I Don't Even Know if I Have Any Muslim Readers Here...

...but Muslim or not, there's nothing to not love about Haute Hijab!



I love how Melanie, designer/buyer/founder/overall-inspiring-girl, has taken something that could be considered humdrum and tilted it toward the fashion-forward - all while staying true to her founding principle of "[offering] modest yet fashionable apparel catered toward Muslim women".



These pictures are just beautiful and I've already seen so many fantastic vintage scarves in her collection that I would've loved to own had they not already sold out!

Wondering how you could add these beautiful splashes of color to your look? Take a look at her blog post, "Accessorize Your Scarf!"

Haute Hijab is actually putting an entire line of apparel into production and the vintage scarves they curated were just the starting point. Here's to checking back soon and seeing equally as awe-inspiring new collections from HH.

Keep up the great work, Melanie!

Heels.com is on Santa's Good List this Year!

I'm a member of Heels.com's affiliate program and they must have been reading my tweets and posts on iheartretail.com about last-minute shopping, because they sent me the following email yesterday:

Place your order between 6:00 PM Eastern on December 22 and 6:00 PM Eastern on December 23 and you will receive a free upgrade to overnight shipping. There is no code necessary, and no minimum order size required to receive the upgrade. Just add any item to your cart, proceed to check-out, select a delivery address within the Continental US, and relax! Your order will be delivered by December 24th, just in time!

No minimum order?! Wow!

If you're interested in taking advantage of this deal, I would really appreciate you using the following link: Free Upgrade to Free Overnight Shipping on all Domestic Orders at Heels.com! Get it by Christmas Eve!

As an affiliate, they pay me a small percentage commission on any orders that come from by blog. If you want to know more about how affiliate marketing works and how you can get involved, drop me an email at ncsulilwolf@gmail.com and I'll give ya the skinny. I plan on also doing a mini-series on my business blog soon about this topic!

More Eco-Friendly Shoes...

I've been telling a lot of people lately about how it's actually not THAT hard to go eco-friendly, and even cruelty-free altogether (no animal skins or furs), with shoes and accessories. (Seriously y'all, it's Easy Being Green!) So I thought I'd share some resources that make it easy-peasy to find eco-friendly shoes - and a few of my favorite recent eco-friendly finds.

Zappos
Best shoe site ever. So of course they make it easy!
http://www.zappos.com/vegetarian.zhtml.

"For those who have tried, finding non-leather shoes can be a daunting, almost impossible, task. Specifically for those kind individuals, here's a collection of vegetarian shoes for secure, cruelty-free peace of mind. With advances in synthetic manufacturing, non-leather materials are now virtually identical to their genuine counterparts, but with none of the guilt."

You can even leave your email on that page to be notified when new vegetarian products are added. Genius! (That's also REALLY smart marketing right there.)

Zappos also has a kick-ass e-commerce feature which allows you to show product results based on categories of your choosing. I chose womens, eco-friendly, shoes and received 476 results - http://www.zappos.com/womens-eco-friendly-shoes~g! The only problem is what flies as "eco-friendly" isn't always cruelty-free. Zappos does do a great job however of describing their products well and detailing what all parts of the shoes (upper, sole, etc.) are made of - and I appreciate that.

I'm really diggin' Timberland's new "Earthkeepers" collection, but they're not leather and suede free unfortunately. Timberland would totally have my vote if they were using recycled leather like they are recycled PET (plastic bottles). I would have no problem buying shoes that reclaimed leather from old shoes instead of using new leather, for what it's worth.

They have a fun ad campaign running for this line, too:



Both shoes retail on Zappos for $194 - see each online by clicking on the images above.

The Timberland Earthkeepers Granby ($174) (pictured below) would also be flawless if not made from suede.


Now here's a cool winter boot from The North Face which is cruelty-free and made from recycled raw materials!

The Nuptse Knee High (pictured at right) retails for $170 at Zappos - http://www.zappos.com/the-north-face-womens-nuptse-knee-high-demitasse-brown-paisley-pastel-orange.

According to the site, the sole's are pretty high-tech, too:

"Durable TNF Winter Grip ™ rubber outsole with Ice Pick™ temperature-sensitive rubber snowflake lugs. Ice Pick™ rubber hardens when the temperature falls below freezing to provide ultimate biting traction".

Keep reading for more shoe finds later in the week!

For the Princess in All of Us...

If you gotta work, might as well look good doing it, right?
Crystal Desk Accessories - $9.95-$29.95 at ZGallerie.
http://www.zgallerie.com/p-6108-crystal-desk-accessories.aspx



The most overused, but still super cute design of 2010... I have a few design junkie friends who Keep Calm pencils would be perfect for!
Keep Calm and Carry On Pencil Set - $10.95 at ZGallerie.
http://www.zgallerie.com/p-10245-keep-calm-and-carry-on-pencil-set.aspx

Garmz - For Realz

I'm going to go on the record here and tell y'all that my homie Sonny Byrd actually came up with this idea first, but apparently someone outside of the States beat him to market. (I'm still encouraging him to be first to market here in the US, for what it's worth ;-).) (And in full disclosure, I have no idea if he was really first, but let's just all be good sports and assume he really was.)

Back to the post at hand here, Sonny sent me an email this morning with the following subject line: "FML". He was a little bummed to see the following site making waves in the fashion world before he could.



Garmz is a site that allows designers to upload their designs to the site, have the population at large vote on them, and possibly some day, see them go to production. Garmz then shares the sales revenue with the original designer. The concept totally breaks down the barriers to entry typically found in the fashion world and can potentially get trends to market seasons ahead of traditional fashion houses and retail brands.

You can read more about this cool new concept on their site at Garmz.com (and vote on the latest designs!) and also join in on the fun on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Garmz/124287380938770.

Two front page looks I love that I voted for already:
Dazzle Me Dress by Willy D. of London


Gold Number by Shibbyinc


Don't let this take the wind out of your sails, Sonny... there's room for everyone!

{Images: via Garmz.com and respective submitting designers}

Here's the Thing...

I *love* a good heel. Not like - LOVE.

I do NOT love round or platform toe heels. I can deal with round toe for a super cute shoe (I have found and purchased maybe two of these, ever, so they do exist), but I can NOT deal with an overly-platform toe. They just remind me too much of stripper shoes.





There. I've said it.





Give me a pointy-toe (or peep-toe) or nothing at all!

{Images: Bakers shoes - which I do like as a brand, just not all the round, platform toe shoes; Nordstrom; Zappos}

Jessica Simpson Must-Haves

Shocking confession here: I heart Jessica Simpson.

Even more so, I double love these shoes:

On sale for $118.30 at Macy's. Super bumming that they don't appear to be available in the "Milk Chocolate" brown anymore, just black and grey. Shoot. :-(

These are super cute, too:

Maybe a little high at $75.00, but I would totally pick them up if they went on sale at Macy's. Also available in black.

PS: Update for Lisa S. and my mom (who asked if I was hinting at these for Christmas). As some of you may remember, I made a commitment to not purchase any leather goods anymore, because there are so many non-animal alternatives out there. Both of these shoes are leather products, so I wouldn't buy them for myself nor would I wishlist them. I'm surprised that both are actually real leather, to be honest. Many, many products now are made from vinyl or faux products, so keep an eye out for those and let me know if any look like these cute shoes. Love the style, not a fan of the raw materials. ;-)

Red!

(Sidebar: My post from last night was fabulous number 300 - have you been around since post #1... way back in May, 2007?)

I was reading over this week's fashion columns in the Lifestyle section of the N&O and was delighted to find an entire feature dedicated to RED! As all Wolfpack girls know, red is a statement color with free reign to wear at any time. This popular fall trend color happens to extend that privilege to everyone... regardless of their love for NCSU! ;-)

This feature was an affiliate piece from the Charlotte Observer (a sister publication of the N&O), so unfortunately it only included looks from national chain retailers... but I did find a few things to love!


http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/10/17/746749/red-101710.html?index=16
These earrings from Target ($29.99) are appropriately titled "Pomegranate Drop Earrings"... they look just like the inside of poms! (by Temple St. Clair for Target)
Buy online


http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/10/17/746749/red-101710.html?index=2
Also $29.99 at Target. (by Temple St. Clair for Target)
Buy online


http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/10/17/746749/red-101710.html?index=1
Love this belt from the September/October H&M collection! No price given, didn't see it on their website. (Random note: You can only shop online with H&M if you're OUTSIDE of the US? How often do you see that?)


http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/10/17/746749/red-101710.html?index=4
Worthington Black Houndstooth Dress - $49.99, August Worthington Double Breasted Coat (buy online) - $149.9... both from JCPenney. (But I really love the scarf the most - this is as close as I could find on the site, but I'm not 100% sure it's the same scarf.)

Holy Shizzle!

Or should I say, ShoeDazzle?

Anyways, it's sort of like Netflix for shoes. Except that they're not used and you get to keep them. Ok, so they're actually more like an assumed grocery delivery service/CSA program. Essentially, every month they send you personalized picks based on your style profile and then you pick a pair you actually want to own and it's shipped to you for $39.95 -- with free shipping. (And what they call "easy exchanges", but I can't speak for that... yet.)

The only catch is that you have to "skip" if you don't want the recurring charge (so from a revenue perspective they're probably banking on you just forgetting to do so within the 1st and 5th of the month), but for shoes... I feel like I could make this a regular thing. Or end up with a pair of shoes. Win-win? Yes, yes!

Today's recommendations based on my style quiz results (first below) that I would so say "yes" to:









The only thing that doesn't work on me is buying 12 new pairs of shoes in a year, potentially. As much as I love shoes, I actually don't buy THAT many a year. Again, I could make this work and not end up with 12 pairs of shoes... or maybe some great gifts for my fellow Size 8 ladies? (Actually, I think you can select which size you want for each order. So the gift idea would certainly work!)

So, what do you readers think? Sold? If I take the plunge and commit to the first pair, you can bet I'll be following up this post with a few pictures of the newly arrived shoe goodness and a review of the quality and ShoeDazzle experience!

If you want to give it a try, I would certainly love for you to use my referral link (http://www.shoedazzle.com/invite/3kczidfyp) because naturally, referrals rock.

Party Perfect Dresses!

I awoke to an email from my gal pal Kristin this morning sharing the LuLu's site with me... thank you, Kristin!

The site features dresses, shoes, tops, bottoms, denim, accessories, and jewelry, but I was totally sold on the dresses. There were over 500 on the site (500!) and I have yet to see one over $100.00. (Woohoo!) While targeting juniors, there are SEVERAL dresses that I myself would totally wear for a night out. Most are tiny dresses, so with fall approaching, lots of these would look great with tights or leggings.

A few of my favorites:


$43.00 Also love it in red!
http://www.lulus.com/products/fire-and-ice-teal-one-shoulder-dress/28642.html


$38.00 Pair with dark gray tights.... love!
http://www.lulus.com/products/hot-for-hieroglyphs-black-dress/28634.html


$79.00 Never too late for a little summer fun! (Hello fall/winter warm vacation destination!)
http://www.lulus.com/products/islands-are-forever-silk-party-dress/28511.html


$38.00 Party perfect or great for work with a cardigan!
http://www.lulus.com/products/haute-bouquet-party-dress/28488.html


$79.00 Sold out... bummer. This was by far one of my FAVORITES!
http://www.lulus.com/products/global-dj-gold-sequin-dress/28149.html


I may be a *tad* bit early, but it never hurts to look for New Year's Eve party dresses! ;-)

PS - The retail genius who decided to put a wish list and "to be notified when this item is back in stock" on LuLu's.... VERY SMART!

Overstock.com Joins the Private Sale Bandwagon

Thanks to FurnitureToday.com's article on the dot com discount retailer launching its own private sale website, I now have yet another daily/weekly email list that will be filling up my commercial email inbox - and judging by the first look I just took at Eziba.com... I'm totally cool with that.



Chi flat irons, home textiles, and kitchen counter-top appliances. I think they just rolled all of my budget vices into one private sale. Eek!

5 Ways to Add Elegance to Dresses

You will laugh at this for one of two reasons:

1 - You may have studied fashion, apparel, or textiles at some point
2 - You have five fingers

(Or both of the reasons above.)



I don't know about y'all, but I'm LOVING this ongoing advertising campaign from Zappos (official Zappos site). Hi-larious!

Window Shopping: ZGallerie Summer Sale

ZGallerie.com (with a great sale going on right now!) is one of my favorites to "window shop" online for modern accessories and style inspiration (and they have someone super helpful running their @ZGallerie twitter account, too - they got me taken care of in less than a day when I couldn't join the email list)!


SUPER cute laptop bag - $12.39
http://www.zgallerie.com/p-9144-everglades-laptop-bag-black.aspx
(And it's faux croc - which means I can purchase it with a clean conscience!)


Cute cupcake tray! - $9.99
A fun and super affordable accessory for the entertaining gal.


Round lacquer trays - $12.39
One in each color, please!

Geekin' Out: Wine Bottle USB Flash Drive

I would NEVER spend $50 on a flash drive (especially when they often come free these days as merchandise add-ons and promo items), but darn if it don't want this thing!



PS - If I was a wine rep and was calling on restaurants, bars, and retailers daily to sell bottles of vino, I'd make my company buy me one of these... and put their logo on the bottle's label of course! :-)

{Credits: Image via http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/06/wine-bottle-flash-drive-too-sweet-for-our-tastes/, official site for this usb flash drive at http://www.bewineconnected.com/en/content/bewineusb.aspx, but I'm pretty sure I stumbled upon this find at trendhunter.com.}

Hems & Hers Shoutout

This Tennessee-rooted Carolina girl is a force to be reckoned with... look out Lilly P.!

Caroline and I had the pleasure of attending NCSU together and wearing the same letters and now that she's back in Charlotte, NC, she has been a busy girl crafting this "little" business of hers (of course, not to mention holding down a day job in the crazy world of advertising).

I've been watching her grow this brand for some time now and just could not wait another day to finally give her a shout out here. So without further delay, here are some of my faves from her collection:

LOVE the lines of these yellow skirts


This print... must have it!


I'll take the dress, too!


Made for younger girls, however I'm formally requesting a grown up version, Caroline!


And this is one of my favorite pieces of hers... MOST favorite!

Official Website: http://hemsandhers.com/
Blog: http://hemsandhers.blogspot.com/

Check her out, buy a garment (or two), and enjoy the feeling you'll get telling your friends it was made by a 20-something Carolina girl just for you!

Darn You Overstock.com Emails...

...always pointing out good deals on things I didn't even know I wanted until now!


Lou Lou Womens Contemporary Tie-back Dress
Orange, white, and yellow
$39.99

The orange looks more like salmon to me, but I'd take this dress in every color!



Lou Lou Womens Contemporary Tie-back Dress
Blue, black, and brown
$25.99

I'm not sure why the second set of colors are cheaper (unless they have less stock), but I'd take the blue in a heartbeat! I need more blue in my wardrobe... especially at that price point!

As far as the reviews go, there is one really negative on the blue and one really positive on the orange set... so take your pick. The negative review on the blue talks it being about a cheap dress, which at $26, it clearly is. So it might be a gamble, because of Overstock.com's awkward no-return policy on this item ("Non-Returnable Item Policy: This item is not returnable unless the problem you experience is the result of our error."), which is what I think upset the shopper more than anything... and she's totally justified in that.

Back to the dresses though... how cute are they for summer? Put them with a cute pair of flip flops (I'm not a fan of platform or tall heels with short dresses) and you've got yourself a winning summer outfit!

Fab Finds at Crate & Barrel

Crate & Barrel is one of those stores where I could easily spend a huge chunk of change (you know, right alongside Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma, Pier 1, and Restoration Hardware).

I was pretty happy though to flip through a catalog Nick and I received in the mail recently and find a few really great pieces and collections with budget-friendly price points! The cover of the catalog did read after all, "affordable best buys for every room in your new home". Although the entire catalog wasn't super affordable, these are some of my favorites!

Appetizer Plates

Set of 12 - $22.95

Vinny Carafe
$12.95

Stemless Wine Glass
$2.50

Impressions Pitcher
$15.95

10-Piece Glass Bowl Set
$29.95

5-Piece Parker Bowl Set
$36.95

I'm not really into patterns in our kitchen (our plates are just white), so almost everything is white, stainless, glass/pyrex, or solid colors (for accent). For me, the food, decor, and furniture are what should make a statement!

They also had a section on "green best buys", but that's a whole 'nother can of worms, which I've opened on my other blog - Green Gossip Blog!