Old Navy Beach Bum Accessories Party - Summer 2012 Line Review

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

DISCLOSURE:  I was selected by Crowdtap, as a member of the Old Navy Style Council, to host an in-store party to promote Old Navy's beach accessories.  Three friends and I were given a coupon for a free pair of flip flops, sunglasses, beach bag and beach towel.  All opinions are my own.

Summer's here and it's time to hit the beach and the pool!  Old Navy's Swim Central has everything you need to make a stylish splash!  They have a large selection of flip flops, from your basic solid colors to more fashionable ones with prints and embellishments.  They also have a line of beach towels, beach totes and sunglasses.

Thanks to Crowdtap, I was given coupons for myself and three other people to receive a free pair of flip flops, sunglasses, a beach bag and a beach towel.  I had originally planned on bringing my two sisters and my best friend, but because of scheduling issues and a delay in getting the coupons, I had to switch who I was bringing last minute.  I ended up going with my Mom, one of my sisters and my sister-in-law.  She had just had a baby less than a month ago and so I'm sure she was glad to get out of the house and have a break from the baby!


We met up outside the Old Navy in our local mall.  I had heard from other Crowdtap members that the coupons were coded incorrectly and so many people had problems redeeming them in their stores.  The coupons did not state what kind of flip flops they were for but ended up only working on the basic Classic Flip Flops, which are usually priced at 2/$5.  The coupon also stated that it was not valid on clearance items but most stores were clearancing out all their beach accessories.  I gave my group their coupons and briefed them on what the coupons were for and the fact that we might run into trouble redeeming the coupons.

When we first walked into the store (#06035), we were greeted by the manager, Mithra (at least I think that's what she spelled out, I didn't see a name tag).  I proceeded to tell her that I was there on behalf of a company called Crowdtap to evaluate some of their products and services.  I showed her the letter and the coupons.  She had never heard of Crowdtap before but she was more than willing to help us out.  She was very friendly and even went around the store showing me where the flip flops, sunglasses, towels and bags were.  She did say that the coupon was probably for the basic 2/$5 flip flops and that she wasn't sure if the coupon would work on the women's sunglasses that they had in the store.  For some reason, our store didn't carry any Old Navy brand women's sunglasses, only men's and children's.  For women, they had a line called Beeline and she was afraid the coupon would not be valid on those but we would try when we checked out.  They were also pretty low in stock on beach bags because they sold out pretty quickly.  But she did show me the few styles that were available.  The beach towels they had in store were not the ones I saw online.  They had several designs available, but none of the ones currently on Old Navy's website.

After the manager showed me where everything was, my group and I spread out to try and find our beach accessories.  My mom and sister-in-law started with the sunglasses since they were near the front of the store.  They tried on several pairs before deciding on which pair they were going to get.  For me, it took forever.  I didn't really like many of the styles in our store and I'm hard to shop for sunglasses, in general.  Most tend to have temples that are too long and they always end up sliding down my nose.  I think I took the longest when trying to find a pair that worked!

After checking out the sunglasses, we looked at the flip flops.  They were right behind the sunglasses and jewelry.  The Classic Flip Flops come in a wide variety of colors and even have some with contrasting straps.

My sister chose this pair in Brown Twist pretty quickly.

After picking out a towel and a beach bag, we headed to the dressing rooms to make our beachy outfits.  My sister had a lot of fun with it and tried out several beach looks.

 
This was my sister's "Beach Chic" look.  She's wearing Piped-Trim Bandeau Bikini Bottoms ($19.94), one of the Beeline sunglasses, a Floral Beaded Crossbody Bag ($12.94) in Coral Pink and the Classic Flip Flops ($3.94) in Brown Twist.  I couldn't find the top online.

Here's my Mom in her pool outfit.  She's wearing the Animal-Print Halter Swimsuit ($34.94) in Zebra underneath the Mixed-Print Split-Sleeve Tunic ($19.94) in Purple Print, Beeline sunglasses, one of the beach towels ($12.50) in a zebra print, the Canvas Applique Beach Tote ($9.94) in Madagascar and Printed Flip Flops ($6.94) in Zebra.

My sister-in-law is wearing her own dress, Beeline sunglasses, Classic Flip Flops ($3.94) in Brown Twist and she's carrying one of the beach towels in a rainbow chevron print ($12.50) and the Floral Beaded Crossbody Bag ($12.94) in Neutral.

Here I am in my pool party outfit!  I'm wearing the Buttoned Tie-Waist Shirt Dress ($24.94) in Pink Stripe, Beeline sunglasses ($12.95), the Canvas-Applique Beach Tote ($9.94) in Madagascar and Classic Flip Flops ($3.94) in Brown Twist.

This is my sister's "Nautical Look."  She's wearing the Boat-Neck Button-Shoulder Tee ($12.94) in Blue Stripe, Perfect Khaki Shorts ($19.94) in Rolled Oats, Faux-Leather Boat Shoes ($29.94) in Blue, Beeline sunglasses and the Canvas-Applique Beach Tote ($9.94) in Madagascar.

 Here's my "Shopping The Boardwalk" look.  I'm wearing my own shorts, the Jersey Keyhole-Tie Top ($24.94) in Light Blue Stripe, Beeline sunglasses, the Canvas-Applique Beach Tote ($9.94) in Madagascar and the Super Soft Active Flip Flops in Black/White.  Too bad the mirror's dirty!

And here we all are with our choices!  

Now came the moment of truth.  Were we going to have any problems with the coupons??  I went first.  The manager wasn't up front when we first started checking out.  She scanned in my items and then proceeded to scan the coupon.  It took everything off but the sunglasses.  So my total was over $13.  I told her the coupon was supposed to be for free sunglasses too.  She looked at the coupon and said it was probably for Old Navy brand sunglasses, but that they didn't carry women's, only men's and children's.  She had me walk over to the men's sunglasses and pick one out.  I did not like ANY of them!  While I was browsing through the sunglasses, the manager walked over to grab one since she was checking my sister out and the coupon also didn't work for her sunglasses.  She grabbed one of the Old Navy men's sunglasses to see if it would scan.  And of course, it didn't, since the coupon was for Women's Sunglasses.  So the manager decided she would override the coupon for all of us.  Yay!  After that, we didn't run into any other issues.  Except my Mom.  She had chosen a cooler bag that wasn't covered with the coupon.  So she had to go back and pick a different bag.  She ended up with the Floral Beaded Crossbody Bag ($12.94) in Navy.

We were in the store for about an hour and half.  We had a lot of fun and my Mom, sister and sister-in-law were grateful for the free beach accessories.  Thanks so much Crowdtap and Old Navy!

Would you recommend it?
Yes!  Old Navy has a great collection of beach accessories.  Though the selection seems to vary by store.  I would call ahead if you're looking for a particular item.

How much does it cost?  Flip flops range in price from $3.94 to $18.94.  Sunglasses start at $7.50.  Beach towels start at $12.50.  Beach totes start at $9.94.

Where can I buy it?  In Old Navy stores and oldnavy.com.

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