Super Sale Alert

New Year’s Eve is so overrated. You couldn’t be bothered to make plans - not this early - and frankly, who cares what you wear to the most overhyped day of the year.

Right? Wrong. You care. We know you do. Even if it’s a secret yearning for a delicious dress worthy of bringing in 2013. Besides, our eye saw your eye doing a sly side glance while passing by the pretty shop window the other day.

So you, surreptitious shopper, look ahead at your screen. bpb found a trunk show that apparently has nothing to with designer store Kitsch, but is hosted at the Kala Ghoda store by glitzy event organiser Sharmila Khanna (on until November 4) and will feature brands like Ferretti, Jean Paul Gaultier and Marc Jacobs at 70% off.  We’ve been told to look out for these in particular -  yum Moschino black wool overcoat; Ferretti’s evening dresses; Gaultier bags; and tops from Marc by Marc Jacobs.

You're welcome!

Getting there: Trunk show on until November 4 from 11 am to 8 pm at 48, Kitsch first floor Dr VB Gandhi Marg, next to Rhythm House, Kala Ghoda.

What: Dishoom necklace by Nyingu, to order call 09845020432 or view the Facebook page here, Rs 1,800, shipping across India.

Why: Inspired by 1970s arcade game Space Invaders, we’re gunning after this Dishoom necklace crafted from laser cut acrylic with gold cross stitched pistol for pixelated video game effect. This is sold under Bangalore-based graphic designer Smita Sajnani’s jewellery label Nyingu (named after her Lhasa Apso, who’s named after the Tibetan term for ‘pure heart’) that also retails Tetris and Ms Pac-Man neckpieces. Word of advice: skip the overdone wing and moustache pendants.

When: You need a shiny new Sex(y) Pistols cover.

Books and bloomers - do you really need anything else?

Okay, so maybe bloomers would go under 'frills', but at the bpb office, books are categorised under 'basic necessities' and we never pass up an opportunity to attend a novel sale. This weekend, lifestyle store Bandit Queen is selling a mad collection of books for grown ups and kids' bloomers at interior designer Ravi Vazirani's Bandra cottage.

There's pretty chanderi and cute cottons for kids below the age of 13 years, and books that don't usually sit at your side table. Look for unusual titles like an encyclopedia on alchemy, Black- History Of A Colour, The History Of Beauty and Maps Of The Imagination; books on Rauschenburg, photographers Angus McBean and Henri Cartier Bresson and sculptor Louise Bourgeois, with starting prices as low as Rs 300. 

Also on display but not discounted, will be the label’s Japanese bamboo disposable tableware, X-ray canvas tote bags (we love the big black one with cheeky X-ray print, see image), gem and velvet wrist bands, and white summery clothes for women. 

Getting there: Ravi Vazirani Design Studio, Cottage no 13/1073, Dr Peter Dias Road, near Mount Mary Ground, Bandra (W), 7738341423, Saturday and Sunday, October 20 and 21 only, 11 am to 7 pm.

Kanye West isn't the only one releasing white dresses this week; we're equally excited about wispy versions by upcoming designer Nimish Shah, which are floating into Le Mill as we speak. Gathered into a ton of tiny pin tucks with flaring skirt and demure sleeves and sold under his label, Shift, these are the perfect antidote to the tight, unimaginative bandage dresses that seem to overtake everyone's closet during the holiday season. Wear to brunch; for cocktails, or with a chunky navy sweater one the one cool day we'll (hopefully) get in Bombay this year. Just don't do any serious eating in them, especially if you're a klutz like this Scouter, who wore hers to Sancho's and couldn't digest her dinner because she kept visualizing a gross green guacamole stain spreading across the snowy skirt. Bonus: these come with pretty and mad convenient lace-lined slips that you can wear with all your sheer stuff. 

Also look out for a Mad Men-esque dress in vintage floral print and a scatter of sequined flowers; sweet-like-chocolate brown dress with blue detailing that gathers around the waist like a bouquet of bluebells, and a dramatic turban hairband. Shift is also currently available at Ensemble, but the designer tells us that his Le Mill stock is most extensive. Shift into wear!

Getting there: 17-25 Nandlal Jani Road, off P D' Mello Road, Wadi Bunder, Masjid Bunder (E), 23742415, brown dress for Rs 11,000.

What: Volté, new multi-brand skincare and beauty store, opposite Love & Latte, Waterfield Road, Bandra (W), visit the Facebook page here.

Why: From the director of Good Earth, Beenu Bawa, comes Volté, a beauty showroom that will retail hard-to-find international beauty brands like Cowshed, By Kilian, Illamasqua, Malin + Goetz, Ila Spa and Absolution, to name a few. Helping you navigate through the oceans of lotions will be a band of merry experts. Look out especially for a false-eyelash application service. Hair raising!

When: Beauty-que opens next month.

We spotted them first at The Bodice Autumn/Winter 2012 show at Lakme Fashion Week and have been chasing them down ever since: super cool collar tips Blur Designs, a fresh take on the overdone "statement necklace". These tips, two silver triangles with spiked centres attached to a thin double chain, are ideal for work, play or even a rodeo-themed cocktail party. Spaghetti western! 

Other cool pieces from Blur's new collection, recommended by proprietor Shruti Bheda:

Ornate leaf ear hook, Rs 470
Retro cat-eye glasses, Rs 650
Claw nail ring, Rs 180
Diamond tassel necklace, Rs 1,200
Cat ear hairband, Rs 200

Getting there: These pieces will be available at Esbeda stores in Mumbai and Delhi in two weeks, Rs 300 for the collar tips, view Blur Designs’ Facebook page here.

Bid adieu to Attic, Colaba, as the sprawling store shuts down operations by the end of October. We're sad to see it go, but there is a silver (and blue, and pink, and green) lining to be found amidst this gloom  - all the stock at the store, including props, will be on sale for the entire month, marked down to up to 50%.

On a visit this weekend, we scored a pretty Him Her And an Apple kurta for under Rs 5,000; and a lavender cotton top this Scouter has already worn twice (Rs 800).

Here are five other good deals at the store, recommended by the owners of Attic: 

Daisy chair, Rs 14,000 (original MRP Rs 18,000)

Vintage round window book shelf, Rs 18,000 (original MRP Rs 22,900)

Voice Box Shelves, Rs 1,500 (original MRP Rs 2,000)

Wrought iron Chandeliers (different shapes, sizes and colors), priced between Rs 5,000 to 6,500 (15 % off) 

Art works by Lotus White (3 large bird/tree paintings on the wall), largest one priced at Rs 35,000 (original MRP Rs 52,000)

Sale-ing season, indeed! Watch this space for further developments on what might open in Attic's stead. 

PS: The store's Santacruz branch is still alive and kicking, and apparently has a chockful of new designers. 

Getting there: 5/5 Grants building, 1st floor, Arthur Bunder road, Colaba, call 65650444, Rs 4,800 for a multicolored kurta.

What: Custom-made glitter canvas shoes by Karuna Ezara Parikh, email  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Rs 3,000 for a pair of adult sized glitter sneakers, plus shipping charges.

Why: If you go through writer Karuna Ezara Parikh's Spark(ly) Notes, you’ll find sneakers covered in glitter, shiny and rain-proof with laces to match. Also a TV presenter, she started customising high tops as a business after her own DIY project featuring a green-gold pair of shoes grabbed a ton of eye balls. Karuna also does boys, ensuring that their sneakers are less shiny, and jazzes up old canvas shoes at half the price. People with tiny feet (size 4 and below) rejoice, because your shoes are Rs 500 cheaper. Small scale business?

When: You want a sneaker peek.

It's true: these (insanely comfortable, insanely cool) Versace pumps are betrayal to the anti-"it", counter-designer culture we try and promote at bpb, but they're also currently marked down by 50%. And hey, this Scouter needed a pair of black heels. 

So she crossed over to the dark side, prowling through Louis Vuitton and Dior, Jimmy Choo and Ferragamo, before chancing upon these. They come in black as well as bronze, and are available in plenty of sizes. 

PS: Big spenders, also check out a mid-heel pair with a contemporary buckle at Ferragamo, and fun Western-inspired grommet-studded Isabel Marant suede pumps at Le Mill, which at a whopping Rs 67,000, will make these feel like a budget buy. Theory of relativity?

Getting there: Versace, The Trident Hotel shopping center, Nariman Point, Rs 21,000.

Blue Frog goes from bands to brands as the stage is set for a pop-up shop next week. Now the festive year-end flea market is not the route we thought we’d see this live music venue take, but director Srila Chatterjee assures us that the fashion labels, curated by her, are not the ubiquitous ones you’ve been seeing at bazaars around the city. So essentially no kitsch-pitch - diaries drawn with cutting chai glasses and dresses printed with rickshaws – but just a grown up bazaar featuring pretty weaves and accessories. Shall we make room for this handloom?

Sound Check

On October 8 and 9, from 11 am to 5 pm, Blue Frog will host you and your cart, with an all-day café menu and cocktails to fuel reckless spending. Considering the interesting neck pieces we’ve spotted on Srila before, we’d start at the KarmaSuthra stall, a jewellery brand that combines beads and silver to make chunky necklaces and ankle bracelets, as well as slightly more gentle earrings.