If you don’t receive their emails, do sign up already: theirs are one of the few I actually open.

Desperate time call for desperate measures. Don’t believe me? Check your Inbox.

• Barneys lures (effectively, in my case) with ‘PRIVATE SALE STARTS TODAY! + Complimentary Shipping’
• The Discover Store tries to put immediate pressure to buy with time-sensitive subjects like: ‘20% Off Site-wide Secret Sale Ends Soon!’
• BCBG begs customers with ‘50% Off Winter Sale Continues - Plus Free Shipping Offer!

And the list goes on and on and on and on…and will continue to (so make a mental note in case you haven’t already - DO NOT buy anything at full price right now because in a day it will be discounted). But what really takes the cake are the messages sent out to anyone a marketing team can get an email for that are meant to be tender, heartfelt personal letters directly from big company CEOs, founders, whatevers, to us (the little people) that practically beg for our business but mask it with unending inspiration (Don’t know what I’m talking about? Click the link below for a recent example). Needless to say, I find these incredibly annoying and insulting - I mean, even the design on these emails is usually very poor. Like I’m seriously going to shop more at some store because some poor copywriter was made to stay an extra 3 hours one night drafting this bullshit that some poor graphic designer clearly didn’t care about either. No, not at all.

If these business really want my business then they should offer better product selection, control their marketing people so we are sent a reasonable amount of communicative messages, check their own egos, and think about what consumers what - honestly the “75% off New Styles Hand Delivered Right to Your Door!” emails are a million times more inspirational than the ones that try too hard to be ‘real’ and personal.

I’m more than slightly obsessed with my email and check it constantly from the moment I wake up around 7:45 am until I fall asleep somewhere around 2 am. All I can say is that I’ve been opting out of a lot of email programs lately.

We are lucky, lucky people.

Obama won (woo-hoo!) and now, Abaeté (a forever-favorite label of mine) is having is having it’s seasonal sample sale tomorrow. And you know what that means ladies…

40-60% savings on a bevy of beautiful dresses, amazing coats, sexy skirts, and great easy tees usually found in Bergdorf, Saks, and Bendels. Lots of styles - especially in sizes 4 and 6.

Thursday, 11/6 | 11am-7pm
Friday, 11/7 | 11am-7pm
Saturday, 11/8 | 12pm-6pm

560 Broadway, Suite 509 (at Prince Street in SoHo)
Trains: R/W to Prince | B/D/F/V to Broadway/Lafayette
credit cards and cash gladly accepted

Want to know more about Abaeté?
See my review of the Spring ‘09 Collection, a trend alert, and see how the label contributed greatly to my personal style.

I know, I know - how can I think about shopping in these tough times?
Well, that’s just the kind of woman I am. And hey, new recession = more sales for you and I

Prada does everything right. This morning (even with a head-splitting hangover), I managed to make it to the fabulous Prada sample sale.

This is by far the most organized, clean, peaceful sample sale I have ever been to - and certainly worth the trek over to 609 west 51st street (which is all the way on the west side between 11th and 12th avenues).

There is lots and lots of amazing stuff from fall ‘07 (including a coat I’m just dying for that’s marked down from something around $3000 to a mere $675), and practically everything from the drop-dead gorgeous resort ‘08 and spring ‘08 collections.

There are no handbags, some shoes, tons of women’s dresses, jackets and coats; there is also very little for men (other than some absolutely absurd abominable snowman-inspired wooly jackets). There are also some decent Miu Miu pieces.

The sale continues through next Saturday and I highly recommend you check it out. I’m sure I’ll be dreaming about it all tonight…*sigh*

PRADA Sample Sale
Saturday, Oct 18th through Saturday Oct 25th
9am to 7pm
609 West 51st St | 7th Floor | NYC

No appointment necessary. Lots of women’s clothing, some shoes, and a bit for the fellas…Credit cards only.

UPDATE: For news on the sample sale (what you’ll find, what you won’t, etc.) see here…

…and now, a ray of sunshine for our beloved yet beat-up New York:

Hermes Sample Sale

Wed. 9/24, 10am-6pm
Thurs. 10am-8pm
Fri.-Sat. 10am-6pm
Sun. 9/28, 1-6pm

Metropolitan Pavilion
125 W. 18th St. 4th Fl (6th/7th Ave)

Shop bags, scarves, ties, home collectibles, ready-to-wear, etc. and have fun!

UPDATE: Today around 11:30am we walked over to the Hermes sample sale and what did we see? Millions of scarves? Hundreds of ties? No. We didn’t see any Hermes at all - we simply saw a huge line of well-dressed fashionistas. Stretching down W. 18th St, up 6th Ave, blocking the entrance to the Container Store, and then curving around W. 19th St. were girls and boys patiently waiting in line while proudly displaying their classic ‘H’ belts and clacking away on their blackberries.

It was a sight to behold, but not something we really felt like being a part of (it’s true that I waited in line for my iPhone, but I’ve got enough Hermes to satisfy me for the time being). So what did we do instead? We waited in another line - at the Shake Shack. That’s right - we did not wait for Hermes but we waited for double cheeseburgers and fries.

Learn a bit about Hermes’ famous Birkin and Kelly bags here.

Yesterday for lunch we made a run to the big Intermix sale at the Metropolitan Pavillion. It was definitely larger than we had anticipated and as soon as you walk in you are greeted by the designer collections on the left - lots of Chloe, Stella McCartney, some Helmut Lang, Zac Posen, etc.

I spotted a lone Thakoon dress that I obsessed about last fall, a bunch of gorgeous Stella sweaters, all of the ‘it’ Chloe dresses of this and seasons past…and then I spotted something extraordinary.

Rummaging through the racks, my hand fell upon a lightly waxed trench coat. No label, no price, no info - just a stunning coat created with careful draping and yards and yards of fabric. I couldn’t help but pick it up and haul it into the dressing room along with my other finds including high-waisted jeans from Earnest Sewn and a little silk romper.

The dressing room was exactly what you’re expecting - a bunch of girls stripping and clothing thrown all over the floor. I started with the Thakoon dress, which was of course too large (a girl can dream) and then moved along too the jeans. The fit was terrific, but flattened out things in back a bit too much so I moved on to the trench, which I knew I was going to love.

The trench was perfect. A little beat up, but perfect nonetheless. I twirled in the dressing room and knew it was going to cost too much, but took it to the counter and waited for the girls to give me a price. They said it was Lanvin, originally around $3,000 and that I could buy it for $700. After a bit of investigating back at the office, I discovered it was from the Spring 2005 Runway. I didn’t buy it because I already have a trench coat (and one I love) and because we need to buy a new couch, but I’m sad that I don’t own it since I’d wear it forever and love it always. Too bad I don’t still charge up a storm or that beauty would be mine…and now I need a trench to protect me from my own tears of sorrow!!

Anyway, go and get your own freak on (and if you see the Lanvin Trench think of me):
Intermix Sample Sale
Aug. 26-28. Tues.-Thurs.
9 a.m.-8 p.m.
Metropolitan Pavilion
110 W 19th Street (6th/7th Ave)

There was a tornado warning issued today for Manhattan - how crazy is that?!
The weather was so crazy this afternoon that I actually shivered while running through the pounding rain from the West Village to Washington Square Park…thank goodness I decided against wearing my suede Miu Miu Mary Janes this morning!