Weekend Recap

I really got around this past weekend. I scouted out the Cusp sale at both the Georgetown and Tysons locations, I managed to cross several stores off the list of places I've been wanting to check out, and made it to Arundel Mills and C-Mart on Sunday! Since I have so much to share, I may be a tease and spread my findings over several posts.

Depending on what you're in the market for, the Cusp sale is rather hit or miss. If you're looking for jeans, it is definitely worth going tonight or tomorrow (the sale ends tomorrow). There were a decent number of Joe's, Seven's, and True Religion jeans for around $100, which is not bad at all considering their original prices of almost $200! After the jeans, the second best selection was of T-Bags tops and dresses for around $90ish. Other than that, there was a smattering of dresses, tops, etc. from Milly, Trina Turk, and some others; however, I'm still on shopping probation, so I went home empty-handed.

C-Mart is always quite the adventure, because you really have no idea what you're going to find. Given the discombobulated racks, you have to have somewhat of a shopping system unless you want to spend all day there. For instance, I started with the shoes: Ferragamo, Cole Haan, Delman, Kate Spade, Coach, Hollywould, Betsy Johnson, and none of them in my size (did I mention they were almost all under $100?). In a futile attempt at organization some of the clothing racks have the names of the boutiques the liquidations came from: this is only somewhat helpful since many of the stores are not local and you have to look through the clothes to figure out if it's from a decent place or not. Amongst those racks you can find some great pieces. What you have to keep in mind, though, is that while some of the prices still seem high, if you saw that same skirt at the actual boutique marked down that much, you'd be ecstatic! For instance, I saw a See by Chloé skirt for around $80 (and immediately scoffed "I'm not paying that much for a skirt from C-Mart"): the original tag was well over $500. My roommate had the same reaction to this really cute blazer, so I guess it just comes down to how you look at things and how badly you want/need the particular item.

I promise I'll post again soon to share what I found at the other places I visited last weekend!

P.S. I do believe I just saw an email about Neiman Marcus' First Call Sale, which means Sale Season is fast-approaching!!!

Designer Denim

"Seven Jeans, True Religion, I say no, but..." Even Fergie Ferg knows good designer jeans! There's really nothing quite like a pair of well-fitted, designer jeans. Not only can they make you look fantastic, but they can be dressed up or down with very little effort. The only problem is a good pair of jeans sports a price tag of $100+++; they get quite pricey, very quickly. For instance, as much as I had to have them, there was no way that I was going to pay around$200 for a pair of this season's hottest Siwy skinny jeans! Oh wait, I didn't, I only paid $60 for them...

Designer Denim is possibly one of the easiest items to find at a discount. If you know the right places to look you can find a wide variety of brands, styles, washes and sizes. You may not be able to find what you're looking for every time, but if you pick up a pair here and there for between $40-60 you'll find that you have a nice collection of designer jeans and you've saved yourself a lot of money. You can hardly even find jeans at any old store in the mall for that cheap! To make this easy, I'll just make a list of stores, the brands they tend to carry, and possibly some handy pointers. Whatever you do though, DO NOT squeeze into something that is too small just because it's cheap; the muffin man is not your friend...

Marshalls/TJ Maxx-Blue Cult, Seven for All Mankind, AG, Citizens of Humanity, Paper Denim and Cloth (The tricky thing with these places is that you may only find a couple of pairs and they're usually hidden amongst the Junior jeans. It is especially frustrating if the only pairs you're finding are a size 25 that you can barely fit your arm into.)

Gabrielle Brothers-Seven for All Mankind, True Religion, Blue Cult (If you really look you can find normal TR's, but a lot of them look like they were over-distressed. Some of them may need a zipper replaced or a seam stitched, but when you're paying $40 for something that's over $170 what's a few extra dollars to have them fixed.)

Off 5th/Last Call-Siwy, Seven for All Mankind, AG, Citizens of Humanity, Rock & Republic, Antik (Those are the ones that you normally see at the outlets, but I've never really had any good jean finds at outlets; they're usually still priced around $100 which is cheaper than normal but more than I prefer to pay. However, Off 5th has tons of Seven's, so if you NEED a pair and don't mind paying that much, it's a good go-to.)

Neiman Marcus/Saks 5th Avenue: the Sale Racks-All of the brands mentioned above, but you can also find Paige, Chip and Pepper, Habitual, and others that the stores normally carry. A NM sale rack just so happens to be where I found my $60 Siwy Hannah Jeans! Sale racks at department stores can be a Gold Mine; however, sales are generally seasonal so it's not something that is always going to be there.

There are also numerous online sites that will run pretty good sales on jeans, but there's a reason I haven't mentioned them. Jeans can be tricky, even when it's a designer you've worn before. Unless you've tried the EXACT style on in a store, I'd be wary about buying jeans online...

If you've never worn designer jeans before, you are probably going to have to try on a few different brands before you figure out which one fits you best. Check out the websites though, because many of the brands will tell you what body-shape they cater towards. It may seem a lot easier to just go to the Gap and grab the good old standard bootcut, but trust me...when you find the right pair of designer jeans you (and everyone else) will see that is is well worth the effort!