This Week’s Sales

Juicy bag. Elizabeth and James top. Joe’s jeans. KORS Michael Kors shoes.

Monday

Because every woman should own some premium denim: Joe’s Jeans on HauteLook.

Have you tried Urban Decay’s eye potion? It’s a primer for eyeshadow, and I use it all the time! Check out the Urban Decay sale on HauteLook today.

Tuesday

Items in this sale will most likely still be unaffordable, but I still plan on checking out the Olsen twins’ line: Elizabeth and James on Gilt.

Get your holiday dress during the ABS by Allen Schwartz dress sale on HauteLook.

Wednesday

Need a dazzling clutch to match your ABS dress? Check out the Judieth Leiber sale on RueLaLa.

Thursday

You should be stuffing your face with turkey, not shopping!

Friday

Check out black-friday.net for Black Friday ads and sales.

I really love some of the shoes in this collection: KORS Michael Kors on Gilt.

Might be able to find some holiday gifts in this sale: Juicy Couture Jewelry, Hair & Watches, and Handbags on Gilt Fuse.

Shop Carol Hannah on Etsy!

Vanderhorst Street Dress, $275

By now you have probably tried to forget about the sixth season of Project Runway, which ended on Thursday night. There’s plenty of trash talk going around about this season, and I will say that I agree with it all. But I was really glad to see my favorite designer in the top three. You can keep up with Carol Hannah’s latest designs, or even own one of them, by visiting her Etsy shop.

Dresses are the 24-year-old’s specialty, so that’s mostly what you’ll see. She also has some belts and accessories, and she’s started a wedding shop for her bridal gowns and bridesmaids dresses. They are gorg!

Gadsden Street Dress in Silk Chiffon, $140.50

If you’re still unfamiliar with Etsy, check out one of my previous posts.

And even though the PR season’s already over, I want to share with you a great PR blog: Tom & Lorenzo. Their after-show commentaries are always spot on. They also write about celebrity fashion and other TV shows, including one of my favs: Mad Men.

Perhaps the Best Giveaway. Ever.

Shop It To Me has announced that they will be giving away a free pair of Christian Louboutin heels. I’m well aware that the only way I could ever own a pair would be if I won them, or if I had a rich uncle, which I don’t. If you’re in the same boat as me, do the following for your chance to win:

1. Become a member of Shop It To Me if you haven’t already. If you’d like a private invitation from me, just e-mail ChasingLouboutin@gmail.com.
2. Follow @ShopItToMe on Twitter.
3. Tweet the following every day between November 17 to November 20: “Follow @ShopItToMe. Win Louboutins! http://bit.ly/1UyAqp“

For all the details on this fabulous giveaway, check out Shop It To Me’s blog.

Makin’ A List, Checkin’ It Twice

This news might not be new to a lot of you, but I recently realized that you can share your online wish lists from your favorite stores with other people. Most online stores even let you search for friends’ wish lists (if they have made their lists public). Another wonderful thing I discovered: most stores notify you when someone has purchased an item from your wish list for you. It’s almost like a bridal registry! Do you realize how helpful this can be for birthdays and the holidays?

I know that Christmas isn’t all about getting gifts, but let’s face it: no one wants to give or get a bad gift. I have an uncle who unknowingly bought one of my aunts men’s cologne for Christmas. This would be the same uncle who also bought my grandma a see-through lace blouse one year. Some people could probably use a little guidance.

If you’re like me and tend to stop buying things for yourself during these end-of-the-year months in order to save money for other people’s gifts, that doesn’t mean you have to stop looking at what’s new on Free People’s site. Rather than “Add to cart,” just click “Add to wish list,” and maybe Santa will surprise you.

Bargain Hunter APProved

When I was little, I had a very cool cash register toy, complete with its own barcode scanner, and I would scan all sorts of things for hours on end. Trust me, it was entertaining.

Apparently there aren’t any photos of me as a young cashier, but this one will do.

Something about scanning items and hearing that little beep is fun. Even when department stores have price checkers placed throughout the store, yes, it’s helpful, but Todd and I usually fight over who gets to scan the item. Perhaps this is why Occipital created the RedLaser app for the iPhone. Using state-of-the-art barcode recognition, the RedLaser app allows you to scan barcodes using your phone’s camera. Once you scan a barcode, the app uses Google product search to find the product online for less.

RedLaser does more than just find bargains. You can also scan movies at the store and send them to your TiVo, scan books and pull up reviews, scan items at the grocery store and add them to your shopping list. Really, the possibilities with this app are endless. Love those Prada sunglasses but don’t want to pay $300? Just scan the barcode (maybe when the salesperson isn’t looking), and find them for less!

Another thing I love about this app is that all the items you scan are kept in a list, and you can e-mail the list to yourself or friends so that they can see the Google product search results:

The app costs $1.99, and trust me, it’s the best two bucks that any bargain-savvy iPhone owner could spend. Don’t have an iPhone? A similar app called Shop Savvy is available for Android users.

P.S.

To follow up on the Neiman Marcus sale yesterday, let me just say that I left empty-handed. Jaws are dropping, I know. They were having a great sale, but I went for the purpose of shoes, and no, his shoes were not on sale. Maybe if the cost of my laser eye surgery in December and all the Christmas gifts I’ll have to buy weren’t hanging over my head, I might have bought some more jeans (they were 25%–30% off), but I figured it best to save my money.

P.S.S.

Be sure to start following me on Bloglovin! Just click here to start following!

Bring It On, Neiman!

I received one of my favorite pieces of mail on Friday: a Neiman Marcus sales flyer.

And I want to mention a huge accomplishment. I finished reading the first book I have read for pleasure since I started my job two years ago. My aunt lent me Confessions of A Shopaholic by Sophia Kinsella. Yes, I can hear you all now: “OMG, you haven’t read that?” Nope, and I haven’t seen the movie either. I read so much at my job that it’s made me dislike one of the things I used to love doing: reading. I managed to finish the book in a span of about three months (sad, I know), but it was enjoyable. It was quite humorous to read about someone who had a shopping problem. This girl was in some serious debt. I think my aunt lent me this book because she considers me a shopaholic, and I’m sure many of you think the same, but I really don’t consider myself one. There are some weeks that I just don’t have the desire to shop at all. I think that means I’m satisfied with what I have. I’m more of a deal-aholic. Once I realized how fun, and sometimes easy, it is to get designer clothes and accessories for less than retail, I have only paid retail once, and I actually ended up returning the item two days after I bought it because I felt so guilty. It’s just not the same satisfaction paying retail. So that’s why I’m very excited about Neiman Marcus’s sale on Wednesday. Think they will have any particular shoes on sale? We shall see…

A Tug at the Purse Strings

Borano, Italy

In March, Todd and I will be on our honeymoon in Italy for two weeks! I’ve been looking all over for a fashionable yet practical cross-body bag to hold my camera, wallet, etc., while we’re exploring some of the world’s most romantic cities. I finally found a bag that I love, except it’s totally out of my price range (why does it always work out that way?). At $595, this lovely See by Chloé Rise and Shine cross-body bag is very unaffordable, but I’m on a mission to find it for less! I’ll keep you updated!

photo from net-a-porter.com

Thank You, HauteLook

I got my deal of the year today. HauteLook is selling Voom by Joy Han today, and I managed to get four dresses (yes, four!) for less than the price of one regularly priced dress!

These are my purchases:

• Vintage Lace Cap Sleeve Dress in blue $45
• Maiden Cap Sleeve Dress in wine $49
• Knit Raglan Dress in silver $29
• Gold Sequined Flutter Sleeve Dress $49

If you don’t want to miss out on this sale, there are still some dresses left, but boy, were some of them selling out fast! Thanks, HauteLook, for offering this amazing sale! I’ll post some pics when the dresses come in. For now, here’s a pic of the Maiden Cap Sleeve Dress I bought today, except I bought it in the wine color. I think it’ll go great with some brown boots!

photo from life.com

Read about some of my previous Joy Han deals here.

A Guide to Online Sample Sales

The online sample sale. It always reminds me of that Friends episode: It’s like waiting for the doors to open at Kleinfeld’s, and then rushing around frantically trying to find exactly what you want before anyone else. Maybe you’ve even enlisted some of your friends to find and hold things for you. Except the virtual sample sale is all done at the comfort of your desk (while on your lunch break, of course), while lounging at home, or maybe you’re shopping at the mall and browsing the sample sale on your iPhone or Blackberry. And while this all sounds so leisurely, the online sample sale is just as stressful and exciting as being there in person. You’ve got to know how the sale works, you’ve got to know what you want, and you’ve got to go for it!

To help you succeed in online sample sale shopping, I’ve decided to compare three top sample sale sites (Gilt Groupe, HauteLook, and Rue La La) and give you the lowdown on what you should know before you start arranging your schedule around these sales. These sites are all worth checking out, and once you’ve discovered them, you’ll feel very guilty about paying retail ever again.

What time do sales start?

Gilt: 12 PM, EST

HauteLook: 11 AM, EST

Rue La La: 11 AM, EST

When I invite friends to join, how much credit will I receive after they make their first purchase?

Gilt: $25

Haute Look: $10

Rue La La: $10

How long can an item remain in my cart?

Gilt: 10 minutes

HauteLook: Time can vary for some items, but the usual limit is 15 minutes. Keep an eye on the conveniently placed timer in your cart.

Rue La La: Once you find something you want, buy it. It appears people can steal items right out of your cart if you don’t checkout immediately!

Some pros:

Gilt: They have great customer service, a very user-friendly interface, and the fabulous “wait list” feature: If you missed out on an item, put it on your wait list, and Gilt will notify you via e-mail or text message if that item becomes available for purchase.

HauteLook: There are timers conveniently located all around the site, counting down till the sale’s end. They have a great selection, and their prices have been the most affordable for my budget ($300 designer sunglasses for $39? Sure! I’ll take three!).

Rue La La: When an item starts selling out, the site tells you how many are left. They offer slideshow previews of upcoming sales.

Some cons:

Gilt: A lot of rich people shop on Gilt, and they snatch up the unaffordable and affordable rather quickly. Gilt’s stuff is usually very very high end and out of my price range, even at 70% off retail. I’ve also experienced some technical difficulties when trying to make purchases, but their tech and customer support always come to the rescue, so you experience problems, contact them.

HauteLook: I’m not a huge fan of their sales calendar setup.

Rue La La: They do not have separate tabs for women’s, men’s, etc.; are sales all listed under the “Boutiques” tab. They do not list models’ measurements, but they do offer size charts. If you want to see all the items on one continuous page, you must click “view all.” Gilt and HauteLook automatically load all the items on one page.

What’s the return policy?

Gilt: Accepts returns 21 days from date of shipment for Gilt credit only. Some items are final sale and cannot be returned.

HauteLook: Accepts returns 14 days from date of shipment for HauteLook credit only. Some items are final sale and cannot be returned.

Rue La La: Offers free returns up to 30 days from the date you received the item for Rue La La credit only. Some items are final sale and cannot be returned.

Are exchanges allowed?

Gilt: Yes, if the item you need is available.

HauteLook: No.

Rue La La: No.

Is there an app for that?

Gilt: Yes, there’s an iPhone app.

HauteLook: Not yet.

Rue La La: Visit m.ruelala.com on your mobile device.

Not a member yet? Just click on my personal invite links below:

Gilt: http://www.gilt.com/invite/jennkepler

HauteLook: http://www.hautelook.com/invite/JKepler698

Rue La La: http://www.ruelala.com/invite/jkepler01

Bluefly’s 30 Bags in 30 Days Giveaway

Bluefly is hosting a “30 Bags in 30 Days” sweepstakes in which they will give away a designer handbag every day for the next 30 days. I’m not really one for sweepstakes (I have the worst luck ever), but this is kinda fun. The giveaway started on October 14, and I’ve been playing ever since. Every day, I get a reminder e-mail from Bluefly to play, and it directs me to a site where I click on a bucket and a coin drops out. If the coin lands in the winning bucket, ding-ding! Winner! Of course, I haven’t won a bag, and you can only play once a day, but sometimes they throw in some freebies. The other day, I got a $30-off coupon for my next purchase just for getting the coin in the wrong bucket

If you’re interested in playing, click the “Play Now” link below. You never know, you may be the winner of a Rebecca Minkoff, Marc Jacobs, Botkier, Hype, Kooba, Prada, Gucci, or some other coveted designer handbag! Good luck!