While holiday shopping is top-of-mind, don’t neglect a very important person on your list – you!

As you know, the fashion world is always one step ahead and I’m here to keep you in-the-know.  Make it a new year’s resolution in 2011 to take your wardrobe a step up with more designer clothing.  With a few simple tricks and planning in advance, this can be done very inexpensively.

Infusing Design into Your Closet

1. Know your designers.  Study magazines  and familiarize yourself with who’s who and whose style matches your own.
2. Now that you’re educated on designers, hit the designer deal sites like Hautelook.com, Gilt.com, Ruelala.com and Billiondollarbabes.com. A note that all of these sites require signing up for membership, but it’s worth it!

3. Frequently call or drop in discount designer retailers (Fox’s, TJMaxx, etc.) and remember, it takes patience and repeated visits but is worth a great score.

4. Keep an eye on major retailer websites for designers launching …

Continue reading Design Your Wardrobe »

It’s almost here!  For all of you bargain lovers, a plan of attack for Black Friday shopping is crucial.

My best advice?  Head to www.BlackFriday2010.com – the ultimate holiday shopping resource.  Start by reading their “Top 10 Tips for Black Friday Sales” to organize your brain and schedule.  Then, check out all of the amazing deals from all major retailers.  They’ve even got a section for store hours to help you arrange your shopping festivities from sunup (or before!) to sundown.

These ads are pre-released, meaning you get the jumpstart on the deals.  There’s also a free Black Friday iPhone application.

If you’re not able to get all of your holiday shopping done on Black Friday, no worries – there is another site: CyberMonday2010.com, which focuses on the best online deals of Thanksgiving weekend and the Monday that follows.

So pass the turkey…and the deals, please!

Continue reading Black Friday Plan of Attack »

Lanvin for H&M collection has hit the stores. Make sure you end up as a lucky owner of your very own Lanvin item.  Lanvin is regularly sold in higher end department stores such as Neiman Marcus and Saks and his pieces regularly retail for much much more ($500 and up),  so a limited collection piece at H&M for less than $100 is still a steal.

To see which stores carry the collection, click the link.

Continue reading Lanvin for H&M »

Fall-into-Winter: such a confusing season fashion-wise. Who can keep up with the weather right now?  You need a winter coat in the morning, but a light jacket at the most by noon.

Luckily, there’s a very stylish solution to this in-between weather issue: the sweater coat!Cute, comfy and entirely versatile, you’re covered (or uncovered, depending!) from sunup to sundown.  There are some really different and cute options to suit your personal style for any budget.

I found one dressier option from Garnet Hill:

And one super casual choice from The Gap marked down from $44.50 to $28.99:

Stock up, the sweater coat is sure to be your winter-into-spring staple as well!

Continue reading Multi-Functional Fashion »

What if I told you that you could have designer clothing comfortable enough to workout in?  No, you aren’t dreaming or too dizzy from that yoga class, it’s true!  Heidi Klum and New Balance have teamed up on a Project Runway-inspired line available exclusively through Amazon.com.

I can’t wait to get my hands on some of these pieces and just had to share them with you, too.

This line blends style and comfort in a way I’ve never seen before and infuses winning looks from Project Runway, giving it a truly “designer” look and feel with most pieces under $100.  There are even a couple of dresses nice enough for fun night out!

There are some REALLY creative combinations shown on the website.  With just a few accessories and a shoe change, I think some of these pieces could easily go from work, to running errands to happy hour.  Leave it to Project Runway to “make it work!”

Continue reading Make It Work(out) »