Expensive Bag Heaven

Last week I met with a fashion writer from Paper Magazine and she complimented me on my Botkier (spent way too much money on it when I didn't have any) Chrystie bag.  

Let me repeat: a woman who has made a career out of deciding what fashions and brands are cool enough to be written about in your favorite mags told meee that she liked my bag. Like, we literally had elevator chat about it.

Not that I blame her.  My Chrystie bag is super pretty.  It's made of soft black leather with a diagonal snakeskin sectional pocket on the front. Plus, it's surprisingly sturdy and huge inside.

Needless to say, my expensive purchase has now been completely validated. :)

It was my Christmas gift to myself and I did buy it from Gilt Groupe, so I didn't pay retail, thank goodness.  Most of the time those "sample sale" sites just clog up my inbox and I don't allow myself to look... but sometimes you can really get some good steals.

Here are a few I like:

- Gilt Groupe

- Haute Look

- Shop It to Me

- Ideeli

Check 'em out and achieve your very own bag/shoe/designer clothing nirvana.  It's no secret that it feels that much better when you get it on sale!  As in, there's not near as much guilt, haha.

Sidenote: if you need an invite to any of the above sample sale sites, no worries-- leave me a comment and I'll hook you up. 

Online Shopping

Online shopping = God's gift to shopaholics.  

Reasons why online shopping brings joy into my life:

1. Save stress, time and energy by looking up things online at any hour of the day or night.  And no lines!  

2. Double the fun.  I get excited twice when I shop online...once when I pick it out and order it, and again when it arrives in the mail a week or so later.

I want to share something about my mini-obsession.  Something I don't think everyone realizes--a shopaholic secret, if you will.

Every shopper loves a bargain, but no one likes the experience of bargain stores.  Crowded, messy, pounding music...not so much.  I love me some $20 sundresses as much as the next girl, but by the time I've hunted down the cute stuff (in my size...a whole other struggle), waited on the never-ending dressing room line, and then the never-ending register line, I have a migraine that Excedrin can't touch (H&M's, Forever 21's-- you know who you are).

Psst...there's a better way!  A lot of these bargain stores have Web sites with everyyything in the stores plus more.  Check 'em out:

www.forever21.com : I feel like most people forget or don't realize that Forever 21 has an online counterpart.  The Web site is great-- clean, easy to navigate, and with all the cheap trendy outfits your little heart desires.  Best of all, discover which sizes/styles/colors are available immediately without a hunt on the floor, the dressing room reject rack or the aide of an uncaring employee.

www.urbanoutfitters.com : The gem of this over-priced hipster haven is the clearance section in the back.  Too bad it's a free-for-all with clothes strewn everywhere and a very hit-or-miss selection.  Their Web site, however, has a whole section devoted to sale and clearance items where I have had no troubles finding hit after hit after hit.

www.victoriassecret.com : The semi-annual sale.  I walk into the store with high hopes every time, but I never find anything spectacular.  All the bins are picked over, and the sizes are always mixed up.  Try beefing up your collection of "unmentionables" during the sale online-- you can easily search by size or price or bra style.  

www.americanapparel.net : From time to time, I find really great deals on the Web site that I've never seen in the stores.  But, my favorite part of American Apparel's Web site are the instructional videos.  Learn 20 different ways to tie a scarf or wear a dress...makes it a little easier to stomach spending the dough for their incredibly simple jersey pieces.