If anyone knows what the deal is with chicdowntown.com, I would love to hear, because every time I visit the site I am thoroughly confused.  Now and again I am lured in by an insane email that reads something like "70% off all full priced items".  When I start to poke around I see all the key brands and feel that I will for sure get a good deal on a few things I need, but then items are either unrecognizable (how many seasons old?) and in many cases, sold out. 

Have you had any luck on chicdowntown.com?  Leave some comments.

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Judith Ripka - Sample Sale
Event Begins: 1/21/2010
Event Ends: 1/23/2010
Event Times: Thu 10am-8pm; Fri 10am-6pm; Sat 10am-3pm
Location: 88 Madison Ave (Btwn 28th & 29th St) - Carlton Hotel / Seville Room - New York, NY 10016

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Jcrew Sample Sale @ Clothingline
261 W 36th Street (between 7th & 8th Ave) NYC

Week of January 18, 2010
Tuesday 10:00 am - 7:00 pm
Wednesday 10:00 am - 7:00 pm
Thursday 10:00 am - 7:00 pm
Friday 10:00 am - 7:00 pm
Saturday 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

J. Crew sample sale information
   * J.Crew - Samples / sample sizes for Men & Women
   * J.Crew Footwear - Stock / all sizes for Women, with limited selection for Men
   * Crewcuts - Samples / sample sizes for Boy & Girls
   * Madewell - Stock denim and handbags for Women

Footwear and Handbag sales are final.

Please send all reviews to jj@shopsavvynyc.com and we will update our readers!

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To kick off the new year, shopbop.com has introduced a few new features which will help us sort through the madness to find our favorite things.

1. My Favorites (or <3's) - a way to label items you like and revisit them easily to track when they are put on sale.  It will also let you know when the item has sold out.

2. My Designers - a way to filter for only the designers you want to see.  Though we love the huge selection that shopbop offers, sometimes it's hard to browse/window shop for what you want.

3. Referral Program - now get $25 for every friend who signs up for shopbop and makes a purchase

To support our ad free site, feel free to use our referral link to get on shopbop asap. 

Great job shopbop- keep it up!

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We are pumped for M Missoni & Michael Aram for awesome home goods.

Click here to sign up for Gilt Groupe.

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Date: 1/13/2010 to 1/15/2010
Time: Mon-Sun 9am-6:45pm
Location: 311 West 34th St. (Btwn 8th & 9th Ave.)
The Scoop: All boots $39.99-$199.99, all shoes are $19.99-$99.99
The Brands: Tory Burch, Cole Haan, Ugg, Marc Jacobs, Chloe, Michael Kors, Kate Spade, Kors, Juicy Couture, Stella McCartney, Frye, Stuart Weitzman, Kate Spade, Burberry, Minnetonka, Jack Rodgers, Diane von Furstenberg, Elizabeth and James, etc. etc.

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I dare you to find Wayfarers cheaper than this.  Gosh we loveee overstock.com...

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We are so obsessed with the Stuart Weitzman Glowicky heels and are dying for a pair (if they would just go on sale a little!!).  At $335, they are definitely at the top of the SW price range but they hit all main things you look for in an evening shoe:

1. They look dressy (complete with small swarovski buckle)
2. Comfort and height - due to an awesome platform these are high and comfortable (we tried them on and trust us, they do not feel like a 5 inch heel!)
3. Come in all the essential evening colors - gold (leather), silver (leather), black (satin), and white and ivory (satin) for all the brides out there

We are dying for a pair and even and 10% discount would help us click the checkout button!! Please let us know if you find them on sale...

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If we can stick to this one, it will be impressive.  But with all the tools out there, it is definitely possible to never pay retail.  See below for some of our favorite tools for bargain shopping to help you through 2010.

1. Shopstyle Sale Alerts - Shopstyle.com is a great site to browse your favorite brands in one place.  One of it's great features are "sale alerts".  They allow you to keep your eye on that extra special (and pricey) item without constantly stalking every site that carries it. 

2. Online Sample Sale Sites - still need to get into our favorite members only sample sale sites?  Use the links below to sign up using our invite codes:

Gilt Groupe is known for its fantastic sales, super customer service, and of course that flashy gold & black design.  Gilt Groupe is "members only" so you'll need an existing member to invite you.  Click here for your invite.

HauteLook is another great sample sale website.  My first day as a member they displayed a slew of amazing Chanel bags from Decades 2.   To sign up for HauteLook click here.

RueLaLa is one that I've stumbled upon more recently.  Right as I signed up, I caught the tail end of what seemed to be a great YSL sale, but all the bags were sadly sold out.  Next time I'll be more prepared.  It was slightly more difficult to become a member of RueLaLa, because you need to enter another member's email to sign up.  To get on RueLaLa.com, go to the site, click on "not a member" and enter jj@shopsavvynyc.com in the "your friends email" field.

TheTopSecret is an offshoot of Topbutton, which is a great for listing local sample sales.  TheTopSecret is their new online portion and sales last from 1-3 days and offer items up to 70% off.  To get in, you need a member to invite you.  Email me at jj@shopsavvynyc.com and I will send you an invite.

Ideeli.com is another members only site.  In addition to having online sales, they also feature giveaways... and who doesn't love free stuff.  To sign up, use this link.

Swirl by Daily Candy - Daily Candy has been bringing us those informative fashion emails for years so it's only logical that they would be the next to jump onto the online sample sale bandwagon.  So far we are slightly underwhelmed due to not deep enough discounts but we continue to check in daily.  Sign up on beta.swirl.com. 

3.  Retail Me Not - The amount of times retailmenot.com has scored me discounts is unbelievable.  With the awesome firefox plugin, retailmenot will remind you when you forgot to save. 

How it works:
1. Download the add-on
2. Visit your favorite websites (today mine is barneys.com) in Firefox:
3. Look for the friendly little pop ups at the top of your screen as you browse your favorite sites
4. Click for deals!

For those of you joining me in the "never pay retail" 2010 resolution, we hope these tools will help.  Happy shopping in the New Year. 

       

Click here to download:

A_New_Years_Resolution..._Neve.zip (160 KB)

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Some looks from the guys on NYE

       

Click here to download:

Snazzy_New_Years_Bowties_etc..zip (2709 KB)

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