Diamond Jubilee Sales Honor Queen Elizabeth with Savings

Celebrations for the Queen of England's Diamond Jubilee (60 years) are in full swing as the British Commonwealth celebrates with sales, celebrations and souvenirs to laud the stalwart Queen.  In her later years the Queen hasn't seemed to care that much about fashion, but in her younger years she wore some amazing clothes and of course jewelry.  If you're interested in some deals on British fashion to celebrate the Queen check out these deals for the Jubilee.

The OutNet is offering up to 70 % off British designers with savings on rock star designers like Alexander McQueen , Stella McCartney, Burberry, Christoper Kane, Vivienne Westwood and Victoria Beckham.  The fashions are not necessarily cheap but they are much less that retail.

ASOS is having a Jubilee Weekender sale with savings of 2o%  off Kate Middleton favorites like Whistles and French Connection. You can also celebrate with free Do It Yourself crowns from the ASOS website.

Also, check out Laura Ashley and VERY.com for deals.  For many British brands it's time to share the Jubilee via some good deals.

Diamond Jubilee Sales Honor Queen Elizabeth with Savings

New Bing: Search for Deals with Input from Friends

Search Engine, excuse me, decision engine, Bing officially launched a new look today.  They have a new interface on Bing that connects your search to a sidebar on the right nav bar that displays what your Facebook friends are saying.  This can be a useful tool if you are searching for the best deals.  After all, who wants to spend money on something that isn't any good? Not me.  With the new Bing features, you can search for a restaurant, and then find out if your friends like it or think its a good deal, so long as you are logged into your Facebook account from Bing.  Here's how the interface looks when I search on one of my favorite restaurants, Cecconi's, in West Hollywood.

Pictured: The New Bing Search and Facebook friends integration, plus Bing Rewards.

As you can see, when I search on the restaurant, Bing displays my  Facebook friends' restaurant recommendations on the right sidebar.  Have any of you tried searching with new Bing yet? Another interesting feature of Bing is the searching for deals. You can search daily deals and check out www.bing.com/shopping for featured specials and savings. The deal search results are visually displayed so you can see your options clearly.   If you use Bing, leave a comment and let me know what you think. If you search on Bing regularly, do sign up for Bing rewards because you also earn points that you can use to shop with.  We love those points for free stuff here at The Recessionista!

New Bing: Search for Deals with Input from Friends

A Good Sale on Jeans: More Exciting than Sex?

Last year I was amazed by the finding of a  study conducted by People StyleWatch. They polled 2,000 women ages 18 to 29 and found that 48% of women are more excited getting jeans on sale than having sex.  What does that mean? There are more jeans on sale! :) Because more women are excited to buy them at good prices, knowing they will get a lot of wear out of them.  Although we are heading into Summer Lucky Brand jeans just started their big jeans/denim sale.   It used to be that fall was more the time that you saw good sales on jean, but in the recession, there are ongoing sales on jeans and denim.  The Lucky sale features jeans for mean, women & children.  If you are shopping for Father's days, this is a good time to pick up some jeans for Dad.

A Good Sale on Jeans: More Exciting than Sex?

Requiem for a Burning Birkin: Tyler Shields Offers to Give One Family in Need $100,000

Pictured: Non flaming Hermes bags at Sequels Boutique in Beverly Hills (photo M. Hall)

Huffington Post published an interview with photographer Tyler Shields today about his Birkin Chain Saw Massacre photoshoot.  It's pretty silly stuff. Under questioning and prompting from the interviewer Artifino, Shields offered to donate $100,000 USD to one family in need to squelch the public outcry over the burning.   Of course, in order to make the donation, Mr. Shields has some conditions, mainly he has to sell his photos. "If somebody wants to buy one of the Birkin photos, I will donate $100,000 -- not to a charity -- but to a family. I will give one family in need $100,000 cash, tax-free" said Shields.  It'll be interesting to see if that happens. Much more interesting than say a flaming red luxury bag.  What do you think readers? Will a family in need really benefit because of this not so fashionable burning at the stake?  What a public relations debacle.

Requiem for a Burning Birkin: Tyler Shields Offers to Give One Family in Need $100,000

Gilt Groupe Special Pre-Sale of the Banana Republic Trina Turk Collection

 The new Trina Turk collection for Banana Republic is on pre-sale today at Gilt Groupe.  The collection from the Los Angeles based designer is not due in stores until next week (June 7th), but Gilt has first dibbs on the collection. The sale is open for the next 24 hrs on the online shopping site, and if you're not already a member, you can use my invite to join Gilt Groupe and shop the sale.  Trina Turk for Banana Republic features nearly 60-pieces of women’s apparel, accessories, swim and lifestyle items.  This is a perfect collection for summer, with Trina's trademark colorful prints on display to great effect.  It may sell as briskly as the Mad Man collection and by the looks of the Gilt sale, things are already selling out. The colorful dresses are simply gorgeous for summer.

Pictured: An advance look at the Trina Turk for Banana Republic collection launching in June.

If you're in Los Angeles, look for a  specialTrina Turk opening party at the Grove on June 8th.

Gilt Groupe Special Pre-Sale of the Banana Republic Trina Turk Collection

The Recessionista Reviews Macy's Fashion Star Collection

Pictured: Two of the new dresses from the Macy's Fashion Star Collection. (photos: M. Hall)

If any of you have been watching the Fashion Star show on TV, and then going to the store to look for the clothes, then you know that off the TV runway, the clothing is a mixed of the good and the fugly. I've liked some of the H&M dresses, especially the Ronnie Blue Deep-V Open Back Emma Dress  from week 8. I bought that dress, and it looks so classy, and much more expensive than the H&M $39.99 price tag. Sadly, the Macy's dresses in the Kara Laricks collection (see photos above) are underwhelming.  The Lauren Plaid shift dress on the left reminds me of Halloween with it's orange and black colors. That dress is priced at $79.99 which is way too expensive for what I saw hanging on the rack.  I felt the same way about the black sleeveless Lauren dress with the colorful red, black and tan circle lining.  Have any of you see this collection is stores?  Is it a must have or a meh. I say a meh. For me, it's a complete non-event, all TV marketing hype that doesn't translate to the finished garments.  Too bad, because I think Kara Laricks is talented. 

The Recessionista Reviews Macy's Fashion Star Collection

Topshop's Affordable Little Black Dress: The Flippy Dress

Pictured: Topshop has the perfect LBD in their flippy dress for $40.00 US

Recently I was reminded of the value of having a great little black dress (LBD) in the closet in case of an unexpected event or evening out. Everyone needs a great , affordable little black dress that they can throw on at a moments notice. That's why I have to tell you all about the Topshop Flippy Dress.  This dress is designed in a flattering style with tailored panels at the sides. The fitted drop waist and the full, flippy hemline treamlines the figure. The style issubtle and understatedly sexy.  Even more sexy is the $40.00 US price tag.  This dress is availble from Topshop and ships internationally. It's top rated by Topshop customers with over 60 favorable reviews and it's machine washable.  That makes it one of The Recessionista's Top Picks. The dress also comes in Rose. 

Topshop's Affordable Little Black Dress: The Flippy Dress