Thanks, But No Thanks

by Jean Crawford
Published March 22, 2010 in Fashion

I try to not let a blog go by where I don’t mention my love of online discount designer websites (hello, ruelala). And when I first heard about Gilt Groupe and its special ‘invitation only’ I e-mailed them, told a small white lie that I was a regular on the NYC sample sale scene and heard female shoppers talking about a site and asked for an invitation.

I felt super cool when they promptly emailed me back and graciously extended an invitation. I love the feeling of exclusivity, as long as I’m on the right side of it.

There was a quick pang in my heart when my brother asked me if I needed an invitation to Gilt the other day. It became a little less cool to me; the exclusivity lost a little bit (a 29 year old male asking his cool younger sister if she had heard about something hip, why of course I had).

So when I was doing some work research (no, really) and came across Daily Candy’s shopping site, Swirl, I clicked to sign up.  Unfortunately, I was greeted with a “we’ll let you know when we’re ready for you”. Huh? I felt rejected.

About 10 days later I got an e-mail “We’re ready for you…Bet you thought we forgot about you.” Seriously? Just the way to make a girl feel special.

Thanks, Swirl, but no thanks. I’ll stick with gilt, ruelala, beyond the rack, ideeli, etc.

Half Truth: I want to be part of the inner circle

Whole Truth: But I don’t want to feel like I’m elbowing my way into it…

Tags: Designer Discount, Online Shopping

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It’s All About the $$$

by Jean Crawford
Published March 11, 2010 in Retail

Citibank’s Women & Co announced their new ad campaign yesterday that will run through November. It looks great- beautiful, lots of diversity, real women’s stories, help, assistance, etc. For me, a girl who grew up in the land of airbrushed models and advertising overload, I say nicely done, but I’ll stick with LearnVest.

Full disclosure: I got a sneak peak at the website before it was fully launched, but I cannot say enough about it. It’s smart, easy, and as a product of “Generation Me”, it’s hip and personal.

I signed up for the LearnVest email, hesitant to add another piece of unread mail to my inbox every day, but was pleasantly surprised when I found that it provides a welcomed 2 minute relief from my work day (just like my ruelala daily glance). With provocative subjects like “The affordable way to be a foodie”, “How to drink wine on the cheap (without drinking cheap wine)” and “LearnVester Tax Questions, Answered!”, I immediately sent the site along to my friends (especially the one that just got a credit card and missed her first payment).

The best part of the emails is I know I can always click-thru to the website that provides honest information without the “you should already know this/be contributing to/you’re screwed and should’ve started this years ago” super serious connotation. Just what a woman on a strict budget needs; encouragement, helpful hints and advice that sounds like it’s coming from a (slightly more intelligent) friend, not a scary higher learning institution.

Tags: Citibank, Designer Discount, LearnVest, Online Shopping, Women & Co

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