Season's Grievances:Christmas Is Almost HereLet's Get It Over With

Well, Shophounders, It's time to count down the hours until the end of...well let's face it, one of the worst Holiday Shopping Seasons ever.
There's no way around it. Things in general seemed to make about as much sense as the bird-headed lady in Bergdorf's window (pictured above) and they were a lot less amusing and stylish.
Scrooge won out this year as cruel layoffs loomed and usually enthusiastic shoppers simply stayed home. The recent callous treatment of emplyees at the shuttering Bill Blass Couture and the fly-by-night Kira Plastinina has been especially depressing.
The Shophound was out picking up gifts last Saturday —the final Saturday before Christmas— and it felt for all the world like your average Tuesday afternoon in New York (with the exception of Marc Jacobs' Cheap Stuff store on Bleecker Street which, not surprisingly, has been hosting lines out the door regularly). This is all in spite of the deepest pre-Christmas sales we have ever seen. There have been so  many sample sales this season that our eyes have glazed over at the thought of another. They have almost lost all of their excitement, but then we are a bit spoiled in Manhattan when it comes to that sort of thing. We won't see that kind of activity again anytime soon, as retailers reduce their orders and manufacturers reign in production.
We admit that it has been tough to write upbeat stories about New York retail when most salespeople and shopkeepers are quaking at the thought of receiving their monthly business reports.
Let's try to find a bright side of things. After Christmas, the sales can only get better, so if you haven't bought anything in a while, there should be plenty left at the lowest possible prices. Stores are all overstocked and they have to get rid of their goods. If you have been stalking that special item that you can't get out of your head, you may be able to get it for less than you ever thought possible.
(We've already done that a couple of times, and it didn't even feel extravagant.)
So let's all do our best to stay positive and hope the historic Inauguration next month puts everyone in a better mood.
In the meantime, posting may be a little lighter between now and  New Year's, but we'll be around to see if shoppers finally come out on December 26^th, and we'll tell you about it either way.
Enjoy your Holidays, and don't eat too many latkes or Christmas cookies.
Or do. Why the hell not?