Christmas list 2010

The Last Airbender DVD: no fancy blu-ray stuff Barbie I Can Be a Computer Engineer (African American)

Inspiration: fashion longevity

Learned about a blog that chronicles fashionable elders,h ttp://advancedstyle.blogspot.com/. So chic that the "models on the street" are au courant with clothing from decades past. Also inspiration to invest wisely.

Want to look like Barbie?

In honor of Barbie's 50th anniversary Sephora is selling Barbie loves Stila, kits of Stila makeup color palettes to recreate Barbie's iconic makeup looks (especially the pink/blue/brown eyeshadow combination). Stila even has a Foxy Barbie version for African Americans (I presume since versions are not available for other people of color, though with a lighter hand the color combinations may become flattering to other "shades of brown"), which was thoughtful but since Barbie is worldwide and has represented over 50 nationalities, is a missed opportunity for even more sales.

I clicked the link, not because I'm so fascinated with Barbie, but because y first thought went back to news stories about people who obtain plastic surgery to look like Barbie. Even Barbie has had a few surgical changes and loads of makeovers every year, as evidenced by the 6 kits for sale, so why wouldn't a person just find the best combination for their skin tone instead of copying Barbie's?

iLust: Aldo Accessories

Having taken reorganized my jewelry I discovered that I now own a lot of pieces from Aldo Accessories! Although the shoes are hard for me to size, I can always find something cute, sparkly, and to match my outfits at this outpost. Aldo Accessories are separate stores from the shoe store, though in these economic times that may change, and they sell an expanded assortment of accessories, while Aldo Shoes sells shoes with limited accessories.

Our love affair began with a prism necklace; a subsequent visit netted a matching pair of earrings. Due to an unfortunate theft, the prism set had to be replaced this time with a prism set that had pink and blue tone. Then the love blossomed as I looked further and fell in love again with the
Taxus earring set.

In addition to jewelry, Aldo Accessories also features handbags, sunglasses, scarves, some shoes, cell phone accessories...anything you could want to emphasize or embellish in your outfit. Be sure not to blow your rent in this place!

Money doesn't grow on trees!

(Kendall Jenner) "Yes it does, it's made of paper!"

Still in these financial times everyone is truly on a budget except the super wealthy who are also scaling back so as not to seem insensitive, I'm sure. In the past I've joked that I would buy all my gifts during the after Christmas sales because that 1 day difference would mean loads of bucks saved, just a lot of ill will from those die hard Christmas-ites who insist on receiving their presents on Christmas Day. Still, I do purchase things for myself after Christmas - I've bought the best decorations doing this, they were just used a year later.

Seems lots of folks actually indulged in my fantasy of making most purchases after Christmas, with news media calling Dec. 26th The New Black Friday. Dec. 26th has always been great for deeply discounted Christmas gear, so it's not new information, what's new this year is retailers significantly marking down holiday stuff, and regular merchandise and big ticket items. I guess desperate economies require desperate measures so retailers tried to make up for lackluster sales with deep discounts. But it also begs the question of what is reasonable profit, what the consumer is willing to pay or a socially responsible amount. An overseas friend of mine constantly complains about the retail mark up in the U.S. and the quality of what's available for purchase. If retailers are willing to slash prices this dramatically maybe we've been paying too much in the first place. Of course this is precisely how retailers don't want us to think but one can't help doing so.