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THIS WEEK ONLINE:

Miu Miu, Boudicca, Thakoon, Rachel Roy, L'Wren Scott, Missoni, Perry Ellis, Psycho Bunny, La Mer, Christian Dior, Prada, Bally, Armani

Here is your weekly sampling of some of the brands you can expect to find on the bigger online Flash Sale Sites this week. You should click over to the sites themselves for a full schedule of events, and be sure to check for the correct start time for each sale. Happy clicking!

GILT GROUPE
Kelsi Dagger, Denim Guide, Belle Noel/Cara Couture, Allegri & Matthew Williamson Coats, Mother Denim, Privileged Jewelry, Hats/Scarves/Outerwear —join HERE
GILT MAN
John Varvatos ★ USA, Hickey, Woolrich, Designer Denim, Y-3, Original Penguin, Ashbury Sunglasses, Puma —join HERE
GILT HOME & CHILDREN
Bedding Sale, NuLoom, 70% Off Knives, Coffee & Tea, Crocs, The Toy Shop, Kami Maternity —join HERE
RUE LA LA
Phoebe Couture, Kitchen Aid, Nat Nast, Moncler & Missoni Coats, Bello, Ted Baker, Jambu, Sorel, Sugarboo Designs, Brooks Brothers, Shaw Living Rugs, Elle Macpherson, Canyon Ranch, Saucony—join HERE
BELLE & CLIVE
Miu Miu, Prada, Three Dots, Jaye E. Casual Couture, Zegna Sport, Alara, Salvatore Ferragamo, Kenneth Cole, Armani, Christian Dior, Matt Bernson, 52 America, Marc Jacobs, Jardin, Chaser L.A., Sisley, Pour La Victoire, Rebecca Taylor, TOD's —join HERE
IDEELI
BB Dakota, Fila, La Mer, Wow Couture, Stairmaster, Charles David, Hardfall, Hey's Luggage, Vince Camuto,  —join HERE
HAUTE LOOK
Pink Tartan, Pour La Victoire, Kassatex, Triple Five Soul, MukLuks, Charles David, Calle Collection, Stewart & Brown, Psycho Bunny, Jessica Simpson, Spanx, Monika Chiang, RACHEL Rachel Roy, Puma, Cuisinart —join HERE
MY HABIT
Thakoon, Bally, Alejandro Ingelmo, Boudicca, Dior, Salvatore Ferragamo, Brunello Cucinelli, Jimmy Taverniti Denim, Madison Harding, M Missoni, L'Wren Scott, Levi's Made & Crafted, Rick Owens DRKSHDW & Lilies, Jil Sander NAVY, Perry Ellis, Dorsia, Horizon Rugs—join HERE
VENTE PRIVEE
Glycine Watches, Revol, Pentax, Mepra, Charriol—join HERE

YEAR'S END:

Don't Miss Us In RACKED's Year-End Wrap-Up

2012_12_big-trends-2012The Shophound is not always that great at the year-end summation listicle thing, probably because our mind is a sieve and we're old so all the years have started to run together. Anyway, our friends at Racked never fail to find all sorts of ways to sum up the year, and this year they have asked several fashion folks around the city to list their favorite things from 2012, including, to name a few, the owners of great stores like Odin and In God We Trust, real estate doyenne Faith Hope Consolo, New York Post writer Kirsten Fleming and bloggers like Mizhattan and, oh yeah, The Shophound. Yes, for what it's worth, you can find our opinions in two places this week. Check out the whole series HERE.

The Year In Racked 2012 (Racked NY)


JON CARAMANICA GOES SHOPPING:

Full-On Menswear Nerd Edition

13zCRITICAL1-articleLargeThe Critical Shopper is back this week in today's Thursday Styles, and Jon Caramanica has made his way deep into the lair of a particular sub-species of New York Gentleman, the Dandy. Our shopper visits Fine and Dandy, the tiny Hell's Kitchen home of an online store devoted to what was once referred to as "men's furnishings". Along with ties and belts, the stores specializes in more arcane accessories like sock garters and hand crocheted boutonnieres. It is apparently a treasure trove of men's accessories that more ordinary folks have relegated to bygone eras. Caramanica brings along fellow Times writer Ben Ratliff, and the duo is impressed by the attention to sartorial details that even the style-conscious had previously tuned out,

What if this were your life? Those people exist, or more specifically, existed. The walls are covered with them: crumbling black-and-white photos of varsity teams and one array with the descriptor Eminent Judges and Lawyers of New York.

And yet, even this fashion conscious shopping pair couldn't quite commit to the full dandy look. A wool tie, some socks and pocket squares are a good start, but not quite enough to join the club.

Critical Shopper: Anti-Casual Friday Headquarters By Jon Caramanica (NYTimes)
Fine and Dandy 445 West 49th Street, Hell's Kitchen


PRESS POWER:

The New Barneys Gets The Once-Over From The New York Times

16barneys_span-articleLargeYou may have noticed in this past weekend's New York Times Magazine that Cathy Horyn gave the new team at Barneys some heavy scrutiny, focusing in particular on Richard Perry, the financier who took control of the retailer this year. It's not surprising that she is pretty critical of the new changes at the store (a stance we tend to agree with) but this particular exchange featuring Perry's wife designer Lisa Perry regarding the new main floor renovation is especially telling:

When I asked Richard what he thought of the main floor, his face and lips grew rigid, as though something unpleasant-tasting were being offered to him. Puzzled, I glanced at Lisa, who glanced at Richard, then back to me and said: “Look at him, you freaked him out! He won’t even speak now.” She said to me, seriously, “I think it’s a really good question.”

Apparently, The Shophound isn't the only one unimpressed by the new aesthetic that has taken hold at the store. "Sea of bags" is an expression that is used repeatedly to describe the main floor's new look. Read the rest of the article to hear more about what we can expect from Barneys in the future, and speculate for yourself how things will proceed for the store so many New Yorkers continue to love and root for.

What’s a Store For? Barneys Remakes Itself for the New New York By Cathy Horyn (NYTimes)


THIS WEEK ONLINE:

Viktor & Rolf, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Paul Smith, Moschino, Alexander Wang, Etro, Hugo Boss, Gucci, Giorgio Armani, Riviera Club

Here is your weekly sampling of some of the brands you can expect to find on the bigger online Flash Sale Sites this week. You should click over to the sites themselves for a full schedule of events, and be sure to check for the correct start time for each sale. Happy clicking!

GILT GROUPE
Chloé, Dolce & Gabbana, Elizabeth and James, Tracy Reese, Organic by John Patrick, Molton Brown, Tahari, Haute Hippie, Prada, Earnest Sewn, I.Miller by Delman, Garrard, American Apparel —join HERE
GILT MAN
Ben Sherman, Ossington Bags, Wingtip Clothiers, Dartmoor Socks, Dark Denim, Bellfield, Projek Raw, Jack Spade, Sebago, Terramar, NICE Collective, Paul Smith, Viktor & Rolf —join HERE
GILT HOME & CHILDREN
Kitchen Aid & Cuisinart, Saint Parfum, Ferguson Copeland, Mini Shatsu, Mattel Toys, Madame Alexander Dolls, Tegu Magnetic Blocks, Barn Organics, Everly Grey Maternity, Jacadi, Bugaboo, Angry Birds, Honeywell Safes —join HERE
RUE LA LA
Ray-Ban, Le Creuset, Frette, Vintage Tiffany & Cartier Jewelry, Versace/Moschino, Gorjana, Nixon Watches, Ivanka Trump, BluePrintCleanse, Wacoal, Lenox —join HERE
BELLE & CLIVE
Alexander Wang, Magaschoni, Vintage Chanel & Hermès, ERIN by Erin Fetherston, Armadani Glitz, Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci, Longchamps, Geren Ford, Prada, Hot Rod, Jimmy Choo, Slane & Slane, Trafalgar, Etro, Tod's, Hugo Boss, Aviator, Vintage Rolex Watches, Z Zegna —join HERE
IDEELI
DV by Dolce Vita, Gorski, Gucci, Jessica Simpson, Magaschoni Home, VivoBarefoot, Chetta B., Cullen, Ivanka Trump, Joseph Abboud, Kris Nations, A'reve —join HERE
HAUTE LOOK
Catherine Malandrino, Donald J. Pliner, Vince, Botkier, Giorgio Armani/Armani Collezioni, What Goes Aroud Comes Around, Skinnygirl Shapewear, Stuhrling, Johnston & Murphy, Adrienne Vittadini, Halston Heritage, Esprit, Judith Leiber Sunglasses, Wiliam Rast, Robert Rodrigues, Matisse, Andrew Marc, L.A.M.B., 2(X)IST, Calvin Klein, Nicole Miller, Segolene Paris, Riviera Club, Fergie, Vera Wang Shoes, Heys Luggage —join HERE
MY HABIT
Calvin Klein Collection, MARNI, Yves Saint Laurent, Patagonia, TechnoMarine, A. Testoni, Pour La Victoire, Eva Franco, Diesel Women's Shoes, Qi Knitwear, Suzi Chin, Donna Ricco, Valery Prestige Lingerie, Ivanka Trump Outerwear, Gola, Peacock Alley, Florsheim by Duckie Brown, Richard Chai for Original Penguin, John Varvatos Collection, Byron Lars, Halston Heritage, Corso Como, Uglydoll, Paul Smith, Pringle of Scotland, Vince Camuto, Plenty by Tracy Reese —join HERE
VENTE PRIVEE
Florsheim, Mauviel, Viceroy, Fallon, Panasonic, Tibaldi, Jan Leslie —join HERE

THE WINDOW WATCHER:

Hype vs. Craft—Holiday Windows At Bergdorf's & Barneys

BGfollies-A
Is there any other city like New York when it comes to Christmas windows? Between Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor, Bloomingdale's and Macy's among others, what city has such a high concentration of  flagship stores with the kind of huge, continuous display windows that lend themselves to to these kinds of seasonal indulgences? While most of theses stores usually design their displays to entertain the whole family (and by that we mean kids), Two of them have always made a point of decorating with a little more sophistication. When Barneys was downtown on 17th Street and Seventh Avenue, then creative director Simon Doonan helped make the store's name with wickedly parodic windows that frequently skewered celebrities and events of the day. In recent years, Bergdorf Goodman has turned away from classic, holiday themes in favor of lavishly constructed fantasy themes that seem to get more intricate each year in its Fifth Avenue windows. Neither store has ever felt the need to offer something for everyone, and both know that their customers (many of whom they share) demand things that are just a bit different.

This year, Bergdorf's has picked a Jazz Age theme, "The BG Follies"for its five big Fifth Avenue windows this year. To a certain extent, the store and its Visual Director David Hoey generally take an "If it ain't broke don't fix it" attitude, using (and often re-using) design elements in abundance to make the most lavish display imaginable. Minimalist, they are not. In fact they are so crammed with objects and figures and decor that you could stare at them for hours, gazing at the lovingly crafted details. Pictured above is window #1, entitled "By Request", tribute of sorts to the all-girl band in Some Like It Hot. It makes use of a bird's-eye-view effect that has become something of a signature for the store. Repeating this element so often might seem a little less than original, but at this point, Bergdorf's Holiday windows are like a delicious cake that you only get to eat once a year. The familiarity is part of the pleasure. It would be disappointing if Naeem Khan didn't make a glittering custom designed gown for the windows as he has taken to doing in recent years, and this year he made two. Even better. You can see much better pictures than we could take of the rest of the windows at the store's blog 58th at Fifth HERE.

While Bergdorf's is sticking to its tradition, Barneys is in the protracted process of finding exactly what its image is going to be for the future. The management team that has directed the store for the past couple of years has tirelessly worked to remake nearly every aspect of the store's personality including a renovation of the flagship that seems timely on the one hand but also exceedingly ruthless on the other. The store's quirky but luxurious and sophisticated style ("Taste! Luxury! Humor!), honed over decades in great part by Mr. Doonan and a longstanding creative team, has been abandoned in favor of a slicker, more editorial point of view. Like a magazine, the store is now more likely to define itself by joining with other, unrelated personalities like Daphne Guinness, Carine Roitfeld and last year's Holiday promotion star, Lady Gaga. This time they went with Disney, collaborating on a heavily publicized short cartoon called Electric Holiday featuring Minnie Mouse dreaming herself into a Paris runway show and costarring a who's who of real life fashion figures (including Ms. Guinness, Gaga and Ms. Roitfeld among many others) transformed into Disney versions of themselves (watch it after the jump). There has been something of an outcry against Minnie Mouse's runway alter ego, who is stretched out to impossibly thin and out of character runway proportions to fit into her Lanvin dress, an effect that is bestowed on several other Disney figures thanks to an ill advised Tinkerbell and some fairy dust. It turns out that the complaints are justified. Despite composer Michael Giacchino's jazzy score, there is nothing less charming than seeing lively Disney characters sapped of their personalities as they clomp down a cartoon runway serving blank, state of the art runway model bitchface. The only one who looks at home is Cruella de Vil, so make of that what you will. Of course the other disappointment is that Barneys appears to have sunk their entire effort into this cartoon which means that instead of actual window displays, they have four big video screens on Madison Avenue playing the cartoon short. Walk into the store, and you would barely be able to tell that it is the Holiday season as well. Aside from a few not especially compelling light installations, what passes for Christmas decorations in the store is a mural sized black and white drawing of the celebrities who appear in the cartoon that is reproduced throughout the store. If you didn't know what it was, you would just think it was a big caricature drawing with nothing to do with the season. By contrast, Bergdorf's has repurposed it's interior decorations from last year, not uncommon among stores, or many homes, actually, but they are still arresting and evocative, featuring garlands of silver branches with swans and peacocks all over the store's already lavish main floor. There's no missing that the store is decorated for a special occasion.

So what we have one store that knows exactly who it is and finds a way to delight if not always surprise, and another that still hasn't managed to find a new direction that lives up to the original and unique on it has abandoned. Guess which one we are enjoying more?

See more of Bergdorf Goodman's windows HERE
Watch Barneys' Electric Holiday cartoon after the jump

Continue reading "THE WINDOW WATCHER:

Hype vs. Craft—Holiday Windows At Bergdorf's & Barneys" »


HIDE AND SEEK:

Comme des Garçons Will Send You
Out Of Your Way
For Its Dover Street Market

CDGdsmnyThis weekend's big news was that Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons would be opening the third version of her Dover Street Market retail concept right here in New York.
At the corner of Lexington Aveue and 30th Street.

Yes, folks, that's the middle of a luxury retail wasteland. Though it's hardly a bad neighborhood, it is primarily home to, as WWD put it, nail parlors and Indian restaurants. In fairness, it's really more of a typical Manhattan mixed use are which also features a number of home furnishings and other types of showrooms as well as plenty of apartments of all kinds. It's certainly not the center of high fashion retailing, which, if you know anything about Rei Kawakubo, is exactly how she likes it. She famously moved her Comme des Garçons store out of SoHo as the neighborhood became a retail hub in favor of the then retail starved far West 22nd Street, soon followed by Balenciaga's first U.S. store (which is now destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, but soon to be replaced by a lavish new location in... SoHo). She prefers to be in out the way places. Even a rare Comme des Garçons Sample Sale was held in a random West Side location in recent years, but Dover Street Market is no mere designer flagship. In addition to all of the various Comme des Garçons lines, it is expected, like the other current locations in London and Tokyo, to carry a mix of other designer labels, many of which are much less avant garde than the famous Japanese trailblazing brand. Designers like Thom Browne, Lanvin, Marni, Giambattista Valli and Givenchy to name a few are featured in the stores. The new version is set to open in about a year, so we don't yet know which other labels will be carried, but the designer has leased 20,000 feet on seven floors of a landmarked former bank from 19009. There will be plenty of room for all sorts of cool stuff, and we can confidently predict that its opening will be one of the main retail events of next Fall (presuming that it opens on time).

Over at Racked, Frank Gargione seems to see the venture as something of a folly, predicting that the tore will get lost in the nowheresville neighborhood, which is an understandable reaction. However, we wouldn't underestimate Rei Kawakubo or her husband and Comme des Garçons CEO Adrian Joffe. Together they have built an empire out of fashion that most people scratch their heads at, wondering who would ever wear such bizarre creations? This isn't their first version of this concept, and while the area isn't especially chic, it isn't that far from places that are. After all, the southern edge of Murray Hill isn't the other side of the world, and it is only a couple of blocks from the 69th Regiment Armory, which is turned into the white hot center of the fashion world twice a year when Marc Jacobs stages his runway shows there. We say, get ready for new York's next Important Store.

Dover Street Market to Open in New York (WWD)
Coach Fans, Ugg Wearers: Comme des Garçons Is Coming for You (Racked)
Dover Street Market (Official Site)


THIS WEEK ONLINE:

Marchesa, Rebecca Minkoff, Duckie Brown, Missoni, Giuseppe Zanotti, John Hardy, Ermenegildo Zegna, Chloé, Moschino, YSL, Vera Wang, LnA

Here is your weekly sampling of some of the brands you can expect to find on the bigger online Flash Sale Sites this week. You should click over to the sites themselves for a full schedule of events, and be sure to check for the correct start time for each sale. Happy clicking!

GILT GROUPE
Notte by Marchesa, Modern Vintage, Façonnable, Tai Jewelry, Rebecca Minkoff, Quasar Pro Plus, Kenneth Jay Lane, Rebecca Minkoff, ALC/Trina Turk, Rich & Skinny, LRK, Chan Luu —join HERE
GILT MAN
Yves Saint Laurent, Incotes Ivory, Tucker Blair Accesories, Puma, Swear, eShave, Mr. Brown by Duckie Brown, Allegri, iLux, Florsheim by Duckie Brown, Alexander Olch, Generic Surplus —join HERE
GILT HOME & CHILDREN
Sagaform/Eva Solo, Candice Olson Lighting, Nespresso, Anais & I, Alex Toys, Cherful Girls' Jewelry, Grobag, Thomas & Friends —join HERE
RUE LA LA
Missoni, Robert Graham, Cullen, Anne Cole, O Olive OIl, BELLE by Sigerson Morrison, Juicy Couture, Blue Apron, Giuseppe Zanotti, Cinzia Rocca, Wolford, Adidas, Catherine Malandrino, Andrea Candela, Genetic Denim, Smith Optics, Rafé, Peter Millar, Lucy, Tommy HIlfiger, Absorba, Commando, John Hardy —join HERE
BELLE & CLIVE
Proenza Schouler Handbags, SEE by Chloé, Vkoo, M Missoni, Via Spiga, Julieri Fine Jewelry, Farah Vintage, Gucci, Ermenegildo Zegna/Z Zegna, Moschino —join HERE
IDEELI
BCBGeneration, Cachet, Charles Jourdan, Cult of Individuality, Honeydew, Badgley Mischka, Boutique 9, Bric's, Custo Barcelona, Ellen Tracy, Lenox, Winter Kate, Brio Milano, Cara Couture, Charles David —join HERE
HAUTE LOOK
Hudson, Kooba, Nixon Watches, Plenty by Tracy Reese, Joan & David, Loveappella Scarves, Laugiole Cutlery, Junk Food, Hawke & Co., Urban Decay, Kork-Ease, CLUNY by Cynthia Steffe, Richard Chai by Original Penguin, ABS, Swiss Legend, Joseph Abboud, Katherine Kwei, Eileen Fisher, Via Spiga, Emporio Armani, Splendid, Notify Denim, Nine West, Cosabela, Zirh —join HERE
MY HABIT
MARNI, Kai Aakmann, Brioni Ties, Garbstore, DC Shoes, Movado, Tahari by ASL, Isabella Fiore, Yves Saint Laurent, Lulu Frost, Valentino Scarves, Panier des Sens Soaps, TOD's , Geren Ford, Oscar de la Renta Pink, Vera Wang, Dualit, Culinary Institute of America, Ravi Ratan, LnA, Kelsi Dagger, Eastland, French Connection, Matt Bernson, Gorjana Jewelry, Hello Kitty Jewelry, Hawke & Co., Jil Sander Navy —join HERE
VENTE PRIVEE
Temple St. Clair, Malene Birger, Saint Honoré, Mauboussin, Tretorn, Kosta Boda —join HERE

POP-UP REPORT:

Don't Miss Pop-Ups From John Bartlett & The Everlane Workshop This Weekend

EverlaneWorkshop
There will be any number of pop-up shops materializing throughout the city between now and Christmas -way more than we can possibly catalog here- but two we won't want to miss are happening through this weekend.

The Everlane Workshop, which will be open through this Sunday, comes from the innovative web retailer dedicated to bringing high quality luxury basics to the public as directly as possible to keep prices stunningly low. Their workshop at the corner of Gansevoort and Washington streets will allow you to sample their tightly edited but beautifully made product lineup and order for yourself with a few exclusive extras. While the focus and quality is firmly at the luxury level, the prices are more chain store, and though they are not quite Uniqlo-low, they come pretty close. This week, the pop-up will be hosting special pre-reserved workshops that let customers make their own belt, necktie or add a customized cashmere patch to a featherweight cashmere sweater. The shop closes after Sunday, so you only have until then to see for yourself how Everlane's ribbed cashmere scarf that wraps around your neck twice like a cloud is a genuinely incomparable bargain at a mere $75.

PhotoOur friend John Bartlett is also revisiting the retail world this week to show off his latest Holiday collection as well as stage a sample sale at 174 Hudson Street in Tribeca through Sunday. In addition to that, this Saturday he will also add a pet adoption event in conjunction with Adopt NY, a league of rescue groups working to save animals from being euthanized and make New York's shelters No-Kill.

The Everlane Workshop runs through December 9th at 74 Gansevoort Street and Washington Street, Meatpacking District
John Bartlett's Holiday Pop-Up & Sample Sale runs through December 9th at 174 Hudson Street between Vestry & Laight Streets, Tribeca