Architecture Detail

I'll let you all in on a little secret. Aside from being a psycho clothes-horse shopaholic, I am also a closet architecture and history whore. You got it. Not only can I tell you where to find the best deals in the Chicagoland area and beyond, I can also walk you down Michigan Avenue and detail to you each building, its history, and its notable architecture.

What can I say? Apparently I have diverse talents.

The Burj Al Arab luxury hotel in the United Arab Emirates stands 1,053 feet tall on a man-made island in the Arab Gulf. Its architect was Thomas Wills Wright. He designed this building to look like a sail. Its most recent claim to fame is the converted helipad-to-tennis court that Andre Agassi took a spin on just recently.

I wonder if the hotel has its own shops. It must.

Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It stands 1053 feet tall

Can I borrow some snobbiness?

So I realize I talk about Express WAY too much, but considering that it is one of my staples in my closet, it stands to reason. However, I am seriously considering boycotting Express for awhile. Their level of customer service has just gone way down, and I'm sorry I don't walk in in Prada (actually, ironically, I walked in today with a pair of Express pants and a Limited top!) but I feel like the representatives are just poorly trained. Today I went in to return a pink shirt that washed me out, and I wanted to pick up some of the $29.50 button-downs, which for some reason are not online so I can't even find a picture to post. Anyway. The first guy was really nice, but then he had to call over the manager for the return, and she was...ok. Not rude, not condescending, just aloof. There was a moment where I thought she wasn't about to let me return the shirt due to the fact that I forgot the receipt in the car because she pursed her lips and looked down her nose at me and kept flipping the price tag. HELLO...I patronize your store...some courtesy wouldn't kill you. So I traded it in for a lavender button-down, and I paid an extra $16 to make up the difference. (I also get a little upset here at the Return Exchange thing they have going on, but regardless). I understand.

Actually I was also kind of upset because I wasn't at my usual store and this store didn't have anything in my size so I had to settle for lavender. And no one bothered asking me if everything was ok or even volunteered to call another store, which is what all the stores used to do. So I settled for lavender because I just didn't want to deal with a conversation with the salesgirl about changing my mind about returning.

So I got into my car and headed to another Express because to tell you the truth, that lavender shirt is kind of a letdown. Another mall, another Express, the salesgirl at the desk was pretty nice, and bam! they had a blue button-down in MY SIZE! (Oh. Side note here: There were many more colors at this Express so I took a bunch into the dressing room with me, and the girl who was working the dressing room was SO nice and SO sweet...that if I had gotten her name, I would have submitted it into Express Corporate to make sure she got some recognition. She gave me a ton of advice on color and told me which size fit better...it was just as how ALL retail employees should be.) So anyway, I'm at the desk, and I get this snotty stick-up-his-ass pompous guy.

He scans in the lavender shirt, squints at the screen, and then looks at my license. He does this a couple more times, and so I'm like, "Is something wrong?" He ignores this, writes down some stuff, and goes to that Return Exchange machine thing and stands there as if waiting for the machine to tell him that I am the source of all problems that Express has been having lately. Of course, it okays me, so he comes back and asks me how much I paid for the shirt. So I tell him the entire story. He then tells me he'll just give me a merchandise credit for the difference. By now, I'm really confused so I tell him that it is an even exchange, to which he's like, "Well, I know that but the computer says it is worth $68." And he's frowning so hard that I feel like he thinks that I'm "frauding" the company somehow. So I say, "Well, I got it today, so if you don't believe the receipt, you can call the other Express store and confirm. Besides, the PRICE TAG says $48." So he's like, "I know. But the computer says I owe you money." So I'm like, "Well, I didn't pay that amount, but if you want to give me money, I'm not going to complain." Instead he calls his manager over, who saw me rolling my eyes, and was like, "Just override it and do the even exchange." With the manager assessing me as a non-potential fraud case, Mr. Snot immediately warms up and GUSHES, "I LOVE this french blue!" I roll my eyes yet again and go, "Can you just please wrap it up?" Seriously. Don't kiss my butt because I tried to be honest and you thought otherwise. Or that you were too dumb to figure out anything.

I think for all future returns, I just might sell everything on Ebay. I would probably get more money for it in the first place, and I wouldn't have to deal with psychotic salesclerks who don't even want my business. If they only knew how much I end up spending on clothes each year. Plus I think the entire Return Exchange is a violation of my privacy.

Addicted to the enterprise known as Starbucks

I love Starbucks. I admit it. Yes, I think it's ridiculous to pay upwards to around $4.00 for a latte that you can brew at home for like 1/8 of the price. But it's Starbucks...somehow you can never get it that perfectly brewed, that perfect taste with nutmeg and cinnamon on whipped cream at home. Honey vanilla latte. Caramel macchiatos. Yum.

So in my quest to perfectly describe our nation's obsession with Starbucks, and it is quite a trip...I don't feel at home unless I know where the nearest Starbucks is, and the ubiquitous Starbucks on the corner comforts me, it's almost like coming home. The perfect example of corporate America kicking out the mom and pop locally run stores? Yes. But oh, what a way to go.

I guess the best way to describe the effect Starbucks has is to post this article. Because truly does Starbucks have longevity. The Krispy Kremes of this world are on the brink of extinction because they expanded too far too fast, and the classics such as the Fannie Mays can't keep up with the competition. But for some reason, Starbucks knows exactly how to keep us coming in and walking out with a white canister of that pick-me-up. Check out this article from MSN. http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/P107679.asp?GT1=6110

Rewards 'R Us

The folks at Express wised up to their $15 gift certificate giveaway with their new 2005 pants line...and cancelled the offer. Now they are offering a knit camisole for $15 if you BUY one of their pants. A huge bit of a letdown. It's also a shame because this weekend, some of the dress shirts went on sale for $29.50, and with the $15 free, it would have cost $15 to get a shirt. But with everything going on, I didn't get to Express until they had changed the deal. Grrr.

In other news, Express is also offering their huge leather tote bag for $30 with a $75 purchase. Not that there's anything worth buying in Express right now!

Bath and Body Works has an email offer for a free True Blue Spa Island GetAway Lotion with a $15 purchase from the True Blue collection. With the purchase, they'll also give you a coupon for a free lip balm from the new C.O. Bigelow collection with purchase for next week. The C.O. Bigelow collection rocks. I recommend that everyone try it. When I went to take advantage of this offer, the metrosexual of the decade made me sample the entire new Island GetAway line from the margarita scrub to the bodymilk rinse. In my opinion, it's not a good line. It's really oily, the scents are overwhelming, and it was at best ordinary. I would stick with the original True Blue line; at least they have some excellent products. But the C.O. Bigelow collection? Amazing. Everyone should try their lemon body lotion. I cannot wait for the lip balm next week.

Other business tidbits: Krispy Kreme may be filing for bankruptcy soon...that's what you get for expanding too fast without a cohesive vision. Marshall Field's is set to unveil their shopping site online this spring...financial advisors estimate that Field's has lost millions of dollars by not utilizing their online potential sooner. Ann Taylor is still having their clearance sales. So is Banana Republic.

Finally, per a conversation with Kunjali, as I work on this blog, I realize more and more how emotionally tied I am to shopping, as I am with other things in life. It is interesting to realize that no matter how hard I try, I cannot take a distant, unbiased, or unfettered look at the stuff that centers my life.

A Twist on a Prom Dress

There is this company called XCite that creates prom dresses. It just recently unveiled its new 2005 line, including this black dress that fits by twisting the dress straps into a v before hooking it around the neck, making it into a v halter top, and a v halter back. There's also a good expanse of abdominal fabric missing. It's not that bad looking like that. However, the model somehow put it on wrong at a runway show, by just wearing the straps on the shoulders instead of twisting them around the neck. It's actually not very pretty, almost tacky even. An image of suspenders in velvet. However, goodness knows why, it turned the dress into a best seller. It looks a billion times sluttier; suffice to say that sometimes even models know how to promote a so-so dress into a questionable instantaneous sensation.

The old version.

The new version.

The Express Pant Getting To Know You with a $15 Reward...SIGN ME UP!

Been really busy lately with things...but this was too good of a deal not to write about.

So the Express Semi-Annual Sale is over and done with, speaking of which, I wonder how the Limited sale is because I really wanted that capelet thing...I guess I have to go by there one day and see if the sale is still going on. Anyway. So they have rolled out all their new 2005 pant editions. And in order to raise revenue, draw interest, whatever, there is one of the best promotional deals out now until February 21st.

For women: try on a pair of Editor pants or the new Correspondent pant. For guys: try on the Producer pant. Once you do, you can get a $15 gift certificate to buy something right then or to keep until the 21st when it expires. Simple. Try on a pair of pants, get $15 for a purchase. Sweet. And if you do go, I've noticed that the guys are a lot nicer about the deal than the salesgirls. I'm not sure what the reason is, but the salesgirls basically ignore you, but the guy will tell you right off the bat about the promotion. Props to them.

I don't know the deal with the Express marketing department, but they used to have those $15 off a $19.50 purchase coupons or something like $25 off a $50 purchase coupons that they would send you in the mail. A one time use. Excellent marketing ploy: get people in, make them look around, and chances are, they would buy something...and buy more than they expected.
For some reason, they cut that and turned to Semi-Annual Sales. Now they're turning to these one-time promotions. Some of them are great in that they send you a card, tell you to come in, make a purchase, and they'll give you something for free or at a discount. But there are the others that tell you to come in, try something on, and they'll give you something. Not exactly the most reasonable rationale to encourage revenues, but I supposedly don't know anything since I am not in marketing.

What I do know is this is an excellent promotion for the customer. Who would pass up $15?? Who cares about the pants; they'll go on sale later this season, and I'll buy them then. In the meantime, I'll stock up on the basic classics. Here are just two that I bought today.

This top would look so pretty with my cardigans. Of course I got it.

You can always use a basic T-shirt.