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| Pictured: Inside the racks of designer deals at Sequels Beverly Hills |
A short distance from the high-priced shops on Rodeo Drive and Wilshire Boulevard sits a little treasure of a shop: Sequels Boutique. If you live in Southern California, you'll find Sequels Boutique at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Charleville Boulevard, across the street from the Peninsula Hotel. If you're outside of Southern California, you can check out
Sequels online and on
1stDibs.com Owner Billie Jackson has an incredible collection of consignment designer goods and vintage finds. Some people call consignment goods "pre-owned" but in the case of Sequels, I would call the goods "pre-loved." Most of the items (excepting a few stray pairs of shoes) have been gently worn and are in excellent condition. Some of the gowns in the store last seen on the Hollywood Red Carpet, and perhaps were worn only once before their owner (or her assistant/stylist) passed them on for resale at Sequels. If you're a lover of quality designer goods, some of them vintage, made before luxury brands were outsourced to China, then you should check out this store.
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| Pictured: A Vintage Travilla dress similar to one made by the designer for Marilyn Monroe. |
Designers you'll find in stock at Sequels include Mr. Blackwell,
Jean Patou, Gucci, Versace, Dior, Chanel, Missoni, Pucci, Valentino, Yves Saint Laurent and (William)Travilla. Some of these designers, like Travilla, are no longer in business, so the only place you can find them is a store like Sequels. Of William Travilla, Marilyn Monroe said, "
Billy Dear, please dress me forever. I love you, Marilyn." Looking at the gold lame goddess dress he designed on sale at Sequels, I can totally understand her feelings.
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| Pictured: My new Chanel bag, purchased at Sequels after an epic quest. (photo: M. Hall) |
I stopped into Sequels to shop using the remainder of my
American Express Prepaid card funds. I was determined to stretch the money ($2,000) I was given by American Express as far as I could to get the best value. At times, I wasn't sure I would be able to find the item I had been lusting after for years: a navy Chanel handbag with the double CCs on the front. Chanel handbags are obscenely expensive. They range in the thousands of dollars. Even more outrageous,
prices for Chanel bags are about to go up in 2012. It is estimated that Chanel bags will increase between 12% to 20% . With prices in the thousands, than can mean that a purchaser in 2012 will pay say, $500.00 or more over the 2011 prices for some of the bags. The Chanel boutique at Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills this week was full of upscale shoppers, presumably not on a budget shopping plan, buying their Chanel at the 2011 prices. That's budget shopping Beverly Hills style :)
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| Pictured: Brilliant Red Holiday Dresses in the window at Sequels |
To my delight, I found my Chanel bag for about $1,500 (a savings of over 1k) at Sequels. The bag has all the trademarks of genuine Chanel. This was still a huge splurge, but with Chanel as with most of the designers on sale at Sequels, the value of the item will hold, and I can even resell it later if I want. I'd rather get my Chanel bag than buy 10 things from a Target Go Collection. The bag is an investment piece and a classic. I was glad I didn't blow my budget at the Black Friday sales. Sequels is part of the American Express Small Business Program, and I felt better supporting a small business, rather than a chain store at the mall. If you're looking for some unique gifts this Christmas, do check out Sequels in store or online. If you visit the store, you'll get hands-on attention and help from owner Billie Jackson. You'll find the same luxury brands on sale over on Rodeo for far less. For affordable luxury holiday gifts check out the Burberry scarves, Juicy Couture bags, jewelry, sunglasses and some of the sweaters. There are two Hermes bags in the store right now, no wait list required, but they are not in the budget category, although they are considerably less than Hermes retail prices.
If you check out Sequels in store, or online, leave me a comment, and tell me what you think.
Affordable Luxury at Sequels Boutique Online and in Beverly Hills
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With some snow and storms around much of the world, many shoppers couldn't get to the stores pre-Christmas to finish their shopping. Tragedy, eh? Not really. Many retailers are going to keep the sales in full swing until Jan 1st to try to lure those thawing out from winter storms into the stores to buy. Let's see if it works. In the mother country, England, Dec. 26th is Boxing Day, the traditional day that servants and laborers (workers) were given their gifts. It was even a day when charitable contributions might be given. The goal was for the wealthy to give to the less well off. Today Boxing Day is a public holiday in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Germany, Greenland, New Zealand and parts of Asia. Interesting how Dec. 26th has evolved to include a wider circle of giving ? :) In Europe and Canada, Boxing Day is like Black Friday in the US, with many stores opening at the crack of dawn and offering specials. Here are a few things that have turned up on The Recessionista radar system.
iTunes Gift Card. You can't go wrong with the gift of music. The recipient gets to pick their favorite tunes and you get to pick up a convenient and economical gift from the grocery, the drugstore or even online for sending via email. Its easy and a great way to avoid last minute shipping snafus.
Gift Cards. A gift card give you something nice to put under the tree or in a stocking. You can find American Express cards at just about any grocery or drugstore. The nice thing about the Amex card is it is fee free. That means if you paid $50.00 for it, your giftee gets to use $50.00 worth of your gift. There are no service charge fees added in. Amazon Gift Cards are also readily available at stores or online. If you give an Amazon card, you are allowing your giftee to select from thousands of great items are hard to beat prices. Remember, if you have a credit card with a points program (like American Express Membership Rewards, you can cash in points for gifts online and print out the gift card from your PC to include under the tree or in a stocking.) Gift cards to shop H&M, TheOutnet.com, Anthropologie, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, White House Black Market, Nordstroms, Gilt Group, Ruelala, HauteLook, Ideeli (see my top picks on the right nav for links) and other retailers also make great gifts. The money on the card will go farther at the after Christmas sales.
Make a Spa Stocking with items from the Drugstore, TJ Maxx or Nordstorm Rack for your favorite guy or gal. A few suggestions that I like include items like Olay New Thermal Pedicure for women, or body wash for men. Other popular items include Burt's Bees lip balm, shaving lotions and moisturizers. Always look for coupons for Burt's Bees to maximize the savings. Nordstorm's Rack has both Origins and Perricone MD on special. Look for Molton Brown, Elizabeth Arden, and even Estee Lauder sometimes at TJ Maxx and Marshalls.
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