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    True Love: ITO EN

    In this hectic world we live in it’s so easy to forget to take care of yourself. However, I believe that you should take as much time to consider your insides as you do your outsides. That’s why I make a concerted effort to ingest as many antioxidants as possible. Green tea is one of my favorites.

    Studies report hard evidence that green tea prevents cancer, keeps down cholesterol levels, keeps cardiovascular disease in check and helps repair impaired immune function. That’s a lot of punch for a little leaf.

    My favorite green tea is Ito En, on Madison at 69th Street. The purveyors of this little tea shop happen to be the largest green tea distributor in the world. The store has been voted NYC’s best tea emporium by Zagat’s for several years in a row. In addition to the company’s line of bottled teas, the store carries Japanese, Chinese and Indian tea leaves both traditional and exotic. Everything is packaged and handled as if it were a precious jewels.

    So give air kisses to Cono at Dolce & Gabbana and refresh with some green tea from across the street at Ito En. You can also find Ito En teas at many grocers and bodegas across the city (country & world). It’s definitely worth the $1.49.

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    Luca Luca Private Sample Sale

    You know how much I dislike sample sales, right? The real reason is because of how sample sales are defined these days. All types of sales, which include previous collections, are called sample sales. In fact, a real sample sale is when the designer sells the “samples” used for showing buyers. These sales usually take place in a showroom rather than an empty warehouse or holed out party venue (read: Metropolitan Pavilion).

    One of our favorite design houses, Luca Luca, is having a REAL sample sale and we have an invite to check out the goods two days prior to the general public. The Private sale takes place on Tues. 9/23 and Wed. 9/24. You need to RSVP to gain early admission. The email address is RSVP@LucaLuca.com or you can call 212-644-5568.

    If you are unable to get a reservation time you can always join the public Thurs. 9/25 to Sun 9/28. The sale is up to 90% off so I expect that there will be a long line to get into the showroom. Full time details for all sale days are available below.

    Luca Luca: Up to 90% off
    19 West 36th Street, 4th Floor

    Private Sale
    Tues. 9/23 and Wed. 9/24
    8:30am to 6:30pm

    Public Sale
    Thurs. 9/25 and Fri. 9/26
    8:30am to 6:30pm

    Sat 9/27 and Sund 9/28
    11am to 6pm

    Thank you for the invite– Sexy Momma from Shag Harbor!

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    Hermes Sample Sale 9/23

    I really hesitate to write about sample sales. I find them to be chaotic, expensive and a waste of time. Hermes, however, has an exception. Once (or twice) a year hosts a doozy of a sample sale. It’s orderly and the merchandise is sublime.

    I am very excited to announce that the Hermes Private Sale starts Tuesday, September 23, 2008 from 2pm to 6pm. The private sale is by invitation only but the public is invited to join in on the fun on the following day. It all goes down at the Metropolitan Pavilion (123 West 18th street, 4th floor Gallery). Big spenders bring leave your cash at home because only credit cards are accepted.

    No, don’t expect to find any Birkins or Bolides hanging around. You can, however, expect to see lots of scarves, ties and Garden Parties (canvas totes) and ready-to-wear. This past March, Racked.com offered a very helpful and insightful play-by-play of the sale. I think we can expect to see the same process and 2 hour wait.

    At the last sale the cloths were eh, the bags were eh and the shoes were in all the wrong sizes. The best finds were the ties that were marked down to $96 from $160 and scarves $213 from $355. The only things missing were the orange boxes and brown ribbons. Otherwise this is a two thumbs up sample sale– just keep your expectations in check!

    P.S. Thank you for the tip Laura!

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    Fashion Week For VIPs

    Fashion Week became a bit of a circus around the time they “tested” doing the shows at Chelsea Piers. (Remember that?) Now there are more TV crews, reality “stars” and celeb-types than ever before. And you don’t want to get me started on the Amex sky box. Call me a bit of a purist.

    In the meantime, however, there are a few off-the-radar invitations that only real fashion insiders (read: editors and stars) get to enjoy. For example, Victoria’s Secret is hosting a by-appointment-only fashion and beauty event at the nearby Bryant Park Hotel. Invited guests (again, read: top editors and celebs) are treated to neck and shoulder massages, as well as, make-up applications. This is all while previewing Viki’s new fall lingerie collection, aptly titled, Supermodel Obsessions. The best part is that guests get to take home their favorite pieces from the Supermodel Obsession collection along with wide-range of cosmetics.

    Then on the Upper West Side, super duper “nutritionist to the stars,” Oz Garcia, is not only suggesting pointers on how to stay healthy through fashion week but is also offering editors an energy boost in the form of B12 shots.

    Oz says, “B12 creates a significant energy boost for the body. Patients who take it feel like moving around more and tend to burn more calories through increased movement.” Guests were also treated to a copy of Oz’s newest book and his super-charged and Himalayan-salt-infused H2O called, Oz Water.

    Even back at the tents there is an invitation only escape from the American Express crowd. The by-appointment/invite only Mercedes Benz Star Lounge proved to be the place to go for fashion designers themselves to take a quick on-location meeting. Nicole Miller and Betsey Johnson (separately) booked time to enjoy a bit of privacy among the chaos.

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    Fashion Week: Luca Luca

    If there’s one brand that represents Upper East Side society it would be Luca Luca. You will never find a crude or unflattering idea float down the runway and their show is always packed with celebs and Park Avenue royalty. The first time I attended a Luca Luca show I was seated behind two stunning blonds who were swarmed by photographers: Paris and Niki Hilton. And that was two years prior to any sex video!

    Today’s show was not much different. In attendance where Ivana Trump, Tinsley Mortimer and Gigi Mortimer, Carol Alt, Serena Williams, a cast member from the reality show The Real New York [Desperate] Housewives, and Howard Stern’s bombshell fiancee, Beth Ostrosky. Before I continue on to the fashion I want to mention how fabulous Beth was. First, I always knew she was beautiful but she is even more stunning in person. Second, she is as sweet as can be. I don’t think she turned down a single interview or photo request and there were more than a few. It was just very unexpected.

    Now on to the fashion: Lots of white. Asymmetrical. Finely tailored. Very Luca Luca!

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    No Guilt Shopping

    I never anticipated becoming a blogger or undercover secret shopper but it somehow just started. Along the way I feel like i’ve made a few friends and am having a great time with my readers. Danny Daily is just one. Check out his site. His fashion is spot on and he just posted a Q&A with yours truly.

    Q& A with Madison Avenue Spy: Ticket to Valentino Family and Friend and More

    Thank you Danny. It’s been a pleasure!

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    Pop-Up Stores

    The asymmetrical trend that’s dominating Spring 2009 fashion week has nothing on the pop-up store. This week one can shop the shows and then bounce to Target Bullseye Bodegas, which carries products from their designer collaboration connections.  Then Gap and Parisian favorite Colette have come together to offer a variety of limited-edition merchandise.  

    To celebrate fashion week, Racked.com reports, OAK has added designers who created limited-edition pieces evoking the idea of bondage and kink. (Woo-hoo, but I’ve never even been to OAK.) 
    Then Comme des Garçons and Louis Vuitton are opening a store together for three months starting in September, where they’ll offer six bags designed by Rei Kawakubo in Vuitton’s signature monogram pattern. (Opps, that’s only in Tokyo. But you get the picture.)

    Having a hard time digesting it all? Here’s a handy info sheet to make sure you don’t miss out on any of these now-they’re-here-now-they’re-not stores.
    September 12 to September 15 from 10am to 10pm daily
    Midown: 101 57th Street at 6th Ave
    Union Square: 813 Broadway between 11th and 12th Ave
    SoHo: 489 Broome Street b/w Wooster and W. Broadway
    East Village: 325 Bowery at 2nd St.
    September 6th to October 12th from 10am to 9pm Mon-Sat and 11am to 7pm on Sun.
    Midtown: 5th Ave and 54th Street (adjacent to Gap’s flagship store)

    OAK
    24 Bond St.
    12pm-4pm
    Monday September 8th

    The after party will be thrown at:
    The Eagle
    554 W. 28th St. at 11th Ave.
    10 p.m.-12 p.m. cocktails by Belvedere
    Music by DFA’s Justin Miller & Runaway (Marcos Cabral and Jacques Renault)
    RSVP: deeper@oaknyc.com
    Dover Street Market in Aoyama Tokyo
    The bags will only be available upon order, which is only to be placed at the “Louis Vuitton at Comme des Garçons store”. No telephone or Internet orders will be taken. In return, customers will receive a certificate inside a special card holder in Louis Vuitton’s traditional natural leather, embossed with the Louis Vuitton at Comme des Garçons signature. Only several months later (6 to 9 months!) will their bag be delivered to their chosen Louis Vuitton store. — Talk about not fronting inventory!
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    Free YSL Tote Bags

    Early last week, news emerged that Yves Saint Laurent will be handing out thousands of free bags come Saturday, Sept. 6. However, all the information seemed to be confusing and vague. Calls to their PR office were not helpful either. Rest asured folks, if YSL is giving out anything for free I am gong to get the information.

    Thanks to YSL deep throat, I got undisclosed details to help you (and me) get a free tote bag. So, limited edition cotton totes bags, designed by Stefano Pilati, are being given away  with a “Manifesto.” The “Manifesto” is a newspaper-style catalogue containing information about the collection .

    Well, more than 5,000 of these catalogues and totes will be distributed for FREE throughout Paris, New York, London, Milan, Tokyo and Hong Kong. The big question is when and where. Apparently, one of the secret locations is infront of the uptown YSL store (855 Madison Avenue) from 1:45pm to 3:45pm. I imagine you would probably luck out at the 57th Street location too, however I could not confirm more information.

    I can’t imagine what these bags will fetch on Ebay. Good luck and please pick up an extra bag for me. I’ll sadly be out of town for the weekend.

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