“Parisian Prep” & Brooks Brothers… on Twitter?

Hello-Hello, happy Monday!

We begin with an interpretation of the prep aesthetic we hadn’t previously encountered, one dubbed “Parisian Prep” by a writer at the Daily Gamecock, USC’s student newspaper.

“Parisian prep is the preppy style to be influenced by, and is not to be confused with the Ivy League prep of Oxford shirts and plaid skirts.”

The writer is Amber Rose, here is more from her column:

“As flawlessly showcased at Louis Vuitton, it includes the classic black-and-white-striped tee paired with bright pastels such as pink, green and muted browns.”

We’re not sure if this is what Ms. Rose had in mind or not, but below we show looks from the upcoming Louis Vuitton Resort collection.

(A personal aside: the logo/LV monogram dress on the right is utterly hideous.) Back to the story:

“Bold tweed suits or accessories are always classically French, beginning years ago with the classic Chanel suit. To make it more “of the now,” pick a graphic pattern in black and white, throw on a solid V-neck or graphic tee underneath and again add some cute flats and a scarf.”

The piece is illustrated with this photo, rather odd as the story’s focus is on feminine styles. But knowing the tight budgets at newspapers these days, let alone student newspapers, we understand the paucity of images, and applaud Ms. Rose for seizing the topic and running with it.

MCT via The Daily Gamecock

It is always fun seeing other interpretations of the style, and hope you enjoy reading about the topic as well.

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A few quick techno-updates of note, both involving prep retailers.  In the “Will wonders never cease?” category, Brooks Brothers has joined Twitter. Upon ‘following’ Brooks on Twitter, one receives a message from the retailer:

“Thx for following America’s Original Clothier. Please view our style legend to see how we’ll be fashioning our Tweets.”

The message links to this image, a brief explainer of acronyms the venerable retailer plans to use when Tweeting. (For the uninitiated, “Tweets” must be 140 characters or less, so abbreviations like these help keep the word count down.)

Courtesy Brooks Brothers

How exactly does the company use the micro-blogging/messaging service? Here is one of today’s Tweets:

While we don’t have any snappy acronyms, we do Tweet; pop over and say ‘hello’ if so inclined. (If interested, Brooks has also established a Facebook page, done in a very Brooks manner.)

Our other update involves Lilly Pulitzer, the company has overhauled its blog, A Colorful Blog.

"A Colorful Life"

The new design is light, bright, and very easy on the eyes, while also maintaining the whimsical style one associates with Lilly.

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We also have a few Sales & Savings to pass on, we’re guessing these will be plentiful between now and the end of the week.

• Fans of Tory Burch may have an interest in tomorrow’s sale at RueLaLa, one of those online ‘members only’ shopping sites; the merchandise will be offered starting at 11am. If in need of an invite, just click here. (Those with a sweet tooth may be intrigued by the Mrs. Prindable’s sale as well, beginning at the same place and time.)
• Neiman’s Last Call is touting 40% off one’s entire purchase, both online and in-store, through Tuesday night at midnight. And call us crazy, but somehow we expect Needless Markup Neimans to offer more discounts this holiday week and weekend.

Speaking of Last Call, the two new Last Call Studio stores are now open in Paramus (NJ) and Rockville (MD).  Leilah at Madison Avenue Spy actually visited one, and posted about the shopping experience, saying the store “…closely resembles a Nordstrom Rack or a Saks Off Fifth.”  Here is a photo at the Studio store Leilah shot.

Via Madison Avenue Spy

We posted about the new ‘Studio’ stores back in October when the company announced their addition to the Neiman’s family and must say, we did not expect the new outlets to look this… well, spartan.  Our sense of how the new chain will do?  On the surface of things it seems likely to further dilute the brand, shoppers won’t know the difference between the three shops: Neiman Marcus, “regular” Last Call stores and Last Call Studio stores.

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For today’s Pretty in Pink feature we leave you with two items, both from museum shops, wonderful places to while away the time as you whittle down your shopping list.  One such place that we love is the MOMA store; below left we show the Fuchsia Lollipop Snowman, $20 ($18 for members); on the right we see the Pink Heart Vase from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, $22.

With that, g’bye until next time!