Girl-Woman-Beauty-Brains-Blog

Avelle, formerly known as Bag, Borrow or Steal, is having a semi-annual warehouse sale!  Here's the 411:

As you know, many fashionistas this holiday season are on a budget, and Avelle wants to help everyone stay fashionably fabulous without spending a fortune. (That's why they're kicking off their Semi-Annual Outlet Sale tomorrow.) Avelle’s outlet will offer incredible deals such as 50% off retail prices and will feature more than 175 new and “gently-loved” accessories, including designer handbags, jewelry, and sunglasses. Avelle has more than 4,000 styles of luxury accessories from more than 150 authentic designers, including Chanel, Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Coach, Stephen Dweck and Vera Wang.

The slim black patent leather Yves Saint Laurent stamp tote arrived from Avelle yesterday, and it's fabu-less!

There's still time to shop before Christmas.

Looking like nosy Gladys Kravtiz peeking through her curtains, I have been peering out my window for The Man in Brown to arrive with my slim black patent leather Yves Saint Laurent stamp tote from Avelle, the NEW Bag, Borrow or Steal.  With a gift certificate to Avelle, I am feeling like a REAL diva.  The trendy tote retails for over a thousand dollars, and I am borrowing it for a month.  When I'm finished impressing MYSELF, I will just print out the free UPS shipping label and return it to Avelle and borrow something else.

To drop a few names, you can rent handbags, sunglasses, jewelry or watches with designer names like Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Fendi, Marc Jacobs, Leiber, Burberry, BE & D, Kooba, Tory Burch, kate spade, Coach...

If you are searching for the woman who has everything, the trendsetter on your holiday shopping list, the recessionista who can sport a designer bag without the guilt, or the woman who likes to change her look more often than the weather, look no further.  Get them a gift certificate to Avelle.  It will be the BEST return on your investment.

For other holiday shopping options, how to reduce stress during the holidays, or for a few holiday giggles, check out Holiday Fa-La-La.

• The Triangle d'Or - the neighbourhood consisting of Avenue Montaigne, Avenue George V, and Rue Francois 1er near the Champs Elysées - puts you in the heart of Parisian luxury fashion shops, filled with top brandname stores like Dior, Chanel, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Lancome, Givenchy, Cartier and Yves Saint Laurent.
• The big-name designers also dominate the shops on Avenue George V.
• Galeries Lafayette and Au Printemps, two of the city's top department stores
  on the Right Bank of the Seine. Paris' graceful and historic arcades combine
  shopping and sightseeing.
• The Palais-Royal is unmissable, with a superb selection of antique shops and
  perfumeries.
• The various districts of Paris tend to specialise in different goods. For
  art and antiques, prime areas include the rue de Seine, rue Jacob and rue du Bac near the Saint-Germain des Près church, and the Carré Rive Gauche near the Orsay museum.
• Behind the Palais Royal, one will find the Garment District (also called Sentier), and the sophisticated Place des Victoires. The modern retro boutiques and Asian-themed shops are the highlights of this district.
• Rue de Rivoli, rue St Antoine, Samaritaine, BHV, Les Halles and the Beaubourg feature several shopping malls, with global brands such as Marks & Spencer and Gap catering to the masses, but who would want to shop Gap in Paris.

However you might find yourself in Paris -- whether it be via an airplane, a dream, or the YSL cuff, watch out for the falling dollar. The dollar isn't very haute right now -- the exchange rate is 1 Euro equals 1.51300 U.S. dollars -- but c'est la vie.