Trip to Buffalo

I'm back from a weekend trip to Buffalo. So sorry for the lack of postings these past few days. Also went to Niagara Falls with the parents, but no shopping was done at the Falls, so we'll move on to Buffalo!

Stopped by Fashion Outlets Niagara and got some good stuff at the Banana Republic outlet. Prices are much cheaper there than in regular stores. Shirts were 35$ or under. Of course, the quality wasn't even close to the material and fabric in the regular stores, but you get what you pay for. The store was having 40% off everything in the store, so that was the only reason why I bothered looking and buying a couple of t-shirts, a dressy black top, and a white summer shirt.
Not much else to comment on since we didn't stay for long, but there was a Coach outlet for those interested. I didn't have time to check it out and also don't understand why people would buy Coach purses and wallets and such. I have yet to find the appeal. It seems like these handbags became famous overnight! Will do some background reading and investigate.

Next we went to the Walden Galleria mall in Buffalo. Went to Bath and Body Works and Forever 21 and picked up some sweet pea bath products (5$ for lotions and 5$ for creams) and clothes. I tried finding pictures of my clothes online, but I guess they're a few weeks or months old and they're not on the website anymore! That hurts.
Anyways, I got a short-sleeve green jacket with big buttons that ties around at the back, a white woven top, and a crazily printed tunic dress thingy. I suppose you could wear leggings with the tunic, but... I don't do leggings. Not a fan of the leggings. When I was in elementary school they were ok. But they make your legs look like blobs! BLOBS! And I'm not in elementary school anymore.

Anyways, Bath and Body works is having an antibacterial handsoap sale Aug 6 (5 for 15$) and you can get a free body lotion as well. It's very tempting to go back. I love that store!

As for Forever 21, I have decided I like the American stores better than the one at the Eaton Centre. The one I went to today was so well-kept and I could see all the clothes laid out properly on the hangers and items were grouped together, so it wasn't like you were at Winners and have to go through a rack to see everything. That just kills me when stores becomes Winners-like. I can't shop there. It's just too much stuff to go through and I don't have the patience. It's funny because I can go to the mall and walk around for 2 or 3 hours without buying anything, but I could never spend 2-3 hours in Winners and not go absolutely crazy. I think with malls or shopping districts, it's easier because there's the variety with going into different stores, taking a break between stores, looking at people going shopping, but it's so much harder when you go to one store with racks and racks of clothes to sort through and their garish lighting. Good lighting is a must.

Disappointed with a Capital D

Lake Hodges, Hollister $19.90

Went to the Eaton Centre today to report on the sale situation. There's really nothing to report. It was an utter bust. Nothing that good or worth spending hard earned after-tax dollars on. Save it and invest it and get better stuff in the future!

Went to Banana Republic and practically everything is on sale, but it was still expensive. Lots of nice dresses and dress shirts, but still over 120$ and 60$ respectively. Too expensive for me!

Also stopped by French Connection and nothing to report. The good stuff only had Large and Extra Large left. Saw some nice handbags though.

Also went into Hollister. Why? Good God I don't even know why. Damn salesgirl at the front didn't to greet me when I came in the entrance and when I was halfway into the next section of the store had to blurt out her spiel to me. "Hi! Welcome to Hollister!" Wait, I don't think that's what she said. Some sort of contrived statement that I don't remember. I felt bad, so I mumbled an acknowledgement. But I just ended up looking like an idiot since I was already halfway to the back of the store.
Oh! Now I remember why I went in. I want this sweater, which is supposed to be ON SALE according to the website, since it's so cold at my desk at work. Went to the sale section and this damn sweater could not be found! Disgusting! How could they tease me like that? Blast!

So feeling wounded, I went to Over the Rainbow to try on Ridiculously Overpriced Pants and the ones that I posted about yesterday could also not be found. Double Blast!
I tried on another pair of the same style, but the material was that shiny jean material in a lighter blue/grey colour and somewhat reflective. I don't like that. It's weird. It's like wearing mirrors on your lower body. Or that reflective tape that bikers wear so car drivers don't run them over at night and make them have to go to the hospital and die. Or on the street if no one bothers to call 911.
I honestly don't see what the big deal is (about the pants, not the dying part. Dying is bad, even if they were bikers). The material was thinner and more stretchy, but totally not worth the 290$ price tag. And I felt so short because the pant leg was so long that I had to fold at least 6 inches of it and the security tag practically had to be folded in as well.
Saw a cool jacket and asked the cashier if they do holds. She said, "I can hold it for 1 hour." WHAT? What's the point!?! Just say you don't do holds, I won't cry about it.

So I didn't get anything today or find anything worthy of your attention. It was a bust. But at least I have some inane material for this post. I'm out.

End of May Sales!

There are a lot of sales going on this weekend. I went to the Eaton Centre and Yorkdale yesterday and bought a lot of new stuff. Banana Republic has a clearance sale right now, French Connection is having a Friends and Family sale with 40% off regular priced items, and of course there are the sale racks of other clothing retailers. So, if you're looking for something for less money, now's the time! In the span of a few days, I picked up some summer flats, 2 jackets, a skirt, a pair of jeans, and 2 shirts.

The good thing about working near the Eaton Centre is you can pass by stores on your lunch break and check out the sales before other people get there! The bad thing is that there is really no time to try anything on or pay for something if you happened to try something on, so in the end, there's no significant advantage except you feel smarter that you knew about a sale before everyone else. Which really is meaningless. Bitter? Yes. I can't help it, I'm waaay too results oriented.

Also, a lot of the times I forget about this: some stores offer price adjustments on clothing you purchased previously. You can bring the receipt in (some also require the item to be brought in as well, but most don't, so you should ask first) within a certain period of time and they will refund the difference in price to you if your item has gone down in price. That's pretty sweet in my opinion. That way you get the best selection and the size you want and the lowest price. The crappy thing is that you have to remember to do it within the time period and sometimes it doesn't change in price. I've only did this twice so far in my life. One time I got 20$ back and the other time I got nothing. Maybe I'll try it again this time... if I remember.

UPDATE on my Benton Chair
A few weeks ago, Bombay also had a sale with 50% off all regular priced items and I was totally ready to buy that "haute couture" chair I was talking about in an earlier post! But I looked at it and there were a lot of runs on the silk fabric of the chair. Silk is not for sitting on I guess. It's more for wearing. Hurumph. Very disappointing. Why must we sacrifice function over aesthetic beauty? WHY?