There was a time when we wouldn't be caught dead in a Payless store, but times are swiftly changing. In their third designer collaboration, Payless ShoeSource says it will introduce a line of shoes designed by alice + olivia's Stacey Bendet.

Yup, they're the main perps behind those sequin mini-dresses that are all the rage these days—but we're talking cheap-n-chic shoes here, so we say bring it!!

Previously, Payless had signed up Abaete designer Laura Poretzky, Lela Rose and Patricia Field as guest designers.

This is Bendet's first-ever footwear collection, and we are super excited to check it out and see how her clothing design sensibilities transfer to shoes. The line will launch next spring and will be sold in alice + olivia boutiques as well as at Payless.

Here's the designer bio for Alice + Olivia from Shopbop.com:

Launched in 2002, Alice + Olivia was born of designer Stacey Bendet's personal quest to create the perfect pair of flattering and form-fitting pants. Her signature style was met with instant success, and "Stacey Pants" quickly became the daily staple and denim alternative for today's retro sophisticate. The brand has continued to expand its horizons launching a cashmere collection in 2003 and a full contemporary collection in 2005, turning Alice + Olivia into the go-to brand for vintage style.

Today marks the start of Nordstrom's Half-Yearly Sale for women and kids where you can save 33% or more on select apparel, shoes & accessories. (Personally, we'd wait until they mark stuff down 50% or more). Before you shop, make a plan and stick to a budget. If you weren't absolutely in love with something at full price, chances are you don't need to buy it on sale either. Happy shopping!

By now you've heard the news: Cindy Greene and Johnson Hartig of the clothing line Libertine will be the seventh designer team to create a limited-edition collection for GO, Target's cheap-n-chic fashion line. The arty-punk pieces hit stores at the start of July.












Judging by what we've seen so far, Libertine simply lacks talent when it comes to designing clothes. They should stick to reconstructing vintage pieces and silk-screening their little skulls and such onto them. We read somewhere that they invented this trend, but find that incredibly hard to believe since according to NYMag.com, they just started serendipitously in 2001 (hmmm...we're guessing they had mad connections).

Anyways, we're not opposed to the punk-prep aesthetic we're seeing with their GO line (love the skulls 'n' whales actually, hehe), we just think their strength lies in juxtaposing old and new, and since neither Greene nor Hartig studied fashion design, we wish Target would have picked a different rising star to profile.

Related links:
Fashion Radar: Alice Temperly for Target
Patrick Robinson for Target
Patrick Robinson for Target Preview

If you know a few things about the retail clothing industry's calendar, you can hit big sales and score great deals. A few things worth noting:

• There are only two seasons in the clothing retail year: Spring and Fall (or Autumn). You won't hear designers and buyers referring to Summer and Winter collections because they don't exist. Summer clothing gets lumped in with Spring, and Winter clothing gets included with Fall.


• Spring lasts from February to June, making July the biggest sale month of the season! Summer merchandise hits shops in April.


• Fall runs from August to December, so look for huge sales in January. Winter merchandise makes its way into stores in October.


• Buying off-season ensures some of the best deals if you can wait six months or so before wearing the item.

Sometime last year, we noticed the words "John 3:16" printed on the bottom of a Forever 21 shopping bag. Weird—that was our first thought. Why did they reference a Bible verse on the bottom of all their iconic yellow and black shopping bags?

Mind you, we had been shopping at the store for at least a year without ever noticing the message. We proceeded to google the mysterious message out of further curiosity (apparently, we weren't paying close enough attention in Sunday school since John 3:16 is one of the most widely quoted verses in Scripture).

The verse reads, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

We tried to connect the dots...Does the phrase "forever twenty-one" have something to do with the "everlasting life" bit? Seemed like a stretch. No, the owners must be God-fearing Christians, we decided.

A little more detective work and we discovered that Forever 21's owners, Don Chang and his wife Jin, are indeed devout Christians. According to an article in The New York Sun, a spokesperson for the company says the inscription is a "demonstration of the owners' faith."

Mystery solved. As far as we're concerned, it's a privately owned company with the freedom to write whatever they wish on their bags. Could it be seen as prostelitizing? Sure. Strategic marketing? Absolutely. Offensive? Hardly. After all, if sexually explicit and violent imagery can be shown all over the place, why not a Bible verse? Personally, we're more offended by ads for antibacterial soap—the science is faulty and we're sick of being scared into thinking we'll die of bird flu if we don't scrub our hands with the fervor of Lady Macbeth.

But enough from us, what do you think? Is the message on the Forever 21 bags a form of unwelcome evangelism or harmless self-expression? And is it in line with the rest of the company's operations?