Outlet Shopping in Minneapolis

I grew up in Minnesota and my memories there consist mainly of climbing trees, hiding in cornfields, and later in life, high school football games, pep rallies, and the Mall of America. Even in my college years when I was merely minutes away from Cole Haan, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nieman Marcus, Ralph Lauren, and other high fashion stores, my college budget kept the confines of my shopping strictly to dreaming as I perused the pages of my Vogue magazines.
Recently, I went back to the land of ten thousand lakes to visit my friends and family. Although I had spent my life near Minneapolis, the Nicollet Mall shopping area was still fairly foreign to me.
It was Father’s Day, so my mother and I dropped my dad off at the bookstore and headed for a Saks Fifth Avenue outlet down the street. I don’t have much patience for outlet stores and their crowded, unorganized racks. Like any normal American girl, if I am going to buy something I would ideally like it placed in my line of vision. I want to find my size easily and be escorted into a plush dressing room with a place other than the floor to set my handbag. When I choose to buy something, I want to be greeted by adoring sales people at the register and I want my purchase wrapped in pretty paper and placed delicately in a sturdy, stylish shopping bag. Clearly, outlets rarely offer any of these luxuries, but the thing that I hate the most is searching, often in vain, for my size. This outlet was surprisingly well organized and I became excited as I started to see the significant markdowns on such beautiful clothing.
The first thing I found to purchase was a long sleeved pink Juicy tee that read Confessions of a Couture Girl. I have told people before that I can’t stand Juicy Couture. I don’t want the word Juicy tattooed across my butt or chest (for the obvious implicit meaning) and, quite frankly, I can’t imagine spending hundreds of dollars on a sweatsuit because it says Juicy.
This shirt had Juicy written only on the label on the inside of the shirt and was marked down from $90 to $24.98 (and I must remind you that there is no sales tax on clothing in Minnesota). The tee fit well and the sleeves were long enough, a rarity for a girl with arms as long and gangly as mine.
Sifting through the racks, my eyes landed on a gorgeous white cashmere Magaschoni sweater with sequined white snowflakes adorning the bottom and, don’t hate me, a rabbit trimmed hood with furry pom poms. I must clarify that I am not a believer in harming animals for any type of vanity. If I were not in a state of fashion euphoria at this gorgeous sweater, I would have checked the label. Instead, I gasped in delight, ripped the sweater off the rack, and then asked my mom, "do you think this is real fur?" She ran her fingers across the hood and replied, "No, I don’t think so." So I slipped the sweater on and fell in love. The best part? The $500 sweater was marked down to $44.98. I could barely breathe as I made my way to the register.
At this point, I must note that my mother found a stunning gray Calvin Klein dress for $50, originally priced at $500.
I have recently began discovering the beautiful world of brown. I have always been a black and white buyer. In fact, in college I wore black dress pants nearly every day. I love the dramatic look that black and white can offer, but the recent purchase of the most comfortable chocolate brown skirt from Bebe has converted me to the delicious and versatile world found in the basic color. Before the fashion-altering skirt, my venture into the world of brown went as far as khaki pants. Yet, I have begun discovering the rich shades brown has to offer. My last two finds at the Saks outlet were creamy, long-lasting browns.
I first found a chocolate brown knit shrug by Gracie for $24.98, marked down from $80. The comfortable shrug is the perfect way to dress up jeans and a tee.
Last, I found a gorgeous sleeveless sweater in a smooth coffee brown with intricate beading combining yellow, orange, and brown wooden beads with real seashells. The beach-inspired style was perfect for my leading role as bride and program director for an upcoming week in Hawaii. Originally $96, I purchased this WR Studio top for $34.98.
I tried on the clothes in a tiny and dim dressing room, waited in a long line to check out, and walked out of the store with a heavy plastic bag (one of the handles even broke before I made it back to the bookstore to get my dad), but I must say this was one outlet shopping trip worth enduring.

Los Angeles: Pursuing the Perfect Handbag

I had shopped in Los Angeles before, but the enormous city has enough shopping to satisfy any fashionista in any budget. I went to LA with one purpose: to find a new handbag. For the past year, I had been using a gorgeous deep purple suede Coach bag that I loved. Yet, as every girl who lives for fashion knows, eventually you start to itch for a change.
Although there was so much of Los Angeles to explore, I started my handbag search on Rodeo Drive, the mother street of all Los Angeles haute couture shopping. My criteria for a handbag were fairly simple. I didn’t want a white handbag because I know myself all too well. Five minutes after purchasing it, I am sure to have spilled coffee on one side or dropped in a puddle. No matter how trendy white is right now, I wanted something more resilient. I was counting on Christian Dior to pull me through. I have been falling in love with everything Dior makes right now and so I started there. Sadly, I couldn’t find a single Dior handbag that I liked. Don’t worry, I assured myself, there is a handbag out there calling your name somewhere. I wandered up and down Rodeo Drive in search of the perfect handbag. I found a gorgeous black embroidered clutch in Gucci but it was too small. And I found a fabulous perfect-for-summer white and gold canvas bag in Roberto Cavalli, but, as I just mentioned, it was white. I left Rodeo Drive without a handbag, but I did discover a pair of glitzy gold Stuart Weitzman heels that were too fun to walk away from. These shoes are festive enough to glam up jeans and a tank top for a girls night on the town and glam enough to wear dancing the night away in a ballroom.
After my unsuccessful handbag shopping trip on Rodeo, I headed to Fred Segal. I had never been, but always wanted to go since they mentioned in on Clueless. I drove there and I think people thought I was a celebrity. I didn’t realize there was a huge back parking lot and so I pulled into one of like three spots in the front. I was driving a brand new Corvette convertible and was wearing a huge sunhat and huge trendy tortoise shell sunglasses (except mine are from Target which isn’t very celeb-like). Anyway, I think everyone thought I was a celebrity because I pulled up in the front like a person with a big sense of entitlement (except I was really just a person that didn’t realize there was a big back parking lot) with my big glasses and big hat and new Corvette. Everyone was really staring and smiling at me until my sunglasses came off and then everyone ignored me, including the salespeople. Anyway, I wandered around the store briefly but I have to be honest. I don’t see what the big deal about Fred Segal is. It looked like a upscale Hollywood-ized version of Wet Seal to me.
The day before we left sunny California, I decided to stop in a shopping mall called the Beverly Center. I had chosen this shopping center to stop in because it had a Bloomingdales. I grew up loving Bloomingdales and believing it was the epitome of fashiondom. I am sad to tell you that Bloomingdales is not the store it used to be. The Bloomingdales at the Beverly Center had rap music playing (does anyone else remember the days of live grand piano music?). Rack after rack of Juicy bags constituted the handbag section and I swear I saw Kate Spade and DKNY handbags on the floor. I couldn’t handle the blasphemy and hurried out of the store. (I must note that not all Bloomingdales are not like this. I more recently went to a much better kept Bloomingdales in the Mall of America.) I searched the store locator map for any other glimmer of handbag hope. No luck. I was sadly planning to leave LA without a handbag. I decided to go in Dior again just to peruse.
I walked into the store and found myself in a whole new world of handbags. This Dior had a much better selection of handbags than the Rodeo Drive Dior. I found myself torn between several bags, but finally settled on a limited edition sky blue (not white) leather handbag with a rich navy interior (translate: no visible lip gloss stains!). The bag is adorned with colorful butterfly decorations connecting the handbag and it’s handles. I couldn’t leave LA without it.

Fun in the Sun! Shopping Key West

I was looking very forward to shopping in Key West. I imagined this fun-in-the-sun location to be filled with lots of fun, unique shops. I found unique and I did find some fun, but I didn’t think the city was everything I imagined.
Duval Street is at the heart of Key West’s partying and shopping and so I started my shopping excursion on this tourist-filled street. The first shop I visited was Evan and Elle, and this shop also ended up being my favorite. This shop carried an equal selection of mens and womens clothing, like many other shops in Key West. I found myself perusing well-kept racks of name brands like BCBG and DKNY. If you are in the market for a new pair of jeans, this shop should be your first and last stop. There were rows and rows of jeans in different trends, colors, and styles. Among the designer digs, were less pricey and equally cute items by labels like Esprit. They were few and far between, but there were good deals to be found in this trendy store.
I wandered down Duval Street with little luck in finding anything worthy of my money. Luck struck me in a store called Play Time where I found a delightful white tank top with a flower design. The tops came in a multitude of colors with different designs and were a handy one size fits all. I had a hard time deciding which of these tops I wanted most, but finally decided on the white.
I meandered from store to store in search of something, anything to buy. I was in the mood for shopping and couldn’t find anything I wanted. The street is unfortunately littered with tasteless t-shirt shops and I was discouraged at the gaudy tackiness of the boutique-like shops. In a store called MM Couture, I tried on two tops that looked fantastic on the rack but made me look like a Playboy playmate once they were on my body.
I bypassed Banana Republic and Express because, although I often find myself in these stores at my hometown mall, I was searching for local flavor. I also passed up a Coach Factory store that bragged of $199 handbags. I adore Coach handbags, but why would I spend $199 on a last season handbag when I could buy myself a this season handbag for a mere $40 more?
I was nearly completed with my shopping with only one purchase, when I discovered the delightful Lilly Pulitzer. Located a block off Duval Street on Simonton Street, this gem was nearly tourist-free and girly but not pin-up girly like the rest of Duval Street. I know Lilly Pulitzer is a chain and can be found all over the country and I know I said I was avoiding chain stores like Express, but it is rare when you find a Lilly Pulitzer store and the style is so Key West that I had to go in. Here, I found a gorgeous white strapless dress that had a crocheted flower overlay and a dainty white bow around the waist. I may sound strange telling you this, but I had a fantasy once about this very dress and it was suddenly before my eyes. The other item I adored was a white skirt with a large colorful butterfly pattern creating the hem. Both items were priced at $188.
Here is my number one tip to shopping in Key West. I discovered, after walking away from potential purchases in a few shops, that sales people were willing to discount the price for you to get you to buy. When I turned down a pair of black sandals that had originally caught my eye, the sales person was willing to drop the price from full price to twenty percent off to fifty percent off. Try your luck with getting them to give you a better deal. And whatever you do have fun. After all, it is Key West!

Shop & Ski in Whistler

Nestled between the ocean and the mountains is the gorgeous town of Whistler, British Columbia. This Canadian jewel is known mostly for it’s skiing and is home to the 2010 Olympics.
Beyond the beautiful scenery and snowy ski slopes is Whistler Village containing a variety of shops to interest anyone. There are a fair share of typical ski shops selling warm jackets, snow pants, and ski boots, but further exploration of the village will bring shoppers into several hipper shops.
The first store I discovered was the popular Canadian brand Lululemon Athletica. Known for its functional but trendy women’s workout clothes, I found myself in a sea of shoppers in the otherwise quiet village. After a few minutes of browsing the selection, I began to see why. The store is packed full with enough styles of workout pants, bras, and tops to satisfy any gym rat. I was interested in restocking my sports bra collection and grabbed a handful of bras that were available in multiple styles and an abundance of colors. My favorite bra was a turquoise sports bra with removable padding. The padding didn’t make me any bustier, but provided more bounce protection than any sports bra I had yet to own.
I discovered one small shop that carried a variety of ultra-hip and super sparkly apparel. Being a girl that loves anything that sparkles, I was instantly drawn into the store. After a perusal of the racks, I walked out empty-handed. Although the clothes were fun, the price tags weren’t. Nothing seemed unique enough to drop hundreds of dollars on.
I found my other purchase at a gift shop. Not one to pass by any store that could possibly be carrying an item I could love, I walked into the gift shop expecting the usual tees with Whistler screen printed on them and not much else. I was mostly right. Yet, hidden in the back of the store was a light blue tee with a cartoon drawn of a 1950s photo of a slender dark-haired woman staring up at Whistler Mountain with her navy 50's ski outfit on. Below the picture was the word Whistler sewn in cursive with bright red thread. The laid-back simplicity of the adorable tee spoke to me more than the sparkly glamour of the other shop. After all, Whistler isn’t about glitz, it’s about skiing and bumming around. The t-shirt captured the essence of the quaint town. And for $15 American dollars, I couldn’t pass it up.