Yikes! Gucci Australia limited edition

I spent a TLP-free weekend with The Duke (he organised it and it was a surprise to me, yes he's a keeper) and we spent Sunday morning wandering around The Rocks like tourists. We walked passed the Gucci store and I laid my eyes on these.

Oh my goodness, someone in Gucci thinks that it is a good idea? I'm sorry but they are hideous! I expect something better even from tacky souvenir stores :-/

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What are your fashion price limits?

With so many things available online, it's useful to have some parameters to narrow down the number of item you have to sift through. Price is an obvious candidate. Thanks to the "sort by price" function available at many online stores you can start low (kinda like going through the bargain bin) and stop browsing before it hurts the wallet too much.

So at what point do you stop?

Obviously it depends on the category (clothes vs jewellery vs shoes vs bags etc), whether you're shopping for a specific occasion or just browsing, and which etailer you're visiting, but I'm assuming most of you have a few internal limits to guide you.

To me there are two types of limits:

(1) The "bargain" limit - an item below this limit is considered a bargain, so it's an easy decision to hit "add to cart" if you find something you like.

(2) The "proper" limit - it is sensible to spend up to this limit for an item, you'll only venture above this limit for something really special.

For instance, for costume jewellery (which to me means "earrings") my "bargain" limit is $20 and my "sensible" limit is probably at the $60 mark. With so many nice earrings on Etsy it is easy to find something below my "proper" limit.

With handbags, I only buy leather bags and I prefer international designer brands, so the limits are higher. I'd say my "bargain" limit is $200, so the MBMJ preppy camera bag I bought in February is well under.

My "proper" budget is $1,000. Which I've crossed 3 times - once for a Chloe Bay bag I bought at Nordstrom when I was in the US, once for a red LV Speedy, and once for this Miu Miu Vitello Lux.

I love the look of this new Miu Miu bag but it's $A1530 so it's way above the limit.

I can go on and on but you get my drift.
Do you set any price limits when you browse? Or do you throw caution to the wind?

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The art of pricing

In the last few months I've noticed an increase in the number of storewide sales. There was the 50% off sale at Oroton last weekend (surely the stores are going to be empty this week!). Mimco has 20% off storewide (although I'm not going there any time soon) and Cotton On Kids has 30% off etc.

For retailers, storewide sales are great for foot traffic and short term sales spikes, but they also send a message to customers that their stock are not worth paying full price for.

Brands like Witchery and Leona Edmiston have had so many storewide sales in the last year I won't  pay full price at either stores. In fact I wonder how much stock they sell at RRP? If the figure is low enough because people only buy when they go on sale, will it be better for them to move their RRP down so they don't have to discount so often?

I'd rather shop from a brand that sets lower prices and goes on sale only at the end of season, so I don't have to worry that something I purchase at RRP will be on sale the next day or the next week. It also makes the store (even if only slightly) more competitive against overseas online stores.

It probably won't happen though, because:

(a) There are probably more people who are willing to pay full price than I think, e.g. fangirls, or time poor people who only shop once in a while;

(b) Retailer profit margins are already hurting because of the discounting so it's a hard decision for them to lower their standard prices, especially as there is no guarantee that people will buy more;

(c) Some shoppers are super-focussed on sales. They will happily pay for something with a RRP of $100 at 30% off ("What a bargain!") but won't buy the same item with a RRP of $70.

Do you love picking things up on sale? Or do you prefer cheaper everyday prices with less sales?

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A quick note to Mimco

Dear Mimco management

I visited one of your stores around 1pm to pick up a present for a friend. I knew what I wanted to buy so I was hoping for a quick in-and-out. There were two staff at the store, but despite up to 4 customers waiting to be served at the cashier, one staff was unpacking new stock instead.

May I suggest that lunch time is not a good time to unpack stock:

• all staff should be serving customers during the busiest time of the day for the store
• the unpacked stock was overtaking the tabletop so people can't see what jewellery on display underneath the glass

The SA behind the counter was pleasant enough, but I was not interested in her numerous comments on computer issues, I just want to pay and leave.

The retail trade is doing it tough at the moment, so retailers should be doing everything they can to entice new customer and hold on to existing ones. I am not a regular shopper at your store, and my experience today gave me no reason to come back.

Kind regards
Queen V

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No sugar March and shopping ban?

I enjoyed writing the birthday post so much I'll be sharing more snippets of my life on The Etail Queen. It may become a semi-regular feature - with "on topic" posts during the week and "life" posts on weekends.
Birthday is a good occasion for reflections. I've been training with the amazing Nat for almost a year. I'm certainly fitter but I'm not satisfied with my body. As Nat said "weight loss is 80% about eating" and I haven't had the discipline in that regard, so it's time to step up.

I'm starting with "no sugar" eating (see Nat's post about it here). No chocoloate, no ice cream, no cake etc. For those who knows me, it is a pretty significant undertaking. I'm onto Day 4 and so far no slip up from the sugary treat front. I even resisted the Becasse petit gateau opera I bought for TLP!

The only thing I struggled with is no dairy. I tried a macchiato at Becasse and it's just not for me. So I'm going to give myself one exception to the plan and have a cappuccino a day.

I'm hoping that this sacrifice will lead a change in clothes size, therefore I'm also going on a clothes shopping ban. Yes, you heard it right! I'm not going to buy any dresses for a whole month! This has the added benefit of saving time currently spent on browsing online shops. It was getting a bit out of control to be honest. If I achieve good results I'll buy a nice outfit to reward myself.

Finally, I have some fantastic news to share. The Royal Household will be making a Royal Visit to Japan next month! We'll be visiting my brother who is living in Osaka, as well as Tokyo and possibly somewhere in the countryside. Both The Duke and I are very fond of Japan, and I miss my brother to bits so it'll be really good to catch up with him.

If you have any restaurant and sightseeing recommendations please let me know!

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In Style's best of the web 2012

There's a 9-page feature on online shopping in April 2012's issue of In Style.

There are sections on fashion, beauty, entertaining and gifts, home, and other shopping-related websites of interest.

Along with The Etail Queen favourites like Etsy and ASOS, there are many other etailers to explore. Of course they will be added to the Etailers directory in due course :-D

Also, the magazine came with a sample of Burberry Lip Mist. I haven't tried them yet but I've heard good things about them!

So all in all, not a bad magazine to pick up this month.

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Birthday fit for a Queen

I know this is not a "this is my life" blog, but it's my birthday today so please indulge me.

I woke up this morning with this waiting for me:

Inside are these beautiful Mila Provence lavender pierced earrings.

The Duke gave me to me in the morning so I can wear them today. How very throughful of him. I love them and showed them off to colleagues throughout the day :-D

The workday went quickly, I had yum cha with my team. When I returned to the office these were on my desk.

Another tick for The Duke.

I also received this cute card from my brother who is living in Japan.

The Duke, TLP and I went to Bah.BQ at Crows Nest for dinner tonight. We had the Churrasco ($49pp) and it was awesome. There were endless skewers of meat arriving at our table.

We had beef, pork, lamb, chicken, sausages, prawns, and honey-grilled pineapples! My favourite was the beef rump, and the potato salad side dish was also excellent.

After the meat-fest we shared birthday churros. It was so delicious.

I am still so full from the dinner ;-D

Thank you to my twitter followers for your kind birthday wishes. I had a fantastic day, here's hoping the next year is filled with joy and adventure.

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Midnight purchases

I mentioned in a post last week that I made a purchase after midnight. It was from The Outnet and the parcel arrived on Friday which was impressive.

It was hard to say no to Gucci tortoiseshell sunnies for around $A110. It was lucky I placed the order on Monday night because they were sold out by Tuesday!

As you can see I haven't cut the tag off yet, because I'm not sure if I will keep them. My eyes are very sensitive and some sunglasses give me a slight headache. Unfortunately this pair appears to fall into that category. I'll try them again and see how it goes, but I may have to return them or sell them.

Having decided to make the purchase I browsed around and found this gorgeous Marc by Marc Jacobs Bronte crocheted dress. Initially I tweeted the link suggesting that someone should buy it, but at the end I couldn't resist and bought it myself. Isn't it pretty?

I have to work on this posing business :-p

Here's a look of the dress in close up.

I have no occasion to wear this dress so I asked The Duke to take me somewhere fancy for dinner :-D

I also received my ASOS order last week.

The Stila blush is so pretty! Love the colours. The colour didn't last very long, I'll have to set it with some loose powder next time.

And as expected The Little Prince was a fan of the Lego earrings.

Before I finish this post I have something exciting to share with you. The lovely Clare from Cclarebear managed to purchased a few item from the Marni for H&M collection for me. I can't wait to see them in person!

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Ride like the wind

Nothing to do with etailing, just want to show off my belated Christmas gift from The Duke :-D

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Fun Etsy finds

With the midnight purchase I made on Monday night, and a prospective purchase coming up (both of which I will blog about when I receive them), I think I've already filled up my March shopping budget! OK it's my birthday next week so I can treat them as birthday presents to myself, right?

So in the meantime I'm gonna browse things that will not lead to purchases. First stop - Etsy.

In the market for a fun wedding invite? How about this super cute "record"?

 I know from experience that the bubbas love a chew toy ... and you can't go wrong with this personalised wooden phone.

I love all things Art Deco and from time to time I type "art deco" in Etsy and try my luck. If I'm a headband kind of girl I'll be totally into this.

Do you trawl through Etsy for treasures?

P.S. If you like more posts like this I can make it a regular feature ;-)

P.P.S. The Etailers Directory is now up to J! Did I miss any good e-stores with under G, H, I or J?

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Etailers Do: Customer reviews

Bravo to the etailers with customer reviews on their websites. It counters one of the biggest obstacles to online shopping - the inability to touch, feel, and try on the products. In fact it offers something more, because sometimes people leave their comments after they've worn or used the items a few times, you may also get information on things like comfort and durability.

The first purchase I made that was partially encouraged by positive customer reviews was some Camelbak water bottles from Wiggle. The pros definitely outweigh the cons.

Reviews are especially useful for items like shoes where fit is important. Endless captures detailed fit information from its customers.

When you click on size, width and arch support, you can see the split of the votes (66% felt fit was true to size, 18% felt sizing ran 1/2 size small etc).

There are also detailed reviews.

Dorothy Perkins is another etailer with a good customer review platform.

I like that it gathers ratings by fit, appearance, quality and value. On my first order with Dorothy Perkins, one of the dresses runs large according to several reviewers so I bought one size smaller and it was the right call.

Sometimes I think etailers are brave to show customer reviews as inevitably some products will rate lowly. I guess the benefits they gain from building up confidence of prospective buyers outweigh potential reduction in sales of lowly rated items.

As a shopper I definitely like to hear others' opinion of the items I'm interested in, although I may put too much weight on negative reviews. Sometimes I'd decide against a product because of one poor review, even if the rest are positive. I need to remember that some people are impossible to please!

Do you like reading customer reviews? Are you more likely to shop from etailers that offer them? And do you give back to the system, i.e. write reviews?

Below is my contribution - for the Juicy Couture princess studs I bought recently.

P.S. I made an impulse midnight purchase last night! Will blog about them when I receive the parcel ;-)

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Tesco's virtual fitting room

Who can forget "Cher's Wardrobe" from Clueless?

(For those of you too young to have watched Clueless, see the video here)

Back in the mid 90s it was a pipe dream in2012 and it's a reality!

Well it is of sorts. The fashion arm of Tesco from the UK has launched a virtual fitting room on their Facebook page. You can upload a photo of yourself, or enter your weight, height and measurements and "try on" clothes from their collection.

It sounds like lots of fun so I gave it a go. If you want to see yourself in the virtual fitting room you are asked to take a photo following specific instructions.

I didn't take up the option, instead I entered a few measurements and used one of the 2 models available.

It's easy to use - click on the item(s) you like and the model will be dressed.

You can rotate the model for views from the side and from the back.

If you like what you see, click on the "Shop the look" button and you'll see the items, the recommended sizes based on measurements you entered, and the expected fit.

Tesco is currently running a "Fitting Room" competition for the best look created and this is one of the winners.

It's a great idea that is at its infancy. It's fun to play mix and match and a nice change to see clothes displayed in my size rather than on super skinny models. At this point I think it's more for marketing purpose than a reliable shopping tool, but technology moves so quickly nowadays I'm sure more sophisticated programs will be available soon.

My prediction is that within 10 years we will be able to get a full body scan from purpose-built kiosks which will be uploaded online and used across different etailers for virtual fittings. How good will that be?

If you want to have a play, go check out Clothing at Tesco's Facebook page.

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Help me choose my next Etsy earrings

One negative aspect of internet shopping is delayed satisfaction. You've done the research, made the choice and clicked "submit" - then nothing. You're at the mercy of the dispatching and postal system. So even though I just made an ASOS purchase I still have the shopping itch.

I bookmarked laalee's Etsy store a little while ago. I think it's time to make a purchase. I know the style I want:

But I can't decide on the colour combination.

Should I go for lavender - champagne - pink opal (like below but without the clear glass gem at the end)?

Or is peridot - light blue - pink opal a better combo (like below but change the last glass gem into a square one)?

Which pair get your vote?

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