Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Sleep Depravation, Meet Versace by H&M

I had mixed feeling about actually attempting to get my mitts on something from the Versace for H&M collection. Because... you hear about people go as far as camping out for 3 weeks in advance and selling their firstborn and whatnot. Okay, slight exaggeration, but you know what I mean.

This quick video sums it up pretty well.

7:45 a.m. Notice the sighing and self-inflicted eye rolling. I commence my master plan to be among the first in New Jersey to shop the collection. This results in a pony tail. Cherish seeing it my friends, cause it's few and far between I go out in public like this.

I had my eye on three items, any of which I'd be happy to have:

Photos courtesy of H&M

8:00 a.m. Arrive at Garden State Plaza on my way to H&M. I spot two girls toting loud shopping bags from H&M. Oversight No. 1 - This mall usually opens at 10 a.m., normally, but Saturday, the store opened early. Oops.

8:05 a.m. Make it to H&M to be greeted with two organized lines, roped off with about 15 security guards in front of the store.... about 75 people deep.

8:10 a.m. Quickly make friends with people standing in front of me and compare "How long have you been waiting" stories. One person tells me someone was here since 10 p.m. last night... some even slept in their cars and came at 6 a.m. Oversight No. 2 - People really did camp out to shop, something I thought only New Yorkers did.

Plus, it gave me time to admire this dudes shoes:

Eventually, an H&M employee comes around with wristbands. I get a white one... marked with a time of 12:25 p.m.

8:45 a.m. Tell myself, "Totally should I slept in."

Meanwhile, people are flying out of the store with multiple bags, sometimes escorted by security guards. Some people say there's stuff left, or nothing left at all. I figure wait it out till I physically can't stand anymore.

About an hour and a half passes before another bystander, aggravated with her wristband time of 11:30 a.m., gives hers to me. It's now 10:15... I'm so close!

So... in the end, I made it out with this:

Filled with this:

No Versace for me. Turns out by the time it was 10:30 a.m., an employee let those with wristbands take a peek at what was left of the collection - meaning, palm tree pants and books. At that point, I was already in the store and my hopes being dashed, I just shopped instead.

All for naught? Not so much. Still shopped and still got a blog post out of it. = )

Friday, September 9, 2011

Saks Fifth Avenue Takes On FNO

Last night, I stayed local and took in all that New Jersey has to offer for Fashion's Night Out. Saks Fifth Avenue at The Mall at Short Hills extended an invite to me to check out their FNO festivities, which included food, beauty and makeup, and live music! And since I'm a local Garden Stater, I figured, why not?!

In addition to all the Fashion's Night Out festivities, the store was celebrating the launch of the B Brian Atwood shoe line at the store! I've seen them online (and they're beauties), but seeing them in person was even sweeter! Besides, you can never have enough shoes....

Customers were invited to view the newly launched collection located in the department store's Salon Shoes department, and strike a pose in their favorite B Brian Atwood shoes. Among the leather and suede pumps and wedges, the Edeline caught my eye. The rich wine-colored suede is strikingly bold in person, and the metal feature on the heel just adds to the major factor of this bootie.

I noticed that the Liese (pictured below) was a definite favorite among the crowd of fashionable shoppers. Can't say I blame them either - the metallic lurex the shoe is made from gives off a silvery-gold sparkle, while the cut-out ankle is something especially unique.

What I love about his shoes are their versatility in terms of texture, prints and styles. Even the interior of each shoe looks chic. You're bound to find your own personal shoe style among the collection - mine is a simple black pump with a chunky wooden heel.