Nordstrom Anniversary Sale - Fashion and Beauty at its Best!

What is the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale?

It's that time of the year again, the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is now only days away. But what exactly is the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale? It's when you can buy the best fashion brands of the latest and hottest styles of new Fall designer clothing, shoes, handbags and jewelry as well as exclusive, limited-edition beauty products including cosmetics and makeup from Nordstrom before the season starts and at up to 40% off during the sale.

In this way, the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is completely unique among department store sales in that as well as limited-edition items made just for the sale, all the merchandise on sale is the new season's merchandise and discounted before the season starts as opposed to being simply a clearance and end-of-season sale like Nordstrom's two half yearly (June and November) sales when the previous season's stock is unloaded. In this way, you can enjoy outstanding savings on the most exciting new Fall merchandise before the season actually starts. All merchandise left over after the sale is raised to regular retail prices.

The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is one big, annual event that every fashionista waits for. It's a fashion shopping event that has become legendary among fashionistas nationwide and in fact, is held by many as being the hottest fashion event of the year. There are amazing designer fashion and beauty deals!

Designer Clothing at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale

At the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale you'll save BIG on new Fall fashions of irresistible designer clothes, shoes, handbags, jewelry and outwear for the entire family!!!

On sale you'll find designer clothing from fashion labels including Juicy Couture, Tahari and Trina Turk, designer jeans from 7 For All Mankind, L.A.M.B., Hudson Jeans, JAG Jeans and Lucky Brand. And there's some really chic clothing like the colorful coats by Guess and Jessica Simpson as shown in the picture above, top right.

The cropped brown tweed jacket by Hinge (Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Item Code HN219308) is also chic. It's on sale at $78.90 or at $118 after the sale. The watercolor rose print top by Matty M (HN229381) on sale at $65.90 or $98 after the sale is also cute. This multi colored print top has braided trim and is made from fluid silk jersey. Both these items are shown in the picture at the above left.

Also worth look at are the Halogen Brown Lamb leather bomber jacket with polyester and polyurethane ribbed sweater-knit trim (Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Item Code HN224193) on sale at $159.90 or $248 after the sale, the Hot Kiss supple polyurethane bomber jacket in a Luggage color (HN227611) on sale at $44.90, after sale $68, and as shown here in the picture on the right, the Ambition Double-breasted Tomato color jacket (HN228621) on sale at $57.90 which jumps to $88 after the sale.

Designer Shoes at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale

At this year's Anniversary Sale there lots of designer shoes and boots from brands including Cole Haan (love the 'Carma Air' open-toe Mary Jane slingback), Frye, Kate Spade, Marc Jacobs, Max Studio, Michael Kors and Tory Burch, to name a few.

The designer shoes and boots by Stuart Weitzman are just super sophisticated and chic. I like the black leather boot with metal buckle and sweater back cuff (Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Item Code HN222803). Made in Spain and on sale at $279.90 or $435 after the sale this high-heeled boot gives a super chic and sexy look. The Stuart Weitzman 'Ciento' lace-up oxford pump in moro (bronze) antique viper snake-print leather and with cut-out sides (HN222797) and the peep-toe pump in taupe multi (HN222801) but also available in black soft patent or fire quasar (HN222799) snake-print leather are also definite possibilities.

At an Anniversary sale price of $69.90 (after sale $109.95), I think the BCBGirls peep-toe slingback in cherrywood snake leather (HN228897) is great value and will also give a sophisticated and chic look. If you're on the market for a new pair of UGGs then the Anniversary sale has a few styles to choose from.

Designer Handbags at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale

From talking to my Nordstrom SA I'm told that there are no high end designer handbags on sale but there is a good range of gorgeous mid-range designer handbags from labels including Botkier, Burberry, Chloe,

Elliott Lucca (the 'Porta' pocket shopper in textured Black Ombre patent leather (HN232370) on sale at $259.90 or $398 after the sale is cute), Juicy Courture, Kenneth Cole (the 'Aim To Pleats' horizontal hobo in Rose suede (HN231229) at $179.90, after sale $278 shown in middle right in picture above is gorgeous), Kooba, Marc Jacobs, Maxx New York, Michael Kors and Tulah Ray.

Talking about the designer handbags, I do like the Tulah Ray Split Zipper Satchel (Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, Designer Handbag Item HN236146) shown here on the right. It's on sale at $298.90 or available after the sale at $475. The handbag's center zip opens for extra space. It's a super chic handbag and the color, Berry is simply gorgeous.

Fashion and Designer Jewelry at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale

From the fashion and designer jewelry line up I like the Bronze Cuff by Rebecca (#233047) on sale at $314.90 or $475 after the sale and the Alexis Bittar Square Lucite bangle bracelet (#195073) at $49.90 or $75 after the sale. Other Alexis Bittar pieces are also interesting possibilities like the Hand-sculpted, hand-painted Lucite hinged bangle in Black/Grey Zebra stripes (HN201594) at $37.90 or $58 after the sale.

Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, Hot Beauty Buys!

The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale isn’t all about designer clothes, shoes, handbags and jewelry though. Also on sale you'll find your favorite brands of cosmetics and makeup in the form of unique beauty exclusives and special gifts with purchase (GWP) that are only available at Nordstrom for a limited time.

And there's a big lineup of coveted, limited edition cosmetics and makeup but unfortunately only in very limited supply. However, this year, the event is bigger and better than ever with over 100 beauty brands participating including top names like Bare Escentials, Bobbi Brown, Chanel, Dior, Estee Lauder, Lancome, Laura Mercier, MAC and Philosophy, to name a few. You can pre-order Nordstrom's beauty exclusives which begin shipping on July 18 and pre-orders for these beauties are being accepted now both in-store and at Nordstrom.com!!

There are lots of great exclusive beauty products available but I have my eye on a few select items. First the lavish Bare Escentuals® 'In Fashion' eight-Piece Set (Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, Beauty Exclusive Item #232696) offers $127 of value for just $75. The 'In Fashion' set contains all your essentials for the most exceptional evening on your agenda and the collection presents a sophisticated evening of the latest style! The set includes bareMinerals® Flawless Radiance All-Over Face Color (0.03 oz.), bareMinerals® Eye Color in Bahamas (0.02 oz.), bareMinerals® Liner Shadow in Caviar (0.01 oz.), bareMinerals® Blush in Escape (0.03 oz.), bareMinerals® 100% Natural Lipcolor in Bavarian Creme (0.13 oz.), Flawless Radiance Brush, and Double Ended Precision Eye Brush.

My next fancy is the Dior 'Gaucho' Palette (Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, Beauty Exclusive Item #232976) stocked with four ready-to-wear eyeshadows in tones of wine and roses, and two creamy lip colors in a super chic signature Dior metallic bronze case modeled after the signature Gaucho bag. This gorgeous palette is priced at $55 and you also receive a deluxe sample of 'Diorshow' Black Out Mascara with your Dior purchase. This item is only available online and restricted to one per customer, while supply lasts. The gift will be added automatically at checkout and can only be shipped to the same destination as your order.

I also love the Laura Mercier Twilight Colour Collection (Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, Beauty Exclusive Item #232893) which offers $131 of value for just $55. This set includes a Mini Eye Mosaic, Double-Ended Smudge & Angled Eye Color Brush, mini Purple Sapphire Kohl Eye Pencil and full-size Black Mascara, Lip Glacé in Cinnamon and a French Vanilla Hand Creme. All items are conveniently packaged in a chic brown, faux patent leather makeup bag with contrast stitching.

Next I'm in love with the Juicy Couture 'Dresser' Set (Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, Beauty Exclusive Item #233777) which offers $141 of value for just $98. This exclusive set includes an adorable keepsake vanity box containing Juicy Couture Eau de Parfum Spray (3.4 oz.), travel-ready Body Sorbet (3.4 oz.), Frothy Shower Gel (3.4 oz.) and limited-edition lip gloss compact (0.08 oz.).

Finally, I'm also hot for the complete range in the MAC Colour Forms Anniversary collection including the Colour Forms Basic Brush set (red), Colour Forms Advanced Brush set (purple and green) and the Beauty Powder, Powder Blush and lipstick, to name a few. If you ask me, the Cocoa Mauve Collection from Bobbi Brown (Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, Beauty Exclusive Item #234274) for Fall's most-wanted shades for eyes, cheeks and lips in a sleek black nylon cosmetic case, the beautiful Lancôme palette and the 'Color Design' Beauty Icon Warm Eye & Cheek Palette (Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, Beauty Exclusive Item #230620) are also good value.

There are other products that I could easily add to my shopping bag like the Philosophy ‘purity made simple’ one step facial cleanser $42.50 ($64 value) and the icon Clarins UV Plus Day Screen SPF 40 $56 ($80 value). Oh dear I'm greedy and just what it all!!!

Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Starting Soon

This year's Nordstrom Anniversary Sale sale both in-store and online at 12:01am PST on Friday, July 18 and ends at 1:59pm PST on Sunday, August 3. However, many have already presaled (placed their orders) either online or at their Nordie store.

As you can expect the 150+ Nordstrom stores are crowded during the Anniversary Sale and the best merchandise goes fast. So make sure you leave extra time for shopping and don't forget it's first in best dressed! To avoid the crowds you can simply shop from home at Nordstrom.com! However, be prepared for slower response times on the Nordstrom site as there will also be a surge of online shoppers. Remember, pre-orders for Nordstrom's beauty exclusives are being accepted now!!

If you ask me the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is one of those don't miss sales. There's lots to shop and at prices that attract hordes of bargain-loving shoppers so you must not miss this great Nordstrom fashion event.

What I really like about Nordie is that as well as offering a big range of designer fashions and beauty products, this merchant stands behind everything that it sells and offers truly friendly and impeccable customer service. My returns have never been challenged.

So if you're a Nordie girl? Check out the online version of the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Catalog and get ready to bag something good!

PS. Nordstrom always has a great sunglasses selection on sale at the Anniversary Sale so I also suggest that you check out this year's Chloe, Dior, Fendi, Gucci and Oliver Peoples shades.

Can “Sex” be as Good Second Time Around?

Well after months of speculation the news is that HBO has announced that it is making a "Sex and the City" movie Sequel. In fact, it's already in the early stages of development.

When asked about the possibility of a Sex 2, Michael Lombardo, president of the HBO programming group, told reporters at the cable network's annual Television Critics Association press tour in Los Angeles today:

 

"There is enormous interest by Warner Bros. and New Line to do another Sex and the City and I think in fact they're trying to put that together now," said Michael Lombardo, HBO's President, Programming Group and West Coast Operations.

What do you think about a "Sex and the City", movie sequel?

Can "Sex" be as good the second time around?

Do you want to see more of Mr Big?

Will Big and Carrie have a baby?

Online Fashion Boutiques, Take Note!

If you're a frequent reader then you will know that I love to shop - designer clothes, designer shoes and designer handbags. However, there's something about fashion retailing, especially online fashion boutiques, that really sucks and often turns me off my passion. Simply stated, this relates to the way that many online fashion boutiques display their merchandise.

I don't know if you're like me but often I find designer clothes that are simply displayed and photographed against some backdrop or being modelled by Casper, just suspended in mid air. The halter top shown above is an example. I'm sure you've see lots of this yourself but if not then take a quick look at the teen clothing shown on online fashion boutiques like Aeropostale and Delia's, and the sassy and chic clothing shown at The Warehouse and Miss Selfridge. Now don't get me wrong as I happen to love all of these online boutiques. They are merely examples of the point that I'm trying to make here. I just find that displaying fashion like this does not do justice to the items and often I will simply move on.

Take for example the halterneck top by Bilingual shown above. I wrote about this piece in my post Up To 50% Off La Star Style Celebrity Fashion back on August 18, 2007. As I wrote then, when I first saw this halterneck even at the 50% discounted sale price of £39.99 I asked myself "yeah sure, who'd pay that much for this?" Intrigued, I had a closer look and if you click on the image you'll see how this halterneck top looks being worn by Hollywood A-lister, Halle Berry. How quickly I changed my mind when I saw it modelled in this way. It's nothing short of super sexy and I too wanted one of these exclusive and very limited tops.

Now what I've labelled as 'Casper displays' is not the only thing that sucks as I also often come across pictures of designer clothes on mannequins, life-size dummies sometimes with an egg head with no defined features or anatomical details but also often headless, or armless, or just a torso, and I say, "Yuck. No Thanks". Yet I can see the exact same designer clothes pictured being worn by live models and say "Wow. Yes Thanks" and either go ahead and purchase or at the very least dream about owning them!

Now this isn't always the case as there are some exceptions, however I have to say that this is mostly true for me. Here is a couple of current examples of this taken from another one of my favorite online boutiques, ADASA. The first, the designer dress shown in the picture on the above left, is the Mason by Michelle Mason Dress with Waist Ties in Grey currently priced at $297 at ADASA and the second, shown in the picture on the right below is the Mason by Michelle Mason 3/4 Sleeve Boatneck Dress in Purple, available at ADASA for $407.

Each of these two modelled designer dresses by Los Angeles fashion designer Michelle Mason I could easily order online. I think they're gorgeous, sophisticated and sexy, and look absolutely stunning, just too cute to mouse click past. So here's a simple experiment. As you look at each outfit click on the picture and see how these gorgeous designer clothes look in the alternative displayed on a mannequin. Much like the Bilingual halterneck top shown above, these two Mason by Michelle Mason designer dresses displayed in confident stylish poses on headless mannequins, I can assure I would not look twice at.

Even though mannequins can be very realistic, capable of a myriad of natural human poses and based on human measurements and proportions to die for, as well as being flesh-colored and with that perfect smile, looking so very youthful, I can't explain how as a frequent fashion shopper why I feel this way. I'm not at all sure if my reaction is because of the wooden or plastic doll look or if somehow my brain recognizes that these dummies are not the real thing, that they're just a non-personalized representation of the human form, youthful and with that perfect body but somewhat idealized and stylized, to model the designer clothes. Perhaps it's in the mannequins' body language or that I simply see that they are Barbie dolls, too perfect and not having the body shape of today's average woman makes me feel bad about myself! It might even be that I just get a different perception of beauty and the human body when designer clothes are displayed on mannequins. I really don't know but the result is that I don't buy!

And I have to say that the same applies to mannequins modelling designer jeans and to a lessor extent designer shoes and accessories like designer jewelry and designer sunglasses! And this isn't restricted to online merchandising either as I often have the very same reaction when it comes to mannequins in storefronts or magazine advertisements. Somehow they are a turn-off! Crazy I know but if there are many like me then I think that the display of designer clothes in this way is far less effective than retailers may realize!

LuvCharlie EXTRA 25% OFF

Fashionistas, here's a reminder that you can still get an EXTRA 25% OFF on any purchases at the online boutique LuvCharlie through until end August. Use code take25 to save on a big range of women's designer clothing many of which, like this tailored Kristinit Velvet Swing Coat on sale at $140 down from $298, have already been heavily discounted. The limited edition Velvet Swing Coat by designer label Kristinit, with its large cuffs and deep pockets, is really chic! I love its flattering cut and style. Kristinit designs are gorgeous and loved by many celebs.

The online boutique LuvCharlie carries a big range of sassy and chic designer fashion for woman and teens including designer dresses, coats/jackets, tops, shirts/tees, sweaters and jewelry (bracelets, earrings and watches) from a big range of fashion designers including Mint, MK2K, Porridge, Velvet, Yumi Kim and more.

Top Celebrity & Designer Fashion at 30% Off

Fashion mavens you shouldn’t have to blow your money “a la Lohan” to have style and that’s why Horn Boutique, the standout among the chicest boutiques along trendy Los Angeles' Robertson Boulevard in the epicenter of West Coast fashion, Beverly Hills, is allowing us budget savvy divas a chance to blow our horns too!

Chic and fashion-forward Horn Boutique carries the latest in both funky and formal styles and offers the full range from basic foundation pieces, sassy camis, capris, jeans, pants, as well as lingerie, coats, handbags and footwear to exceptional dresses and gowns for red carpet affairs and other special events as well as one-of-a-kind unique fashion pieces. Horn Fashion Boutique carries an exclusive selection of cutting-edge American labels and sought-after European labels including bold and sexy Italian fashion, and even Asian brands.

Horn Boutique has reigned supreme on Robertson Boulevard since 1998 and a favorite womens shopping destination for A-List celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan, Cameron Diaz, Penelope Cruz, Kate Wynslet, Catherine Zeta Jones-Douglas and Heidi Klum. In fact Lindsay Lohan and Penelope Cruz are regular Horn shoppers and recently, Lindsay Lohan snatched up more than $13,000 worth of the designer clothing at Horn Boutique. Horn has also outfitted attendees of the Golden Globes as well as dressed the Gastineau Girls, the actresses of Las Vegas and Charmed, and of course Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie on The Simple Life. To see a sampling of Horn's clothes you need only look as far as VH1's The Fabulous Life of the "It" girls, It's Good to be Brittany Spears and The Olsen Twins and Style Star: Hip Hop Diva's Edition featuring Kalise.

While this "it" womens fashion boutique has become a mainstay for the Hollywood and fashion elite, throughout May Horn Boutique is offering all us fashion mavens a little help by offering 30% Off selected designer fashion brands from the feminine luxury of Blumarine (a fave of so many including Lindsay Lohan, Katie Holmes, Jane Fonda, Anastacia and Carmen Electra), to Issa (just love the sexy Issa dresses), Allesandro Dell’Acqua (simply exquisite cocktail dresses), Catherine Malandrino (gorgeous blouses), Lutz & Patmos, Fifi Cashmere, Cashflow and a host of others. So here's a great chance to shop the chicest European fashion and hottest L.A. trends and save!!.

Fashionistas can snap up the hottest designer fashion and take advantage of this month long sale by visiting L.A.'s hotspot Horn Boutique at 140 S. Robertson Blvd. or HornFashion.com, one of the Web's most exclusive online womens fashion boutiques. Happy Shopping!

New Kate Moss TopShop Collection Now Available Online

Following on from the footsteps of the Madonna endorsed fashion range for Sweden's H and M, Kylie Minogue's swimwear range for H and M, and Stella McCartney's womens designer fashion collection for Target in Australia, the often controversial Kate Moss today launched her new fashion collection for the UK based, chic fashion boutique, Topshop. Topshop are renowned for putting high fashion on the high street but at affordable prices. Have they done it again this time with Kate Moss?

Hundreds of fashionistas queued outside Topshop's flagship store in Oxford Street London to catch a glimpse of this naughty supermodel, nicknamed "Cocaine Kate" posing as a mannequin in one of her sexy dresses for the launch! No doubt they were also there to grab a fashion designer bargain at the opening sale.

Unlike the hysteria that we saw earlier this year at the Stella McCartney womens designer fashion sale in Target stores throughout Australia, fashion shoppers at the Kate Moss TopShop sale were each given an individual wrist band allotting them a 20-minute access to the Kate Moss collection, and in batches of 150 at a time. What's more, they were each only allowed to buy five items from the Kate Moss fashion collection which includes pieces priced from £12 to £150.

The Kate Moss Topshop collection, which Kate Moss helped design, includes a pansy flower dress, one-shoulder mini-dresses, a striped waistcoat vest, t-shirts, pinstripe pants, skinny jeans and suits. Following the central London launch the Kate Moss fashion collection will go on sale nationwide and next week will be available in the US through Barneys.

Also, in a bid to avoid the mayhem seen at other similar in-store sales, the Kate Moss Topshop collection is now available online at TopShop.com

However, once again, due to the expected demand and in fairness to all customers, you will only be able to purchase 1 of each Kate Moss style and can buy no more than 5 items at a time. So choose wisely!

Teen Clothing, Designer Jeans and Tees Up To 80% Off

Teen Clothing, Designer Jeans, Tees, Handbags and Swimwear, Up To 80% Off with over 100 new styles added to the sale collection.

The sale includes jeans, shorts, jackets and tops by AG Jeans, Ben Sherman tops and shirts, a big range of colorful tanks and tees by C & C California, Cheesey Tees, a big range of Chick by Nicky Hilton womens and teen clothing (the back flap pocket pants in dusty pink are cute), shirts, jeans and skirts by Chip & Pepper, track jackets, pants and shorts by Ella Moss, skirts, tops and tees by French Connection, cute red pants with side zip and turtleneck top by French Laundry, swimwear by Gottex, jeans, pants and shorts by Hudson Jeans, a big range and different styles of jeans by James Jeans, tops by James Perse, a good range of jeans by Joe's Jeans, some really cute teen clothing by Junk Food and Kendra Duck, a samll range of jeans by Miss Sixty, tops by Nallie and Millie, jeans including super lows by Paper, Denim & Cloth, a cute cropped wrap sweater in pink by Posh Chic, swimwear by Rajman, more great teen clothing by Rix Chix and so much more....

a small range of jeans by Sacred Blue and that fav Seven For All Mankind, lots of tops, tees and camis by Splendid, tops, tunics and pants by Susana Monaco, tops by Sweet Pea and Three Dots, and the Britney Spears and Jessica Alba much loved True Religion jeans, tees by Trunk Ltd, some really cute boyshort sets by Twinkle Tees, a big range of swimwear by Vitamin A, more sexy tops by Yana K and Zooey.

All in all, there's a fairly big range of womens and teen clothing with some really cute basics on sale at this online boutique. With world-wide shipping, there's something for everyone in this sale and with an An Extra 20% Off with Discount Code: clearance07, this sale is worth a look!

15% Off Chic and Teen Clothing

If you're looking for something sophisticated or really chic then this womens designer clothing and teen clothing sale is for you!

FOR THIS WEEK ONLY

Take an additional 15% OFF

Already Reduced Merchandise!!!

Use coupon code: springbacksale at checkout.

Sale ends 12am Sunday, April 29th!

Innovatively sophisticated and uniquely chic, Joia Style Studio is an online fashion boutique targeting stylish female fashionistas and serves as a launching point for new and emerging and Indie Fashion Designers. Joia Style Studio brings you one of a kind fashion by showcasing cutting edge, both sophisticated and chic womens clothing, handbags, and jewelry created by hand-selected designers from New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Canada and Australia.

My picks: There's quite a big range of sophisticated and chic womens designer clothing and teen clothing at Joia Style Studio. I just love the super sexy hand machine knit mini halter dress in stripes shown in the picture above. As shown, the front has a cowl neckline. It has a sexy low back with hand cut flower details in denim, white, and plum with green leather leaves. Each flower is stitched by hand with cute buttons. It's a truly super sexy dress and priced at $100.

The Evil Kitty "Boy Beater" Tanks shown here are also cute. These tank tops are based in a classic "boy beater" design. Priced at $28, they are also very soft and stretchy and available in five different colors: black, red, pink, fuchsia and turquoise. The Evil Kitty "Boy Beater" Tanks are really chic and colorful, great teen clothing.

Visit Joia Style Studio to see the range of other sophisticated and uniquely chic womens designer clothing and teen clothing on sale.