LEATHAAAA at ANNAAAA

A first at Anna!  Leather skirts - knee length ($375) and mini (pictured, $345).  Great, high-qual leather in a straightforward, classic shape, allowing you to be cool when it gets cool.

Avon: I Found Two Good Things

I was invited to a summer/fall showing of Avon products. OK, totally not my style or scene, but everyone was very nice and they gave me free stuff, so I will refrain from my usual sarcastic and cutting remarks, and just focus on the good stuff:

Good Item #1: The Slimwear Pencil Skirt, $29.99

Available for Fall, this skirt has a Spanx-like system built right in. It's groovy and I liked it. I might even buy it.

Good Item #2: Pleats Are Neat Satin Flats (available in black and purple), $16.99

These shoes will be available for winter. I love flats. I have at least 4 pairs of black ones already. I may have to buy the purple ones.

Bottom line, these items are fun and cheap. They kind of reminded me of the best fashions one might come across at Target; and this is a good thing, for you feel like you have conquered the fashion world and capitalist society in one fell swoop.

To buy any of these fabulous fashion finds, you can locate an Avon e-representative near you by visiting Avon.com.

Chicago: Clothes I Bought at noir & michelle tan

So in addition to scoring a pair of the arguably best-fitting jeans (Levi's) ever at new'd (it's a resale shop with truly amazingly new-looking apparel) for about $34, I also got the above skirt-that-doubles-as-a-cape (for when you are needed as a stand-in superhero in a crunch) at michelle tan, and the fun fluorescent greenish yellow off-the-shoulder scoop neck top at noir.

The skirt is by ming, a Hong-Kong based design outfit that offers some interesting pieces. This one has dual functions and includes some interesting styling and details (e.g. red thread). Since it's made of poly+wool, I got it at the decent price of $87 (it is the off-season after all).

The top, by Rubber Ducky was basically the only thing that fit my body in this store better suited for a 23 year old. However, the salesgirl was fun, interested and helpful...so I bought something. See how effective real customer service can be?

Les Nanas: The End of an Era

I am literally unsure how I am going to survive, fashion-wise, after this summer is over. My favorite store in all the (is)land is closing shop in September. I've been holding on to this news, hoping it was a bad dream. But alas, it is real life...Yes, Les Nanas, the store I write about all the time will be no more. The owner, Nathalie, has decided to leave dodge...and thus end a 20-year era of providing fabulous Paris-based fashion to the ladies of Gramercy Park.


As such, everything in the basement is on sale: 50% off! Spy the photo of the skirt I scored, as an example. I believe I paid about $80. And, they have just gotten a bunch of great new stuff in upstairs (not on sale), so it is worth going in to check out as a last -- or even for your first - hurrah.


If by next year there is a palpable negative difference in the level of style in the Gramercy Park area, you now know why.


However, if any of you are wealthy or motivated enough to BUY Les Nanas (and keep it operating the same exact way), I believe she is open for offers and bids. Contact me!

:( GSNYC

American Apparel

I've not had anything much good to say or think about American Apparel - I went in there a year or two ago and sort of liked the idea but decided the "apparel" was crap and overpriced. However, I may have to revise my position as I did buy a much needed lightweight black cotton skirt in there the other day for $30. I have to say it's pretty much saved me during these last couple of blazing like hell hot days in the big bad city.

La Boutique Resale - Madison Ave.

One of the best things about being a woman living on the Upper East Side - or so I have been told - is the easy access to scores of resale/consignment shops filled with last season's top designer castoffs.

So this past weekend among the Puerto Rican Day parade, I did my own parading along a few Madison Avenue blocks. After perusing Dolce & Gabbana (where, incidentally, there's a 40% off sale on shoes, bags and 'ready-to-wear') and falling dangerously in love with a pair of $275 sunglasses, I came upon La Boutique Resale. I think that is French for "The Resale Boutique."

Located on the second floor of 1045 Madison Avenue, LBR immediately struck me as particularly well-organized, something I very much appreciated. It is basically run and set up like a real-live retail store, making it very easy and enjoyable to peruse...and ultimately BUY. A brilliant marketing tactic, indeed.

While many of the choices seemed a bit "old" at first blush, a bit of digging revealed some fresh gems. I scored the pictured Nanette Lepore skirt for $47.20 and Fendi shoes for $74.40. I also purchased a brand new Andrew Urbain top for $35.40 - who knows how old it actually is, but it goes with the outfit! So for a total of $157 I own my first Fendi anything, my first Nanette L. skirt and my first (and probably last) Andrew U. anything. Not a bad accidental score.

Other locations include: 803 Lexington Ave. @62nd St., 2nd Fl. and 160 W. 72nd St. near Broadway (for men & women). The store manager explained that the west side location has "younger" styles and that I should go check it out. Bless him.

(Some) Success at Calypso Sample Sale

So I actually went to Calypso sale yesterday - and yes, I even waited on line to get in! So you know I was on a mission, amidst my "glamour grieving"....

I found that this one wasn't as good as the October sale - the location (dark dank room), the merchandise (not as much), the prices (more expensive). However, I did come out of there with a skirt from Yesterday Never Dies, a top from Sophia Kokosalaki, and a lacey jacket from Suzie Kondi - regularly $795 for $110.

So today is the last day the sale is on - so dodge raindrops and get yourself down there, why not?

February: Not a Great Shopping Month

OK, I've confirmed what I've been hinting at during the past few weeks. Shopping at this time of the year is not so hot. Literally.

First, yes, it is cold and windy - not a very relaxed convenient way to shop in NYC. Then, the stores are practically barren -- all of the fall/winter apparel already went on sale, more than a month ago, meaning that it's pretty much all GONE. Then, the new apparel is this weird "not Winter" and "not Spring" stuff. Some stores carry cruisewear and I don't know about you, but I've never gone on a cruise, and even if I did, I can't imagine that it would warrant an entire new wardrobe. But that's just me, the practical middle class kid.

I did buy the pictured skirt at my favorite, Club Monaco, today. Did I need it? Not so much, however it was on sale for only $29. What I really need are pants, but as I explained above, there was nothing doing.

What I did buy fairly free and easily today was makeup - at both Sephora and Aveda. And since it's freezing and there's not much to buy anyway, the stores were pretty empty - a nice change of pace for a NYC Saturday afternoon.