White House Black Market comes to Charlottesville - enter to win a $10 gift certificate!
July 30, 2008 by Haidee
As a gal who likes to shop, I am thrilled about the arrival of another option for finding classic, reasonably priced clothes. If you’ve read my thoughts on shopping, you’ll know that, while I enjoy investing in a gorgeous piece of clothing every now and then, I also want to buy closet staples at a decent price. And dresses that can be worn to tailgates where beer will inevitably be spilled. So I welcome White House Black Market with open arms.
In the past, WHBM has been a bit too fuddy duddy for me. A little too Momish. They carry skorts for goodness sake! (No offense, Mom) However, I recently perused their website and found lots of cute things that I would absolutely wear. Along with Banana Republic and J. Crew, WHBM will be added to my list of local stops for finding affordable classics and for closet refreshes. A closet refresh is when you go through and clear out all the items that you haven’t worn in a couple of years and refresh them with some updated pieces that don’t break your budget.
Let’s take the white shirt, for example. I need to refresh these several times a year. I have been in search of a new white tee for months now. Almost every one I find is either translucent, thus requiring layering (in this heat!). Or the fabric is too thick and it lacks a tailored fit. I found one that I liked at Eloise, but it was over $100. I adore Eloise, but I can’t spend $100 on something that will one day be ruined with Belmont BBQ sauce. I was sure that Finch would come through, but no luck. So I’m still on the hunt, and until WHBM opens, I’ve run out of ideas for where to look locally. Anyone have any suggestions?
Here are a few items from their online store that I hope to try on when the doors to White House Black Market finally open. What will you try on? I have a $10 gift certificate to give away to one lucky reader. All you have to do is comment below with a link to your favorite piece from their online store telling me why you like it!
Hey now, don’t knock skorts. Those of us who golf have quite a few in the closet…and look damn cute wearing them on the links, if I do say so myself.
Obviously not my kind of store, but this is precisely the type of store that needs to be on the mall. Let me guess, it’s going to be at Barracks Road?
Echo - sadly, yes, it will be at Barracks. I guess it wants to grab the Ann Taylor Loft crowd. I’d like to see Urban Outfitters come to the mall. Anthropologie would also be widely popular. Maybe that new chic hotel will get the ball rolling.
I’m anxious to see what the new hotel will look like and what kind of crowd it will draw. Maybe it will revitalize the mall because I feel it is getting a little stale.
I wish we could keep the mall chain-store free. I like that it’s different from the typical outdoor mall.
Then more people need to start shopping at those stores. I for one have started buying more of my clothes from the new men’s shop (forgot the name).
I’m excited for WHBM as well. I was so surprised the other day when I was walking by Michael’s arts and crafts and stumbled upon it! Yay for some more reasonably priced shopping options. Plus, I love the white and black combo. It’s so classic, and put-together. You can’t go wrong with white and black, especially during the summer!
I love this one (http://www.whitehouseblackmarket.com/store/browse/product.jsp?maxRec=30&pageId=1&productId=300108814&viewAll=&prd=Sunshine+Satin+Gown&subCatId=&color=&fromSearch=&inSeam=&posId=8&catId=cat210002&cat=Dresses++Skirts&colorFamily=&maxPg=4&size=) because my sister-in-law just purchased it for her wedding dress! She’ll be sporting this lovely gown early next year, and I’m so excited for her!!