Style: Fashion Cats!



Photo courtesy of United Bamboo

About a year ago, while reading through my favourite fashion blogs, I happened upon the most glee-inducing photos combining two of my favourite things: cats and fashion!  Any one that knows me personally would never believe that I was not actually googling for cats + fashion to begin with, but I swear I wasn't.

These pictures are from the 2011 calendar by United bamboo. The clothes weren't actually designed for the cats, it's the United Bamboo 2011 winter collection shrunk down to cat size for the purposes of the calendar. You can check out the whoel series of pictures here.

The calendar sold for a whopping 50 bucks at the time, but I have to admit I would have been tempted if I had seen it in person. I have used these lovelies as my desktop wallpaper on and off for the last year or so, and I wanted to post about it since cats this fashionable must be shared and admired!

Glad to see that the cat fashion industry doesn't suffer from the same weight biase that ours does ;-)

Photo courtesy of United Bamboo

Shop: J. Crew Edie Purse in Flame

This season's must have purses are slimmed down, polished and in bright hues or funky fabrics. I guess it's not a big surprise since the past few seasons have been all about the large, slouchy boho bags. That's fashion for you, once you manage to collect all the trendy pieces that you love, they flip the script and suddenly what you are wearing is 'so 5 minutes ago!'. I have finally found skinny jeans that fit well and are not too low cut, so I cringed when I saw that full flare pants were back - thankfully, it seems all styles of jeans can co-exist for the time being. Phew!

Back to handbags....I shouldn't complain, any excuse to buy a new purse is a good excuse. The thing is, I like a big purse. The stuff (i.e. crap) I carry around has grown to meet the size capacity of my hobo bag, and now I find it hard to pare down. For a night out, I have to think long and hard about what goes into my itty bitty clutch and I'm always relieved to go back to my shoulder bag, no matter how cute a hand held purse is. The bags that are on trend this season are somewhere in the middle of these two size extremes.

After much searching, I decided on the J. Crew Edie shoulder purse in Flame. It has a bit more storage space than a few of the other models out there, and I think the color will really pop. I use to always lean towards black, but I'm less afraid of colour as I use to be, and think one just says 'summer' to me.

Photo Courtesy of J. Crew

  There was also a slimmer J. crew option, call Tillary in dark poppy. I decided against it because of it's size, but I loved that it can be converted to a clutch.

Photo courtesy of J. Crew

Kate Spade purses are just gorgeous, I love the quality of the materials they use, the structure, the cute embellishments. The Kate Spade 'Charlize' in black has that Chanel quilting that has kind of grown on me. I don't want a purse that's trying to be Chanel (and I can't rationalize buying a real Chanel ...yet), so it needs to have it's own style, and I think they really pulled it off with this one.

Photo courtesy of Kate Spade

 The other Kate Spade that I nearly bought was the Harlow. A while back, I had a purse just like this  from Danier leather, but the Kate version has the 14k gold accents that really elevate it. Ironically I just gave away the Danier purse after holding onto it for years thinking the style would come back eventually. Lesson learned? I wish, but my closet real estate dictates that some things do need to be moved out of rotation eventually. I'll just need to be smarter about what makes the cut.

Photo courtesy of Kate Spade

Photo courtesy of Kate Spade

I made sure to check out Michael Kors, Banana Republic and Marc by Marc Jacobs before making the purchase but I found that they haven't really produced anything new & noteworthy using this year's shapes (tote, satchel, clutch). In the end I just liked the shape of the Edie purse better than the others, and the color really sold it for me. I also got it at a much better than retail price, so that kinda cinched it for me. Can't wait till it (and the Spring-like weather) arrives!

Shop: Tip #4 - Know your brands

For clothes, it is worth the time invested if you can go to the retail brick & mortar store and try on the item itself or at least something similar in cut/style. I love Banana Republic and I know my size in their dresses, tops, pants, jeans, skirts, coats, etc. Believe me when I say that the my size can range at the same store depending on if it's a top or dress, slacks or jeans.
I would recommend against buying from a brand you have never tried on before or a brand you haven't seen up close with your own eyes. For one thing, you have no idea if the sizes are made big/small and second, you have no way of gauging authenticity of an item if you can't compare quality/material/craftsmanship. I personally buy only a few key brands that I am familiar with because I can be 90% sure that the item will fit even if I've never tried it on, and I have a better chance of detecting a knock off.

Shop: Tip # 3 - New Versus Pre-Owned

With clothes, I rarely buy pre-owned items. When I do, it will generally be something that is worn as outerwear and only from a seller with high ratings. Based on the sheer amount of used Lululemon clothing on eBay, I assume there must be a high demand for it but there is no way would I buy pre-owned exercise clothes. I KNOW what mine are like used, so I could not fathom buying someone else's grungy sweats.

Along those lines, you really don't know what state an item is until you see it with your own eyes, regardless of what condition the seller says its in. Their idea of "Mint" or "Like New" may really vary from yours. Which means that you are taking a chance, and hopefully that is reflected in the price. If you have experience with a seller, or if they have enough photos to prove something is in decent shape, then go for it. But if those pictures are too dark or out of focus, beware. Photos, more often than not, are my biggest decision maker.

I would like to add that some rare items, however, are even better pre-owned. My biggest addiction on eBay is hunting down Tiffany & Co. jewellery. Their silver jewellery only grows more beautiful with patina that develops over time. I will discuss authenticity in another post but for this topic I have to say that I almost prefer buying this second hand over brand new. First off because you won't find new authentic Tiffany jewellery on eBay and also because I see Tiffany's as a collector's item with increased value over time. Again, reputation and photos play a big part in my decision to bid.

All that to say, that it really depends on what you are looking for when deciding to go New or Pre-Owned on eBay. I try to avoid disappointment and opt for new clothing/shoes but I will accept used when it comes to jewellery or purses IF I can see many photos to decide on its state for myself.

Shop: Tip #2 - Don't assume returning something will be painless

Retail stores like Banana Republic or Gap include return labels and packaging with your online purchases, which makes returns a breeze. Some people use this policy to great effect, and will buy the same dress in multiple sizes and simply return the ones that don't fit. eBay is not like a retail website, for the most part you are not at liberty to return products if they don't fit or you don't like the colour. eBay returns will always suck, in regards to both time & money, for both parties.

Policies are at the complete discretion of the seller, and I can totally understand why they make most sales FINAL. The only time I went through a return process was when the seller shipped the complete wrong product. I was extremely annoyed at having to go to the post office and bother with it, even if I was refunded the postage. You have to ensure the package gets to point A to Point B, and when you consider international shipping and postal strikes, things can go missing; I know I've had a few items lost in transit. To avoid all that trouble, I've actually had  a couple sellers who told me to keep the wrong item (for my trouble) and then sent me the replacement as well (worked out in my favour since both items were my size!).

You have to think of these purchases as Final Sale. This should make your buying practices more thoughtful and cautious. Be sure to read the listing a few times (i.e. the fine print) and know the sellers policies.

Shop: Tip #1 - Set Up An Environment to Succeed!

You must buy a lotto ticket if you hope to win the lottery. Lame title and analogy aside, this means that you need to be set up before you try to get bidding on that awesome necklace. If you don't have your login set up with a primary address and you do not have Pay Pal activated with an approved payment source/address, you are never going to be ready in time win that auction. Even if you don't want to buy anything yet, do yourself a favour and set up your account, and take the time to get Pay Pal up and running. It takes time and they need to verify your bank information. I can't say it was a painless process, and I was hesitant to provide all that information at first, but now I feel like Pay Pal has saved my ass a few times with tricky eBay disputes, so I'm glad I'm set up. Do it. Do it now. Take that first step.

Shop: Buying (Tips) in installments

A friend of mine is always saying that I should share my tips for shopping, particularly with eBay. I probably shouldn't be this proud of myself for something so shallow & consumerist, but I love that I am a savvy shopper. I like the hunt, doing research and scouring for the best deal. Instead of preparing a lengthy post on my eBay tips, I will add tips to my blog on a regular basis and hope I don't contradict myself too much.