Online Shopping: The Outnet

Hubby just got word that he passed his exams, so now we can look forward to his graduation at the end of May, Yay!! Of COURSE I had no doubt that he'd be graduating, and a month ago I noticed a beautiful dark blue Catherine Malandrino dress on theoutnet.com that I thought would be perfect for his graduation ceremony. The outnet is the outlet online store for net-a-porter.com, and you can find some really terrific designer bargains there.

Because its the outlet store for net-a-porter, it arrived without the classic black box packaging :(, but still very carefully and professionally packaged in white tissue in a plain cardboard box. The tissue was sealed with the cutest stickers (above).

So here's the dress! To be honest, when I opened the tissue to find the dress I was quite disappointed. It is made of very thin rayon, which felt a little cheap, and seemed to hang very baggily on the hanger. I was after a sleek, clingy dress, that was knee length and had a nice cowl neckline. At this point I was thinking, well, at least I didn't pay that much, and this is the risk you take when shopping online.

However, then I tried it on...

...and breathed a sign of relief, as it looks better on! It is clingy, but somehow flattering, it doesn't pull excessively to produce those horrible horizontal stress lines at the wider parts of your body (admittedly, this mirror above I call my 'forgiving mirror') It has some lovely ruching on the side for interest and the cowl neck is actually not too bad. All in all a deceptively nice dress. And it cost me 85 quid, which with shipping turned out to be AUS$150, original price I think was around $300. Check back at the outnet often, as stock rolls over frequently.

Online Shopping: MIMCO

Due to the soaring Aussie dollar and the abundance of goodies overseas, its never been a better time to shop internationally online. However, I am on the email list of the fabulous Aussie company of Mimco and get info regarding sales and deals. They were having an amazing online sale on handbags, and as my MIL expressed a desire for a new handbag a while ago, I put 2 and 2 together and found myself buying a gem from Mimco online.

The bag came within about 10 days of ordering online in a Mimco paper bag within a brown box. Inside, there was a dust cover containg the gorgeous bag. It is the 'Under the Radar' day bag in the colour Fudge. It is made of the softest leather and finished impeccably. Large enough to fit all your daily handbag needs, but not so huge and heavy that you do your shoulder in. I have always loved this style (esp in the colour pancake!) but couldn't justify getting one myself (actually, confession: not true! Was pleasantly "discouraged" by a voice of "reason." Whatever) .

Without flash

With flash

Original price was $399 and the quality makes it worth every cent. However, the sale made this gorgeous bag only $149 with $20 shipping! The shipping is absolutely steep, but when you're getting such a great price on such an amazing bag it is no problem. I think this is an amazing deal and I haven't found this bag sold in Mimco stores anymore, so online may be the only place to get these. I do find that the Mimco online prices are actually much better than instore prices. Anyway, hurry while the deal lasts!!

Katies sale: Mini haul!

I got an email from Katies telling me that they were having a 2-day massive 30% - 70% off sale and if you had a Katies Privellage Card then you would receive an extra 25% off the already reduced price....BARGAIN! I just could not say no to this temptation, even though I had already told myself that I have purchased enough in the last fortnight.

So I went to Katies and to my purse's luck, there was not a huge range of stuff left (I went on the 2nd/final day of the sale). I rummaged through and found a few items that were really good mix-and-match staple pieces. I got:

* 2x tank tops - in blue and red. These were from $15 down to $4.50 each.

* Cute little crocheted bolero style cardi in cream. From $59 down to $17.50.

* White baby doll style top with detail around the neckline. From $30 down to $7.50

I didn't go as crazy as I would have liked but I am so happy with the pieces I bought. There is a heap in my wardrobe already that will really tie in nicely with these new pieces.

Net-a-Porter Delivery: Alexander McQueen skull scarf

I have long been trawling Net-a-Porter and drooling over the designer fabulousness. Its such a great online store, very reputable for selling genuine designer labels, and always cheaper than what you would pay in Australia in a real-life store. Having the Aussie dollar so strong at the moment, it really makes online shopping extremely attractive for us.

I've also been weirdly drawn to the now classic Alexander McQueen signature skull print silk scarves, which add a great element of punk/rock chick-ness to any outfit. So when I found a perfect one on Net-a Porter, I just had to have it!

The scarf arrived in the iconic Net-a-Porter black box tied up in a bow! They included a little bag with my scarf as you see above, containing a size guide and tape measure with inches on one side and cm on the other--very handy for online shopping.

Then---the scarf! It is the most beautiful soft silk, in an ivory/cream colour with the black skulls. It is quite big and can be quite easily wrapped loosely around the neck. Being such an ordinary colour combination makes it go with nearly all the clothes I own, but you can get it in crazy reds, golds, purples etc.

The icing on the cake of this wonderous purchase is the price. I couldn't find the scarf in DJs or any boutique in Australia, so I can't directly compare with Australian prices, but GBP 119 converts to approx AUS$190. And I snapped it up during a free shipping promotion, so I saved about AUS$32 there. Smiles all round!!!

Alexander McQueen, RIP

Beauty Confession: *I spent almost $200 on a scarf*