Fear of Boutique Shopping Overcome

Have you ever had a fear of walking into a small boutique to do some shopping? A couple of things have always scared me, one that I wouldn't be able to afford anything, two that I was not dressed well enough to be in there, and three that I would be treated like I didn't belong there. On Friday night that fear was overcome. Tarah and I decided to have a whirlwind evening and see how many events we could cram into one evening. By, the way the count is 3. We started at La Rousse Happy Hour. La Rousse is a great boutique on Virginia St. The owner is extremely pleasant and helpful. She didn't tell you something looked good just for the sake of a sell. I appreciated that. The nice thing about happy hour is that it happens every friday from 4-6, she serves wine, has music playing and has a particular theme each week for what is on sale. I was able to get a navy blue dress by "Soda Blu" that fits my oversized body as well will fit me when I reach normal size again. Next we headed to the Alexis Hotel at 1st and Madison where Atsui Tokyo was holding there grand opening. I was nervous as the stores carries designs from Japan and the japanese fashion scene is much more progressive than Seattle. Well never fear, there are some of the cutest items that I ever did see. I look forward to post maternity and going back for some of the great items they carry. The grand opening party had a dj, champagne (Dry Soda for me) and apps provided by BOKA. If you find yourself down that way, drop in you may find something you just can't live with out. From there we headed to Fremont. They were have First Fashion Night. We checked out Essenza, Dream, Bliss, Les Amis, Burnt Sugar, Horseshoe, Bellefleur, LolaPop, and Industry. All of the stores were friendly and had great deals. By his time of the evening I was quite tired as I had been up since 5am due to a business breakfast.
My recommendation for that Friday night with nothing to do, check out our event calendar, gather up a couple of friends and make the rounds. You can get a taste of many things as well as accomplish some shopping.
Remember that Bellevue Fashion Week starts on Friday. Check out the calendar for some great events. Look for UFN, if you are there as we will be attending many of the events. Last year, Tarah and I had a lot of fun attending the shows and taking advantage of the sales.

What Happens in Vegas, Need Not Always Stay in Vegas!

This past weekend I went to Las Vegas for a friends birthday and to see a concert. Most people's trip to Las Vegas consists of sitting at the pool or sleeping by day and partying or seeing a show by night, that is not my idea of Las Vegas. I love the shopping. If you haven't been before, let me say, the shopping is amazing. Each hotel on the strip has some form of shopping, the best in my opinion, is Bellagio, Forum Shops at Caesars Palace, and the Venetian. I have yet to make it to Wynn Hotel. Another great place is Fashion Show Mall.

I started the shopping at Fashion Show Mall. They have a Macy's, Nordstrom, Dillards, and Neiman Marcus as the anchor stores. The mall is like getting lost in a Casino. You will see everything from the Gap to Betsey Johnson. The better part of a day or if you are like me an entire day can be spent there. The only purchase I made was at Schechers for practical purposes, my feet hurt. Being pregnant in 100+ temperatures does not bode well for the feet. After a rest and some dinner I headed to the Forum Shops. My first stop was Jimmy Choo. I thought I would try on some shoes. I did and a cute pair of black suede falts became mine when I put them on and thought I had slippers on. I avoided clothing stores as they make me cry since nothing fits me at this point. You name, Forum shops pretty much has it. I stopped by Kate Spade. They had some great handbags as well as numerous sale items. Unfortunately I didn't come across anything I couldn't live without and as stated earlier I already bought a pair of Jimmy Choo's.

Based on the real purpose of the trip, those were the only places I go this trip. As a side note, Las Vegas is a great place to people watch and get fashion ideas. You will see all types of styles as well as many non styles. The nightlife really brings out some great items as well as some really short items.

Shop 07

On Monday May 14th, I attended the first ever Shop/07 put on by CraveParty. The purpose of the day was to bring together boutique owners and learn what others in the industry were doing. The day was set up with several panel discussions. It was insightful and at the same time could reassure you of what you were doing right or wrong.
The first panel of the day was "How does your market grow". The panelist included Luly Yang, Fran Bigelow, and Allison Olsen. The three discussed what it is they do, how they got to where they are today and strategies for success. One theme became very clear, Stay true to your vision and yourself. Logically, duh but really thinking about it becomes something harder to apply. It is easy to see what others are doing and try to emulate them however to be successful you must remember why you are in the market you are in and what strategies you decided to employ.
The second panel was "Promotions". The panelist included Victoria Roberts, Lisa Myers, and Karen Lorene. The main concept was to use promotions and events strategically. You do not want to be held in the same regard as Macy's and the One Day Sale. (Honestly, when aren't they having a one day sale). Promotions can differentiate you from others and draw customers in for different reasons such as rewarding the loyal customers or even clearing out inventory.
I skipped the next panel and took a long lunch since the tourist industry just doesn't do it for me.
In the afternoon session, there were breakout sessions. I chose to attend sessions related to the internet. The first was regarding what type of website do you have whether it be informational or e-commerce. It was an interesting discussion on which way to go. The second was related to e-newsletters and emailing customers. The theme that resonated here was similar to promotions, don't overdo it. When sending out a e-newsletter make sure that you have something to say to your customers that they will find of value specifically latest offerings, sales, specials, events, etc.
The final panel was Press Release Straight from the horses mouth. The panel was interesting related to getting PR with Daily Candy (Jasmine Moir), Seattle Magazine (Shannon Borg), and the Seattle Times (Monica Soto Ouchi). Each have their own style as far as contacting them, what they are looking for, lead times, etc. A person from the industry who handles PR would have been nice to learn what styles they use that are successful and what has been complete flops.
Overall it was a great day. Melody Biringer put on a great conference with some very informative speakers. Not bad for coming up with the idea 4 months ago.

NYC Shopping

Recently I spent 3 days in NY for a business conference. Being the hardcore shopper that I am, I definately found time for some shopping. This wasn't my first trip to NY so I feel a little like a native when I am there. I know exactly where I want to go and what I want and don't want to see. I no longer need to see Rockefeller Center, NBC, Radio City Music Hall, etc. What I do want to see is lots of stores. As such, I have a small little rant. Tourist in Manhattan can be so annoying. They travel in packs, move at their own pace (slow) and stop right in the middle of a walk way. It does not bode well for natives or hard core shoppers. There is a lot to see and typically not much time.
Imagine all the top designers in one place. That place is Sak's 5th Ave. While the people working there are not particularly helpful, you will find whatever designer or item you might be looking for all under one roof. I saw Jimmy Choo shoes, Nanette Lepore dresses, and Prada handbags. It was like dying and going to heaven. Of course, reality sank in real quick when I look at the price tags. As my mother always said, if you must ask the price, you can't afford it.
Another great place to check out if the Tiffany's on 5th Ave. The store covers several floors and the jewelry is broken out by silver, wedding, childrens, etc. It makes the Seattle store look like a boutique. I think that it is the largest one that I have been in and I have been into Tiffany's in several cities.
For practical shopping and great bargains there are two stores that have very fashionable items at very reasonable prices, H M and Zara. They each have a couple of locations throughout midtown. H M has every type of item. I bought a great basic t-shirt for $5.90. It was a thick soft cotton. The only issue with their clothes is that you need to try things on as the items run small. Zara is very similar. There are a couple of things that I like about Zara more than H M, first there is a Zara in Vancouver, BC. I think the closest H M is in California. The second thing about Zara is that they have a classic line which includes items that are suitable for work. The prices are reasonable however their items also run small.
Just an item to note, is that there are several Gap and Banana Republic located in Midtown. You would think that they are the Starbucks of shopping.
I didn't get a chance to venture into some of the trendy neighborhoods but that just gives me a reason to go back at a later date.