Kmart Penn Plaza: Route 66 Dresses

Yes, I'm Route 66 obsessed. It's the section I'm drawn to when I visit Kmart Penn Plaza's first floor. But its adorable, music-fest-meets-grunge-meets-junior styles get me every time. I would even recommend us girls out of our twenties to try on Route 66 dresses for lightweight and cool weekend options.

Love this soft chambray look.

Because you're going to need something to throw on top of that dress when dancing in the desert.

Kmart

Penn Plaza at 34th Street and Seventh Avenue

34th Street Weekend Picks: H&M's Paris Show Collection, B1G1 Sales

H&M
The Paris Show Collection hit stores yesterday, and it's so good I recommend getting to 34th Street and shopping it soon. Both the Herald Square and Seventh Avenue stores have the collection, so between the two you'll have a good selection. Also, be sure to take advantage of the buy one get one 50% off sale on all denim.  435 Seventh Avenue at 34th Street, and 47 West 34th Street at Sixth Avenue

Denim on sale.

Paris Show Collection

Kmart
Select family shoes are B1G1 1/2 off, and the Joe Boxer kicks and Route 66 booties are big winners.  250 West 34th Street at Seventh Avenue

Payless
Their BOGO 1/2 off sale is back! I was drawn to the colorful Champion kicks and the glam Christian Siriano pumps and leopard smoking loafer at the new 34th Street store yesterday.  213 West 34th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenue

Famous Footwear
Go across 34th Street from Payless for more BOGO 1/2 off on shoes! Famous Footwear is a good resource for hidden-wedge kicks, sandals on sale, oxfords, and lots of boots.  250 West 34th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues

Love these Doc Martens.

Jaclyn Smith at Kmart: The Hats

WAY back in the end of April, I checked out the Kmart fall press preview, and today, while browsing online, remembered the fabulous Jaclyn Smith faux fur hats shown at the preview.

Adorable, right? Also, this Jaclyn Smith blouse, below, struck me as very noteworthy. I'll be looking more than twice at the Jaclyn Smith this fall on 34th Street.

Kmart
250 West 34th Street at Seventh Avenue

Must Shop Now: Route 66 Tops

More 34th Street Kmart this week, because the Route 66 is like an addiction with me. Kudos to the Kmart design team that consistently hits the mark with this adorable line.

The above two are my favorite tops in store now (left $13.99, right $13.99). But there's also tons of cute, summery tanks like these two below (left $11.89 , right $11.89):

And I have to give a shout out to the Attention shorts I spotted, shown below.

 They're a deal at $12.59.



Kmart
250 West 34th Street just west of Seventh Avenue

West End Shoes: The Selena Gomez Dream Out Loud Sandals

Kmart is one of the original pioneers on the West End of 34th Street, but I always forget to visit their shoe department (probably because I get immediately waylaid by the Route 66). The other week, while checking out shoe stores across the street, I remembered to peruse the Kmart shoes. And happily discovered the adorableness of Selena Gomez's Dream Out Loud sandals.

Cute, cute gladiators for $16.99.

Scarf print sandals, so resort.

A great little beaded sandal for $14.99 (I crossed out the B1G1 sale as I can't confirm it's still on! ).

 Impressive, right?!

Kmart

250 West 34th Street between 7th & 8th Avenues

Kmart's #MusicFestival Vest

This is the one that got away during last week's Route 66 crush session:

Girls, this deconstructed vest is on sale for just $17.49 at Kmart. Stock up for the last weekend of Coachella and all those concerts in the park you'll be attending this summer.

Speaking of parks and sales, our sister company just put their Bryant Park Anniversary T on sale for half-off. Get it now for $11.50!

Kmart
250 West 34th Street at Seventh Avenue

34th Street Weekend Sales: Great Shoes, F&F, + More!

jcpenney
Get an extra 20% off your purchase through next Wednesday. Be sure to check out the Joe Fresh, Duro Olowu, Pantone Universe, Cynthia Rowley, and William Rast collections, because jcpenney has the whole family and your home covered.  Manhattan Mall, lower levels 1&2, 33rd Street and Sixth Avenue

DSW

Up to 50% off clearance! This includes your designer brands found on 34th Street like Manolo Blahnik, Bottega Veneta, Azzedine Alaia, Marc by Marc Jacobs, and a lot more.

The Manolo Blahniks.

Vince Camuto

Friends and Family Sale! Get 25% off any purchase (excluding full-priced clothing). See store for more details, and to gaze lovingly upon all their sandals. After buying Camuto boots this past winter, I'm a devoted fan: super comfortable, super cute.

Kmart

I'm obsessed with Route 66. OBSESSED. And it's all 30% right now. Visit the 34th Street store for great spring tops, denim shirts, and great jackets (although the below is by Attention, also a little obsessed with the Attention).

Attention striped jacket, with a Route 66 T.

Kmart's Route 66: Obsessed

Route 66 has the best, lightweight cargo jacket for spring on the block, and it's $29.99 (before discount). And it has neon pink piping on the zipper. Need I say more? The striped jacket below is Attention, but the T is Route 66. I'm a little obsessed with some Attention pieces, also. Kmart is killing it for spring.

Bonus: all the Route 66 is now 30% off. That's 30% off their adorable T-shirts (regularly $14.99). I cannot pass on their denim shirt, so basic, but so perfect. The cut is awesome, people and the price is great (now $13.99).

Forever I've been thinking I need a basic black mini to wear in the winter with leggings, and in the summer as a beach cover up, etc. Voila, the Route 66 pull-on black cotton mini for $9.99 (reg. price), below. Get the crochet top for a spring/summer layering item, comes in black, too.

Kmart

250 West 34th Street at Seventh Avenue

Birthday Girls Need Princess Gear

Because it's her birthday, I let Baby Herald (I know, no longer a baby) wear her Halloween costume this morning.

Trying really hard to smile for the camera!

For the last two months, she has insisted on being a princess for Halloween. I'd be much happier if she were wearing a Gloria Steinem or Eleanor Roosevelt costume, but she's 3. So I'm going to have to settle for a princess. And princesses need crowns and princess shoes. This is why princess moms go to H&M, Kmart, or jcpenney, because all three are good princess-gear destinations. The above tiara I found at H&M, where I also picked her up a new pair of princess shoes (below), because we grew out of our last two pairs. 

This princess dress is a hand-me-down, but trust me: you're not going to have any trouble finding a princess dress, or a tutu on 34th Street. Nowadays it's totally acceptable to go out in a tutu any time of year if you're under the age of 10. Unless you're Betsey Johnson, then you can wear them every day and to bed.

Happy birthday to my Arm Baby! If she ever is Eleanor Roosevelt for Halloween, I promise to post a photo then, too. And it wouldn't be a Baby Herald birthday post if I didn't post this photo of us when she was less than a month old:

Yup, she's beautiful to me no matter what she's wearing. Past birthday posts here, here and here. 

H&M Herald Square

34th Street and Broadway

Kmart Penn Plaza

34th Street and Seventh Avenue

jcpenney Manhattan Mall

33rd Street and Sixth Avenue

Kmart's Route 66: It's All Good

A few weeks ago I threw out my back, and in addition to earnestly vowing to commit to a regular yoga and workout schedule, I went to Kmart to get one of these:

Because I'm desperate. Yes, I'm the goofy one in the office balancing on my exercise ball at my desk all day. But I encourage other computer worshippers to join me because after I punctured my first Kmart exercise ball with a letter opener (don't ask), I returned to the traditional chair and my back started tweaking out again.

In order to get to the exercise balls at Kmart 34th Street (lowest level, back toward the registers), one must first pass by the Route 66 on level one. And it is consistently, everywhere a girl turns, stocked with eye catchers. I was taking iPhone photo after iPhone photo, but I didn't try anything on as my back was still whacked.

Some Route 66 neutral basics (if you can call fringe basic):

Some Route 66 hi-lo:

And a lot of Route 66 color:

Next time I pop my exercise ball, I'm trying these on. 

Kmart 

250 West 34th Street at Seventh Avenue

34th Street Weekend Sale Picks: Suits, Shoes, and Joe Fresh

Intern "LCogs" is taking over the weekend sale picks for summer '12. Welcome, Laura!

#1. Steve Madden
Because a bunch of their shoes are 40% off. Chic and yeah, too much fun to wear!  41 West 34th Street

#2. KMart
Because you'll save up to 40% on select bathing suits. Vibrant, adorable and full of color, just what you need to stand out at the beach!  250 West 34th Street

#3. Joe Fresh

Becaus they're having a 40%-60% off sale, which includes those really cute yoga pants, bottom left, for $9!  215 West 34th Street

The Elusive Ugly Holiday Sweater (and How to Win a Pair of Southwest Airline Tickets)

Our 34th Street correspondent Sarah stalks the city's vintage stores for ugly holiday sweaters after striking out on 34th Street. The ugly holiday sweater is now hard-to-find and is going for a premium in vintage stores. I blame all the Ugly Holiday Sweater Parties, like the one our sister company, Bryant Park, is having tomorrow night: Show up in your ugly holiday sweater at Southwest Porch, pose for a photo, and beg all your friends to vote for you on the Bryant Park Facebook page. The photo with the most votes wins a pair of tickets on Southwest Airlines.

Kmart and JCPenney had a few options online, but none on 34th Street (and this awesome godawful vest is sold out). Obviously, we're a little too high-brow for holiday ugliness. But designers should start thinking now about a line of ugly holiday sweaters for next year, as they are getting harder and harder to come by. I'll let Sarah take it from here...

In anticipation for our Ugly Holiday Sweater Party tomorrow night at Southwest Porch, I trekked across hipster fashion central of Manhattan, the East Village, after striking out in 34th Street. Only afterwards did I realize thrift shopping in EV is a Catch-22. The East Village has the best concentration of thrift stores because of its vintage-loving inhabitants, so unfortunately most of them are sold out of those elusive sweaters. 

My first stop was No Relations Vintage. The selection is slightly better for men than women, but the prices are extremely reasonable all around. I managed to find a delightful “ugly” hat with the fullest pompom I’ve ever seen! I tucked it away in my basket right away even if it doesn’t fit my head. I didn’t have much luck with the sweater rack, but found a monstrous holiday-jacket on the coat rack.  

Buffalo Exchange on 11th Street was the next stop. This is one of the busiest thrift stores I’ve been in, rivaling H&M crowds on 34th street. Thus, as expected, I did not manage to find any ugly holiday sweaters. I got distracted from my mission and scored an American Apparel nude blouse and a silk jumpsuit for a total of $50 bucks.  

I headed back east to Second Avenue thrift store, where they had a huge selection of clothing; alas they were also sold out of ugly holiday sweaters. At Salvation Army I finally scored some festive scarves and a cheap holiday sweater that had a decent amount of ugly. 

Back in the office, my colleague Kati showed me her loot, which includes hideous snowman sweater and a gloves sweater both with sequins! She snagged those at Monk Thrift Shop, where ugly sweaters are going for up to $100 dollars! 

We’ve ended up with a pretty great selection of sweaters for the party, but I’ve definitely learned my lesson here. Ugly sweater parties are definitely the most popular party concept in Manhattan this year, and next year I will start shopping for hideous holiday sweaters in July.

Be sure to drop by the party tomorrow night from 6-8pm! There will be holiday drinks for $5 and a lot of ridiculous holiday props.