Max Mara Atelier: Fall/Winter 2012 collection

Dress coat with travel pillow collar in goose down, kimono sleeves with maxi cuffs



Linear egg-shaped frequent flyer coat in pure double face cashmere, with matching small bon ton mink collar

MaxMara Atelier is a special project focusing on the coat. The above coats are my least and most favorite from the Fall/Winter 2012 collection.  In that order.

Guerilla Scores Coat at Mackage Sample Sale

I got into the Mackage sample sale on the last day (today), with two hours remaining, and scored the pictured coat for half price: $245 --and they didn't even charge me tax!  Yay.  OK, so it's not the most contemporary style they have, and be warned that this designer runs SMALL.  I got a large and there is NO room to grow.  I guess I will stick to weightwatchers.com after all...

This Blogger is Having a Hellavah Time Finding a New Coat!

I spent all weekend looking for a new black coat, to no avail.  Issues such as price, fit and mostly UGLINESS have hindered me.  Also, every store seems to have the same stuff.  I probably want a military inspired cloak, and will know it when I see it - any ideas?  I'm thinking less than $500.
xoxo GSNYC

Stay Steamy in Shearling Steals for Men and Women

Don't let the non-descript storefront fool you - stylish Italian, one-of-a-kind jackets and long shearlings in purple, black, brown and many other colors at this wholesale liquidation sale - last 2 days. Many coats in the $450-$500 range. Also hats for just $40. Bundle up and head over to 940 Eighth Avenue between 55th & 56th, 12pm-6pm today (Friday, Jan. 28, 2010) and tomorrow [last day].

Klurk: 70% off pea coat

Gift Cards and Returns and Cash...Oh My!

I asked for a red scarf for Christmas. And I got it. And then when I brought it home I thought, "why did I ask for this?" So I returned it (sorry mom) - but I got something so much better! A gold (OK, not real gold) Skagen watch. I can't get enough of these Skagen watches, I have four! Then I also had a gift card from Bloomingdale's, so I went there and bought some Laura Mercier makeup...and then with the remainder put a small dent in a Elie Tahari coat that I couldn't say no to. It is so great - the style I have been seeking, 30% off, and...IT FITS! Then I headed to the Apple store where I bought a new iPod (an 8GB Nano) that I love - they have made some vast improvements over the one I bought about a year and a half ago. And since I gave them my old one back for "recycling," I got 10% off. THEN I went to Sephora because I had another gift card (thanks mom) and I bought a bunch of other fun makeup odds and ends from Make Up For Ever, Smashbox and Stila. I swear that store is a candy store for women.

The New Jill Anderson Shiznit

Is it Fall Yet? It Feels Like Fall...

I got word about Case Study: wool, leather and fur outerwear for today’s contemporary woman. As they explain it --> designed by Guillaume Poupart, Case Study offers sophisticated, feminine and sexy coats and jackets as sold in fine department stores and specialty stores nationwide. Recognizing that modern women appreciate both luxury and an accessible price point, Poupart also designs a lower priced outerwear collection for QVC. Modernist by Guillaume coats retail from $120-200 and are available at http://www.qvc.com/.

OK so whatever, I have been trying to see this stuff in person, but until I do, I kind of like these items, although not necessarily the price. When is the sample sale, please?

(top photo): Dark Turquoise Tweed Coat with Pleated Collar & Cropped Sleeves (Suggested retail, $395)

(bottom photo): Lacquered Shearling Jacket w/Asymmetrical Zipper in Purple (Suggested retail, $1,095)

Fruitful Shopping Weekend: Hair & Coat

This was a most fruitful shopping weekend - I managed to get my hair done on the major cheap, while also doing some significant research of great consequence, for you, my readers...(as well as for me, myself, and I).

Stop #1: My usual fantastic hair man, about whom you have read on these e-pages before (Helik at Dop Dop Salon), was unavailable to attend to my shouting roots. Yes, I may look like a natural blonde, and indeed I feel like one, but I have finally accepted the fact that it takes a lot of hard work to feel like a natural woman. So I was referred by a friend to Sam at Head Quarter Hair Colour Group on 2nd Ave. between 12th-13th Sts. Not only was it a successful outing (hair in photo was taken a mere hour afterwards), but it was CHEAP CHEAP CHEAPedity cheap cheap. Single process, eye brow tinting, cutting and blow out/styling for...$88. I will spell that out, in case you think it may be a typo: EIGHTY EIGHT DOLLARS. I was so thrilled that I tipped in excess of 20%.

So not only was it cheap and good, but it was one of those real "only in New York" experiences. Sam and all but one of the stylists and assistants are group of incredibly hip Japanese boys. Hair, clothes, tattoos - the whole nine. These guys are on point and it worked for me. Is Japanese the new black? Anyway, the salon is completely non descript and un-trendy - white Formica and fluorescent lighting. Quite horrible, in fact. But one way they keep a low overhead, I am sure.

And if that isn't enough, there was another "heeuuuhh?" scenario. There was one middle-aged female stylist in the back corner - I couldn't catch the accent exactly, but she may be Eastern European - and ALL of her clientele were "mature" white women, seemingly from Stuy Town...cruising solid into the East Village on their canes and walkers.

While my explanation may be completely edging on offensive and non-PC, I couldn't keep it to myself. Cheap+Hip Japanese+Old Ladies+white Formica+fluorescent lighting=New York just has to be the greatest place in the Western World.

Stop #2: I have written good and bad words about An Ren - at 315 East 9th Street - on this blog before. But ultimately, she has incredibly unique styles, fabrics and designs...and she did not disappoint me on that front this weekend either. I just can't get enough of her coats and jackets, and might be more inclined to buy them and her other wares - but I am a giant American with the shoulders and back of a swimmer. This seems to limit what I can fit into when it comes to the downtown indie designer set.

However! I managed to fit into the coat pictured here - and I love it. It is a bit more cash than I am interested in spending (about $325), but the material, colors and design is really like nothing I have ever seen. It could arguably be worn as a dress in a bit cooler weather.

Stay tuned for more shopping triumphs from the weekend...