Jan
2
The whirlwind is over. Wasn’t it fab? The Shop Tart loves January, a time to relax and go low-key after all the hustling and bustling in December. Speaking of The Hustle, the Shop Tart wore a jumpsuit on New Year’s Eve. Yes, y’all, a jumpsuit. Not only did she wear one, she predicts you will, too - or at least consider it. Just be careful - the Shop Tart almost made the mistake of pairing a black metallic mesh Whiting and Davis bag with the jumpsuit, which would have been just a touch too costumey, n’est-ce pas? A vintage 40’s peplum jacket with a fur shawl collar and Michelle Vale bag took the 80’s edge out of the look. At least, um, the Shop Tart hopes they did. Her friends were too kind to say.
Where will you find your jumpsuit? That depends on your price range and which shops jump up to the plate. Yves St. Laurent makes a lovely one and, for the you-should-really-put-this-in-your-retirement-account-instead price of $2890, the Shop Tart is certain it flatters any figure. YSL offers a more casual version for the why-not-take-a-trip-instead price of $1780. On to more realistic options…
Last year, VanJean carried a cute casual version by Tibi, if the Shop Tart remembers correctly*. And if in fact it was Tibi, the price was probably palatable, if not bargain-basement. Wonder if VanJean bought any of the Phillip Lim versions for this season? There’s a great sleeveless black, faux-bustier version with wide leg pants (around $850). The Shop Tart loves this one, but doesn’t particularly want to guess at the price. Maybe the more casual version…
Coplon’s carries Chloe and Stella McCartney, who both made fab jumpsuits this season ($995-$1600). No word if Coplon’s will carry the jumpsuits, but the Shop Tart would love to see them up close. Robert Rodriguez (also available at Coplon’s) offers a gray, draped silk version that promises to be very flattering (around $360) and would be perfect for the store - and the Shop Tart’s closet!
We can only hope that M Boutique, the Bohemian, Belladea and Mary score a chic jumpsuit or three for us to rock. Alice + Olivia produced a mad cool jersey version with flutter sleeves for Spring (around $368). Just Sayin’. The Shop Tart is putting her money on M Boutique, usually the first shop to offer the latest thing at a price we like. Both Lola and Max and Prissy like the edgier pieces, too. Hmmm…
The Shop Tart is considering offering some sort of prize to the first reader to spot a jumpsuit for sale in town. If you are a local shop owner or employee planning on carrying a jumpsuit, let the Shop Tart know and you’ll be featured in a post. Stay tuned!
In other news…
- Mary and Martha’s is offering knife sharpening year-round for $6 a knife. Wonder if they can sharpen the Shop Tart’s Cuisinart blade…
- Finleaf Gallery is closed until January 6th.
- Weathers is having a 2-for-1 Sale. Standard rules apply (buy one, get a second of equal or lesser value absolutely free.)
Happy Shopping and don’t forget to tell them you read it on the Shop Tart!
* She does remember that it looked très chic on store manager Christina with a fab pair of metallic thong sandals.
Dec
2
Best bars for dinner.
Filed Under Bags, Beauty, Clothes, Eat and Drink, Great deal, Home, Men, Sale, Shoes, Sip and Shop, prize | Leave a Comment
Sigh…the vacation is over…back to reality. The Shop Tart tried desperately to get a job as a fitness instructor at Club Med so she wouldn’t have to leave, but in the end chose her family over a life spent relaxing on the beach. Isn’t she sweet?
Do you ever need a vacation but just can’t get one? The Shop Tart thinks eating a nice dinner at a bar is like a mini-vacation. You enjoy a fab dinner in a relaxed atmosphere while you chat up the bartender or other “vacationers.” You can find Mr. and Mrs. Shop Tart belly up to the bar at several places around town. These are some of their favorite vacation spots:
Baan Sawan: Sam, owner, bartender and sommelier, has gotten to know the Shop Tart’s taste in wine so well he gave her a catchphrase to use when ordering elsewhere. Thanks to Sam, she now knows she prefers “a dry, white wine that’s minerally, not buttery.” He is her oeno-therapist and he can be yours, too. The Thai food at the upscale bistro is beyond compare. Don’t miss the Green Curry Sea Bass Special when it’s available.
Garibaldi’s: The Shop Tart and her husband accidentally had their first date there. Sit in a booth for more intimacy or at one of the small tables for better people watching. Order one of the fish specials and don’t forget Mr. Shop Tart’s favorite, the Heart of Palm Salad. Service at Garibaldi’s is unobtrusive and well-paced. Pace is so, so important when you want to relax.
Mr. Friendly’s: This is one of their favorite sports bars. They don’t have a television at home, you see, so Mr. Friendly’s is the perfect place to go when he wants to catch a game and she wants to people watch, eat something other than wings and chat with Justin, one of the most charming bartenders in town. If you’re looking to have a more authentic sports bar experience, order the Buttermilk Fried Pickles with Sherry Cayenne Mayo as an appetizer.
Dianne’s on Devine: Another great sports bar with a fab menu. The crowd here might even be into the game, which can be fun. Enjoy popcorn or bar mix as your appetizer and pat yourself on the back for having a salad with your Grouper DaVinci. The Shop Tart’s favorite Chardonnay, Schug Carneros, is available here by the glass.
Hunter Gatherer: Definitely the most casual place on the list, Hunter Gatherer is de rigeur for all you beer drinkers. The beer is brewed in house, but it’s also available to take home, in big jugs called growlers. The Shop Tart likes to get the burger, sans bun, with Greek Salad in place of the hash browns. Both hash browns and bun are delish, but the Shop Tart is an old woman with three children and has to watch her figure - and the Greek Salad is really, really good! See if you can get someone to play Yahtzee with you - there’s a set behind the bar!
Here’s one final vacation drink for you from the Shop Tart, a light Malibu and club soda. She and her sister-in-law enjoyed these every afternoon after open-air Zoomba, at Celeste, the ocean-front bar at Club Med Punta Cana. It was perfect with one of their Cesar Salads. And the Shop Tart wipes a tear from her eye…
In other news…
- Need a holiday glow? The Spa at H2 and Tonic are offering airbrush tans for only $20 (regularly $30).
- On Thursday from 1 am to 3 pm, BCBG sales representative Brittanie Newman from New York will be at Lola in Lexington. Come join the fun with give-a-ways, door prizes and gifts with purchases!
- Remember that Pout will add $25 to any gift certificate over $75. They’ll also help you make a wish list and contact your gift giver. So convenient!
- Sample sale! LaRoque has a sample rack out - 75% off!
- Mark your calender: Monday, December 8th, come to Tonic or the Spa at H2 for Ladies’ Night. Fill out a wish list and “Santa” will receive a discount on all the items on your list. They will also be offering complimentary services such as eyebrow waxing, skin and hair consultations, chair massages and body composition analysis. And snacks and wine, bien sûr! 4 to 8 pm.
- Don’t forget - tomorrow is the last day to email the Shop Tart a Thanksgiving food picture for a chance to win a prize! Cell phone pictures are fine.
Happy Shopping and don’t forget to tell them you read it on the Shop Tart!
Nov
26
Look of the Week!
Filed Under Bags, Beauty, Clothes, Good Cause!, Great deal, Jewelry, Look of the Week, Men, Sale, Shoes, prize | Leave a Comment
The Look of the Week was spotted at the VanJean sale, where the Shop Tart “saved” $900. Practically all of the Fall and Winter merchandise is 30, 50 or 75 percent off. Fun! Like Kicks, VanJean is offering a holiday wish list service. Make your list and they’ll contact the gift giver of your choice and offer free delivery and gift wrapping. The Shop Tart thinks this should be her gift to Mr. Shop Tart. Isn’t she sweet?
Susan Menge, a fashion merchandising major at USC, has been working at VanJean since high school. She recently interned at Globe Showroom in New York. Globe represents several designers found at VanJean, including Elijah, Manoush, Camilla Marc, James Coviello and (new!) Shop Tart favorite Falls. Her top is vintage Tibi, if you consider last year vintage. Her jeans are wide leg by Tory Burch. The coat, which isn’t Susan’s (yet?), is Phillip Lim. It could be yours, though! Originally $718, it’s on sale for $359. The Shop Tart thinks gold brocade is a great take on a classic trench.
Her gloves, which are too fabulous not to have their own closeup, are also Phillip Lim and marked down 30%. Maybe Mr. Shop Tart will get them for his wife for Christmas. If only he read her blog… They also come in a short version, in black.
VanJean and Pout are closed today, but will open on Friday. The Shop Tart thinks you should get in there and take advantage of the amazing sale. Mwah!
In other news…
- Support the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Midlands by running in the fourth annual 3K or 8K Turkey Day Run on - you guessed it - Thanksgiving Day. It’s good for you! Sign up on site or here. What a great way to work off that enormous meal - and it’s for a great cause!
- Simply Savory’s wine tasting is happening as usual on Friday, from 4:30 to 6:30 pm. Sounds like the perfect way to relax after shopping your tail off all day.
- Don’t forget to snap a picture of your favorite Thanksgiving food moment and email it to the Shop Tart. You might win a prize!
- Today is the last day to take advantage of the following sales:Kicks (both locations), Lola and Doodlebugs are offering 30% off to anyone who brings at least two non-perishable food items for Harvest Hope, Charlie Mack is offering 30% off one item, Max and Prissy is offering 25% off everything. Beat the Black Friday crowds and take advantage of these sales while you still can!
- Enjoy 25% off everything in store at Just the Thing, Friday and Saturday. Great place to find gifts for all your girlfriends!
Happy Shopping and don’t forget to tell them you read it on the Shop Tart!
Nov
25
Win a prize!
Filed Under Babies and Children, Bags, Clothes, Good Cause!, Great deal, Jewelry, prize | 2 Comments
Occasionally, the Shop Tart gets nice notes from people or business owners after they read about themselves here. She finds this very charming and, each time it happens, wishes she herself were better about writing notes. Maybe some fab new stationary from Jot or Burlap would help…
Sometimes, public relations people contact the Shop Tart. This is also exciting. Just last week, it was particularly exciting, because they wanted to send her something free for you, dear reader. The Shop Tart loves prizes, although she rarely wins them. When she was 7 years old, she and her mother were shopping at Tapp’s in Trenholm Plaza (remember that one?) where the Shop Tart made her mother register for a drawing. Her mother*, who didn’t even want to bother, won a prize! Twenty years later, she gave the prize to the Shop Tart.
This excellent book contains recipes for both dinner and supper, two distinctly different meals (Who knew?) Also, this book started the Shop Tart’s lifelong obsession with ugly pictures of food. The Shop Tart herself once won a french coffee press at Mary and Martha’s. Thrilling!
You, too, deserve the excitement of winning a prize and the good people at Invisibelt want to help. M Boutique carries them if you want to see what they’re all about. Possibly the most useful fashion tool since Stylin’ Tape (available at Tullulah), the Invisibelt comes in clear or black. Use it to cinch up that blousy dress or top from last year that’s begging for a waist. And Invisibelt seamlessly covers the button at the top of your jeans that pokes out, makes you look kind of pregnant and ruins the line of your sweater. You want one! And you can have one for free! Just send the Shop Tart a Thanksgiving food picture - your plate, a turkey, the buffet, a particularly hideous casserole. There won’t be any extra points for odd props like a pot of African Violets or a mushroom-shaped candle, but they will make the Shop Tart very happy. She’ll make a list of all the pictures she receives by Wednesday, December 3rd, put them in a hat and randomly choose a winner. Good luck!
In other news…
- Sales, sales, sales, y’all! The Shop Tart saved $900 at VanJean yesterday. Wheee! See yesterday’s post for a rundown of the sales this week.
- Revente just received four Chanel handbags, real ones. Go get ‘em!
- The Devine Street Merchants want you to make a donation to Epworth Children’s Home. Visit any participating merchant, make your donation and you’ll be entered to win a fabulous prize! Even if you don’t win, you’ll get a tax deduction for the donation - and we can all use that, n’est-ce pas?
Happy Shopping and don’t forget to tell them you read it on the Shop Tart!
* Who, in her defense, probably had two toddlers with her, in addition to the Shop Tart and possibly a bun in the oven. As you can imagine, the Shop Tart was not the easiest child to take shopping. She could never quite find the outfits she pictured in her head, which is not to say Tapp’s wasn’t a nice store. It was, but they didn’t carry couture for 7 year olds back then. By the way, did you know Marysia has a children’s line (click on “collections” and “bumby” to view)? The Shop Tart’s seven-year-old self would have loved it! And have you seen Phillip Lim’s line for children? Ahhhh…
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The Shop Tart Loves...
