Shop it to me!

Have you ever done that thing? You know that thing! Where you are wandering aimlessly around a shop just killing time until you have to either return to work or meet a friend, and then suddenly you see it. The dress/skirt/trousers/top/jacket/shoes/bag (delete as appropriate) of your dreams! That item that you know you were meant to be with!

You become breathless, your palms are clammy and your heart is racing. Your forehead starts to bead with sweat as you grasp for it. In the deep, dark depths of the piece of coal that is your fashion heart you know that you are meant to be together as one. United you will fight crimes against style!

Already deep into day-dream mode, you are picturing your long and happy future together, how you will introduce it to your fashion friends and family, and by golly how your daughter will squeal with delight when you can pass it down to her (not that you have a daughter yet mind you). Oh, you are so sure of this love that you feel ready for serious life long commitment.

Then while reaching for your purse and running towards the till you happen to glance at the ticket. And that is when the most awful thing happens. It stops you dead in your tracks. Chills your blood. You are screaming on the inside “WHY JEBUS WHY? I AM GOOD PEOPLE! WHY MUST YOU TAUNT ME SO? WHY PRICE THE REALLY GOOD STUFF OUT OF MY HUMBLE REACH?”

A quick mental run through leaves you with the following options:

1. Nick it (you aren’t a very good runner though, especially in today’s shoes and you simply CAN’T GO BACK INSIDE AGAIN)
2. Sell a non vital organ like one of your kidneys (but you suspect that by the time you’d organised this the store will have sold out)
3. Sell a member of your family (however your klan are a sensitive bunch and so you anticipate that they may be a bit mad at you).

Deflated and defeated, feeling isolated and alone, you meander from the store in a haze. You have a lump in your throat and your insides are knotted. You were sure that dress/skirt/trousers/top/jacket/shoes/bag (again delete as appropriate) was the one. All the magazines say that when you meet your soul mate you just know because you feeeeeeeel it inside. You finally understood what that meant. It wasn’t supposed to end that way. *Sniff*

Oh, it’s a real pisser when that happens, isn’t it?

Well, this shall be no more! No, no no no no no no NO! And it’s all because of the very clever people from Shop it to me.

Shop It To Me is a free service that tells you when the stuff you love goes on sale. All you have to do is register (which only takes a few moments) and involves you picking your favorite brands (there are more than 500 to chose from including Prada, Banana Republic, Tory Burch, Marc Jacobs…), and inputting your size preferences. Finally you select the frequency that you want to be alerted (daily, weekly or monthly). Shop It To Me then emails you when a label you like goes on sale in your size. And fret not non USA citizens! There’s even the option to only select retailers that ship to your country. HUZZAH!

So now there is nothing more for be to do, but sit and wait and check my email obsessively. Because I know that I shall be rewarded for my patience. My soul mate is coming. Good people, start making way for the glorious Alexander McQueen blazer! Halle fricken lujah!

Edith

The death of the ‘IT Bag’ means I may finally be able to afford one…

Thanks to Oxfam. Pray tell you say?

Well, if reports are true, luxury bag sales will soon be slowing (Mintel recently forecast an 18 per cent fall in handbag sales, which has been the fastest-growing accessories sector of recent years). People are like soooo over them. When I say people, I of course do not include myself in this generalisation. Because the only people that are actually over them are the people who can afford them. Rich bastardos!

Which is wear Oxfam comes in. You see they are having a ‘handbag bonanza’ (read on-line sale). It starts at 12noon on the 6th June and ends on the 8th of June. If rumours are to be believed there are over 400 second-hand handbags for sale with prices starting at £5.99. Now of course, there are bound to be some well dodge pieces that need treating with the same caution you would a landmine (this is charity, after all), BUT I have been assured that designer labels such as Mulberry and top end brands like Russell & Bromley and Knomo are also included.

Intrigued? I know I am. Only time will tell if it going to live up to my massively over-inflated expectations (come on Prada, cooommmmmeeeeee on Prada. If there is a Prada bag in the ‘bonanza’ and I can afford it, I swear a little bit of wee might come out!).

In the mean time, if you need something to keep you out of fashion mischief, Oxfam launch their new on-line store tomorrow (28th May). It will have over 75,000 items (YES, 75,000!) in stock, which not only includes ‘vintage’ but items from the boutique collection. So, with a few clicks you can help tackle world poverty and global warming. It’s EBAY meets Oprah! Pure frickin genius.

Edith

A summer wardrobe essential… beautiful jewellery

Summer is all about simple clothes, effortless style and sweating as little as possible. Less is more. You make your statements with jewellery and accessories. Which of course brings us to our first hurdle: where do you find interesting, affordable pieces that every high-street store hasn’t produced a version of?

Zoe Bassi is one solution to such a problem. A young Scottish designer based in Bristol, she produces contemporary, handcrafted jewellery with prices starting from as little as £35.

I feel a bit of a *crush* coming on. I can already envisage how these will work with my wardrobe and compliment this seasons trend for pale denim. In addition to that, I *heart* that they are made in the UK (free from unfair labour guilt which is becoming a total drag) and that you can commission special one off pieces. For me, the appeal of vintage is that I’m wearing something that theoretically, no one else owns. If I can now do that without smelling like old laydeez, I’m sold! Oh, and boys, please don’t feel left out. Zoe Bassi also has a fandabbydozer collection of cufflinks.

Edith.