While you’ve always been able to add an item to your cart, view your cart, and estimate shipping (on the old software you had to register and could see shipping charges before you finished your order), a lot of customers didn’t realize it and would call or chat with us to find out shipping charges.

Now just look for the Calculate shipping under the “Add to Cart” button*, select your country, city and zip code and find out the shipping options!! See image below.

Any other features you wish our stores had??? Please let me know and we will try to add them!

*Labeshops.com and all the stores running our new software has this feature  (look for the color bar with logo at the top of the page). Mysticconvergence.com, EgyptianMarketplace.com, GothicPlus.com and Sensual-Desire.com still use the “old” software as of this writing so you must still view the cart and register to estimate shipping on them.

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The Mermaid silhouette continues to dominate and will surely be seen at bridal stores throughout the year. The body hugging style shows off every curve before flaring out at about knee level. ‘Modern Family,’ bombshell, Sophia Vergara, wowed in strapless, blue, Vera Wang mermaid gown.  Elle Macpherson also opted for the elegant fishtail look, in a cream corseted dress, by Zac Posen. This style is surprisingly flattering on many body types, especially curvy figures like Vergara. If you don’t have the killer curves, a structured mermaid style such as worn by so well by Reese Witherspoon, can give you more curves.  Her scarlet Zac Posen gown was accented with structured seaming to make Reese’s thin frame curvier and she looked beyond fabulous.

Another trend we will see, especially in bridal gowns, is a pop of color as worn by Angelina Jolie. in an asymmetric dress by Atelier Versace that  had a red fold across the chest. Angelina smartly matched that pop of red with a miniature clutch bag and some bright lipstick proving the importance of the right accessories.

Pastels and nudes are another big trend this season and is sure to translate to day wear as well as gowns. Charlize Theron, stunned in a nude, bustled Dior Couture gown. Kate Beckinsale donned a pale, Roberto Cavalli dress with sequin detailing.

Another huge trend – black but with embellishments. Salma Hayek sizzled in a black and gold Gucci. While, ‘New Girl’ star, Zooey Deschanel rocked a custom black Prada gown, the top covered in emerald green glass pearls. Claire Danes rocked a black and white J.Mendel gown with embellishments and an open back.

Whatever trend you want to rock this season, take a cue from Angelina Jolie and don’t forget the accessories and shoes  to add that perfect finishing touch.

The mobile versions will make it a lot easier to view categories, products, and check out straight from your phone or tablet without having to do a lot of extra scrolling. All of my stores running my new software (which right now are all but Egyptian Marketplace, Gothic Plus, Mystic Convergence and Sensual Desire) have the mobile versions active, so visit them on your favorite device for easy shopping any time and any place.

We’ll be making a few tweaks to them as time goes by of course (is a web site EVER done?) but hope you will find them a lot more user friendly!

Currently installed on SensualElegance.com and CosplayCostumeCloset.com, you will see a “Filters” section on the left of the category pages (see screen image below) letting your select a size, color, manufacturer or more to narrow down your choices to just items in that category that meet those selections! Looking for babydolls that come in size small? Click the > next to size to expand it, check the “small” box and see what is available in that size! Expand the color filters and select “black” to narrow it down more to items that come in size small and black! Click on “clear filters” or check things on and off a you wish to filter and re-filter.

I’ll be expanding the filters and adding them to my other stores as well in the coming weeks. This is a feature I’ve been wanting to add for a while and am so excited it actually works!!!

Starting today, you can get 20% off on ALL my stores! On Egyptianmarketplace.com and Sensual-Desire.com no coupon is needed (these 2 stores never had the coupons added to them lol) and all prices shown are already at 20% off. All other stores, use coupon code “BLK20″ for the 20% off. The only thing it doesn’t apply to are items on clearance since these are already more than 20% off. This sale runs until November 30 so it’s a great way to get your Christmas shopping done early!!

Oh and yes, you STILL get free shipping on orders of $100 or more too! Free shipping applies to orders delivered within the US only. Standard international or express shipping rates still apply.

The new software will let you do a lot of things you couldn’t do before – like create a wishlist of items you want to order*, save your cart for later*, checkout from most of our stores at one time, check out as a guest without registering on our store, compare one item to another, and check out faster with an improved Secure (SSL Encrypted) checkout! You can also track your order as tracking numbers are automatically posted when your order ships!

I am also adding additional stock statuses so you can tell exactly what is in stock with us, what dropships from the manufacturer, and what estimated availability time is (how long items from that manufacturer usually take to reach me so I can ship it to you). I still verify availability of items before charging your card (cards are authorized only when you first place your order. This verifies your card information is valid and funds are available for the order, but your card is actually charged once we double check product availability).

The biggest change is to things you don’t see – like improved ways for me to track your order and keep you up to date on order status. This has been my biggest problem the past year as the growth of the stores far outpaced the old system. The new cart will let me devote more of my time to customer service instead of paperwork to get your order shipped as fast as possible eliminating 2 extra processing steps that consumed a lot of time.

Products are still being added to the new store – I have several THOUSAND to go! But please let me know what you think of the new store and if you have any technical problems with it.

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*Registration on our store is required to use these features.

I have finally gotten the categories worked out I think. You will notice some categories from the current store are missing – that’s because some sections are splitting off to new stores to let us expand our selection without overwhelming any one store. Leather clothing is moving to Sensual-Leather.com, Bridal Fashions going to Sensual-Bride.com, and Fetish Wear moving to Fetish-Fashions.com, which are coming soon.

My goal is to complete the transition to the new version of Sensual Elegance by mid-November – which is the actual 10th anniversary mark of the store! You’ll see tons of new products added over the next week.

The second-place winner at Amsterdam’s Green Fashion Awards last week, OAT’s “Virgin Collection” is the world’s first line of sneakers that, upon disposal, will biodegrade and sprout trees. The materials—some developed by OAT itself—are all easily broken down, and tree seeds packed in the lining will hopefully leave saplings where your sneakers once stood.

The Dutch footwear brand OAT Shoes fully acknowledges that trying to be environmentally responsible can sometimes be difficult for the fashion conscious. “Choosing green often means having to make concessions on appearance, functionality, price or convenience,” the company’s website says. “Do you look at style and comfort, or ethical implications?”

OAT wants to make it so you don’t have to decide between the two. These sneakers are cute, come in great colors, and even have a hint of their future life – a tree – on the sole! So you can look cool and not feel guilty knowing you will one day beautify the world (or even a landfill if these land in one by accident) with a lovely tree!

One piece swimsuits are getting cut outs, plunging necklines and a whole lot of SEXY! They are great for those of us that want to show a little skin, but perhaps not all of it.

Styles with cut out sides can make you look curvier while still hiding the belly some making it appear flatter (or helping to hide a scar).

Low cut or strappy, detailed backs give those with fuller figures some skin they can flash without revealing too much.

Want to show off those toned abs? We have a one piece that does that too – great for fuller busts or for those that want to dive without fear of loosing a bikini bottom!

Classic one piece swimsuits are great for all figure types with some sex appeal, but not too much skin bared.

Looking your best and feeling confident at the beach or pool is all about finding the swimsuit that shows off your best assets while drawing attention away from what you don’t like. Pattern and cut of the suit all work together. Even if you love bikinis, take a look at one piece suits to expand your summer wardrobe and make you your sexified best!

There are 2 measurements used for bra sizing: The band size and the cup size.

To measure your band size, wear your best-fitting, unpadded bra. Use a tape measure to measure around your rib cage, directly under the bust. Make sure the tape is flat and straight against your back and measure tightly. If you come up with a fraction, round down if it’s less than 1/2, up if it’s 1/2 of more. So if your measurement is 30 and 1/4 inches, round down to 30.

Add 5 inches to your rib cage measurement. if you come up with an odd number, round up to the next even number (bras are only made in even sizes). So using the previous example, if your measurement is 30, adding 5 makes it 35 so round up to the next even number, 36.

Now you know the band size of your bra.

To find the cup size, measure loosely around your chest at the fullest part of the bustline (usually across the nipples). Make sure the tape measure is flat and straight all around your body. Round up to the nearest whole number.

This is your bustline measurement.

To find your cup size, subtract the band size from the bustline measurement. The difference between the two determines your cup size:

1/2 inch – cup size is ZZ
1 inch – cup size is A
2 inches – cup size is B
3 inches – cup size is C
4 inches – cup size is D
5 inches – cup size is DD

So if your band size is 34, and your bustline measurement is 38, 38 – 34 = 4 which means your correct bra size is a 34D. It’s really that simple.

Now that you have your correct bra size, it’s time to buy a new one!