Another Meetup

The world of social media has many disadvantages regarding privacy but also one advantage. It is a way to bring together women from different backgrounds and ages to network, socialize, and forge friendships. Four women did this very thing at another Meetup, this time at the King of Prussia Mall.

I shared my adventure in New York City in May to see my daughter and attend a Polyvore meetup. I was inspired to organize my meetup, this time locally. I decided to host the event at King of Prussia Mall, the destination shopping mall.

My family and friends all agree that I love to plan events. I thoroughly enjoy getting involved in the intimate details of crossing every “T” and dotting every “I.”  After a few months of planning, I selected Saturday, September 19, for the Polyvore Meetup at the King of Prussia Mall.

With over 400 retail stores, I settled on contacting J. Crew, Bare Minerals, and Spanx. All three stores welcomed the opportunity to bring in a small group to share the new fall styles. J. Crew welcomed the ladies with a continental breakfast, and stylists were available to show us the latest and greatest that the retailer had to offer.

We spent nearly two hours trying on outfits. I loved having a stylist among the Polyvore attendees who provided helpful hints when selecting clothing for one’s body type.  After I tried on what looked like a beautiful fitted silhouette tweed dress, I determined this may not be a good look for me after all.  As a pear shape, I should never purchase anything with stripes on the lower part of my body that will accentuate my more significant parts. I know that an a-line or fit and flare dress will accentuate my body type.  I settled on a glen plaid A-line silhouette that falls right at the knee.  At knee length, it is universally appealing for women of all ages, especially women over 50.  Once over 50, unless dresses/skirts are midi length, some dresses/skirts cut you off with the tendency to make one look matronly.  We loved the J. Crew 25% off price points, especially the 40% off sale items.

All the years of shopping at my favorite store, Nordstrom, who knew there was a fantastic restaurant with healthy choices, a much wiser choice than a fast food court?

After lunch, we headed to Bare Minerals for beauty, wisdom, and products. One essential anti-aging tip for women of a certain age is to update their makeup to keep it current and relevant periodically. Our resident stylist volunteered to be our model. It’s all about the tap and swirl with Bare Minerals.

Perhaps the next stop was for me.  I have been a fan since Oprah listed Spanx as one of her “Favorite Things” on her television show in 2000. The gracious ladies at Spanx provided our group with refreshments, and we learned about all the different products available for body-shaping undergarments.

For the King of Prussia Mall meetup, Polyvore was gracious enough to provide the group with branded T-shirts and a Dark Side lipstick from MAC Cosmetics. The lipstick is a wine-hued color, perfect for fall.

While social media provides interactions in which people create, share, or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks, it would be better to have a physical meetup where like-minded people come together to share and forge personal relationships that provide a support system to one another, whether a jewelry store owner like Karen, a handbag designer on Etsy like Cynthia, stylist Toi Sweeney, or a blogger like myself.

Thank you to the retailers that provided the venues for a fun day. Thank you, Karen, Toi, and Cynthia, for sharing your day with me. Thanks to my daughter, who captured every moment for what I hope to be the first of many Polyvore Meetups at the King of Prussia Mall.