MISSONI SKIRT

I would have to see and feel this skirt in person. I love this. It reminds me of how the ocean is painted in Japanese prints. Photo courtesy of Yoox

A BIT OF SPRING IN YOUR STEP

As you can see I have been checking out the Yoox sale tonight. I would live in these shoes every day for three months out of the year. I love the thick straps and subtle snakeskin print. Photo courtesy of Yoox

DRIES ON YOOX

Pictures courtesy of yoox.com . The black dress is such a Dita von Teese number. I can just picture her rocking this in patent black Loubs and her trademark red/white makeup. I can also imagine it getting rocked out by Madonna or Gwyneth Paltrow with just yards of silver chains and spike stud pumps. I think you'd have to be quite petite to pull off the second dress. I love the neckline and drape but I'm not so sure about the sleeve length...maybe with opera length leather gloves in a color like dark green.

SAKS STOCK SUCKS

I am not a stock expert by any means, but I've been teaching myself how to look at balance sheets. Nothing really drives it home for you like looking at a company's balance sheet. All of these places - Saks, Neiman Marcus, Macy's, J. Crew, etc. all count their inventory as assets. Their inventory ballooned this quarter (not to mention previous quarters). The fact that they count their inventory as assets inflates their balance sheet to their favor, when in reality if they ever liquidated their inventory they would get only a fraction of how much they paid for it in the first place. I was considering buying some retail stocks since Saks and Macy's are such retail mainstays. However, we all thought Lehman Bros and Bear Stearns were too elite and rooted to fail and look what happened.

I've read some interesting articles about discount retail websites and how they are here to stay. Some examples are hautelook and gilt. I've registered for hautelook but have yet to really check it out. I went by a J. Crew last night to get a gift for a friend and picked up a catalog on my way out. I bought a $68 wool and cashmere scarf for $10 as they are having a 50% off winter final sale. I noticed that in the catalog they emphasize how cheap the prices are. They never used to do that before. I wonder how their "collection" pieces will do in the next few months.

LORI'S SHOES

Lori's Shoes is offering an additional 40% off sale items. Shipping is harsh ($15), but it may be worth it because some of the prices (especially on boots) are decent even if you average in the shipping.

PROPER TOPPING

On the way to happy hour, I stopped by the Proper Topper on Connecticut Avenue to decide whether or not to buy a hat that I tried on and really liked a week or so ago. The BF does not seem to like it very much but I love it and I don't care. I can't wait to wear this tomorrow. Sorry for the scary mannequin head but I am too lazy to take a picture of my own hat and post it at 2 AM in the morning.

FAREWELL NEIMAN MARCUS 40% OFF SALE

I have been haunting you all week to no avail. Last night I had Cole Haan flats and silver-plated swizzle sticks in my shopping cart, wondering why in the world I tempt myself like this. Good riddance (and come back soon).