TalkingShopping.com

The TalkingShopping gang stumbled across this fabulous new-year-new-you-type article in the LA Times Image section today and we seriously couldn't stop reading!  The article dubbed, "20 Ways To Upgrade Your Style" pretty much gives you the basics of what it's about, but the article as a whole doesn't simply focus on style as it applies to fashion! 

The Image staff included five different style topics for dishing their advice - style, manners, R.S.V.P. or R.I.P, Beauty and our personal favorite, Just For Men which muses on style stepper-uppers for the men folk like adopting a signature look and learning how to be a true gentleman.  Thank goodness someone took a minute to remind our guys what a real man looks (and acts) like!

We hate to spoil a good read so we'll keep our mouths shut on the rest of the details and all of their suggestions, but to say the least, we think the article was right on and a perfect way to help us all step up our style in '09!

Pictured: A new book they recommend for finding the wardrobe color palette that's right for you, Life in Color: The Visual Therapy Guide to the Perfect Palette--for Fashion, Beauty and You by style experts Jesse Garze and Joe Lupo; $16.47.

The TalkingShopping girls got a hefty dose of beauty news today on everything from beauty books to the newest beauty products that the blogosphere is buzzing about!  First, we came across some raving reviews of nutritionist Lisa Dryer's new beauty book, The Beauty Diet: Looking Great Has Never Been So Delicious.  Apparently, for the majority of the book, Bayer discusses the nutritional value of different foods, naming what she believes to be the 10 best foods for a beautiful appearance.  She also suggests what foods to include in your diet to snag great hair, eyes, teeth, nails and of course, skin.  BellaSugar especially loves the recipes and menu plans at the end!

Next on the list of beauty buzz items to kick off '09 is the new Sedu Revolution Nano Ceramic Tourmaline Hair Styler.  All about The Pretty said that the iron "rocked my hair world" and that "The curls that this iron creates resembles a roller set."  Sounds impressive indeed!  The TS team used to swear by the almighty Chi Styling Iron, but we'll admit that it's been a long time coming for another ceramic styler to knock Chi off of its straightening high horse! 

And last but certainly not least on the new beauty buy front is something that the TS team is particularly jazzed about - Smashbox's New Master Class Kit!  Basically, the kit includes all of our Smashbox faves like the amazing Photo finish Foundation Primer and the cheek color wonder O-Glow.  All of the products included add up to be a $175 value, but in something that could only have been created by the beauty gods, Smashbox sells the kit for a mere $59!  Bargain buy?!   Also included in the kit is an instructional DVD to help you "master" your makeup regimen.  Brilliant!

Currently Craving!

What: The Fashion Game Book by Florence Muller.

Where: Revolve Clothing.

Why: Because we absolutely adore fashion-focused coffee table tomes like this and because this is the perfect girls night game to test your knowledge of 20th century fashion!  Oh how we love schooling our BFFs on the likes of Marc Jacobs and Zac Posen.  It's just so gratifying!

Price: $34.95

Bonus: Revolve currently offers other Assouline book creations, our favorite being Fashion Dogs, which features iconic pics of some of the worlds most fabulous pups!

As the highly-anticipated and most likely forward fashion filled Presidential Inaugural Ball approaches and everyone in the fashion world speculates as to what (and who's) gown Michelle Obama will don for the occassion, a new site has emerged that aims to prevent any fashion faux pas at such an event!  DressRegistry.com allows you to register the gown you'll be wearing to an event therefore allowing you to rest easy before the big night, knowing that someone else won't show up in the same dress and sabotage your wardrobing efforts!

This is a seriously genius idea and although regular folks like us will probably never have any use for such a service, we're sure plenty of Upper Eastsiders and Hollywood who's-who's will find it rather helpful.  Since we're nosy and tons of Inaugural Balls will be taking place around the country in late January, we perused the site to see what people have been registering for these star-studded evenings.  Although it doesn't tell you exactly who will be wearing the dress, we did enjoy some of the more surprising registries, like a Baby Phat dress (say what?!) listed amongst the likes of Chanel and Versace for the Presidential Inaugural Ball in D.C. on Jan. 20th and a seriously cheap-chic Betsy & Adam by Linda Bernell dress registered for the All American Ball at the Westin in D.C., also on Jan. 20th!   Love it the save-savviness there!  Some of the other popular label choices among those registered seem to be Amsale, BCBG and the relatively affordable JS Boutique.

Left: A JS Boutique dress ($87.90 at Nordstrom) registered for the Constitutional Ball in D.C. on Jan. 20th.

Looks like Mondays aren't so miserable after all - yet another new sample sale site has hit the Web, dubbed Billion Dollar Babes, for recessionistas far and wide to indulge in!  This particular sample sale site functions much like Gilt Groupe in that they host one-label sales for a few days at a time, except BDB offers paid platinum and gold tiers, much like sample sale site ideeli offers paid premium memberships that allow you to shop sales early, get unlimited free shipping and access to exclusive promotions (which somewhat defeats the purpose in our opinion).  According to their site, the physical Billion Dollar Babes sample sale was founded in Hollywood in 2001.

Since the TalkingShopping girls are basically obsessed with sample sale shopping and join as many sample sale sites as possible, of course, we had head over to BDB and see what's what!  We were surprised to see that joining was surprisingly easier than most sites because you didn't have to have an invite or put your name on a seemingly never-ending wait list!  Score!  Just put in your info and voila, you're a member!  Right now on BDB, they're showing their next sale to be, gasp, Hayden-Harnett starting tomorrow morning which already gives them style points in our opinion. 

Currently Craving!

What: Lauren Ralph Lauren Two Tone Ballet Flat.

Where: Polo.com.

Why: Because we're in desperate need of a new pair of flats after our current closet favorites have taken a beating in the winter weather.  We love this two-tone, Chanel-esque style and the price is pretty nice too!

Price: $89

Bonus:  Polo.com has tons of new spring offerings up on their site and it pleasantly reminds us that spring is in sight! 

Bluefly is having a MASSIVE shoe sale right now, offering up to 65% off of their already reduced prices on their entire selection of designer shoes.  Some of the brands featured in the sale include Michael Kors, Guiseppe Zanotti, Stuart Weitzman, YSL, Dior and more!  The TalkingShopping girls are all about re-stocking and re-vamping our wardrobe in '09 and buying classics at a bargain is definitely a good start!

It's no secret that 2008 was a tough year for retailers around the country.  The economy took a turn for the worse, the word recession became all too familiar and retailer and e-tailers alike suffered from the budget constraints that kept shoppers out of the mall and looking for a bargain. 

The TalkingShopping girls thought we'd remember those retailers who fell victim to tough times and had to close their doors last year as a result.  So raise your glass ladies to the stores we loved and lost - here's to sunnier times ahead!


Steve & Barry's

Mervyn's

Circuit City

Boscov's

Linens 'N Things

KB Toys

Kira Plastinina - U.S.

Now that the confetti has settled and the bubbly bottle's gone dry, the TalkingShopping team is back in action and ready start off another fabulous year of shopping madness!  And what better way to begin '09 than with a continuation of TS' Favorite Shopping Headlines of '08!  It was quite a year to remember and the world of shopping news was certainly no exception.  So reminisce with us and let us now what your favorite TS headlines of '08 were!  Enjoy...

The Sex and the City Movie Starts a Bag Borrowing Phenomenon!

Apple Releases the iPhone 3G and Sells Over 1 Million in 3 Days!

Victoria's Secret PINK Launches Their New Collegiate Collection

iTunes Announces That More Than 5 Billion Songs Have Been Purchased

Polo Ralph Lauren Becomes the Official Outfitter of the U.S. Olympic Team

Cheap Chic Retailers Like Forever 21 Thrive in Dismal Economy!

Starbucks Announces That It Will Close 600 U.S. Stores

Michelle Obama Becomes New Style Icon For Save-Savvy Wardrobe

Target Steps Up Fashion Efforts With Designer Collabos Galore!

TopShop Launches U.S. E-Commerce Site

Vibrating Mascara's Becoming Newest Beauty Craze

Norma Kamali Designs First Fast Fashion Collabo For Walmart

Sarah Palin Causes Controversy With Pricey Campaign Wardrobe

Black Lip Gloss Becomes a Fall Beauty Trend

Lindsay Lohan's Legging's Line Sells Out!

Apple Releases a New Aluminum Macbook and Macbook Pro

Macy's Celebrates Its150th Anniversary

Twilight Sparks Movie Merchandising Madness

Sarah Palin's Makeup Artists Tells All

For the past two days, we've been bringing you our favorite products that made their debut in 2008 and now, we thought we'd put together a few of the biggest shopping stories the TS team talked about in '08!  From some of our favorite retailers closing their doors to celebrities trying their hand at the design game (aka the "delebrity" phenomenon), there was certainly no shortage of topics to discuss on the shopping front in 2008! 

So sit back, relax and enjoy the walk down memory lane as we bring you the TS girls' biggest biggest and brightest (and some just hilarious) shopping headlines of '08!

Amazon Introduces the Kindle and Sells Out!

Danity Kane's Sophomore Album Tops the Sales Charts

Man Tries to Sell Everything But His Name on eBay

M.A.C. Collaborates With Heatherette for a Super-Glam Collection!

Phillip Lim Launches New Children's Line

The Jelly Shoe Makes a Comeback

The New Kids on The Block Release a New Album and New Merch.!

Bluefly Launches Their New B*Fly Boutique

Best Buy Now Carries Electrolux Appliances - the Celebs are Lovin' It!

Professor Randy Pausch's The Last Lecture Tops Best-Seller List

Ladies, Celebs and Oprah Across the Country Rave About The 'Yummie Tummy'

Victoria 'Posh' Beckham's Denim Line Gets Dropped From Retailers

Iconic '80s Brand Members Only Makes a Comeback

Heidi Montag Partners With Anchor Blue for 'Heidiwood' Line

The Boyfriend Jean Becomes the Newest Denim Craze Thanks to Katie Holmes

Rock & Republic Debuts Their Makeup Line

Juicy Couture Sues Victoria's Secret in Trademark Dispute

Women Everywhere Discover that e.l.f. Cosmetics Sell All Items for $1!


Stay tuned for more of TalkingShopping's Top Headlines of '08 over the next few days and welcome a new year with the whole TS gang!