All you need is....

I love that last shirt! It really matches the theme of my engagement party ideas as well, so it was funny to find this right now!

291 Venice has such a laid back and fun style. Their "collection" photoshoot has such a fun vibe to it and offers an great style while still pulling off some sweats and a t-shirt. Love the idea behind this collection and I can't wait to see more from this designer!

Don't forget to check up on aspiringcouture.com
And check up on my wedding blog for the latest and greatest there!

Returns and Receipts

I went to Ann Taylor LOFT today to return something. It was the only Christmas present I bought that I didn't still have the receipt for. During Christmas I always have a whole envelope and organization situation so that I (or the gift-getter) is always able to return the present. This receipt somehow didn't make it into the bunch!

So, I go into the store and say I don't have a receipt, hoping I can at LEAST get store credit. The girl informs me of their return policy: "Without a receipt you would get store credit for the lowest amount it was ever on sale for. If it is currently a final sale item, they can't return it at all." She rings up the necklace that I paid $55 for, and she says the lowest ticket price is $12.95 that I would receive in store credit. Insane.

That's my story, and here are my thoughts. Receipts made sense a long time ago, but have since become out-dated. With the advancing technology we have now, there have become better methods of keeping track of purchases. Nordstrom is a great example, or even Apple. The technology is there, and stores that don't advance are just creating further problems for themselves as buyers become more and more frustrated. Making it difficult to return or exchange is actually very poor customer service.

You better believe I never plan on shopping in their store again. Just curious if it was worth the $30 to them to have an unhappy customer walk out the door because there was "nothing they could do" when in reality there IS something they could do! The technology is there, the stores just need to implement it. Some examples would be: store the information of the purchases in the database, program the barcodes to match the actual amount paid, or even e-mail me the receipt!

All these new companies such as, Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Google, etc. are making it easier for people to get information and do things more efficiently. The key words there are "easier" and "more efficiently" and it is about time stores followed suit and came up to the standards we are all becoming used to these days. Stores need to get smart about advancing with technology and

Plans of the next fashion show???

Winter on the Runway (our fashion show in December) was incredibly successful and incredibly fun! I have been itching to do another, but I have yet to get back into the "runway show" mode! I want to do a garden chic Spring collection fashion show where designers can launch their newest lines. I thought it would be fun to go completely local for this show and only do Bay Area designers (and maybe I'll open it to a few other great collections)

It is also my one year anniversary, so it would be a big anniversary party as well! How fun would that be right?

Please let me know your thoughts-would you come, what area would you recommend, etc. Also, any local designers feel free to contact me-and I'll get this show on the road!

New Designer

The newest Spring Collection from Jaleh Designs is now available on aspiringcouture.com

I am very excited about this collection as I love the designs, and think it is a fantastic Spring Collection! Let me know your thoughts :)

Our little Giveaway!

I wanted to post this, in case any of you were interested in a fun giveaway!

Here's my first little giveaway. The company has a few websites, offering items for your home like a mailbox, great cookware, and so many more things you need to create a gorgeous household. I picked an item to giveaway from one of their sites, which I really like.

To enter, all you have to do is post a comment on any blog entry on the Engaged and Inspired blog and you will be entered to win. Each comment counts as an entry for you, and there is no max!

The winner will receive:

Two champagne flutes! I found these great modern flutes, which I thought were incredible! You could even use these as the bride and groom glasses, as they are a bit different than the traditional champagne flute. The winner will be announced on February 26th, so be sure to enter before then!

Shoe Clips!

Love these rose clips! Such an adorable addition to any shoe collection. I love the idea of these clips and all the options they have to offer! Plus, I really want some shoes with massive roses on the heels, so this seems like a cheaper and cuter solution!

Check out the Etsy Shop for more :)

Gorg Rings at a Pretty Price!

Wow I love these rings! LOVE! I just added these to the Aspiring Couture website under the Bridal Boutique section! The best part is the price, $15! I am working on shifting over Aspiring Couture to offer far more price points and options for all of you out there! Let me know what you would like to see on Aspiring Couture also, I would love to add more and more options and tools for you all as well!

I "less than 3" you

Such a cute concept! I  definitely want both of these items. 

I'm in love, or should I say "I am in less than three". Corny?? Ya, I thought so too.

Check out the ring or the tote bag.

Wedding Wednesday!

Today I am launching my wedding blog, Engaged and Inspired! 

First off, I must thank my wonderful fiance for helping me to create this blog! He is pretty amazing! I have been very excited about the launch of this blog! Of course I still completely plan on building Aspiring Couture more and more to create a great experience for online shoppers! I will be opening the boutique to include a full wedding section pretty soon!

As you can see I have a lot of plans for both Aspiring Couture and Engaged and Inspired, and I hope you enjoy it all! Take a look around and let me know what you think!

I have been a bit MIA recently as I have been dealing with the aftermath of the show, the new engagement and blog prep, and holidays and weddings! Woo, busy month! I promise I will be back in full force this coming week! :) In the meantime, I am working hard to look for some spectacular spriing collections for Aspiring Couture!

( PS thanks to Blogger, I can't seem to upload a photo!!)

Coming on Wednesday...

Engaged and Inspired Wedding Blog

Those that have been following my blog for a bit have probably learned that I have become quite obsessed with weddings.When I became engaged in December I decided it was finally time to become a bit more serious about it! I wanted a place to show my wedding ideas and gain some feedback, show pictures and ideas I just love, and show real weddings, not to mention give me a chance to create relationships with some great vendors, so I pick some of the best for my wedding!

Myself and two of my friends, Melissa and Liz, are all engaged. We are pretty much all helping each other plan and talk weddings basically all the time now! That was the feeling I wanted my blog to have, friends chatting and about weddings and their latest ideas. So we did a little photoshoot (above) of the three of us for the wedding blog! I figure, who better to portray that-than us!

I have to majorly thank Cooper Falk for this shoot with us! He has been willing to do any shoot I need INCLUDING taking a day trip to Napa with me to look at about 8 venues! He also did the shoot for the Jesica Milton collection that is all over my website, and the header of my blog.He also took tons of pics of Winter on the Runway! Major thanks to him!!

Check out the new blog, Engaged and Inspired, when we launch on Wednesday and let me know what you think! In the meantime feel free to follow us on Twitter!

More pictures!

Look at this great model! Lauren was a great model to work with, and she pulled off some pretty great pictures!

She is wearing Liise Wyatt in the top pictures and Selah D'or (skirt available on aspiringcouture.com) in the bottom ones!

Thanks to her and everyone else who helped or came to the show! More pictures are on our Facebook Fan Page for you all to check out!

Keep warm until the end of Winter

Spring collections are starting to surface all over the internet and all over the catalogs! I can't even think with buying a cute sundress at the moment since I am shivering in my boots during this 50 degree weather I have to live with. (PS that's really cold for California-boohoo) Coats, boots, and leggings are on my mind right now. So, I found this coat and I quite love it. Check it out on UsTrendy.

Soon we shall say farewell to winter, and hello shorts, sundresses, and flip flops!

Winter on the Runway pics!

Top: Lauren in Selah D'or taken by Charlotte Steppling
Bottom: Lolly in Liise Wyatt taken by Charlotte Steppling

Winter on the Runway pictures are starting to surface! I will show lots more as I get them, but here are some great ones to begin with!

Zoe and Doyle

I love this design. It is very modern and chic but still tasteful. A current trend, and one that I couldn't see going out of style anytime soon, is a raised diamond. You see these in the halo styles and in styles like this. I love the fact that you can see the entire thing, and it looks so delicate.


They also have tons of titanium rings as well. I think this is a great style for a guy as it is not too shiny and therefore glisten in the light! I am going to look into something like this for Ian's wedding band!

Check out more about Zoe and Doyle!

New Year. New Goals

It has been quite an insane month! First was our engagement, followed by both of our birthdays (Dec 7 and 9) then Winter on the Runway and then the whole Christmas flurry! With family in town, then New Years, it was just one heck of a month! My last thing is Ian's brother's wedding, then I will hopefully have a minute to catch my breathe and spend some real substantial time working out my goals for 2010!

I have some great expansion ideas for Aspiring Couture and can't wait to put those in effect! Want to host a few more fashion shows, open up an aspiring wedding section and create so much more on what I currently have to offer! This is a great time for me to take a step back, look at my accomplishments so far, and figure out how to take the next step forward-and I am beyond excited to take that next step!

Recently I created a reader's survey in an effort to gain some feedback from readers! I am taking all of that into account and working on creating a blog and online boutique that serves as a wonderful shopping experience for all. Let me know if you have anymore feedback. In the meantime, I am going to be working on making everything about Aspiring Couture better! So excited! :)

Here is to a wonderful year!