Invitation Only Shopping

At the beginning of the fall semester of my junior year of college, my roommate's older sister sent her an online invitation to join a sample sale group called Ruelala. Lindsay trustingly accepted the invitation. I remember all 8 of the roommates curiously peering over her shoulder as we examined the website and digested how sample sales exactly worked. Lindsay quickly sent out an invitation to the rest of the roommates of 734 Greenwood and we've all been hooked on sample sales ever since.

Online Sample Sale sites are exclusive shopping communities that offer their members private access to high-end designer brands at incredibly discounted prices, normally around 60% off. These sample sales feature designers that regularly fill the racks at Nordstrom’s, Bloomingdales and high-end boutiques. Each day opens with a new sale, featuring a handful of luxury designer at a time. The designers are always changing and the sales are known to sell out very quickly.

It’s absolutely free to join. But due to high demand, insider prices and the many perks and privileges that come with membership, access can be extremely limited. Each sample sale website is invitation only. Like I mentioned earlier, in order to join one of these exclusive shopping communities, you will first need to be invited by someone who is already a member to the site or sign up to be put on a waiting list.

The sample sales that I am recommending to try out are the websites that I am personally a member of. I have made multiple purchases from all three of these websites and have obsessively shopped with each site for over a year now. I am a member of Hautelook, Gilt and Ruelala

At the beginning of each week, each website shows upcoming designer sales for the week. And since there are a limited amount of items and sizes of each item, if there is a specific designer sale that is coming up that you adore but can’t normally afford, it is important to make note of the sale so that you can log in right as the sale is about to open and hopefully get your desired item in your size.

For example, I have always loved to own a Kooba Jaylin bag, which can be regularly seen hanging on the arms of celebrities like Gossip Girl star, Blake Lively, and would cost $485 on expensive designer shopping websites like ShopBop.com. However, sample sale websites, Hautelook and Ruelala, both have had Kooba handbag sales within the last year, selling the coveted bag for over 60% at a price of $150. I missed my first opportunity to own a Kooba bag because Ruelala had sold out of Kooba Jaylin bags within 15 minutes of the sale first opening. But when I saw Hautelook was having a Kooba sale, I made it a priority to “win” my dream bag. So in order to beat out all the other online shopaholics, I may or may not have taken a break from taking notes during Chemistry 105 to claim my prize as soon as the sale opened up during my 9am class.

So hurry up and get on the waitlist, found at the homepage of any of these websites by clicking on the links above. Or if you’re too impatient to remain on the outside looking in, send out a mass email to all the shopaholics closest to you requesting an invitation to a sample sale. So you can continue to fuel your shopping addiction by becoming a member to these exclusive circles of people who appreciate high-end fashion but are unfortunately restricted to an ordinary budget.

The New Caricature

Look carefully, what do you see?:

I see caricatures of black men and women.

The ones from days long gone are blazing and unabashed in their racism. The new ones are thinly masked by the veil of style and music. These images are current and past mass distributed media of African-American people. The dominant narrative surrounding people of color in two different eras is remarkably similar. The miserable thing is that these messages are widely consumed by people across the world. 

“Apple Bottom” jeans, Rocawear, and G-Unit, all of these brands allow us to consume a stereotypical appearance and prejudiced ideas. Years ago the common sentiment towards people of color was a set of trepidations, a picture of an animal race: oversexed, dirty, stupid, and goofy. Now the widely diffused images carry mirror messages: ignorant, hypersexual, materialistic, and unintelligent. Now us consumers can pick up a shiny, freshly wrapped package of that old-time oppression and racism. By buying that bag of “hood-ware” we are participating in an institution that continues to oppress.

DIY Lesson: 90s Biker Dress

I’ve put together a step-by-step guide to show how cheap and easy it can be to make your very own "au currant" dress.  You need only a few items and, if you shop creatively, it should cost you less than $20.

  

(L: Christopher Kane for Topshop, R: Alexander Wang, Fall 2009, images via style.com)

Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of what could best be described as “early 90s bad girl goes uptown to a chic nightclub dresses" popping up on all the Internet fashion sites. I guess it must be part of the current biker/grunge/punk/lowbrow craze in fashion, which includes band-aid and cutout dresses, leather, and lots of spike or pyramid studded apparel. As much as I try to avoid adhering to obvious trends, I couldn’t deny the fact that I really wanted a studded cutout dress. Probably because I think they’re cute in that kind of “alternative” way, like something I would have loved in the 9^th grade but didn’t have the guts to wear to school. Moreover, making my own version of the dress seemed like an easy and fun (not to mention cheap) activity  - it appealed to my primal arts-and-craft-sy side which, sadly, is often suppressed.

First, you need a plain black dress. Your dress can be in whatever style works best for you. However, shorter and tighter dresses (preferably from the early 90s) tend to convey the overall look with a lot more authenticity. If I remember correctly, I purchased mine from the Salvation Army store for $7.

  

Second, you need several items from your local fabric store –  I love the big Jo-Ann Fabrics out by Ypsilanti. You want scissors (which I assume you already own), fabric glue (Aleene’s Fabric Fusion works great), and several packs of metallic appliqués. You can really choose whatever appliqués you like best for your garment, but keep in mind that certain choices (rhinestones, faux gems, etc) can veer toward hokey and even bedazzled-esque. I settled on some fake metal studs because they were cheap ($2.99 for a pack of 30) and would give my dress that “authentic” look I was going for.  Finally, you might want to buy a white fabric pencil to mark the cutout patterns on your dress. I should have gotten one of these but I’m cheap and, for better or for worse, trust my eye’s instincts.

 After you have all your supplies ready, mark the cutout patterns on your dress. You are entitled to your own artistic freedom, but cutouts that are symmetrical and that mimic the conventional design patterns of dresses tend to look the best. Cut out the chunks of fabric leaving several holes in the dress.

Next comes the fun part (or the tedious part, depending on whom you ask…). Arrange the metallic appliqués in a pattern that you like and glue each of them down using the fabric glue. After the glue dries, your dress is complete!*

*Depending on the fabric, you may want to finish the seams around the cutouts so that the material doesn’t fray. I’m super lazy and impatient so I skipped this step, but hopefully will get around to finishing it later…

 

A Wonderful Winter

When I first got to the University of Michigan, I noticed that the main concern amongst the freshman was the weather. We all know that the state of Michigan gets cold. Not cold as in brrrr it’s chilly, I need to grab scarf on my way out. But cold as in, if I am outside and not wearing four pairs of socks, three sweaters, and the warmest coat in existence I will get frostbite and/or die. Now, I am no stranger to cold weather. I grew up in the city of Chicago, about four hours from Ann Arbor, and along with wind so strong it can lift you off your feet, we have plenty of days so cold it’s dangerous to go out doors.

The thing about winters in Ann Arbor that makes them seem so much colder than they are is the amount of time spent outside in the cold. The time I spent outside during my adolescent winters in Chicago was minimal. I went directly from my house to the car and directly from the car into my school, followed by the reverse process to get home. Therefore, my coat did not need to be the most practical piece of equipment.

When talking to older students about how people deal with the winter, all replied the same way. “Ever girl in Ann Arbor looks the same in the winter, they wear those long black North Face coats and a pair of Uggs. We can never tell who any one is!”
After hearing this, I thought, Okay I can get a long coat, that seems practical. But look like everyone else? Not okay with me. Thus I embarked on a mission to find a long, warm winter coat that was not only different, but one that did not empty my wallet.

DKNY "Bethany Circe" Down Coat

The classic long North Face “Metropolis” coat hits just at the knee—depending on your height—and boasts a very warm 600 fill down insulation and costs about $280. Working within this price point, Bloomingdales.com offers two great coats that meet all your needs for winter. The first is the DKNY “Bethany Cire” Down Coat that costs $278. This coat not only has a hood, but an extremely warm knit collar to keep any wind or snow from sneaking inside and cooling you down. In addition to the warm down fill, there is an inside zipper that keeps your coat close and snug to your body for extra warmth.



Laundry by Shelli Seagal Coat

The second is a coat from Laundry by Shelli Segal and costs $286. This coat is as long as the DKNY
 coat and it has great angled stitching so even thought you are covered in puffy material your figure doesn’t get lost and you don’t look larger than you actually are—a common problem with puffy down filled jackets. Along with warm down fill this coat has a hood lined with faux fur, which is great for blocking snow from your face and keeping those cheeks warm.





 L.L.Bean Coat

For those who want to spend a little less, L.L.Bean makes the coat for you. At $149 this coat keeps all the bang for way less buck without losing a bit of style. With 650 fill down you’re going to be warm wherever you walk in this coat. It also has a faux fur hood, quilted stitching and a boxy fit. If you find yourself getting tired of buying a basic black coat winter after winter, this one comes in five different colors including a soft periwinkle blue and a vibrant red.


  

Marc New York Coat

The final and cheapest option is a Marc New York coat, sold by the Burlington Coat Factory for $99. This coat is filled with 60% duck down and while it is definitely a warm coat, it’s probably not the warmest option out of all the choices. It has a faux fur hood for keeping your face warm and vertical stitching to elongate your frame and keep you from looking too big in a puffy jacket.




   

 Mukluks

Now, what is just as important as your coat are the accessories you wear with it.  If you are looking for an alternative to Uggs, endless.com sells knockoffs of the very stylish and very warm boots called Mukluks.  They have furry insulation and are covered in faux rabbit fur on the outside.  However, the prices range on the high side (around $200) but the original Mukluks cost about $400 and to me it’s worth it to keep those toes warm.  I’ve found that Urban Outfitters always has very cute and moderately priced hats and gloves. Urban Outfitters has several great knit beanie hats for keeping you warm. My two favorites are the BDG Cable Knit Beanie for $20 and the BDG Ribbed Slouchy Beanie for $28 both of which come in five different colors. These hats are thick knits and they are offered in a wide variety of colors so you can match them with whichever coat you choose.

Another accessory I would not face the winter without are convertible gloves. I hate mittens because I always find myself needing take them off in the cold to pick something up or use my fingers. With convertible gloves there is a pocket that you can cover the tips of your fingers with, creating a mitten, but if you ever need to use your hands you can take off the mitten part without completely removing the glove. Genius! Urban Outfitters sells the Solid Convertible Glove for $16 and it comes in four great colors, my favorite being the red. To add just a little more individuality to your look, check out forever21.com for a huge assortment of cheap scarves in many different fabrics and patterns.

I am fully confident that with a little careful shopping we can all face this winter with a minimum risk of frostbite or blending in with the crowd.