Reports on Orla Keily sample sale

I visited the Orla Keily sample sale yesterday. And after being personally escorted up the warehouse-style elevator, I entered the large and well-presented warehousey room full of dresses, skirts, tops, bags, sneakers, sweaters and more. There is a loungey living room and a bar set up to one side. And racks of apparel on the other. It all looked quite nice.

But I am still old-school in that I feel like "sample sale" should mean really inexpensive. This stuff was not that. A skirt for $170 does not an unbelievable deal make. A small leather make-up-type tote for $60?

I'm sure it's all way cheaper than it would be at retail (they didn't show the retail prices), but I'm still not jumping for joy. Figures it's all London-based where everything is overpriced.

New Fashion-tainment Show Exclusively on HSN

From Miss Meghan, the shoe guru:

Big news my darlings!
Miss Meghan has a new show exclusively on the Home Shopping Network!

Shoe Therapy (TM) with Meghan Cleary officially debuts Monday, August 20 at 8 p.m. during HSN's Fall Fashion Week.

I am just so excited to share this news with you. The Home Shopping Network was the first to originate electronic retailing in 1977, and now 30 years later, with so many amazing brands and celebrities on their network from SCOOP to David Rodriguez to Teena Knowles, they are the very first to launch a shoe show like this.

With 89 million viewers, and an amazing new website launching August 2, the amount of shoe fun we can have together will be absolutely limitless!

So whether you are a Stiletto girl, a Wedge girl, a Ballet Flat or a Loafer girl, whether you are a shoe size 12 or 5 1/2, tune in to Shoe Therapy (TM) to find something special you won't find anywhere else.

Woodley & Bunny

I didn't go in this store (yet) in Williamsburg. I just like the name, mostly. And the logo looks nice too.

Woodley & Bunny: Salon, apothecary, boutique....

Orla Keily sample sale: July 30 - Aug 4

I kind of want to keep this info to myself, but since it is already in New York magazine, may as well share the wealth of knowledge:

Orla Kiely's sample sale has cheery pinafore dresses (now $156), patent-leather shoulder bages (now $83), and laminated shopper totes (now $74).
446 Broadway near Grand St., 5th floor
212-643-4810
A/E, MC, V
July 30 - Aug. 4, 9a - 7p

New G-Star Store / Club Monaco Sale

I walked past the new G-Star store on Broadway around 20th St. the other day and almost confused it with the Duane Reade that it sits next to. Meaning, the store was very bland, anti-septic and pharmacy-like...and not in a good way (see photos). I didn't go in, so I am providing you with limited sensory feedback, but it didn't entice me, which is what I thought a retail store was supposed to do...

So in the meantime, go to Club Monaco and get stuff on the cheap.

Caravan Sale! July 25-28

Good Candy at Newsstand on 86th St. & 3rd Ave.

As some of you know I am a retro-candy fanatic, along the lines of Gobstoppers, Razzles, Sprees and the like. It's not always easy to find such old tyme favorites, but I spotted a particularly rich newsstand on the southwest corner of 86th St. and 3rd Avenue. It's all I can do not to go Willy Wonka wild every time I walk by it.

Can I eat well and cheaply on the Upper East Side?

Wow, so it seems that late July shopping is a bit "soft" - similar to my complaint about February. Just kind of a dead time - you've already bought most of your summer stuff and gone to relevant sales and you just aren't ready to start buying fall clothes and boots since it's still hot as blazes outside.

So what is a Guerilla Shopper supposed to do? Write about her second favorite topic: FOOD. I am somewhat astonished by the high price of food on the UES. I guess I shouldn't be, but I can't manage to get take out - my favorite kind of food - for less than $17 (and that's only if I pick it up myself so that I don't have to tip a delivery guy!). Does anyone have any suggestions for me - outside of eating pizza and bagels every night? Why isn't there a Teriyaki Boy up there, for example?

Dana Buchman/Ellen Tracy Half-Yearly Sale

Dana Buchman and Ellen Tracy Outlets are offering the lowest prices of the season...plus 15% off your entire purchase, now through September 3, 2007. Bring a friend and they'll extend the offer to them as well! Only trick is...You need to get your hands on THE COUPON.

Shirt Dress at Les Nanas

If I hadn't been knocked out of the running to become America's Next Top Model, then perhaps I would be styling this dress for your personally, but you'll have to use your imagination a bit when I tell you that this "better-than-a-shirt-dress" that I picked up at Les Nanas De Gramercy is great for those of us ladies who are a little bit dress-shy.

I don't know if it's just me, but dresses just don't seem to fit or flatter me most of the time. I would like to wear more of them, but I am particularly conscious of my mid-section, which tends to get chubbier faster than the rest of me when I am eating and drinking like a viking. You can hide that area better with separates. However the pictured dress does a good job of being flattering and not fattering at the same time. You can also easily wear it with pants/leggings, which I intend to do as soon as the temperature and humidity wane a bit. I even got a complimented on it by another woman on the subway when I wore it.

But back to America's Next Top Model. You know the part where Tyra calls out the names of the girls who get to move onto the next stage of the competition? She always says, "The next name I am going to call is..." This drives me insane! Why doesn't she just say, "The next name is..." or "The next girl is..."?? I guess this is a pet peeve matter of semantics but I want someone to chainsaw her to bits whenever she does this.

Wow. Keep that Guerilla in a cage!