Because I Said So

Because I Said So Has Moved!!!

surban — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 03:03:32 +0000

To all of my fashionable readers- this has been a long time coming (hence the downturn in recent posts) but Because I Said So has officially moved to a new domain!

Please Visit: www.BcISaidSo.com to read Because I Said So!

Or subscribe here!

I’m so excited for you to see the new format & look- but the same great writing

~BCISS

My Hypothesis on FitFlops

surban — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 01:28:40 +0000

I’ve been seeing more and more of FitFlops on the streets (yes, surprisingly even in NYC) and I’m not quite sure what I think about them. So I’m going to break it down in this post… If you own a pair- I really want to hear from someone who wears them- please email me or leave a comment!

Evidence/Research: Reviews on the FitFlop website that range from:

“After only a couple of weeks of wearing my new oasis fitflops, my hip felt like new!” – Amanda, NY

to…

“I can feel my muscles toning and baring bad weather I wear them in and out of the house and i am now pain free” – Kate, London

to…

“I went from a size four to a size two and for the first time in years I am wearing shorts!” - Irene, NY

So what I gather solely from these reviews, is that they ARE comfortable, they DO have some toning effects, and customers love them. Even the customer reviews on Amazon.com, (where FitFlop marketing can’t interfere with negative comments) were considerably high.

Croc Boot

The Results: In contrast to my hatred for Crocs, the style of FitFlops is not that bad if these shoes are comfortable and they really do what they say they do. Afterall, they are flip flops- they aren’t claiming to be a “shoe” or making ugly children’s rain boots just because some people are crazy enough to buy them. In fact, if FitFlops really are working, then I wish MORE people would wear them. The atrocious excuses for shoes that I see on my commute would be much better off if they were replaced with FitFlops.

Conclusion: I’m going to go ahead and say that FitFlops are going to gain a lot of attention and brand awareness (AKA: $$$) by next summer- especially with their Twitter presence and big city Ad Campaigns in New York and London. And to my own surprise- I’m going to tell you that it is not a sin to buy them. If I had any money at all to spend on an extra pair of non-Heels, I would try them myself. These are my top 2 picks:

WalkStar FitFlop in Tokyo Purple

Walkstar III FitFlop in Oyster

Launch Party for the Cole Haan Whitney Collection

surban — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 00:31:02 +0000

The Madison Avenue Cole Haan store was packed to the brims on Wednesday night when Guest of a Guest hosted the Cole Haan launch party for its new Whitney Collection. The collection is a trendy, urban line with some bright blues and purples in addition to the classic browns, blacks and grays that Cole Haan tends to carry. Blue and grey flats, heels with elastic bands, sporty leather hand bags, and studded accessories were standouts in the collection. These were some of my favorite pieces:

Cole Haan Launch Party for The Whitney Collection

Studded Heel and Belt

Totes from The Whitney Collection

Studded Hobo Bag from The Whitney Collection

Sporty Flats with Elastic Bands

Elastic Band Pumps

We have a winner!

surban — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 04:16:06 +0000

Judy from Minnesota won my ”friends don’t let friends use shampoo” contest! Judy will be receiving over $100 in Chaz Dean’s Wen products!

Dior Barbie

surban — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:25:09 +0000

Am I the only one who had flashbacks of the original Barbie from 1959 when I saw this little Dior Couture number?

Dior Couture & Original Barbie

Quick Q&A: Wedding Wear

surban — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:45:16 +0000

Q: @BrandiHeinz I need advice on wedding and rehearsal dresses that aren’t too much $ – everything is skanky or juvenile!

A: Luckily, with the economy in such a poor state, it isn’t too hard to find a nice dress for less. I have gathered some dresses under $150 and thrown in some tips!

Things to look for:

Patterns, Ruffles, Florals
Appropriate Lengths
Strapless, interesting necklines or single shouldered dresses
Day to night versatility- some of these dresses could work for both the rehearsal dinner and the wedding- not that you’d wear it for both, but weddings do tend to be day to night affairs and knowing you CAN wear it again is great!

Suzi Chin for Maggy Boutique

Calvin Klein

These first two dresses were on Nordstrom.com. Nordstrom has an excellent “Dress Shop” with easy search functionality that allows you to find a dress for your shape, the right occasion, or by price, etc. The first is a Suzi Chin for Maggie Boutique single shouldered dress. It is definitely a statement dress, but if you dress it up with some nice earrings and a not-too-tall heel, it won’t be too outrageous.

Suzi Chin for Maggie Boutique
$148 Nordstrom.com

The Little Black Dress! The go to dress for every “what do I wear?” occasion. This Calvin Klein dress is classic and on-trend with its sheer lace overlay. This particular dress also has a sexy cut out back. You WILL want to wear it again!

Calvin Klein
$118 Nordstrom.com

Playful but Pretty

These trendy dresses would be perfect for the rehearsal dinner (unless the brides parents are reallly uptight)! The colorful dresses send out a cheerful tone and the black and white tunic can be dressed up with colorful but classy accessories (no cheap plastic bangles)!

Mink Pink one shouldered ruffle strap dress, $101 Chickdowntown.com
Moulinette Souers buttoned water color dress, $148 Anthropologie
BCBG Split Neck printed dress, $138 Macys.com

Mink Pink

Anthropologie

BCBG

Patterned for the Party
Pick a pattern or floral print this summer! While patterns can seem intimidating for those who usually stick to solids or stripes, they can be very flattering if you find the right fit- so go ahead and try a few on…

Strapless floral dress, $22.80 Forever21.com
BCBG Printed Sleeveless Dress, $96.60 BCBG.com
Nine West floral scoop neck dress, $134 Macys.com

Forever21

BCBG

NineWest

Max & Cleo

Kensie

Overstock.com
Overstock.com requires some good searching skills, but their prices are great for the brands that they offer!
Max & Cleo ruffle dress, $69.99 Overstock.com
Kensie Pleated sheath dress, $74.99 Overstock.com

Friends Don’t Let Friends Use Shampoo (+ giveaway!)

surban — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:23:23 +0000

One of celebrity stylist Chaz Dean‘s mottos is “friends don’t let friends use shampoo.” If you haven’t already heard about Chaz Dean’s products (or read about them in my previous posting), now is the time to discover the difference between your current hair products and Chaz Dean’s Wen products.

Why?
Chaz just released a new product- Volumizing Treatment Spray. Adding to his extensive line of cleansing conditioners, body cleansing cremes, styling products and lotions, the Lavender Volumizing Treatment Spray came at the request of his many avid customers and celebrity clients (let’s just say he refers to Nicollette Sheridan as “Nicky”). The Volumizing Treatment Spray was designed for use on wet OR dry hair, and can be used for volume and as a finishing spray in place of hairspray. I know- it doesn’t sound possible… but it is! I had the pleasure of meeting Chaz and got a run down of his entire line of Wen products. The theory behind the entire Wen line was to ditch the harsh detergents and chemicals in your current products that cause color fading/stripping, frizz, and dry hair, and use natural, environmentally safe products that make your hair beautiful while keeping it healthy! I have been using the Lavender Volumizing Treatment Spray for a few weeks now and I love it! My hair feels thicker and never falls flat at the end of the day anymore!

To celebrate this great new product, I am giving away a set of Wen products to one lucky reader- valued at over $100!

Win over $100 of Wen Products

Here’s what I’m giving away!

Wen Tea Tree Nourishing Body Lotion
Wen Tea Tree Cleansing Creme
Wen Lavender Cleansing Conditioner (My other favorite! Leaves your hair baby soft and super smooth)
Wen Lavender Styling Creme
Wen fig-scented Candle
Oh, and I threw in some hair bands : )

HOW TO ENTER

1. For 1 entry into the giveaway: Simply leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite hair product is and why- even if it isn’t a Chaz Dean product! Be sure to leave your name and an e-mail address so I can contact you if you win!

2. For an additional entry, Tweet about this giveaway with a link back to this post (http://bit.ly/HU5mg) and @BCISS in the tweet for your entry to count!

Please have all entries in by Midnight on Friday, July 10 (Eastern time). I will announce the winner on Monday July 13. Regardless of whether you win or not- all Wen products can be found on www.ChazDean.com!

Good luck!

BCISS

A Quick Swimwear Q & A

surban — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 03:30:20 +0000

Q: I need to find a bathing suit (online) for this weekend. Any good suggestions??? I have looked all over the stores and cant find anything. Victoria Secret was my best hit but wondering if there are other good stores out there…

A: These are a few of my favorite sites for suits…

Figleaves.com Favorite Brands on the Site: Vitamin A & Figleaves Swim

Everything But Water Favorite Brands on the Site: Vix & Carmen Marc Valvo

InStyle Swimwear Favorite Brands on the Site: Salinas & Michael Kors

Molly Brown Swimwear Although I have never used this site, it features many of the Sports Illustrated suits. My Favorite Brands on the Site: Letarte & Despi

: Salinas

: Carmen Marc Valvo

: Vitamin A

: Michael Kors

: Letarte

: Figleaves Swim

: Despi

Urban Outfitters is Smart

surban — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:33:23 +0000

I use my iPhone to browse e-tailers all of the time and it is painful waiting for pages to load and to find the correct zoom and scroll methods to see each item I am interested in! Here to save the day- Urban Outfitters has launched a mobile e-commerce site, m.urbanoutfitters.com. The site is designed specifically for use on a mobile device.

This is great news, but it raises one question- What is every other retailer waiting for? Even WWD could only list a handful of other retailers utilizing mobile shopping sites, such as Polo Ralph Lauren, Sears, SVC and Amazon.

I say retailers should spend less time on Twitter strategies and more time getting some mobile stores going!

AE Studios Launch

surban — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:30:51 +0000

Juan Carlos Pinto, "Zebra"

AE Studios in Long Island City, Queens held a launch party on Saturday night in collaboration with Arte News Publishing Magazine. The evening opened with an art exhibit and ended with a fashion show of up and coming designers.

With almost a dozen great artists on exhibit, my favorite artist was Juan Carlos Pinto. He showed a collection of mosaic pieces made out of Metro Cards like the one pictured on the right, titled “Zebra.”

The fashion show opened with Lola’s Rags, a collection of vintage-inspired lingerie by designer Lourdes Urriola, also known as Raquel. The elegant robes, bralets, and bottoms flowed beautifully down the runway in pastel shades of pink and green. The designs came in a variety of cuts, each with its own unique flair. The looks were complete with handmade jewelry from Harlow in Chains and gorgeous 20′s style hair accessories from Esperanza NYC.

Lola's Rags

Natalini was next, with a collection of classic accessories paired with black outfits.

The last designer was Sonu Dullo, showing the latest collection from her line, Saya. The collection is contemporary with Indian influences and fabrics. Balmain-esque, fitted mini dresses were the highlight of the collection- beautiful from both the front and the back, with intricate details and open-backed cuts.

Saya