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Free!Grechen offers fab giveaways
If you’re a savvy shopper or just love a freebie or giveaway (or if you’ve had visions of a Prize Patrol visiting you with designer goodies), then you need to check out Free!Grechen! The blog features links to daily giveaways and contests from independent bloggers and boutiques. Prizes including clothing, shoes, jewelry, cosmetics and more from well-known and new designers and brands are just some of the items up for grabs. Just as fab: Grechen’s coupon codes.
*On a sidenote: we’re tossing sequins and tapdancing in our stilettos today; this is our 300th post! Thank you for your support!*
Image via Free!Grechen
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‘Overdressed’ takes readers behind the seams of fast fashion
What savvy shopper with some mileage on her stilettos hasn’t remarked (or heard their mother or grandmother sigh) “They just don’t make [coats, shoes, dresses, etc.] they way they used to anymore!” while shopping?
Elizabeth L. Cline’s eye-opening read, Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion, takes readers behind the seams of the fast fashion industry and the financial and environmental implications of accumulating “disposable” clothing. Readers follow Cline as she examines the Chinese garment industry (by pretending to be a buyer), learns to sew with low-wage seamstresses in the Dominican Republic, and chats with “haulers” (i.e. shoppers who purchase huge quantities of fast fashion and blog about their finds). Cline reveals just what happens to all the clothes that go unpurchased at charity stores, and contrasts her findings with the “slow fashion” movement, which emphasizes ethical construction, ecofriendly materials and sustainability (meaning pieces are well-made and will last for seasons).
This was an interesting read (I recommend reading it because it highlights a lesser-publicized side of the fashion industry), but to be honest: I love my fast fashion. I love being able to sample trends selectively without investing a lot of money in them, but it’s also important to understand that you often get just what you pay for. It’s key to know how to recognize a high quality garment or accessory and when to purchase one (for example: my go-to handbag has lasted about six years). Shopping vintage and consignment stores are also excellent ways to participate to support “slow fashion,” as is sewing your own garments (more to come on that later).
Have a fabulous weekend!
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Image via Amazon
Create a sweet sachet at Free People today
Before (or after) you enjoy the party at Manhattan South today, stop by Free People Birmingham. To celebrate the launch of their Intimately Free People line, the store is hosting an event in which shoppers can create their own sachets. (You remember sachets: those tiny sweet-smelling little fabric-wrapped pillows you can tuck into your unmentionables’ drawer or use to lightly scent your linen.)
Intimately Free People features soft lace, florals and prints, and three new bra silhouettes in a multitude of colors for sizes A-DD. Be sure to check out their interactive fit guide! Also, enter their current giveaway by September 7; one winner will receive a year’s worth of pieces from the Intimately Free People collection (10-15 items will be received each month).
The Sweet Sachet event begins at 5 PM, and you can find more information HERE. Free People is located at 214 Summit Boulevard, just down from Swoozie’s.
Image via FreePeople.com
Manhattan South Celebrates 5th Anniversary this Thursday
Many of you have asked where I purchased those haute leopard pumps featured last week; they were an impulse buy from Manhattan South a couple of years ago. If you haven’t checked out this lovely boutique – which “embodies the West Coast lifestyle: relaxed, carefree but totally sexy and put-together”and attracts “trendsetters of all ages” – tomorrow would be a wonderful reason to stop in and shop. Owner Lesley DeCastro Vedel and her team are celebrating the store’s fifth anniversary from 5:30 to 7:30 PM. The event will include giveaways, discounts, an Honesty Jewelry and She Reigns trunk show, treats to eat and drink and the musical stylings of DJ Coco.
Looking for a statement piece? Check out their gorgeous Deepa Gurnani headbands and necklaces!
Manhattan South is located at 3122 Heights Village in Cahaba Heights.
Image via Manhattan South
Haute or not? Steve Harvey Women’s Collection
The Steve Harvey Women’s Collection debuts at K&G stores today. I heard all about it via his radio show this morning as one of his daughters promoted the line (I kept waiting for someone to yell “Think like a man; dress like a lady!”). The collection, which include accessories, hosiery, separates and dresses (in solids and prints composed of polyester/rayon/spandex blends), are sold for $49.99 or less. The line is marketed as “fashion that works for the office and beyond” to women sizes 8-24 who want look fabulous on a budget (which is commendable), but I don’t see anything particularly special or inspiring about the pieces. You can purchase a silky secretary blouse with a necktie, a nondescript pencil skirt or a paneled dress from Saks to Macy’s to Forever 21 right now. And the double breasted belted jacket should be avoided at all costs. However, I did appreciate seeing the pieces on “real” women; winners of a model search were styled in some of the pieces and are featured on the website.
Personally, I’ll pass. But I wonder if we’ll see Mrs. Harvey wearing it? And will you be heading over to K&G to check out the line?
Image via K&G
SCDD Public Service Announcement
If you have naturally curly strands that tangle or snarl when wet, then RUN (don’t walk!) to get a bottle of Kinky Curly Knot Today leave-in conditioner and detangler.
Available for $11.99 at select Target locations, the product detangles with ease and leaves my curls silky smooth. I apply two to three half-dollar sized amounts to my hair while wet, saturate from the roots to the ends, and comb through my strands with a large tooth comb or a Denman brush. As someone who has been tremendously tender-headed since birth but has a head full of hair, I can say Knot Today works like a charm, allowing me to comb out my hair with virtually no stress to my scalp and minimal hair loss as a result.
I’ve found that the 8 ounce bottle lasts for at least 8-10 shampoos or conditioner washes, and it is alcohol and paraben-free. And as the website notes, “[it] can be used as a regular rinse out conditioner for wavy hair or as a leave-in for thicker curlier hair types. [Knot Today is] an excellent product to use after removing braids and extensions.”
Buy it, try it and thank me later!
Image via Kinky Curly
Meow! How to create the perfect cat-eye
Since I’ve been on a fierce kitty fashion statement kick this week, why not keep the party going? And since the Jordin Sparks/Whitney Houston remake of Sparkle launches tonight (featuring the haute coiffures and couture of the 1960s), I thought I’d share my favorite way to create a smoking hot CAT EYE! MAC’s Fluidline in “Blacktrack” ($15) is perfect for adding a touch of mystery and glamour to your makeup routine. The product’s long-wearing gel formula has a smooth finish and is difficult to mess up. I recommend using an angled brush for precise application. MAC’s Small Angle Brush #266 ($20) has super-soft bristles and works perfectly!
Lightly dab the brush into the pot to deposit color and apply slowly along the lower edge of your upper eyelids. If your hand is steady, you can apply in one continuous motion, following the curve of each eyelid. If you’re a novice, leaning toward the mirror and tilting your head back may help. Make the line as thick as you prefer; the eyeliner is easy to remove. For extra flair I angle the brush when I reach the far edge of my outer eyelid to create a slightly upturned swoop, but the end shouldn’t extend past the outer point of your eyebrow Allow the liner to dry; remove any smudges and stray flecks of product with a moistened Q-tip.
Fashion flashback: check out this clip of the original Sparkle, featuring Lonette McKee and Irene Cara!
PLUS the song and film’s concept remade by En Vogue:
LOFT grand opening party highlights gameday chic
LOFT’s new concept store celebrated its grand opening in Alabama last Thursday, with a fashion party at the Summit location. Spacious and plush, with bright and attractive displays and plenty of feminine appeal, the store feels more like you’ve stepped into a luxurious and welcoming walk-in closet rather than a store. Focusing on fashion that would be appropriate for a gameday excursion, the pieces offer a bright color palette, pleasing patterns and prints, and even options for the petite or tall physique and expectant moms. Touches of lace, and hades of raspberry, acid green and the ever-popular leopard print will be big this fall, and whether you’re shopping for the season’s must-have cropped pant, slim-fit denim, a bright belt, a snazzy scarf, the perfect necklace or a killer pair of sunnies, you can find it at LOFT.
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- Alesha Oni models Gameday fashions from LOFT.
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- Jann Robinson
Guests enjoyed catering by Jann Robinson of jann rob!nson Culinary Living, and as they shopped and could view gameday faves worn by local hosts Amy Bailey, Holley Grainger, Holly Lollar, Alesha Oni, Amanda Saint and Betsy Wall. Ms. Oni, who is an Auburn University alum, modeled the Marisa Ankle Pants in fire glow orange and the Lurex Striped Scarf in winter coral with a cobalt blue shell. When asked if the ensemble was something she’d wear to Jordan-Hare she noted “It is. I thought about what I would wear to a game, but also on Fridays [to work] for Spirit Day. [This is] something I could mix and match.” I agree; the pieces are well-constructed and super cute. LOFT doesn’t skimp on details; you’ll find pieces featuring pleating, ruching, ruffles, sequins and even peplum accents. My personal fave? The Corded Dobby Striped Trench ($148).
Ten percent of total sales from the Grand Opening event benefited the Junior League of Birmingham’s Shop Save & Share initiative. LOFT is located at the Summit, next to Rosenberger’s Trunk. Shop online now; all full-price pants and denim are $20 off, all sale items are an extra 50% off, and you can get a $25 savings card for every $50 you spend on full-price items now through September 8.
Same Chic Different Day 