Hello-Hello, happy Thursday to everyone.
We begin today with news for All Things Southern and Preppy sure to elate most Mad Men fans, the show’s star, Jon Hamm, has signed a new contract keeping him on the show for another three years. Below we show Mr. Hamm with co-star Christina Hendricks at Monday’s Critics Choice Awards.
On a related note, there is word of another Banana Republic – Mad Men collaboration for a new collection. The Times reports this is going to be a sizable group of clothing:
“There will be 65 items in the so-called capsule collection, which are to carry co-branded labels bearing the logos of “Mad Men” and Banana Republic. The merchandise is to be priced the same as similar regular items sold in Banana Republic stores and on bananarepublic.com.”
Here are a few of the dresses.
And some of the accessories.
The Times story shared one of the marketing images for the upcoming line.
Once again social media will be used to boost interest in the collection, more from Stuart Elliott’s article:
For instance, fans of Banana Republic on Facebook are to get early access to a presale of the collection on Aug. 10, a day before it is scheduled to be available in stores and on the Banana Republic Web site.
These are my favorite pieces. By far. The suit on the left looks simply divine.
There are also plenty of men’s styles in the collection, click here to see all of the photos at Fashionista.
As noted in the quote above, the “Mad Men” line launches in August, when show was supposed to be back on the air; contract issues have delayed the start of Season 5 until early next year.
“Executives of Banana Republic and Janie Bryant — the Emmy Award-winning costume designer of “Mad Men,” who is working with them on the merchandise — said they did not believe the absence of the series from TV would damp interest in the collection.
“It’s not that big of a deal,” said Jack Calhoun, president of Banana Republic, because “ ‘Mad Men’ continues to be relevant whether it’s on the air or not.”
While the BR President may not think the show’s absence will impact clothing sales, we believe it may negatively affect ratings, the show’s ‘relevance’ diminishes as time passes. There were already concerns the show wasn’t “as good” last season as in previous years, creating concerns for some about Season 5 getting back on track. Being off the air, and off the mind of fans, makes it that much easier to say goodbye if the new season doesn’t deliver what fans are looking for.
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We have news of another collaboration to share, this one between the über-hip retailer Opening Ceremony and more preppily styled Tucker Blair.
Tucker Blair has created a series of five belts for Opening Ceremony, here is more from Fashionista:
Comprised of five hand-sewn leather belts, this unisex line is totally wearable. One belt nods to Opening Ceremony’s international focus with a row of country flags, and another reworks the in-house label’s woodsy theme from resort 2012 into Vineyard Vines-style white bunnies on a black background. There is also a reinterpreted Guatemalan print in black, red, and yellow, a classic leopard print and a fluorescent chevron pattern.
The belts are going to run $110, they will be available starting July 15.
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Finally today, the annual Polo Ralph Lauren Wimbledon party was Tuesday night at the company’s Chelsea store in London. Below we see Boris and Lily Becker, as well as Poppy Delevigne, all wearing Ralph Lauren designs.
Tonight is the ‘really big party’ as we call it here at The Prepatorium, Elton John’s annual gala and fundraiser, we always enjoy reading about the goings-on at that function.
On that note we say goodbye until next time!