Snuggie Truth Revealed, and Sperry for Spring!

Hello-Hello!

A quick reminder to be sure and enter our Lilly Pulitzer Stationery giveaway, entries close at midnight tonight! All the contest info you need is right here; the winner receives both a Lilly Pulitzer Latte Da! coffee mug, along with the Take Note Mouse Pad that also comes with a pad of Lilly paper for handy note taking!

We have even coordinated the two prizes, the better to brighten up your desk! The pattern is the always-fun Cabanarama.

We will use Random.org to select the lucky recipient tomorrow morning and post the news midday. A gazillion “Thank you” sentiments to everyone who has entered, you make it too fun for us here at the Prepatorium!

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It seems there is a wildly popular cultural phenomenon we had been unaware of until recently. We are speaking of the oh-so-popular “Seen on TV” product more commonly known as the Snuggie.

Courtesy Snuggie.com

Somehow we weren’t fully versed in Snuggie-speak, so we were forced to do a little research. (Okay, a lot of research.) Little did we know how popular the creations are, leading the Times to do multiple stories on them in the last few weeks!

For anyone as sadly uninformed as we were, the Snuggie is essentially a blanket with sleeves.

The oh-so-popular item is sold primarily through television infomercials.  But according to this story in the Times, the Snuggie was not the first! (Gasp!)

Nay, nay SnuggieFans, not so fast.

“On CNN recently, a segment on the Snuggie — four million of which have sold since it began advertising in October — said it “has spawned all sorts of online imitators” and later mentioned the Slanket as one “of the other versions of the Snuggie out there.”

But it turns out that the Snuggie is actually the imitator.”

We offer Exhibit A, the Slanket, seen below.

Courtesy theSlanket.com

Gasp!

But the Times story digs even deeper, revealing news the Slanket was preceded by…are you ready? Enter Exhibit B, the Freedom Blanket!

Courtesy FreedomBlanket.com

The Freedom Blanket currently sells for $29.99, the Slanket is $44.95 and the Snuggie is $19.95, although one can apparently acquire one for only $14.99 at ‘select’ retailers like Walgreens.

All of this leaves us wondering if The Princess needs to consider pink and green blankets-with-arms? Will we be horribly out of touch with our customers if we do not carry them come next fall? Will there be anti-Princess protests across the nation if we do not add these to our inventory and keep a ready supply on hand?

The Times also ran a story by Allen Salkin, “Snuggie on the Street: Watch Your Back” investigating the merits of wearing one’s Snuggie on the street.

PHOTO: Christopher Smith for the NY Times

Above we see the Snuggie on Broadway. Below, we see one of the drawbacks to outdoor use:

PHOTO: Christopher Smith for the NY Times

There is no back on this item, creating more than a little draft when one steps away from the sofa. Hhhhmmmm.

The whole topic has us wondering if perhaps some of the womenswear designers were thinking of Snuggies or Slankets when creating next Fall’s looks….?

PHOTO: Mauricio Miranda

These photos from the Milan Fall 2009 RTW shows certainly bear a resemblance to a Snuggie, don’t you think?  These two creations are from Salvatore Ferragamo, the photos via WWD.

PHOTO: Mauricio Miranda

We are just saying….

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In our unceasing efforts to hurry spring we offer footwear designed to boost everyone’s spirits, starting with the Sperry Pelican Tall Boot in a stylized anchor motif.  Miss Nautical, do you approve?

The boot comes in a number of delightful colors and patterns; above you see the blue plaid. We looked at these this weekend at Nordstrom, and would have considered trying on a pair had anyone in the store’s shoe department indicated an interest in assisting us in that endeavor.

Another Sperry shoe we are fond of is the Women’s Print Bahama, available in three colorways. The green version has anchors, the pink features sailboats and the aqua-blue pair is adorned with a seahorse print.

Also new this spring, the Waterloo from Admiral in a seersucker and chambray look.

Courtesy High Snobiety

They will also be available in this classic blue seersucker and chambray.

Courtesy High Snobiety

We thank the bright minds over at High Snobiety for their initial story on these shoes!

Until next time dolls, have a simply splendid afternoon!

Slumdog Kids in Brooks Brothers, J. Crew also on the Red Carpet

Happy Day everyone, as we draw closer to the end of the season’s dreariest month, although it has been bright and sunny of late here at the Prepatorium, simply because we say it must be! No blahs allowed. Scat! Scram! Vamoose!

We begin with some Red Carpet fashions from Sunday night’s Academy Award ceremonies. Many know about our next Oscar dress story, but first, a look at the younger set from Slumdog Millionaire.

Courtesy Brooks Brothers

The young actors in the photo are wearing tuxedos from the standard Brooks Brothers collection as well as the more stylized Black Fleece line.

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In Friday’s post we mentioned the possibility of ABC’s Robin Roberts wearing J. Crew while co-hosting the network’s Red Carpet show Sunday night.

PHOTO: Amy Sancetta/AP

The Good Morning America anchor did several stories about selecting a dress for the high-profile telecast, and viewers voted online to pick the gown she should wear.  The big winner? J. Crew’s Gracie gown from the Weddings and Parties Collection.

The gown is shown on the website, but is not at J. Crew stores, available only through the catalog and website. Below, Ms. Roberts and Crew’s Jenna Lyons look at accessories with Suze Yalof Schwartz of Glamour magazine.

PHOTO: Ida Mae Astute/ABC

Next, a J. Crew dress that didn’t make the cut.

PHOTO: Ida Mae Astute/ABC

And one more J. Crew look that Ms. Roberts did not select.

PHOTO: Ida Mae Astute/ABC

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In today’s Conspicuous Consumption category, we offer the Vertu Diamond Constellation phone:

Courtesy Athem via Luxist.com

This marvel is now available in 18K gold with more than 1500 diamonds.  Most importantly for our readers, the phone can be monogrammed. We knew that information would influence your decision on adding one of these to your collection. It is available here for slightly more than the average cell phone. We are presuming this typifies what is commonly referred to as ‘bling’ in today’s verancular?

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A quick reminder – don’t forget to enter our Lilly Pulitzer Stationery Giveaway – simply click here to join in the fun! We are giving away a matching Lilly Latte Da! Mug….

Lilly Pulitzer Latte Da! Mugs

… along with the Mouse Pad that comes with its own pad of matching paper!

Lilly Pulitzer Take Note! Mouse Pad

Until next time dolls, grins and giggles!