Why ModCloth.com is one of the Best on-line stores!

I am not going to deny that I SHOP a lot. I have more clothes then I could possibly wear, unless you layer layer layer, which I do for that very reason.

I also e-window shop on a daily basis, and when I do my first stop is always modcloth.com. I first discovered ModCloth about a year ago, when the advertisement popped up on my Facebook advertising bar. I have been hooked ever since. Their selection of affordable cute dresses, underpinnings, skirts and TIGHTS is unique and fashion forward.

The price point means you can buy without guilt, unlike its “older” sister Anthropologie where you feel the hit as soon as you purchase, unless its on sale of course. Anthroplogie and Modcloth are not connected . Modcloth.com only do a limited run of things, so you have to buy quick not to miss out. If you do miss out they have one of the best features of any e-commerce store. The notification of restock! Just one click and you are instantly added to a list or eager customers waiting for the product to either be returned or restocked...I have on many occasions used this feature, and missed out.

The quality is hit and miss, that depends on the piece. Some things just look better on-line, it’s the lighting and the Photoshop. But, I have never really been disappointed with a purchase, since there are always reviews and they are usually spot on.

Another feature that is totally awesome is "Be the Buyer" In this tab you can be the buyer of ModCloth, voting on sample pieces. Sadly sometimes they don’t make it online, and I am left feeling disappointed that I will never get to wear such an interesting piece. Other times, there are pieces so hideous that I wonder who on earth would one wear something in such an odd combination of floral and stripes and in that color way. By the time it makes it past the sample stage it is “sometimes” cuter and more interesting....sometimes.

I had the chance to meet them at a job fair, and they truly reflect the brand.
Their inspirationally story of a start-up has inspired me time and time again. I have been toying with the idea of starting an on-line business since I got laid off from Knoll. I think I am finally ready to take the plunge! I will be starting a KICKSTART in the next few weeks. So watch this space.

This particular ModCloth dress is called cutely “English Seaside Dress”, when I purchased it I pictured Nathan, Max and I strolling the boardwalk in Brighton eating cotton candy/ Candy Floss and watching the Channel...The closest that dream came to was running around the boardwalk of Rehobeth Beach, riding the tea cups and hoping that Max wouldn’t throw up all over my new dress...

With the transition of weather we are currently in ( Finally! ) I paired my “English Seaside” dress with a pair of microfiber calzedonia tights in gray. The slip is from Urban

Max is pushing me out to the way in this shot. He wanted to be in the picture

Hunting the Missing Cobra of the Bronx Zoo

We went to the Bronx Zoo this weekend in search of the missing snake. When we arrived we found out that she was found! THANK GOD, because I was very wary of visiting a zoo that had a cobra hiding in some place other than in a contained environment.
I never really liked snakes, but I wouldn't say that I am scared of them. I find them creepy and sneaky...
The Bronx zoo is hosting a competition to name that sly snake that escaped!  Max thinks she should called Slippy

Max and I posing at the Bronz Zoo

I am also using my Thursday Friday Together Bag whenever I can! Its not only stylish and interesting to look at it holds everything! Great for a MOM with style- and a suspicion of snakes!

These are another pair from Nordstroms! I felt these tights were appropriate for the snake hunt! They are a grey slate color with spirals that look like snakes climbing up my legs......


 

Thursday Friday's "Together Bag" and Calzedonia...Birkin Chronicles Part 1

I often get asked where the name of this Blog comes from. In my days as a Bergdorf Goodman employee many a Birkin bag, real and fake, would be plopped down in front of me usually followed by a Black American Express card. With these two ultimate symbols of status usually came a list of 20 products, many duplicates, that my customers would need for their various houses, jets and of course handbags.

It was usually easy to spot the fake bags, mostly because of the shoddy stitching and the lack of stylish owners. Occasionally, I wouldn't be able to tell and one would have to give the customer the benefit of the doubt based on whatever else they were wearing or how much they would spend.  It became a game my co-workers and I would play. I eventually became really good at it. Especially when the stakes were high, and the potential commissions! 

While reading "Who Moved my Cheese", a book my former fiancée had become obsessed with I decided to set myself some goals. It felt natural to have targets in the lead up to marriage. Among the many aims I set for myself, was to one day own a, genuine, Birkin Bag. The Hermes classic immortalized by Jane Birkin. Not because I wanted to be defined as a lady who lunched and spent my husband's money. However, while I was working at Bergdorf some of the most successful women in New York would glide through with their Birkin swinging on their arm spending the money they had worked hard for -and broke through glass ceilings to obatain. Women entrepreneurs that had started and ran a successful business.

At the time I was unaware of the cost, thinking the Birkin couldn't of cost much more then a few thousand dollars, but not totally clueless I did work at Bergdorf... My Birkin Bag aspiration was solely based on the environment that I worked in, in contrast to the world I really lived in- outer borough, skinny jeans, ironic tee shirts and taking home a "retail paycheck".  So I decided that by the time I turned 30 everything should have fallen into place. 

By the time I turned 30, I was married, but not to the Cheesy fiance- I have a 3 year old son, who I love dearly and incidentally costs far more than a real Birkin to send to Pre-School.

Then- I stumbled upon THURSDAY FRIDAYS "Together Bag" in the New York Times- SEE BELOW. The Birkin Bag for the rest of us.

Okay it isn't THE Birkin but it is MY Birkin- The Together Bag is a POP Arty version of my favorite classic. Naturally my outer borough-self jumped on the canvas Tote- Totally smothering my Madison Avenue alter ego.  Hey a real Birkin doesn't cut it for a shift at the food co-op, canvas is King in the current eco-atmosphere. I just wish I could have the real thing in my closet…some day. 

Meanwhile back to the hosiery - Today's Hold Ups are from Calzedonia, part of the GIGANTIC haul Nathan brought me home a few weeks ago. I have to resist everyday not to call Carmen at the Calzedonia Shop in London, and have her send me a pair that I am missing from the Spring 2011 catalog. The Hold-Ups are black with a small brown dots! They compliment the texture in my skirt perfectly and totally work with my new bag!