Internet Shopping 2.0

Anthropologie unveiled a new Adorned microsite which is a surreal garden of visual delight. If you can imagine what an Anthropologie themed video game would look like, this is it. The design, the planning, the production that went into this microsite must have been pretty colossal. Anthropologie took internet shopping to a whole new - very surreal, quite fantastic, totally innovative, a tad creepy, quite engaging and completely mesmerizing - new level. The whole thing feels like retail science fiction. Is this is the future of Internet shopping ?
Being that Anthropologie is known for their original display design and props, it's only logical that some of this "display design" has made it into their website.
The mini site consists of five themes;

WONDERLAND

This one's my favorite. Gorgeous accessories combined with gorgeous graphics. The song "Puff the magic dragon" comes to mind.

MASTERPIECE

Uses streaming video as a way to display artsy accessories on live (very spaced out, staring into nowhere, occasionally blinking) models. The silence of the video, the solid background and the blank expressions on the faces of the models has a a bit of a 'solitary confinement in the insane asylum' feel to it. Yes, I get it, she's a work of art. Creepy.

PAS de DEUX

Suddenly I'm in the mood for some tango. Remember the Besame Mucho scene from Great Expectations?

LOOK CLOSER

Has the feel of peering through a telescope into the Milky Way. At first scattered Anthropologie bric-a-brac appears dispersed on the white background, and 'click', you can zoom in closer, much much closer. Whoah I want that clutch closer! Look closely please, can you see my name on it?

This Tooled Leather Clutch is what I imagine carrying if a fairy godmother was sending me to a ball.

SPECTRA
Catch those flying shoes!

When they put it this way, I don't nearly have enough shoes or bags. Darn it I'm jealous of Anthropologie's employee discount.

Adorned

Anthropologie does know how to tempt a girl. ADORNED accessories catalog arrived in the mail today, what a treat!

Spearmint Tote

Make-Believe Tote - $588
Yaiks! Are the demographics of an Anthropologie customer moving up?
Chockablock boots - $348

Kisslock Tote - $188
Every kisslock bag I've ever owned was tiny. I love that this tote has the gorgeous retro shape while at the same time being plenty roomy for all those 300 things I can't leave home without. The price tag is a bit intimidating, hope this tote is still around for my birthday.

Scalloped Spat Boots - $298
Continental Clip Boots - $298

Portraiture Wrap - $48
So lovely and feminine. As always, I'm a total sucker for anything aqua.

Anthropologie Challenged

Let me start you off with a riddle:

Alabama has two, Alaska has none.

What is it? ...Don't know? Ok, I'll give a hint, it starts with an A.

You got it, Anthropologie! That's right two stores in Alabama and not one in Alaska. Big surprise there. (Can Alaska be technically considered a real state without an Anthropologie store?)

Since we're on the topic of words that begin with an 'A', how about some other fun ones.

Abstinence. Abstinence is very popular in Alaska.
Abortion. Abortions are just so Antiquated.

B-words anyone? - B is for Bristol.
Bristol's Been a Bit Bad...
Bristol does not like Abstinence.

Really though, I couldn't care less what Bristol Palin chooses to do with her life. Gosh, she's just seventeen. She's a kid; kids make mistakes. (I wish her 'mistake' turns out to be healthy and cute.)
With all the Buzz lately about the Republican VP nominee, Sarah Palin, and her being a woman and all, (a real lady - she can skin a moose, you know) with five children, I was beginning to feel left out being the only female blogger not having discussed her, hence I decided to throw my two cents in.

If only we can have a vice president (or a president for that matter), parading around in the ensembles above, wouldn't the world be a better place (geez I just pictured Obama wearing this stuff, not a good image). I think Palin is a hottie and Anthropologie should send her a complimentary wardrobe. Some fuzzy sweaters and frilly underwear should soften her up a bit. The question is, would she wear it?

Do comment with some more fun A-B words.

Swimwear Sale

Yippie! Athleta is having a major swimwear sale. You can get half a bathing suite starting at $19, whereas their original swimwear prices used to start at $49 for half of a bikini. As much as I dislike overspending, I did splurge on a full price Athleta bikini once and it's my favorite one. The quality is good and I love the colors. Athleta makes tons of mix and match pieces which is good for mummies like myself with something to hide :-).

As you can see I still can't part with summer. I just can't help myself. Summer is my favorite season and it flies by way too quickly in NY. What better way to properly say farewell to summer than to stock up on some sale swimwear. Folks at Athleta, if you'd like to thank me for the promo by sending me a free bathingsuite, you know where to find me. Happy Swimming!

It's Official, Fall Is Here!

September is upon us and you know what that means. Kids go back to school and mommies go back to Anthropologie to get themselves a little (Or big) reward for surviving the summer. Conveniently, the September Anthropologie catalog is not lacking in goodies.
The first story in the catalog looks like it might have been shot at the Guggenheim of Bilbao, though I'm not sure. On one hand, what kind of a catalog budget would Anthropologie need to have to shoot it in Spain? On the other hand they did shoot the March and April catalogs in Morocco so I wouldn't put it past them . If someone can positively identify this building, I'd really love to know. The second story's got some gorgeous clothes, oh and I do love the look of wheat fields. Elegant meets wholesome.
I don't know why this outfit made it into the catalog. She looks like she raided her grandfather's closet.

Ever read about color therapy? There should be a study made about Anthropologie therapy. Women go to Anthropologie for therapeutic reasons and husbands need therapy when they see the credit card bill.

Etsy Meets Anthropologie

While browsing on Etsy I found this backpack which is handmade out of Anthropologie placement napkins. Jenny Vella, the creator of this backpack also added some vintage lace to the body and straps. I love crafty people, they make life just a bit more exciting.

Toto, We're Not In NY Anymore

We just got back from a six day stay in Miami Beach and no, we didn't go there for a vacation. Husband and I went to Miami as a starting point of our "Need to move out of NY or die trying" tour. Since I'm a sick perfectionist in everything except housework, I'm sure finding just the right place to move will not be simple, but we decided to start with the warm places and move down the list. Anyhow, I won't bore you with all the particulars of our South Florida research. This post is dedicated solely to the Anthropologie store in Miami Beach. Funny enough, I wasn't even planing on looking for Anthropologie in Miami. It just wasn't on my "to do" list. My husband however was looking up local stores on the web and, bless his soul, looked up Anthropologie of his own accord. Turned out it was a seven minute drive from where we were staying. Naturally I was excited since I've never lived in such close proximity to Anthropologie.
The Anthropologie of Miami Beach had the familiar look, smell and sound, but it was like no Anthropologie I knew before.
There were no herds of frenzied shoppers (off season, I suppose). At any given point there were at most 6 ladies in the store which coming from NY made me feel like I had the whole place to my self. The salesgirls didn't look harassed. They were not running in five different directions with piles of clothes draped over their arms like the salesgirls in NY. They were leisurely folding frilly underwear and chatting amongst themselves (Can I get a job application please?!). I got out out my camera to take a few shots of the decor. Apparently hay is the newest thing in home decorating. Very economical too.
After I took a couple of shot one of the salesgirls approached me. She told me they don't allow picture taking in the store. I found this a bit weird since I've taken pictures in NY stores plenty of times before and no one ever seemed to mind. I asked her if it was an official store policy and she said yes. Why? Because Anthropology doesn't advertise, was her reply.
I could have told her that. What does advertising have to do with gushing? Somehow I've got the notion that Anthropologie doesn't object much to myself and like minded individuals gushing about how great it is, just according to this salesgirl the gushing cannot be supported by visuals (which I believe it absolutely must be). And so there you have it. Don't even think about giving Anthropologie free PR, they will not stand for it!

August Catalog

Here 's a little preview of my favorite pages from the August '08 catalog. These sweaters are beautiful, but as I've mentioned once before I'm not ready to let go of summer just yet and so I'd like to be in denial of such things as sweaters and coats.
This Rockrose Cardigan makes it a bit challenging to be in denial of the upcoming necessity of sweaters. I also really like the green version of it.

This peacock dinnerware is gorgeous!