Shop Review: Martin & Osa

My friend Blair described Martin & Osa as the love child of Gap and J.Crew, and that's a pretty perfect description. Martin & Osa is a chain owned by the same company as American Eagle Outfitters. Let me put this in SAT terms: Banana Republic is to Gap as Martin & Osa is to AE Outfitters. (Which, if SAT questions focused on more relevant topics such as shopping, I'd have performed much better on that particular test) I'd never seen the store before, but yay! Austin has one at the Domain!


The store is really nice. It has wood floors, the store is so spacious and well laid out, and the dressing rooms rock. They are huge, as are the mirrors inside them. Customer service is awesome--the people helping me were all super friendly and maintained the perfect balance of helping me and leaving me alone.


And the best part is that the clothes are really cute and reasonably priced. The clothes all seem really well made, the materials they use feel really nice and seem more substantial than a lot of mass-market places.


I really love the two tops above--the blue and white striped pintuck front voile shirt is $58, and would be great for work, and I love the washed silk cami in navy (on sale for 39.95 right now) layered under jackets or worn alone for evenings and weekends.

They also have cute work pants, outerwear, shoes and accessories. I like these twill pants for $68, the adorable oversized patent leather clutch for $98, and the cotton trench below in a great shade of gray blue for $128. I especially liked their swimwear, and they have some great looking sandals.

This is a great place to pick up basics. I was really impressed with the quality of the merchandise, and the layout and feel of the store.



Definitely look at their online store as well, which has free shipping and free returns, how awesome is that?

Swimwear at Target

I stopped by Target this week in preparation for a trip to the beach, and, as expected, hit paydirt. Have y'all checked out their swimwear yet? They have a ton of really cool stuff.

I bought this bikini with a cute halter top and mock side tie bottoms in black. They also had it in turquoise and hot pink. $17.99/piece! The halter top is really flattering, and the bottoms have perfect coverage. The online store appears to be running out of colors, but the stores should still have a good selection in stock.

I also picked up these awesome, totally comfortable board shorts for $14.99, which they have in a lot of other colors and patterns. I will be wearing these all summer--they're especially perfect for river tubing.

Target, you never let me down!

The Magic of Dryel

Have you guys used Dryel? Because it is awesome. I hate the bottomless money pit that is the drycleaners. I have a ton of dry clean only stuff, and if I had to take it to the dry cleaners after every wear, I would be broke. Enter Dryel.

Here's how it works: you put your dry clean only stuff into the Dryel bag along with a pad saturated with cleaning solution, throw it in the dryer for 30 minutes, and like magic, Dryel steam cleans your clothes, removes any odors and leaves them perfectly wrinkle-less.

It also comes with a stain remover that works really well. My one word of caution is to always test the stain remover on your clothes to make sure that the color won't bleed and that it won't leave a ring when it dries.

I personally take most of my clothes with stains or which I haven't dry cleaned in a while to the cleaners. But to freshen up clothes, remove wrinkles, etc., Dryel is perfect and will save you a ton of money. I use it on non-dry clean only clothes too sometimes, if I don't feel like ironing (which, honestly, I never feel like ironing).

You can buy Dryel at any drugstore, discount store or supermarket. A starter kit is about $10, but if you go to the Dryel website, you can get a $4 off coupon.

Shop Review: Luxe Apothetique/Blue Elephant

This weekend, I went and checked out Luxe Apothetique, a boutique located at the Domain. The store is really big and spacious, and has such a big variety of merchandise. The concept is boutique crossed with an apothecary, hence the name. So about half the store is beauty products and gift items, like hair products from Bumble & Bumble and Phyto, skin products from Mario Badescu and makeup by Bare Minerals and Paula Dorf. They had a huge selection of fragrances from Bond No. 9, and gift items like Tocca candles. And they have a really great collection of young, fresh fun clothes, including designers Marc by Marc Jacobs, Diane von Furstenberg, and Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent. I fell in love with this cute shirt from Marc by Marc Jacobs for $158.

But the best part about Luxe Apothetique is its outstanding collection of premium denim. They have every designer you could possibly want, including Citizens of Humanity, 7 For All Mankind, Joe's Jeans, and True Religion. They have a great selection of styles. I really love these cross-stitch A-pocket Sevens. They had a huge rack of denim on sale as well.

The sales people were super helpful, and very knowledgeable about the merchandise.

Luxe Apothetique is owned by the same owner as Blue Elephant, although the two stores have different buyers. Basically, Blue Elephant has the same sort of merchandise as Luxe Apothetique, but they tend to carry different styles from the same basic line-up of designers. Blue Elephant is located at 4001 North Lamar Suite #510 , in the Central Market Shopping Center.

Best Self-Tanners

It's that time of year again when I realize that my everyday winter rituals of sitting around inside watching TV while wearing sweat pants and eating chocolate have somehow not resulted in a perfectly bronzed, toned, swimsuit ready body. This weekend I'm hitting the beach with some girlfriends, and while the toning isn't going to happen with one week notice, the bronzing I can definitely handle.

Now, I'm by nature a very pale person. Like Nicole Kidman pale, but without her lovely, glowy aura. I'm also not really that into skin cancer, I'm more an SPF 50 kind of girl. So I'm all about the self-tanner.

Self-tanner is extremely tricky. I've used several that I like--L'oreal Sublime Bronze is pretty good--but the best, by far, is Origins The Great Pretender, which is 17.50. There are so many reasons why this tanner is superior. It's tinted, so you can see where you've already put it--essential in self- tanning application. Also, I like it because it's a little bit shimmery--don't worry, it's not like body glitter, but it contains mica, so it just gives you a little shimmer in the sunshine. It doesn't smell like most self-tanners, it has kind of a minty smell, and is not super strong. It leaves your skin super soft. But the best thing about it is the color--it gives you a true tan color that is not at all orange. You can buy it at the Origins store at the Domain.  As far as application goes, just make sure you exfoliate first, rub in completely, and apply lotion to your feet elbows and knees after applying.

For face, I really like Neutrogena Build-a-Tan for Faces, which is $8.99 at drugstore.com. This has SPF 15 and is oil free, has a really nice smell, and gives a golden color that builds up gradually over use, and doesn't streak. I use this as my daily moisturizer in the summer.

DwellStudio for Target - Bedding

DwellStudio has really cool, modern home stuff, but it's pretty expensive. So when I heard Target was teaming up with DwellStudio, I knew the results were going to be awesome. I love the "Perch" collection, shown above. Love the orange, love the birds, love it all. I think I'm going to have to get this for my guest room. The walls are painted sort of a gray/brown color, and I think the orange would look so great against it. A 3 piece set of comforter plus two shams goes for $89.99 for Full/Queen and $99.00 for King.

UPDATE: I bought this and I really love it!  The material is so nice, and the colors are great. There were some other really cool bedding sets as well, so definitely go by and check them out if you're looking for bedding with a modern design.

Swiss Dot Tank

I really like this navy swiss dot tank that's on sale at J.Crew right now for $39.99. It would look so great with white jeans, or under a jacket for work. You can't really tell from this picture, but the material is really light and flowy and it has little dots all over. It also comes in white and pink.

NYT Article: Shopping with Mindy Kaling from "The Office"

Thursday is once again my favorite day of the week thanks to the return of my favorite show, "The Office". So I was pretty happy to see this great article in the New York Times about actress/writer Mindy Kaling and her passion for shopping.

On her character Kelly's style:

"On the NBC sitcom, Ms. Kaling plays Kelly Kapoor, the catty customer service representative who dresses, as Ms. Kaling described it, “the way she thinks J. Lo would dress, if J. Lo worked in an office and shopped exclusively at Ann Taylor Petites.”"

On her own personal style:

"Bows and sparkles lure her like a magnet. “My aesthetic is grandmother meets rapper girlfriend,” she said. “I like color and embellishment. I think it’s an Indian thing.” "

Read the full article here. The article also mentions her blog "Things I've Bought That I Love", and it is hilarious, check it out.

Old Navy/Gap Body Underwear

I don't know if any of you have been in Old Navy lately, but they now have an underwear collection. Recently when a friend of mine was shopping there, one of the salespeople told her that the underwear at Old Navy is made by the same manufacturer as Gap Body. That is pretty exciting, because to me Gap Body is the best for the money as far as underwear goes. Most panties at Old Navy are $6.00, including this cute mesh pair--if you buy 4 or more, they are $4.50 each, and some pairs are on sale right now for $2.50. Panties at Gap Body run $8.50 per pair, $6.66 when you buy 3 or more.


Old Navy also carries bras, and I'm assuming they are probably manufactured at the same spot as Gap Body as well. Gap Body has the best bras for the money, hands down. They are very well made, comfortable and flattering. My favorite is this Seamless Push Up, which is $36.00. Old Navy's bras are only $29.50, but they have a smaller collection of styles and I haven't heard anything about the quality--if you've tried them out, let me know what you think.

Cole Haan + Nike = Comfy chic

I like to find bargains whenever I can, but one thing I will definitely splurge on is shoes. I try to buy the best quality I can afford. Cole Haan is one of my favorite brands, they are so well made and they always have really great styles. And they just went up a couple of notches in my esteem, now that they've teamed with Nike on a line of shoes with Nike Air technology incorporated into the design. I tried a pair on, and they are soooo comfortable.

I absolutely love the blue slingbacks above, which are $275, and these sankeskin sandals, for $325. I had to restrain myself from posting pictures of every single shoe they had--they have a great selection of dress shoes, from wedges to pumps.

They also have the cutest collection of casual shoes. These mary jane flats are so adorable, they'd be perfect for work, $195. But the pair I have my eyes on are these black thong sandals, $145. I'm taking a trip to Chicago in a few months and will be doing a lot of walking around, so these would be perfect!

And my friend Jenny sent me a link to a coupon for 30% off in store or online, good through April 20th. Check these shoes out at the Cole Haan store at the Domain.

Shop Review: b. chic

This weekend I went to check out b. chic, a boutique located in the Mira Vista shopping center on Bee Cave Road, about 1 mile west of Mopac. I absolutely love this place! It's a great space, with hardwood floors and a sort of quaint but fun atmosphere, and it's packed with a really eclectic collection of clothes, gift items, bags and accessories.

Misti, the owner of b. chic, was extremely helpful and friendly, but in a very low-key, non-pushy way. They have a really cute collection of gift items, including beautifully packaged candles, monogrammed bags, paper weights and picture frames. They also have a lot of quirky items, like this adorable sewing kit for $8, which I really need to buy and keep in my office.

They sell designer handbags, including "pre-loved" Louis Vuitton bags which are guaranteed to be authentic. Such a great idea, and so much safer than eBay.

In the back of the store, they carry denim by Freedom of Choice, a line by designer Nathan Menashe, formerly of Joe's Jeans. Check out the cute pocket detail with an embroidered dove. These jeans are super soft and had a really great fit. There's also a nice selection of cute tops, tees, dresses and belts.

They have a really nice jewelry collection, including a lot of pieces by Austin designers. I love this necklace in a mix of sterling silver and gold for $50 by Austin designer Sikara, and the gold filled leaf necklace by Austin designer Mingle for $96.

Attention to detail

My friend Jenny sent me a tip about some very cool products from a company called Gal-Pal.

First, these pads which remove deodorant stains--ingenious! I hate pulling on a black shirt and then having to spend the next 10 minutes trying to remove all the white streaks. One pack is $10, and comes with 2 pads.

They also make a double-stick fashion tape, which is $6. Jenny was saying she uses this tape to keep button-down shirts from gaping open, and I've used it to keep up a strapless dress. This tape is also great for keeping deep v-necks in place, temporarily fixing a ripped hem, or keeping slingback shoes from slipping off your heels (ugh, is there anything more annoying?).

I love these products because in my opinion, details really matter. There's no way to look put together when you have white streaks on your clothes or when everyone can see into your shirt, am I right?

Available at Luxe Apothetique at the Domain, or the Gal-Pal website.

Oooh....silvery shoes

These shoes are soooo pretty. I think they may have hypnotized me, I cannot stop staring at them. I love the super shiny, almost liquid like finish. I especially like the extra detail of the twisted t-strap. And they're only $108 at Ann Taylor. I think the finish and detailing on these shoes make them look much more expensive. 

Coach update

So last week I posted an open letter to Coach regarding the questionable status of our relationship given the increasing prices of its bags.

Coach is such a great listener! My friend Blair sent me an article from BusinessWeek that contained the following excerpt:

"With the economy sitting on the precipice of what could potentially be a deep recession, management vision and moxie could spell the difference between the companies that not only survive, but thrive, and those that are carried away in the economic undertow. Take No. 1 ranked, Coach. The handbag maker moved quickly when it understood that its aspirational customers might suddenly hesitate at spending $900 for one of its Legacy handbags. Coach quickly rolled out more affordable lines of bags for as little as $160."

Well, I went online to check it out, and I did find the cute signature bag shown above for $218.

Unfortunately, I left wanting this amazing crocodile bag for $7000.

But thanks Coach, I appreciate the effort, I think there is hope for us.

TJ Maxx Jeans

TJ Maxx is one of my favorite places to go treasure hunting for all sorts of things, but it is especially a great place to find designer jeans at great prices. I was at the TJ Maxx off of Brodie Lane a few weeks ago, and sure enough, there was a rack full of Seven jeans, including a really cool pair with pink stitching on the pockets that I had never seen before. I've regularly seen jeans from Seven, Hudson, and Joe's there, and have even seen a few pairs of Rock & Republic. The best part is most of the jeans are $99.

Now, this is not the place for those of you who hate to shop (although those people are probably not reading this blog anyway). You can't just pop in and find the perfect pair in 15 minutes like you can in a department store. But this is the perfect place for those of us who love the thrill of the hunt. Most of the time you'll go in and there will be a very small selection, or none of the jeans will be your size.

But then you'll have that moment when you spot the pair you've been looking for, in the cut you want, in the wash you want, with pocket detail you love, and they're in your size, and they fit you perfectly, and they're only $99 off from $175...savor that moment. You don't know when it will come again. Tomorrow you may be paying full price, but today...today you saved $75.

www.tjmaxx.com for locations.

Best Mascara Ever

Mascara is pretty much my favorite beauty product of all time.  I've been through a lot of different brands over the years, but when I met Diorshow mascara (sigh), I knew it was the one. No other brand comes close. It comes with an enormous, extra fat brush that covers every lash, and the formula is perfect--no flaking, no clumping, just thick, separated perfect lashes. Perfection is not cheap--$24 at Sephora. But you can't put a price on true love.

There's a limited edition version out right now, Diorshow Black Out, which looks pretty wonderful, it's a super-intense black.

Shop Review: Eliza Page

The Eliza Page store, at 229 W. 2nd Street in the heart of the 2nd Street District, is a little treasure box, with beautiful, unique jewelry from a wide array of designers, about half of whom are from Austin. This shop contains so many truly special pieces. They carry fine jewelry, but also a lot of fashion pieces, and the prices vary accordingly.

I love this Mark Joiner belt of distressed leather with a handmade glass buckle for $182. A little pricey, but so different and fun.

I also like this sterling typewriter charm necklace for $32 (additional charms $16), which would make a really great gift.

My favorite pieces were by an Austin designer named Kendra Scott. Check out these gorgeous earrings ($60).


I really love this store. It has such a wonderful variety of jewelry, and they are all little works of art. This is the place to find a special piece for yourself or a perfect gift for someone special.

http://www.elizapage.com/


FYI, Eliza Page is actually hosting a trunk show tonight, April 3, from 6pm-9pm at its shop for Kendra Scott, where she will be showing her Spring 2008 collection.

Wide Leg Jeans

My friend Ilyse just got back from New York, where she said the skinny jeans have been retired (hurrah!) and replaced with much more flattering and easy to wear wide leg jeans. She recommended this pair at Banana Republic for $98. I love the dark wash, and she said they are extremely comfortable and have a little bit of stretch. www.bananarepublic.com

Cute black top

I bought a shirt that's very similar to this one at J.Crew last month. This weekend, I saw this very cute, much cheaper version at Target. I love the pleated sleeves and cute shape of this polished cotton top, which has a little bit of stretch. This would be great for work or with jeans, and it's only $17.99.
http://www.target.com/

Neiman Marcus Last Call Anniversary Sale

My friend Shelly passed on an email she received from Neiman Marcus Last Call regarding some special events coming up at their Austin store (thanks Shelly!). For those of you not familiar with Last Call, this is basically the Neiman Marcus outlet, with a lot of designer merchandise heavily marked down. The Austin store is located in the Brodie Oaks shopping center off Capital of Texas Highway.

This Friday, April 4, NM Last Call kicks off their Anniversary Sale, which runs through April 14. Here's some info about their Austin events:

FRIDAY, APRIL 4:
The first customers to arrive on Friday when the store opens will receive special thank-you gifts. We'll also give out extra savings offers. Plus, don't miss the opportunity to meet and visit with Head Buyers for NM Last Call's Home and Jewelry Departments!
APRIL 4-14:
Throughout the Anniversary Celebration, the Warehouse will be open and full of new arrivals; hurry in to shop the fabulous selection at amazing savings. Shop Last Call Austin's exclusive Jewelry Trunk Show brought in especially for the Anniversary Celebration. Top new jewelry from your favorite brands will be in-store and on-sale. Plus, throughout the week, enjoy special 20th Anniversary treats while you shop, and enter to win a Neiman Marcus gift card! Come celebrate 20 great years with savings and fun at Neiman Marcus Last Call in Austin!

Chip & Pepper UT Shirt

These Chip and Pepper college tees are awesome. The shirts are so well-made and soft, and the cut is really flattering. The only thing I don't like about this shirt is the way they have the school name written--looks a little like "Texas University at Austin" to me. Still, a cool shirt. $48 at Nordstrom. http://www.nordstrom.com/