The Outlets at Orange #oaofalltweetup

Posted on the 10 October 2012 by Jamie Gall @50states50wines

Last Thursday evening I was invited out to the Outlets at Orange for a fun night of exploring fall fashions.  And let me tell you, it was one night I truly needed.

Back in high school I was a huge shopper.  Whenever I had a day off from work I’d hop on the bus then head to the Mall of America and shop my heart out.  I was always looking for the latest fashions, and always looking for that perfect outfit that would stand out from the rest.

Years have past since that time, and I admit I haven’t been following fashion for years, but this year, more and more, I’m truly beginning to get back into.

The Outlets at Orange hosted a wonderful tweetup for a lot of us women influencers on twitter and in the blogosphere, and they truly opened my eyes as to what was in for fashion this season.

When we first arrived we signed in and were given a bag of swag which included coupons and gift cards to local stores within the Outlets of Orange.  We were then greeted with tables of food to check out:

One such booth that grabbed everyone’s attention was from “Sweets From Heaven.”  Festive candy party wear, and with those fun colors and candy flavors how can you resist taking pictures?

They also had Jamba Juice which was Pumpkin Flavor, Lasagna and Pasta from Lascari’s Italian, Fuze was on hand giving away samples, and Cafe Tu Tu Tango was on hand (people loved them!)

After a brief introduction we were then seperated into two groups, and were taken to three different stores: Nordstrom Rack, Saks off 5th, and Last Call Neiman Marcus.  Each store had a different way of introducing us to the fall fashions.

Nordstrom Rack gave us a little fashion show:

They showcased some of the fall fashions.  Glitter sweaters are in this season, and Nordstrom Racks had some GREAT deals to check out.

We were then taken to Last Call Neiman Marcus where we were taken on a fun scavenger hunt.  Throughout the store there were 10 fall fashion trends to keep an eye out on.  Our way of finding them were with the “What’s Hot” signs found around the store.  I had fun going throughout the store looking for these trends.

When I finished I turned my card in, and lo and behold, because I was one of the first five to finish I was given a 50 dollar gift card, and I got to choose a personal gift:

I have something to confess here.  This is the first clutch I have ever owned, and lo and behold, it’s also my first designer bag.  So thank you Last Call Neiman Marcus, I won’t forget this.

We were then taken to Saks off 5th.  They gave us the challenge of finding a pair of shoes then pairing those shoes with an outfit in the next section of the store.   We had 5 minutes to do this, and also tweet out the picture in the 5 minutes time.  What did I come up with?

Afterwards they pulled us back to the event space where they held a raffle and handed out some fabulous prizes.  But, they gave us one last task to do.  To stop in Tommy Hilfiger, DKNY, Calvin Klein, and Banana Republic and find one item out of those stores that was your fall essential item.  My favorite from those stores came from Banana Republic with this gorgeous top:

This top above won me a 30 dollar giftcard to Off Broadway Shoes!!

It was a GREAT night, and even after all the fun I still found time to do a bit of shopping afterwards:

I’m ready for a night out! Also, check out this fun video created by OCTV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o4MxZqSqHk

You may just happen to see me in it

Disclosure: I was invited out for an Outlets at Orange Tweetup!  This is my recap of the evening, and it was a ton of fun.