What would you do with a $500 gift card to Armani Exchange?

So Ladies, tell me. What would you do if you were given a $500 gift card to a store and told to go have fun? That is exactly what is going to happen to one of you :)

I was approached by Armani Exchange to shop at their store and blog about my experience, the clothing, the customer service, and my all around opinion of the store. I am not hiding this from you - this shopping spree was sponsored. I am completely allowed to share the good, bad, and ugly about my experience. The best part is though - they gave me a second $500 gift card to give away to one of you! I am going to tell you EVERYTHING about my experience. I had never shopped at Armani Exchange before, even though the style fits me. I'm not even sure why, it was just never a store that I stumbled into. 

My mom was in town this weekend to I went shopping with her. We went to several areas of New York, but ended up selecting the Columbus Circle Armani Exchange to do our damage. First of all (I must address this), we had the BEST customer service I have experienced in a retail store in a long time. We had a sales rep, George Quinonez, who was completely attentive to us, and all the other sales reps were responsive as well. Note to AX - this guy needs a promotion - he was fabulous! We stayed with George the whole time, and he must have gone to the back 20 times for different sizes, fits, colors, products, etc. We were in the store for over 2 hours, being helped the entire time. And let me tell you - we were NOT the only ones in the store, it was pretty crowded. 

So onto the purchases!! There is a denim sale going on right now that has new premium denim for $98 each, so that is what I headed to first. There was also a deal where you got a $20 gift card towards your next purchase with any full priced jeans purchase, so I thought that was a pretty good deal. I ended up with 3 pairs (you can never have too many jeans!) - I will tell you what I think of each. 

The first pair I spotted was the J57 "Grey Straight Leg", which I mainly liked because I do not own any grey jeans. I figured I might as well try a pair, and these had really pretty pockets. Here is the stock photo of the jeans, so you get the idea: 

I picked this mainly for the pocket detail - it has a slight glitter to it

which I love. This makes this great "going out" jeans. As I said before, I also liked the color, which was unique. The best part about these jeans is that they came in a "long" size, which I need because I have super long legs. Not all brands make long sizes, so when I find ones that do I am extra thankful. I need to iron the pocket on mine - I think it got crunched with all the shopping I did today! 

The next pair of jeans I got were the J11 "Indigo Rinse Skinny Fit". I was the MOST excited for this pair because I am a sucker for skinny jeans. I think that they are super slimming and very sexy paired with heels. The only issue with these is that they do NOT come in "long" sizes, so I was stuck buying the regular, which was not a perfect fit. I bought them anyways because they fit well everywhere else, but they could use a couple more inches on them. Note to AX - us long-legged girls need long sizes! 

The 3rd and last pair of jeans I picked out were the J57 "Potassium Straight Leg". I liked these because they were slightly distressed, but not ripped open. These came in the "long" version like the first pair, so I was very happy about that. These jeans fall into the category I call my "class" jeans - those jeans you have that are not skin tight, that are comfortable for going to class or lounging around the house. The other two pairs are for sure "going out" jeans. 

Next I got my favorite purchase of the day: the black studded sheath dress. I am IN LOVE with this dress!! It was on one of the mannequins in the front window, and it was the very first thing that caught my eye. I knew I needed it. 

I have it paired with a black belt and black Gladiator Pumps which I also got from there. This dress is smoking in person - and those shoes are my new favorite shoes. I will probably wear them EVERYWHERE. Going to the grocery store in sweats? Don't worry - I have the perfect shoes to match.. haha j/k (maybe..).

I also got a clutch, top, and scarf that all match, as summed up in this picture: 

How cute are those??? BTW, I am wearing the J57 potassium jeans in that picture as well. I thought the clutch was perfect for summer, since bright patent leather is very in right now. The top has orange and pink sequins and the scarf is pink, orange, and glittery. I thought this outfit was very "me". The scarf could also double as a hair wrap if you wanted - but I go to school where it is super cold in the winters, so a nice, bright, scarf is very necessary. 

So now it is your turn to do the shopping. We are going to have a little mini contest. Winner will be randomly selected and sent a gift card for $500 - courtesy of Armani Exchange. All you have to do is go to Armani Exchange and tell me which denim pieces you would buy with your gift card and why. Make sure to include the name of the jean(s) you like. You have 3 weeks - contest ends on 7/31, and the winner will be randomly selected. Unfortunately, this is a US contest only - AX rules! Make sure you follow me on this blog also! You can also tweet to enter. Just tweet this message: "RT @allthatglitrs21 is giving away a $500 @armaniexchange gift card! Comment or tweet to enter: http://allthatglitters21.blogspot.com/2009/07/what-would-you-do-with-500-gift-card-to.html"

Also, Armani Exchange is doing a Text AX contest where you can win a pair of jeans every day of July. Text the keyword "DENIM2" to 276264 (Armani) to be eligible. 

Hahaha okay, now that we got the business part out of the way... comment away! I can't wait for one of you to have fun like I did :) 

Overall experience - would I shop there again? YES! And no, I am not just saying that because I got to go for free. If I was, I probably wouldn't have told you that this shopping was sponsored, right? I had an amazing sales rep that I will request again when I go back. I like the clothing, the service, and the style.