Zara coming to Downtown LA!!! Figat7th

I am so beyond excited that Zara has announced that it will be opening it’s flagship store in Downtown Los Angeles next spring!  I can just imagine my husband’s excitement at me coming home with bags and bags of new Zara gear every time the store stocks up new stuff.  I’m already at the City Target weekly checking it out – Lord help my bank account once Zara comes to town!!

Proposed location of Zara in DTLA

According to the LA Times, it will be a massive 27,000 square foot space, making it one of the largest in the USA.  Oh it will be heavenly.

Young professionals like me who both live and work in Downtown LA need shopping options.  We literally have no place to buy clothing downtown (and no – I don’t consider the Macy’s a viable option!).  With Urban Outfitters opening in the fall, we’re making some real progress downtown!  I moved here less than a year ago and already the city has expanded immensely!  (City Target, Le Ka, Coco Laurent, Ross all opened up here).

It’s always been my main complaint about living in Downtown LA that there is no place to do shopping nearby – it takes 30 minutes to drive 10 miles to The Grove and then takes another 30 minutes or so to get to The Americana (Glendale), and if I need to go to Sephora and Zara, I need to make 2 separate trips as The Grove and Americana don’t have both.  I know…. #firstworldproblems.  But it’s totally an issue. Since I have the luxury of walking to work, the thought of getting into my car to shop just seems wasteful to me.

I wonder what non-DTLA residents think – would you fashionistas drive to Downtown LA to go shopping at the new Zara?

Paris Trip Planning – Some outfit Inspiration for Casual Chic Tourist Look

My husband and I are going to Paris for the very first time in just 5 1/2 weeks (ee!) so I’m trying to think of what to pack/buy for my day-to-day wear.  Unfortunately, since weather varies so greatly, I’m a little unsure what to take but here are some ideas of cute ouftits I found on Pinterest for my museum visits and trips around the gorgeous city.  I created a board you can follow here with more inspiration.  I think I might lay out outfits for the trip before I go to plan a bit better:

Image via Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/pin/108156828523481696/

The above outfit (image via Pinterest) is SO cute.  I love this red coat (and score – I have a red coat) striped top and black pants.  The only thing I don’t have on the above is the leopard flats, but lucky for me, Nordstrom has a pair of super fun leopard toms that seem to be comfy.

The above all black outfit is to die for (minus the heels – I wouldn’t wear those in Paris!).  I like the girl’s use of a necklace for a pop.

Image link http://pinterest.com/pin/108156828523477680/

I LOVE wedge tennis shoes right now.  I think the two above are wearing the super expensive Isabel Marant ones that I can’t afford…. but I have a pair of Target knock offs.  I’d pair this with jeans and a nice leather jacket.  I don’t own a leather jacket so that might be an expensive item to purchase!  Oh I would love to be miss Kate Moss above!

I also want this above coat that I found on pinterest!! I absolutely love it, would kill to get my hands on it.  I just honestly have too many jackets.

Image via http://pinterest.com/pin/108156828521174491/

Here’s another outfit that I absolutely LOVE, bc the colors are just on point and she’s layering.  I would have to really search for a sweater in this perfect pink.

Image via http://pinterest.com/pin/108156828523021355/

and finally, the perfect casual outfit.  Chambray Chic.  I don’t have a chambray top or a scarf that fabulous so I’ll need to get both.  This would be great for the airplane or the first day in the city.

Michelle Obama’s FAB Jason Wu Dress part two

She did it AGAIN!  She pretty much put Jason Wu on the map in 2009 (and in my closet, thanks to the Target colab!) and surprise surprise… Michelle Obama wore a Jason Wu gown to the 2013 Inaugural Ball again this year.  Check out this crimson dress…. do you like?!

I LOVE how the Pres. stares lovingly at his wife,,, aww ❤

Her halter dress is freaking adorable, and I love that she cinches her waist to accentuate it. Her arms are KILLER…. you can see them better here:

So apparently, according to this Huffington Post article, 15 designers submitted for this gig.  Pretty crazy.  I love that MOBama chose this dress, she is gorgeous in red.  *swoon*

PS: Michelle Obama apparently DOES pay for her dresses from her OWN money (she used to be an attorney) – just to put people at rest.

In other news…. have you heard about the new Target and Prabal Gurung colab coming up?! 🙂 *excited*

Travel or Designer Duds? What would you choose?

I’ve always told my husband money comes and goes, but you should work to travel and see the world, not spend it on material possessions (even though I won’t deny that I love designer handbags!).  I mean just today on Gilt, I saw a Carolina Herrera dress marked down from $9,999 to $2,499 – huge percent off, but REALLY?  Who has that kind of money to spend on A DRESS?  I told my coworker that I’d much rather spend that money on plane tickets for me and my husband anyday.  One of my facebook friends had taken a photo of an article in a magazine and I thought it was worth sharing, Here you can read it below:

Interesting, right?  I have DEFINITELY felt buyer’s remorse after spending too much money on something, but I didn’t feel any such remorse dropping a whole lot of money recently to purchase tickets to Paris & Brussels for my husband and I.  I know I can look forward to a week and a half with my husband in two lovely European cities; a Louis Vuitton bag just wouldn’t do that for me.

So, as a goal for this year (let’s see how far I can get!) I’m going to indulge less on “impulse” purchases and instead, think things through and wonder if I could get similar items at a lower cost. 

Whose with me?

Target + Neiman Marcus, 70% off?! What was so wrong with the collection

Ok really, the collection is now 70% off?  I couldn’t believe it when they dropped down to 50% last week (but you betcha I was happy to get a refund for the difference on my Tory Burch lunch box and thermos).  I was one of the few that logged in to order items from Target.com the night the collection launched (the Brian Atwood Gloves, Lunch Box, Thermos, and the Prabal Gurung Clutch) but when I went in to check out the items the next day, I was utterly disappointed in the quality.

Disappointed that the Marchesa dress didn’t come in my size and annoyed that the Atwood gloves felt cheap (hello, I’d paid $49.99 for them) and that the clutch looked like something I’d worn when I was 12.  I immediately returned the gloves and the clutch.  The Oscar de la Renta handbag was just embarrassing.  I wonder if the design team felt the same way.  I wouldn’t want my name on that bag.

Although I LOVED the Altuzarra Tray, I could not justify the $80 price tag for it.  It was just too much money to be spent on a tray, and it was seriously huge.  The tray was heavy and seemed to be very sturdy, but there was no room for it in my 1-bedroom apartment.

Altuzarra Tray for Target

Still, when the collection went on sale for 50% off, I didn’t hesitate to purchase the little Caroline Herrera notepad set to add to the Christmas gift I had gotten for a friend and the DVF Yoga Mat for myself (bc yoga mats do usually cost $25!).  I looked at the adorable little girls dresses, but, because my brother and his wife don’t know the gender of the baby they’re expecting, I decided not to get either.  They were SO CUTE but too big a risk to take when the return by date is Jan 5.

Jason Wu for Target little girls dress

I feel like this Time.com article covers the disastrous launch well.  They hit the nail on the head on the pricing of everything and the utter randomness of the collection.  Like, why the hell did Tory Burch create lunch items when her bags/shoes/clothes are INCREDIBLE?  Why didn’t DVF offer a wrap dress but instead sell a jewelry box and yoga mat?  Why did Marc Jacobs‘ “clutch” look like shit?  Why did Judith Leiber create a $60 compact mirror?  I loved almost every piece of the Jason Wu for the Target line this past spring, and the Missoni line was amazing too.  I just don’t really understand how they tried to sell us a bunch of random shit this winter for sky high prices.

Also, an employee at the LA City Target told me they got the biggest shipment of items in their store of any other Target store.  That may explain why the shelves were fully stocked the afternoon of the launch and still remain stocked.   What did you think of the items in the Neiman Marcus for Target collection?  What were your favorite pieces?