Shopping Outlet

In keeping up with an age old LA tradition of outlet shopping during holiday weekends, I went to the Desert Hills Premium Outlets (Cabazon) yesterday to scourer the 250 plus stores for bargain treasures.  There were hits but oh-so-many misses!

First of all, it was crowded!  Families were treating Cabazon like Disneyland, eating churros, people watching and strolling aimlessly. I spotted a lot of Asian tourists at all the major purse stores (Gucci, Dior, Coach) buying up bags and bags of waaay out of season prints and styles.  In fact, there were lines to get into the store at both Gucci and Coach!  Uh, Club Coach?  I checked out the high end designer stores (Prada, Gucci, YSL, Dior, Marni, Bottega, Jimmy Choo) for the shoe collections and boy was it ugly!  Prada has tons of Miu Miu leftovers that looked like the leftovers from the Barney's warehouse sale...two years ago!  AND, the prices were only 50% off retail!  YSL had a couple of Tribute pumps and Mary Janes, but all in sizes 41 and up.  Gucci was having a major markdown on shoes, but of course the markdown was on completely outdated, strappy sandals that appealed to no one.

Aside from the above-mentioned disappointments, I did find some treasures.  I bought a pair of black Elie Tahari boots.  I'd been looking for a pair of classic and structured black boots for a while so I was glad to find it at 50% off of outlet price!  The look is similar to these:

I also found an amazing silk scarf at Barney's Co-op.  The base color is a cross between turquoise and aqua and it's adorned with grey and green patterns.  It will definitely color enhance any outfit.  Plus, it's big which means lots of styling options. The best part:  It was marked down from $120 to $30!

I saw a very Blair Waldrof Lanvin clutch at Barneys.  Although I loved the cute colors and the bow and it was marked down to $450, I just couldn't justify the purchase as I'd recently made a couple of purse acquisitions. What do you think?  Did I miss out by skipping out on this clutch?

I'm off to a quick workout, then bbq at a friend's house and fireworks-watching at the marina. Happy Fourth of July!