio or toy that comes with his t-shirt! |
Archives
October 2020
Categories
All
Post your comment or like a post on the OMF Facebook page. Like OMF for daily updates.
Tweet a comment & follow OMF
@OpenMindFashion |