J. Crew’s Exclusive Tennies, Preppy Sales Continue

Happy day to everyone, as we all continue making our way through the week. Here at the Prepatorium we are grateful to be careening toward the end of February!

We start today with a look at the delightfully cute Jack Purcells made exclusively for J. Crew by the designing minds at Converse.

PHOTO: Courtesy J. Crew via High Snobiety

The sneakers are in the distressed material currently popular, and they are available online and at the Liquor Store in blue as well as white.  This is unisex sizing again, women are advised to order 1-1/2 sizes smaller than their normal size.

Some readers may be familiar with the Converse One Star collection at Target.  An FYI, many of the Converse pieces are marked down significantly, like the Men’s Track Jacket, Originally $34.99 and now priced at $13.99.

Courtesy Target

We thought the Toddler Girl’s Oxford Pink was cute. (It is not on sale, still at its $17.99 price point.)

Courtesy Target

Polo Ralph Lauren continues to promote their Last Chance Sale, touting “Up to 75% Off” original prices.  The Women’s Skinny-Fit Polo is now $49.99, a markdown of about 33%.

There are scads of wonderful bargains to be found at Ralph Lauren in every line, including the Home collection.

Tommy Hilfiger still has substantial amounts of merchandise at 75% off, and the markdowns also continue at Brooks Brothers.

Speaking of sales and clearances, J. Crew’s “Final Sale” is offering “free shipping” to those spending $100 or more online; the coupon code is SHOPNOW.  This promotion runs through Thursday, the 19th.

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Forbes Online reports on the latest survey detailing “America’s Most Popular Stores” and the news is basically positive, with increases in the Customer Satisfaction Index for many retailers.  Where do shoppers like buying the most? Nordstrom maintains its ranking in first place, with Kohl’s close behind.  Below, a few more stores and comments from the story:

Target was flat, neither scoring higher or lower than last year.

Wal-Mart moved up on the scale, scoring a 72.

“The reason Wal-Mart appears so low in the index, despite its current financial success, is because it is a pure price competitor, Fornell says. While price does play a role in customer satisfaction, shoppers are happier snagging an item they really want along with an enjoyable shopping experience. “Many of the customers who frequent the discounter would not be doing so if they had a bigger wallet,” Fornell says.

What stores dropped in their scores? Dillard’s, Macy’s (said to “… rank among the worst…”) and Sears:

“In every division, Sears is failing against its competitors, Fornell says. While it remains flat with a score of 72, the department store is struggling to hold on to shoppers, with low scores across the board and an increase in customer complaints.”

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Fashion Week continues; we thought we would close with a few looks from this fall’s collection by Lauren Pierce.

PHOTO: Pasha Antonov

The eco-friendly line is designed by Lauren Bush, a niece of the former President. The ultimate customer for this line is described in the following way on the Lauren Pierce website:

“She is socially conscious and cares about the world she lives in. She doesn’t dress according to passing trends. She views her clothes as natural extensions of who she is inside and out.”

PHOTO: Pasha Antonov

Yes, it is the woman whose significant other is David Lauren of Ralph Lauren fame.  This is the point at which TP always asks the same question: “So, if they get married will her name be Lauren Lauren?”

Honestly.  (Silly Princess.)

J. Crew Final Sale, “Preppy Paradise” Opens, Kate Spade Summer 2009 Looks

Hello and happy new day everyone!

We start with a quick couple of hits, things going on you may be interested in, like J. Crew’s “Enjoy an Extra 30% Off“ Final (their word, not ours) Sale, ending Wednesday night at midnight.

To enjoy the additional discount use Promo Code EXTRA30 at checkout.

In other J. Crew news, the sharp eyes at the Material Interest blog on Men. Style. com have spotted an intriguing piece at the Tribeca Liquor Store locale.  It is a very limited edition jacket, something you may find appealing for the Mr. Wonderful in your life.

Courtesy J. Crew via Men.Style.com

A stop at the online Men’s Shop at the Liquor Store does not show the military style jacket, but then, with a run of only 7 (s-e-v-e-n) jackets (not to mention the $850 price point), it’s likely one must visit the store in person to view this item.

The jacket is a collaborative effort with the one and only Mister Freedom in LA; below, as shown in a November post on the Mister Freedom blog.

Courtesy Mister Freedom

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Lost in last week’s frenzy, news in The Cut blog about Fred Perry’s SoHo store opening. This is a beautiful thing.  As the story describes it:

“Buttoned-up British sportswear brand Fred Perry quietly unveiled its first Stateside store last week, bringing a preppy paradise of plaid, argyle, and tweed to Soho.”

We will never, ever, complain about a new stop on the circuit. Even when we are experiencing extraordinary difficulty getting away for a few days to enjoy the circuit. Sigh.

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Regular readers may remember previous posts about Michelle Obama wearing jewelry by Loree Rodkin; she wore earrings by the designer election night and several pieces during Tuesday’s Inaugural events. Guess who was in Loree Rodkin at the SAG Awards last evening in Los Angeles?

PHOTO: Danny Moloshok/Reuters

None other than winner Mickey Rourke, in Loree Rodkin sunglasses.  No diamonds that we can see, just the glasses.

FYI, following up Friday’s post about the First Lady’s jewelry at the Inaugural Balls, Ms. Rodkin says she has she has taken “… 100 orders for jewelry that is similar in style…”. This according to WSJ’s On The Runway blog, always on top of this sort of news.

BTW, not all the stars were at the SAG Awards over the weekend. Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester was at the launch party for Nylon Mexico.

The Nylon blog shows the dress worn by Ms. Leighton in detail; it is now available at Net-a-Porter.

It is referred to as the “Preen Cordula Lace Up Dress” as well as the “…lace-up bandage dress.” If it is a style you fancy, not to worry about showing up at a function with TP in the same frock.  A tad too racy for us. We knew you would understand.

Let’s go from one Nylon item to another… a stop at Nylon online today revealed these cute shoes in the blog’s Spring Awakening story. The Ballet Flats are found for $19.50 at Old Navy.

Another example demonstrating precisely why we effort a visit to the Nylon site every day.

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Also a quick look at some of the Kate Spade Summer goods featured in today’s WWD story on the company, most notably the brand’s foray into apparel. Below, pieces from the upcoming collection.

PHOTO: Robert Mitra via WWD

The story focuses on efforts to rejuvenate the brand, and the highly competitive landscape when it comes to accessories:

“Contemporary lines like Rebecca Minkoff and Botkier are appealing to fashion-driven consumers, while J.Crew and Tory Burch are fortifying their accessories focus with a solid infrastructure already intact.”

PHOTO: Robert Mitra/WWD

We’re not sure yet how crazy we are about this look… is anyone else thinking hula skirt? There is also an elegant cuff bracelet from the line.

PHOTO: Robert Mitra/WWD

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Not to be left out of the picture, a Kate Spade competitor is featured in today’s email missive from Bergdorf’s:

Bergdorf Goodman

The retailer is featuring the new Tory Burch Logo Sandal.

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And for a closing smile we get back to our semi-regular feature, “Pretty in Pink,” with the Pink Ligne Roset chair by Pierre Paulin:

That’s a smile and a half… enjoy your day!

Black Friday Starts…TOMORROW. Seriously. And Preppy Bargains Abound.

Hello-Hello from a sublime and sunny day in the Great Midwest, so nice we can hardly believe it is November!

But we may want to fasten our seat belts, as it could be a bumpy ride this Fall, at least for retailers. However, storekeeper stress also means outstanding savings opportunities, so today we are simply discarding our usual neuroses about usage of the ‘M’ word, and offering what insight we have on hand.

For openers, K-Mart is starting their Black Friday offerings tomorrow.  As in Sunday, November 2, 2008.

For anyone unfamiliar with Black Friday, a previous post has a tad more insight on the phenomenon, including a mention of this Ralph Lauren Factory Stores ad, offering something called Midnight Madness.  The ad says, “Join us after your Thanksgiving Dinner. Most stores open at the stroke of midnight.”  Indeed.

Courtesy bfads.net

Back to today’s post: the Kmart ad does not refer, or apply, to all parts of the store. In fact, it really only offer savings in one area of the store, as explained in Friday’s Advertising Age story:

“The retailer …  said it will offer the deals exclusively in the home-electronics category to help customers kick-start their holiday shopping. The category has become an area of particular concern for retailers, as consumers pull back on discretionary items.”

Should shoppers be looking for the special deals in their Sunday newspaper? Evidently not, at least as best The Princess can discern from yesterday’s story.

“Early Black Friday” sales on about 15 items will roll out in Sunday circulars between Nov. 2 and Nov. 23, as well as on Kmart.com. The deals are being worked into existing circular plans… “

And surprisingly, the discounts will be available for more than one day, different from ‘standard’ Black Friday sales:

“Kmart’s deals are also meant to make holiday shopping more convenient, Mr. Aiello said. Unlike typical Black Friday sales, which require an early wake-up call and heavily promoted limited quantities, the specials will be available for an entire week, with ample supplies in stock.”

Because we do heart your pocketbook (we have been told this is the proper way to use this verb) we went decided to be adventurous and go to the K-Mart website. These are the only two sale circulars we see that are applicable commencing tomorrow; the first seems to be primarily Disney and Hannah Montana related.

Kmart Ad 11.02.08

And the second is a Dollar Days theme:

Kmart Ad 11.02.08

Enough of Black Friday, let us move on to Bergdorf’s, shall we? Their Fall Savings event includes the Tory Burch North-South tote in this color is too fun.

Barney’s thinks their sale is groovy; we are not yet convinced, but are willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

The Prada Ruched Pump is not destined for our shoe rack,

But the Mawi Enameled Bangle is fun and comes in several colors, including our favorite.  And the pinstripe cashmere throw, as well as the eggshell with multi-color stripes both rank extremely well on the Snuggle Factor.

It seems that Brooks Brothers continues its aggressive marketing stance with their Preferred Customer Event.

This translates to a 25% discount if one uses their Brooks Brothers Platinum MasterCard Platinum, a mere 15% savings for those paying through other means.

J. Crew is pushing their ‘Fall Sale.’

And TP is simply ga-ga over the Clea Flats:

And speaking of J. Crew, a reminder on the next Men’s Shop:

Courtesy J. Crew

It shall be interesting to watch the way Crew plays the Men’s Collection in this locale, as it is quite different from the ambience of the Liquor Store site.

Saks is also eager to assist one’s wardrobe enhancement efforts, offering multiple sales, like the Stuart Weitzman Patent Slide.  And ladies, TP can personally vouch for these; they are divine. Dowdy? Maybe. Frumpish? Perhaps. But they are us, and we don’t have the only toes clad in these at JL meetings.

Then there is the Lord & Taylor ‘Just in Time’ sale which has so many different elements we can barely keep them straight.

But because we want to do our best to help locate fiscally friendly merchandise for all of our Princess readers, we’ll give it a go. L&T is offering:

• Additional 15% off Cashmere
• 33% off Gloves
• 25% off Handbags
• Free shipping on all orders more than $99

J. Press is always an excellent choice, and this fall it is no different, with multiple markdowns throughout the store. These snappy madras trousers for The Spousal Unit at a superb price; they will be ideal during this winter’s annual getaway.

Their Short-sleeve New York Polo is also fun.

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And so we might close with an ‘appropriate’ Pretty in Pink, here is the Lilly Pulitzer Infant’s Cover-up; Saks is offering this at an attractive markdown.

Happy Hunting!