Steal This Look: Rihana's Little Black Dress

Here's Rihana in a halter dress at the Gucci show in Milan.

Ruby Rox Halter Bubble Dress - $59 at Dillards.com

Autumn Cashmere black sequined halter tunic dress - $156 at Blufly.com

Mackage Coats

On my last trip to Vancouver, my BFF Tina showed off her new gorgeous fall coats by Mackage. She had been lusting after a Burberry trench for the Fall and Winter but was hesitating over the price. But being the lucky girl that she is, she got not one, but two Mackage coats for her birthday! I must admit that I was rather envious since they're so stylish and practical.

Mackage ISA jacket - $495 CAD. Mackage is a Canadian brand that I only recently heard about. You can find it at Aritizia and Holt Renfrew stores.

Mackage Lorena coat - $550 CAD.

Burberry London Double Breasted Cashmere Blend Trench - $995. This is a classic but if it were up to me, I'd probably opt for 2 coats instead of 1 as well!

Outlet Shopping Spree

Last weekend I went up to Vancouver, Canada to visit my friends and family. On the way back, we hit the outlets at Burlington and Tulalip. I hadn't been to the Burlington outlet for a while ever since the Seattle Premium Outlets opened right next to the Tulalip casino. But this time we stopped there because we noticed that there's a new Lululemon outlet. They're getting rid of their end of season stuff: bra tops for $29, cropped pants for $44, jackets and pants for up to 50% off. I got a bra top and cropped pants. Their clothes is still not cheap but it's much better than the retail prices. Then at the Seattle premium outlets, BCBG was having an end of season blow out sale, with dresses for as cheap as $29! I think I tried on about 8 dresses and finally settled on a black cotton halter dress with pockets for $50 (original price $200). I also got the Sloan Street Maria brown leather wallet at the new Kate Spade outlet to match my new Kate Spade work bag. The wallet was $75 (retail price $195). It was hard to not also buy some new pumps at the Cole Haan outlet but I stayed strong and resisted. I also only browsed the Juicy outlet. Before leaving, I told my hubby that he should come here for Christmas shopping for me!

North Face Rain Coat

A couple of weeks ago, in anticipation of the impending rainy Seattle weather, I bought a new Northface rain coat from Nordstrom.com. I've been wearing a waterproof black single breasted trench from Costco of all places but since I've been taking the bus, I wanted to get a coat with a hood for those rainy days. Every Seattlite knows that umbrellas are for tourists. I already have a Northface snowboarding jacket and a down jacket but this one I really love because it is cut with a feminine shape. It's also 3/4 length to keep more of you dry. It's super lightweight but keeps you well insulated. Luckily, it hasn't been raining much these last few days of summer, but I know I'll be putting this coat to good use this season.


The North Face 'Grace' light weight rain coat - $199. I got this on sale for $129, yippee! So perhaps you can wait a little for it to go on sale again.

The Search for a Cute Laptop Bag: Mission Accomplished!

I recently upgraded my laptop from a Dell D610 to a Dell D420. This not only means that my work laptop is lighter and smaller, it also means that my options for a cute laptop bag have greatly expanded! And sure enough, after only a week of searching and browsing, I finally have a winner. I originally wanted to spend only up to $250 for a bag that's cute but also good for work. I only want one bag that will hold my laptop and wallet, etc. It has to be lightweight because my Coach leather tote weighed quite a bit just on its own. Now that I'm taking the bus, I definitely notice the weight when I have to stand on the bus. Anyway, I paid another visit to Nordstrom Rack and there it was: the Kate Spade 'Malabar - Rudy' tote. I think there must have been a new shipment to the Rack because this bag is still available at its full price for $325 on Nordstrom.com. I had my work with me so I tested it out with my laptop and my letter sized file folder and they fit nicely. The bag is structured so it still holds its shape when it's full of contents. I like the snake skin pattern because it is versatile and not necessarily season specific. It's also light weight because it's not leather. The best part is that it was on sale at the Rack for $159! I'm not normally a Kate Spade fan since her bags are a bit on the boring side but this one is perfect for what I was looking for!

New Coach Flats

Last Saturday I was in need of some retail therapy so I paid pilgrimage to the Nordstrom Rack in Tukwila and found a pair of bronze leather Coach flats in the designer shoes section. They were on sale for $89 and they're regularly $168. I had been looking for a pair of gold/bronze flats to replace the Steve Madden ones that have worn out from 3 or 4 years ago. I keep seeing those adorable Tory Burch flats but I'm not willing to shell out the $200. Anyway, I wore the new Coach flats to work today and ouch they killed my feet. It's ironic because I bought flats thinking that they'd be comfy. Now the dilemma is, does Nordstrom Rack take back shoes that have been worn? I think not. Do I still think those shoes are adorable? Yes! Will leather stretch and break in? I hope so!

Leona Flats - $168. These are similar to the ones I bought at the Rack. The ones I got had a round metal detail with the signature tiny C's. I imagine this one is just the newer version.

Tory Burch 'Reva' Ballet Flats - $195. Sigh, maybe I should have just shelled out the extra bucks for these? No, I refuse! Maybe if they are like half off I will...

Going Green Shouldn't Cost Lots of Green

I consider myself pretty social conscious and I'm getting into the whole anti-plastic bag movement. It's funny how things go in cycles. When I was a small child in China, plastic bags were a commodity. When you go shopping for anything, the store itself doesn't give you a bag to hold what you bought so you have to bring your own. My grandfather used to wash and reuse plastic bags and puts them in his pocket when he went shopping. Fast forward 20 odd years forward after many years of retailers using the shopping bag (plastic, paper, whatever) as a mini billboard, the trend is now reversing to reusing bags. A couple of years ago the Anya Hindarch "I'm not a plastic bag" bag was all the rage. In the US, it sold at Whole Foods for $15 but were being re-sold for much higher prices on eBay and such. Just a couple of days ago, I walked by a Juicy Couture California Go Green Canvas bag at Nordstrom and joked that it must cost $120. Well you know what, it does. The Miss Marc Goes Green shopper bag costs a cool $128. OK, really? I personally prefer the Lululemon plastic shopping bags that are absolutely free. I'm all for capitalizing on consumer demands by producing what the market is trending but if you're going to make a $120 canvas bag targeted at the environmentally fashion conscious, at least donate your 1000% mark up to a charity of the same cause. That makes a bolder statement than simply making "going green" couture.

Update: the Juicy Go Green Bag is $75 on shopbop.com

The New Westfield Southcenter Mall

The Southcenter Mall unveiled its major face lift a few weeks ago with lots of new stores and restaurants. The new mall is now a mecca of "Fast Fashion". There's a huge two story Forever 21 and a two story H&M. There's also a Forever 21-clone called Love Culture. I checked it out with a friend and I was completely overwhelmed. The thing with shopping at these stores is that everything looks good in the windows but then when you go in you have to wade through racks and racks of bright colors and bold patterns to find that one piece that fits you. The Forever 21 store had a huge line at the dressing room. I didn't have the patience for this nonsense that day because I wasn't looking for anything in particular. My friend ended up buying a few dresses and tops that I quite liked! I should have just bought everything she bought without trying them on because we are more or less the same size. H&M's selection is more limited. Their whole bottom level is dedicated to casual wear with plain t-shirts and tanks. Nothing interesting. The top floor has more office clothes, coats and accessories. I didn't even dare to walk into Love Culture because again I didn't feel like flipping through racks aimlessly. Then the other day I saw a friend wearing a cute pair of capri jeans and asked her where she got them and she said "Love Culture". So last weekend I walked in there with a mission and found a pair of stretchy capri jeans for $24. They were a size "5" which means they were juniors. Now Stacey and Clinton would say that's a big faux pas to wear junior clothes but they fit and they were exactly what I was looking for. But the size "5" pretty much sums it. The stores at the new Southcenter are catered towards teens, not women. If you want to get quality pieces that would last a few washes, go to somewhere else. If you're looking for a cute top to wear for a weekend in Vegas for less than $25, check out Southcenter.