Sunday, December 16, 2007

My Review of Pomfert

Originally submitted at Onlineshoes.com

Discover all-day comfort in the Pomfert boot from Rockport. Soft, oiled nubuck leather upper has elastic goring at the sides for a snug fit. The Dynamic Suspension DMX foam chamber built into the insole board adds an additional level of cushion, while the rubber outsole provides steady footing on ...

Quite Possibly the Perfect Boot

By Material Girl on 12/16/2007

5out of 5

Sizing: Feels true to size

Width: Feels true to width

Pros: Stable, Cute, Durable, Comfortable

Best Uses: Casual Wear, Office, Travel, Going Out

Describe Yourself: Stylish

I love this boot--it may be the best boot I've purchased. I can literally wear them all day long, shopping, running around, to the office, out to dinner. They're more comfortable than some of my boots with much lower heels. They look great with skirts and jeans. I'm very pleased with this purchase.

(legalese)

Friday, December 14, 2007

P.S. Re: Zappos Price Protection

I just found out from my friends at Zappos that one can only take advantage of their 110% price guarantee once a month. However, being the awesome customer service friends that they are, let let me do it again this month since I was not aware of their policy. (They just seem to love me over at Zappos.)

Remember these gray boots that I coveted but could not have due to the strain they would put on my discretionary fund? They are currently $278 at Anthropologie (and taking into account their outrageous shipping cost and the fact that I'd pay tax, that purchase would have been out of the question). I found them on Zappos for $268.95 (already a better deal with the free shipping). Then I saw them on endless for $211.96. Zappos sold them to me for $200 and change, even deducting the $5 that endless gives with their negative-$5 overnight shipping deal. I'll get them Monday, fellow shoppers at which point I'll give you the scoop.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Get Your New Shoes Tomorrow

Zappos and Endless are both offering free overnight shipping. We can all enjoy a holiday shoe-gasm with very little waiting, fellow shoppers!

Monday, December 10, 2007

eBay 101: Best Offers

If you've spent any time on eBay you may have noticed an item or two offered with a "Buy It Now" options along with an "Or Best Offer" option. Material Girl enjoys making a Best Offer. Just like any negotiation, I usually offer a bit less than I'm actually willing to pay (at least $10-20). My goal generally is to get the item for half of the Buy It Now price. I've watched items be posted, not sell, be reposted with BIN option, not sell, and be posted yet again with OBO option. Sellers who have spent this much time to unload an item and paid multiple listing fees are happy to have interest (and they've probably posted with too high a starting bid). I've never had a Best Offer rejected. Many sellers will accept it outright; others will make a counter offer.

Just last week I offered $60 for a Karl Lagerfeld asymmetrical mocha wool skirt with a $149.99 BIN. The seller counter offered with $75 and I bought the item (at 50% off the BIN, a nice deal for this brand). And the skirt is cool and interesting, the fabric is beautiful, and it fits me perfectly. Skirts are great items to buy online--it's tough to get one that does not fit properly if you are given measurements. I wish online retail store would give measurements as well. One store's size 4 can be another store's size 8. And, with a store like Anthropologie that carries a number of brands, sizing can be all over the place. Stores like the Gap are safer, but even their sizing can change slightly from season to season. I probably have 30-some skirts hanging in my closet and I'd say about half are from eBay.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Another Love Letter to Zappos

Material Girl sits here writing wearing the shoes pictured at left by Oh...Deer! along with workout clothes. It's not the best look, but the shoes just arrived on my front porch and I need to try them out.

I've had my eye on these for a while but I wasn't sure if I over-100-dollars liked them. Yesterday morning I was reading my email as I ate my oatmeal and had a message saying ShoeBuy.com was having a 25% off everything "private sale" so I decided to see if they had these leopard print pony hair sling backs in stock in 8.5. They did! I put the shoes in my cart and they came to $67 and change.

I really wanted to buy them from Zappos instead. I hate the waiting when I buy shoes from other sites. But on Zappos they were on sale for $107.06. That's a big chunk of my discretionary fund, fellow shoppers. Then I remembered the Zappos 110% price guarantee, something which, up until now, I had never inquired about or taken advantage of. So I dialed up my friends at Zappos. They gave me the shoes for $63.50. They rock. I definitely 63-dollars-like these shoes. So if you see something on another shoes site (especially one that doesn't offer free one-day shipping), be sure to call Zappos and see if they can help you out. You'll have some money left over for...more shoes!

Addendum: I decided to return these shoes. They didn't look right with my only decent pair of jeans and there was a tad too much toe cleavage for my taste. I'm now on the lookout for other shoes/boots I can get from Zappos using the 110% guarantee. Woohoo!

Monday, December 3, 2007

Timberland Urban

I mentioned last post that it's been a tad unpleasant at the office lately for Material Girl. So what do I do to relax, unwind and de-stress? Shoe shop online of course. I generally don't actually buy shoes when I'm shopping to chill, but I put many many items into a variety of shopping carts, so it's the next best thing.

The last few days I've become very taken by a few of the boots in what Timberland calls their Urban line. I own these Timberland Urban knee-high lace ups in bubble gum pink. If you think it might be a bit of a challenge to find the right outfit for them, you're right, fellow shoppers. But the fact that they live in my closet makes me happy, and I can stomp puddles in them at will.



Check out these other cute-and-functional Timberland Urban styles. (Click on pix to view on Zappos.)


Are those keyhole wedge boots not darling? The green duck boots make me miss my Kelly green Sportos from fifth grade. (Next to my purple Nike gym shoes with silver swishes, they were the favorite shoes of my youth.) I'm sure these are all silly comfy. And, at least around these parts, the rain and snow will come eventually and one might as well have well-clad dry feet. (Material Girl digs weatherproof footwear.) Oh, and these are all well-priced, ranging from around $111-$178.

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Wine + Cheapy = Winter Coat Shopping

Last week, for some odd reason, Cheapy made a declaration: "You need a new winter coat, a black one." I'm not sure what came over Cheapy (besides that he's not fond of my pink coat), but he went so far as to make a shopping plan. He found a babysitter, and told me for our date night we would stop at the wine store to for some tasting so that he would be buzzed enough for retail, we would go to The Mall to buy me a coat, then we would see a movie. Material Girl did not object (and wore the new Anthropologie sweater--which Cheapy loved).

After about half an hour in Macy's (an eternity even for an semi-intoxicated Cheapy), we settled on a Jones New York wool/alpaca belted number. It's got some nice details such as a nubby fabric that's a little more interesting than your average wool coat, and buttoned tabs near the bottom of the sleeves and shoulders. There is also seaming running down either side of the front of the coat that makes a longer and leaner appearance. The belt nicely defines the waist and the slash pockets are useful for warming the hands (I find flap pockets annoying in this capacity) and also work to make the waist appear smaller since they add some curve at the hips. (Have you gotten that one of Material Girl's goals in dressing is to make her waist appear smaller?)

The cost of this classic coat that I'll wear through numerous winters to comes? MSRP: $380, Cheapy: about $150. (It was on sale plus Cheapy opened a Macy's charge to save 35% which he will promptly pay off and close. Cheapy loves to do this.)

Addendum: I googled my coat (which I wore today and is oh so warm!) the day after we bought it and found the exact coat in both black and brown (only came in black at my Macy's) at SmartBargains.com for way cheap ($118.98). I don't know anything about this site and haven't shopped there--any fellow shoppers familiar with it?