It's all about fun (and getting it for less).

So yesterday I was walking down to the copy room and one of my co-workers goes, "Wow, there's another great outfit. Your clothes are just so... FUN!" And my immediate response was, hey... it's all about fun, right?!

I mean isn't it? To me fashion really is all about fun. If FASHION were an acronym for something, the *F* would surely stand for Fun. I know people wear whatever they wear for different reasons, but for me it really is about looking and feeling great and having FUN. Like a lot of the stuff Carrie dons in SATC is kooky, but I gotta say the girl is having fun. I mean who wears thigh-high argyle socks and heels in Central Park? Seriously. I'm sure my friends have thought the same of some of the ensembles I've come up with, but that's OK. Again, I'm just havin' fun. ;-)

So in honor of my fashion-is-fun mindset this morning, I must tell you all about more awesome sites I've discovered this week. Had I known Rue La La was going to be such a hit with you all, I would've posted about it sooner! I don't think I even realized or remembered it was invite-only till I started spreading the word. My apologies for keeping such a tasty little secret all to myself for so long! And really - what a genius concept this is... it got me thinking, there must be more sites like this. And why didn't I think of this? I mean anytime I see the words "exclusive" or "limited time" or "exceptional discount," I'm like ooooh, must go!!! Must buy now!!! And while I thought the whole "invite only" thing was a little on the oh, puhleez side, I get it now. These sites have these exclusive sales with limited inventory, so they like to keep their audience on the smaller side to ensure that everyone really has a fair chance at the goods. Yet they obviously revel in new members since all these sites give some sort of perk to the spreader of the good word. So here are the new sites I found after doing a little digging (and totally managing to score invites to all three!)...

• Ideeli - All of these sites generally have the same concept as Rue La La, but this particular one only showcases one item at a time (displayed under "The Latest" tab). Also, this site only offers accessories - which works for me, because I'm a total accessories girl! And if you're a big-spender, you may want to sign up for their "1st Row" membership which, for $7.99/month (billed through your cell phone bill - weird, but whatev), you get instant sale notifications and access to new bargains before regular members. I'm interested to see the discounts on future features, because the current bag they have up isn't discounted so much - though it's gorgeous (and already sold out)! This one did mention that they sometimes stop accepting new members, so girls you better jump on this ride while it's hot!

• Gilt Groupe - Now this one and I are sure to have a hot love affair once I come off my shopping hiatus! I am way excited about this one. They currently have a Kate Spade shoe boutique open (swoon!) and Dolce and Gabbana just opened up today too. Some really gorgeous gowns on there for insane prices if you have Dolce and Gabbana type dollas.

• Regents Secret - This one is totally fun - in addition to their current boutiques, they have a "Warehouse Sale" open with final sale items leftover from previous designer boutiques. There are a lot of great party dresses in their by ABS right now for ridiculous prices. I was just drooling over this great dress on sale for $46.99 (orig $290). And also worth mentioning on this one - their reward system for spreading the word is pretty awesome. All the others I've mentioned give you a store credit ($10-25) once one of your invitees makes an initial purchase. But with Regents, you actually earn 5% of your invited friends' purchases in merchandise OR cash - for LIFE! That's pretty stellar - especially if you got some high falootin' friends. Hehehe...

I think Rue La La's site is still my favorite of all these - the site design is so fun and they've had some killer sales so far. And though this hardly matters to most, their packaging is oh-so fun - that kind of stuff totally gets me. Like I love how Bluefly sends you a shopping bag with your order - makes me feel like I really went to a boutique! I'm a TOTAL sucker for that kind of crap.

Now here's what I'm gonna do, ladies - since I love you so much - I'm going to go ahead and work on sending invites out to all those who responded already to my La La post. There were a lot of you and I assume if you were eager to get into that site, you'd also love these others. It's gonna take me a while to send all those out, so if you're not interested, just leave me a quick comment and I won't add you if I get the message in time. Or, you know, just ignore the invite emails if and when you receive them. (You should only get one initial invite, but if for some reason any of these sites continue to pester you, just let me know and I'll see about deleting your invite.) And anybody else that would like an invite to any or all of these, leave a comment with your email address and I'll add you as well. Then do your part, and spread the love!!!

And speaking of spreading said love, are there any other sites like these lurking out there that y'all know about and I don't?! Do tell, do tell.

Happy Shopping! And have some fun...

Update: Alrighty I've sent out the invites for all but Regents Secret. Sending them out via their site is much more tedious than the others, but they have another way of doing it...

Log on to Regents Secret and click on the link, "Not a Member? Register Here". You'll need to enter my e-mail address as the sponsor's e-mail address inviting you (aaz106 @ yahoo.com), and then it will allow you to join!

Again, leave me a comment if you want in to the others! And if any of you haven't received your invites yet, let me know and I'll resend.