Rogan on Sale!

All the GO International designer Rogan's merchandise is on clearance at Target right now. Lots of really cute, casual skirts and tops that are tasteful and perfect to be had right now.

Fire Finch Sidewalk Sale

Fire Finch in Hillsboro Village is having a sidewalk sale tomorrow and Saturday only. They accept only cash, and things are a final sale. Stuff is priced to move, so get there early!

Sweet Julianne Hough and Hot Pants

How to wrap this little post in a bow when we all know that there is only a small portion of us shaped like Julianne Hough....hmmmm....My friend Shannon so aptly described former Dancing with the Stars champion JH as "the perfect blend of Skipper and Barbie." That pretty much sums it up--the body of Barbie and the sweet demeanor of Skipper.

I dressed Julianne for the CMA Fest, somewhat for her tour with Brad Paisley and Co., and then surreptitiously for a commercial shot in L.A. yesterday. What fun that was--she is an absolute doll, and EVERYTHING looks good on her, literally. Here she is in a Rebecca Taylor top from The Grove in 12South and some G-Star high-waisted corset shorts from Posh. She is rockin' the shorts with those dancers' legs! Here's a knock-off at Forever 21 if you dare to go there. :-)

Sidenote: Sportscenter

One of the highlights of my professional career may have happened in about 1.2 seconds this morning. I flipped over to ESPN, and they were playing a 3 Doors Down song during Sportscenter. Those of you who know me know that sports is a close second to fashion in terms of my great loves in life. This morning, the 3DD song "Train" was on during Sportscenter's The Ultimate Highlight. Well, that's great and all, but ever-so-briefly they flashed the album cover at the end of the song, which I definitely picked some of the clothes for. It was my 1.2 seconds of sports fame. Since I can't have Erin Andrews' job as a sideline reporter, I guess this will have to work.

Cute Things I Found at Target

Who doesn't love the occasional shopping spree at Target? What am I talking about? I swear every time I go in there is a shopping spree. I cannot NOT SPEND $50 on every trip. Gah. Buying cute little trendy clothes there is so fun though, isn't it?

Here are some cute finds from this weekend while I was there buying stuff for a hospital commercial. Woohoo. (Note the lovely Target carpet in the background.) LEFT: This little chocolate brown jersey dress is so easy. It has a bubble-hem, bra-friendly straps and would look so cute with sandals and a head scarf. I can't stand things that cling to me in this heat, so these kinds of dresses are staples for me in the summer. It is $19.99. BOTTOM: This Mossimo top was featured in Lucky this month, and it retails for $17.99. This too is so easy with a pair of white bermudas or a linen pant. I love the colors. And again, not clingy.

Juniors' Dept?

I know I have definitely advocated not shopping in the Juniors' Dept. I think my exact words may have been, "you can't shop in the Juniors' dept. forever." And while I still hold to that conviction, I think that there are some exceptions. Today while I was doing some returns in Dillard's...I know, I have a crush on Dillard's lately apparently...anyway, I was perusing the Jrs. section because some cute stuff caught my eye. And some not so cute stuff, of course. I think when it comes to shopping in the Juniors' section there are a couple rules.

1. You shouldn't actually look like a junior. i.e. no really crappy fabrics or things that are only meant for the "junior-sized" body--like most of the stuff in Wet Seal, for example. This shirt with the big red "NO" on it is my example of "What Not to Wear." The fabrication is this really cheap polyester blend. Iiiick. Go for more natural fabrics like linen, modal, or cotton blends, instead of synthetics like this, which is full of clingy lycra.
2. They have some awful patterns in that section that are really unflattering and not cute. Steer clear of those. If you are loving the pattern of our example blouse, well, I'm sorry for offending you. It's just so juvenile, essentially; it's not sophisticated enough for someone with a 9-5.
3. I think after a certain age, you probably need to put away/run away from cartoon t-shirts, t-shirts that say "Little Miss Fill-in-the-Blank", and/or t-shirts that are way too tight. If you need to go for a patterned t-shirt, and I do often, go with a vintage band t-shirt or some sort of abstract, artsy pattern.
   

The great thing about the Juniors' section though, is that a lot of times they really do reproduce things that are in style for adults, but a lot cheaper. Here are a couple of examples from my Dillard's excursion. Top: a cute gathered-hem dress from a brand called Love Notes for $68. You could easily wear this over tights, skinny jeans or alone with a cute little espradrille or flat, jeweled sandal. Middle: an adorable sundress from Nick and Mo. I would put a colored, strappy sandal with this--yellow, green, or red would really brighten up the sorta muted color of the dress. If it is a little revealing, just stick a tank under it. This one is on sale for $52.50. Bottom: another outfit from Nick and Mo. This is what I'm talking about when I say that the Juniors' section sometimes tends to duplicate more sophisticated shapes. Check out these wide-leg pants and little sweater. This actually looks like it belongs over in Young Women's, not right alongside the neon-pink hotpants. The pants are a steal at $62; the little sweater, which has the cutest mismatched vintage-inspired buttons, is $48.

Salsa and On-Line Greeting Cards

You might laugh, but this is true. I'm buying my dad salsa for Father's Day. What man doesn't love salsa?! But seriously, there's this great salsa that we always buy that my dad loves to eat when he comes to my house in Nashville, but he can't get it in Louisiana. Since I'm fresh out of hunting/fishing accessories to buy him, I figured what better gift than roasted corn and chipotle salsa.

Let's say you don't wanna give your dad salsa for Father's Day. Well, I found this great website where you can send on-line cards. Traditionally, you go to hallmark.com, you pick one out, you write a quick greeting and you send it on. With this site, you can invite others to sign the card with you (e.g. all your siblings for Father's Day, all your gal-pals for your friend's bday who lives somewhere else.) You can also attach pictures, voice notes...I think it's a really cool idea, especially for someone long distance, maybe a college friend's 30th bday or something like that. It's at tribbit.com. And it's free!

Belk Bonus $$

At Belk in the Cool Springs mall right now, for everything you buy, you get 20% back in "bonus bucks" that you can use toward any purchase (except some random stuff like cosmetics and fine jewelry) during most of the month of June. It's a pretty good deal if you've been jonesin' for, I don't know, a new bra or something.

Also, a lot of their Free People stuff is on sale (30-75% off) right now, like these jeans, which are marked down to $34.99. I know that a lot of people can't/don't wanna do the high-waisted, hippie jeans thing that's in now. I think this pair is a great way to still get that retro, wide-leg vibe without going whole hog and wearing Mom jeans. I do embrace the Mom jeans though. There's such freedom in bending over and being completely crack-free.

BCBGeneration at Dillard's

Raise your hand if you ever shop at Dillard's...yeah, normally, I'd be like, "That's for my mamaw. Nobody under 73 can find anything in that store." Well, my friend, this is another of my Nashville shopping secrets--I actually do shop at Dillard's, and when I have a female client, it is actually one of my first stops. I know, shutup and get out of town, you don't believe me. It's true. They have lots of cute lines like Kensie, Kensie Girl, Penguin (all 50% off right now), Paper Denim & Cloth, Sugarlips, Level 99 (great wide-leg jeans), and my new favorite, BCBGeneration, the blending of BCBGirls and To the Max. You guys know that now they have all the BCBG Max Azria boutiques right there inside a lot of Dillard's, and you may also know that, while beautiful and well-made, it can definitely cost you.

Per Max, Azria of course, "With BCBGeneration, I look forward to offering an underserved consumer, regardless of age, superior fashion at competitive prices." That's us! The people who have real jobs and wanna buy nice, cute clothes but don't wanna spend a wad. I checked some of the stuff out at Dillard's today, and I would say it is the perfect blend of sophisticated and young for someone who's, again, like us...you can't keep shopping in the Juniors section forever. The prices seemed really moderate, and the GREAT thing about shopping at dept. stores like Dillard's are the markdowns. They pretty much ALWAYS have stuff on sale.