Big Doings Across The Pond

Today’s topic is fun, perhaps frivolous by some standards, a look at some of the goings-on surrounding the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Celebrations commemorating Her Majesty’s 60 years on the throne get underway this weekend, some will be massive. The Sydney Morning Herald:

…the Queen’s diamond jubilee is drawing an estimated 1 million people to London for a four-day festival starting on Saturday that, in terms of sheer pageantry, will dwarf last year’s nuptials of her grandson, Prince William, and his bride, Catherine.

Below, a new official portrait in honor of the event.

John Swannell/Royal Household

Buckingham Palace has grown increasingly savvy about its image, a splendid demonstration of the Monarchy’s media acuity can be seen in the official logo for the Jubilee, as shown on the Official Diamond Jubilee Site:

The Diamond Jubilee

The splashy artwork, casual font, and touch of whimsy are worlds removed from that staid, stiff upper lip royal image many of us grew up with.  That same sense of optimistic fun is obvious in the artwork for what could be the biggest event this weekend, the Thames River Pageant:

Thames River Pageant

Saturday’s flotilla on the Thames promises to be extraordinary, more on the enormous floating celebration via the Daily Mirror:

Organisers hope to recreate scenes not seen on the river for more than 300 years – since the reign of Charles II, when all boats were made of wood.

Thousands of musicians and singers will be aboard 10 accompanying barges.

Vessels large and small, including a procession of boats used in the 1940 Dunkirk evacuation, will sail within yards of each other under 14 bridges.

The event will finish at about 5.30pm when the last music barge stages a Last Night of the Proms-style tribute – playing Land of Hope and Glory, Rule Britannia and, finally, the national anthem.

Aboard the Royal Barge will be the Queen, and Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, William and Kate (and the Middleton family, oh my!), Prince Harry and others. (Psst, if interested in watching the flotilla live, BBC America’s coverage begins at 8:30am.) Below we see an artist’s depiction of how the royal barge will look on the river this Saturday.

Via Sky News

Tonight ABC airs a special with Katie Couric, “The Jubilee Queen,” the two-hour program features interviews with both Prince William and Prince Harry, it begins at 9pm.

ABC

Monday is the BBC Jubilee Concert, a huge event being held in front of Buckingham Palace. ABC also has broadcast rights to that. Below, how the stage will look.

The BBC

Performers include Elton John, Tom Jones, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Kylie Minogue, Jools Holland, Jessie J, JLS, Annie Lennox, Madness, Cliff Richard, Ed Sheeran and West End star Alfie Boe.  ABC’s recap airs Tuesday evening.

The actual Jubilee is Tuesday, with a National Service of Thanksgiving at St. Paul’s Cathedral, a Diamond Jubilee lunch in Westminster Hall with 700 guests and other events.  To see the entire program for the St. Paul’s church service, click here for ITV’s screen grabs with details. CNN plans live coverage of the day’s events, and BBC America begins its coverage at 3:30am.

There are amazing exhibits and events planned all over the UK, including an exhibition of what some refer to ‘royal bling.’  Here we see the Imperial Crown of India made for King George V in 1911. (6000+ diamonds and other precious stones. Worn once.)

The Royal Collection via CNN

More from CNN’s story on the new exhibit, “Diamonds: A Jubilee Celebration“

They are some of the most spectacular diamonds, rubies and sapphires in the world, and they have graced the outfits of monarchs for centuries, now — just in time for Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee — Britain’s Crown Jewels have gone on display in a new-look exhibition.

While this next item might look like an upscale version of a patriotic symbol, there’s a little more to the story, back to CNN:

“British monarchs are symbolically “married” to the country during their coronation. This coronation ring was made for Queen Victoria, as the traditional one was too large. However, this version was too small, and became stuck on her finger.”

The Royal Collection via CNN

A change of venue for this spectacular show, it is at Buckingham Palace, not the Tower of London.  To look at some of the fab photos with the CNN story, click here. The folks at Born Rich also have a nifty story, they have paired up some of the static photos of jewels with images when HM actually wore them.

Via Born Rich

It’s rather intriguing to see the padding inside the tiara, I had not previously noticed that.

There is no shortage of whimsical approaches to the big event, below we see model maker Giorgio Pastero at Legoland Windsor replacing the usual model of Queen Elizabeth with a new one that actually has real diamonds on the crown. HM joins the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (William & Kate), the Duke of Edinburgh (Prince Philip), and the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall (Charles and Camilla) on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

Via the Telegraph

The Telegraph has a collection of Unusual Portraits of the Queen created in honor of the occasion, including this one, made entirely of toast. (Perhaps an entry for our “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up” category?)

The Telegraph

Keeping with the food theme, this was made entirely of cupcakes.

The Telegraph

This one made by the British Cheese Board, you can surmise its primary ingredient.

British Cheese Board via The Telegraph

We leave you with one more ‘portrait,’ this one is primarily of Buckingham Palace. Made of duck rolls.

The Telegraph

Here’s the star of the show among the duck rolls, HM.

The Telegraph

That is some amazing stuff.

Until next time, may your tiara be sparkling!

Buy Kate Spade Stock. On Facebook.

Hello-hello, and happy start of the three-day weekend.

Today we offer a touch of Friday Fun, beginning with something unusual (at least to us), an opportunity to buy Kate Spade stock. On Facebook.

For those who don’t “do Facebook,” this is what Kate Spade’s homepage looks like. Look at the far bottom right of the image below, you’ll see an orange box with the words “A Stylish Investment”.

Kate Spade Facebook

Clicking on the link brings one to this graphic.

Kate Spade Facebook

Another click actually takes the user off Facebook to the Fifth & Pacific website, Fifth & Pacific owns Kate Spade and other brands readers may recognize: Jack Spade, Lucky Brand and Juicy Couture. (Fifth & Pacific was previously known as Liz Claiborne, Liz Claiborne is now sold only at JC Penney.)

Fifth and Pacific

It turns out you can buy stock in any of the Fifth & Pacific companies, here are more details from the Journal:

Customers can spend up to $2,500 a month or make as little as a one-time $10 “fractional” investment. They can make a regular monthly commitment or a one-time investment. Fifth & Pacific pays all transaction fees.

It is an intriguing approach. You’ve heard of ESOPs, Employee Stock Ownership Plans? Well, this is being called a CSOP, Customer Stock Ownership Plan, here’s what one executive says about the approach:

“We call it the ultimate like button.”

Apparently we will see more of this, stock offered directly to consumers via a brand’s website or Facebook page.

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Next, summer beach styles at a few holiday hotspots via our pals at Guest of a Guest, their look at What to Wear to Your Favorite Summer Destinations. Here are their styles they suggest if heading to Nantucket:

Nothing says “New England” quite like seersucker. Be prepared to fit in amongst the town of grey shingles and cobble stones with preppy stripes and all American classics.

Pieces are included from Old Navy and J. Crew.

Guest of a Guest

Suggestions for Avalon (Seven Mile Island, NJ) are more eclectic:

“A little bit waspy and a little bit Springsteen… You won’t find Snookie in this area of the Jersey Shore. What you will find are private beach houses, golf clubs and miles and miles of sand…”

Guest of a Guest

No story about summer socializing would be complete without a Hamptons mention:

With sprawling fields and equally sprawling homes, the Hamptons go from country casual to uber upscale the moment the city folks start pouring in for the high season. Look the part in sweet styles with a touch of prep.

Guest of a Guest

This montage included items from Michael Kors, Delia’s, and Rebecca Minkoff. You can see the entire feature here.

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We hope you enjoy the extended weekend, and also have a moment to remember the reason for the holiday.

Reuters

The National Moment of Remembrance is Monday, 3pm local time, wherever you are in the USA.

An Inside Look at J. Crew & Its CEO

Hello-Hello, happy mid-week. In reality it is a bit beyond that, as Friday is a half-day at many places of business.

We thought readers might be interested in a television program airing tomorrow night on CNBC.

CNBC

“J. Crew & The Man Who Dressed America” is an hour-long special focused on Crew’s CEO Mickey Drexler.

CNBC

The show airs on CNBC at 10pm:

J.Crew has transformed from a once-flailing, lackluster brand to a fashion force. Leading J.Crew is CEO Millard “Mickey” Drexler, known for his intuitive sense of what the public craves and his ability to lift troubled companies to new heights.

J. Crew Collection

Back to the news release:

Since taking over J.Crew in 2003, Drexler has successfully introduced designer quality clothing for the masses — driving the company’s revenues up 170 percent.

J. Crew

Those fond of the retailer, along with those interested in the fashion industry, are sure to enjoy this one. One of the segments is a behind the scenes look at putting together a J. Crew catalog. (Click here for a preview of the segment.)

CNBC

From a review of the show in North Jersey:

J. Crew is one of America’s most ubiquitous brands. Step into any mall and you’ll likely see one of the stores. It’s associated with words like “preppy,” “classic” and “all-American,” a place where you can buy button-down shirts in myriad colors and a pair of jeans fit for work or play.

CNBC delves into the inner workings of Drexler’s intense and borderline obsessive involvement in the company…

Jenna Lyons is featured throughout the documentary, including a segment on the Fall 2012 collection. (Click here for a preview of the segment.)

CNBC

More from North Jersey’s story:

The hour-long special delves into everything from Drexler’s days growing up in the Bronx (he still eats lunch with his childhood friends) to his intensely hands-on style of management (he installed a loudspeaker system in J. Crew’s New York City headquarters and often spouts words of wisdom through its halls).

Boston.com has their own reason people should watch the program:

….you can see the always unnerving collected Vogue editor Anna Wintour dish about J.Crew CEO Mickey Drexler on CNBC’s “J.Crew and the Man Who Dressed America.” It’s no visit with Stephen Colbert, but Wintour does offer some good tidbits on Drexler.

The company continues to evolve, energy has recently been redirected back to basics like its popular ballet flats.

J. Crew

We’ve been tediously repetitive candid in this space about concerns the retailer drifted away from its roots in efforts to reach a more “fashion forward” clientele. I’m looking forward to watching the special,it’s likely we’ll be able to tell form the interviews if the focus will remain close to Crew’s lineage or not.

A quick Sales & Savings note: Crew’s Memorial Day Sale offers an additional 30% off sale merchandise with the code LOVEIT. (With apologies, I have no idea why this is blinking, or how to make it stop.)

J. Crew

(My inability to make that stop blinking is arguably today’s greatest failure.)

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One other tidbit today, word of a new company with prep leanings (at least new to us), Chicago Belt.

Chicago Belt

The Prepatorium is located in The Great Midwest and we love learning about things reflecting our roots. The company features grosgrain ribbon belts made in the USA, including this one showcasing the Great Lakes.

Chicago Belt Company

An added bonus? 10% of sales from this belt goes to the Shedd Aquarium (one of our favorite places to visit) and its “Keep the Lake Great” program. Our thanks to Great Lakes Prep for the tip on this one!

Thanks for popping in, g’bye until next time!

Mr. Zuckerberg & His Hoodie (Did He Wear It To His Wedding?)

What a wonderful weekend we were blessed with, hopefully all of our treasured readers enjoyed similarly blissful weather and fun in the sun.

We have been pondering whether or not to post about today’s topic and finally decided we would forge ahead, it has absolutely nothing little to do with anything prep related, but there has been a bit of buzz surrounding this:

Reuters via NY Times ‘Bits’ Blog

We’re talking about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his much-discussed ‘hoodie’. He wore the casual apparel for meetings with potential investors leading up to last week’s IPO (Initial Public Offering) of Facebook stock. Many thought the choice of attire conveyed a lack of respect for the people Mr. Zuckerberg hoped/expected would buy Facebook stock.

More from a CNN story:

Michael Pachter, an analyst for Wedbush Securities, told Bloomberg that the Facebook CEO’s decision to show up for a meeting with potential investors dressed down in his trademark casual outerwear suggests that he’s too immature to run a massive corporation.

“He’s actually showing investors he doesn’t care that much; he’s going to be him,” Pachter said in an interview on Bloomberg TV. “I think that’s a mark of immaturity.

Others took issue with the negative comments, blogger Om Malik disagreed in particular with Mr. Pachter:

“This analyst is smoking stuff that is outside the realm of legality,” he wrote. “Now if you were looking for a problem with Zuckerberg’s hoodie, then you should see it for what it really is: a fashion abomination.”

From a very casual scan of stories it seems the majority would concur with sentiments shared by the NY Post’s John Crudele:

Zuckerberg is worth nearly $18 billion and is the 35th richest person on the planet, so he can dress any way he wants anytime he wants anywhere he wants.

And Zuckerberg does, channeling the late Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, by brazenly showing up inappropriately dressed for what could have been the biggest day of his life.

The folks at Fashionista offered helpful solutions, speaking with men’s style experts to come up with alternative looks for the techno-whiz.

Via Fashionista

GQ Style Editor Sean Hotchkiss offered the styles shown on the far left, J. Crew’s Ashley Match suggested the Crew pieces shown in the middle image, and the full length ‘hoodie coat’ seen far right comes via Ken Downing of Neiman Marcus.

The Journal’s fab fashion and style writer, Christina Binkley, points out in her blog that perhaps this actually ranks as a dressier look for the gazillionaire.

Mr. Zuckerberg has reportedly attended a meeting with venture capitalists in pajamas (channeling Michael Jackson?), so it could be argued that he dressed up when pitching his upcoming IPO to investors in New York.

Ms. Binkley also offered an alternative for Mr. Zuckerberg in her post, the “Executive Pinstripe Hoodie“:

Betabrand

Described as “business-casual bliss,” this comes to us from Betabrand.

Betabrand

For a mere $149 one of the wool hoodies can be yours. And ladies, lest you feel a sense of being… well, left out (the horror), fear not: there is a Women’s Executive Hoodie.

Betabrand

Wondering about Betabrand? These are the folks who brought us Dress Pant Sweatpants, not to mention the Terry Blazer.

Back to Mr. Zuckerberg, we know he has suits. And ties. More from that CNN story:

It’s not like Zuck doesn’t know how to clean up. He donned a coat and tie last year when he and other technology luminaries had dinner with President Obama, and wore a suit a few months later when Obama visited Facebook for a town hall event.

In fact, he bucked the Valley Casual look for an entire year not so long ago. On his Facebook Timeline, Zuckerberg wrote that, in 2009, he wore a tie every day.

In fact, he wore a suit for his wedding to longtime girlfriend Priscilla Chan on Saturday.

Mark Zuckerberg Facebook Page

(For those curious about the gown worn by Ms. Chan, People reports it is Claire Pettibone’s “Sky Between the Branches” gown.)

Claire Pettibone

So what thinketh you? Is the whole thing overblown? Or was it really a slap in the face of the very people Mr. Zuckerberg wanted money from? Or both?

A Brief Review of ‘The Shops At Target,’ And Fall ‘Shops’ Revealed

It is a simply gorgeous day here at the Prepatorium, the kind of afternoon people in The Great Midwest dream of when slogging thought the dreary days of February.

We have written at length in this space about the varying design collaborations Le Boutique Targét has done, including its most recent efforts, “The Shops at Target“. Last week yours truly took a little stroll through the local store, I thought I would share a few impressions.

Courtesy Images via MamasARollingStone Blog

The signage immediately inside the front door is large and hard to miss. Unfortunately, if a customer *does* somehow miss those entryway banners and signs, they may not know anything special is going on at the store, a different direction from recent collaborative efforts. (Think Jason Wu, Mulberry, Missoni, Thakoon, Temperley, to name a few.) In most of those partnerships it was tough to avoid displays and merchandise throughout the store; that isn’t the case with “The Shops,” at least not as experienced at our local Targét.

Did you know a huge percentage of customers always turn to their right upon entering a retail emporium? Data demonstrates this unequivocally, that is why retailers place specific merchandise to the right of a store’s main entrance, as well as to the right of other store entrances, to the right of escalators, etc.  You will find women’s apparel and accessories to the right of the main entrance in almost all of Target stores as well, and it is where you will see The Webster at Target shop, the womenswear component of the new endeavor.

Courtesy Images

I thought the clothing in the Webster line was comparable to pieces in any other collaborative collection. The items have nice lines, most of the knits felt fine in the hand, and most of the other pieces are 100% polyester (these don’t feel great).  Below we show the Webster Fine Gauge Cardigan as shot on the iPhone by yours truly, as well as an image from Target’s website.

The Webster at Target

The sweater is a rayon/nylon blend, and it comes in several colorways, all of them attractive. It is priced at $32.99 and looks like a solid value for the price. The construction wasn’t what you will find in a LL Bean or J. Crew sweater, but I didn’t anticipate it would be.

Most items had significant wrinkles and crinkles, but quite a few dresses and tops looked more-than-presentable on the hanger. Are items going to take a beating and last forever? Of course not, but that isn’t the expectation, and everything felt much like a standard Target dress or blouse, no better, no worse.

The Webster Miami at Target

The other pieces in the group are much the same: nice lines, although the way several dresses felt in the hand was not terribly appealing. To be fair, it is the same reaction I have had to items by Wu, Rowley, Thakoon, and others. When dealing with polyester and/or acetate (in particular), the sensation against one’s skin isn’t going to be soft and silken. This shouldn’t be held against the Webster pieces per se, many of Target’s regular brands are much the same, including merchandise in the brand’s Merona line. (Below, some of the shoe styles in the collection.)

Courtesy Images The Webster at Target

There seemed to be *plenty* of Webster merchandise remaining in the women’s department more than a week after “The  Shops” launched. This is quite a departure from the frenzied buying that has gone on with other collections, it is difficult to know if customers simply don’t find things appealing, or if inventory management is better with more deliveries later in the line’s life-cycle, or if more merchandise was ordered upfront. (Below we show the Palm Straw Tote, $39.99.)

The Webster Miami at Target

Nor is there a booming secondary market from what I saw during a quick “Webster at Target” eBay survey. Of the most recent 100 listings only 3 items had sold, one a Tank With Ruffle at $24.99, this item retails at $19.99 and is available online in the size and print it was auctioned for. The second item that successfully sold on eBay was a Smocked Neck Embroidered Gauze Top, it sold for $39.99, $10 more than its price at Target; this piece is also available online and in-store in this size.  The third eBay item that sold is a pair of earrings, they also went for a bit more than the Target price. All in all I didn’t note *any* of the insane price gouging seen with other collections, nor is there a high sell-through rate on the listings, leading me to believe the collection simply isn’t that appealing.

As far as other products, almost all took some looking to locate. In particular the Polka Dog Bakery items were “buried,” only seen on an end cap (a special display at the end of a row of merchandise, facing out into a primary aisle) as I was heading back to the primary checkout area of the store.  And what I did see on the display was only the edible portion of this collection for pets, not the collars, leads and toys.

The Candy Store at Target

Above we see items from “The Candy Store at Target,” the merchandise looked fun and appealing, but if I hadn’t been looking for cookies necessary food items I never would have seen the display.  The Candy Store items aren’t available online, but from what I saw there is plenty remaining in stores.  Another “Shop” with plenty of merchandise remaining was The Cos Bar at Target.

The Cos Bar at Target

Again, there was nothing special about the display. Perhaps Target doesn’t want there to be, but on some level I expected “more”: a splashier display, a greater touch of whimsy, something, anything telling me why this was special. It wasn’t there.

The one “Shop” that seemed to be experiencing decent sell-through was homegoods line The Privet House at Target.

The Privet House at Target

But again, there was little in either display area that said “Hey, look at this, it’s really cool!” Some merchandise was displayed in the home store area (storage items, bins), while other items were over near the small appliances and home office section of the store. If it is special wouldn’t you group it together for one big, statement-making display enticing you to come and look at the merchandise?

Obviously yours truly isn’t up to speed on Target’s plans for the collaborative “Shops,” the retailer knows what it is doing, and I’m sure they’ll refine things going forward. But this first offering was surprisingly low-key, perhaps too much so.

That leads us to the next group of “Shops” for the fall.  Yesterday the ‘cheap chic’ retailer announced the lineup for its fall installment of The Shops at Target, there will be four new boutiques launching online and in-store September 9:

• Kirna Zabete: a very hip, upscale women’s boutique from New York with a collection by Sarah Easley and Beth Buccini that will feature a 100-piece line showcasing “an urban-chic sensibility and includes dresses, a genuine leather moto jacket, skirts and blouses in graphic prints and textures, as well as lace tights, scarves, hats, handbags and jewelry”
• Odin (three upscale menswear shops in New York) founders Eddy Chai and Paul Birardi are doing a capsule collection “with must-have items such as tailored pants, jackets, knit accessories and a chic weekender bag”
• San Francisco’s The Curiosity Shoppe is creating “…items from kitchenware and decorative pillows to novelty pieces such as stationery and games. Prices range from $3 to $25.”
• PATCH NYC (based in Boston) is also doing a home collection “for guests looking to incorporate vintage-inspired pieces influenced by nature… features a treasure trove of pieces including barware, bedding, tabletop and accents for the home.”

It’s interesting to see how much effort is going into household collections, especially with Target launching its new Nate Berkus line in October, *in addition to* its own branded housewares collection called ‘Threshold’ that debuts this fall. Methinks I am confused by the square footage and accompanying marketing dollars going into the varied collections.

NOTE: Much of the info about Target’s upcoming collections comes via “A Bullseye View,” the retailer’s blog, you can always stay up to speed on most things Targét by visiting this site.

More Designer Olympic Uniforms: Stella McCartney, Giorgio Armani & Prada

Hello-Hello, welcome to a new week, we apologize for being so tardy posting, the weekend’s activities somehow left us running behind.

We share just a few Bits & Bytes today, beginning with an update on what some teams are wearing for the upcoming  Summer Olympics as the games draw closer. While we have previously shown the Team USA uniforms from Polo Ralph Lauren (below, the closing ceremony styles, more in this post), designer duds for several other teams have also been created.

Courtesy Images

Giorgio Armani’s designs for Team Italy were unveiled yesterday.

Associated Press via Yahoo

The collection has actually been created as part of the company’s collaborative line with Reebok, EA7. More on yesterday’s unveiling from WWD’s story:

For the occasion, 15 Italian athletes from different disciplines joined the designer to show the Olympic kit consisting of white and midnight blue pieces, including a tracksuit with an asymmetric closure, a nylon jacket, shorts, T-shirts, sweatshirts, running shoes and suitcases.

Below we see a jacket and topic in the deep navy.

Courtesy Photos

One of the more interesting elements of the Armani styles involves the lyrics for Italy’s national anthem, back to the Women’s Wear Daily piece:

To celebrate Italy, the national anthem is written in gold inside jackets and sweatshirts, and its first verse appears on a blue band under the collar of polo shirts, while a national-flag-inspired polo features one sleeve in red and the other in green.

Associated press via Washington Post

Not all Italian athletes are wearing Armani for the Games, Prada is outfitting the Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Teams, below we see sketches of those uniforms.

Courtesy Prada via StyleSight

Australia is wearing Adidas for competition.

Courtesy Photo via London 2012

Here Australian athletes model the more formal look we will see at the Opening Ceremonies.

London 2012

Team Great Britain’s uniforms are by Stella McCartney, who has worked with Adidas for years now.

Courtesy Photo

The styles were not positively received by everyone in the UK, a snippet from this Daily Mail story explains:

Stella McCartney has defended her choice to feature a blue Union flag on the official Team GB kit for the 2012 Olympics after it was met with public outrage.

Produced by Stella McCartney for Adidas, the range, modelled by various athletes including Jessica Ennis, has been themed around a blue and white flag – effectively eliminating the St George and St Patrick crosses from the design.

More looks.

Courtesy Images

Some pieces from the Team GB collection are available online.

Our final tidbit in this topic, Vogue is doing something unusual with its June issue.

Vogue

Those are Olympic hopefuls Hope Solo (soccer), Ryan Lochte (swimming) and Serena Williams (tennis). The image is unusual because Vogue rarely puts men on its cover, let alone those not fully clothed.  There are stunning images in the pictorial shot by Annie Leibovitz, below we see model Karlie Kloss with gymnast Jonathan Horton.

Annie Leibovitz for Vogue

Click here to see Vogue’s online slide show.

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Our other item today comes courtesy of the lovely Condiments on a City Life, who was kind enough to bestow upon me the Versatile Blogger award. Below we share the rules affiliated with the honor.

1. Link back to the blog that gave them the award (this one was quite easy)
2. List seven things about themselves (a little more challenging, but seven’s not that big a number)
3. Give the award to five others

So now it is time to come up with 7 things, hmmmm. Here we go:

1. I am a closet Jello-O mold making freak. There are more Jello-O cookbooks recipe books (because one really doesn’t cook the unknown substance, we do not call them cookbooks) on hand than you can shake a stick at.

2. I spend more time doing this than I care to admit.

Scrabble

3. To compound things, I recently started playing this with TQM. She wins 90% of the time.

Words with Friends via App Reviews

4. My favorite volunteer obligation right now is manning the gift shop at a local nursing home every other week.

5. The book I am finishing right now is overdue at the library.

Open Library

6. As of a month ago we gave up on the local daily, this is now the only paper delivered to the Prepatorium.

Wall Street Journal

7. This will be the 1023rd Princess blog post.

It has been years since I have done one of these, once again, many thanks to Hayley at Condiments on a City Life for including us in her list. We’ll share this with the Pink and Green Prep, Preppy Girl Meets World, The Preppy Postgrad, and two of the very first blogs I ever followed (these go way, way back!), Pink Cupcakes and TaB, and the Preppy Pink Crocodile. (Recognizing many of us have done these quite a few times, no one should feel obligated to complete this one, I merely want you to know how much I love reading you!)

G’bye until next time!

Thank you

A Big Year for Hermès

Hello-Hello, and Happy Friday! We’re all adither today, lots going on this weekend, a bit of travel, time with siblings and TQM, hopefully you are looking at a fun weekend as well.

We are brief today, and eager for a touch of Friday Fun, so we begin with something that has long been of interest to many readers, the classic Hermès bag.  The Daily Mail ran a fascinating story last week, “How a Hermès handbag is made: Photographs reveal French fashion house’s design secrets“.

Via RueLaLa

A spot of background from the story:

And now as the French fashion house celebrates its 175th birthday, its design secrets have been unveiled for the first time.

A series of photographs taken inside the famous Paris workshops showcase the craftsmanship required to create one of its bags, some of which cost in excess of £10,000.

The piece is loaded with great photos from Park & Cube.

via The Daily Mail

While we’re not sure this is “the first time” there have been photos from inside the atelier, the pictures from Park & Cube *are* fascinating.

Via Park & Cube

The photos reveal the level of detail in each bag.

Via Park & Cube

The amount of handwork that sets Hermès apart from many others is also evident.

Via Park & Cube

Work on ‘Constance’ bags was underway during the tour when these photos were taken.

Via Park & Cube

And where does the finished product go after work in the atelier is done?

Via Park & Cube

Right into the protective cover of one of those distinctive bags.

It really is a big year for Hermès, as this story in yesterday’s Telegraph reports:

“2012 is a special year for Hermès, Britain and London,” Hermes’ UK and Ireland managing director Thierry Outin told the gathered press at the launch of Leather Forever – an exhibition celebrating the heritage of the French luxury leather label…

The story is about the ‘Leather Forever‘ exhibit celebrating 175 years of Hermès, the London show opened to the public this week.

“Leather Forever”

One of the more interesting things in the Telegraph story addresses the scarcity of the Birkin bag.

“People ask us, is it a strategy?”, Outin tells me in answer to the age-old question about why their iconic Birkin and Kelly handbags are in such short supply. “But no, it simply takes so long to train our artisans. Plus, we like to keep our workshops ‘human-sized’. We like to know the names of every artisan, that to us is very important.”

One of the most amazing items in the show:

Hermès via The Telegraph

The pièce de résistance of the show lurks behind a thick curtain of curling leather spaghetti strands – a room displaying fantastical treasures from Hermès’ bespoke service, including a black patent calfskin wheelbarrow commissioned by the Duke of Windsor for Wallis Simpson in 1947, and a multi-coloured winged saddle (above).

Wow. Just, wow.

In honor of the 175th anniversary and accompanying exhibit the company will also do an online auction with Christies, four one-of-a-kind versions of its Passe-Guide bag, the bag that most honors its equestrian heritage.

Christie’s & Hermès

The four bags are a tribute to the United Kingdom and Ireland, representing England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The auction for these begins Monday, the 14th; proceeds will go to the Royal Academy of Arts, where the exhibit is being shown.

For a great story on the company, it’s heritage and its future, the Telegraph has an outstanding piece.

‘Leather Forever’

Talk about some eye candy!