Offer valid August 26, 2010 through August 29, 2010 at Gap, Gap Outlet, Gap Factory Store, The Gap Generation, Banana Republic, Banana Republic Factory Store and Old Navy stores in the US only (including Puerto Rico). Not valid online, at Edition by Banana Republic or at the Athleta store in Mill Valley. Discount cannot be combined with other offers or discounts. Offer applies to merchandise purchases and not the purchase of gift cards, packaging, taxes, prior purchases, or telephone orders placed to stores or customer service 1-800/888 numbers. Not valid at Gap on Keds® and Robeez®, or diaper bags and strollers at Baby Gap. Gap Foundation will donate 5% of the amount paid for eligible purchases made with this offer card to the nonprofit partner designated by the Gap Inc. customer or, if no nonprofit organization has been designated, no donation will be made. Gap Foundation's total donations to all US and Canadian nonprofit organizations in connection with this offer shall not exceed US$1.5 million. Such donation does not entitle the Gap Inc. customer to claim a charitable contribution deduction. Merchandise cannot be put on hold during offer period. Return of discounted merchandise will be for the price actually paid. Exchange for different size is permitted; however, the discount will not be applied to exchanges for different merchandise. Copies of offer card will not be accepted. Not responsible for lost or stolen offer cards. Offer is not transferable or valid for resale.
If there is anything I love more than a good sale, heels that are comfortable, and a swimsuit that makes me look like a goddess, it's coupons. The above coupon is legit, all you have to do is print it out and use it in the store. Here are my sources of coupons that will help stretch your dollar:
1) Create an email account that you can send junk email to.This way you won't spam your work, school, and personal email accounts, and when you feel like shopping you can check this account for coupons and sales to print out. In addition, when you first sign up, you'll get a 10-15% off coupon to use in-store or online.
2) Use http://www.retailmenot.com/ People on the interwebs across America post codes that you can use online and sometimes in-store. All you have to do is search for the store, and you'll find several coupons and their success rate among users. Just the other night, I bought a few things from Urban Outfitters, but didn't want to pay shipping; retailmenot helped me out and passed on a free shipping code.
3) Your student ID can work wonders. Did you know that J. Crew gives college students discounts when you show your ID? Yeah, get on that. It's only 10%, but hey, it covers tax.
4) Triple A card discounts. If you're a AAA card member, you can get discounts at a lot of outlet factory stores. You can get a special coupon voucher at outlet mall offices, and in my experience, sometimes just showing your card at checkout at Gap Outlet or Banana Republic Factory Outlet gives me a 10% discount.
5) Surveys. Sometimes, with your purchase, they hand you this survey website link. If you spend 5 minutes and answer a few questions on your shopping experience, you can get 5-15% off your next purchase.
6) Go to the mall or store website before you go shopping. You may find some promotions online that are worth your time.
7) Coupons Apps. Since almost everyone I know has a smartphone, look up some coupon apps to download for free. You'll be able to find discounts on the fly. My friend used her phone and pulled up a Macy's 15% coupon a few weeks ago.
8) Paper Ads. It's old-fashioned, but yes, you can still clip coupons from the Sunday paper. Sometimes I just take the ones that save me money on household items and take it to Target. I figure saving $5 is better than nothing.
I've never been that fashion-forward, but when I saw a straw cowboy hat in Chinatown this weekend for 2 dollars, I felt I had nothing to lose. Despite some initial teasing from my friends for buying something so cheap, we were all surprised on how cute it actually was. I ended up wearing it while people-watching in Union Square, and received a few compliments from strangers.
Maybe I was inspired by fashion bloggers, or maybe it was Woody from Toy Story, but it made me feel bold to wear something like this.
What do you think about cowboy hats and fedoras? Would you wear one?
There's this ongoing debate on Lovelyish on whether it's better to be skinny or fat, and how fashionable places should expand their line to fit the horizontally expanding population.
All I'm going to say is that I'm tired of it. I know it's ironic to go on a hiatus of blogging and then blog about this, but I really don't care. I'm not skinny, but even I can tell that clothes always look better on skinny girls. Yeah, it would be nice to appreciate curves, and most of us do, but I'm not going to say that someone who is 40 pounds overweight just has "curves." If a place doesn't make something in your size, then get out of the kids' section or maybe you need to evaluate your lifestyle habits. And just because a place like American Apparel or Urban Outfitters doesn't make your size, doesn't mean they should just because you say so. Besides, sometimes you need to check out a store to really know how their stuff fits. A large here isn't a large elsewhere, and in recent years, I've felt that the sizing by numbers or letters is haphazard, when I can wear a XS in one place, but be a medium elsewhere. Besides, there are plenty of places that cater to people who are overweight, but still conscious of the fashionable. I have a friend who loves Torrid, and I'm not gonna lie, that shit is pretty damn cute.
Also, whenever I check out the clearance section of any place, large and XL seem to be in abundance, so it can't be that bad.
What really bothers me is that being skinny or fat is seen as a binary and we forget about the people in between. I would hate for someone who is average to think they're fat, and I don't think we should be aiming to have our ribs sticking out. What we should aim for is feeling healthy, and if we can get up a flight of stairs without huffing and puffing, then we shouldn't have much to whine about.
Regardless, let's shop on and admire or detest the latest fashions regardless of our sizes.
This past weekend, I scored a pair of BCBG black jeans for 9 dollars. They fit nicely everywhere, but the length was a little too long for my short legs, but I figured I could have my mom hem them with her sewing machine for free, or if I could get them done by a pro for about $8-10, which is still a good deal.
Anyway, I've been inspired and set out on finding some fashionable finds for under 15 (just to challenge myself). Here are a few things, but I think the best thing to do is to look for sales and shop clearance if you are on a budget. You would be surprised by some of the good deals that are out there. 1) Floral Dress from F21 for $11.50 2) Chadwicks Colorblock Dress $14.99
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