Sales Shopping 101

This list doesn’t just apply for those crazy sale times. It can also easily be consulted when embarking upon a shopping expedition on a busy day, or whenever you want to feel calm and unhurried and in the right mood for some fabulous purchases!

DO…wear separates. A top and pants or jeans are the most versatile for trying on with different items. A dress may be comfortable, but as soon as you see a top you want to try on you instantly saddle yourself with the problem of finding a pair of pants to try on with them. Needless to say this is not an easy task in this kind of rushed shopping atmosphere.

DO…wear a good bra and underpants. It makes a big difference when you get something home if you’ve tried it on with either no bra or an old stretched one. Plus when you strip off in the change room everything will look so much better in that mirror, essential for maintaining shopping morale.

DO…wear comfortable shoes. Choose ones that you can easily slip on and off without bending over constantly. How many times have we been shopping and had to undo the straps or buckles of sandals or boots over and over again, wobbling on one foot as people bump into us? ARRRGH!!

DO…wear small accessories. If you wear big dangly earrings or chunky necklaces you will be fabulous, but forever taking them off in every change room you enter. Apart from this annoying the bejesus out of you in no time at all, you run the risk of leaving them behind somewhere, which is most definitely not fabulous.

So now that you are ready to head out into the fray, think twice if any of these apply…

DON’T…go if you are in a hurry. You need to take your time. Even with a pre-prepared list it takes time to walk through the store, get stuck behind hordes of women scrabbling for their size with enormous handbags, locate the items you want, consider and dismiss the items you are being tempted to impulse buy, select your size and colour amongst the heap, and then go stand in the queue for the change room. You may even need to go back and try on another size – shop assistants usually don’t have time in the sales to go out and find it for you, so you will have to do it yourself. Then there’s the queue for the cashier…

DON’T…go on payday. Much better to wait until the end of the pay period and the rent is paid. Then you will have a much better perspective from which to make your decisions i.e. if I have no money left to pay for it how much do I really need it?

DON’T…go the day before your period. Speaking of periods, I don’t think I need to explain this one. Bad mood, plus bad body image equals bad choices. Bad idea.

DON’T…go shopping tipsy. Yes, we’ve all been there, and we’ve all got the slutty dress at the back of the wardrobe to prove it.

DON’T…go if you are hungry or just had a big meal. One will distract you and make you do rash things; the other will make you sluggish and suddenly half a size bigger.

And finally, remember to look after yourself and the environment…

• Stop for breaks to sit, rest, and have a think about anything you aren’t sure about
• Drink plenty of water – in your reusable water bottle!
• Say no to a new carry bag in every shop (well, maybe just stick to the really nice ones)

See you in the line!

Rubi

Summer Sales, Spanish-style

No matter that summer only officially started last weekend, the Spanish summer sales are fast approaching. The upside of this is that once you have snaffled up your bargains you have the entire summer to enjoy your purchases. This year I am limiting my wish-list to 5 items, and have introduced a new element of chance to make things a little more interesting!

Summer Sales 2009 – Wish-List

1. Strapless dress. Thank you Garance Doré for facilitating the light bulb moment for how to start the list – with a covetable but classic item that adds a touch of excitement to the hunt.  Also I have a theory that one should use the sales to buy at least one thing that normally you would not, whether it be because of affordability or the view that it is nice to have but not entirely necessary. Plain or floral? This one will be lots of fun searching out.

http://www.garancedore.fr/en/2009/06/23/les-italiennes/

2. Grey soft cotton blazer. Item number two is quite an on-trend piece that combines the return of the jacket with one of my favourite shades, grey marle. One of those things you know is going to go on sale because it’s a little bit left-of-centre for the mainstream customer (being made from t-shirt material), but actually has longevity because of its simplicity. The one I have in mind has already been tried on. The advantage of this is that I simply wait for the price to drop sufficiently low, walk into the store and pick one up, then head straight to the cashier without having to battle the change room queues.

3. Black strappy sandals. So maybe this year I will finally stick to the plan and buy black? There is always hope. I am currently tossing up between a black suede stiletto Mary-Jane style and an open-toed pair with a big fat jewel-encrusted brooch on the main part of the foot. Both Zara, both fabulous, and both quite frivolous, which is why one of them will be the perfect purchase when reduced to 20 euro.

4. Jet set swimmers. H&M have some fabulous Côte d’Azur-style maillots and bikinis this season, all already priced around the 15 to 20 euro mark. My favourite is a black one-piece complete with black rope going over one shoulder and looped through a gold ring – very Athina Onassis. I figure with the amount of stock they have sitting on their shelves at present there are going to be some big markdowns in this area, making number four the potential ‘super bargain’ of the list.

5. The lucky dip. In my experience there is nothing worse than that moment when you clap your eyes on something absolutely wonderful and then realise that you have already spent your sale budget on other, potentially less fabulous things. Best to leave something up the sleeve, as it were.

And the budget? I think I can manage all of the above for a mere 100 euro, which translates to less than $200 (at the time of writing). This will require a fair amount of discipline but wanted something to make the whole exercise just a touch more exciting.

After all, when you shop for a living you need to up the ante a little when doing it for yourself, or all the items would be crossed off the list in an afternoon!

So here’s to a successful sale season!

Rubi

Casa Batllo Barcelona

photo the style bar 2009

photo the style bar 2009

photo the style bar 2009

photo the style bar 2009

The One & Only

It wouldn’t be a new season without a newly revived trend to cause much rolling of collective eyes and the swearing of eternal abstinence from said fashion suicide. After all, fashion has always been about provoking conversation and heated debate in men and women alike, without which we would all happily don our boot cut jeans, crisp white shirts and brown leather loafers year after year without complaint. And quite possibly die of ennui in the process.

Now call me perverse or just plain rebellious, but I often feel an affinity for these black sheep of the must-have lists, and in trying to crack the code of how to wear them without looking ridiculous I end up falling in love with the look.

This summer season and indeed into the next (and in fact in the last as well if you are fashion forward, which just means very quick off the mark in fashion speak) it is the jumpsuit’s turn to be misunderstood, scoffed at, and then passed off as another dreadful old fad that should never have been resurrected.

And in some guises this is undoubtedly true. You only have to look at the names we traditionally associate with the ‘all-in-one’ and you could easily be turned off. So many of them – playsuit, jumpsuit, or even romper – suggest frivolity and childhood, so it is no wonder that everyone is dismissing them as playground attire. And that’s without even going near its dreaded cousin the horrible overall or dungaree.

However I am feeling a definite nostalgia for this latest 70’s revival, helped along immensely by the Spanish term for such an item, ‘el mono’, which I think is so much better a description than the rest, not least because apart from signifying a one-pieced article of clothing it also means a monkey or what you call a lovely -looking person.

Because I think it can be a very glamorous look. Forget floral prints or gingham – think back to when they were big in the heyday of disco and were made of silk or jersey, and then you start to get an idea of something much more flowing and fluid. I have to say that denim can be a very good option too – but the bottom line is that grown up fabrics will create a more grownup look.

photo courtesy of www.style.com

Halston Jumpsuit Fall 2009

Now unfortunately as with so many difficult to wear trends there are some truly ghastly examples and frankly misinterpretations out there for which I have to say some designers have a lot to answer for. However in  my quest for a really fabulous mono I have tried on so many bad ones that I now know exactly what you must avoid – and so here are the Top 3 do’s and don’ts for mono-buying;

1. Be plain, Jane.  Keep it really, really simple. Too much draping, over-the shoulder or about-the-waist gathering is creating too much fabric and therefore drawing too much attention to the top and middle half of your body, creating a lumpy turnip effect in the process. Plus need I say elasticized ankles are an absolute no-no. Go for long flowing or tapered legs instead. Channel some old-style glamour and sophistication, look for shoestring straps, a halter-neck, one shoulder or strapless shape, or choose soft but small ruffles on the shoulders or bust. As a general rule of thumb if you wouldn’t wear it as a top then you shouldn’t wear it when it is connected to your bottoms!
2. Leave the garden at home. As with the cut, the fabric should be soft and definitely not tight or body-hugging. As for print, it really is best not to have any at all – any reference to daisies, checks or doing the hula is only perpetuating the playground metaphor. Keep these and other cute but girly prints to the beach where they belong and indeed can look fabulous – as with any hard-to-wear trend, fussiness is fashion victim.
3. Turn it down. Now that you have a simple and smart silhouette going, let the fabric and the mere fact that you are actually bold enough to be wearing a one-piece out in public speak for itself. Apart from the possibility of nasty sweat marks showing up, darker colours work best – black, charcoal grey, deep blue or purple - or if you are really confident about making a statement there is always red, cream or white!

As for what shoes work best, this is actually quite a versatile area if you have the styling of your jumpsuit right. Depending on the occasion you can dress it up or down with strappy heels, chunky platforms, or sparkly or leather thongs. (Bet you didn’t think you’d be hearing the word versatile with jumpsuit!)

photo courtesy of www.style.com

Martin Grant Jumpsuit Spring 2009

So there you have it, plenty of ammunition to spring to the defence of the humble mono, and indeed to pick out your very own. And do you know what the best thing of all is? No more worrying about whether your top goes with your pants – because your top and your bottom are now one. Which I particularly like as a very Zen clothing concept and hence not such a bad part of the revival methinks.

So be stylish and be at one!

Rubi

A Shoe-in

Having become a recent convert to a certain type of flat shoe popular in these parts, (Sneaking Around & Sneaking Around 2), I think it’s time I turned my attention to that most quintessential of Spanish shoes: the espadrille.

The espadrille is Catalan in origin, from the Pyrenees, which means it is from the region Catalonia of that includes Barcelona, and is also called an ‘espardenya’. Originally flat, they are made from canvas and have a coiled rope sole.

So I think this presents a perfectly good reason to partake of a long tradition, notwithstanding the fact that they are, in fact, shoes, and hence an essential summer wardrobe item. How could I not join the locals in owning a pair.

I have been eyeing them off for a few years now (there are a few espadrille shop-lined streets in Seville in the south), and now that summer is really on its way it’s time to get serious. There is, admittedly, a dizzying array of styles to choose from, from the super flat to a platform wedge, so this does make the decision a little more complicated.

For a modern take on the traditional, you really can’t go past Castañer. Whilst other brands may be making espadrille-inspired shoes – rope-wedged pumps and sling-backs are in every store on the high street right now (think H&M, Mango & Zara) – these guys have been making the real thing since 1927, and they really know their stuff.

More expensive than the others, they are however supremely comfortable and terribly well made, so you are getting good solid espadrille value. I had initially thought them a little ‘mumsy’, especially as they are mostly sold in the sorts of shoe shops frequented by middle-aged matrons in tree-lined shopping precints, but I have come to realise they are just one of those very grownup European shoe looks. That kind of sexy in an old-fashioned womanly Sophia Loren way. And if I can picture Penelope Cruz in a pair then I know I’m on the right track! I mean, how mumsy can a pair of black platform slingbacks with a black lacquered-rope wedge be?

Check out their website at http://www.castaner.com/; their homepage is a black & white video of a pair being made, and you can see the latest collections – men and women…

Then of course there is the other option – the traditional flat espadrille, perfect for summers spent messing about on boats and beaches in the Med. These are the kinds of shoes worn by men and women and always seem to feature in black and white photographs of summer holidays in the first half of the 20^th century – Picasso and Dali, two terribly famous – and famously terrible – Spaniards. Which I suspect is also part of the reason that I want to own some.

I spied a small shop on my recent travels about town that has a massive range of very authentic looking espadrilles. Naturally its location up a side street in the old quarter (Barri Gotíc) only made them seem more so. Turns out it is world-renowned for its hand-made espadrilles, and is where Señor Dali bought his pairs; so somehow I think this may be the place.

photo courtesy of www.espadrilles.ca

Of course I can now see that really I will be requiring two pairs: a flat pair in black or navy for casual outdoor-type activities, and a pair of heels for dressier occasions (like jeans and a white singlet top).

Which is fine by me: if you can’t make the choice to satisfy your practical or your frivolous side, I say indulge them both and make everybody happy!

Happy shoe shopping

Rubi