Endless.com

I recently started a new job working on Endless.com, a website dedicated to shoes, handbags and accessories built by Amazon.com. As excited as I am to be working on a website selling shoes and accessories, so far it's been really bad for my wallet. One of Amazon's core principles is that we strive to be Earth's most customer centric company, and to be customer centric you have to really put yourself in the customer's shoes and be a customer. Which is exactly what I've been doing. Endless offers free overnight shipping, free returns for 365 days. And when I say free overnight shipping, it's literally you order your shoes today and they show up at your door tomorrow. How awesome is that? It's not quite like having the salesperson at Nordstrom bringing over those 10 pairs of shoes that you want to try on and you get to choose which ones you want to buy, but it's as close to it as it gets when it comes to online shopping. I've been in this new job for 2 weeks and I've already bought 2 pairs of shoes. At this rate, you do that math...

Matisse Women's Swirl Scrunch Flat - $58. After the hateful Coach metallic flats, I wanted a pair of actual comfy gold flats. These are really soft and hug your feet. I have never heard of Matisse as a brand but I'm giving these a shot.

Madden Girl Women's Singerr Mid Shaft Boot - $64.95 I have never tried Madden Girl. It must be their lower end junior brand like BCBGirls. I totally have a thing for boots right now because it's getting to be winter and I'm taking the bus to work. I really liked the idea of grey scrunchy boots and these boots got good reviews on Endless. However, I was weary because these are not real leather. Well, I tried them on and they are quite adorable and comfortable. I actually do think I could go shopping all day in them. However, I feel like you're sacrificing a bit of quality for this line. You're trading leather for synthetics and stitching for glue. I think I'd rather spend a bit more for something that's well made.

Delicate Raymonds Vintage Gold Necklace

I was flipping through the November issue of In Style magazine while getting my pedicure and I just fell in love with the gold monogram necklace worn by Carrie Underwood. In the last couple of years, I've bought lots of gold fashion jewelry but it's been hard to find any real gold jewelry that is not completely gawdy or incredibly expensive (i.e. Tiffany's or Cartiers). This lovely vintage style monogram necklace is pretty and versatile enough to be paired with a v-neck plain white tee for day or a little black dress for evening. Now I haven't pulled the trigger on this one yet because it's hard to tell from the picture how thick the gold disk is. I'm worried that it'd be too thin and flimsy. Also since it's monogrammed, you won't be able to return it. But I've been looking for a nice piece of gold jewelry for so long and my birthday is coming up, maybe this can be my gift to myself?



Delicate Raymonds Vintage Monogram Necklace - $165

I Love Nordstrom Rack

This blog has been in the slumps just like the economy. You know that my spending is in serious decline when I passed on buying anything from the Nordstrom half yearly women and children's sale. I didn't even look at the shoe section at all! Sure, I browsed the sale selection online and was tempted by a few pretties but I resisted. This is really bad as I will soon have absolutely no material for my blog. But after all the gloominess of coming out of Nordstrom empty handed, I found some light at my old faithful: Nordstrom Rack. Shopping at Nordstrom Rack is like going on a treasure hunt. If you have something very specific in mind, you're unlikely to find it. But say you want a pair of great flats but you don't care which exact brand or colour, you'll probably find a pair of gems at 60% off at the Rack. If you don't, chances are you'll find a pair of shiny black patent leather pumps that you have no good reason not to buy, such was the case with the pair of patent leather Cole Haan pumps I came across. There's usually always something that you'll find at such a good discount that you'll feel guilt free about buying. Sure you might get a pair of jeans for $100 but they used to be $200!! Think of the 50% discount! That is why I rarely walk out of the Rack without spending less than $100. The only caveat is that their return policy is stricly 30 days. So if you're going to have buyer's remorse, have it within that deadline. Other than that, there's nothing but goodness. The money you spend at the Rack also goes towards your rewards points if you happened to have a Nordstrom credit card. Those rewards are good at the regular Nordstrom store and the Rack. Again, I have to say Nordstrom knows how to build customer loyalty. So even when the economy is weak and my budget is tight, my heart and wallet still belong to Nordstrom Rack.

Birthday Wish List

Shopping has not been fun since my self-imposed ban. The good thing is that my birthday is coming up and my BFF asked me for a wish list of things I'd like. Oh... There's so many things that although I don't need, I would just love to have.

Lululemon deep V-tank - It's a bit pricey for workout clothes but I have one of these and it looks great and is functional. And I always need motivation to work out.

Banana Republic trouser jeans - A great business casual look for the office.

Victoria's Secret long jane pajamas - These are so cute! I love to have warm PJs in the winter that I can lounge around in all day.

Miz Mooz 'Amber' Boot - I was eyeing these during the Nordstrom's anniversary sale but couldn't pull the trigger then. But these are fantastic with a thick heel for comfort.

Shu Uemura false eye lashes - Almost every girl at Halloween was wearing eye popping false eyelashes. Next time I go to a big bash, I'm definitely giving them a try. Maybe for New Year's?

Nars super orgasm blush - My Nars orgasm blush is running out, and what's this? Super orgasm!

The Shopping Blahs

I don't know about you but all this talk about the world economy being in the crappers and that we should all be bracing for the Depression of this century is really killing my natural urge to shop. How can I get psyched about Fall boots when I see that my mutual funds have dropped 1/3 in value? Mutual funds! Anyway, I've instituted a self-imposed temporary shopping ban on non-essentials. I've been good so far since I've been back from vacation in China. The only exception I'm making is gift buying, which actually is an essential if you think about it. Just because the economy is bad doesn't mean that my best friend should get coupons for her birthday. I always feel doubly satisfied when gift shopping because you're doubling the happiness. I enjoy the giving and the recipient enjoys the gift! Also, I feel justified in buying clothes for my one year old son since he now needs a warm coat for winter. But these are just small doses of shopping fun in the grand scheme of things. Up next, I will look into retailers who are deeply discounting because of the state of the economy. Maybe there is a silver lining after all.

To Fake or Not to Fake

As you probably know, copyright laws are loosely enforced and rarely followed in China. That's why you can find an abundant of pirated software, music, movies and of course fashion. One of the most popular knock off items is designer handbags. Manufacturers will meticulously copy designs and sell the imitations at a fraction of the price. This Gucci large hobo retails for $1350 USD and you can get a high quality knockoff for around $50 USD. In China, knockoffs are everywhere so that everyone is guessing "is she or isn't she", faking it that is. However, if you bring one back to the US, no one will guess that it's a fake. So now the question is, if only you know it's a fake, would you fake it? My rationale around that is people buy designer bags not for function or really for the style alone. They're status symbols. They're aspirational. The longing is a part of the experience. Buying luxury items is the ultimate retail therapy. Trying to pass off a knockoff as genuine really diminishes how rewarding it feels to own one of these coveted bags. On my trip to China, my cousin gave me a well-made knockoff of this Gucci hobo and I reasoned with myself that I will use this bag in public as a shopping bag and if my friends see it I will tell them it's a fake. That means that strangers will probably think that I'm carrying a real Gucci but I'd be truthful to my friends. So I guess I'll be half fakin' it then?

Shopping in Shanghai

I just came home from 10 days in Shanghai, the New York City of China. In a city with 20 million inhabitants and many more tourists, it's no surprise that it's a shopper's paradise. The current exchange rate between 1 US dollar and the local currency, the RMB is about 1 to 6.8. So for a US tourist, you get a lot more for your dollar. In Shanghai, you'll find many multi-level department stores. These stores are clean, brightly lit and air conditioned with up to date fashion but I found that they're for browsing only and gauging prices. A cute trench coat will go for about 30USD, which is not bad but not much of a bargain. You'll also see many recognizable interational brands like DKNY which will cost you about twice as much as what you would pay in the US. So definitely avoid the name brands. On the street, you'll find many small, privately owned boutiques. Some are filled with "local" styles with flowers and glitters but there are definitely a lot of stylish boutiques emulating US or Japanese fashion. I checked out prices at these boutiques are they're also in about the 30USD range. But I found that they were too spread out to efficiently shop. My sources in Shanghai told me that these boutiques get their inventory from the wholesale district of "Qi Pu Road" anyway, so that's where I wanted to go!
The Qi Pu Road area has about 4 department store sized buildings. Each floor is lined with stall after stalls of all kinds of clothes and accessories. The floors are only loosely organized by category. The scene was quite daunting but also exciting. This is the jackpot of bargain shopping. Luckily, my resourceful cousin took me straight to the floors with the modern and western styles. I was not disappointed. We found knock off brand name pieces for $10 - $15 USD. There are a few gotchas. Since this the wholesale district, the sellers are less willing to haggle overprices. Sizes are also limited, as in, one size fits all. Now, I'm a US size small on top and size 2 on the bottom and I found the tops snug. So I guess if it doesn't fit, you're just out of luck. Other than that, if you had a good pair of walking shoes, a knowledgable guide and a hunger for bargains you can spend a whole week in the area and get great finds.

On a side note not related to shopping per se, Shanghai is a great place to get pampered. We went to a clean, tranquil, beautifully decorated (and legit) spa where we had our private room for two. We were greeted with a waitress offering tea and food (complimentary!) then changed into comfy cotton pajamas for our massage. Seventy relaxing minutes later, we sank into our own loungers, drank our tea and nibbled on yummy snacks. Did I say that the snacks were free and we could hang out for as long as we wanted? And all this for about $20 USD! There are many spas offering full body massages and foot massages in the area and they're highly competitive, hence the free extras. I also got a one hour foot rub for $10 USD, again with tea service and your own TV. If I didn't have family obligations on this trip I would have had a massage everyday! Another favorite pass time on this trip was getting my hair washed. This is where you sit in a salon chair and the hair washer person pours just the tiniest amount of water on your head to combine with shampoo and work up a lather. He continues to do this until your head is totally soapy and foamy but he does this expertly so that you're not dripping with water. Then you're rinsed off and a stylist blow dries and styles your hair. For this level of pampering, the price ranges anywhere from $1 USD to $6 USD. You can't beat it.