Shoe Leather: Behind the seams of Shoestring Magazine

Shoestring Shopping: More New Private Sale Sites

Me and some of our old SmartBargains.com colleagues at a recent Style Fixx event in Boston, where RueLaLa.com had a fantastic booth.

In the second issue of Shoestring Magazine, our Reluctant Fashionista reported on this year's explosion of private, invitation-only sample and private sale sites, where web-savvy bargainistas worldwide can find in-season, discounted designer fashion and accessories for themselves, their hubbies—even their kids.

The original list included:

• Vente Privee
• Rue La La
• Gilt Groupe
• Ideeli
• Regent's Secret
• Haute Look

So, I've had a bird's eye, insider view on this trend—having worked for SmartBargains.com when Rue La La was just a glimmer in CEO Ben Fischman's eye and, more recently, having worked for Care.com, which is backed by the same venture capital firm (Matrix Partners) as Gilt.com—but I'm still amazed at how quickly the space is getting saturated and how little that matters to shoppers. Like with  Shoestring for us, I guess their timing couldn't be more fortuitous, given the current economic downturn, where even the most stalwart shoppers are turning into frugal fashionistas.

Each site definitely has its own unique demographic, look and feel, merchandising, and following, but many members are creating accounts with and shopping at all of them in general (myself included).

I haven't had a chance to really research or review these yet, but thought that, without further ado, I'd share with you a few new ones that we've been tracking this month here at Shoestring:

• Cocosa (exclusively for UK Bargainistas at the moment)
• Editors' Closet (given all their typos, I doubt it's really run by editors)
• Koodos (one of the first UK private sale sites, now open to the public)
• Brand Alley (UK)

What's your favorite online private sale site, and why? We're dying to hear from bargainistas everywhere, so please share your thoughts by posting a comment!

Need more inspiration? We're happy to give any commenters an invitation to any of these sites, since I have accounts at pretty much all of them. Email us at info (at) shoestringmag (dot) com with your name, email address, and the sites you'd like to check out after posting your comment for an invitation to join.

Shoestring News: Indie film On Broadway now available

Some of you may have seen the interview in the launch issue of Shoestring Magazine with our friend Dave McLaughlin, director of On Broadway, a fabulous film starring Boston natives Joey McIntyre, Eliza Dushku, Mike O'Malley, and Lance Greene (plus cameos from native Boston comic Amy Poehler and her husband, Will Arnett).

Ginger and I had the pleasure of screening On Broadway earlier this year while Dave was still showing on the festival circuit, and I'm thrilled to announce that the movie is now available for rent ($2.99) or purchase ($9.99) globally by digital download, exclusively from Amazon.com.

It's a great way to support independent artists, get a jump on holiday shopping, or have a cheap date night or movie night at the same time.

And, if you haven't already, check out The Making of an Indie Movie, our interview with Dave about making On Broadway, on Shoestring Magazine now.

Frugal Foodies: Pop Culture Pot Luck Suppers

Last night, some friends and I kicked off another exciting season of Bravo's hit culinary reality show, Top Chef, with our favorite frugal foodie tradition: the Pop Culture Pot Luck. Especially right now, it's a fantastic way to hone your chops as an amateur chef while at the same time taking a huge chunk out of your monthly fine dining expenses and getting to spend time with other geeks for anything gourmet.

So, how does it work? Every Wednesday night from now until the finale, about a dozen of my favorite foodies will gather for a weekly pot luck supper where we recreate dishes from the past five seasons of challenges on Top Chef (on a dime, of course) and watch the newest episode together. We each take turns hosting a week, and each host then cooks the main entree while everyone else vies for the amuse bouche, appetizer, salad, and dessert courses. Plus, everyone brings a bottle of wine under $10 to $15 to pair with their course. (I brought a bottle of $2.99 Charles Shaw sauvignon blanc from Trader Joe's last night, which was surprisingly good.)

The best part about it is that we created a fantasy league on Fafarazzi.com to track our favorite "cheftestants" and our three-person teams (see mine at left and below) score us points each week for winning challenges, swearing, and using favorite catchphrases from the show, among other things. At the end of the season, we'll award first, second, and third place prizes for the Top Foodies. Just like a regular fantasy sports league, each player kicks in a small amount at the beginning of the season ($25), which we'll use towards prizes and catering the finale party to the theme of the exotic locale in which the final two episodes are being filmed. Last year, we had the fabulous fortune of finding out that the founders and offices of Fafarazzi are based right here in Boston, so we invited them to join us.

To create your own free account and choose a team, and to either create or join a fantasy league, check out Fafarazzi. And, if you haven't already, subscribe to Shoestring Magazine for free now to get the whole scoop—including photos from last night's event with Todd Galloway from Fafarazzi—in next week's issue!

Newsletter, Issue #2: Buckling down, but not out

(Photo of Giulia Rozzi courtesy of Mindy Tucker: http://www.withreservation.com)

We just sent out the second edition of Shoestring Magazine's weekly newsletter!

Read it online now or subscribe for free today to have the best tips on finding The Good Life for Less delivered straight to your inbox every week.

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Perhaps we're still riding high on the optimism of a newly elected President, but this week, everything seems rosier—even the prospect of the holidays during this economy.

We took a hard look at our fears of austere frugality and found that there are cheap-chic brands promising to be easy on the wallet while at the same time doing good globally, U.S. retailers working with consumers to avoid an all-out shopping freeze as we get closer to Black Friday, and simple ways we can work together in our communities to keep kids safe and sound (and moms sane) with childcare options for even a Shoestring budget.

When resourcefulness reigns, it's easy to buckle down without being down and out. And if all else fails, at least we can be thankful for the friends who remind us to laugh.

~ Melissa
Stealfinder-in-Chief

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Check back later on this week for blog posts with an update on private sale shopping sites (there are more new additions to the market!), tips on how to host a clothing swap, and the long-awaited scrapbook from my Shoestring tour of the Smoky Mountains in September.

Plus, subscribe to our newsletter to get next week's inside scoop on the best online coupon sites, tips for hosting Thanksgiving dinner under $100, and cheap, crafty gifts with a serious sense of sentiment and style.

Shoestring Events: Shoestring Magazine has launched!

Today was an historic occasion, for the country as a whole and for the team here at Shoestring in particular.

Like the Democratic party, for just under a decade we've been dreaming of this day, of launching this resource, offering valuable tips and advice for the way we really live—regardless of station or salary, creed or credit score. Finally, the time for Shoestring is now, and we celebrated by sending out our inaugural newsletter this afternoon.

So, whether frugality is in your blood, and the thrill of being thrifty is a family tradition, or you're just looking for ways to save a few bucks until the economy turns around, we hope you'll share your support for Shoestring with your friends by shouting it from the rooftops (or just Facebook and Twitter.)

Email us, post your comments on our blogs and our articles, add us to your bookmarks or RSS feeds, and, most of all, enjoy your new guide to finding The Good Life for Less!

Oh yeah, and sign up for your free subscription to Shoestring now. :)

~ Melissa
Stealfinder-in-Chief