Don’t let the name of the “Sport and Trail Shoe” sale going on at Soleas.com scare you off. I was expecting lots of ugly brown hiking shoes … and there are some, but there are also a lot of colorful, cute sneakers and sandals.

At 70% off, I’m willing to take a look. How about you?

(Shown above, Polo Sport Women’s Next 67 Mule, normally $80, down to $40. Sizes and colors go quickly on this site, so hurry!)

I am very excited to announce the redesign of ThriftyChick, and explain some of the new features. This redesign is somewhat long overdue–but we think it was well worth the wait!

1. Personalized Picks. Do you ever read a Chick Pick and think to yourself, “Ooh, I should make note of that jewelry boutique so I can shop there for my next evening soirée,” but then it slips your mind, or you don’t want to dig through the ThriftyChick archives to find it again? Well, now you can save picks and have your own personalized picks page with free registration—you can come back to your picks anytime, and delete or (for you indecisive shoppers) put them “on hold” to completely customize ThriftyChick to your preferences.

2. Chick Picks. Starting this week, we are going to feature Chick Picks on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and update the Promotional Email Digest (on Papierblog) on Tuesday and Thursday. This consolidates our savvy shopping coverage, making things a bit more manageable for both our loyal readers and our tireless editors. Plus, we plan to supplement this with more ThriftyChick editorial coverage on the blog and in the shopping guides.

3. Isn’t it Lovely? One of the best new features about ThriftyChick is its new streamlined visual design. Now it is easier to immediately navigate to find the same great features: shopping guides, sample sale listings, key codes, exclusive deals via the shop directory, etc.

4. Easier Access. Instead of the chick pick categories of old, our chick picks section now features the last five picks—on into infinity. So if you don’t come by the site for a day or two, or you go on three month hiatus to the bush of Africa on a quest to find yourself, you can come back and catch up on what you missed.

5. Exclusive Blog Content. Click the button for “The Blog” and it will take you to just the blog posts tagged specifically for ThriftyChick, in case (for some unexplainable reason) you don’t want to sift through all the other informative content on Papierblog.

Also, I would like to reiterate that ThriftyChick does not post affiliate links inside any editorial content. There are other online shopping sites that do this, and thus they make money off their editorial referrals. Throughout all of Papierdoll, we refuse to compromise our editorial content with affiliate links because we believe it is disingenuous and even deceitful to our readers. When we rave about something, it’s because we genuinely think its worth getting, not because we will make money off your purchase.

Stay savvy & stylish,
Ali Manning │ managing editor

Sales and Promotions:

New Arrivals and Featured Items:

Check out Today’s Pick at ThriftyChick.

Last November I happened upon Back Fashion Cult’s fall sample sale, where I found and purchased the handbag of my dreams for $95 (you can read about it on my former blog, Everyday Chic).

Back Fashion Cult is housed in a private loft and features imported clothing from Italy and Paris—clothing and accessories that you will be very hard pressed to find anywhere else in the U.S. The sample sale prices, multiplied by the exclusivity factor, makes the clothing is irresistible. Their spring sample sale is going on today through Wednesday, details at TopButton. If you need an authentic infusion of European style, here’s your chance.

This week’s Carnivale of Couture is hosted by the Style Graduate, and her topic is something I’ve often contemplated myself while looking at the designs that come down the runway: “I want to know what runway look you would wear as a Halloween costume.”

Well, there are so many options, how will I ever choose? First, I am of the school that Halloween calls for an actual costume, and not just dressing up in lingerie, putting on a headband with horns and calling yourself a she-devil. Second, I thought it would be fun to pick a design from a show I actaully covered at fashion week this spring. With those two criteria, the choice is obvious: Jeremy Scott’s final piece to go down his Fall 2006 runway… a pepperoni pizza dress.

Sorry for not getting this post up sooner, but I like my crust extra-crispy, and that requires extra baking time.