It’s a Happy-Happy Monday!

Hello-Hello, and Happy Monday!

It is exceptionally happy today because…

… the always fun and gracious Pink Cupcakes and Tab tagged us with the Happy 101 Award! Thank you Miss Tammy, yours is one of the very first blogs we ever read. We still love reading it, although we don’t comment nearly enough, shame on us.

Here are the Rules for the Award:

1. List 10 things that make you happy.
2. Tag 10 bloggers that brighten your day.

We’ll start with the first item, ten things that put a smile on TP’s face:

• The Consort: our always-and-forever love
• Silly Tilly, our rescued bulldog

• Tilly’s sibling, Scooter-the-Wonder-Cat

• The Queen Mother, absolutely the best parent anyone could hope for, and then some
• Mad Men, especially Don & Betty Draper
• Our blogosphere friends, all so kind and witty and generous
• Almost anything in pink, let alone pink & green!

Courtesy Lilly Pulitzer

• Time spent at the Large Lake, where the family has summered since the late 1800’s

• Life here in the Corner Condo at Preppy Princess InterGalactic HQ, allowing us to do something we *really* love, with absolute the best customers in the galaxy
• Being able to read all of the fashion trades as part of said job.

Courtesy Women's Wear Daily

We are ever-so-blessed, the list could be endless, but as we’re not terribly comfortable nattering on about ourselves (too much TP is too dreary), we’ll stop here.

Next, our list of 10 bloggers that brighten our day:

1) All Things Southern & Preppy (aka Preppy 101)

2) When Pigs Fly

3) Queen Bee Swain

4) Princess Freckles

5) Preppy Pink Crocodile

6) Nautical by Nature

7) Muffy Martini

Lipstick at the Mailbox

9) The Pursuit of Techyness

10) Whale Flip-Flops aka Prep in the Big Apple

There are many (MANY) more than these ten, but we would be posting all night if we actually listed all those that we enjoy.

Thank you again Miss Pink Cupcakes & Tab, you put a smile on our face too! For those not familiar with Tammy, pop over and say hello, she is recuperating from serious foot surgery and has somehow maintained her same great attitude throughout the entire ordeal – she is amazing.

The Consort’s Guide To Holiday Last Resort Ideas

Hello-hello, The Consort here striding mikeside to dazzle and/or baffle you, the last I saw of the Princess she was running through the Prepatorium, shrieking concerned about pink and green ribbon.

I thought it appropriate to turn the spotlight on some suggestions for the testosterone-laden on your holiday list.  There will be, not surprisingly, no regard for budgets nor reality.  Sit back, grab a cup of your favorite beverage and enjoy the ride.

We start with a little item that every male wants for no apparent reason.

Hey, it’s shiny and makes noise.  Kind of like a bald-headed baby without the mess. What’s not to love? The Apple iPod touch 8 GB is a great time-killer at a reasonable price.  You can find these babies at amazon.com for well under $200.  Get one of these and your favorite guy can carry it along with his iPhone.  Which, unless I’m horribly mistaken, does the same thing with the added feature of being a real phone. But let’s not get bogged down in facts and details.  Let’s move on to bigger things…

It’s time to gather that growing collection of hand tools and get organized.  Kobalt offers a fine selection of tool chests in varying sizes with a ton of features.  How many features can one expect on a tool chest?  Some of these beauties are over-the-top crazy with refrigerators and sound systems.  I’m content with a rolling chest like this one that can be found at your neighborhood Lowe’s for under $400.  It’ll last a lifetime and only fuels tool lust.  But if you need something to put into your new, shiny tool chest you might want to consider a stop at an American standard.

Craftsman tools have been around since early man first picked up a rock and banged on a stick.  Or something like that.  If you’re starting your tool arsenal this is not a bad beginning point.  The 83-piece Homeowners Tool Set is available for under $120 at Sears stores or online.  The set is made up of dependable, homeowner-grade tools that will be fine for average use.  If you’re seeking professional-grade tools you can also find Craftsman tools for that but you might want to consider looking at Matco Tools or Snap-On Tools.

Maybe we need something a bit more budget-friendly.  Something truly memorable.  Consider taking $50 and donating it to your local food bank.  You’ll be amazed how far they will stretch that money.  Locally, our food bank can provide five meals for every $1 donated.  These are fragile times in which we are living.  You can be the difference between someone eating or going hungry today.  I don’t intend to get overly dramatic here and I apologize if I appear that way to you.  We, as a nation, are remarkably generous.  Now is the time to share our time, talent and treasures with our neighbors.

Oh, look.  It’s time to step off of the soapbox and head back to the shipping department.  Thanks for your indulgence.  The Princess will return when the credit cards melt.  Meanwhile, treat your waitperson right because they’re out there working hard for you tonight.  Try the veal and I’ll be back soon.  Now, sit back and enjoy this group of young people with a very positive attitude.  Good night, everyone!

Next Year’s Hot Color & Lilly’s Take On It

Hello-Hello, and welcome to the corner condo here at the Prepatorium, where the wind is howling! We hope everyone is safe and warm, protected from the elements.

We start today with word on THE color for next year, at least according to the experts at Pantone.

Courtesy Pantone

Officially know as Pantone #15-5519, more generally referred to as ‘turquoise’ by most of us common folk. Every year the design minds at this color brain trust select a specific color (some may recall Pantone selected mimosa yellow as the color for 2009) as the ‘it’ shade for the coming year. The news release from Pantone explains more:

“…inviting, luminous hue… Combining the serene qualities of blue and the invigorating aspects of green, Turquoise evokes thoughts of soothing, tropical waters and a languorous, effective escape from the everyday troubles of the world.”

Courtesy Pantone via WWD

In their story on the color pick, the Los Angeles Times spoke with Janie Schoenborn, design director at Lilly Pulitzer.

“It puts everyone in the same state of mind — on vacation,”

We like that perspective. We also like turquoise pieces from Lilly, in a solid like the Casey V-neck (L) or a print, as with the Elsa (R).

More from Ms. Schoenborn in the Times story:

“Turquoise for us is a really big color. A lot of times it’s transporting, whether you’re actually going to a resort destination or not.”

Lilly’s Checking In print exemplifies this sentiment.

Courtesy Lilly Pulitzer

A philosophy also easily seen in the packaging for Lilly’s Beachy eau de parfum.

Courtesy Lilly Pulitzer

Look how closely the colors in the Pantone beach image are replicated in the Lilly Sea and Be Seen tote.

The color conveys images that are peaceful and serene, yet also cheery, whether in the Loco Patch pattern on a paper napkin, or the now sold-out Recess backpack.

The designers at Lilly Pulitzer are not alone in their appreciation of the color; nouveau-prep designer/retailer Tommy Hilfiger chimes in:

“”The women in my life wear it on vacation and it looks great with a suntan at the beach,” Hilfiger says.”

However, Mr. Hilfiger does not think it is a color for everyone:

“I love it for women and I strongly dislike it for men. … If men are to wear blue, they should wear light blue or dark blue.”

Call us crazy, but the Tommy Hilfiger sweater in ’saba blue’ looks amazingly like turquoise.

Tommy Hilfiger

Turquoise fans can also be found outside of the fashion industry:

Sur la Table

More from that Times story:

“Cookware maker Le Creuset reports its shade known as Caribbean is increasingly popular….

Customers are using turquoise in both light, coastal-vibe settings and darker, more urban spaces with wood and stainless steel.”

With a final thought on the color:

“Lilly Pulitzer’s Schoenborn calls it a “buy now, wear anywhere color” because in cooler months it pairs with black and navy, and in the spring and summer it can be worn with white or coral.”

We show the turquoise/navy combination below, the Murfee Scarf is seen atop a navy tee.

For a plethora of products in this hue, pop over and visit Erin at Everything Turquoise, guaranteed to perk up your day.

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A few other items of note:

• One of our favorite footwear designers is expanding into handbags. Stuart Weitzman will be launch a line of handbags next summer, below, a sample.

Courtesy Stuart Weitzman via WWD.com

• In our ‘you cannot make this stuff up’ category, we have word the vibrating makeup classification is not limited to mascara; behold the Lancome Oscillation Power Foundation.

• Today is the deadline for ordering the wonderful new Photo Clipsheets from Whitney English, our brand new item that lets you personalize a stack of note sheets with one of your favorite photos.

Also, a reminder the image you select doesn’t have to be a human being, as demonstrated by The Consort’s selections below:

On these cheery images we say g’bye until next time!

More Olympic Uniforms Revealed & You Can Buy Some!

Hello-Hello, and welcome to our little corner of insanity, such is the wackiness of a retailer’s holiday season! (Pssst – we love it!)

We begin today with news about Talbots. News that no one here at the Prepatorium can decipher very well, nor can any of the online brain trust we queried.  Suffice it to say that:

• Talbots is “merging” with a company called BPW
• Talbots is paying off what they owe Aeon, a Japanese firm
• Trudy Sullivan, the current CEO, is staying on
• big changes are not anticipated

There you have it, with apologies for our inability to apply anything we learned at B-school to the announcement. (To see a full story on the news, click here.)

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Next, a look at the uniforms the US Snowboarding Team will be wearing at next winter’s Olympic Games.

Courtesy Burton

The uniforms are made by Burton Snowboards, above we share the men’s style. To us the most amazing part of the look is the Gore-Tex pants made to look like ripped denim. The Times’ Vancouver Olympics blog explains more:

“The uniforms plainly reflected the team’s desire to reconcile the individualism inherent in the sport’s culture with the earnest national pride inherent in the Olympic Games.”

Courtesy Burton

USA Hockey has also unveiled its look for Vancouver.

Courtesy Nike/USA Hockey

The new jerseys from Nike may be purchased online.

We are struggling with the Women’s Knit Hat from USA Hockey/Nike.

Courtesy Nike/USA Hockey

It must be much cuter when it’s on.

Because there are not enough marketing and sponsorship opportunities with just the Official Opening Ceremony uniforms, Official Closing Ceremony uniforms, official individual sport uniforms, official practice uniforms, official event uniforms, etc., we also have the Official Team USA Medal Stand jackets.

Courtesy Nike/Team USA

“This ultra-warm jacket is the same style that will be worn by the winners on the medal stand during the 2010 Winter Olympics and features a cozy quilted lining, a filled puffer body, a high neck zip and hood to keep you toasty in winning style!”

Nike is also making these; above we show the Women’s version, but the Men’s is essentially the same.

Months ago we showed these sketches of the Team USA uniforms created by Polo Ralph Lauren. (This post has the background.)

Courtesy Polo Ralph Lauren

The vision in the sketches has been transformed into actual apparel:

Courtesy Polo Ralph Lauren

Even though the Games are months away, the actual uniform pieces are now available to the general public. Below left, the Ladies Long Sleeve Hoodie, and on the right, the Fleece Mock Neck for Ladies.

If looking for something not quite so… dramatic, how about the Team USA Opening Ceremony Hat (L), or the Ski Cap?

For the MOTH (Man Of The House), the Half-Zip Sweater might be appreciated (L), or the Olympic Graphic T-shirt

All of these pieces are available at the Team USA online shop.

Because we are due at a meeting, we must cut this short. Trust the Princess when we say we have barely scratched the surface of this topic.