The Battle For Flatlandia: Who Makes the Best Flats?

In the country of Malli on the subcontent of East Retailia, an ongoing conflict known as the Battle for Flatlandia has consumed most of the female population for the past several years. After years of dictatorship by a man known to the nation as Pointy Stiletto (real name: Jimmy Choo), the women of the small but influential region in Flatlandia rebelled. While they were not successful in completely overthrowing Pointy Stiletto from Malli, they managed to gain a foothold in their native homeland. After a brief period of peace the residents began to turn on each other in a power struggle for dominance in the countryside, which was quickly filling with refugees from the Blahnik Mountains in the north, the Louboutin jungles to the south, and the Vivier river valley which was dangerously close to Flatlandia. The sudden influx of shelter seekers to the Flatlandia plains had originally confused the residents whom were often the butt of many a Mallian joke. Factions began forming, with five main groups controlling most of the Flatlandia Plains while dozens if not hundreds of much smaller groups remained in the shadows. Some of the groups, such as Madewell, J.Crew, and Gap were similarly armed in materials and workmanship but demanded high prices for "security." Others such as Old Navy and Target were very popular due to their friendliness to the pocketbooks of the Flatlandia population, offering similar "protection" for much less cost.

Target (similar) | Madewell | Old Navy | Gap | J. Crew

There is no absolute answer as to who makes the best flats. It really depends on what you're doing in the shoes and your feet. All the shoes I featured above are the ones I wear the most, and most of them are at least six months old. The blue Target flats I've had for at least three years that are still going strong. I have several pairs of flats from the Gap that just keep going despite me walking to the moon and back in them. Let me break down the pros and cons of each:

Do keep in mind that details in flats can vary, even those made by the same brand.

Here are some of my other favorite brands for flats:

Jack Rogers

Land's End

H&M

American Eagle Outfitters

Where are your favorite places to buy flats?

They're Going Fast: The Target/Neiman-Marcus Designer Collection

Last December, Target & Neiman-Marcus teamed up with a slew of designers to come out with a limited-edition collection. This collection was released just in time for the holiday shopping season and fashionistas and regular women alike were chomping at the bit at the Target/NM website on the eve of December 1.

Instead of the lines both companies expected, the line really hasn't sold well. Those looking from the NM side thought the products were "cheap looking," while those on the Target side thought the prices were too high. I understood both sides. I thought the product quality or details on some of the items wasn't up to par with the name of the designer, and other items I laughed and then thought 'WT#" at the price.

However, the entire collection is on sale now, and there are several pieces that are worth picking up if you can find them:

Clockwise from top:
rag & bone Men's cardigan, $21 | Lela Rose lace top, $21 | Marc Jacobs scarf, $21
Oscar de la Renta bag, $18 | Tory Birch thermos and lunchbox, in stores only
Marc Jacobs pouch, $21 | Jason Wu slippers, in stores only| Lela Rose dress, $30

I have several items from this collection already, such as the ODLR canvas bag, which will be perfect come spring & summer. I also received this Altuzarra martini shaker and glasses for Christmas:
These are also on sale, the shaker is $15, and the glasses (a set of four) are also $15.

I'm also highly considering getting the rag & bone cardigan above. I almost bought it in stores, and I'm wishing I had. Even though it's for the gentlemen, any woman would be happy wearing it. I'm also considering getting this adorable Alice + Olivia carry-on luggage ($53). It's not that I really need a new carry-on, it's the fact that I'm that woman who sits and stares at the baggage carousel because I keep forgetting what my boring luggage looks like. No joke, I've watched my suitcase go around several times before realizing it was mine.

If anything really catches your eye, I'd buy it ASAP. Now the collection has gone on sale for roughly 70% off, people are snatching up it pretty quickly. Hang on to the receipt, because the original return date deadline was January 5th, and now I believe it's the 15th. I'm not sure why Target/Neiman-Marcus has such stringent return policies on these items, but if you end up not liking something you may end up stuck with it.

Loafers!

Loafers are going to be the shoe for this fall.  I can't turn around without seeing yet another pair becoking me from a store shelf.  I originally saw them last fall, and saw a few pairs in the spring.  Honestly, these really shouldn't be called loafers, they're actually smoking slippers, which are worn with a smoking jacket.  I'm guessing many people wouldn't get the reference so they've been calling them loafers instead.  Whatever.

Gap has some incredible loafers, all the reasonable prices between $40-$50:





Gap has them all sorts of colors, textures, and details.  I'm loving the ones with the tassels and the basic tan ones.  Target also has several pairs for under $25 that are worth looking at as well.

I don't think you need to throw out your round toe ballet flats just yet, but from the trends I've been seeing for this fall and next spring & summer, pointy toe shoes are making the best statements.  So to get the most bang out of your fashion buck, invest in pointy toe flats.

Back to School: Target

When I first went off to college so many years ago (okay 2003, and it does seem that long ago), just about everything I bought to head off came from Target.  The Target had just opened up on Rt. 60 in Barboursville, so  I was rather excited about it.  Most of my clothes, all of dorm stuff (which I actually still have...), all came from the giant red bull's eye in the sky. 

I'm still a fan of Target, and I feel it's one of the places where you can get the most bang for your buck.  They usually have a designer collaboration going on, such as this summer's Calypso St. Barth which I was in love with, and Missioni coming up here in September.  Trust me, there will be more on that later. 

But before I get even further off track, here are the sets for Target:

Polyvore set here.

When I first saw this skirt, all I could think of was how perfect it would be for fall.  I added cute red flats (which would go great with the J. Crew shirt from yesterday), a simple brown bag, and a red scarf.  Even though the scarf, shoes, and skirt aren't all the same shade of red, they're in the same family, which will allow you to get away with wearing them all together.  I added a simple teal tee to keep everything too matchy-matchy.  It's a bit unexpected, and teal is hot for this fall.  Had I paired this skirt with a neutral shirt, I probably would have taken away the scarf as it would have been too much red.  But adding this shirt in a complementary color, you can go further with accessories.  A purple shirt would also work, as would yellow or a bright colbalt blue.

Polyvore set here.

Also hot this fall? Colorblocking.  I chose this great colorblocked dress as it's not only on trend, but is also a basic classic dress.  I love the pink and dark green for the fall.  A simple woven wedge and tortishell jewelry just make this so simple and wearable for a lot of people.  Like the skirt from yesterday, this will also be great with tights and a flat boot. 

It's SUMMERTIME!

Okay, okay, I know I said several weeks ago that I'd have some new posts up.  And I had them planned out and everything, it's just I didn't plan on being sidelined in the hospital for two weeks with walking pneumonia.  Once I was out of the hospital I had a lot of stuff at work to catch up on, so the blog has fallen by the wayside. 

Anyways, Memorial Day has officially passed, thereby bringing us the summer fashion season.  I now officially approve of the wearing of white, tropical prints, and Lilly.  Well, hell, I approve of Lilly anytime of the year, it's just so damn happy.  To welcome the suddenly much warmer temperatures, here are my accessories for Summer 2011:



I got one.  I FINALLY GOT MY HANDS ON ONE!  One of the purses I have most lusted for some time now is a Lilly Pulitzer Bermuda Bag.  It's the wooden handles that you see in the picture above, and there is a white lining that holds your stuff.  The beauty of the Bermuda Bag are the interchangeable bag covers, this one being an adorable pink and green Lilly hippo print.  These tend to go high (read=more than I want to pay) on Ebay, but I got the handles and three reversible covers for $40, which is an amazing deal as the covers retail for$20.  This cover reverses to a light pink embroidered with mint green flowers.  Here are the other covers:



The bottom one is the reverse of the hippo print.  The top left reverses into a mint green butterfly print, and the orange floral reverses into just a plain mint green.  Yes, this bag is much smaller than what I normally use, but at the same time, it will carry more than it looks.  I can get a French purse wallet, iPhone, keys, and a lip gloss in there and could probably carry another small item.  unfortunately, Lilly Pulitzer doesn't make Bermuda Bag covers at the moment, so I've been looking at Ebay and other places online to find some.  I haven't had much luck, but there is a website, All About You Design, that does carry a great selection of Lilly fabric and will make you a reversible cover for $20.  I haven't ordered from this website, as medical bills are causing my wallet great pains, but it looks to be a reputable site. 



This is another adorable Lilly Pulitzer clutch/purse.  This is actually a basket with fabric sides, with the pink ties you see.  This one is very small, I can get my keys, ID holder (if  I don't need everything in my wallet), and phone in there and that's about it.  I actually bought this back in January for $10 off Ebay.  They're now going for upwards of $70.  Crazy.



For those days I need to carry a bit more, I got this tote from the Calypso St. Barth for Target line.  It's a linen tote with the beautiful embroidered design on the front.  The linen has gold metallic threads running through it, giving it a lovely glow.  The only thing I'm not crazy about with this tote is the handles are very plastick-y feeling, but for the price ($16.99), I'm not going to complain too much. 



I picked up these wedges, also from the Calypso St. Barth for Target line.  These were $29.99, and also came in a turquoise wave/tie-die print.  These are not made with the same fabric from the tote above, the linen is woven more tightly, and these have a silver effect as opposed to gold in the tote.  They're surprisingly comfortable, I was able to get through an entire wedding and reception without dying to take them off.  For those who are interested, these shoes are pretty light, if you're not into heavy shoes. 



Normally, I say fashion goes to die at Fashion Bug.  However, maybe a month or so ago they had a 40% off Friends and Family sale, so I went in to have a peek and came out with these and an amazing pair of khaki Bermuda shorts for work.  I have super high arches, so a lot of sandals in this style don't fit well.  These fit well and are comfortable as well.  These have a silver piping around the outside of the sole which gives them great detail.  I think these are normally around $20-ish bucks. 

I really haven't purchased much in the way of clothing, I'll talk about that in my next post.

Lookbook

One of my favorite color combos is gray and purple. I  already covered gray bags, now for some purple flats.

$$$

Tory Burch Prescot Flats, $245

$$$

Roxy Bijou Flats, Endless, $45

$

Mossimo Oona Twist  Toe Flats, Target, $9

LOOKBOOK

I'm loving my new polish, Butter London's Queen Vic.  It's colorful, but not too springy.  Raspberry is great way to bridge the color gap between winter and spring.

$$$

Tahari Seamed Dress, $128, Dillard's

$$

Flowy Ruffle Shirtdress, $53, The Limited

$

Merona Faux Wrap Dress, $25, Target

First Impressions #1

Sunday afternoon, I went on my usual post-payday shopping errands, and while in Target, I picked up the Olay Pro-X Advanced Cleaning System.  The picture is pretty much self-explanatory, it's a rotating facial brush.  This is not a new idea, rotating face brushes have been around for years.  The idea behind them is to help exfoliate, remove makeup more throughly than a regular washing,  and help face products penetrate the skin more easily. 

A couple of years ago, a facial brush called the Clarisonic hit the market and became huge.  What really set it apart from the previous models was the fact it was able to rotate over 300 times a minute.  Most of the other brands couldn't do half that.  All sorts of folks declared it a miracle product, and no other company has been able to replicate that sort of success.

Olay has entered the rotating facial brush market with their Pro-X Advanced Cleaning System.  They claim on their commercials that it performs as well as that "$200 brand brush," which is a reference to the Clarisonic, whose most popular model retails for around that price.  I've never used a Clarisonic, so I really can't do a comparison.  However, I've only used the Olay Pro-X once, and I'm very impressed.

The brush face is about the size of a half-dollar coin.  You're supposed to wet your face, and use either the enclosed exfoliating polish sample, or your own face wash.  You then glide it all over your face, and follow-up with a moisturizer.  The brush has two speeds, high and low.  I can see people with very sensitive skin having irritation problems with the high speed, but I had none.  My skin feels amazing, very clean and beyond soft.  All of my makeup was removed, verified by the lack of residue on the cotton rounds I use with my toner after I cleanse. Some reviewers of the Pro-X on various websites mentioned having trouble using it around the nose, but I didn't have any.  The brush seems to have a bit of give to it, and I was able to rotate it around with ease. 

At $29, this brush is very affordable and a good idea no matter your skin type.  If you're like me and are starting to worry about aging (despite the fact i'm 26), the Pro-X can make your anti-aging products work better.  I'm not sure about the "miracle" results the Clarisonic has provided will happen with the Pro-x, but if it keeps my skin exfoliated and cleaner I'm satisfied.