Harajuku Lovers New York City Sample Sale -- November 19 & 20, 2008!

In the heat of last night's Harajuku Lovers and LeSportsac Binge mania, I PLUMB forgot to mention that there's a New York City Harajuku Lovers, L.A.M.B, Kid Robot, and Jill Stuart sample sale.

Details: Wednesday, November 19 and Thursday, November 20
8AM - 8PM
Saavy & Co's Loft
145 W 18th Street, bwn 6th and 7th

Amex/ Mastercard/ Visa accepted

+ The Purse Blog has some reports and stealth-mode photos! If you go, lemme know what you get, kay?

LeSportsac Binge! Plus, Totally Random Hedgehog Stuff!

Inspired by my Harajuku Lovers handbags post, I went on a small LeSportsac Windows shopping binge. Here are some of the fun, less-common stilos, shapes, and sizes that I netted at some non-morts prices!

($75, LeSportsac, Nordstrom)

Just the right amount of preppiness.

($75, LeSportsac, Shopbop)

The Jen Tote! Normally I don't love the multi-zippered look, but when it's folded over, it's cute. AND functional!

($68, LeSportsac, Amazon)

The Deluxe Everyday Tote in Checkit is a nice, WAY cheaper alternative to the 3.1 Philip Lim Editor's bag, which is about $500.

($98, LeSportsac, Amazon)

I don't know what these little faces are on the Dana Tote, but they're cute, and that girl could fit in that bag.

($46, LeSportsac, Amazon)

Love the '60s sorta-Pucci-looking zigzags here. They're not as obviously cutesy LeSportsac as a lot of the rest of their bags, even though I love some cutesiness too!

($46.95, LeSportsac, Amazon)

Cutey-cute little woodgrain/ animal print toiletry bag for a great price.

($37.93, LeSportsac, Amazon)

Another adorable toiletry bag, this one in "Goth."

($16.93, LeSportsac, Amazon)

McCuters little cosmetic bag in "Fantasy." And it's got a smiling kitty on it! Hee!

($23, LeSportsac, Karmaloop.com)

Lakeside is one of my favorite of the newer LeSportsac prints. So so SO cute with the widdle foxies and deerz and bearies!

($68, LeSportsac, Karmaloop.com)

The Suzette handbag in Shades is adorability! Sorta reminds me of the Andy Warhol for Paul Frank that came out a few years ago.


Finally, my fave:

($88, LeSportsac, Amazon)

Ridiculously cute hedgehogs! And to celebrate, I've found a few other hedgehog items...

($3.75, Folkmanis, Amazon)

It's a coot widdle hedgehoggooh fingo poopet!

($99, Kenneth Jay Lane, Shopbop.com)

Um, yes. That is a hedgehog ring. Or a pinecone with a face. Even I can't approve of that.

($39, Deglingos, Amazon)

Likewise, I totally disapprove of this corduroy/patchwork/evil tree monstrosity. Because there is enough disapproval to go around! Let's just stick with the hedgehog back, shall we?

Harajuku Lovers Techno Pins Bag!

If loving Harajuku Lovers handbags is wrong, I don't even wanna be right, y'all. No they're not subtle. Yes yes, they're geared toward young folks, but HL bags are light, durable and hold EVERYTHING, and sometimes you can find them for less than LeSportsac. I shoved half the contents of my life into mine tonight, and I actually didn't feel like I was going to crack my poor achy little shoulder off. No, they're not job-interview material, but for everyday use, they get high marks, especially for cuteness...

Anyway, check out their fun new Techno Pins print in the "Uh-Oh" tote style -- my favorite -- because it's got lots of PERFECTO pockets AND a zip top:

($98, Harajuku Lovers)


($29, Harajuku Lovers, TheGiantPeach.com)

Super cute in its cosmetic bag vershe. Looky that whistle charm zipper pull! Hee! AND you could put BOBBY PINS in it, YOU KNOW?

($41, Harajuku Lovers, 6pm.com)

The "Uh-Oh" bag in Peacock (hee!), if you need something a LITTLE less Technocolored.

($30, Lulu's)

Not a Harajuku Lovers bag, but similar cute Pop style at a bear market price!

Get 30% Off Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic & Piperlime!

** SERIOUSLA UPDATE: EPIC FAIL POST! So right -- that was a one-time use code. Wah. I sorry! BUT, that Hayden-Harnett bag IS back!!!!!!!!!!!! **

Use promo code LZMP9NFVPGTD online at Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic and/or Piperlime (Piperlime being most appealing to meeee), between November 13 - November 16, 2008 for 30% off! Yay!

And, for every purchase you make, they give 5% of the amount you spend to World Wildlife Fund. Nice, right? I like seals and pandas and puppies!

But I also like this Hayden-Harnett "Jinhee" patent tote, which is already "just" $317 (originally $425) for "just" $222!... UPDATE: OMFG THIS SOLD OUT AS I WAS POSTING THIS!!!! ANGER!!!!!!! WTF!!!1!


... Or this grey patent bag by The Sak (a name that always makes me laugh, because I'm 12) -- was $189, currently $89, now just $63 with your discount! Wee! And baby owls don't die! Or die less!

I Am Such A Bag Hag: Henry Road Bags!

Ironically, this mod flowered roomy tote couldn't even hold all of its innate adorability. It's by Henry Road.

($76, Henry Road, ThreePotatoFour.com)

And check out this one, in more muted, mustardy '70s-tastic earth tones:

($105, Henry Road)

I wanna bag it up! No diggity!

Blackstreet - New Music - More Music Videos

Wilkommen Back, MCM Bags!

Anyone remember MCM (Mode Creation Munich) bags from back in les '80s? They were cute in an preppy, equestrian way, and then they kinda fell off for a little while. Well they're back like Backstreet in several diverse iterations, ranging from bright neons, whites, and animal skins to pieces that look like a Birkin's third cousin to some studded and bejeweled pieces and of course leather travel bags too.

Observies three of my faves:




Available at les fine department stores like Bloomingdale's and the whatnots and won't yous and so forths. But for the vintage scores, check eBay or your local thrifty, if you're so inclined. I mean seriously, LQQK:

($74, MCM, eBay)

I truly wish I could've been invited to the awesome swingers parties the original owners of these racket covers probably threw.

($280, MCM ,eBay)

RIP, YSL!

Fashion Binge Says NO To Fringe!

Unless you are Cher circa '73, you SHOULD NOT be wearing fringe. I cannot make this clear enough.



Case in point:

($389, La Rok, Singer22)

Fringed hoodie? I think not. No, wait. Actually, I KNOW not.

($78, Urban Outfitters)

0% love for this.

And as much as I LOVE Hayden-Harnett, I'm torn betwixt barely and not even making an exception for their Wyeth fringed hobo:

($475, Hayden-Harnett)

Eh? Yay? Nay? I'm sorta like 60/40. But in general, wearing fringe on your person, again, unless you are Cher or wrangling steer is SUCH a nein.

Rebecca Minkoff Bread And Wine Bag Equals I Know What You Did Last Night

($185, Rebecca Minkoff)

If the other side of this market bag had a compartment that said "cheese" and one that said "circus," and a little mention somewhere of Real Housewives of Atlanta, then it would perfectly capture everything I did last night. As it is, the Bread & Wine bag is everything I WON'T be doing tonight during Yom Kippur. Sadness!

The Rebecca Minkoff market bag's a widdle pricey for gimmicky bag, but it is leather, and 5% of the proceeds benefit the Earth Foundation.

Anyway, happy fasting!

Five Fall FashionBinge-Approved Handbags ... Of Varying Economic Accessibility

Five bags I'd like to carry this fall, though not all at the same time.

($45, New Balance, Endless.com)

Perf gym bag, love the retro wine color. AND it's part of New Balance's Lace Up for the Cure collection -- 15% of wholesale sales from the Lace Up for the Cure benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation.

($48, DAV, JBandMe.com)

Super swank-looking weekend bag on a shoestring budget. Like Coach on Payless pursestrings!

(Anavaa Kisasa)

UPDATE: It's $285.00! I don't know how much this fantastic bowler is, because it ain't got no price! (Therefore free?) But you can get it at Anavaa Kisasa in Brooklyn, or even call, if you're so inclined!

($599, Lust4Luxe)

Picture it: Handwoven Italian leather, highlighted by real-deal gold hardware, designed with a subtle nod to those mucho elegante doctors' bags of the 1950s and '60s. And it even lights up inside! No, I'm not telling tales here. Yes, it's $600, but you're a smart little investor aren't you? And isn't all the money in foreign markets these days?

($700, Boyy)

So, how I feel about this Boyy bag and the Lust4Luxe Isis bag is probably best expressed by the Sarah Silverman stand-up bit below. I should warn you, it's EXTREMELY NSFW, and also offensive if you're a vegan.

'Life & Style' Mag's See By Chloe Day Tripper Bag Giveaway

WHY WHY WHY am I SO unselfish so as to SHARE a See By Chloe bag giveaway that I SO. OBVIOUSLY. DESERVE. TO WIN!?!?? WHY do I have to be SUCH an incredibly WARM AND GIVING human being? Ugh. Sometimes I just can't STAND how charitable I am.

Enter to win this AMAZORZ See By Chloe Day Tripper shoulder bag from Life & Style. It's worth a breezy seven fiddy if you wanna spring for it (for me) at Nordstrom! (And honestly, may I win the celeb-wuved bag, and you win, like, a free magazine subscription or something.)

Oh yeah, or you could just flat out BUY me this slightly similar CC Skye "Lucy" bag. It's $700 and it's TDF (TO DIE FOR), kittens! Plus, SEVERAL of didn't even THINK to get me a birthday present last month, and it was a big one, so here's your shot at redemption, mmmmkays?

($700, CC Skye, Active Endeavors)

Topshop's First Step Toward Taking New York: Taking Over Williamsburg's McCarren Pool Parties

Topshop still hasn't opened in New York (boo), but they're establishing their presence at the hipster magnet that is Williamsburg's (the Lower East Side of Brooklyn) McCarren Park Pool Parties -- a series of free concerts held every Sunday afternoon all summer in the shell of a former municipal pool. It's hot and sticky as fuck there, but the music is free, and the fashion entertainment factor cannot be measured, as Catherine's demonstrated in the past. Also, last Sunday's Hold Steady show was supposed to be absolutely face-melting, but it also poured like the heavens were having a going out of business sale, so I skipped it.

Anyway, Topshop and Topman have set up camp (a little beachy area, specifically) at the pool parties this year, to promote the forthcoming NYC arrival of our very first ever Topshop/Man. Chicks are roaming around dressed in Topshop gear (cue jealousy), and they've set up a photo booth where you can snap pix of yourself -- I'm thinking it's probably like the Helmut Newton photo booth project they did back in London.

Here's the schedule for the rest of the summer. Ronnie Spector (!!!) is this Sunday, and I'd definitely recommend seeing the Ting Tings on July 27.

And with that in mind, check out some of my favorite pieces from Topshop's High Summer line:

(Apprx $99 USD)


(Apprx $39 USD)

(Apprx $15 USD)

(Apprx $19 USD)

(Apprx $148 USD)

(Apprx $29)
Very Lily Allen.


(Apprx $89 USD)
Topshop's answer to the Prada fairy bag. Wonder if these bleed.

(Apprx $59 USD)
Also want!

+ Check out more of Topshop's High Summer collection, and buy stuff here.