A Lilly Book Review, MOTH Gift Guide & Flash Giveaway

Hello-Hello! Or should that be Ho-Ho, Ho-Ho?! (Insert goofy grin.)

We’re back with a few tidbits today, the first: “Greetings From Lilly Land,” a lengthy review of the new Lilly Pulitzer book that ran in the Wall Street Journal last Friday.

Lilly Land is as much an attitude as a selection of here’s and there’s—Nantucket, Bryn Mawr, La Jolla, Grosse Pointe, Scottsdale, Greenwich, Short Hills, Far Hills—anywhere that rich women want to dress as if they have imaginations, as if they are “interesting,” to use the word the way some women do, as the opposite of “mousy.”

A quick refresher for anyone who may not be familiar with the recently published book, the official title is “Lilly: Palm Beach, Tropical Glamour, and the Birth of a Fashion Legend,” written by Kathryn Livingston.

Barnes & Noble

Henry Allen penned the review, he is a Pulitzer Prize winner for criticism and knows the world of which he writes:

To my surprise, I learned that I kind of like her. Surprise because I grew up with my nose pressed to the window of Lilly Land, but I was looking out, not in, seeking freedom from Connecticut cocktail hours, rich people complaining that they were broke (“totally stoners”), mixed doubles in tennis, and porch parties where women wore hair pulled back as tight as the silk on Christmas-tree balls. Once in a while a man would wear a necktie as a belt, a Brooks Brothers buccaneer.

Mr. Allen diplomatically references the lack of Lilly’s involvement with the book, “There’s no sign that Ms. Pulitzer sat for an interview with Ms. Livingston.” Another portion of the review, this portion talking about Lilly customers and readers:

They should be warned that it gives short shrift to Lilly Pulitzer herself. Is the problem that she is not all that interesting? What they’ll get instead is a book that’s half society history—28 pages that take Miss Porter’s School back to 1843, 21 pages on the history of Palm Beach, and 53 pages taking the McKims, Pulitzers, Phippses, Guests, Carnegies and so on back to the 18th century.

Yours truly has yet to read the book, but I very much enjoyed the review. Click here to read it in its entirety, it’s well worth the short investment of time.

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Today’s other topic, we offer a few gift ideas for the MOTH (Man Of The House) at your Palace.

We show (from upper left):

• The Big New Yorker Book of Dogs at Bas Bleu, $45
• 2 pair Men’s Wool-bend Ragg Wool Socks at LL Bean, $18.95
• Katahdin Iron Works Insulated Sweatshirt at LL Bean, $89.99
• Stormy Kromer Original Flexible Fit Cap at Stormy Kromer, $39.99 (Consort Recommended)
• Swedish Cordura Dipped Travel Kit at Jack Spade, $165
• Mini Camp Lantern at LL Bean, $24.95
• Wicked Good Moc Boot Two Slippers at LL Bean, $79
• Daniel Boone Bracelet at Kiel James Patrick, $58
• Wool ‘Kevin’ Pant at J. McLaughlin, $185
• Wool Blanket in Gordon Dress Tartan at Sid Mashburn, $145
• Christmas Themed Belt at J. McLaughlin , $48
• Custom Grosgrain Key Fob at the Preppy Princess, $6
• Jonathan Adler Thermal Travel Mug with Silicone Sleeve at the Preppy Princess, $14

If helpful, all of the links up above go directly to the product and they all appear to be in stock. One item that didn’t quite fit in the Polyvore montage, another Consort suggestion, a Screwdriver Set at MOMA that he has, it has come in handy on more than one occasion.

MOMA

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Our final offering today: a flash giveaway. (Is that even a term…?) At any rate, we just got these in yesterday and I love them.

Sloane Ranger at PreppyPrincess.com

What better stocking stuffer than… stockings? Socks actually, knee socks from Sloane Ranger.  Available in Scottie Dogs, Nautical Anchors, Whales and Owls, these are really cute as can be and $12. (Let us know if you would like them gift wrapped for no additional charge.)

Pop over to the shop and peek at our Sloane Ranger collection, then come back and leave a comment telling us what item you would most like to receive or give. We’ll take comments until midnight Thursday and pull a winner Friday morning,  with an announcement in Friday’s post.

Best Hanukkah Cookies Ever & Nautically Inclined Gifts

Hello and Happy Hanukkah to those celebrating, we are going to be sharing some last-minute gift ideas this week, but first I have to share my favorite seasonal cookies this year. We’ve all heard about the ugly Christmas sweater, there are parties, pictures, all manner of fun associated with these. But what about the Ugly Hanukkah sweater?

Whipped Bake Shop etsy

Zoe Lukas of the Whipped Baked Shop in Philadelphia has this one covered, her Ugly Hanukkah Sweater Cookies are available via her etsy shop, $22.95 for the three shown above, or $87.95 for a Deluxe Set of 12, 2 each of the designs seen below.

Whipped Bake Shop esty

On to our primary topic, gifts with a nautical inclination. One of my favorite things about blogging has been the truly swell people you get to meet along the way.  One such person we have enjoyed chatting with (in a cyber sort of way) and getting to know is the one and only Nautical by Nature. Miss NbN is an *amazing* resource when it comes to all things nautical, and has shared wonderful ideas this year, as she always has. We have borrowed just a few.

One fun set of cards: the 12 Days of Christmas from a nautical perspective, found in these cards by Shirley Bell Designs.

Shirley Bell Designs Etsy

The Ahoy Rings via Five Knots, $30.

Ahoy Rings

Urban Outfitters offers this Leather Anchor Key Ring ($18).

Urban Outfitters

Ralph Lauren’s Cosmetic Bag in Newbury Nautical at Bloomie’s for $35.

Ralph Lauren ‘Newbury Nautical’

A 3 Piece Kitchen Set offering 2 towels and a potholder, $28.99 at Linens & Things.

Linens & Things

The Nautical Guest Towel at Lemon Daisy Designs on etsy.

etsy

Another Nautical Anchor Makeup Bag, this version via etsy vendor SSKDesigns, it runs $21.

SSKDesigns etsy

We also offer quite a few possibilities at the Preppy Princess.

PreppyPrincess.com

Here are the goodies shown up above, in quasi-clockwise order:

• Boatman Geller Anchor Lucite Ice Bucket, $55 (must be ordered by midnight tonight for Christmas delivery)
• Pink Pineapple Cape Breeze Whale Bangle bracelet, $28 (available in several colors, comes in gift box with striped grosgrain ribbon at no extra charge)
• Jonathan Adler Ahoy Letterpress Correspondence Cards, $17.50
• Bottom Line iPad Cases (also available for e-readers and netbooks) $30-50
• Boatman Geller Anchor Luggage Bag Tags, $12 set of two
• Pink Pineapple Enameled Anchor Cuff, $36
• Preppy Planet Have a Whale of a Holiday foldover note cards share a “Happy-Happy, Merry-Merry, Joyful-Joyful” sentiment, the non-denominational cards are $22 for a set of 1o
• Kiel James Patrick Norwich Tide Turning earrings in red/green whales $22
• Our exclusive Needlepoint Bracelets in anchors or whales are crafted by York Designs, available with ($60) or without ($42) single initial monogram
• Sailor Bags Sailcloth Lunch Sack is $20.50, $32.50 with personalization up to 25 characters
• Snoozies lightweight slippers (12.50) in red lobsters on navy
• Pink Pineapple Trip Vanderbilt anchor earrings $25

Until next time, may all of your sails be full!

A look at the Targét-Neiman Marcus Collaboration & Tartan Treasures

Hello-Hello, happy-almost-Friday! (Actually, we’re kind of at that point in the calendar when the days start to blend into one another, especially if one is employed in a retail business.)

Today we have a few quick tidbits, beginning with an update on that Target/Neiman Marcus collaboration that launched Sunday morning.

Target.com

A quick refresher, this is a 50-piece collection being sold by both retailers, featuring designs by 24 upscale designers.  Early reports are not stellar, more from Ann Zimmerman in Tuesday’s Journal:

Wall Street analysts and customers alike expressed surprise that crowds weren’t bigger and sales not stronger at many locations, despite a spate of high-profile advertising, including prime-time television commercials.

Your faithful scribe took it upon herself to investigate the collection, venturing out yesterday with The Consort. Below, Exhibit A, the Tracy Reese top at $79.99.

Tracy Reese for Target Neiman Marcus

From the product description:

Tracy Reese delivers her signature elaborate patterns, bold colors and intricate embellishments in this damask sequined blouse. The exuberant look of the two-tone color block impresses without imposing.

The piece just didn’t look terribly elegant or exuberant in person. If anything, it looked loud and cheap. It is 100% polyester, it felt flimsy and scratchy, and at $80, priced beyond most Target customers, with quality unlikely to impress Neiman’s customers.

Back to our reconnaissance mission, here is the Tory Burch Lunchbox.

Target.com

At $19.99 the price wasn’t troublesome, the print was pretty and the hardware shown on the right felt solid and weighty in the hand. But the material for the body of the lunchbox itself felt flimsy, the insulation not as hefty as I expected. Hmmmm.

The one piece I was really excited about was Prabal Gurung’s Cape.  The design is über-elegant, the cape fabric was okay (wool/poly blend), construction and finishing were more than adequate and the sprinkling of the sparklies ever-so-delicate. There were plenty left in all sizes, so at $79.99 this one looked like a no-brainer. Until I felt the lace ties.

Target

The ties felt…. well, my trusty companion came up with a great word: cheesy. Insert sad face here.

Back to the Journal story:

The unusual designer fashion collaboration between Target Corp. and Neiman Marcus Group Inc. began with a whimper this past weekend, according to analysts, far from the bang the companies were counting on to improve holiday sales.

To be fair, the tale sounds somewhat different in varying parts of the country. For example, Orange County, here is more from a story in the Register:

NEWPORT BEACH – Shoppers lined up at Fashion Island as early as 4 a.m. Saturday morning to be among the first to nab designer goods launched through a new Target and Neiman Marcus collaboration.

More on what was popular from the Register’s article.

Neiman Marcus Public Relations Manager Michaele Hall marveled over the $59.99 tote bag from high-end fashion designer Oscar de la Renta. They predicted the tote to be one of the most popular items with customers. They were right on the money – the tote sold out in Orange County’s sole Neiman Marcus store within minutes and online within a couple hours.

Actually, the OdlR Tote is very much available online, at least as of this writing.

One thing that made sense, Target took precautions to avoid a problem experienced with many previous collaborations, people buying up huge quantities of merchandise for the sole purpose of re-selling it at a profit on eBay and other outlets.  Customers were limited to only 5 of any specific item.

Target

From our very limited exposure to the line the overwhelming impression was that the price points were much too high for the average Target customer, and merchandise too low-brow for the average Neiman Marcus shopper.  Hopefully we’ll be proved wrong and both firms will do a brisk business through the end of the holiday season, the collection was designed to be available online and on selling floors that long, another reason there may be more inventory.

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Our other topic today was prompted by an email from our pals at Country Club Prep.

CountryClubPrep.com

They sent out a note that had such wonderful tartan items showcased we just had to do a little grazing of their goods.  That prompted us to put together a few montages of holiday goodies available in some of our favorite motifs.

Above we show: upper left, the MacIntosh Tartan bow tie by High Cotton ($50), Castaway Clothing’s Fancy Pants in Royal Stewart ($155) Eliza B Ballet Flat ($115), all at Country Club Prep. Also shown, Preppy Planet’s iPhone 4 or 5 Case ($24.50 to $52), Pendleton’s Merino Wool Throw blanket ($118),  the LL Bean Scotch Plaid shirt for women ($44.95), Wool Clutch by FABbyCAB on etsy ($60).

But the holiday red tones weren’t enough, we continued looking at things and ended up putting together another collage of goodies in that classic Black Watch pattern.

From the upper left, the Electric Plate Warmers, the Men’s Dress shirt at Orvis, classic Harris Tweed bag, in the second row we show Ralph Lauren’s Plaid Infant Overalls at Saks ($157), Preppy Planet iPad/Kindle/Netbook Cases ($30 – 50), set of 2 Tartan Towels at Williams-Sonoma ($38), Lands’ End Men’s Belt ($19.97). IN the third row, the Heritage Wool Duffle Coat at LL Bean (originally $229, now $129), Ralph Lauren Wool Driving Cap ($99.99), Preppy Planet phone cases and the Wine Bottle Tote at Williams-Sonoma.

Here at the Prepatorium we have gone a little mad for plaid. Behold, some of the Consort’s latest creations.

PreppyPrincess.com

Those are some of his phone case designs ($24.50 – 50), they also come monogram-free.

PreppyPrincess.com

Thank you for popping in to visit, until next time, may all of your shopping be stress-free.

Exciting News From Across The Pond & Gingerbread Houses

Hello-Hello, and happy Monday to all.

We only have two topics today, the first involving a story many readers will have already heard, the news from St. James’s Palace:

If unable to read the text on the graphic, it says “The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting a baby.”  As is the case these days, the announcement was released via several means, including the Clarence House Twitter account:

Clarence House

While it is lovely news, there is a downside: Kate is hospitalized with a severe form of morning sickness, and will remain in King Edward VII Hospital for several days. More from the Clarence House statement:

“The Duchess was admitted this afternoon to King Edward VII Hospital in Central London with Hyperemesis Gravidarum. As the pregnancy is in its very early stages, Her Royal Highness is expected to stay in hospital for several days and will require a period of rest thereafter.”

In fact, that is why the announcement was made so early in the pregnancy, the Palace felt they had little choice as word of Kate’s hospitalization would have been leaked to the news media.  The Queen is Patron of the hospital, it is a private facility in London.

Hyperemesis Gravidarum is a serious condition that far transcends morning sickness (misery enough on its own), more from the Hyperemesis Education & Research Foundation:

“HG is a debilitating and potentially life-threatening pregnancy disease marked by rapid weight loss, malnutrition, and dehydration due to unrelenting nausea and/or vomiting with potential adverse consequences for the newborn(s).”

Among other things the site has a list of the Top 10 Things Not to Say to a woman dealing with HG.

The Palace is not announcing a due date because Kate isn’t past the first trimester. Kate and William’s child will be third in line to the throne and a great-grandchild to the Queen. For the first time, if the baby is a girl she can inherit the throne, this as a result of changes to the rules of succession approved by Commonwealth countries last summer. From the BBC:

He or she will one day be head of the armed forces, supreme governor of the Church of England and subsequently head of state of the UK and, subject to approval by the Commonwealth, 15 other countries.

Here is a look at the front pages of several London newspapers:

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Also today, something that looks like enormous fun, the annual Parker Meridien Gingerbread Extravaganza. This is the upscale hotel’s fourth year hosting the event, gingerbread creations are displayed in the hotel lobby.

Via This Week in NY

Yes, that is the Lincoln Memorial in gingerbread.  More from from News Times:

The houses include replicas of landmarks like the Egyptian Sphinx, the Mexican temple Chichen Itza and the Lincoln Memorial.

The Sphinx.

The Danbury Times

A closer look via This Week in New York’s Flickr set.

This Week in New York Flickr

One of the more timely creations comes from the hotel’s chef, Emile Castillo.

This Week in NY Flickr

The Chef showcased current events by making the crane left dangling in mid-air during Hurricane Sandy, a closer look at “ground level”.

This Week in NY Flickr

You can see more photos from by visiting the This Week in New York Flickr page showcasing the event, the magazine’s story is here.

The gingerbread White House was unveiled last week, this year’s re-creation of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue weighs in at a whopping 300 pounds.

Via Politico

The First Pooch, Bo, can be spotted in the front.

Obama Foodorama

There is even a candy version of the First Lady’s vegetable garden.

Obama Foodarama

Amazing creations, all of them. (Yours truly would be gratified to make even the most rudimentary hut, but we know better than to even try.)

Gwyneth + Butter London, Hermès + Bazaar, Le Bal Crillon des Débutantes

Hello-Hello, happy Wednesday.

We’ve just a few morsels to share, beginning with word about yet more design and/or product collaborations. The first is a little different from others we have reported on, this one is a partnership between Hermès and Harper’s Bazaar.  More accurately, the collaboration is with the magazine’s e-commerce site, Shop Bazaar.  More from Women’s Wear Daily:

Hermès clings to exclusivity the way a monarch clings to power, which makes the French luxury brand’s debut Thursday on ShopBazaar.com, Harper’s Bazaar’s e-commerce site, unusual — not that a magazine selling product on its Web site isn’t unusual enough. For the first time, Hermès will sell its products on a Web site other than its own.

The products Hermès will sell on the magazine’s site? Shoes, six different styles.

Courtesy Photo via WWD.com

As Hermès fans know, the storied company has only just flirted with footwear; executives are hopeful the partnership with Bazaar will expose its shoe line to a broader audience than it would normally have for a product launch.

There are other Hermès partnerships, recently we heard about scarves the brand asked legendary Comme des Garçons designer Rei Kawakubo to create. The scarves are due out in February, we show one of Kawakubo motifs below, Styleite.com has more.

Courtesy Image via Styleite

In the same vein, we had nary a clue über-prep Gwyneth Paltrow is doing a nail polish line with Butter London.

GOOP.com

More from Refinery 29:

The star’s signature lifestyle site, Goop, got together with one of our fave nail polish brands to create three picture-perfect, holiday-ready shades that we can’t wait to get on our hands.

The shades are titled with typically Goop-y charm: Hampstead Heath, Bread & Butter Pudding, and Abso-bloody-lutely. They all sound like perfect stocking-stuffers, if you ask us!

Nail polish really does make a great small gift or stocking stuffer, the set is available in Ms. Paltrow’s GOOP store:

Via GOOP

The most minimal of investigations reveals that GOOP is laden with all manner of design partnerships, I do feel like the last person on the planet to know this fact. Below, one of those collaborative items, the Rag & Bone Bromley Knit Blazer, $495.

GOOP.com

Now, Rag & Bone make some wonderful apparel, they can do exquisite tailoring. There are plenty of other items to contemplate, pop in and take a gander yourself.

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Our other topic today, the annual Le Bal Crillon des Débutantes, also known as the Crillon Debutante Ball.

Ophélie Renouard Facebook

Above, this year’s 25 young ladies at the Crillon on Saturday.

Below we see several of the young ladies, including Bronwen Carter ( daughter of Graydon Carter, Vanity Fair’s editor) on the far right, she is a student at the university of Pennsylvania. Sophia-Rose, Sylvester Stallone’s 16-year-old daughter, is second from the right. Also in the mix this year, Roseanna Arquette’s daughter Zoe Bleu Sidel, she is on the left of the picture.

Guest of a Guest

A closer look at Ms. Sidel and her party frock.

Fashionista (l) / Tatler (r)

As with most of these functions, there are always proud parents, below Ms. Arquette and Mr. Stallone.

Via Madame Le Figaro

Another proud parent, Mr. Carter and his daughter Bronwen.

Via Fashionista

With this particular function the primary fun comes in looking at those pretty party dresses. Below, identical twins Miyuki and Ikue Uramune of Tokyo in elegant floral prints, both of those gowns are Valentino Haute Couture, on the far right we see Lan Vy Tran.

Via Guest of a Guest

Here is another look at those gorgeous Valentino dresses.

Via Fashionista

And another look at Lan Vy Tran’s dramatic dress by Jan Taminiau.

Tatler

Many will recognize Celine Buckens, the Belgian-born actress starred in “War Horse,” we see her below on the arm of her escort (aka “Cavalier’) Leopold Coppieters Gibson, she is wearing Christophe Josse Haute Couture.

Via Tatler

Another actress made her début, Christa Brittany Allen of hit TV show Revenge.

Instagram

Miss Allen wore Dior Haute Couture.

Also taking part, shoe designer extraordinaire Christian Louboutin, most (if not all) of the debs were wearing Louboutins.

Madame Le Figaro

As we have previously mentioned, this particular function has become highly commercialized. It seems most everything is sponsored, from the shoes to the jewelry to the stylists and even the Hotel. There also appears to be a growing Hollywood contingent. Of course, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with any of this, it’s just quite removed from traditional coming out galas.