Tag Archives: mabel & zora

this just in: portland & san francisco, meet boutiika

Portland and San Francisco friends (well, Austin and Seattle too), brace yourselves: you are about to love me. (Wait. You didn’t already?) Not that the rest of you should tune out…this brainstorm is sure to sweep the nation.

Am I right that the most annoying, let-down quality of online shopping is delayed gratification? You spend ~~two hours~~ a few minutes scrolling through Shopbop, buy a couple of things, and then you have to wait three whole days (first-world problems, I know) for that beautiful brown box to grace your doorstep. And if you went with Nordstrom or one of my other standbys, it’ll be even longer. (Don’t even get me started on how long it takes Banana Republic to deliver a box. Are they using carrier pigeons?)

Plus, in your heart, online shopping wasn’t even what you wanted. What you wanted was to pop out to a few boutiques in town – shopping local is always nice, of course, and you get to take your goodies home right then. But…ugh. Parking, conspicuously leaving work (and returning with shopping bags), all that driving around…and, of course, there’s the let-down when you’re on a spending spree and you walk out of a store empty-handed. (Damn it, I cam here to spend!)

But, can you see the clouds parting? Can you see that sunbeam shooting down? It’s Boutiika – a new site that just launched in Portland, and is already a hit in San Francisco. Read on →

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birthday bash: winners!

Hey all! It’s the big day: time to announce all the winners of our Birthday Bash!! This was a hard one to do objectively, as so many of you dear readers are friends, or have become friends, and I wanted to thank you for that. But then, so many newbies have shown up for the Bash, and I wanted to thank them too. The only thing to do was to reach deep, deep down for my ethics, trust the Random Number Generator, and keep things on the level. And so, I did. Drumroll, please…

Winner, Day 1 – Inhabit NY cashmere sweater: Lisa S.

Winner, Day 2 – Christine Mighion aquamarine earrings: Shirlene B.

Winner, Day 3 – Mabel & Zora dress by Tiffany Bean: Lauren

Winner, Day 4 – Hayden-Harnett clutch wallet: MJ Moore

Winner, Day 5 – Clarins summer skincare collection: Elle

Congratulations!!! I’ll be emailing each of the winners with details, so be on the lookout! And for the rest of you, well, you can shoot jealous dagger-eyes at these lucky ladies for a moment or two (they’re screaming too loudly to notice anyway), but after that, I hereby give you justification to go forth and buy yourself a little something from one of those amazing sponsors.

Thank you again so much, everyone, from the bottom of my designer-loving little heart. The fact that you choose to spend a few minutes of your day here makes me so embarrassingly happy, I can’t even tell you. When I meet one of you, or you email me to say hello or ask a style question, it quite literally makes my day. I’m so looking forward to the next five years!

And a special thanks to the staggeringly generous sponsors from our Birthday Bash: Inhabit NY, Christine Mighion, Mabel & Zora, Hayden-Harnett and Clarins. These are, quite possibly, my five favorite brands of all time, and I’m beyond honored that they wanted to be part of the party. Show them some love, won’t you, friends?

welcome mabel & zora!

Friends, have you noticed the new pretty pink ad over to your left? It’s a new sponsor, and I absolutely could not be more delighted to welcome them!

Mabel & Zora is quite easily the cheeriest boutique in all of Portland, owned by some of the cheeriest people I know (hi, Tif and Corey!). It’s essentially like a Doris Day movie exploded, and left this fabulous little boutique in its wake. Which makes sense, since the owner is utterly obsessed with Doris and all of her happy, sunny goodness.

When you walk into the shop, the walls are painted a sunny yellow, the racks are filled with bright, color-drenched dresses from the likes of Trina Turk, Milly and Lily Pulitzer, and there’s an incredible selection of bold, happy jewelry that will make you feel it’s summer, no matter what the weather.

We Portlanders are lucky enough to shop in person, but the rest of you should know they also have a lovely online shop. True, you’ll miss out on some of the locally-crafted jewels they have in-store, but nearly everything I love in their shop is available online.

While there are everyday selections from Ella Moss, Michael Stars, House of Harlow and Seven For All Mankind, this shop really shines when it comes to pieces you just won’t find elsewhere. Their dress selection is positively legendary…if you have a summer event coming up, I can promise that the perfect dress is here waiting for you.

From top: Beth Bowley English Garden dress, $265; Bailey 44 Fouled Out dress, $174 (and how much do I love that necklace?!); Veronica M strapless feather dress, $118; Tiffany Bean Doris dress, $228.

That last style was even designed by the shop owner, Tiffany Bean, who has just launched a collection of her own dresses. Tif has impeccable style, and I’m in love with literally everything she’s come out with so far.

All of that spring loveliness aside, I can’t leave without mentioning their sale rack, which is simply not to be missed. I’m talking Lily Pulitzer cashmere for $99 (my mom and I bought two when she was in town), and the sweetest cherry red Beth Bowley coat for half off. If only I were a size 4!

A huge thank you to Mabel & Zora for becoming our latest sponsor…please, friends, show them a little SMC love and hospitality, won’t you?

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