Dolce Vita Trinity: Pumps that Know How to Party

Party shoes are not an accessory to be taken lightly. The selection of the perfect party shoe can make or break your night and quite possibly your ankle. I previously addressed this issue on Shoetube in my Hangover Help for Help for Shoes that Party too Hard piece. However, I think I may need to give my trusty Pedro Garcia's a break (not retirement, just a vacay), which means I need some new party shoes.

The criteria?

1. Black--but something fun. Definitely not boring black pumps.
   
2. Minimum 3.5 Inch Heel, but WALKABLE (aka something you can still negotiate after a few martinis)
   
3. Stacked heel is preferable, but anything that doesn't scar easily is OK

Snowmageddon 2010, proved to be the perfect time to do lots of online window shopping, and I found THE perfect party pump. Not only does it live up to my standards, but it's on sale at multiple websites, which I listed below for your shopping pleasure. However, if you're an 8-8.5, don't even think about it....

Dear readers, I would like to introduce you to the Dolce Vita "Trinity"

(Photo: Saks)

Saks Fifth Avenue: $210

Nika: $210

Revolve: $209

Nordstrom: $199

Moose Limited: $189

Bona Drag: $170

Shopbop: $150

Bloomingdales: $147

P.S. While doing my "research" I also discovered that these very shoes were spotted on Christina Aguilera on the set of Burlesque!

(Photo: Star Style Inc.)

RIP Alexander McQueen: Designer, Dog Lover, and Hooligan

February 11, 2010--the East Coast was burried beneath a blizzard, NY Fashion Week was getting ready to kickoff, and London lost their "L'enfant Terrible." When I first read the news, I honestly thought it was a hoax. Alexander McQueen was a truly innovative designer, and one of my all time favorites. Last week as tribute after tribute popped up on my Twitter feed, there were some wonderful stories about McQueen, that I wish I had read under lighter circumstances. I certainly am not qualified to write a fitting tribute, so below I've posted the ones that do justice. The story from the Wall Street Journal, is probably my favorite and possibly the saddest. I think it's safe to say that London Fashion Week will certainly not be the same this year.

"There is no way back for me now.

I am going to take you on journeys

you've never dreamed were possible."

Lee Alexander McQueen 1969-2010

Wall Street Journal

An Editor's Remembrance of McQueen: The Dog Eats First

UK Daily Mail

A life in fashion: Alexander McQueen was the hooligan of the catwalk who loved to shock - but nothing could take away from his genius

Confessions of a fashionista: the day I shared a taxi with Alexander McQueen and didn't even realize it

NY Mag, The Cut

Retrospective: A Decade of McQueen's Work

Alexander McQueen 1969-2010

NY Times

Alexander McQueen, Designer, Is Dead at 40

Punk Rock Professional

I always knew that somewhere beneath the Theory suits and multiple blackberries, was the same girl that had green and purple highlights circa 1996. Thanks to Pandora, I've re-discovered bands like Less than Jake and Squad Five-O: combine that with watching last night's Grammy's, and therein lies the blame/credit for my ensemble.

Plaid vintage kilt, cashmere cardigan, Kate Spade mary janes--it all started innocent enough. First came the hosiery decision: plain black tights or textured Betsey Johnson tights (found on clearance at Marshall's). Since it's Monday, I thought I'd jazz things up a bit with the textured tights. Ya know, live life on the edge, right? Or something like that....

It was actually looking like I might make it to work on time, when I realized that I couldn't find my black camisole or any plain black tops for that matter. As panic set in, the wheels in my pea brain started turning. I dug through my dresser drawers et voila! You know that feeling, when you chuckle to yourself because you know you're doing something that you probably shouldn't, and if your friends were there, they would just give you the look? Hehehehehehe.

Today, beneath my prim, proper, buttoned-up cardigan, I'm sporting a silver skull shirt; I kind of feel like Abby from NCIS, minus the pigtails and spiderweb tat. If you saw me at the water cooler, you probably wouldn't notice anything different; however, as I rock out in my cube, I know what lies beneath the buttons, and that's all that matters.

Going to the Chapel, and I Don't Know What I'm Wearing

I find I've arrived at that age, where I'm receiving a lot of wedding invitations in the mail. For all the jokes about awful bridesmaid dresses, I'm almost jealous; at least they know what they're wearing!

Shopping for wedding wear can actually be quite tricky when you stop and think about it. You have to be church-appropriate aka not too low, short, or tight. And while you don't want to look like a strumpet, you also don't want to look like an old maid; I mean you never know if there will be a cute cousin in the crowd, right? Not to mention, there's often a temperature issue since Mid-Atlantic springs can range from sunny and 60's to ice and snow. Then there are the color restrictions: white is an obvious NO, black is questionable, and you certainly don't want to look like a bridesmaid wannabe. Oh, and last but certainly not least, it has to be on sale!

Currently I'm in the market for a new frock for a dear friend's wedding in April in Virginia (keeping my fingers crossed it's a warm weekend). In addition to the criteria listed above, I've added a few more:

1. 1. I want to be able to recycle it for the Junior League Spring Soiree at the end of April
   
2. 2. The color has to flatter my ghostly pallor (faux tan was so 2008)
   
3. 3. I would really like to find something under $200

Below are my top 3 choices, thus far, in no particular order:

Diane von Furstenberg, The Outnet, $237.50 (was $475)

I know this dress breaks the black rule, but look closely and you can see the hot pink underskirt that peeks through in the front. How cute is that? I love this dress, A LOT. However, it's a little over budget, especially if I'm not buying it to wear to the wedding.

Black Halo, Gilt Fuse, $134 (down from $375)

Confession time: I just bought this dress, or my mom did (Happy Early Birthday to me!). I love the sample sale websites, but if you see something you like, you have to snag it right away or else *poof* it's in some other shopper's cart. I actually almost missed out on this dress, but then some fool let it go and now it's mine, all mine. Whether or not I wear this dress to the wedding is still dependent on how things play out with my last option(s)...

Sunner, Shopbop, $201.60 or $144 (orig $288)

This dress is essentially perfect. I love the cut, the colors are perfect for my pasty complexion, it has pockets, *swoon* and it's on sale. Here's the deal though: I like them both, but I really want the purple one. Of course, because that's the one I want, it is only marked down 30% whereas the green is marked down 50%. I stalk Shopbop several times a day to see if the purple has dropped yet. It hasn't. Here's hoping.

Dollar Store Deals on Channel 8's Let's Talk Live

Last week I went on Channel 8's lunch time show--Let's Talk Live--to chat about the ins and outs of shopping at Dollar Stores! See below or click here to watch the segment

P.S. The Hello Kitty case is actually from Five Below: a five dollar store (shhhhh don't tell ;))

Swimmies that Won't Sink Your Budget!

Check out my latest article on the Examiner for tips on how to find fabulous swimmies that are friendly towards a Miller Lite or even a Schlitz budget :)

Just one little problem. While doing "research" I found several swimmies that I really just HAVE TO HAVE. I mean do I really need electricity this month?

Top picks?

Poko Pano: Got Dots

Lilly Pulitzer: Bacall Bandeau (the Lilly people found one for me!!!)

Sylene DC: Lisa Curran, polka dots

The Morning After: Valentino Screening

Last night I went to the screening of the Valentino: The Last Emporer at Avalon Theatre in Chevy Chase. Sadly, I missed the reception that Neimans did before hand thank to miserable DC traffic and at least one motorcade. I did manage to catch the last part of the Q&A with producer/director and Vanity Fair correspondent Matt Tyrnauer. It was really interesting to hear his take on working with Valentino and all the stories about V's pugs (which are so cute!). As for the movie, I LOVED it!!!! The clothes were all so gorgeous, and it was amazing to see everything that goes into a couture gown. Not to mention, Valentino was hilarious! Granted, I wouldn't want to work for him, but some of the things he said were brutally honest, and he used some great metaphors. I was especially fond of the part when he scolds someone for leaving straight pins lying around because he didn't want any of his pugs to get hold of them! As a fellow dog owner, I understand that the dogs always come before the clothes.

Speaking of clothes, let's talk about my ensemble from last night. I mentioned in my last post that I wasn't sure how the color combo was going to work. I think in some strange way, though, it all worked. What do you think?

Dress: Marc Jacobs (60% off at eLuxury)

Bag: Botkier (80% off at Funky La La)

Shoes: Gucci (60% off at Neiman Marcus)

Good News, Bad News

The good news is, I'm baaaack! Hopefully I've been missed, but more importantly let's talk about how much I'm going to miss eLuxury (aka the bad news)!

Friday, June 26, will be the last day for eLuxury's retail business. They're going to be more of a lifestyle website with stories and whatnot, so hopefully that will at least provide some new workday distractions. Anywho, as for the going out of business sale: there are still a few items left, but the pickings a slim, albeit with severly slashed prices. This Dior ring is rather snazzy, don't you think?

Over the years, eLuxury and I have been through a lot. It all started with a Burberry swimmie I ordered during the summer of 2003 right before my senior year at college. This was also when I discovered they had a-mazing sales with discounts over 50% and always some type of shipping special! Things progressed from Burberry to Pucci (oops!), with some Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton thrown in on the side. One of my fave pairs of shoes--yellow Puccis--were an eLuxury 75% off purchase and ended up being my lucky interview shoes.

My last and final eLuxury purchase was this fabulous Marc Jacobs dress that was a "one day only, take an extra 40% off" special. I'm wearing it tonight to the screening Nieman Marcus, Mazza Gallerie is doing of Valentino: the Last Emporer, so check back later for pics of my whole ensemble and a recap of the Valentino movie. I'm not really sure the shoe/handbag combo I selected is gonna work quite as I envisioned it, but we shall see...

Meet the DC Bargain Shopping Examiner!

I feel it's only fair to share my shopping expertise with as many readers as possible. In an effort to do so, I've recently started writing for The Examiner.com as the "DC Bargain Shopping Examiner," If you've enjoyed my tips on CTMLB, you will definitely want to subscribe to my feed on the Examiner!

I will do my best to keep posting to CTMLB as well as Gardening in My Bathrobe and Cooking in Stilettos. You'll especially want to watch the latter to keep up with my newest project: Home Renovation! I recently bought a house in Falling Waters, WV, that was built in the late 1800's and is simply dying for a makeover! I plan on blogging the good, the bad, and mostly the ugly as I re-do the house and the gardens. Did I mention the house has a pool as well?! Regardless, let's just say my stlye du jour is somewhat construction chic.

Wish me luck and don't forget to check me out on The Examiner!

Shopping Budget on Vacay

The reason I've been so MIA these past few months is because *gasp* I've hardly been shopping at all!


Of course, there have been a few must-have items like these Jimmy Choos that I picked up for 60% off (how could I resist?!).

This spring/summer my time and money have been redirected towards gardening. At times I think I've completely gone crazy (as do some of my neighbors), but it's quite fun! I've decided to document my adventures in both gardening and cooking on a new blog: Gardening in My Bathrobe and Cooking in Stilettos


In addition to my own little projects, I also have been writing about shoes for Shoetube.


So, be on the lookout for updates here, and in the meantime check out Shoetube and Gardening in My Bathrobe and Cooking in Stilettos!

Shop It To Me: the Perfect Personal Shopper for a Miller Lite Budget

They say that in primitive times people were either hunters or gatherers. When it comes to sale shopping it's more like hunters and stumblers. The hunters (I fall into this category) enjoy nothing more than rummaging through a sale bin, for the sheer possibility that there might be something amazing buried amongst the rubble. Stumblers, however, aren't opposed to sale items; it just has to be right there in plain site.

The Internet is a turf that can be overwhelming for hunters and stumblers alike. Rarely a day goes by that my inbox isn't flooded by at least 10 emails proclaiming that any given online retailer is having a sale of some sort. When I first started online shopping I loved the ease of perusing a few of my favorite stores, sorting through sale categories, and not having to jab elbows with fellow hunters. Now, however, online sale shopping has gotten even more overwhelming than a TJ Maxx clearance section! It's virtually impossible to keep track of who has which sale on what items when; I just delete the majority of emails without even opening them!

Don't be aghast! I don't delete all emails, and one in particular always gets a thorough once-over: Shop It To Me.

Whenever I start shop talk (literally) with someone the first thing I recommend is that they sign up for the most amazing, helpful, somewhat dangerous email to grace your inbox. Shop It To Me is a free, online personal shopping service that is a life saver for all (males and children included!) Basically how it works is you go to the website and create a profile. You start by providing basic info like your email address and how often you would like to receive an email from them (obvi I opted for daily). Next, you will be asked which sizes you are interested in (don't worry you can select a range) for varying items of clothing: tops, bottoms, dresses, etc. Finally, you get to sort through hundreds of brands/designers that you're interested in. This is my favorite part; there is everything from Banana Republic to Balenciaga, and they are always adding new labels!

So, what happens after you finish your profile? Start checking your email! Shop It To Me browses department stores, boutiques, and other assorted online clothing retailers to find the sale items that match the parameters in your profile. Each email is filled with pictures that link to lovely sale items ALL in your size and labels that you love. We all know how frustrating it is to sort through endless pieces of clothing attempting to find the right size, and it's refreshing to not have to browse through brands that you're really just not that into. To further prove that the Shop It To Me folks have really covered everything, they have a feature where you can send an item to a friend for their approval! They can give it a thumbs up, thumbs down, and/or add a comment about it.


Now that I've spilled the beans on Shop It To Me, I'm going to go update my profile before the server becomes clogged with all of it's eager new subscribers :)

Lilly Pulitzer Warehouse Sale

I first heard about this seemingly mythical Lilly Pulitzer mega sale several years ago. All I knew was the venue was big, the clothes were cheap, and much like Christmas it only came once a year.

Well, Merry Christmas!

Wednesday (June 11) kicked off the sale and it goes all weekend. Is it worth the road trip to the Valley Forge Convention Center in King of Prussia, PA? Only if you consider 70+% discounts a good deal!

Since this was my first time, I made quite a few interesting observations and still have some questions about the whole event.

First, it is necessary to note that the doors opened at 5:00 AM on Wednesday morning. Rumor has it that much like George Washington and his troops camped at Valley Forge, so do eager shoppers in search of Lilly for less.

My shopping buddies and I arrived around 1:oo PM. We did have to wait in line for about 10 minutes to get in, but time passed quickly as we observed people leaving with big shopping bags and even bigger smiles. While waiting in line we also discovered that you could buy little pink shopping carts with a Lilly Pulitzer plaque on the front. My friend Kiri obviously had to have one; everyone at the grocery store will totally be green with envy (at least green goes well with pink!). The sale itself was in a ballroom, and when you finally made it to the entrance you were given this gigantic pink mesh bag (I'm around 5'5" and with the handles on my shoulder the bottom of the bag touched the ground!) to fill with all sorts of goodies.

Everything was extremely well organized with women's clothes to the left, shoes even further left, home items towards the back, mens to the back and slightly right (this was a rather small section), and then kids clothes were in the back right corner.

In the women's section there were tables set up with boxes on them arranged in clusters by size. These boxes were where you would find sweaters, polos, and other assorted tops; prices ranged from $5-$50 depending on the item. Beyond the tables were clothing racks not only grouped by type (dresses, skirts, tops, pants, etc.) but each rack was organized also organized by size. Pants in general ranged from $30-$50, skirts were around $50, and dresses were as low as $15 and I didn't see any over $90. Not too shabby when you consider $250+ the cost of a full-priced Lilly dress.

And if all that sounds a little too organized for the adventurous shoppers who want to dig and find the $300 dress for $10 fret not. In the one back corner is a sample/clearance section. This area was a total free-for-all, but rather exciting none the less.

All in all it was a very productive day and I managed to come in well under budget!

The one lingering issue I dont understand is what is there at 5:00 AM that is worth camping out for? In my book 70+% is a good deal and there was plenty of that to go around without pulling an all-nighter. However, there is a very small part of me that wants to know...

I've pasted the hours below. The sale ends on Saturday, so you better hurry! Oh, and I've heard that they may be doing another warehouse sale in the fall...

6/11(Wednesday) - 5am - 8pm
6/12 (Thursday) - 7am - 8pm
6/13 (Friday) - 7am - 8pm
6/14 (Saturday) - 9am - 2pm

Landover C-Mart Liquidation

Forget all those sayings about how "every cloud has a silver lining." How about something more of us can relate to such as "behind every store closing, is a liquidation sale!"

As I checked my email this afternoon I was greeted by a subject line in all caps informing me that the Landover C-Mart was having a liquidation sale. It took awhile for it to sink in what exactly was going on: C-Mart is no more! At first I was devastated, but that feeling soon passed to one of excitement as I realized:

A. There is another C-Mart's (even if it is an hour or so away),

B. They're opening up www.cmart.com,

and

C. 50% OFF EVERYTHING IN THE STORE!!!

While it's only appropriate to mourn the loss of a great discount store, let's not let our tears get in the way of that $75 Prada Skirt. Besides, Friday is a National holiday, right? RIGHT (wink, wink, nudge, nudge)???

Straight from my inbox:

:::::LIQUIDATION Begins Friday, March 28 at 8AM!!:::::****

The LANDOVER STORE IS CLOSING: HALF OFF THE ENTIRE STORE***This is not a hoax or a gimmick. The rumors you have been hearing our true. We're CLOSING our LANDOVER STORE in preparation for our biggest project EVER... ONLINE SHOPPING AT CMART.COM Coming 4/28!! (that's right... NEXT MONTH!)MAJOR retailers have been closing their doors due to a weak economy or diminishing sales, BUT, our motive is the exact opposite.Over the past eight months, C-Mart has undergone substantial upgrades and modernizations under the direction of its new co-owners, Brad and Dan. During the 2007 acquisition, Bondroff and Shuman were relatively vocal of their intent to not only make the C-Mart buying process more efficient and enhance customer service but to undoubtedly expand the reach of the C-Mart brand to a national level. In order to carry out this goal it was obvious that C-Mart WAS GOING TO NEED TO ESTABLISH ITSELF AS AN E-COMMERCE RETAILER!So What Does this Mean for YOU??Starting THIS FRIDAY, at 8AM, the entire LANDOVER store is an ADDITIONAL HALF OFF the LOWEST TICKETED PRICE! This is not a sale... this is a LIQUIDATION! We're clearing the space out!! Everything must go and we will then close the doors for good. So THIS FRIDAY go in late, call in sick (**cough, cough**) because once the merchandise is gone IT IS GONE! THEN WHAT? Then visit CMART.COM and begin shopping for all AMAZING new deals at are regular UNBEATABLE C-Mart prices. That means... NO LINES, NO DRIVING, NO MORE SEARCHING FOR YOUR SIZE because everything will just be clicks away! And SHIPPING??? It's FREE! Absolutely FREE. That's from apparel to housewares to FURNITURE! Not for the first month... It's free PERIOD! SO mark your calendars for 4/28 and log on to CMART.COM!

AND DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE ORIGINAL BALTIMORE LOCATION!!!

Located at: 1000 Joppa Farm Road, Joppatowne, Maryland 21085

Off 5th Shoe Sale!

The only thing that causes more damage than a virus in my inbox, is an email advertising a shoe sale at an outlet mall!


January 30 through February 13 at Off 5th it's Buy 1 Pair Get the 2nd Pair 50% off!

I know that sometimes the shoe racks at Off 5th can be extremely disappointing. There are countless times that I have scroured rack after rack looking for something to catch my attention, only to find that either


A) Nothing strikes my fancy


B) Any shoes that do get me hot and bothered are either a size 5 or a size 11 (I'm an 8)


or


C) The price tag is still to $$$ for my pocket


BUT then there are the $140 Manolo Blahnik's and the $160 Christian Louboutin's that make all those futile trips worthwhile.


For those of you in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, you have 3 Off 5th's within a 60 minute drive: Leesburg Corner, Arundel Mills, and Potomac Mills.


Personally, I can't think of a more perfectly productive weekend than one spent outlet hopping!

Cleaning House at Nana!

I know I've been mia for several weeks now, but I think this will make up for it!

Tomorrow at Nana from 5-8 p.m. EVERYTHING in the store is 50% off!!!

If you haven't been to Nana before, I think tomorrow is a good time to start. You can read all about them in a previous post . In summary, they carry new and vintage clothing lines, which makes it basically a perfect one-stop shop. It is also a great place for accessories, and they carry Hobo bags (did I mention they're marked off 50% as well?).

I think I feel a cough coming on and am going to need to leave work early tomorrow for a "Dr.'s appointment."

*cough, cough* ;)

Treats at Treat Ce Soir!

A glass of wine in one hand and a heap of fabulous designer clothes in the other, what more could a girl ask for? Perhaps for said heap o' clothes to be significantly marked down? Consider it done!

Tonight from 5-9 Treat in Alexandria will be open for business and welcoming weary shoppers with a glass of wine. I believe this sounds like a fantastic opportunity to do some much-needed holiday shopping for, well, myself, and to help the ladies of Treat celebrate local, women-owned businesses.

Thanks in advance to the ladies of Treat and NEW (Network of Entrepreneurial Women)!

Pucci at TJ Maxx?!?!

Pucci at TJ Maxx. I never thought it would happen. Imagine my surprise when I walked into the TJ Maxx at Tyson's Corner headed for the Runway section, only to be distracted by a familiar pattern amidst the handbags. Upon further inspection I discovered adorable medium-sized, canvas Pucci bags in really cute patterns from last year! The one pattern I was very fond of the first time around (a lovely combination of browns and blues), and I liked it just as much hanging in front of me at TJ Maxx. The bags were under $150, and let's just say I would love to see one in my stocking :)

P.S. Also worth noting were some very jaunty Juicy bags for under $100 and HoneyDew underpinnings for a mere $2.99!

Friday Night Fun in Alexandria

Along with the Old Town tree lighting ceremony, some of the stores in the King St. vicinity will be staying open a bit later, and some of those shops will be offering special deals ce soir!

Of primary interest, Diva Boutique (which I absolutely love) has knocked 10% off everything and an additional 30% off all sale items. Since the ladies at Diva think of everything, they are also having refreshments and will be open until 8:00 p.m. What better to end a long work week than with a little R&R: Retail and Refreshments, if you will :)

New to You and New to Me!

A high-end consignment store with parking, a website, and a blog--what more could a shopper ask for?! I had heard excellent things about New to You - The Chic Boutique ; however, I was really hooked when I read the section on their site that discussed the labels they liked, might like, and didn't like. Not only did I fully concur, but it was done oh so cleverly! I liked what I saw and continued to peruse their site only to discover that they had a blog as well. As a fellow blogette, there's truly nothing better than discovering a new fashion blog. All that being said, I couldn't wait to check out the actual store! Thanks to the Google Maps feature on my handy new HTC Mogul I had no problem finding the place, and there was a free parking lot in the back: the only thing better than free parking, is valet, but I'm pretty happy as long as it's free and easy.

Moving on to the matter at hand: the store itself! If you haven't gathered from my previous entries, nothing makes me happier than a well-organized, non-cluttered, consignment/vintage store; I like the feeling that the people at the shop have really put thought into the pieces that they're selling. I am happy to declare that New to You was a perfect example of this! There was a great selection of clothes, shoes, and bags that were in good condition and reasonably priced (their website does a much better job of describing the brands they carry than I ever could). They also had some snazzy Hermès scarfs and some rather handsome Pucci ties (excellent for headbands and/or belts). Everything was nicely organized and displayed, so you didn't feel overwhelmed and claustrophobic. The girls working there were wonderful and the shopping experience overall was quite pleasant! I definitely look forward to going back there, and with Christmas right around the corner it's a great place to pick up some unique designer gifts for a fraction of their original price. Of course, it's also a fantastic place to go look for a dress, shoes, accessories, etc. for all of those upcoming Holiday parties :)

So that's"New to You."

What's "new to me", is the aforementioned Mogul (Mo, if you will). In addition to managing my life for me, it is also equipped with one of those fancy digital cameras! The truth is, I have yet to join the millennium and purchase a digital camera, which is why this site is rather naked. Hopefully, since I have "Mo" now and actually have figured out how to use it (thanks to the help of my trusty life assistant) I will finally be able to spruce things up around here!

D.C. Tax-Free Shopping and Black Friday

Being the sale-loving gal that I am, you would think that I would live for Black Friday. To tell the truth, last year was the first time I've ever done the whole crazy, waiting in line at 3:00 a.m. business. True, there are some amazing deals to be had if you're willing to stand in line for hours on end (it's not just waiting for the store to open either; checkout lines are even worse!), but perhaps it's not my cup of tea because it's not really a clothes/accessories kind of event. If you simply must brave the masses, I urge you to do your research first. Go through all the local papers for all the stores to find out who has what. Once you find the item you desire, make sure you know everything about that product so you don't get duped and get the one that isn't on sale. The thought of waiting in line for hours on end and getting the black TV, when only the grey ones are on sale makes me nauseous. To all of you that venture out: Good Luck!

All in all, I prefer to think of Black Friday as the kickoff to a sale-filled Holiday shopping season. I mean there are so many holiday parties, and you don't want to be photographed in the same thing twice (even if it is just going on facebook and not the cover of US Weekly)! Oh yeah, and I guess there's something about buying presents for other people as well. Regardless, no one wants to get stuck paying full price for something.

I find the best way to monitor Holiday Sales (other than reading my blog, obviously) is to sign up for email lists. I know some people are quite averse to "junk mail" but being informed that Neiman Marcus has marked down items up to 80% off AND has Free Shipping, is hardly what I call "junk."

Another way to help save money (and by save, I mean stash for the next must-have item) is to take advantage of Tax-Free Shopping!!! I love the feeling of getting up to the cash register and actually having an item be the price it says on the tag :) See below for details!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DC Sales Tax Holiday
Monday 11-19-2007 2:41pm ET
WASHINGTON - Holiday shopping will be a little bit lighter on the wallet starting Friday.

The District's next sales tax holiday starts then, until Sunday, Dec. 2.

The holiday exempts specific items under $100 from the city's 5.75 percent sales tax. The eligible items include clothes, shoes and accessories.

The rules say that the tax exemption applies to each eligible item no matter how many items a customer buys on the same bill.

It can also apply to layaway sales if the buyer and seller begin the layaway agreement during the tax holiday, or if the customer makes the final payment on the layaway item during the holiday.