Gilt Groupe & WWD have gone wild!

I know I have mentioned several fantastic places to look online to find out about sample sales and deals, but this is a site that I have failed to mention (apologies). Gilt Groupe is an invitation-only shopping website www.gilt.com where newly-released designer duds can be bought at 70% or so off the retail price. Each sale lasts 36 hours and features hand selected styles from a single designer.
Not only does Gilt carry spectacular women's fashions (sometimes you can find a new designer tank top for $19!) but also men's and children's clothing, along with special gift packages, and vacations provided in partnership with Jetsetter.

Now Gilt is partnering with the one-and-only Women's Wear Daily to celebrate its centennial with the Designers for WWD@100 project. ELEVEN of the freshest faces in fashion (Doo.ri! Thakoon! Proenza Schouler! Jason Wu! Marchesa! Lyn Devon! Kimberly Ovitz! Alexandre Birman! Prabal Gurung! ADAM! Dana Lorenz forFenton/Fallon!) were asked to re-imagine iconic looks from the last century, and these limited-edition pieces will be available in an exclusive sale on Gilt running September 15 to 17. Spread the word and if you buy anything - tell me! post a picture of you in your purchase!


Designers for WWD@100 on Gilt

5 Creative Ways to use a Ladder

Happy Tuesday!  aka, Housing Works' Student and Seniors sale day - everyone with a student or senior ID gets 25% off their purchase.  BTW, 40% off starting tomorrow for 8/24-8/31 for all members Advocate level and above.  I encourage you to look into Housing Works and it's online auction site. 

I love ladders.  Simple statement.  In New York City, where floor space is at a premium, one is often forced to collect and store belongings vertically.  But just using ladders to step on is sooooo unimaginative, as well as not fully capitalizing on their unique structure.  Besides, I have enough ladders.

So here are my 5 alternative creative uses for leaning ladders:

• Magazine Rack!  not only does it offer the opportunity to sort through different magazine subscriptions, but because of the slightly precarious nature of draping magazines, you won't be able to postpone magazine recycling indefinitely as you do when you can stack them on your coffee table or floor.
• If you don't have a shoe rack - you do now!
• The wonderful thing about ladders is that it can be as close or as far away from the wall as you like (though if you're bringing it flush against the wall, I recommend support brackets).  Depending on proximity, you have a wonderful place for storage: stack flower pots or vases!  picture frames! cleaning supplies! paperback book!  All of the above!
• Alternatively, if you can drill in your walls and have the resources, give yourself a unique wall sconce!
• Finally, but probably the least imaginative of the bunch:  use it to air dry your clothing, towels, or whatever else you need!

I'd love to hear what you can come up with!

5 Best Sales Practices

This past weekend was absolutely great for sales:
Housing Works had 40% off everything but furniture, and an additional 25% Sunday for members at all stores.  I picked up so many great t-shirts, a great dress, and a fantastic hat for me (and one for the boyfriend too) all for about $55.
It was the bi-annual Barney's Warehouse Sale which started on Thursday, with so many fantastic finds on sale up to 75% off.
Even CVS had some awesome stuff on sale - I bought Kashi Go Lean Cereal for $3 each, and if you use your extracare card, you often get cash back too!

Some notes on how to find the best sales, and be the first one to know:

• Get on the email lists - create an email account just for these types of things.  You should have one anyway, really, for all your online purchases.  On GMail you can link and filter multiple accounts!
• Don't just get on generic mailing lists - go to special stores that interest you, and look forward to their sample sales.  
• There are several sample sale mailing lists in New York, NewYork Magazine , Budget Fashionista's NY Monthly Sale Guide, NYCPulse, also check out TimeoutNY's Shopping Section.
• Two good nationwide lists are The Budget Fashionista and Daily Candy
• DO NOT rely solely on sample sale lists - they often get it wrong.  I was recently very disappointed by Time Out New York which advertised the Seize sur Vingt last day of sale date as the start.  My boyfriend and I showed up to a nearly empty store.  Luckily there was still one beautiful shirt in his size, but no suits left. :(

 These rules also apply to music venues and other events (even dining)!  Lists to those will follow shortly.

Takeaways from TV

I was thoroughly amused when I got a chance to check out Season 5, episode 8 of HGTV Design Star this morning:  the topic was Re-purposing! Huzzah!
As a die-hard cook and hostess, I love designing my settings and recreating recipes with my own touch.  So it was fun for me to watch the episode about redesigning dining spaces.

Things that I enjoyed taking away from the episode:

1. Benches by the dining table are great if you don't have room to move chairs around your small space.  Just make the bench comfortable.
2. Don't be afraid to paint a ceiling, but subtly draw the color down into the room. (see the green and white pattern in the drapes that compliment the green ceiling with the white chandelier)
3. Enjoy breaking things and putting them back together in different shapes, but create a cohesive product. (see the mirror frame of porcelain angel wings)
4. If you have a full brick wall, feel free to create a large standing mural to break it up a bit.  If you are putting it in a place full of food, though, I would recommend treating it (so that if something spills on it, you can save it).
5. Layering a bold shade under a more subtle shade of paint - if done well, it brings such a wonderful spicy element to a more traditional approach to color.

Finally, here's the thing that I think is the most important element to every redesign: The reason that rooms become cluttered, and that you have too many things in the room is because the pieces are not actually working together.   DON'T BE AFRAID TO EDIT YOUR "STUFF".  Throwing things out is incredibly liberating.  In addition, you can realize what you liked about each one: Be Inspired By The Things You Love.  Then make them work together in the new design or toss the excess out.

Getting Started - The Keys to Thrifty Shopping and Creating

5 Things to keep in mind as you're getting started.

  1. Walk around. A lot. Not only will you find lots of wonderful places with great deals that you might have never noticed, or overlooked, but you will also find so much inspiration on the street that it will directly translate into what you will eventually create.
2. Revisit your places of inspiration - if you like your thrift shop, keep going back. Inventory always changes, so you'll never know what you'll find.
3. Store your inspiration - most people walk around with phones that have cameras, or notepad applications. Write down the ideas that inspire you, or store your images.
4. Be PATIENT! If you're looking for that perfect piece (clothing, furniture, fabric or accessory), don't compromise unless you think that you can make something better with the tools at your immediate disposal. You know what you're looking for when you find it. Necessity is the mother of inventions, but at the same time "making do" can sometimes prove wasteful or unsuccessful to the point of disappointment.
5. Avoid hoarding. When you're in inspiration-mode, it's easy to get carried away, and the next thing you know, you can't find your livingroom wall's for all the "project stuff" you've salvaged. Use caution in your collection.

Welcome! Thrifty doesn't mean cheap or tacky - stretch your dollars creatively.

In New York, where I live, but everywhere around your own hometown, there are so many opportunities to spend creatively, create thriftily, and utilize the lowest cost materials to produce wonderful and unique products for your home - cooking, home design, and more. In addition to providing you with up to the minute information on the best places to score the best deals, you'll also find creative recipes and projects for using your finds.