Help my reader find a bag!

A few weeks ago a reader e-mailed me. She saw the Kate Spade Lily Bexley bag on sale on Ozsale but it was sold out, and she wanted to know if the bag is available elsewhere.

I did some searching and I could only find the bag on Ebay (given it's on Ozsale it's probably old stock). Disappointed that I couldn't help her, I asked if she'd like me to help her find another bag and she said yes.

She is looking for a classic, everyday bag. There will be a Continental wallet, a big case for her sunnies and make up in the bag. She' doesn't have a size in mind but as she's relatively tall (170cm - that's my height too!) and she doesn't want a dainty bag. Colourwise she prefers a neutral shade, and her budget is $500.

So far I've found the following candidates:

Cole Haan Eliza satchel (from Nordstrom, $US298)

Tory Burch Robinson satchel (from Shopbop, $US550 - OK slightly above budget but it's nice!)

MICHAEL Michael Kors Grayson satchel ($US348 from Endless)

Marc by Marc Jacobs Classic Q Aidan Shoulder Bag ($US478, also from Endless)

Out of the four bag I like the MBMJ bag the most.

I'm sure you savvy readers will have some ideas as well - c'mon and help with the search!

Read More

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!

Read More

Another Shopbop order

After a day of deliberation I decided to purchase the Missoni scarf. Given Sydney's weather I may be able to wear it sooner rather than later!

The scarf is $US99, so I was on the hunt for something small to quality for free shipping (yes it is a bit silly to "spend to save", but as I wrote in a previous post we're often irrational about free shipping).

And these are what I picked:

The Juicy Couture princess earrings (on sale for $US24) look nice front-on, but Shopbop's photos did not show off its unique feature.

 

Isn't the crown-shaped claw lovely? To be honest I'm surprised that Shopbop dropped the ball on the display photo (the photo above is from Endless). Endless also offers a 360-degree video of the earrings which is a bonus.

I do like the photo from Shopbop that gives you an idea about the size of the earrings. Trust me, I have purchased earrings online and surprised by their size when I receive them in the post!

I was almost going to buy this MBMJ Miss Marc Makes a Splash tee (on sale, $US47.60) but decided against it because *sob* I think I'm too old to wear a tee with a cartoon figure on it. One of you should get it though, it's so cute!

I also went on The Outnet (international site) last night and I really like the look of this MBMJ Jailbird cotton-twill dress.

It's cute and the price is tempting (down to £100.62). It's sitting in the "Most Wanted List" for now. What to you think?

P.S. The eBay directory is live! Let me know if you want to add your seller page :-D

Read More

Wrap me up

I'm such a sucker for Shopbop ads. I received their "new items on sale" e-mail and wasted no time checking it out over breakfast.

I've been thinking about a new scarf for winter. Specifically, a Missoni one. And lo and behold there is one with 50% off.

There is also a nice MBMJ scarf in the sale.

Both are $99.

Which one gets your vote?

ETA: Thanks for your votes so far!

There is another MBMJ scarf in the same collection which is a traditional long scarf. I think I prefer that because I like to wrap a scarf tightly around my neck.

I showed the scarves to my work buddy and she said she can knit something like the MBMJ one but not the Missoni one. That's a factor too.

Gah I'm so bad at decision making!

Read More

Finally sunny

Finally we had a lovely weekend in Sydney. The forecast is for rain again this week but at least we had two gorgeous days to enjoy.

My MBMJ preppy camera bag arrived on Friday and I wasted no time to give it a swirl.

MBMJ is a great brand for well priced leather goods, and this little bag is no exception. Mouse is a great colour (thanks for your votes!) - it goes with anything. With Shopbop and Endless among others delivering to Australia, MBMJ is now very accessible to us.

The eagle-eye among you may have noticed that I was wearing my new Zara dress. In fact my entire outfit have been purchased in the last month.

Zara dress
KORS Michael Kors flats
MBMJ bag
Oroton sunnies

On Saturday we went to the Powerhouse Museum (mainly for the Wiggles exhibition which TLP loved). While TLP was sitting in the Big Red Car, I checked out the Make Lace Not War exhibition. There are some exquisite creations on display.

TLP had a nap after lunch in the stroller. I took the opportunity to check out the outlets at Market City in Chinatown. I bought this from Esprit.

Esprit is one of the brands I'd never pay full price for, and I rarely visit their stores, but there are some bargains to be had at their outlets. The full price of this dress was $199, now down to $59.95.

The price tag lists the RRP of the dress in 6 countries. The dress RRP in Hong Kong is $HK899, given current exchange rates it equates to $A108. That is only half of the RRP is in Australia. *sigh* It is so frustrating to be constantly overcharged relative to other countries.

We went to Chatswood on Sunday - TLP was long overdue for a haircut. Afterwards The Duke took TLP to Myer's toy section, and I hopped over to Daiso at Mardarin Centre.

Daiso is the biggest "$2" store I've ever seen. Everything in the store, from containers to stationery to cosmetics(!), cost $2.80.

I picked up 3 things, a packet of 10 ballpens, a shower cap, and an electric nail filer. The last item is a bit bizarre but for $2.80 I'm willing to experiment.

Let's finish this post with one of the reasons I love living in Sydney.

P.S. Do you like The Etail Queen's new look?

P.P.S. I'm planning to set up an eBay directory. If you are an eBay seller and want to be included in the directory, just tweet me or send me an e-mail.

Read More

Just a few more things ...

Ah, so much for a mini-shopping ban, ay?

Thanks for all your votes on the MBMJ bag*. The Mouse won the vote and also my heart, so I placed an order with Endless on Sunday night. I also ordered a back-up pair of Asics Gel Kayano 17, can't say no when they're only $US89.95! I've never own black runners before; it'll be a nice change.

I was wondering if they would ship the parcel before Monday US time and lo and behold I received an e-mail yesterday saying that it was on its way here**. A nitpick - instead of providing a link directly to the courier company's webpage in the e-mail, I had to log in to my Endless account to access the tracking details. Endless uses UPS (I usually get parcels from DHL) and maybe that's the difference.

* When I told The Duke I was looking for a bag he asked me "do you really need another one"? I thought he was being a typical male but he told me afterwards that he was planning to buy me a crossbody bag for my birthday as I use the MBMJ Turnlock so much. Brownie points for The Duke.

** This morning I received another delivery notification from Endless, apparently the two items are shipped separately. The bag is coming via DHL. Let's see which parcel comes first.

On Sunday I went shopping with my mum. I was hoping to buy her a belated Christmas gift but we had no luck. Well actually she loved a top from Jigsaw but they didn't have any in her size, and I bought one instead. This is quite bizarre because we usually have really, really different tastes.

I can dress it up with an A-line or pencil skirt, or dress it down with a pair of skinny jeans.

We also went to Leona Edmiston. I'm a fan of her frocks and I bought my sister (who lives overseas) a few LE dresses last year. Mum said she received a lot of compliments so we wanted to get some more for her. Unfortunately LE's current collection is not that suitable for a conservative office. I had fun trying on dresses for myself though. The Isabel dress from the Ruby line fitted me like a glove.

I didn't get the dress though because I couldn't find a second dress to take advantage of the 2 Ruby dresses for $200 deal, and part of me suspects that the dress will be discounted further in a few weeks. That's what happens when retailers markdown their products quickly - no one wants to pay full price.

I had a short Monday lunchtime shopping trip again yesterday (oops...). Tried on a top and a skirt from Marcs when I was at Myer but no cigar. Myer had racks and racks of clothes with further discounts. I wonder what happens to them when the sales end?

I went into Zara again, not expecting to find anything but I came across this cute dress.

It fits, and it's less than half price! It's destiny :-D Can't wait to wear it on my day off.

P.S. I went through the Endless sale with mum and she likes the look of the Kate Spade Fanfare Brette Satchel. What do you think?

Read More

Crossbody bag update

Thank you everyone for your recommendations in the last post. It looks like the MBMJ Bianca Jane on a Leash won the most vote. I think it's a great bag too but I was a bit concerned about the size. I don't need a big bag but it needs to fit (at a minimum):

• wallet

• key bag 

• phone
• Coach Mini Skinny for extra cards (yes I have many loyalty cards...) 
• little cosmetic bag with mirror and lipstick

And I'm afraid that the Bianca Jane is just too small. See this photo (from Pipi the Pig):

:-(

I thought about the MBMJ Petal to the Metal Pouchette too (the one with the bird motif) but I saw the Witchery copy that Em mentioned in the comments yesterday and I think the zip is going to annoy me.

I searched on Endless again for other ideas. I found a larger version of the Bianca Jane - the Bianca Poulette.

It's nice but not quite the same, and I'm not sure if I want to spend over $300 on a bag that I use when I go grocery shopping.

A little bit more digging around and I found this gem.

It's the MBMJ Preppy Leather Camera Bag. It's still a small bag but a tad bigger in all dimensions than the Bianca Jane (Preppy 6.25" high x 9.25" wide x 2.25" deep, Bianca Jane 5.25" high x 8" wide x 1.75" deep), meaning I can fit everything in.

The great news is that it's on sale at Endless - down from $US238 to $US134 (extra 25% discount at checkout)!

The big dilemma now is - which colour? In Mouse (above) or Stone (below)?

I'm leaning slightly towards the Mouse because I don't have any bags in that colour, and the Turnlock crossbody that I already have is in a light colour. I haven't made up my mind yet. Can you help me out?

Which colour?

Read More

Help me choose a crossbody bag!

I have a Marc By Marc Jacobs crossbody bag that I use to death.

After reader this post from In their Closet I thought I'll have a look around online for a new crossbody bag. And oh boy the choices out there are mind boggling. So I need your help.

In the cheap and cheerful corner (under $A100) we have:

From ASOS

From Fossil (via Endless)

With the strap

Another Fossil one

Or should I get my fourth MBMJ bag?

Via Endless

Via both Shopbop and Endless

In teal

or tan

And how about Kate Spade?

Via Endless

A bigger version

Via Nordstrom

I usually match my crossbody bag with a day dress or a cute top and jeans.

Ah, decisions decisions. Which one gets your vote?

And it was interesting to compare the four online stores. I'll write a post about it if you're interested - just say so in the comments.

Read More