Net-A-Porter sales: Finally found my silver heels!

Boy it's been a while! So the Net-A-Porter sales are still ongoing but everything's going fast as it's on final clearance (up to 80% off) so head on real quick to see if you fancy anything! I love the NAP sales as it makes designer labels more accessible to the average shopper. It also gives me a chance to have a piece from labels that are not selling locally; my latest buy being from Christopher Kane. 

Net-A-Porter's handy wish list feature

Sale-shopping designer labels can be tricky as impulse purchases are always bound to happen if you find yourself getting carried away with the logic that "how much I save" is more important than "how will I use this?"; no doubt both are contributing factors. To avoid that I'd first browse through all the sale items within my budget earlier on during the sale (when it's 30% off) and add those that interest me to NAP's wish list. As it progresses to final clearance, I'll check my wish list for any remaining items and whether the discount's reasonable (70–80% off). Then I'd try to pair that item with my existing wardrobe and see if it fits and if I'd get much use out of it. Only then comes the final decision whether or not to purchase and this can sometimes be stressful (!) when you're possibly competing for some heavily discounted pieces with many others who are browsing.  So here's what I bought in the end:  Metallic leather and mesh pumps by Christopher Kane 4.5-inch heel; Spring 2014 collection  80% off

I wasn't going to give in to buying this and had just added the item to my wish list at the start as I was looking for a pair of silver heels for the longest time. There wasn't much of a discount on these and they actually sold out only to have my size come back in stock, miraculously at 80% off. So I did further research, compared prices, looked at cheaper alternatives but these grew on me as they were pretty unique in design but still highly wearable.  I love how the heel is slightly chunky as I'm not too fond of wearing stiletto-heeled pumps, for obvious reasons. The play of leather and mesh also adds a contemporary element that is sheerness (something we have seen a lot of this spring season) to an otherwise standard design. Here are more photos with some from the runway show thrown in: 

The runway version seen at the Christopher Kane S/S '14 show. 

I was actually contemplating between these and the Roland Mouret ones shown in the wish list and had these silver heels not come back in stock, I would've went with the RM's or not bought anything as the more I thought about the RM's, the less workable with what I wear I found them.

Arty family

This is my current YSL Arty ring collection in (from left to right):lapis, leaf green, and aqua. I bought them off Net-a-Porter (on three separate occasions) and the one in Lapis is the latest addition to my Arty family. While it is tempting to expand the collection, I think these three beautiful colours are more than enough to compliment my wardrobe though I am lemming on the ones in cream & black/gold. These rings really are an addiction!
                                                       

Beautiful, Shiny, Sparkly Things

I grew up being rather boyish for a girl. Even in my early teens, whilst developing crushes in school (proving that I'm not absolutely immune to growing up/ the birds and the bees/ womanhood), I never really fancied dressing up nor understood the point of jewelry. I had a friendship bracelet and that was it. Thank goodness I've grown out of that phase.

It was only in the recent past year or so that I've begun growing my humble collection of statement jewelry pieces.What started this affinity for statement costume jewelry (I cannot yet afford to splurge on real deal carats and 18-24k gold so Swarovski, natural stones and plated finishes would have to do for now; I'm not complaining!) was my discovery of the YSL Arty oval ring. Net-a-Porter played a part in fueling this obsession with their bi-annual sales. So after much consultation with the DBF, I added to bag. Checked out. Done.
A beautiful mint green Arty was on its way from NAP's UK headquarters.

I thought one Arty ring would suffice but as soon as picked it from its satin pouch, caressed it, Instagrammed it & stared at its glass bauble intently; I knew I was wrong. YSL of course had to make them in a million different stones, coloured glass and finishes and tempted I was but I couldn't ever justify paying full price for costume jewelry. Even if it was designer. So I waited for the sales again.

Long story short, I bought another (w/ generous store credit from the special someone). A leafy green. Even bought a cocktail dress later on to match it.

Thus began this vicious cycle of hoarding beautiful, shiny, sparkly things. Third to join the family was a Maltese Cross ring by Kenneth Jay Lane, one of my now go-to brands for impeccably made statement jewelry. To fund all of this, the Net-a-Porter online sales has become a close ally and will forever hold a special place in my heart.

Fourth from Net-a-Porter yet again was the Venus Flytrap necklace in mint green crystals by J Crew. I underestimated the bling-factor of this piece but it is still a beautiful, wearable necklace. I couldn't help myself it was on sale! But nor was it an impulse buy; I tend to do a ton of researching on the piece before caving in- blogger reviews and photos save the day always (they also help with minimising  Buyer's Stockholm Syndrome later on).

During the most recent NAP June/July 2013 sales (it's still on-going by the way!) I helped myself to three new pieces of jewelry. I figured if the discounts were good and the designs timeless, why not? After all if I didn't buy them now they'd be bought by others and gone forever. Never was I to see them again if I didn't make a move to get them now. Yes, the NAP sales can bring out prehistoric survival instincts as you stay up guarding your shopping bag and watching the discounts and stock levels of the items you're interested in. You should've seen my reaction when I found out someone else had bought the last Michael Kors Tilda clutch that I had sitting in my shopping bag. Not pretty. 

Ah yes, back to what I got. A necklace by Tom Binns, the Arty ring in Lapis (I promise this will be my last), and another Kenneth Jay Lane ring. If there's anything I need right now it's a restraining order from Net-a-Porter.com. Can anyone really resist an Arty in Lapis (one of the most sought-after colours) at 60% off? Do I need more Arty rings? No. Do I want more? Shamelessly, I'll say yes.  (On a side note, Arty rings will always have some resale value to them especially when there is a chance that the house of Saint Laurent may discontinue them. A little bird told me that someone sold their Arty for US$400+ on eBay; double the retail price and probably five times the sale price!) Images courtesy of Net-a-Porter.com.