Category Archives: News

GET THE LOOK: OBAMA OUTERWEAR

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Pantone may have declared 2013 as the year of emerald, but we have a feeling that purple—from lavender to grape and every shade in between—will be popping up everywhere this year, thanks to the stylish First Family’s sartorial choices during Monday’s inaugural ceremony.

Channeling true American royalty in a trio of perfectly-coordinated purple jackets, Sasha, 11 (in a violet Kate Spade New York coat), Malia, 14 (donning a J.Crew jacket and merlot infinity scarf) and FLOTUS Michelle Obama (in a checkered Thom Browne topper with eggplant gloves) looked tailored to perfection during Monday’s daytime festivities. Inspired, Shopilly set out to find the perfect purple pieces to add to our own cold-weather wardrobes this season. Learn how to get the look, and tell us what you think of the Obamas’ inauguration style below.

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MALIA OBAMA

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Malia opted for J.Crew’s double cloth lady day coat in fresh plum ($325, take an extra 40% off all sale items), crafted of luxe Italian wool and lined with cozy Thinsulate for an extra layer of warmth against the East Coast freeze. We also found this luxe fuchsia stunner by Chloe ($900 at Farfetch.com) which we think is the perfect pop of color over cocktail dresses and eveningwear.  For a more affordable everyday option, snag a wild cherry topper by Merona ($41.98 at Target) to channel the spirit of the older Obama sib.

SASHA OBAMA

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While Sasha’s custom Kate Spade New York coat isn’t available for purchase, we found a handful of violet delights that may tickle your fancy. DKNY’s darling double-breasted jacket (on sale for $129.99 at Lord & Taylor), Delia’s Devin peacoat ($59.50, score free shipping until Thursday!) and Via Spiga’s belted trench ($111.99 at Lord & Taylor) are a few plum options—all under $150, to boot!

MICHELLE OBAMA

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As for the most stylish First Lady since Jackie Kennedy? Get Michelle Obama’s sleek, sophisticated look by pairing a dark checkered jacket, such as John Richmond’s plaid wool topcoat ($1,475)  or Tory Burch’s tartan jacket ($548.16, both available at Farfetch.com) with black stovepipe skinnies and leather boots. Or opt for Christopher Kane’s lovely leopard style ($1,078 at thecorner.com), perfect for cinching with an embellished belt.

IT’S HERE: JASON WU FOR NORDSTROM!

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We’re huge (HUGE) fans of fashion designer Jason Wu, who has dressed everyone from actress Michelle Williams to First Lady Michelle Obama in his luxe, ultra feminine designs. So you can imagine our delight when his latest collection, Miss Wu—a darling 40-piece capsule of wallet-friendly dresses, separates and outerwear available exclusively at Nordstrom—hit the web earlier this week!

For the collection, Wu says that he was inspired by French New Wave and hip 60’s icons such as Marianne Faithfull and Penelope Tree, putting a cool, downtown spin on his signature sophisticated designs. “The look is gamine and mischievous in the spirit of those girls, but with a dressed up twist,” he told Instyle.com.

While price-points aren’t as low as the Target collection he did last spring (which sold out in hours), you can still snag a printed chiffon skirt for a reasonable $275 or a well turned out trench for under $600.

Take a look at the Miss Wu Lookbook below for the full collection, currently available for pre-order at Nordstrom.com, and tell us your favorites. (This spotted black and white shift makes our hearts skip a beat!)

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Photos from Nordstrom.com.

Shopilly: a (short) retrospective

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Shopilly

It’s hard to believe it, but a new year is upon us. Before we close the door on 2012 and leap into 2013, we want to take a moment to look back and reflect on what we’ve accomplished at Shopilly in the past few months.

Shopilly officially launched in October to good press reviews from NBC News, San Francisco Chronicle and Fast Company. NBC singled us out as “the most-promising and spiffiest” of online services designed for the brand communications experience. Netted by the Webbys captured our essence well with its headline “Outside the Inbox – Turn Marketing Emails into an E-Boutique with Shopilly.”

That was great since Founder and CEO Anirban Datta has focused on visuals and design to create a better shopping experience for consumers. But his vision goes far beyond a better type of email to allow people to create their own personalized brand network for discovering and accessing the latest offers, promotions and new arrivals in a beautifully designed interface.

He also takes inspiration from the way we all create and share personalized music and TV show playlists:

“Like music and TV shows, there is something innately personal about shopping, and there is also a lot to discover out there based on our interests, social influences and editorial curations,” he said.

And so – Shopilly brings these capabilities to the world of shopping.

Shopilly is still developing and improving, but we’re pretty excited about the features we’ve released so far:

  • Visual inbox: View promotional emails from the retailers you’ve given your email address to in an organized visual inbox. Promotional emails never looked so beautiful.
  • Window shopping: That’s right, we took window shopping virtual. Shopilly allows you to browse deals and offers from retailers in a variety of categories, including Shoes & Bags, Sports & Outdoors and Home & Décor.
  • Follow: Not the leader, but your favorite brands. Shopilly collects and saves the latest offers, promotions and new arrivals of your favorite brands on Brand Pages so that you don’t have to do the hunting yourself. That means that you can streamline your shopping by checking a specific Brand Page before you shop online or visit its store.
  • Editorial Picks: Every day, the Shopilly editors are hard at work hand-selecting deals for you. Keep up with their editorial picks in the Home tab of your Shopilly account.

But that’s not all! We’re working on mobile apps that allow you to access your favorite Shopilly features – the latest brand offers, promotions and your shopping receipts – on the go.

We welcome any and all feedback from you as you test out our service. Building Shopilly is all about providing you with the best possible shopping experience – offline and on, so please let us know how we are doing.

As 2013 rolls in, we look forward to another great year with you!

-The Shopilly Team

Essentials for Hosting an Election Night Watch Party

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Once every four years, politics is granted the same amount of excitement as a Super Bowl – and for good reason, as presidential candidates duke it out in a winner-takes-all contest on the national stage.

Tomorrow night, the world will be watching as the results come pouring in for the 2012 presidential election. With early polls showing that this election could go to either party, you won’t want to miss out on all of the action. Gather your good friends and these essentials for an election night watch party:

  • Festive decorations: No watch party is complete without decorations like tissue patriotic bunting or mini American flags.
  • State result tracker: Don’t lose track of the voting results – note them on a whiteboard or mark them on a map in real-time.
  • Patriotic-themed food: Celebrate American democracy with some red, white and blue treats. Serve them on colored plates, like these Sur La Table Terracotta Solid Tapas Plates, and check out this PBS feature for patriotic food ideas.
  • Drinks: Whip up some festive cocktails like red cosmos and blue martinis to accompany your patriotic-themed food. And to help your guests party into the wee hours of the morning, good coffee is a necessity – especially if this election is as close as predicted. Bouchon Bakery House Blend Coffee is a good pick (available via Williams Sonoma).
  • Support apparel: Wear your support with pride – assuming that all of the guests at your party have the same views. You wouldn’t want your party to turn into (yet another) heated debate, after all! Amazon.com has plenty of options for Obama supporters, Romney supporters…and everyone in between.
         

Photo credits: williams-sonoma.com, amazon.com

Running Gear Fit for a Marathoner

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In six short days, 47,000 runners will gather at Ford Wadsworth, Staten Island, and prepare to run 26.2 miles through the five boroughs of New York City. The ING New York City Marathon is one of the largest marathons in the world, and it’s hard not to get caught up in the excitement as runners from all over the world gather to crank out the miles.

In the spirit of the marathon, let’s take a look at the latest gear for the Fall to Winter running season. Whether you’re an avid runner, casual runner or aspiring runner, here are five pieces that will keep you warm on those crisp morning runs:

  1. Lululemon Runder Under Pant, $92. These running tights are designed with a runner’s needs in mind. The waistband has two gel pockets for on-the-go fuel, flat seams provide relief from chafing, and reflective piping inside the ankle cuff keeps you visible on early morning or late night runs.
  2. Under Armour Men’s Coldgear Longsleeve Compression Crew, $49.99. Cold weather calls for layers, and this compression crew can serve as a solid base layer. The compression fit provides enhanced muscle support, and the dual-layer fabric features a cozy, brushed interior and a fast-drying exterior.
  3. The North Face Handheld Hydrator, $28. It’s easy to forget to hydrate properly when you can see your breath in the air, but dehydration is dangerous, even when you hardly break a sweat during your run. Carry this handheld water bottle with you on your runs — not only does it hold 20 ounces of water, but the convenient zip pocket can hold your keys, gels or emergency cash.
  4. Nike Lightweight Wool Running Hat, $22. Keep your noggin warm with this Dri-FIT hat, which does double duty by locking in heat but sicking away sweat. Additionally, reflective details help make you visible even in dim conditions.
  5. Smartwool PhD Running Ultra Light Micro Socks, $47 for a 3-pack (via Zappos.com). Runners agree that these Smartwool socks provide just the right amount of cushion for long runs, without feeling bulky. Although the socks are ultra light, the SmartWool performs well under all weather conditions, so you can tackle cold, wet runs and humid, sticky runs with the same pair.

Photo credits: shop.lululemon.com, thenorthface.com, zappos.com

Kate Spade Saturday

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Kate Spade, one of my favorite brands, will be launching a new line called Saturday. I’m so curious to see what this ‘Saturday’ is all about. I’m guessing it will be super chic, casual weekend garb and I can’t wait to see it.  Then I read the small print, it won’t be available until SPRING 2013!?  After a tiny pause, I signed up at Saturday.com to be in the know (6 months in advance!) realizing that using my Shopilly email makes this stuff a no brainer.