Designer Spotlight: Richard Ruiz

Looking for girly, feminine, fun, flirty frocks and tops? Look no further, Richard Ruiz is the designer for you!!! The San Francisco native studied in New York and Paris at the Parsons School of Design. His designs are highly influenced by Japanese inspired prints that include butterflies, dragons, and kimono sleeves. His collection debuted in Fall 2006 and he has been making waves ever since with celebrity clientele, including Lauren Conrad and Lauryn Hill. Ruiz's designs have been featured in such publications as Women's Wear Daily, Lucky Magazine, and Cosmo Girl. You can find his elegant, but fun designs online at http://www.revolveclothing.com/ or http://www.activeendeavors.com/ Also check out his Fall 2008 collection at http://www.richardruiznyc.com/

He is definitely keeping fashion airy and light!!!!

Live long and Dress Well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Top 10 Shopping Websites

I'm keeping it simple and straight to the point...ONLINE SHOPPING!!!!!! I have compiled my top 10 favorite, old and new, shopping sites and some of the perks they offer!!! Here we go...

10. Cusp: http://www.cusp.com/ Offering a shopping experience for those who aren't so lucky to have a Cusp boutique in their city!

9. Net-a-Porter: http://www.net-a-porter.com/ Features some of the best designers and they are having an AWESOME sale on Marc by Marc Jacobs right now!!!!!!!!!

8. Active Endeavors: http://www.activeendeavors.com/ Fun, of the moment fashion, with great sales and free shipping!!!! Yeah!

7. Revolve Clothing: http://www.revolveclothing.com/ I like how they organize this site by actions, Excite(high end designers), Play(casual, cool), and Represent(statement tees). How fun is that? Oh, and free shipping!!!!

6. Singer22: http://www.singer22.com/ Offers the latest in hard to find, celebrity fashions. So, you no longer have to wonder, where did Halle get the fabulous dress or who makes that hot bag Eva is carrying??? They have it all and pictures too!!!!

5. Wendy Mink Jewelry: http://www.wendyminkjewelry.com/ Cute, affordable, earrings, bracelets, necklaces and more! Love this site. She was just featured in Luckybreaks pg. 97 and pg. 124. Very hot pieces indeed!

4. RavinStyle: http://www.ravinstyle.com/ I like how they arrange outfits according to your personal style: bohemian, urban chic, rocker chic...Whatever look you are channeling, they have something for you!

3. Fashion Flairs: http://www.fashionflairs.com/ Great site for handbags and accessories at all price points!!!!

2. Willow St.: http://www.willowst.com/ Recently discovered this site thanks to Elle magazine and they have great finds from clothes to accessories. It's definitely worth checking out and saving to your favorites!

My top shop...

1. Elle H Boutique of Laguna Beach: http://www.elleh.com/ Yes, I am a huge fan of the Laguna Beach girls and now ladies of The Hills! Being a Cali native myself, I really slept on the O.C., who knew they had such great shopping???? Well, I stumbled upon this online boutique and boy was it the best thing I ever did!!! All I have to say is check out their Under $100 section!!!! Nuff Said!

Honorable Mention:

Luv Charlie: http://www.luvcharlie.com/ If you like indie designers and great promos every now and again, then this is the site for you!

Ron Herman: http://www.ronherman.com/ L.A. boutique that offers the best of its boutique online!!! Love it!!!!


Now get to surfing and bookmarking!!!!!

Live long and Shop Well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sample This!!!!!!!!

Sample Sale! Sample Sale! Sample Sale!

The best way to shop these days is on SALE!!! Sample Sales have become all the rave (see May issue of InStyle p. 290 "From Street to Web...)(Thanks, Jiggy for turning me on to the sample sales!) Sample sales offer popular, of the moment brands (i.e. Ella Moss, Dittos, Frankie B.) at a fraction of the cost ( up to 30% to 70% off). But the great deals don't stop there! Luxury brands like, DVF, D&G, and Zac Posen have also been spotted at these online treasure sites! Sites include: Hautelook.com(my fav), Gilt.com(luxury items), Ideeli.com(handbags and accessories); Regentsecret.com(trendy designers) and many more at http://www.samplesale.com/ .

If you are so lucky to live in a city that offers a sample sale weekly, you might find your hands on a steal of deal on a fab DVF dress(NYC) or Rachel Pally dress(LA) or Dolce Vita shoes (LA) and even DC offers a seasonal sample(early fall) sale featuring fashion's from some of the city's hottest boutiques. It may even be worth a trip to one of these cities! Most of the sample sales feature items of the season or just a season behind.

I mean, really, why pay full price, when you can get the latest trends at an affordable price!!!! Be a savvy, smart shopper!

Other spots to check out: in the DC metro area http://www.shoptreat.com/ Treat, located in Old Town, Virginia, is a sample sale boutique with some of the moments trends in clothing, handbags, and shoes. So many options, so little time! Try a Sample today!

Live Long and Sample Sale Well!!!!!!!!!!!!!

p.s. Online retailer Revolveclothing.com is making its way to the street. That's right LA girls, Revolve is opening a boutique in West Hollywood, this August. 8452 Melrose Avenue. Happy Shopping!

Oh, and one more goodie, Activeendeavors.com http://www.activeendeavors.com/ is offering 25% off all sale items already marked 70% off, now thru May 18th! Whew!