Just In: Old Navy Picks on 34th Street

First up: straw hats. I can have enough straw hats in the summer for sun protection (face and hair), because I always seem to leave them behind. So I prefer to have one in the car, at work, and on the hallway bureau; basically, in my face wherever I go so I don't forget to wear a hat. 

I'm partial to the darker brown styles, and anything with a band on it.

Warning: the above is not a skirt, but a maxi dress. Bonus, it has pockets. I thought this wall looked so cute with the black and white and the denim jackets. 

Old Navy

150 West 34th Street

Cutest Kmart Maxi

I tried on several maxis at Kmart on 34th Street this afternoon, and I can confidently say this was the cutest Route 66 maxi in the store. The cut gives a girl nice cleavage and is not form-fitting, but more of an A-line shape.

This is also one of the happiest, batik-style prints I've seen in any store on 34th Street. I'm already very, very over batik, and it's only just begun. I'm in for a long summer of dreary batik prints. I've been to Indonesia, I visited the touristy arts center of Bali, the town of Ubud, and I don't remember dull, muddy, boring batik prints everywhere. Of course, everything was a lot more colorful when I was having a good time in Bali, so perhaps my memory is a little skewed.


Kmart Penn Plaza 34th Street just west of Seventh Avenue

Dreaming of a Desigual Maxi Dress

Today's guest post features Katie, who pines over a Desigual maxi dress and seeks out a substitute at the new store on 34th Street

Ever since this post appeared on Fashion Herald, circa May 2009, I've had the Desigual maxi dress Kati modeled stuck in the back of my mind.

A few weeks after the dress was posted, Fashion Herald and I went back to Macy's so I could try it on too (this was in the pre-Desigual-stand-alone-store-on-34th-Street days). To my dismay, only one dress remained, on the mannequin, no less, and it wasn't my size. What a sad and disappointing day that was.

Almost a full year later, with a fully stocked Desigual store on 34th Street, I went in search of a maxi dress that could live up to "the one that got away." I came close, but even at 30% off, this dress didn't hold a candle to "the one".

I prefer the decorative neckline of "the one", as well as the more articulated pattern. Click in for the close up and see if it reminds you of weather radar maps too. The new maxi's pattern reminds me of graffiti. I even found this graffiti-like tag hidden on the side of the dress after I took it off. Not that I prefer weather radars maps over graffiti or anything.

The bottom line: for $100 (reduced price), I want my dream maxi dress, not the runner up. Perhaps Desigual will hear my plea and create a similar dress or even - gasp!- a revival of "the one." We can only hope. In the meantime, if you're into graffiti-esque patterns on dresses, head to Desigual 'cause this one's on sale.


Desigual, 385 Fifth Avenue at 34th Street

To the Max

I wore the Forever 21 black maxi to a wedding this weekend. It was that or a short Liz Lange dress from Target:

The Liz Lange (left, maternity), love the sleeves but it felt a little informal for a 4pm wedding. I wore it to work today instead, and yes that's a bathroom.
And the F21 maxi (right, non-maternity, just big). Sometimes length is just dressier. After dinner the cardi came off for strapless dancing. And yes, that is a handmade concrete castle.



















And it wouldn't be a wedding post without a picture of the gorgeous bride:




















This is my non-34th Street public service announcement: Jenny Packham bridal gowns are amazing. Unfortunately, they don't carry them at the Macy's Herald Square's bridal salon. But they really should because, well, just look at those pictures. And yes, it did flow like silk/satin water when she walked.


Forever 21, 50 W. 34th Street between 5th & 6th