LA Market 2012

COLOR COLOR COLOR! - 3 words that best wrap up our week in LA! Girls we just cannot wait to show you all the FINE things coming in for Spring! When a season gets THIS fabulous all we can do is smile because bringing it all back to our Material Girls is what makes us love what we do so much!

So here's out wrap-up of our first trip to market of 2012 (one of many!)

Here are some shots of the FABULOUS jewelry we purchased, its all about the statement pieces!

Picking out some jewelry!

Be prepared to make a statement with your jewelry this season!

Cannot tell you how excited I am about these bracelets!! The cross wrap is already on my wrist!! These sweet and simple bracelets are great for stacking all together and layering with your Alex & Ani or LGA!!! 

The rest of the week was spent on CLOTHES AND SHOES!!! Ahhh our favorite! Oh yea, and we picked up something new this season for material girls, SWIMSUITS!!

We know a lot of our girls have big date parties, events and Spring weddings coming up this season so you know we've got you covered!! Here's a shot of all the cocktail dresses we ordered!

A girl's gotta eat after all that hard work right? Here are some pics of our meals!

Smoked Salmon from our hotel breakfast! Yummmm

Lunch is always a quick thing when we're working but that doesn't mean the food isn't great (and not to mention how fabulous it feels to rest our feet for a few!) just because we're sitting doesn't mean we aren't working! Holland snapped this shot of me at lunch one day, work work work!

We love eating lunch from the street vendors!

SHOES!!!

I don't think we've ever ordered this many shoes at one time!  Call your favorite store to be put on the list!

You'll even see tons of COLOR in our handbags.. we loved these clutches!

Get ready for LOTS of colored denim!!

More colored handbags, structure is also very in for handbags this season!

One of my personal favorite tops, we've had it in before but this is a new color, the back detail is amazing!

COLOR!!! We're so excited!!

Here's a look we're all sure to love!  Beautiful salmon color dress with gold studs!! HOT DATE NIGHT!

We brought back some great styles of colored skinny jeans... here is the pair for Material Girls, and below is the designer pair, you can't even tell the difference!! Ahhh I love my job!

Bandage skirts and neons are still HOT HOT HOT for Spring 2012!!

LOVING this lace dress!! Looks like a designer piece! Can't wait to add this to my closet!

Ladies, I'm SO confident about how much yall are going to eat up Spring 2012 and it's only my FIRST trip to market this year! Trust me when I say I keep each of you in mind when buying, sometimes we'll even say things like "Oh Adrianne & Nikki will absolutely love this! We'll have to call them when it arrives!" Really we do! Its because of my ALL my fabulous customers both in MS and all over that I get to do what I truly love! So I am just dying to see yall in these amazing styles this season, I know y'all are going to look great!!

Here are some more styles to get excited about!! Remember, ALL the new merchandise starts arriving on Monday and you know we'll be working nonstop to get it on the floor and post pics! You'll walk into a whole new Material Girls come Monday and guess what? It'll be FULL OF COLOR!

See y'all next week!

Whitney

Fashion is my Passion! - Whitney

Hey Girls!

People often ask me, "Did you keep this top?" or "I bet your closet is so big?" Well what can I say Fashion is my Passion, a love that started when I was a little girl! I remember my friends getting tons of toys at birthday parties and I was always getting clothes (because that's what I wanted instead of toys) , and lots of them. I think maybe my mom's mother, Honey (which is what we call her), may have started this whole "Material Girl" thing! ha But I promise I don't keep EVERYTHING! I just keep a few of my favorites or what my closet needs...well what I think it needs. I feel like I constantly have a running ticket or list of things "I want" and I am ALWAYS on the hunt for them, not just for me but for YOU girls at the stores too! When shopping in LA or NY for my market trips, I buy a piece from a designer label,  then I study it - what makes it unique? what makes it special? what makes it the "IT" piece this season?, then I am on a mission to find it for YOU my customer! 9 times out of 10, I actually succeed! I don't think I  could take it if I didn't find it! I wrote this blog so I can show you a few of my favorite pieces and get us started talking about SPRING 2012!!!  Below you'll see a few things I've kept from Material Girls and how I plan to wear them too! So lets just say if you have my style this will be a blog favorite of yours! So thanks for reading! 

PS: Market week is getting close! I will upload like crazy while I am there!

Here is my little assistant, Rudy, we're working on the blog!

Here is my outfit for the day, which is ALL from Material Girls top to bottom! Naked zebra top, sole mio skirt, our totally awesome leggings, and a Material Girls chunky necklace (which I am obsessed with big necklaces right now so be ready, because I will be bringing TONS of them back from market!)

Another piece that is a daily must-have, and I literally mean 5 out of 7 days, I have something from our seamless collection on. They just make your whole body look better....they smooth the lines out if you know what I mean...here are all the new colors of tanks and racer backs we just got in! 

Here is my other most recent addition to my closet...the backless bright yellow top! I just couldn't help myself... I wore it yesterday with my black jeggings and a racer seamless tank under it!

My other favorite, which I will be wearing when I attend LA market next week,...the mocha poncho!!! I freaking LOVE IT!!!!!! It opens on the sides so you can wear any color underneath it or a long sleeve for cooler weather days!

Ok, one last pic of my other new fav outfit....COLORED DENIM, it is a MUST ladies...and I just had to keep these RED ones! I love them! They are seriously going to be something you may see me in a lot this season...and I was dying for this over-sized light weight sweater to pair with them or a solid black bandage skirt. 

So here's the story on these beauties! Last year I was in love with a pair of Tory Burch wedges VERY similar to these, thankfully I held off for this season! I came across these when ordering for the store and I KNEW I had to have them at Material Girls! They look so much like the designer version and they are so sassy and PERFECT for Spring 2012! I hate to even post these now, because I think after Facebook yesterday they are almost sold out! No worries, we're heading to LA on Sunday so I'll try to reorder! Please comment on this blog with what size you'd like and we'll put you on the list to be called!

So here there are my latest... now you know a few of the things in my closet!  Hope y'all liked what I have chosen just as much as I do!  Remember, my key to buying for Material Girls is to not just buy what I like most, but to buy for every style and shape!  Please feel free to post your favorite looks...I may even do a spotlight on YOU for a blog..wink wink! 

Thanks for your support and kind words...Whitney

Brace Yourself!

Our readers seemed to love our Freshen Up blog we did, it inspired me to write about our love of BRACELETS & BANGLES!! 

From age 21, I started my David Yurman collection; I'd ask for them as gifts from my parents whether it be for graduating from USM or birthdays, a new DY bracelet was what I wanted!  So when I began expanding on designer jewelry lines for Material Girls I knew I wanted to add a few lines that would compliment my existing bracelet collection!  

As most of you know, our favorite bangle lines that we carry at Material Girls are Lauren G Adams and Alex & Ani.  We've carried both lines for a few years now and each collection just seems to be getting better and better!  I get so excited when shipments arrive each season and I dig through the boxes to find my next "it" piece to add to my wrist!  

The thing I love about a great bangle collection is it's such a statement of your individual style & personality.  It speaks for you and adds that statement look that just takes any outfit to the next level.  Adding bangles to your jewelry collection is a simple way to embrace your personality through your jewelry. The great thing about the jewelry from Material Girls is that its pretty reasonable and attainable for any budget!  

Here is my take on how to add to or start your bangle collection on a budget! 

• You'll want to start with 1 or 2 statement pieces, now whether this is a designer piece from David Yurman or a statement piece from Lauren G Adams is up to your budget! Both are just as fabulous and as you'll see from some examples below, either direction will lead to a fabulous set of bangles!  
• Once you have your statement pieces, you'll add bangles according to the look you want to go for, or buy a few different... like some dressier Lauren G Adams for date night, then some more casual and fun pieces from Alex & Ani to mix in during the day! The great thing about Alex & Ani is that they are such reasonable prices! The single bangles start at $21.95 and only go up to about $35.95.  There are also some statement pieces that we love like the cross bangle or feather wrap bangle and those go for $49.95, which is still so attainable! 
• Add in some fun colors with your Lauren G Adams bangles, this is where you can create a theme, whether your favorite color is Pink or Blue, you can create a whole look on your wrist that will make such a statement! 

 Next we wanted to show our readers what exactly we mean when we say "your bracelets can speak for you/your personality." So we've featured some of our Best Bangle Customers below to show you how unique each set can really be! 

Here's is a peak of Adrianne's collection, she's a fun and girly college student that has a few different collections that will adapt to different looks she's going for.. 

We love what she's done with her pink bangles... she has 2 statement pieces, the 1 on the far left is a GORGEOUS pink statement cuff, then she's added the pink and yellow dove bangle for that extra pop of color and to tie in the white bangle on the far right with the yellow stone charm.

Here is Adrianne's black collection!  We are just IN LOVE with this whole set she's collected from Material Girls over the years.  You'll see her Alex & Ani bangle on the far left with the black stone charm, she's also mixed in a rhinestone and silk wrap bracelet by Ettika (thats the one in the middle with the interwoven rhinestones,), it's to the left of her David Yurman cuff, which as you can see here really mixes so beautifully with bangles from Material Girls! 

Next, we've featured Raegan's bangles!  Most of you know her from our Facebook pictures, she's our gorgeous model with long dark hair =)  Raegan features a more edgy and everyday look when it comes to her bangle sets, every now and then you'll see her add a Lauren G Adams statement cuff when she's dressing it up a bit!

You can see that Raegan fills her collection with Alex & Ani, quite the opposite as Adrianne but you still get the same dramatic statement affect with both girls' style!  Raegan has also added in her David Yurman cuff on the left, see how it can just mix and match with Adrianne's Lauren G Adams sets and now Raegan's more day to day collection of Alex & Ani?  We just LOVE what Raegan has done with all her Alex & Ani's!  If you're more of a gold person, we have all these same bangles in gold as well! 

Next in line is one of our old employees/models, Ginny!! We sure miss her bright face but you'll soon be getting more of Ginny in Material Girls with her new handmade jewelry line, Simple Joys.  She's making us some fabulous new jewelry that will hit Material Girls' sales floor next week!! Keep a look out and check our blog because we'll be sure to write all about Simple Joys & Ginny so you know about the new line!   Here is Ginny's bangle collection:

Ginny adds her vintage style to her collection with her pearl bracelet (handmade by her from her line, Simple Joys), she's mixed some of Raegan's style with her gold Alex & Ani bangles along with my fav Lauren G Adams turquoise bangle! She's got that edgy vintage look with a classic touch of pearl! Ginny, we're loving what you've done with your collection and CANNOT WAIT to have Simple Joys at Material Girls!

 
Now here is another great Material Girls customer, Courtney's collection!  You'll see yet again, it's all the same designers as Adrianne's and Raegan's but still unique to her style!  

Courtney's collection is a mix of different bangles she's collected over the year.  She's got a David Yurman statement piece along with a few Lauren G Adams statement bangles.... she's got several statement pieces that she can wear 1 or 2 with some smaller bangles and have several completely different and unique looks!  

Lastly, I figured I'd give yall a peak of some of my favorites in my collection!  I can't talk all about my love for bangles and not show yall what I've got going in my jewelry box! I've got several different collections I've added over the years but this mix of bangles seems to be my "go-to" look lately with that simple pop of turquoise color!

With mine, you get a true sense of what it means to mix and match your jewelry designers to come up with a unique look JUST for you!  Today, I've mixed in my Ettika bracelet (far left) with my Alex & Ani cross wrap, another beaded Ettika, then a DY cuff, another couple Alex & Ani (a personal simple fav, the turquoise small bangle) next to my David Yurman statement cuff. HINT: I actually mixed in a "David Yurman Look-A-Like" can YOU tell which one it is? I bet you can't!  Ok.... I'll tell you, it's the smaller cuff in the middle.  We have these look-a-likes at Material Girls for only $34.95! We're all about making things fabulous on a budget so this is a true showing that you can mix in a bargain piece with your collection and no one will ever know! 

The thing I love about this collection is that just like any of my customers mentioned above, it's taken me some time to add to make this collection special but that is what is so fun about starting or adding to your personal collection!  Over time, you'll add your statement pieces, start asking for some as gifts on your birthday, Christmas, Valentine's Day or Mother's Day for all you mom's out there!  Then, always check Material Girls' Facebook page for when we have huge blowout sales and include our jewelry brands... we just had one back in December and I know all the girls mentioned above added quite a few to their collection! So have some fun with your bangles and add something to your wardrobe that really speaks for you like nothing else can! 

Hope that was just as fun for you as it was for me!  I'll be sure to post some more pics on our blog as we get some more customers all bangled up! 

Love,
Whitney

Freshen Up for 2012

Hey Ladies!

We hope that everyone had a fabulous Holiday season and a Happy New Year just like we did! We've loved every minute of helping our customers and their loved ones pick out the perfect gifts for you this season!  I hope that everyone loved all their goodies from Material Girls!  

We're gearing up for another great year at Material Girls and with that said, we've been getting ready at home as well!  I spent a few days organizing my closet and cosmetic space and I really feel so much better now that it's all organized and tidy!  It's amazing what some a new year's motivation will do for you and get your life ready to take on another year with all your clothes, makeup, and jewelry looking it's best!  Ladies, it's time to de-clutter, clean-out and organize for 2012!!  

I've posted a few pictures to show you what I've done in my space to hopefully inspire you to get freshened up too! 

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I started with a quick and easy solution for those pesky makeup brushes that seem to get scattered all over my counter every morning, this was super easy and has been such a great fix! I bought a small glass "vase" from Hobby Lobby (this week all glass was 50% so that was a nice treat!) then I filled it with rice and created this perfect little way to keep organized while maximizing my counter space! Here is the finished product!

My next task, a much bigger one, was to organize my jewelry!  I think y'all can relate to this problem, a whole season's worth of jewelry all over your house... well that's what happens sometimes!  Let's not worry about that, let's get it organized and pretty so you can actually SEE what you have and get the most wear for your buck!  I'm lucky enough to have a mom that noticed my problem as well, she purchased a FABULOUS new jewelry case for me for Christmas.  I must say, it was one of my most favorite presents this year because it's pretty yet practical and fits right in my closet!

Clearly this task would take a bit longer than those little makeup brushes! However, I was just so excited to use my new jewelry case that it helped motivate me to get started!  I have nice jewelry, family pieces and of course LOTS of fun jewelry from Material Girls, it all fit right in here!  

Here's a few pics to get the idea! 

Next was another big task... my closet!! Yikes!  I will tell you a few tricks to keep even the most packed closet pretty and organized.  My top tricks are to buy all the same kind of hanger so they lay nicely next to each other and the next one is to have all your hangers facing the same way, these don't seem like much but I promise once you get it going you'll see what a difference a few small changes make!  Next, color coordinate!  Getting ready in the morning will a breeze when you can see all your colors and items more clearly when it's all color coordinated!

Here's my finished product!!

 

 

Well I hope that my few ideas gave you a little inspiration to freshen up your 2012!   I know I feel so much better now that everything has it's place!

 

My next organization step is to organize my shoes! That will also take some work but it's next on my list for sure! I'm thinking about buying a few of those floor shoe racks that will line up under my clothing to at least keep most of them in their best shape and organized!  I'll let you know what I find!  

Here's what I'm thinking... or at least something like this:

The last step to getting completely clutter-free is to part ways with some of those old shirts, dresses, and jeans that need freshening up!  My favorite thing to do is pile it all up in garbage bags and take it to my favorite consignment shop where they'll resell it for me and I'll make a little money while I'm at it!  It's super easy and they do most the work for you!  I take most of my things to Private Collection in Madison right off of HWY 51.  You can call them if you have any questions 601-6074-6004.  The best thing about Private Collection is that you don't have to schedule a drop time, just bring it back whenever is most convenient to you!  

I have a few more things next on my list to get ready for Spring 2012, some ideas and some products that I'm super excited about!

First off, WHITE SKINNY JEANS! I cannot wait to go to LA in 2 weeks and bring back some of the newest styles! There's nothing I love more than to throw on a cute tank some white skinnies and my favorite pair of gold sandals!  Which brings me to my next point, I'll be in search of some new gold sandals while in LA too!  They are definitely my go-to piece in Spring and Summer, metallics seem to go with everything and are definitely the new "neutral" when it comes to footwear!

 

My next find will be a new sunscreen. It's not just about your makeup and clothes, it's much more natural than that, it starts with your skin!  Even though we love the sun, we need to make sure we're taking the best care of our face and skin as we can, that starts with a good sunscreen!  I'll be sure to post when I figure out what my favorite one is for this season!

 

Next is my new obsession.. EmiJay Hairties!  Girls if you haven't tried these little wonders you have GOT TO!! Trust me, your hair will thank you!  Throw out those old rubber bands and get ready for a fresh new change!  You can purchase them at any Material Girls location and they're super inexpensive! They don't break your hair like the old kind do and they also hold your hair in place and don't leave a bad crease!  The hair ties come in super fun colors and patterns!  

 

I hope that this has helped you get motivated to freshen up your 2012! Get ready for market week because we're heading to LA in just a few weeks!!! 

Love,
Whitney