Season's Greetings

Happy Holidays to all and a Happy New Year! By the way, Saks has their 8am sale December 26th. I'll see you there.

Abra Cadabra

Tis the season for holiday parties. This weekend was one party right after the next. I felt like I was a quick change artist. One thing that kept me on time was my Jiffy Steamer. I love my steamer. A steamer is much faster than an iron, plus it works on many unironable fabrics including knits.

If you want your knits to keep their shape, you must fold them. Do not put them anywhere near a hanger. And when the wrinkle does arrive? With a few strokes of the magic steam, Tada! Wrinkles are gone. I was even ready a few times before my husband. Now that is magic!

Needle (and thread) in a haystack

Everyone likes a sale, though it is a very select number of women that actually enjoy the sport of digging through sale racks. It can be frustrating (and time consuming) to try and find that one perfect sweater or pair of shoes on the 40% rack!

I'm always on the hunt for the perfect pieces for my clients at the perfect price (see this month's Washingtonian where I shopped from start to finish at Filene's Basement!)

Here are my tips:
1.) Have an open mind. If you're looking for a black 8-ply cashmere cardigan with pearl buttons in a size M, you're going to get frustrated really quickly (or be the luckiest woman alive, in which case, put down the sweater and go buy a lottery ticket).

2.) Early bird gets the Dolce. If you want the best selection, get there on the first day. If you want the best deals, get there at the end.

3.) Know the chain of command. First call/private sales, then last call, then the big messy pile in the back of the store, then off to the outlets, then to the liquidators. So if you see something advertised in the paper for a holiday sale, don't expect to find it in their outlet two months later.

4.) Let your freshly manicured fingers do the walking. Besides Bluefly, etc. (or my favorite for accessories, Portero), there are some great shopping sites. One of my favorites is Shop It To Me, where you pick the designers, sizes and stores, and they send you a weekly email of everything in your list that's on sale online. Their list of stores is a bit short (though Saks and Nordstrom's always have lots of items), but I've found some great deals.

Happy shopping!

Express Yourself

We all love to celebrate the holidays, though some of us may go a bit, ahem, overboard. If you have a Christmas sweaters in your closet--and you know who you are…I have one thing to say:

"Don’t! "

If you really want to dress for fun, try getting creative with your socks. I found these adorable fuzzy Santa socks that will get anyone in the holiday spirit at Absolute Socks. And if those don't float your boats, check out the rest of the website: you can get socks for every holiday (check out their Hanukkah selection!) that will keep your tootsies warm.

A (Thousand) Offers You Can't Refuse.

I’m heading out to do my holiday shopping today. Call me a traditionalist, but I like the hustle and bustle of heading to my favorite stores and digging through the racks and shelves in search of the perfect gift.

For those of you who are doing the same thing, just online, here are a few deals from my inbox this a.m.:
Babystyle: 20% off sitewide through Wednesday plus free shipping with orders over $75 with code JINGLE20.
Barneys New York: Free ground shipping through 12/14, plus a 40% off sale currently going on.
Bergdorf Goodman: Free 3-day shipping through 12/17 with code BG3DAY.
Bluefly: 20% off of all dresses today (no code needed)
Neiman Marcus: Free gift wrap and shipping through today with code NMRUSH.
Nordstrom: Free shipping on orders over $100 through 12/19 with code HOLIDAY07.
Saks: Free shipping on all orders through 12/21 with code HOLIDAY7.
Vivre: Free gift wrap and 15% off of select entertaining pieces through Sunday.

Happy shopping!

Baby, it's cold outside

Hats, earmuffs, gloves and scarves are all a must when that winter wind blows. Kohl's is having a half off sale on all winter accessories, including Simply Vera Wang leather gloves.

Personally, my favorite winter accessory is ear muffs. They keep my ears warm and don’t totally mess up my do. Kohls has a cute cheetah set and they also come in solid colors for the non safari type of gal.

For a bit of luxury, I also have a set of Burberry cashmere ear muffs. They make me look forward to those really cold winter days (like today!).