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!
Showing posts with label TJ Maxx. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TJ Maxx. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Sunglasses
Whether you're avoiding the sun, the paparazzi, or trying to rob a bank (a la the Barbie Bandits) sunglasses serve many purposes in addition to being stylish. Sure, you can pick up some cheap ones at the local dollar store, but there is just something about an absurdly expensive pair of sunglasses that makes you feel like you could take on the world. However, they are also easily misplaced, forgotten, or sat on. What could possibly be worse than having someones fat butt crush your $300 treasure (other than your own fat butt crushing them)? Allow me to explain how you can ease the pain by picking up everything from Gucci to Oliver People's for well under $100!
This part can be short and sweet since the havens for cheap, designer sunglasses are the same places where you can find many of my other favorite deals. Talk about one-stop shopping at it's finest! To keep you on the edge of your desk chair, I'll start from the less exciting deals and build up to the grand finale.
C-Mart- This is the one place I haven't mentioned previously. I will give C-Mart a full review at a later date, but it's basically a clothes/furniture warehouse. There are definitley some good finds there, but be prepared to make a day of it. Apparently they just got a big shipment of sunglasses including, but not limited to: Gucci, Dior, Versace, YSL, Kate Spade, and Juicy Couture. I have not made the treck to examine these in person, but from what I gathered from the advertisment they are marked down around 50% which places most of them at about $150. While that is definitley much better than paying full price, you can do better.
Off 5th-Normally there's a pretty decent selection at most of the stores. The sunglasses are priced around $70. If you are on the Off 5th mailing list there are ALWAYS coupons being sent out, so that can help knock the price down by up to another 30%. I would say the biggest plus to buying them here, is that you can actually get the matching case (make sure you ask at checkout, since they keep them in the back).
TJ Maxx/Marshalls-My first pair of designer sunglasses came from Marshalls. They were dark grey Dolce & Gabbana and cost me a mere $20. I think back then the stores hadn't caught on to what they had in stock. More recently though, I picked up an amazing pair of black Armani glasses for my grandmother for $40, which still is not too shabby. A secret to finding the good stuff: most of the sunglass displays are tall and generally have a bunch of sunglasses piled on top that I am too short to reach. One day while shopping with one of my taller friends, we were quite sad not to find anything good and then she started looking through the ones on top. Come to find out that's where they were hiding...
Last Call-If you hadn't picked up on it yet, I LOVE Last Call. So this is it...the best sunglass deal I have EVER come across. As I mentioned earlier, I adore Oliver People's sunglasses. Sadly, they cost approximately one arm and one leg. In a weak, foolish moment I actually broke down and bought a pair at full price (in my defense it was a Spend Some, Get Some day at Saks so I did get a gift card); I figured I would never find a pair on sale and I just had to have some. Once I had the black ones, I decided I needed brown ones as well. Oh I found a pair I liked; they cost one arm, one leg, and an ear (about $400). I had come to terms with the fact I would have to live without brown Oliver Peoples until one day while at Last Call, they had some sunglasses on top of an island in the jewelry display. My roommate and I did a doubletake and were shocked to find that Oliver Peoples were at the outlet store! Even more surprising was that the frames weren't in terribly odd colors or shapes; they even had some brown ones very close to what I was pining for. Well, because nothing is ever as good as it looks, we figured that they still probably cost well over $100. The surprises kept coming though! I had a sales girl give me a pair to try on (that I was instantly obsessed with), I asked the price having braced myself for bad news... low and behold they were only $35!!! Can you even find sunglasses at Target that cheap?! Needless to say, that probably goes down as one of my best finds.
With all this talk of sunglasses, I think I'm going to don mine and go enjoy some sunshine!
This part can be short and sweet since the havens for cheap, designer sunglasses are the same places where you can find many of my other favorite deals. Talk about one-stop shopping at it's finest! To keep you on the edge of your desk chair, I'll start from the less exciting deals and build up to the grand finale.
C-Mart- This is the one place I haven't mentioned previously. I will give C-Mart a full review at a later date, but it's basically a clothes/furniture warehouse. There are definitley some good finds there, but be prepared to make a day of it. Apparently they just got a big shipment of sunglasses including, but not limited to: Gucci, Dior, Versace, YSL, Kate Spade, and Juicy Couture. I have not made the treck to examine these in person, but from what I gathered from the advertisment they are marked down around 50% which places most of them at about $150. While that is definitley much better than paying full price, you can do better.
Off 5th-Normally there's a pretty decent selection at most of the stores. The sunglasses are priced around $70. If you are on the Off 5th mailing list there are ALWAYS coupons being sent out, so that can help knock the price down by up to another 30%. I would say the biggest plus to buying them here, is that you can actually get the matching case (make sure you ask at checkout, since they keep them in the back).
TJ Maxx/Marshalls-My first pair of designer sunglasses came from Marshalls. They were dark grey Dolce & Gabbana and cost me a mere $20. I think back then the stores hadn't caught on to what they had in stock. More recently though, I picked up an amazing pair of black Armani glasses for my grandmother for $40, which still is not too shabby. A secret to finding the good stuff: most of the sunglass displays are tall and generally have a bunch of sunglasses piled on top that I am too short to reach. One day while shopping with one of my taller friends, we were quite sad not to find anything good and then she started looking through the ones on top. Come to find out that's where they were hiding...
Last Call-If you hadn't picked up on it yet, I LOVE Last Call. So this is it...the best sunglass deal I have EVER come across. As I mentioned earlier, I adore Oliver People's sunglasses. Sadly, they cost approximately one arm and one leg. In a weak, foolish moment I actually broke down and bought a pair at full price (in my defense it was a Spend Some, Get Some day at Saks so I did get a gift card); I figured I would never find a pair on sale and I just had to have some. Once I had the black ones, I decided I needed brown ones as well. Oh I found a pair I liked; they cost one arm, one leg, and an ear (about $400). I had come to terms with the fact I would have to live without brown Oliver Peoples until one day while at Last Call, they had some sunglasses on top of an island in the jewelry display. My roommate and I did a doubletake and were shocked to find that Oliver Peoples were at the outlet store! Even more surprising was that the frames weren't in terribly odd colors or shapes; they even had some brown ones very close to what I was pining for. Well, because nothing is ever as good as it looks, we figured that they still probably cost well over $100. The surprises kept coming though! I had a sales girl give me a pair to try on (that I was instantly obsessed with), I asked the price having braced myself for bad news... low and behold they were only $35!!! Can you even find sunglasses at Target that cheap?! Needless to say, that probably goes down as one of my best finds.
With all this talk of sunglasses, I think I'm going to don mine and go enjoy some sunshine!
Thursday, May 17, 2007
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!
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!
Friday, April 27, 2007
Lounge Wear
The weather forecast for the District of Columbia is gross with a 30% chance of miserable. This morning as I was in bed listening to the rain, work clothes were the last thing I wanted to adorn. On rainy days there's really nothing better than lying on the sofa watching the recently released 90210 Season 1 DVD's in your finest loungewear. Seriously, shed the PJ's; that can be the one productive thing you do all day...
Loungewear is one of my favorite types of clothing. If you get the right items you can compose an ensemble that's comfy, flattering, and stylish. An outfit that feels like you're wearing PJ's, yet is appropriate to wear in public; it just doesn't get much better than that!
I love Juicy with Primp coming in a very close second; I'm especially keen on their T's with the sparkly rhinestones! However, there is absolutely no way I can justify spending $80+ on what are, essentially, sweatpants. Fret not, you can still have your Juicy and Primp and afford it too.
Have you ever heard of a place called Gabrielle Brother's (Gabe's)? For those in the DC area, the closest one is in Winchester, VA, and well worth the trek. Gabe's is a warehouse-type store that sells clothing and much much more, but in all fairness Gabe's deserves it's own post so you'll have to wait to find out more. Chances are if you have heard of Gabe's it was probably in reference to someone looking through clothing and finding pants with one leg, shirts with holes, and dresses with stains. Amidst all the one-legged pants, though, are Juicy pants (both velour and terry) for a mere $10!
While not as exciting/scary as Gabe's, TJ Maxx is a great place to find Primp (they occasionally have Juicy, but it's still not as cheap as Gabe's). You have to look in the new Runway section that select TJ's have, but it's well worth it since the Primp pants are marked down to $30. You can also find Primp at Filene's Basement, Loehman's, and the sale racks at Neimans and Saks, but they are still usually over $50 there.
I think it's supposed to be pretty this weekend and what better to do than take a nice drive down Route 50 (stopping in Middleburg for some cookies at The Upper Crust) or I-66 and check out Gabe's to stock up on loungewear for the rainy days to come!
Loungewear is one of my favorite types of clothing. If you get the right items you can compose an ensemble that's comfy, flattering, and stylish. An outfit that feels like you're wearing PJ's, yet is appropriate to wear in public; it just doesn't get much better than that!
I love Juicy with Primp coming in a very close second; I'm especially keen on their T's with the sparkly rhinestones! However, there is absolutely no way I can justify spending $80+ on what are, essentially, sweatpants. Fret not, you can still have your Juicy and Primp and afford it too.
Have you ever heard of a place called Gabrielle Brother's (Gabe's)? For those in the DC area, the closest one is in Winchester, VA, and well worth the trek. Gabe's is a warehouse-type store that sells clothing and much much more, but in all fairness Gabe's deserves it's own post so you'll have to wait to find out more. Chances are if you have heard of Gabe's it was probably in reference to someone looking through clothing and finding pants with one leg, shirts with holes, and dresses with stains. Amidst all the one-legged pants, though, are Juicy pants (both velour and terry) for a mere $10!
While not as exciting/scary as Gabe's, TJ Maxx is a great place to find Primp (they occasionally have Juicy, but it's still not as cheap as Gabe's). You have to look in the new Runway section that select TJ's have, but it's well worth it since the Primp pants are marked down to $30. You can also find Primp at Filene's Basement, Loehman's, and the sale racks at Neimans and Saks, but they are still usually over $50 there.
I think it's supposed to be pretty this weekend and what better to do than take a nice drive down Route 50 (stopping in Middleburg for some cookies at The Upper Crust) or I-66 and check out Gabe's to stock up on loungewear for the rainy days to come!
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