Le Wintour, Preppy Sales #34

Hello and Happy New Week everyone!

Did everyone watch the goings-on over at Roland Garros leading up to this photo?

PHOTO: Christophe Ena/AP

We’ll cut to the chase and simply say we were ever-so-pleased to see Roger Federer win the French Open, completing his career Grand Slam, tying Pete Sampras’ record of 14 major singles titles.

Now, we don’t want to offend anyone by discussing something not entirely devoted to what took place on the court, but we simply must lower ourselves and wallow in some idle gossip, rumor and innuendo. (If you’re doing one of those, why not all three?)  What magazine editor recently profiled on Sixty Minutes suddenly disappeared before the Jason Wu resort show even started last week? And where do we think said editor went in such a rush?

PHOTO: Benoit Tessier/Reuters

Presumably you spotted Ms. Wintour in the photo, one row behind and to the right of Mr. Federer’s wife, Mirka.  Yes, she scooted out of the Wu show and headed to the far side of the pond, making it in time to see the finals.

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We have lots of offerings in our Sales and Savings category today, beginning with Bergdorf Goodman continuing their Designer Sale.

Next, J. Crew is taking an additional 20% off their Sale prices. That means one of our faves, the Super 120’s Blair dress is now roughly $112; its original selling price was $188.

J. Crew

The darling Girls’ Spring Court Tennis shoes are approximately $39.60 when factoring in the additional discount; marked down from $60, that’s a reduction of about 33%.

J. Crew

Not what some might refer to as a ‘screaming deal,’ but in These Challenging Times, any savings is nothing to sneeze at, oui? To receive the discount at Crew use promo code EXTRA20 at checkout.

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Also offering fiscally friendly pricing, Neiman Marcus with new additions to their Sale and Clearance sections in store and online.  Many readers know of our insane obsession fondness for the Stella McCartney Sail Print dress:

This treasure is now $597 at Needless Markup Neimans; the company is also offering complementary shipping, no minimum purchase required, a beautiful thing IOHO.  Just enter promo code NMSHIP during checkout. (Net-a-Porter has the same dress on sale; their price is currently $696.)

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No one is ever surprised when hearing one of our online favorites is LL Bean. 

There are loads of goodies on sale at Bean as well; don’t dawdle too terribly long or someone may snag your size.

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We want to mention Talbots as well; they are taking 40% off their already reduced sale items. This includes their Petites sale merchandise, as well as all sale items in both Woman and Woman Petite sizes.

In other news about Talbots, word today they have *finally* managed to unload sold J. Jill.  A private equity firm is purchasing the women’s clothier for a reported $75 million; Talbots paid $517 three years ago.  According to Reuters:

“Talbots will close 75 J. Jill stores within 60 days. The remaining 204 stores will be transferred to Golden Gate Capital.”

Is there a J. Jill in your corner of the globe….?

With that, we say “tune in tomorrow,” as we have a bit of an announcement scheduled for this space.

More Election Fashions Including Michelle Obama’s $10,000 Earrings, Sneak Peek at Thakoon for Target, Preppy Updates

It is Friday, and what a magnificent thing that is… sigh. “And visions of bubble-baths danced in her head…”

We start with more photos from Election Night in response to the ongoing inquiries we are receiving related to Cindy McCain’s dress (a suit), as well as Michelle Obama and Sarah Palin’s apparel.

PHOTO: Jim Bourg/Reuters

There isn’t really loads more to report.  However, we can share new information regarding the future First Lady’s earrings on Tuesday night, hopefully seen in the photographs that follow.  (We do apologize in advance for their large size; clearly we are trying to show those beautiful earrings!)

PHOTO: Morry Gash/AP

They are by Loree Rodkin, crafted of white gold and diamonds. UPI spoke with Ms. Rodkin about Ms. Obama wearing her design election night:

“Loree Rodkin, a Los Angeles-based designer of expensive jewelry, said she was surprised and pleased to see Obama wearing her earrings. Rodkin said the design retails for $10,275 a pair — and were not a loan.”

PHOTO: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty

The earrings look light and lacy, and very feminine, stunning on Ms. Obama.  In the online bio at her website the designer is described:

“…known for her noncomformist visionary approach to jewelry making…. has designed jewelry for most of Hollywood’s brightest stars including Madonna, Mary J. Blige, Cher, Aerosmith…”

According to the Browns Fashion website, the earrings are available for ordering now, if one is so inclined:

Courtesy Browns Fashion

If interested in purchasing the earrings, one must email Browns, they are not currently available on the site.

Here is a photo someone named Diablo Cody (?) in what is a similar style if the skull and crossbones are removed:

 

A Loree Rodkin ad from May, 2008:

 

TheEssentialist.com

For a good look at the designer’s work, try these items at Glimpse, or the selection at Blue Bee.  It would seem from surveying a variety of retailers and other sites that a fair amount of Ms. Rodkin’s work is done using images of skulls, daggers, and other “goth” (?) motifs. (Is that the term…?) Here is the designer in a press photo:

 

Courtesy Loree Rodkin

Our journalism background requires us to point out that Cindy McCain received substantial criticism for wearing diamond earrings at the Republican Convention valued at $280,000. A popular magazine estimated them to be 3 carats in size; the report was not confirmed or denied.

Today the Obamas attended a parent-teacher conference in Chicago:

PHOTO: John Gress/Reuters

Otherwise, the onslaught of newsprint and airwaves devoted to the Narciso Rodriguez dress worn by Ms. Obama election night continues to grow.

Back to the continuing questions here at the Prepatorium regarding Cindy McCain and Sarah Palin and their election night dresses.  Actually, neither wore a dress; they both were attired in what TP would call a “cocktail suit.” (Oh dear, that may reveal a bit too much information regarding our age, shall we say. There you have it.) And here we have the photo:

PHOTO: Brian Snyder/Reuters

Ms. Palin’s dark navy suit is by Tahari, and we have lots more information on it as well as several more photos, here at Wednesday’s “extended election night fashions” post.  That post reveals the only store where the navy color is available.

A reminder on the Michelle Obama book, the biography by WaPo reporter Lisa Mundy; reports indicate it is selling fast; why this would surprise anyone is beyond us.

LizaMundy.com

Readers may remember hearing about Target’s upcoming collection by Thakoon Panichgul, a designer Michelle Obama has worn several times. We have early photos showing some of the designs thanks to the always on top of things people at Nylon magazine.

 

As detailed in a previous post, this is one of a handful of designers favored by Michelle Obama. The collection is due to debut at the retailer on Christmas Day.

 

The pieces look very beachy, ideal for one’s resort wardrobe over the winter holidays. And that is perfect as the collection debuts in the middle of winter, on Christmas Day. That seems rather odd, doesn’t it?

The coat won’t work on an elderly prep like TP (sniff), but it will look darling on most anyone else.

 

Prices for the pieces will range from $20 to $70.  Also to debut On Christmas Day, the Erickson-Beamon for Target Collection, another line Ms. Obama is seen wearing. Here is a preview picture of what to expect, courtesy of the oh-so-hip Nitrolicious.

 

Courtesy Nitrolicious.com

Erickson-Beamon has already collaborated with a retailer, Urban Outfitters.  That line is available in the UK at the Kensington High Street and Oxford Street stores, as well as at the UK online site. Below, their Crystal Cube Necklace from that line:

 

Erickson-Beamon for Urban Outfitters UK

If the subject of designer collaborations with Target sounds slightly familiar, perhaps it is because just this Tuesday we talked about the surprise announcement of Target’s upcoming line with edgy designer Alexander McQueen.  We now have a date for that collection to be available: March 1st, 2009. If seeking more information and photos showing multiple pieces from each designer, this post is fairly comprehensive, albeit in a bloggage sort of way.

We close with few quick hits on preppy goings-on …

• Talbots has confirmed they are selling J. Jill
• the oh-so-stylish Third Coast Preppy found this fun article about the Lilly Pulitzer exhibit that opened at the New School for Design at Parsons
• Online shopping is now available at Lilly Pulitzer! FULL DISCLOSURE: An awesome preppy blogger discovered this outstanding information, and we cannot remember who it was, but they deserve the credit, not us. (If you know, please let us know so they might be properly thanked
  • NOTE: We owe our thanks to the incredibly gifted Teddi, as we read about this in her superb blog, Jewish Girl in WASP’s Clothing.  🙂
• The über-preppy television show known as Gossip Girl has another star landing a big endorsement opportunity: Ed Westwick (who plays Chuck Bass) is the new face for K-Swiss. Below, the actor shooting in New York Thursday:
  

And a reminder to enter our Great Preppy Giveaway Contest by leaving a comment telling us one thing you are thankful for related to America …one thing about the United States for which you are thankful. Remember, if you mention this contest on your blog, you are then eligible to send the snappy Madras photocards to a friend! And the best part of this?  It is all free! Here is a quick glance at the Primary Prize, the Scout Tote:

Bungalow Scout Tote

And here are the Holly House Madras photocards, also from the Preppy Princess store.

Holly House Photocards at PreppyPrincess.com

For all of the details and information, just click here.

Have a splendid weekend!

Talbots Bargains

Up above we have several items from Talbots. A word of advice about this retailer from the Princess: if you like their merchandise, run, don’t walk, to your nearest store or the website. (This also applies to J Jill since they own that chain as well.) Their ongoing struggles, as well as J Jill’s, do not seem to have diminished and they have fabulous markdowns on their sites. It’s not like their going to fail or declare Chapter 11, it’s just that it appears they are trying to shed a lot of merchandise. But don’t take my word for it – check out their Sale and Clearace pages. And yes, that unsolicited advice is worth exactly what you paid for it! 🙂 BTW, does anybody have any thoughts on their Talbots Collection line? It seems kind of, well, frumpy. Thoughts? Do share. Above: Talbots Girls skort $34; Embroidered Polos are priced 1 for $20, 2 for $32; and finally one I really like, Missy Drawstring Skirt for $48.

Hello-hello on a dismal Tuesday…arrrgghhh! Mother Nature needs to think about updating her resume; she is most definitely failing her whiny earthlings in the great midwest. Okay, enough griping. Just a little update for anyone curious about the “dueling blogs,” this one here on WordPress and the other at Blogspot. Here’s the deal: we started on Blogspot and then discovered WordPress which seems to have far more options available, at least for the technically-challenged Princess. So we are migrating that blog over here to WordPress. So that’s today’s totally boring tidbit.