Final Days: Eluxury Shopping

Eluxury.com is set to close its online shopping doors this Friday, June 26th and rebrand itself as a luxury fashion emagazine.  The transition, it is said, was because many of the brands Eluxury sells have developed their own online presence (for example, Dolce and Gabbana just launched their online boutique today).

While this is sad news for me because I love to web surf and dream of the items in my closet, the silver lining is that Eluxury is drastically reducing prices on their remaining inventory.  Right now, ALL sale items are an additional 50% off their last marked down price.   Understandably, the selection will be limited and it appears there are only 1 or 2 items of the available sizes left, but if you’re the perfect fit, here are some lovelies which can be yours.

D&G Dolce & Gabbana Carla Pink Patent Slingback for $118.

Dsquared2 Patent Leather Espadrille, Red for $86.

There were more, but they seems to have already sold out! Hurry!

Dolce and Gabbana Sequined Sandals

These Dolce & Gabbana sandals ($536 at Luisaviaroma) are my pick for for walking shoe disaster of the week.  There are a lot of reasons to pick on this shoe – the over-the-top sequins, the large buckle at the ankle (I have fat ankles), etc. but it’s the arch , or lack thereof, of an arch support which bugs me the most about this sandal.  Towering at 4.5 inches, this shoe is already going to tough to walk in, but without the support, it will be tortuous.  I can’t even rationalize the lack of arch support because of aesthetics either.  Surely Dolce & Gabbana could have added a thin gold sole without impairing the design aspects of the shoe.

What are you thoughts – am I overly rough on this shoe?

A D&G Spring Vision

Wow, the last 5 inches of snow melted overnight. Last night we had strong Chinook winds; which left us with clear roads all over town but melting sheet ice on the driveway. There’s nothing quite like chaining up just to make it safely down 100 yards of private road.  My daughter’s comment on today’s balmy 55-degrees was ‘Wow, it’s almost summer, or maybe spring.’ While I’m not quite ready to concede that we have shifted out of winter and snow-boots, I am more than willing to celebrate that 20-degree increase in temperatures – along with the grasses and plants that have been revealed overnight from their snowy hiding places.

So, here is today’s dream of spring:

Dolce & Gabbana Floral Vine Pump $1125 @ Neiman Marcus

Spring 2009 Shoes: Platforms, Platforms, and more Platforms

As the onslaught of fashion shows continue, it wasn’t just my eyebrows which were raised when I saw how tall the shoe platforms were. Here’s a quick look-see.

The Japanese inspired spring collection over at Basso & Brooke brought an array of colorful prints, the highest of the platforms I’ve seen thus far for spring 2009, and obi belts that I’m dying to own. As if to signify that the heels were as tall as trees, birds and flowers were nesting on the heel.

Gucci‘s spring ’09 collection bought forth buckles, metallic trimming, and bold colors on top of platform heels.

Marni Spring 2009 shoes featured interesting striped knee high socks an array of colorful platform shoes.

D&G Spring 2009 got patriotic in red, white, and blue nautical theme clunky platform wedges.

Bottega Veneta incorporated their classic weave pattern into the platform wedge and heels. Compared to other runways, the platforms looks downright walkable.

And finally, Burberry Prorsum picked up the platform trend in autumn colors and ice-pick like heels.

Happy Labor Day.

For those of you in the United States, Labor day is one of those three-day weekends that is synonymous with shopping (although for plenty of men it is synonymous with grilling). For many of the younger set, it is the last big holiday weekend before school resumes. What is interesting to me is that a holiday that originated with the intent to give a day of rest and appreciation to the working citizens has morphed into a day where those folks working in service industries (particularly retail and food service) continue to work during the holiday to serve the rest of us who are lucky enough to have 9-5 employment.

If you happen to work in a government or white collar job, enjoy your day off.  For those of you in the service industry, been there, done that; I do hope you’re eligible for overtime. 

To all of those working through the holiday, THANK YOU for your commitment and work ethic.   This is my cheerleader moment: Our people are what keep our nation strong.

And, to those in a shopping frame of mind, there are a few sales. Unfortunately, there are not as many as I might have hoped:

1.) Asos has a shopping discount code good until Sunday, Sept 7th; Enter “ASOSGLAMOUR” at checkout for 20% off (I do not know if there is a price floor on this discount):

(Lotus Long Vintage Panelled Boots £190.00 before ASOS discount)

2. Bloomingdales is having a “Big Brown Bag Sale” through today [Extra 30-50% off Select Sale Items valid thru September 1st, 2008 on Bloomingdales.com only. Sale Items as marked. Discount Automatically Taken at Checkout. Offer is not valid in conjunction with any other offer. Delivery charges and applicable sales taxes are additional. No adjustments to prior purchases. Offer excludes Electronic Gift Cards Beauty, Gifts, and Home (Including Furniture & Mattresses). Online Offer differs in Bloomingdale's store locations and is not valid on bloomingdales.weddingchannel.com]:

3. Bluefly has select shoes at and additional 25% off through today. I don’t know about you, but in my book extra discounts at Bluefly are always a good idea:

4. Eluxury is giving an additional 30% off sale items:

How about these D&G patchwork sandals for an additional discount off the $539 sale price (Originally $895). That puts these under $400:

5. Nieman Marcus has free shipping for orders over $200 and for any shoe or handbag purchase over $350, a gift set of 12 designer notecards will be sent as a gift with purchase. 

I don’t happen to have any $350 shoes that I can’t live without. However, the notecards are darned cute.

6. Payless Shoe Source is having an online and in-store BOGO: Buy one; Get one for 1/2 Price. Always a crowd pleaser:

7. Shoebuy has a 20% off discount code; Enter “LD2008″ during checkout.  This is a great time to purchase a last-season clearance boot for fall.  With few exceptions, boots are a classic, trend-proof fall staple.  Don’t forget that if you are registered with Shoebuy, you normally receive an additional 10% discount above any current sales promotions.

Bronx ‘Zari’ on sale for $194 -20% -additional 10% = $139.68; 35% off the original $215.  Gotta love them stacked discounts.  I know I already said it, but the extra discounts make this a great time to browse; great time to buy.

As always, happy browsing!