Can anything Navy ever be hot?
I was online shopping very late last night. Don’t ask me why. It’s a sickness.
I’ve been looking for a gold skinny belt and have had no luck at Bloomies or Saks or any of the Soho/Nolita shops. Which makes me that much more intent on finding one.
Rather than search through a million sites, when I know exactly what I want I use ShopStyle.com. ShopStyle doesn’t have its own e-commerce but links directly to the retailer’s site once you’re ready to buy. And they have EVERYTHING there at every price point from Forever21 to Ferragamo. It’s the most comprehensive shopping site I’ve ever experienced. Sometimes even I am overwhelmed by it and I live for this stuff.
So, at about 2am, I found myself perusing ShopStyle for belts. They currently feature 3,113.
ShopStyle allows you to refine by Brand, Store, Sale, Price and Color. And my tired eyes and I wanted so badly to narrow down by color – Gold – and limit my options to only 187.
But the shopping bug paralyzed me. What if there was a gorgeous belt in black or silver or chocolate or camel that I would never know I wanted if I tailored the search to only what I needed.
3,113 belts later, I ended up buying 3.
Of all the belts and brands I reviewed – from YSL to Gucci to Prada to Alexander McQueen to Valentino – the gold belt I ended up liking most (without considering brand or budget) was from………… OLD NAVY????
The fleece capital of the world that in no way reflects my personal style, despite being a destination for affordable practicality and functionality loved by the masses.
But believe it when I say, I liked their belt so much I got it in TWO colors.
WHAT is this world coming to?!
I got this simple double-wrap metallic bow belt in Gold, as shown above, and in Rosegold – which they call Rose Pink so as not to confuse their consumer.
I liked it for its simplicity, since I need something versatile that my outfits would pop around. And I always appreciate a good bow plus the double-wrap element was on-trend. I did find it amusing though that Old Navy used the words “sassy” “funky” and “fashion-forward” to describe it. But perhaps to the Fleece Fashionistas, it is all those things. To each her own.
So anyhooooo – Old Navy won the online belt battle, but the moment of truth will be when it arrives. For $14.50 (!!!), will it be soft, will it be durable, will it look… cheap??
And most importantly, will I follow-up to even let you know?? ;)
UPDATE – the belts arrived and i was immediately disappointed b/c despite the image above on the site, it does NOT wrap twice… so that was annoying to start… however, i have to say, i love them!! they don’t look cheap, they look adorable. the gold is a great metallic and i know i’ll get tons of use out of it – and the rosegold really steals the show – very chic!!
and the very stylish Little Miss Sunshine here at the office also loves them, so it’s not just me forcing myself to like them because online returns are so annoying. they are truly super cute. and practically free.
Excellent information. I was looking for a skinny metallic belt myself and I was still in hot pursuit until I read this, Suzanne Dailey
not sure what you’re looking for exactly, suzanne, but it comes in silver, gold and rosegold – so the main metals are covered. i also love bebe for wide belts. bebe really doesn’t get the love it deserves anymore… women all the time ask me where i got my belt or my leather jacket or my mini and seem pretty surprised when it’s bebe. then they tell me they’re gonna make it a point to check it out again – they used to shop there in college or when they were younger and just outgrew it when the merch mix no longer worked for their lifestage. now, i’m the type of shopper who can find something anywhere and make it work – but i do think in-between some overly-sequined tops or overly-skin-tight bottoms, bebe has some hidden (and truly spectacular) gems. at very wallet-friendly price-points. my favorite belts right now are all from bebe.