LuluLemon Yogabowl Warehouse Sale

In case you hadn't heard, LuluLemon is currently holding one of their massive warehouse sale out on Long Island (for those not familiar with the area, it's about 1/2 an hour outside of NYC and these things never happen out here). After a long work week I wasn't sure if I was up for it, but the brand's Twitter handle assured me that there was no line to get in, so I headed off to the home of the Islanders, Nassau Coliseum. 

As a bargain shopper I feel that is it my duty to share my findings with my fellow shoppers, so here's the skinny on the sale:

Pricing was good, but not great. Remember, this is a warehouse sale, not a sample sale; this means that there will be a lot in terms of quantity, but not so much in terms of markdowns. Here's the pricing they had posted when you walked in (there were also smaller signs throughout and each item had a tag with a corresponding sticker, very user-friendly).

From what I saw, keep in mind that I was looking mostly in the 2/4/6 sections and running clothes as opposed to yoga-specific items, the biggest selection was in pants and crops for bottoms and long sleeved shirts and tanks for tops. It was slim pickings in the accessories departments, probably because these items are one size fits all.

Rumor: Parking is $10
Truth: There was no one in the booths when I arrived -- hooray, free parking for me!
Update (Saturday AM): My sister went this morning and they were enforcing the $10 parking fee -- womp, womp.

Rumor: Mandatory coat and bag check.
Truth: Coat and bag check was optional on Friday evening, but it's also complimentary, so I seriously advise that you take advantage of it. The place is packed, you're going to be bumping into racks and people and working up a sweat, trust me, the less you have hindering you the better.

Rumor: No strollers allowed.
Truth: I almost ate it tripping over a stroller. The poor child inside had no idea, nor did she seem to notice or mind the fact that her mother was using the handles of her stroller to hold a variety of garments. Since it wasn't that crowded this wasn't a huge deal, but I'm sure Saturday and Sunday will be packed, so I would advise against it. Even if you bring someone else to watch your little yogi, there aren't many places on the sales floor for them to rest. People made makeshift seats on a couple of low platforms, but they definitely did not look comfortable.

Rumors: Yoga demonstrations and dance contests.
Truth: These happened earlier (I know this because I saw pictures on Twitter, seriously, if you are even thinking about attending this event you'd be foolish not to check out their account), but by the time I go there the only yoga "demonstration" was a random, really fit guy in a tank top doing some fairly impressive* yoga poses at the base of the escalators on your way in. Props to him though.
*take my terminology with a grain of salt, I know all of 3 yoga poses, most of which my 3 year-old niece can do better than me.
Update (Saturday AM):  Little kids were doing a dance routine around 8:30, we hope they gave them and their parents a discount.

Rumor: Crazy lines
Truth: 5:15 on Friday evening must have been the time go because the only line I waited on was for the fitting room and it couldn't have been more than 5 minutes. We'll see how my sister fares with this factor when she goes tomorrow morning.
Update (Saturday AM): The line is back, big sis waited about 1/2 an hour, gave me her haul report about an hour later: 2 tanks, 1 long-sleeved top and 1 pair of crops.

What I walked away with:
(2) pairs of crops @ $45/ea (Yes, they are 2 different pairs of grey pants. The pair on the left fits like harem pants, the pair on the rights are cropped sweats with a back pocket - I do love a pocket.)


(2) long-sleeved tops @ $39/ea (All of the l/s shirts had the thumbs holes. As someone who grew up in the age of grunge and made her own thumb holes, I am obsessed with these things.)


(2) pairs of running shorts @ $29/ea (Both pairs have a pocket in the back, perfect for putting your ID, keys and a few bucks.)

(1) "Brisk Run Headband" @ $4

Favorite item purchased: Pink/purple/black running shorts.
Total spent: $240.64
Total time: Just under 1 hour including walk to and from car.

Added advice
Tweet them: seriously, whoever is handling the sale's Twitter account is amazing. They give constant updates about the size of the line, they post pics of outfits put together from the current offerings and they answer any questions you tweet them. Before leaving work I tweeted asking if there were any accessories left and they replied "hats, undies, mat bags, scarfs are looking good!" (We will ignore their misspelling, they're answering an absurd amount of tweets.)
Size yourself up: I went in knowing that I had a handicap -- I had never tried on any of their clothes before! This is a rookie move in the sale world, so the first thing I did was try on a variety of items in the 2 sizes I thought might work for me. Just so you have an idea, sizing for LLL gear is kind of like bridesmaids dresses -- whatever size you wear, go at least a size up (i.e. I normally wear a 0 or a 2 and everything I bought was a 4 and if I'd gone for the tight crops I would've needed a 6). It's funny because I often comment on how I have no ass... and then I try to put on yoga pants.
Leave your modesty at home: If you plan on trying anything on, you had better not be shy. The group fitting rooms are basically just a big black curtain separating you and 50+ other women from the sales floor. Which leads me to my next point...
Clean your sweep: Wash everything you buy as soon as you get home. This might seem like an obvious statement, but the fact that there were women trying on yoga gear without underwear was kind of disgusting. I was seriously the only woman in the group fitting room who had on boys shorts, it was either thongs or commando, so clean those fatigues!


Happy shopping and namaste*!
*Again, not a yoga person, mostly know this term from LOST. Thanks, DHARMA Initiative.

From Old T-Shirts to New Activewear

One day on my drive to the tanning salon, which was just a few minutes from my house, I realized that, if I lived in the city, I could easily walk the distance.

However, I'm an impatient person and walking takes too long, so I decided I'd run it. You inevitably smell like tanning booth when you leave anyway (I describe this as a medley of tanning lotion and sanitizer, which kind of smells like Malibu Rum, which I hate), so what's a little perspiration added to the mix?

I clocked the distance on Gmaps Pedometer, which is an amazing site if you've never heard of it, and figured out that it was .98 of a mile. Seriously do-able.

That was 4 years ago and, while I no longer tan, I recently started running again and I'm up to 3 miles 2-4 times a week.

Unfortunately the weather is getting colder and, thanks to daylight savings time, it's now dark when I get home so I need to figure out an alternative. So it looks like I'll be doing the unthinkable: joining a gym.

The beauty of running is that it's free and, as an added bonus, you don't have to talk to anyone. With my headphones on "I'm in the zone, Chief" and no one can bother me. I also get to wear a frighteningly beat-up workout ensemble of old college/bar/vacation t-shirts and lacrosse shorts or cotton leggings. But now, while I don't plan on socializing while I'm at the gym, I know I'm going to feel out of place if I don't look the part, at least a little bit.

So tonight I'm going to Old Navy , armed with a 30% off coupon that also gives to charity, to spend as little as possible on active wear.

I hate paying money to replace my perfectly functional ratty old lax shorts, complete with paints stains from a summer gig a few years back, but at least I'll be doing good for charity. And working out improves my mood, which is charity for the people who have to see me everyday as well :)

It's Like They KNOW!

Recently I decided that I would not buy any more summer clothes this season. It's getting to be that transitional time of year and, with the weather being so dreary here in NY, I know I can make do with what I've got until Fall (okay, let's be honest, even if we have an Indian Summer I'll be more than "fine.")

Sales are my weakness, obviously, but since the sale racks are filled with summer clothes at this time of year I figure it will be easier to curb my enthusiasm for spending if I set this little rule in place for myself.

And then I got this in my e-mail:


Oh NMLC, you know me too well (and the rest of your sale-searching population I'd suspect). You know I'm sick of searching through picked-over sale racks, you know that if I haven't bought that Haute Hippie top with the missing built-in necklace yet that I'm not going to - even if you do mark it down to 80% off!

So you found a way to suck me back in to shop for those chunky knits and fabulous wedge boots weeks, even months, before I'm able to actually wear them and foil my efforts to take a break from shopping.

You are a worthy adversary NMLC, touche.

Bag Binge

The past few weeks have been crazy busy with weddings and weekends away so tonight, when I finally got the chance to unpack and organize my room, I realized for the first time that I've been on a bit of a bag binge.

In the last month I've purchase 5 handbags. 5!

Granted not one of them was full priced and 2 of them were exceptionally cheap, but that's still a lot of bags in a very short period of time, even for me.

The Rebecca Minkoff is already mentioned below and that's one of the 5, so here are the rest, each with their various purposes and price points:

Pietro Alessandro 2081 Tote in metallic champagne.
Purchased from: ideeli.com
Original Retail Price: $112.00
Price I Paid: $69.00
Reasoning: I don't have a gold going out bag. Okay, so that's not entirely true. I have a metallic gold-ish bag, but it's from Old Navy, which a bunch of guy friends dubbed my "Members Only" purse because of the fabric. I was due for an upgrade. Plus, this one can be used as either a clutch or a cross body tote. It's a 2-in-1!


Nordstrom Ruched Silk Wristlet in champagne.
Purchased from: Nordstrom.com
Original Retail Price: $48.00
Price I Paid: $22.90
Reasoning: I needed a bag to go with a bridesmaid's dress. This fit the bill.


Barney's Black and White
Purchased from: Barney's Outlet at Tanger Riverhead
Original Retail Price: $120.00
Price I Paid: $19.50
Reasoning: It was so cheap and I have a weakness for bags that I know to be somewhat cheap/cheesy looking (hence the "Members Only" purse mentioned above).


Be&D "Twiggy" Large Tote in green
Purchased from: Saks off 5th
Original Retail Price: $1,080.00
Price I Paid: $125.99
Reasoning: While the markdown is reason enough, this bag is just amazing. I had my "Girl in the Green Scarf" moment, a la Rebecca Bloomwood in Confessions of a Shopaholic, I could see myself walking into an interview carrying that bag and the people in HR would just know that they had to hire me.


So now I'm on a bag shopping freeze. I think I actually have every type of bag I could possibly need at this point... I think... haha

Mad About "Mab"

Do you remember when you were little and you got a new pair of shoes and you loved that so much that you just had to wear them out of the store? That's how I feel about the Rebecca Minkoff bag I bought last night at Saks Off 5th.

I literally brought it downstairs with me when I got home and just had it there while I watched TV and then I put it on when I carried everything upstairs.

It's the "Mab" bag with handles and a strap and it's black fabric with black leather accents. The lining is a black and white stripe, which I was excited about because I had also wanted a black and white striped bag, but that's so limiting and this is much more practical. This way I still get the striped fabric in there somehow.

Originally priced at $375, marked down to $259 with an additional 30% off bringing it to $181 and then I had a 20% off Tanger Outlets coupon making the final price $145!

While I don't have any real plans for the weekend, I will somehow manager for the bag to make it's debut. Like in "The Power of Female Sex" episode of S&TC when Carrie gets the Dolce & Gabbana feather boa shoes and just has to wear them out. (Because as my middle sister will tell you, I can relate everything in life back to Sex & The City)

AllSaints Sale!

This morning I opened my AOL mail, where I have all of my shopping and junk mail sent, to find a lovely surprise: an e-mail from AllSaints announcing a sale of up to 50% off!

Naturally I went on the website immediately and began perusing the sale selection. At most I had 4 items in my cart, but whittled it down to 1, very beautiful and quite unique, top.

After completing my purchase I began to daydream about the different ways in which I will wear my new "Draconis" top, so here's one 'brought to life' in a Polyvore set:

Summer in the City by KimboNotKimmy featuring Rebecca Minkoff bags

Draconis Top, 90 GBP
Women's AE Pink Denim Shortie (Pink), $25
Nine West Women's Hawk Chain Detail Sandal, $52
Rebecca Minkoff Crossbody Stud Rocker Bag in Flat Iron Grey, $330
Slinky Bangle, $45
Lace Flower Ring Earrings(Blue), $15
bergdorfblonde: alexaperry:(via crystal-castles) on vi.sualize.us

An End to a Happy Birthday Month for Me

So tonight I made a trip to the mall to use my birthday coupons before they expire tomorrow. I only had 2, but they were 2 good ones because they were for Express and Anthropologie, 2 stores where I can pretty much always find something.

I've been an Express fan since I could fit into the clothes. It was the first store credit card I ever had. Since I worked at Bath and Body Works at the time I got some crazy discount like 40% off and they always had great clothes for going out. They weren't even overpriced back then and even though they are now, I still shop there from time to time. I'm still a sucker for their buy-one-get-one-half accessories, which is exactly what I wound up with; a pair of star-shaped stud earrings and a three-toned stackable ring.

Then it was on to Anthropologie. After searching through their sale room for another pair of AG jeans (the last pair of cropped boyfriend AG jeans that I got there are currently my favorites) and coming up empty handed I decided on a cream fabric belt with a light brown leather buckle. It was only $38 to begin with and I only saved 15% with my birthday coupon, but it's an item I've been wanting for awhile, it should definitely make several of my skirts wearable again (they currently just look odd not cinched at the waist).

And that was it. I did peruse the sales at French Connection (a black and white striped dress I'd wanted turned out to be ill-fitting and I'm proud to say that I talked myself out of a heather gray sweater, since I have 3 at any given moment), Arden B. (we'll call that a moment of collegiate nostalgia), and J. Crew (where, once again, I exercised restraint and put back a pair of shorts and a skirt, neither of which fit quiiiiiiite right, and 3 headbands - 1 was going to be for my Aunt, really).

I left feeling like I'd accomplished everything I'd gone in and, despite some minor detours, was quite proud of myself for not giving in to the allure of other stores.

But I guess I don't really "need" anything I got, so we'll cal it a wash.

A Dress Fit for a Kimberley

A second opinion always helps.

So last night, before my mom and I went to a lovely and delicious dinner at Plum in Bayside, we stopped home so I could try on the Milly dress I'd ordered from the website. It's a beautiful black and white brocade with gold metallic thread running through it that I got on sale.

When it had first arrived, next day despite being shipped UPS Ground - I just love when that happens, I had to put it on by myself. Milly dresses are well-made and this one had one of her neat corset contraptions in it, which basically means you need to hook yourself in as you would with a bra. While this is fabulous in regard to fit and makes the dress look like it was made just for you, it's not so great when you're trying to put it on in an empty house. So the first time I tried it on I hooked it, swiveled it around my body (which was no easy task), and then tried it on with one shoe as I rushed to get ready because I was meeting John to go see a band play.

Needless to say, this was not the best way to try on a new dress, in a totally different cut than you're used to wearing, if you want to be excited about it. Rookie mistake. Perhaps it's why I didn't even blog about it.

Anyway, with the help of my mom last night, I was able to get a proper idea of what the dress would actually look like on the day of the wedding. She hooked me in, I put on both shoes (I had on one originally to which she said "What are you doing? Go put the other shoe on! You're never going to be standing like that." As I stood there with one leg bent in half like a flamingo), and I stood up straight (I attempted to show her that the dress gapped in the back to which she said "Would you stop arching your back? Stand normal.").

Looking in the mirror, standing up straight, with my dancing shoes on, the dress actually looks quite lovely. It meets all of my original criteria:
Sophisticated? Yes, but without looking too "old." Sexy? A little bit, but let's keep in mind that this is a family function and no one wants to be "that girl" in a room of relatives. Stylish? Always.
And it is definitely a little less Kimbo and totally Kimberley.

Perhaps I was just caught up in the mania of the search, and if that was the case, I'm definitely happy my mom was there to help me calm down and see what a great dress it is and how it really is just what I was looking for for this event.

I'll see if I can't Polyvore it up for you all so you decide for yourselves, but I think (fingers crossed*) this is it!

Sick of Looking

Have you ever become so obsessed with finding the perfect outfit that you just get sick of looking for it? That's where I'm at right now with the dress for this wedding. I'm as sick of looking for it as everyone around me is of hearing about it.

When I'm on a shopping mission the term "abnormally obsessed" might not even do my condition justice. The item I am searching for or want, but refuse to pay full price for, it is all I think about. Whether it's searching for it in general or looking for coupons to stores where it's sold, I explore every single option.

It actually takes effort for me to keep the search from consuming me. And, yes, I do realize how sick this sounds.

Today I started reading Spent, Memoirs of a Shopping Addict by Avis Cardella (is it just me or is it a bit coincidental that her first name is an anagram for "Visa?"). Only 1 chapter in and I relate entirely too well to her plight.

Hopefully the book will at least distract me, if not give me some clarity, during this bout of fixation.

In the meantime, send me any great websites for formal wear. Thanks.

...But Not the War

Saturday, June 12th, 2010 - Lord & Taylor, Garden City, NY

The place is a mob scene, women of all ages have come to shop the Friends & Family sale. Men mill about like children on a battlefield; confused, lost, even a bit scared.

Briefly distracted by the main floor apparel I remember my mission: a dress fit for a guest at a wedding. With that thought in mind I begin my ascent to the second floor; base camp for the occasion dresses.

Upstairs is only slightly better than down; lines of women still charge the cash wraps and the garments are tossed about like fallen soldiers. Despite the scene I'm not discouraged. I'm on a mission.

One by one I sort through the dresses on the clearance rack, but much to my chagrin I find that I'm merely searching through the remnants of the last sale I attended at this L&T outpost, so I move on to the full priced dresses.

Normally I would sooner surrender than admit the defeat of paying full price, but as I mentioned, it's Friends & Family and that means 25% off "almost all regular and sale merchandise."

Tragically I don't even find one dress worthy of trying on. Either they're too matronly, or too pageant-like, or too much like every other BCBG dress I already own.

Crestfallen, but not entirely broken, I leave the field of battle so that I may shop another day.

Olivia - Can I Call You 'Liv?'

Just got a $195 Olivia Harris clutch for $49! It's black leather and approximately 10"x6"x1.5" with cool lines that oddly enough remind me of the Flux Capacitor from Back to the Future.

Love this brand. Here's how they describe themselves:

"The OH line of bags is younger, edgier, and a little grittier then her older sister 'Gryson'."

Edgy, gritty, rock and rock, we're gonna be friends. So can I call ya' Liv?

Blue-why?

Yesterday I was in Neiman Marcus Last Call at the Tanger outlets by work and I saw a pair of neon Jimmy Choo high-heeled sandals in my size. They were cute and they fit great, but the Lucite heel was in between thick and thin and the color of a tennis ball, so even though they were marked down to about $365 with an additional 25% off, I put them down.

Today I got an e-mail from Bluefly advertising new spring shoes and handbags. As I lazily scanned the selection in my sizes, 5.5 and 6, I noticed the very same neon Jimmy Choos. Only this time they were $900! Granted they were originally $1,125.00, but come on Bluefly, 20% off? That's it? You get that much at most stores just for opening a charge account!

When I first graduated college I shopped on Bluefly all the time. I loved their customer service and thought they had a large selection of affordable pieces from brands I liked, but somewhere along the way that all changed.

My most recent purchase from Bluefly was an ABS dress. It was a decent deal at about 50% off, but I've seen the same dress in different colors marked down in discount department stores all over the place. They shipped it FedEx and even though the dress was at a FedEx location on Long Island the next day, they still made me wait the full 7 days for 7-10 day shipping. Irritated I decided to ask FedEx if I could pick it up, but they said I'd have to have the sender call and give clearance or they couldn't give it to me. Extremely frustrated, but not in dire need of the dress, I decided to just wait.

When it finally came the box looked like one of Kimbo Slice's opponents; battered, bruised, beaten. In fact, the box was so tortured that when I opened it to remove the badly rumpled Bluefly shopping bag so I could retrieve my dress, the plastic hanger that the dress was on was broken in two.

So perhaps my annoyance is with both FedEx and Bluefly, but if that's the kind of service I'm getting for an item that wasn't discounted enough to really be a huge bargain, well it's just one more reason for me not to shop there.

First Twitter, Now Lord & Taylor

In the past few days I have caved to both Twitter and Lord & Taylor.

The Twitter account is partially an attempt to make myself a more well-rounded candidate for jobs in media. Every job I've applied to lately seems to mention Twitter amongst various other social networking platforms I need to be familiar with in order to succeed. So far I've Twittered about twittering and my profile, my lunch choice, shopping and other scintillating subjects. Maybe I'll get better.

Lord & Taylor was a long time coming. As a somewhat regular shopper there it has become a bit of a hassle to ask my mom if I can use her card every time I want to get an extra 20% off. Plus I hear you don't get the coupons unless you have a card. So the very sweet saleslady, Louise, was able to talk me into a card. This should do wonders for my shopping problem.

Intermix is a Mean Girl

Walking through the large glass door I knew I wasn't going to find anything at Intermix. The wavy racks sparsely filled with overpriced clothing stretched out before me and even though I knew it would garner disapproval from the shop girls, I went straight to the sales rack.

In my all-black casual garb of Hard Tails and Havianas it was obvious that I was going in there for one purpose: browse the end of season sale rack. I didn't even bother "browsing" the full price items; because Intermix is a mean girl.

Unapproachable, coolly cordial to those who she sees as her own kind and dismissive to the rest. She has long shiny hair and I am wearing glasses and haven't showered today. So no, I would not bring my lunch tray over to her table, I would just cruise past and glance instead.

Yesterday I'd been in Scoop at Wheatley Plaza, Intermix's approachable sister. The nice girl in the group who knows she wouldn't be all that popular if other mean girls hadn't paved the way and allowed for her to wear the same costume without having to claim her position by force. There I felt at home. There I let them start a fitting room. Still, I didn't get anything, but at least I didn't feel insulted.

After finding less than nothing from the 20 or 30 items in the sale rack, mind you that this number includes multiples so it took me all of 3 minutes, I walked out past a cougar in a mini dress that she would surely wear to Glo, or Four, or Blackstones on a Thursday, all I could do was laugh.

After all the shopping, and the studying of designers in the "Contemporary" department, and reading magazines like textbooks, I'm still not one of them.

And damn proud of it.

Favorite Tees

There are few things in life I love more than a good t-shirt. It can be dressed up with a great necklace, or made rocker chic with a leather jacket. Not to mention that a tee is the perfect attire for my favorite bar, Effin Gruven, which can be a hipster haunt at times. What says hipster more than a deep v-neck?

For awhile I fell victim to the graphic tee, particularly ones with puns or clever sayings. It got to the point where my friend Victoria had to have an intervention of sorts and explain that they were no longer age appropriate or current in regard to fashion. We had a final blowout for my collection on my 26th Birthday, a punny t-shirt party. One of my more successful theme parties to date.

So now I'm back to the plain tees. Mostly solids, a few pretty patterns here and there. Loose fitting cotton, v-neck or crew,
these are my favorites. So when I walked into the GAP and they were having a sale on "boyfriend tees" for $10 a piece, needless to say, I went a little crazy.

6 t-shirts later and I can't wait to wear them all and my t-shirt drawer tells me I'd better wear some old ones out to make more room.

Tory Burch

So I hit up the Tory Burch sample sale this week and was greatly disappointed. The last sale had such a better selection. Granted, TB has much better clothes for spring and summer, I guess I was just expecting cuter sweaters and the like.

The shoe selection wasn't good either. There were mostly black boots, and I have so many of those, they had one pair of practically flat brown boots (I say practically because the small heel they did have was a squat gold thing no bigger than a quarter of an inch) and a pair of brown mock-croc ankle boots that really weren't very cute. The only shoes I liked were her canvas converse-y flats and they were asking $75 for them, which I found ridiculous for a pair of glorified sneakers.

Naturally I got the e-mail today that they are dropping the prices (about $20 per item) and got all annoyed because for the 3 shirts I did get, I could have saved $60. The weather is supposed to be terrible all weekend, so who knows if I would have made it in anyway, it's just irritating. On the other hand, the pants did go down to $45.00 a pair and if I can get into the city over the weekend, I'm going to get a couple of pairs because they fit me really nicely.

So if you're in the city and you can stop by, the sale is worth it. If you're not, I'd say that this is one you could go without. Feel free to post any specific questions about what they had when I was there Wednesday and I'll answer to the best of my ability

Take Me Out to the Outlets

Sample sales are not the only place to find fabulous deals. On one of the most popular shopping weekends of the year the roomies and I ventured to the Tanger outlets in Riverhead and it was well worth the trip.

While we decided to skip the whole fiasco that is "Black Friday," we were feeling adventurous enough to hit the holiday shopping hot spot on Saturday AM. Upon our arrival we saw that the crowd there was no different than it is on any sunny Saturday. Maybe it's the recession, maybe it was the death and injury toll from the day before, but for whatever reason the outlets were averagely crowded.

The final count was as follows:
(1) Brown "going out" bag from Coach
Retail Price: $329.00
Sale price: $104.99
(1) Gunmetal all-purpose pocketbook from Cole Haan
Retail Price: $295.00
First Mark-down: $189.00
Second Mark-down (30% off): $132.97
Final Mark-down (Additional 30% for spending $200.00): $92.61
(1) Pair of champagne colored peep-toe pumps from Cole Haan
Retail Price:
First Mark-Down: $180.90
Second Mark-Down (Additional 50% off for Clearance): $90.45
Final Mark-down (Additional 30% for spending $200.00): $63.31

Another shopping success story. The outlets are clearly kicking the sales up a notch in order to keep people coming out this holiday season. I recommend you take advantage of these hard times if you can.