Thursday, January 29, 2009

Angela Adams Sample Sale Today [and beyond]

TODAY:

Portland Maine US one of my favorite designers of all time is having her friends and family sample sale today, Friday, and beyond!

ANGELA ADAMS!

I love, love, love her work and I have to admit I am headed there right now and then off to Philadelphia to visit the man I am dating.

I have found some amazing things at these GREAT sales including Xmas stockings one year, rugs another and always great Xmas presents.

I think there might even be web specials too!
http://www.angelaadams.com/

Happy Shopping!

PS. I had the chance to meet Angela Adams once and she is absolutely delightful.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Sale Watch - Possible Store Closings

There is a lot of buzz about finance in the news lately so here is a list of stores in trouble. Some of these stores will be closing multiple locations, others might just be closing. Either way it's a chance for a savy shopper to find some great sales, that being said I would absolutely not buy a gift card from the following places:

Closing:
Circuit City
Linens N' Things
Meryns
Sharper Image

Closing some locations and/or in serious financial trouble:
Ann Taylor
Catherine's
Eddie Bauer
Fashion Bug
Gap
Kmart
Lane Bryant
Pacific Sunwear
Sears
Starbucks
Timberland
Zales

Also:
Sprint Nextel cellphones are in big trouble. My first cell phone was with Sprint. I left them for Verizon. I have to say that I absolutley *love* Verizon. Not only does Verizon work in the teenie tiny town I am from (where my parents still live), but they have better customer service, better plans, and of course better coverage than Sprint.

One of my good friends in DC had a gift card for Circuit City and has had the worst time trying to redeem it. The store she went to first refused to honor her gift card and then told her they no longer carried what she needed. She ended up with nothing but a headache. They did tell her that they will be accepting gift cards until the end of March, but they gave her the impression that that might not be the case without actually saying so.

If you have gift cards for any of the stores on this list I would use them *NOW* because you never know what tomorrow will bring and while I think we are in store for better times ahead not all of these stores will still be around when the tough times are over, so better to be safe than sorry with your gift cards.

I think once our economy rights itself it will be a great time for local businesses to find and /or keep their niches in the market and it will be exciting times for savy business people.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Michelle Obama wears a Jason Wu for the Inauguration Ball!

Michelle Obama dazzled us all in a white chiffon one sholder creation by designer Jason Wu at the Inaugural Ball. This is s moment not only in fashion history, but in American History.

I lived in DC for a number of years and my house was on Capitol Hill. I lived next to a park and from that pak you could see the Capitol Building, we used to watch the Fouth of July Fireworks from there. The Capitol is on the edge of the National Mall so sometimes I would walk or take the metro to the museums there. National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian Museums line the Mall with some of the most amazing sites on earth.

When I was a little girl my Mom took my sister and I to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History and we walked through the wonderful exhibit of dresses from past First Ladies, which I will always think of as the "Hall of Dresses". How thrilling it was when as a small child I could see pieces of history through out the ages in these beautiful gowns for Inagural Ball and Inaugration Day dresses. Jackie Kennedy's dress was always a particular favorite of mine - I've always loved fashion.

What a thrill it will be in years to come when I can bring my own children to the Smithonsian's National Museum of American History and take them to the "Hall of Dresses" and see Michelle Obama's Ball Gown!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Michelle Obama wears Isabel Toledo for Inauguration Day!

Michelle Obama is wearing a beautiful gold Isabel Toledo dress to Inauguration Day!
Isabel Toledo is the creative Director for Anne Klein and Michelle has rocked her styles before.

Michelle Obama looks SO beautiful! She really is having a fashion moment and her outfit has real impact.

Our new President: Barack Obama is wearing a long black jacket, black suit, white shirt and red tie.

When they met the Bushes for the traditional coffee at the White House, Michelle Obama towered over both of them - yes, she is taller than W. I was a bit surprised to see Laura Bush in a powder blue suit dress with a quite short skirt with light tights and black shoes that were not flattering to her cankles, her stylist really owes her an apology and I hope she gets a new stylist when she moves to Texas today. On behalf of America let me just say: GOODBYE!

And on be half of America let me just say a giant HELLO and WELCOME to the new first family!

This is a beautiful moment in history and I am so proud of the progress we have made!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Inauguration Buzz!

Before moving to the breath taking coast of Maine, I lived on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. At the moment everyone in my life is super excited about the upcoming Inauguration of the 44th President of the United States: Barack Obama.

While I am also thrilled about this upcoming event, I have to admit I'm even more excited to see what Michelle Obama will be wearing! Remember what Jackie was wearing when John F. Kennedy was sworn in? I do! Ok, I wasn't old enough to be watch then but I love the pictures. I love how this is not only a moment in American History, but it might project Michelle Obama into fashion history as a new fashion icon.

Living in Maine has a lot of great advantages one of them is that I happened to have a lovely chat with Ann Perrino, the genius behind Ann Veronica bags. She owns the enchanting store on Shore Road in Cape Elizabeth, ME. If you haven's checked out her bags yet don't walk - RUN to her site immediately. They will keep those winter blues away! Ann mentioned that she wanted to gift bags to our nation's new first daughters. What an amazing idea! I had this instant idea of how amazing it would be on that cold day in January to see the first family standing together, dressed to the nines, and the first daughters with Ann Veronica bags!
http://www.annveronica.com/

I should ask my dear friend Jason Gallimore who writes for the Common Progressive amoung other things if he knows whom to contact to arrange for some gift giving. If you haven't seen the Common Progressive yet, check it out immediately for GREAT political insights.
http://thecommonprogressive.blogspot.com/

I can't wait for Tuesday! I a lot of my firends and some former clients in DC have called me to ask what they should wear to the 2009 Presidential Inauguration this is what I have been telling them:
1. Comfortable Shoes. Traffic will be awful and you will be doing a lot of walking.
2. Dress Warm. Wear long johns and tights under your clothes. Bring a hat scarves, gloves, mittens as well as some of those instant hand warmers. You might want to skip the thermos full of coffee because of all the security rsstrictions. I also recommend ear warmers.
3. Great Outer Wear. Since it is going to be COLD what you have on the outside, your jacket, your hat and your gloves will be seen most so wear your best looking ones and be sure that you are dressed in layers and that you are wearing enough layers.
4. Be prepared to wait. Security will be tighter than it has ever been. Be sure you are aware of all the restrictions BEFORE you leave the house, there are lots of offical websites to check out for that.
5. Enjoy the moment! You will be witnessing a moment in history that will change our world in an incredibly postive way, forever! Lucky you!

Monday, January 12, 2009

For the love of Rachel Zoe

Yesterday was the Golden Globe Awards. It's always exciting - winners, losers, and of course: the BEST and worst dressed.

I'm a huge fan of Rachel Zoe and The Rachel Zoe Project on BRAVO! is one of my all time favorite reality tv shows. Part of my background is as a stylist and I have helped more people get ready for more events big and small than I can count so well, Rachel Zoe is kind of my hero. The designers she knows, the people she gets to work with, her style and her ability to style others.. I have only one word for her: fabulous!

I'm not sure exactly who Rachel Zoe's current clients are, but I was surprised when I saw a "worst dressed" Golden Globe list and there were several people that might have been her clientele on that list; including: Cameron Diaz, Debra Messing, and Renee Zellweger.

Cameron Diaz wore a long pink Chanel Couture dress. It had one shoulder strap and was asymmetrical in a sort of perfection of asymmetry. The color was great on her and her hair perfectly mirrored the dress and framed her face. She looked lovely. Her blue eyes sparkled and she looked like she was happy. The dress was revealing enough to show off her amazing figure without being too revealing.

Debra Messing wore a dark blue Vera Wang floor length dress with a bit of a train that had a halter strap that wrapped around her neck. The color of this dress was perfect for her, the accessories with this dress were as Rachel Zoe would say: bananas. Spot on perfect accessories. Her smile was the best part of the ensemble. She was radiant and the color of the dress was perfect for a winter event.

Renee Zellweger wore a black organza Carolina Herrera top and the most amazing skirt. The only misstep of this outfit was the sheerness of the top, perhaps it would have more interesting with something different underneath, even so I love, love, love the shape of this ensemble. It looked amazing on her. The skirt alone was a triumph. Paired with that top and it was perfection. She looked statuesque.

So Rachel Zoe, if they were your clients and you have time to read the blogs of amateur stylists like me: well done. Another triumph. And I think you are fantastic.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Huge Discount Watch: *Macy's* and *Bloomingdales*

Macy's just announced that they will be closing ELEVEN stores in NINE states.

Clearance sales will start next week at the affected stores.

The known locations are:
Los Angeles, West Palm Beach, Fla., Nashville, Tenn., and St. Louis.

There will be more, those are just the ones that are being announced now.

A little inside speculation and what to watch for:
Since sales are down for Macy's I am relatively certain that all Macy's will start offering great sales during this period of adjustment.

ALSO:
Since the parent company that owns Macy's also owns Bloomingdale's I suspect that there will be some amazing sales at your local Bloomingdales as well.

If you have credit cards for Macy's or Bloomingdales, first of all be certain you pay off those balances right away 25% interest yikes!, secondly check your mailboxes and emails for huge "savings passes" and discount coupons this season.

I'm a huge fan of my local Macy's and this is a great oppurtunity to pick up some wonderful items at big discounts.