Last Sunday, I took a cursory look around the fall fashions in and around Union Square in San Francisco. Union Square is bordered by a gigantic Macy's on one side, a Saks Fifth Avenue on the opposite side, Neiman Marcus one corner and a string of designer boutiques and mall store brands (the ginormous Bloomingdales and Nordstrom are located on Market Street in the Westfield mall).
Fall, as I would assume for other clothes horses, is the favorite season of the year for clothes and accessories. The September issues of Vogue, W, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, and In Style prove this point.
Walking around Macy's, Neiman Marcus and Saks brought me practically to tears with all the beautiful clothes. I was in heaven. There were so many beautiful pieces--too many for me to list here. For example, at Macy's West (while I'm not fond of Macy's, the store has among the largest selection of contemporary designers), I found a beautiful Nanette Lepore winter coat called the Mystery Coat in an ivory color. Though I might not have much of an opportunity to wear such a heavy coat here in San Francisco, I still reveled in it's soft material and neat shape. There was also two great Just Cavalli skirts (both of which I had scoped out online at the Nordstrom web site): the Flipped Hem Satin Skirt--to die for--and the High Waist Pencil Skirt, which I think Macy's had in a dark navy.
Next up, was Saks Fifth Avenue. I made a bee line for the top floor where the contemporary labels are sold as I did my very best to ignore the designer ready-to-wear brands knowing too well they were way out of my budget.
Once there, I began browsing the sections for Theory and my favorite brand: Elie Tahari. I plucked a nice Elie Tahari pencil skirt in black to try on and then came across a beautiful box pleat skirt from Milly that I also took for the changing room. Lastly, I grabbed an Alice + Olivia belted pencil skirt with a patent leather belt. The Elie Tahari skirt fit well, but was a bit too similar to my other pencil skirts. The Alice + Oliva skirt didn't fit well much to my displeasure.
Finally, I tried on the Milly Skirt and stood glaring at myself in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror outside the dressing room as I pondered coordinating it with my wardrobe. I hadn't previously considered a full skirt, but after trying it on, began to come around. I knew the skirt would work well with my Louboutin Rolando's as I recalled a Chevy ad that featured Fergie wearing red patent Rolandos with a super-cute full skirt in purple.
I had almost gave into my instant gratification when told the salesperson helping me that I first needed to find an appropriate top to wear with it. And, I knew exactly where I would find such a top: Anne Fontaine.
I spent the next half-hour to an hour an Anne Fontaine on Grant Street browsing the fall collection and trying on two different tops. The first was deep V-cut cardigan sweater with ruffle trim in this season's color of violet with a matching camisole. This time, I had no will power. I just had to have it--I just had to. The second was a pull-over shirt with a double colllar and cuffs, which comes in both black and white. I wanted the white, but the store lacked my size, so I gave the salesperson my contact info (I know what I'm buying come payday).
Then, I trekked back to Saks to see the Milly skirt that the sales staff held for me. I compared the two items on the counter without trying it on. The pieces coordinated well. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, my sixth sense for style came through for me yet again. Add this skirt to my next paycheck as well.
Following this victory, I went to Neiman Marcus and meandered my way through the racks of contemporary selections on the third floor of what used to be the former City of Paris department store in San Francisco. Fortunately, I didn't find anything that triggered my implusive purchase disorder.
Next up: Bloomingdales (a great Elie Tahari section) and Nordstrom.
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