Lifebooker

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I pride myself on being up to the minute with online shopping developments, but it took me an embarrassingly long time to discover the amazing-ness that is Lifebooker (Thanks Pam!).  It's essentially Groupon for beauty and health.  You can find amazing deals on anything from manicures to botox.  You can even book appointments online.  With Valentine's day just around the corner, it's also a great link to share with your significant other as a not so subtle hint.

Theory Winter Roundup

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Just in time for Christmas, the Theory website is full of amazing pieces to get you through a winter work week.

Riva Sweater Jacket (355.00)


Abree E Dress (695.00)


Betty Dress (285.00)


Lentora's Blazer (425.00)


Ellery Coat (645.00)

Boutiques.com

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Fashion meets Facebook meets Twitter meets...Google? Google's new website, Boutiques.com, combines social media, blogging and shopping. For more information, see this article by the New York Times.

After taking it for a short test drive, I can say that I am completely addicted. The website allows users to create their own "boutique" where they can shop for and share the items they love (kinda like a Facebook profile). Google has also convinced celebrities and fashion bloggers to help with the launch of the site by creating their own boutiques for the public to peruse. Want to see what Olivia Palermo is buying? Simply go to her boutique. You can even "follow" her (exactly like Twitter).

What I really love about the website is that Google has teamed up with Like.com. As previously featured on Professionelle, Like.com technology shows shoppers items similar to the one you're interested in. It worked decently well before, but trying to find say, a black bag with gold hardware, was sometimes difficult. Like.com would show you plenty of black bags approximately the same shape as the one you're looking for, but it didn't always pick up on the details. This time around, the "similar products" feature on Boutiques.com does a much better job. So, if you found the perfect brown riding boots, but they happen to be $700, you can look for a similar product for less on Boutiques.com.

Let me know what you think, and start following Professionelle at Boutiques.com!

Faabric: Wish Lists Compiled

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We've all found something online that we love but for some reason can't immediately purchase. So we put it in our cart intending to come back in a few days (or perhaps when our next paycheck clears) to buy it. But what if you can't remember where you saw the item? Faabric.com solves this problem by allowing you to put all of the items you want on one customizable page. It requires you to create an account and set up a bookmark. Once you've done that, simply click on the bookmark when you're looking at the item you want to buy. The process is still a bit complicated for my taste, but it could become a useful tool if you find yourself constantly forgetting where you found item you just can't live without.

Mental Break

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I probably shouldn't be posting this (or posting at all) since the Bar Exam is less than a week away, but here are two of my favorite ways to take a mental break from studying. Also great for those of you already in the real world who need some help getting through a slow Wednesday at work.

1) The Best of Youtube. Here's just one example, visit the website to see hundreds of similarly entertaining videos.



2) Lucky Magazine's list of the top 100 online retailers selling items for under $100

Deal Brief:The Outnet.com

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I was shocked to learn yesterday that Phyllis hadn't heard about TheOutnet.com so I figured that if she didn't know about it yet, most of you didn't either. TheOutnet.com is Net-a-Porter's try at competing with Gilt Groupe, Rue La La, and Hautelook. It's a hybrid of sample sale sites and more traditional sale websites like Bluefly.com. The merchandise is very upscale so it's not a place I check every day, only when I'm looking to splurge.

Here are a few of my favorite finds:

An entire page of Herve Leger dresses at 50% off


12th Street by Cynthia Vincent Draped Back Tunic (110.00)


Rupert Sanderson Regal Patent Mary-Janes (278.00)

Online Shopping Review

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These days there are so many ways to spend money online. Gone are the days when online shopping was restricted to Amazon.com or Ebay.com. Now, websites offer sample sales, sale alerts, and powerful comparison tools. Online shopping can be particularly useful (and oh so exciting!) for Professionelles too busy to hit up bricks and mortar shops or needing a break at work. Here are a few of my favorites as well as tips to make the most of your online shopping experience.

General Tips:

• Don't pay for shipping: Most websites these days offer free shipping. Usually free shipping on returns as well. For example, Endless.com, one of my favorite online shoe retailers offers free overnight shipping on most shoes. Amazing! If the website isn't offering free shipping directly, Google the web site's name with the words "free shipping" and you can usually find a free shipping code. People who hate online shopping often complain about the extra cost of shipping, especially if the item doesn't fit and needs to be returned. With free shipping, online shopping costs the same as in store shopping.
• Search for coupon codes: Stores often mail out promotional codes to preferred customers and sometimes those customers post their codes online for the rest of the world to use. It's definitely worth the extra effort to look for promotional codes.
• Price compare: once you find an item you like, make sure you look to see if other stores are carrying it at a cheaper price. This is as simple as typing the item into Google (notice a theme in this post?) and seeing what else pops up. If you do find the same item, in the same size, for less, you can check to see if your original retailer offers a price match or beat promotion. Also, make sure to check back within a week of your purchase to see if the price has dropped. Many websites will give you a price adjustment. For example, Zappos.com will credit you the difference within 10 days.

My Favorite Sites

• Sample sale sites: These websites take overstock items from designers, usually sold at sample sales, typically in New York, and puts them online. Most of these websites are "invitation only," but an invite usually just means a referral from a friend. There are two that I visit regularly: Gilt Groupe and RueLaLa. Both work in the same way. Each day, several new designer "boutiques" are opened. The sales last for a few days and the items are heavily discounted. Popular items go very quickly. From personal experience, when a Gilt sale is posted at noon each day, many items are sold out in 15 minuets. I personally prefer Gilt Groupe to RueLaLa, primarily because Gilt has better designers. RueLaLa will occasionally carry a designer I love, but Gilt is more reliable. Gilt, however, usually carries items at a higher price point than RueLaLa. A $500 bag is still unaffordable even if it is 75% off. A general tip for Gilt is to preview the week's coming designers and make sure to sign in at exactly noon on the day of the sale. Put all items you find initially desirable in your shopping cart. This will give you 10 minuets to decide if you want the item. When time runs out the item will be released to other shoppers. If you aren't already on Gilt, click here to sign up.

• Sale alert sites: My two favorite sale alert sites are Shop It To Me and Shopstyle. Sale alert sites send you emails informing you when items you're interested in go on sale. These sites allow you to customize the kinds of sales you're interested in by brand, category of clothing, or specific items (Shopstyle only, once you find a specific item you'd like receive an alert on, roll over the item, then click the sale alert button). You can also narrow your results by size and price as well as dictate how often you receive these sale alerts. Once you find an item you like, you will be taken directly to the online retailer offering it and you can make your purchase there. Shop It To Me also allows you to poll your friends on whether they like a particular item you're considering buying. When you receive your SaleMail alert click on the envelope icon under the specific item.

• Comparison sites: Comparison sites allow you to compare prices and styles. My two favorite are Like.com and Shopstyle. Like.com works by running visual, color, and detail searches of a base item or type of item you designate. For example, if you are looking for wedge sandals, search for wedge sandals. Once you find one you like, you can run a visual search which will pull up other wedge sandals that are similar. Through this search, you may be able to find something similar or even better for less. Alternatively, you can enter a specific item you know you like, but perhaps can't afford, or is not exactly perfect. Using the same search mechanism, you may be able to find a cheaper option or a more perfect item. Shopstyle is sort of a hybrid between aggregation websites (like yahoo or MSN) and social networking websites (like Facebook or Myspace). Shopstyle allows you to search a broad cross section of stores for theperfect item. It also allows users to create a profile , make a look book, or maintain a wish list. Other users can browse or follow particular people in order to find inspiration.