Hey fellow KT readers,

It seems today is Gucci’s recession/Holiday Shopping sale online at Gucci.com. What dooes this mean to you? All Gucci items are 10% off! So instead of dropping $425 on your new lace-ups, you’ll only drop $393. Exciting, isn’t it?

Click here to enter the Gucci 10% off Holiday Shopping Sale

As you know, Angela and Vanessa Simmons are established entrepreneurs who run the successful footwear and apparel brand, Pastry. The sisters and business partners recently hit up Jimmy Jazz in Harlem to sign Pastry items and meet with fans. Check out the footage below:

I gotta say, those kids LOVE Pastry shoes. Not sure if they’re me, but congrats to the girls for doing their thing. Click here to visit their official web site, www.PastryKicks.com.

If you’re like us over at Killedthat, finances might be a little tight—we’re in school and can’t work full time. Add to this the tanking value of the dollar (currently hovering around 1dollar to 1.89 euros and 1 dollar to 2 pounds…yes, we do our homework) and the state of the economy, it is seemingly impossible to maintain a comfortable –or, as we prefer, jet-setting—lifestyle when the country is in dire financial straits. How can we shell out over $700 for the newest Lanvin high tops, $1360 for that amazing Marc Jacobs blue with green grosgrain cardigan at Bergdorf’s, or a $1450 3.1 Philip Lim leather jacket when essentials like CORN (I mean really, corn??) have shot up in pricing?

Well, my friends, we at Killedthat know when to SPEND and when to SAVE. I offer you my own shopping secrets so that you can still look good while keeping some $$$ for that retirement fund.

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Hey all, and welcome to our first edition of Fuxwid. We’re going to throw out a topic and ask the Killed That audience if you–well–fuxwid it. What does “fuxwid” mean? Say it in your head (or aloud if no one’s around) and you’ll probably understand. If you still don’t get it, when you “fuxwid” something, you approve of it. You believe in it, and you agree with it.

So for round one, we’re going to ask you about Pastry Apparel. We know you’ve all seen Run’s House (or at least a lot of you have), and we want to know what you think about the cute Simmons girls’ sneaker and clothing line. Check the photo above for pictures of bags, jeans, and shoes that the girls are currently selling. More info can be found at http://www.pastrykicks.com.

After you’ve done your research, post your verdict in the comments section: do you fuxwid Pastry or not?

You know what we hate? When you buy the hottest jeans, shoes, bag, sunglasses, shirt, belt, whatever, only to see someone else with it……and find out they got it on sale. Such a buzzkill.

Want to know what’s worse? The fact that most fashion brands are owned by parent companies. This makes sense, as the parent company provides fianancial stability, so that the brand can afford to take risks with designs and expand into other lines (fragrance, diffusion, home, children’s). There are millions of other reasons why this works, but we’ll save those for Management 100.
What gets annoying is that many of these brands are produced with the same material and equipment as the other brands in their parent company. So if you buy a pair of Seven for All Mankind jeans, would you be happy if you found out the denim was actually a slightly nicer version of Lee’s? Both Seven and Lee jeans are owned by the same parent company, VF Corp. Although we aren’t sure that they use the same denim, the thought that we are really getting Lee at Seven pricing is understandably irritating.

How about more high end designer brands? Some Bottega Veneta woven belts cost a whopping $540 dollars, whereas sibling company YSL sells belts from $395. While this price difference isn’t huge, we’d like to believe that when we pay for BV, we’re getting BV and not YSL styled differently. The “Made in Italy” heat stamps on Bottega belts do look suspiciously like those on YSL and Gucci belts….not surprising, considering all three are owned by French luxury conglomerate PPR.

Or how about Diesel? Would you feel comfortable paying $745 for a pair of Dsquared2 jeans that were made with Diesel materials? Granted, the styles may be different, but isn’t the whole point that you pay for quality and style? So if we’re shelling out a month’s rent for a pair of jeans (which, by the way, we would never do; $745 for denim is obscene), we would expect Dsquared2 to be styled differently and made better.

What do you think? Would you rock a Valentino shirt if it was produced in a Hugo Boss factory?

Guys carry a LOT of stuff around with them on a daily basis—pens, computers, books, iPods, iPhones, BlackBerries, notepads, cigarettes, condoms, mints…you get my point. Every guy on the go is faced with the dilemma of where to put all the stuff he hauls around. In pants pockets? This works—as long as you’re wearing cargo pants, which are fine if you can wear them, but often look bulky when pockets are full. How about in jacket pockets? Fine again, but this style also looks bulky when eight million things are stuffed in each opening. So what is the modern man to do? Continue wearing unflattering, bulky clothing? We think not.

Instead, invest in…gasp…shock…A MAN BAG. That’s right, a bag, a murse, whatever you want to call it. Why, you ask? For the stylish city dweller, having everything but the kitchen sink on hand is essential. And what better way to carry everything than in a well-made, fashionable bag? So what if bags are conventionally women’s territory? Man bags are more sophisticated and grown up than backpacks, which are often associated with tourists. And fannypacks…let’s not even go there.

Why you might want to: Bags are no longer just a female accessory, and many labels offer masculine versions free of the elaborate decoration of a women’s bag, and options abound to suit each style. For the logo lover, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Dior Homme all make bags covered in the brand’s signature print, in both messenger and tote styles. Fearless logo devotees have been seen carrying monogrammed Goyard bags, including the women’s St. Louis tote. For gentlemen who prefer more subtle styles, Bottega Veneta makes leather messengers and totes in its renowned woven structure, in addition to sturdy canvas bags. For the true fashionista, Balenciaga’s Men’s Day and Weekender bags are hugely popular for among the fashion elite. YSL makes both briefcase and weekend bag versions of its women’s Muse bag, in addition to carryalls and zippered totes. If exclusivity and lack of a logo are two stipulations for you, then Valextra—which makes luxurious leather bags without a logo in sight—and T.Anthony, famous for its canvas bags—are perfect for you.

Why you might not want to: Maybe you lack the confidence to carry a bag? There aren’t many reasons why you can’t or wouldn’t carry a bag—unless its pink, sparkly, or obviously for women, go for it. If Snoop Dogg can do it, so can you.