Simon Wants Us Sad ?

via Racked

In his Observer column this week Barneys' Creative Director Simon Doonanwrites:

According to Harvard professor Jennifer Lerner, women are disinclined to shop when they are frightened or angry—hence the plunge in purchases after Wall Street crashes or terrorist attacks—but more inclined to shop when they feel sad.

OMG! The rest of the week is a blur. After hearing this game-changing tidbit, my retailer’s brain skipped off down the rabbit hole and began concocting ever more baroque ways to make customers mournful, preferably without them realizing it. What if we dressed little children à la Oliver Twist and stationed them at the various entrances to Barneys? What if we piped in Andy Williams singing “Autumn Leaves” over and over again? The customers might shop their brains out, but what would be the effect on the salespeople? Maybe they would go all limp and suicidal and be unable to help the weeping-but-shopaholic customers?

Do you think that's true? Do you shop more when you're sad?

xo

Office Supply-Meet Old Friend

You know,I feel like I've been past 

Phil's on 47th Street a thousand times- maybe because in

NYC there really are so many wonderful businesses

still lingering with an innocence of a time before now.

And well Phil's represents all that.

When Michael from A Continuous Lean posted this, 

I knew exactly what he meant and I loved it all....

"The place is an amazing cluster**** of boxes and dusty office supplies — some that clearly have been sitting there for years. It seems to stay afloat by supplying the diamond district with all sorts of specialty office supplies. The “office” in the back (if you can call it an office) is even more messy and completely old-school charming. There are boxes and boxes askew and four or five Windows ‘95 era computers stacked on top of other stacks of old boxes".

I simply love places like this that stand by and embrace

 the independent manufactures. 

So much 'stuff' to look at and ponder- some I need, much I don't.

Is it Staples? No.  And that is a good thing.

I understand we cannot always  stand in the way of change,

however when you can, try to frequent those business' that 

are still playing the game- whether they're in it for the money or not.

For your sake, not theirs.

When I need a fix of nostalgia locally,

 I check out Patrick and Co since 1873.

Stepping into Patrick's is like stepping back to 1972.

For a store that has been around this long, they've done a great job of 

blending old to new and never fail to have what I'm looking for. 

Except for the disarray and clutter- you know what I mean, right?    

560 Market San Francisco.

Cheers!

Luxury For Rent

In a 7,000 square foot loft in Manhattan’s Cooper Square sits an estimated 15,000 dresses and 10,000 evening gowns, making up the largest privately held collection of high-end fashion in the country. The clothes are organized impeccably; racks organized strategically by category and color.
This is the Albright Fashion Library.

Irene and Marina Albright have arguably the world’s greatest closet. Chanel, Dior, Prada, Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana, Celine, Gareth Pugh, Marchesa and Hermes: the mother and daughter have everything from Birkin Bags to Louboutins. And while we’re talking shoes, the ladies have over 7,000 pairs.

While I’m certain the two have played their fair share of dress up since opening in 1990, these clothes aren’t for their personal use. They’re for editors, stylists, and celebrities who come to the Albright Fashion Library to borrow outfits for various events, appearances, or productions.

 And for a fee, stylists, celebrities, and editors can delve into this “compendium of fashion” and make it their own, at least for a moment.

There is also the retail operation

down the street, called

Mina NYC

Where customers can purchase discounted   (70% -90%0 high end pieces from the archives of the Library collection. 

Blending the world of art and fashion in a concept store and art gallery.

Genius, right?

Fashion and Film

Fashion, beauty, and style are hot tickets at the 9th Annual Tribeca Film Festival

 There are two very stylish  films scheduled at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City later this week from those that create, inspire or influence fashion trends with an emphasis on the 1960's and 1970's.

Ultrasuede: In Search of Halston 

 "Ultrasuede" is a portrait of America's first celebrity designer with reflections

 from Liza Minnelli, Diane Von Furstenberg, André Leon Talley, 

Anjelica Huston, Bob Colacello, and Billy Joel.

Vidal Sassoon The Movie

There's more behind the man who "changed the world with a pair of scissors" from frothy bouffants to the iconic and geometric wash and wear bob hairstyle in the 1960's. "Vidal Sassoon The Movie" chronicles the self-made man from his beginning in a Jewish orphanage to becoming the rock and rolliest master of Mod hair design.

via Focus on Style

Hopefully, coming to a theater

 near all of us this summer!

xo

Quote of the Day

In almost everything,

experience is more valuable than precept. 

Quintilian

A Grounding Thought

This is artwork from  Christian Louboutin's AW11

ad campaign by Khuong Nguyen.

Obviously evoking Alice in Wonderland,

I love the clever, witty and fantasy feeling

 and think it could be a really interesting

window treatment, don't you think?

 For more details and photo inspiration

check out Styleite.

Cheers!

Quote of the Day, Earth Day

He who has looked upon Earth

Deeper than flower and fruit,

Losing some hue of his mirth,

As the tree striking rock at the root.

George Meredith

Macy's - Say It Isn't So.

 Macy's Herald Square is one of the largest

stores in the world. And I love it. Yes, it is a bit behind the 

competition when it comes to remodeling,

yes, there were the fires.  That's not good.

But there is something about the

roughed up floors, deco light fixtures 

and those dinosaur  wooden escalators

that makes this place so special, to me.

It is no surprise  though, according to Racked NY

" that the Macy's Flagship at Herald Square might be going under the knife soon. The brand had plans to upgrade the store before the recession hit, but put those on hold until their budget had bounced back. Now that it's looking a little less anemic, they're thinking of a major overhaul, reports WWD. In addition to redoing the 34th Street facade and entrances, they'll update the infrastructure and eventually the sales floors. Macy's competitors like Saks and Bloomingdale's have unveiled makeovers recently, so WWD thinks this might be a way to catch up."

Someone call the Smithsonian -stat.

xo

Quote of the Day

It is the instinct of understanding

to contradict reason.

Jacobi The Elder

Marry Me?

You know, something like this, 

(but with more visual-design) 

would make a really cute bridal season window-

don't you think?

The story ran in NY Daily News on Sunday,

for the really sweet details of requited love,

jump to here.

xo

Quote of the Day

A noble mind is free to all men; according 

to this test, we may all gain distinction.

Seneca

Reaching Out with Umbra

You Design

Umbra's contest inviting you to hack their products

By Karen Day from Cool Hunting

Known for their smartly-designed home furnishings, Umbra's tasking their customers with getting creative with their products for their new contest You Design. Created in celebration of their 30th anniversary, You Design invites Umbra fans to upload a photo showing an innovative way to use one of their products.

The photos are online for open voting, with the top ten ultimately voted on by a panelist of interior design pundits (including our own CH editor Ami Kealoha). First prize takes home $5,000 in Umbra goods, as well as a trip to NYC for Umbra's anniversary celebration in August.

For contest details, voting and submitting your photo, check out the You Design website.

Quote of the Day

Things do not change;

we change.

H.D. Thoreau

Welcome to Revolver

Say hello to my new favorite one stop shop.
Revolver
Nestled just far enough off Haight to feel like 
a secret treasure,
you will find handmade men's, women's and unisex wardrobe staples
 with an updated Americana feel, along with an expertly
 curated selection of books, jewelry, and accessories. 
Committed to providing high quality genuine goods and
crafted pieces from local  to international artisans.
They take great pride  in selecting what goes into the shop 
(which includes their own creations) and art gallery. 
Come in and share, there's much to inspire
and many things to desire.


136 Fillmore Street
Between Waller/Germania
12pm-8:00pm


Brands to See

Revolver, Monitaly, Yuketen, Denham, Pendelton, Satcas, Me and Arrow, Civil Smith, Adhesif, Susan Hoff, Woolrich, Beretta, Books and Magazines by Nieves, Sede Magazine Argentina, Jewelry Adoura, Immortal, Journal Standard, Paul and Joe Sister, American Vintage France, Them Atelier, Baron Wells, Vintage Japanese Items, Tanner Goods, Beckel Canvas Products and other secret treasures from around the world.

xo

Quote of the Day

Liberty is always dangerous

 but it is the safest thing we have.

Harry Emerson

Lighting Up The Night

Valentino at Saks Fifth Avenue

The Valentino Spring/Summer 2010 collection, designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli. If you walk quickly by, you might not even notice the collection, creatively lit by glowing dress forms,but stopping for just a moment might turn into ten minutes as you peer at these creations.

Shirts are so sheer, lace so fragile and beading so delicate that it looks as though whole outfits are one strong exhalation away from disintegration. The underlit displays works wonders, and are best viewed at night, but they also highlight the fact that this clothing is not very wearable for those not keen to show off their hoo-ha or underlayer with basics.

Thanks to the Saks windows, this Valentino collection is more easily imagined in a museum than on a

real body.

 .

via Racked, 

Quote of the Day

Man is an embodied paradox,

a bundle of contradictions.

C.C. Colton

Dallas Inspiration: Grange Hall

Welcome to divine intervention, via

Grange Hall, this store, no, shopping experience houses

one of the most unique collection of things

that I have seen in a very long time.

Owners Jeffrey Lee and Rajan Patel come from different worlds, but even continents apart their aesthetic sensibilities and philosophical leanings developed along similar lines. Nature reigns over artifice, and therein lies inspiration.

Razor-edge sophistication, a bit of the dark side and  meticulous placement prevail. The shop, with its floor-to-ceiling walls of glass, glitters like a 21st-century curiosity cabinet. 

Jane at Sea of Shoes called it a Victorian apothecary  with a heavy dose of voodoo magic

True that.

Curiosity shop, voodoo emporium, I don't know about that -

but I do know that Grange Hall offers

exceptional accessories and objects for fashion and home, 

a feast to enjoy. 

xo

Quote of the Day

It's clever but is it art?

Rudyard Kipling

Quote of the Day

It is folly to complain of the 

fickleness of the wind.

Ovid

Explosions of Color

In her recent entry for NY Times Critical Shopper column,

Cintra Wilson stopped by the newly refurbished Lily Pulitzer store on 

Madison Ave in NYC.

The self professed queen of darkness, 

appearing at the store in an all-black outfit, she writes, felt like "attending a children’s birthday party in a latex ski mask." She's charmed by the baby clothes and the vintage rack, where dresses come with notes from previous owners about wearing them while riding bikes in Martha's Vineyard. The menswear, however, is just too much for her. Representative quote: "The second floor was also home to some absolutely terrifying sport jackets for men. I imagined it was what Anita Bryant's linen closet would have looked like after Hurricane Andrew: violent mangos, pinks and aquamarines starched into jackets of such female bedspread intensity they might cause even Ricardo Montalbán to run toward the volcano."

Here is a taste...

WES ANDERSON movies and J. D. Salinger novels both portray hyper-colorized worlds of civilized affluence. The characters are all a little too wonderful, attractive and brilliant to be believed — and they’re all a bit unstrung by their passions for sport or religion or art or each other.

Let us take this feverish color palette and apply it to casual resort-wear. Envision the mescaline rapture of a tropical morning on an infinite golf course. Mirrored beads of dew steaming into the soft turquoise heat. The loving family is educated, earnest and perfumed by chlorine and sunblock.
For the rest of the article and it is very witty, I promise.

xo