Ashley Madekwe in Budget-Friendly Topshop Dress

Ashley Madekwe's Budget-Friendly Topshop Dress

Revenge is one of my favorite new shows. I love everything about it…the characters, the storyline, and most of all, the fashion…on and off the screen. Take Ashley Madekwe’s ombre dress for instance. I think it’s different and to die for!! What’s better is that it’s a budget-friendly Topshop dress. It’s not very often that you see a celebrity in a dress that only costs $130. I’m so proud that she wore this to an event!! The dress that she has on is sold out, but I found many more Topshop dresses for you…and all of them are under $100. Click on the images below to shop.

More Topshop…

Hi Twilight lovers, I might have some GREAT news for you. Now before I begin, let me warn you that this is not about fashion…well, maybe it could be if you think about all the cutting edge fashion possibilities that could come out of this.

What am I babbling on about?? Well, I got wind that since Loinsgate and Summit merged (Summit is the studio that put out Twilight), the joined studios mentioned that they might be interested in seeing the Twilight Saga become a television series. Yay !!

I’m not sure if this is going to happen, but Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said “It’s hard for me to imagine a movie that does $700 million-plus doesn’t have ongoing value” in response to whether he wanted to see more from the whole reason he bought the studio in the first place.

Dare I hope?? Dare I dream?? Well, I will!! I will keep hope alive for a Twilight Saga television series. I mean, Buffy the Vampire Slayer turned out to be a big hit and even had a very successful spin off show, Angel. It could happen…right??

And remember Twilight fans, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 will be out in stores on February 11…just in time for Valentine’s Day.

I learned about some really interesting stuff over the weekend. And this is some stuff that will really save you some money!!

1. If you’re going to be in the Atlanta area any time soon, visit the Bloomingdale’s in Perimeter Mall. They are closing their doors for good so they have some really great stuff on sale. Everything that is regular price is marked down 25% and already reduced merchandise is an extra 40% off. As with any store closing, all sales are final so be sure about your purchase because you won’t be able to return anything to another Bloomy’s.

2. I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but J.C. Penney is revamping the sale. Starting Wednesday, February 1, 2012, everything in the store will be reduced by at least 40%. You don’t have to hurry to this sale though because everything is permanently reduced.

3. Shop the Limited and get 30% off all tops and sweaters.

4. Shop Shoes.com and get an extra 20% off of all sale boots and shoes.

5. Shop at Express and get all spring sweaters B1G1 for $29.50 + get an extra 50% off all clearance items.

6. Shop Piperlime.com and get up to 70% off all final sale items.

7. Saks Fifth Avenue is having their Going, Going, Gone Sale. Shop in stores or online and get up to 70% off off select items (regular and sale prices). The sale ends 2/12/12.

Have you seen that hilarious J.C. Penney commercial and thought about how this has happened to you so many times (above). It’s certainly happened to me a time or two. I go in and buy something on sale (but not on clearance) only go back to that same store a week later and find the very thing I just bought drastically reduced. It’s torture because there’s nothing I can do about it!! All the money I just lost and could have saved if only I had just waited a week. Ahhhhh!!!

Well, good news folks!! J.C. Penney has decided to do something about that. Starting February 1, 2012 J.C. Penney is permanently reducing everything in the store by at least 40% just so shoppers no longer have to wait for sales and bargains. This sales strategy differs from many others out there because J.C. Penney’s goal is not to undercut competitors, but to offer customers more predictable pricing. “Pricing is actually a pretty simple and straightforward thing,” said Ron Johnson, former Apple executive and current J.C. Penney CEO. “Customers will not pay literally a penny more than the true value of the product.” Gee, what a concept…lol.

Here’s how Penney’s pricing strategy will work:
• Fewer sales. The retailer will pick items to go on sale each month for a “Month-Long Value.” So, Halloween items would go on sale in September and October, Christmas items would be on sale in November and December, and so forth; with items that don’t sell well going on clearance during the first and third Friday of every month (when many Americans get paid). And those items will be tagged “Best Prices,” signaling to consumer that that it the cheapest price.
• For simpler pricing, J.C. Penney will use whole figures when pricing items. So, gone are those 29.99 price tags, instead you’ll see $30 price tags.
• Sale prices become everyday prices. The company will use sales data from last year to slash prices on all merchandise at least 40 percent or lower than the previous year’s prices. So, an I ‘Heart’ Ronson dress that is normally $58 could have the everyday price of $23.
• As far as new tags are concerned, get this. J.C. Penney used to place stickers on price tags to indicate each time an item was marked down. But now each time an item gets a new price, it gets a new tag too. A red tag will indicate an “Every Day” price, a white tag will indicate a “Month-Long Value” and a blue tag will indicate a “Best Price.”
• And they plan on luring consumers with their hilarious ads, much like the “Nooo” commercial above. Also, they have just hired funny woman (and one of my favorite comedians) Ellen DeGeneres. Not to mention the nearly 100-page catalog that will go out to customers each month.

All I can say is good luck J.C. Penney. If you guys pull this off, this will bode well for you and America!! So I welcome this change and am very excited for it. Normally I would tell you to run on down to your nearest J.C. Penney to see what they have to offer, but there’s no need to rush down there because the items will be on sale all month !!