Alexander McQueen: Into the Woods

This month, Sarah Burton (who took over as designer after Alexander McQueen's passing) threw a fashion show in McQueen's native London for the Fall 2012 McQ line as a celebration for the launch of a new store location. She has been able to maintain the McQueeny-ness of the late designers aesthetic while still creating original and exciting new pieces. The McQ line is tailored to a more everyday look. This collection has earthy, woodsy colors (browns, forest greens, deep autumn reds) but there's nothing bland about it. It really feels like fall. Nothing too vibrant. Enjoy!

{Photos via Vogue.com}

Whitney Houston has passed away. Let's remember the good times...

Love the big hair!

Review of online shoe / accessory store JustFab.com

Tempted by those commercials of women admiring shoes on the internet at work, I decided to take a look at JustFab.com for myself. I wasn't really planning on buying anything, but when I saw a one day only deal for 50% off my first purchase of shoes I frantically searched for an acceptable pair.

So, I thought I'd pass my experience on to those curious about this store.

Pros:

1. You will always get a discount (of some kind) on your first order -- at least 20% but I was lucky enough to get 50% off.

2. Shipping (except expedited) is always free.

3. Exchanges are free. They pay the shipping for exchanging.

3. Nothing on the site is over $39.95.

4. They predict what types of shoes and other accessories you might like.

5. With every purchase you make you earn points which can eventually be redeemed for free shoes.

Cons:

1. Nothing is under $39.95. Every single thing is the same price, like Dollar Tree. Some things -- like the jewelry are not worth the price. Now, to be fair, sometimes they do have deals going on, like select styles being two for the price of one.

2. When you sign up, you take a style personality quiz, but it isn't really in-depth enough to capture your personal taste. It just forces you to pick your favorite out of a number of lukewarm items and celebrities. In my case, almost every question's choices were all unappealing to me, so the "stylist hand-picked" shoes in my personal boutique weren't really things I liked.

3. When you make your first purchase, you become a "VIP" member, which basically means that unless you opt out each month by the 5th day, they will charge you $39.95 and send you more shoes. You cannot opt out of this "VIP" thing unless you cancel your account altogether. However, you can decline each month by clicking "SKIP THIS MONTH" on the homepage, but again, this be done by the 5th of each month.

4. Browsing their items is tiresome. You cannot simply type in a keyword and search for what you want unless you know the specific name of the shoe or accessory. You can't see all of their shoes at any given time. I am not sure why this is. What the "stylists" chose for me was pretty limited, and didn't really reflect my style.

Here's what I settled on:



They send them in sturdy packaging, and they ship quickly. I ordered on a Tuesday night and had my shoes by Saturday. They come in their own shoe box just like shoes from a real store. My pair has creases around the ankles as if someone wore them already. Maybe they were returned? It's not a huge problem, but it makes me think that they were made very, very cheaply. They feel kind of cheap. I will definitely need to put insoles in them as there is no padding for the balls of my feet, which is the part that you put a lot of your weight on when wearing heels.

All in all, the shopping experience wasn't ideal for me. A lot of the shoes I really loved were out of stock. I would rather not see them at all if I can't actually buy them. I like to search directly with keywords to find what I am looking for, not hunt and click through pages and pages looking for something to pique my interest. I really dislike that you have to remember to log on every month and opt out unless you want to buy shoes. The site would be better if you could just buy what you wanted, when you wanted, without all that hassle. Seems to me that they just want you to forget so they can charge you another $39.95.

Shortly after getting my shoes, I joined ShoeDazzle.com out of curiosity. They have a more stylish selection of shoes, but other than that, it's basically the same store. I will try them next. They have Jeffrey Campbell "Lita" lookalikes, but you have to get on a waiting list because they've already sold out!