Feeding the Shopping Addiction

Houston Ballet's Nutcracker Market is absolutely huge.  How big is it?  Big enough to fill Reliant Center.  This year, the market is early, running Thursday, November 8th through Sunday, November 11th.  A four day pass will run $40, but daily passes can be bought at the door for $13 per day (or for $12 for one day with this coupon!).  Please note, strollers, rolling carts, and pets are not permitted (wheelchairs and walkers are).  

A list of merchants is available here.  Merchants come from all over the US to participate in this market.  You can really find some very unique items.  Le Petit Boutique (a cute little place in Seabrook, TX which I will feature on this blog later), Leftovers Antiques (Brenham, TX), and D's Iron Designs (no store location, but sourced out of Sugarland, TX) are all merchants I have purchased from before, though at a different market.  In addition Chloe Dao will have a booth.  

The JLNHSMC, which happens to the be the League I am a member of, is holding its 10th annual Holiday Market at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel & Convention Center beginning Thursday, November 15th with the preview party and ending on Sunday, November 18th.  Tickets are $12 per day.  In addition to the normal market, there is Cookies with the Clauses for the kids.  Tickets cost $30 per child and $5 per adult.  Please note, strollers are welcome after 2 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and all day Sunday.

A list of merchants can be found here.  In addition to Le Petit Boutique and D's Iron Designs, The Davis Mountains Nut Company (out of Fort Davis, TX, who also has beautiful cutting boards and Lazy Susans) and Queen Bling (Pearland, TX) will also be there.  Again, these are all merchants I have purchased from before and I highly recommend.

Also on November is the Dallas located Chi Omega Christmas Market held in Fair Park.  I have never been to this market myself, but have heard wonderful things from people who have been.  The market begins on Wednesday, November 14th with a preview party and ends on Saturday, November 17th.  Tickets can be bought in advance for $12 per day through November 11th and those will be held at will call.  Tickets will also be available at the entrance of the market.  Unlike the other markets, strollers are allowed at this market.

Held December 12-24 at the Palmer Events Center, the Armadillo Bazaar is a place to shop things created by artists and artisans and enjoy a full schedule of music performances by some of Austin's most well known acts.  It has been years since I have attended, but if you are looking for a unique gift for that hard to shop for person, this is definitely a good place to look.

Now of course, these are not all the Christmas markets in Texas.  These are just the ones I have either personally experienced or have heard a lot about.  Feel free to share other events that I might have missed.

Fashion's Night Out (FNO) was founded in 2009 and is celebrating its 4th year in 2012.  The 2012 FNO is promising to be the biggest yet, and Houston retailers will be hosting events as a part of the extravaganza on Thursday, September 6th.

Tootsies
In conjunction with Culture Map and West Ave, Fashion on the Avenue from 7-10 p.m. will feature a runway show by Tootsies and the other West Ave boutiques, shopping specials, light bites, cool cocktails, an appearance by Shelley Kidney, and more.  

They have all manner of used boots for both men and women in a great variety of colors and styles. The boots are arranged by size and width, however, be warned, the popular sizes sell out quick, especially around Rodeo.  I spoke with the owner, Robert Novotney, on my last trip into the store early on a Saturday afternoon. He commented that he started out on Friday morning with hundreds of new women's boots on Friday.  They were down to less than 100 pairs of ladies boots, and what they had left were in the very uncommon sizes.  Yep, folks, they go that quick!


When planning your trip, please be aware that they are only open Friday and Saturday from 11-6 and only take cash and checks for payment.  Also, call to make sure they are open (713-624-6257) or check out their Facebook (no Twitter that I can find) for any updates as Robert does all the buying himself and will sometimes close for buying trips.

Last Friday, I stopped into Tootsies to try on the Tory Burch Calista riding boots I had fallen in love with and discussed here.  When trying them on, I was dismayed to learn that they did not zip over my calf and the lining in the shaft of the boot does not allow for much stretch.  So it is back to the drawing board.  

I have spent some time since Friday perusing online to see if I can find anything else that catches my fancy.  I was able to find this MICHAEL Michael Kors Fulton harness boot in solid black for $295 (which is $200 less than the $495 than I was planning on spending on the Tory Burch boots).  Fortunately, there are Michael Kors stores locally in the Houston area (The Galleria and The Woodlands).

Normally, I buy my boots at the end of the season as my dollar goes much further and I end up with more fun things in my closet. This season, however, with a trip to London coming up in mid-September and my suede, flat, over-knee Elaine Turner boots getting a bit worn, I am going to have to make a boot purchase at the beginning of the boot season.

My favorite current trend is riding boots. I like the classic look. On my way home, I popped into Tootsies to see what they might have. Not a lot right now as far as boots go, but they mentioned they had spoken with the buyers, and they should be receiving a lot more in the next two to three weeks. That being said, they did have a pair that caught my eye. I think I might have found my next pair in these Tory Burch Calista boots. Now the question is, black or brown?

The Guild Shop, located at 2009 Dunlavy Street, is a thrift shop in Montrose that was founded in 1962 by the Sewing Group of the Church of St. John the Divine and is run primarily by volunteers.  Over the years, The Guild Shop has donated millions of dollars back to the community, including its primary beneficiary St. James House and other organizations such as the Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity.

The system The Guild Shop has employed is absolutely unique. I have never seen anything like it.  Each item has a price.  That price is good through a certain date, which is printed on the tag.  Then after that date, if the item has not sold, the price will fall to another price.  This cycle repeats two to three times for each item as long as the item remains in the shop. After the final date on the tag, if the item remains in the shop, it will go to the last chance room (not certain if this applies for the clothes as most the items I am interested in clothes wise go quickly) where it is 50% off of the last price, or a dollar, whichever is higher.

The Guild Shop has clothes, shoes, handbags, jewelry, housewares, furniture, and a lot of other things as well.  You never know what you might find here.

The last time I shopped in The Guild Shop, I was able to find this Houndstooth Emanuel Ungaro suit and a black Calvin Klein Collection dress for around $70 total.


The only downside is that The Guild Shop is opened limited hours, so you must do your bargain hunting Monday through Friday from 9:30 to 3:30 or on Saturday from 10:00 to 2:00.   

When I first moved to Houston in 2009, I did not know who Elaine Turner was.  In trying to learn more about the city, I came across an charity event on Facebook at the Elaine Turner flagship store in Rice Village and decided to attend, and as the saying goes, that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.  At that event, I fell in love with the Carolena handbag.  I immediately snagged one in black patent leather and later came back and got the pink Carolena handbag pictured below.

Elaine's handbags are very well made out of fantastic materials.  They are classic and trendy at the same time.  I usually get one or two new bags a year, though I am lagging this year.  In addition to handbags, Elaine also designs shoes and other accessories.  The shoes are of the same great quality as the handbags.  I generally stock up on flats and  boots at least once a year.  The handbags start around $150 for a clutch and go all the way to $750 for an exotic-skinned weekender.  Shoes start at $95 for flip flops and go up to $450 for boots.     

Similar to the event I attended way back in 2009, Elaine has a lot of charity shopping events at her stores (Flagship in Rice Village, CityCentre, and the new San Antonio location) which are announced via e-mail, Twitter, and Facebook.  Those events are a lot of fun with special treats and discounts.  Also, semi-annually, Elaine has big clearance sales to get ready for the new season.

Though I cannot speak of the sales staff and management at the CityCentre or San Antonio locations (I have yet to visit either, so will not cover those locations here), the staff and management at the Rice Village Flagship is absolutely wonderful. If they do not have an item in the color or size you want, they will call the other stores and the warehouse looking for it.  I always have a good time going in, even if it is just to browse.

The Elaine Turner Flagship can be found at 2439 University Blvd.   

Right down the street from Tootsies is More Than You Can Imagine or MTYCI for short.

Inside is a selection of items that defies reason.  As you enter the store, which is always locked with an off duty police officer providing security. Multiple racks of various second hand Chanel pieces, some still with tags, stand in the middle of the first room.  To the right, along the wall, are all manner of dresses, arranged by size.  As you progress along the wall, you see skirts and pants, blouses and sweaters, and then jackets.  There are even formal dresses and ball gowns.  The brands range from Tory Burch and Carmen Marc Valvo to Chanel, Alexander McQueen, and Hermes.  

Did I mention the handbags and shoes yet?  This is perhaps the most impressive part of MTYCI.  The handbags sit on shelves that top the clothing racks.  They have Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and even the occasional Hermes.  The shoes are just as impressive and are on shelves in a room off to the left of the main entrance. The usual suspects include Prada, Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik, and of course, the iconic red-soled Christian Louboutin.

MTYCI is also quite active on both Facebook and Twitter using both mediums to announce special deals, like their 75% off all items in the sale room (a tiny room in the back of the store where I once found a blush Alexander McQueen dress with tags that in the end only set me back about $200).  As with Tootsies, when they start doing the big sales, go early because all the good stuff goes quick.  

The only real downside to MTYCI is that while things are organized by size, they are NOT organized by designer, so you actually need to take the time to look through everything or you might miss something.  I know...what a problem to have!  However, and this is one of my favorite features about MTYCI, if you are looking for particular items (for example, a red dress, a pair of Manolo Mary Janes, or simply anything McQueen), you can give them your contact information, and they will call you if they get them in.

In addition to being a luxury consignment store, MTYCI also carries other items including small accessories, cosmetics and items for your home.  My personal favorites are the Voluspa candles.

You can visit More Than You Can Imagine at 2817 Westheimer or on their website.  

When I first moved to Houston in 2009, I had of course heard of Tootsies.  The store was located in Highland Village, on the south side of Westheimer between Suffolk and Drexel for three decades, and was where I had my first Tootsies experience.  I had passed by the store many times on my way here or there, but never stopped.  

In January 2010, Tootsies announced it was moving locations.  At Kirby and Westheimer, a new mixed-use development space was underway and Tootsies was going to relocate to the prime retail space with large windows along Kirby and Westheimer.  In September 2010, while driving down Westheimer, I glanced over at Tootsies and saw the windows.  I immediately had to stop.  There, in the windows of the store, was a beautiful, red, Alexander McQueen dress.  Could it be?  Could Tootsies be carrying my favorite designer? 

I considered it a sign that I must stop since not only did they have a whole window dedicated to McQueen, but the dress was in my favorite shade: fire engine red.  I went inside.  The store had a fantastic selection of Alexander McQueen items, the largest selection of items and sizes I had seen in Texas.

After getting my fill, I decided to look around and see what else they had.  They had Elaine Turner handbags (a great, local Houston handbag and shoe designer whose flagship store I will cover later in the series), Tom Ford sunglasses (another weakness), and a really great selection of cocktail and formal dresses.  It was love at first visit.  Unfortunately, it would be many months until I could make it back to Tootsies and actually have my first shopping experience.

West Ave was completed and in early 2011 Tootsies began its moving sale.  The sale got off to a rocky start, but by the time I made it to the sale, everything seemed to be fine and I learned a valuable lesson about Tootsies' sales...go early or the best stuff and a lot of sizes will be gone.  While I was able to find fantastic Tory Burch and Elie Tahari dresses at 70% off retail, things were pretty picked over.  The staff was extremely helpful and accommodating, even though they were busy.  Right then and there I vowed I would be back after they made the move.

My first Alexander McQueen purchase from Tootsies (Photo from the Alexander McQueen website)

Alexander McQueen at Tootsies, 2011

Elaine Turner at Tootsies, 2012

Philip Treacy at Tootsies, 2012

All, my sincerest apologies.  I slaved over a long, in depth Tootsies post last night, and it is lost somewhere in cyberspace.  I am going to recreate and post today.  

In the meantime, this past Saturday, I was fortunate enough to be able to make it to the Tootsies Takes Off sale, where you can find great items at up to 70% off.  Fortunately, unlike times in the past, I happened to catch this sale on one of its first days, which is key as my heretofore lost Tootsies post explains.  As usual, I did some damage, but came away with three pairs of shoes for what one pair would usually cost.  Here are the new additions to my closet.  Thank you, Tootsies!

While I am a native Texan, I have lived on both costs.  And while both Los Angeles and New York have reputations as having shopping mad residents, I can tell you they have absolutely nothing on Houston.  In 2010, Forbes Magazine ranked the 25 best American cities for shopping using various criteria, and Houston topped the list over Dallas (#2), Chicago (#15), Los Angeles (#16), New York (#22), and San Francisco (#25).

Since moving to the Houston area in 2009, I made an effort to learn all the city's retail secrets.  In a city as economically and culturally diverse as Houston, I knew the Galleria was not the ONLY place to shop in the city.  This series will mirror my shopping journeys, starting in the Loop (for those non-Houstonians reading, that is the 610 Loop) with places like Tootsies, More Than You Can Imagine, My Flaming Heart, the Texas Junk Co., The Guild Shop, and High Fashion Home, and moving on out to take in areas like the Galleria, and then places farther flung like The Woodlands, Montgomery, Seabrook, and Galveston.  If it is located in the metro area, it is fair game.  Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, there will be a new post regarding different shopping venues.  First up tomorrow will be an in-depth look at Tootsies