St. John Launches a New Line, Runway to Change & Those Timmy Woods Political Purses

Hello-Hello and happy day! The Princess was delighted to learn today that St. John is launching a new line.

“SoCa” will hit stores in November. Aimed at a younger, hipper customer it will primarily feature a contemporary casual collection. St. John says the new line will be operated entirely separately from the existing brand. In fact, there are actually going to be separate freestanding SoCa stores, with the earliest opening in California at South Coast Plaza (in Orange County, one of TP’s Top Five Shopping Destinations) and in Palm Desert.

TP considers this is a sharp move by St. John; it will help the continued recovery from previous missteps the company made in trying to reach a younger demo. This line is targeting women aged 35-55 and is a clear departure from the company’s signature brand.

Here’s a bit more specific information from today’s WWD story:

“The line also will be available in 125 stores and displayed alongside brands such as Tory Burch and M Missoni in Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s. Retail prices range from $195 to $295 for tops and pants, and $395 to $695 for jackets and dresses.”

With the exception of the shorts and sequins above left (it just looks a bit…um… well, it looks a little ‘tarty’ for our taste) the pieces are solid, but also edgier, exactly what the doctor ordered to help in recovering the audience driven off by St. John’s previous efforts in this arena. Muffy Martini may want to check her social calendar for November 14th; the line will be part of a a charity fashion show benifiting Music for the Cure in Laguna Beach.

This announcement about the new brand comes on the heels of the launch of St. John’s renovated website. The rehabbed style is vastly improved in appearance and ease of use; it has what is called a “seamless link” to the Neiman-Marcus online store providing the site’s backbone for the time being.

Next year St. John will launch its own e-commerce site with a substantial social networking component. Things to look forward to!

As many of you are no doubt aware, TP has made, and will continue to make, every effort to keep partisan politics out of this ever-so-humble blogging endeavor. However, when appropriate events dictate we have, and will, feature relevant content, like today’s Runway to Change. As has been evident throughout the summer, the Obama camp has outmaneuvered the McCain-Palin ticket on mobilizing some of the fashion industry.

Designed by Tracy Reese

Readers may have seen some of these, as the official kick off for the effort was during New York Fashion Week. Runway to Change is a fundraising endeavor (well, “duh” as the younger generation is wont to say) selling items created by notable designers supporting the Obama-Biden ticket. The most publicized tee is probably the Tracy Reese design seen above, with a close-up of the logo below.

At the launch party many commented on the Nanette Lepore Hope Anchor tee with attached pin, below.

Designed by Nanette Lepore

Juicy Couture’s “Dude, Where’s The Hope?” was a crowd favorite at the party.

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Designed by Juicy Couture

Derek Lam’s Obama Flower Tote Bag has been a strong seller…

Designed by Derek Lam

Along with Diane Von Furstenberg’s Obama 08 Love Tote…

Designed by Diane von Furstenberg

On the Republican side of the aisle there has not been an effort with this level of creativity or cache. There is a broad selection of tees, caps and the like, such as this Students for McCain tee….

Or this one, with “John McCain is my Facebook Friend” on the front and on the back it simply says  “Seriously.”

One thing we like about the McCain-Palin store is the following:

Which is a surprise for TP, but we do appreciate the technicalities being spelled out.

“This store is operated by an independent, for-profit company. Proceeds from sales of merchandise do not benefit, and should not be considered a contribution to the John McCain 2008 campaign.”

There is also an Eco-Friendly product category.

Of course, if one seeks a more noteworthy and distinctive style statement, there is always the Barack Obama inspired purse, as created by the renowned Timmy Woods.

According to the website, the Obama bag is a ‘Limited Edition” of 100 and was added to the Woods Collection in late August. You remember Timmy Woods…the Sex and the City movie? The Eiffel Tower bag? Nordstrom has it, but only in the clutch or wristlet version which we have not yet seen in person. It is shown on the Woods website in a version covered with 6,300 Swarovski Crystals.

Well, she has also come up with the Democratic bag at $325…

Or the Republican Bag, also at $325.

If you don’t want to wear your vote on your sleeve, there is always the Flag II bag…

The chances one would you ever spot The Princess carrying one of these are slim and none; none is actually looking good as of this writing. However, *if* forced to name one as a favorite, we would select the following, because after all, we are all about the love. This is the Bipartisan Bag, at $315.

‘Night.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is a redacted version of the original post, corrected to reflect a gender error on our part.

Cindy McCain Fashion, People Magazine Palin-McCain Cover Shoot, Prince William Stolen Photos

Hello-hello… here we are again, smack dab in the middle of another political convention. For one more night TP and The Princess Consort will find themselves tuned to CSPAN to follow the goings-on in St. Paul, turning to the network started by Brian Lamb, if and when we can no longer cope with the network and cable commentary.

Has anyone else watched the ongoing spats and on-air fights between Keith Olbermann (below with flag) and Chris Matthews and occasionally Joe Scarborough on MSNBC? Here’s one description of such an incident via the Los Angeles Times of just one nasty encounter.

Photo by Peter Yang for Rolling Stone

“Take, for example, the Matthews Meltdown. Discussing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s speech on Tuesday, MSNBC host Chris Matthews lost it after colleague Keith Olbermann seemed to mock him with a hand gesture that suggested Matthews was talking too much. Hair askew, looking as if he had spent the night on a bench in a bus station, Matthews shed TV’s normal protocol and retorted: “I can do the same to you!” and defended his Hillary spiel: “That’s what I thought, all right? And I said it.”

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

This conjures images of Sister Mary Hand Grenade hovering at the front of the room in front of the black board with the ruler in her hand. If we could all play nice in the sandbox TP would find it all so much more watchable. BTW, in case you didn’t know, Mr. Olbermann is quite the original preppy, growing up in Westchester, attending Hackley and Cornell.

Above, MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough on the air during the Democratic Convention in Denver last week. Below, a quick glance at a meeting Wednesday afternoon of vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, First Lady Laura Bush and possible First Lady Cindy McCain.

TP has been fielding questions about Cindy McCain’s style, her favorite designers, etc., and frankly, we feel quite inadequate to the task. We can provide some background information and photographs to help illuminate the topic, but really, there are many sources vastly superior to our little blog.

We commence our feeble attempts by showing both Laura Bush and Cindy McCain in designs by Oscar de la Renta as they approach the dais for their opening remarks at the Republican Convention.  Ms. Bush is said to have been in heels by Stuart Weitzman, her only accessory a pair of pearl stud earrings.

Below, a closer look at the two women onstage, Ms. Bush in a knit suit and Ms. McCain in a silk dress with the collar turned up, a move many ‘fashion commentators’ criticized. (TP felt it was somewhat overly dramatic because of the collar’s size.)

Tonight, a lush turquoise suit, with a double-breasted jacket reminiscent of some of the 40’s swing tops.

Also this evening, Alaska Governor & vice=presidential candidate Sarah Palin in a dark grey suit, being greeted by Henry Kissinger.

Below we see Ms. McCain at the convention in a deep coral-colored suit that appears to be a raw silk or silk shantung, and on the right, another dress, in this case a more pastel tone.

In almost every instance one can note the two pins worn by Ms. McCain on a daily basis; they spell the words “NAVY” and “USMC”. Below, the white Chanel J-12 wristwatch frequently seen on Ms. McCain’s wrist is visible.

It is such an important part of the Chanel brand, the company has a special microsite for the watch. Below left an undated photo, and on the right a shot of Ms. McCain and Todd Palin, as they enter the “One Heart, One World” luncheon today, an event honoring Ms. McCain’s humanitarian work.

Above on the right one can also see the constantly-in-use bone or taupe pumps worn by Cindy McCain throughout the campaign. Below we see the vivid blue dress worn on the day Sarah Palin was announced as the vice-presidential choice by Senator McCain.

TP thought this a beautiful color, but the additional flounced or ruffled detailing on the front added little to the dress, actually moving it into her “Frou-Frou Danger Zone.”

Ms. McCain is also known to be a fan of Carolina Herrera and Michael Kors.

Michael Kors website

As evidenced in the photos, Ms. McCain favors bright colors and frequently wears suits as opposed to dresses, although of late we are seeing more dresses; rarely is she seen in patterns, or florals. Below, seated with the family of vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. The four-strand pearl necklace worn all week is visible in many of the photos, including those below.

The rich green dress featured Grecian style draping on the back, a style TP finds more appealing in evening gowns, and a self-tied bow at the front waistline. In more casual surroundings it is clear Ms. McCain is more than comfortable in a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt.

While often seen with her hair up, sometimes in elaborate coiffed styles, Ms. McCain is often seen with it down, or loosely pulled back in a ponytail.

Ms. McCain’s wardrobe must also suit her frequent overseas trips (often without her husband and also without media), for her volunteer work with Operation Smile and CARE.  She also started the American Voluntary Medical Team, her own nonprofit humanitarian agency, which sent medical teams to disaster or war-torn areas around the world.

Cropped sweaters, or shrugs are also favored by the always-on-the-go mother, wife, and philanthropist.

The lower two photographs are from today’s walk-through for the presumptive candidate; the pink cast is for a wrist sprain. Of course, there is always the magazine cover shoot, requested by more publications than one knew existed. Here we see a People magazine cover shoot with both the McCains and the Palins.

Most of these candid shots are from daughter Meghan McCain’s campaign blog. Here is the one TP absolutely adores, little Piper Palin with baby brother Trig.

At some later point perhaps we can look more in-depth at more of the leading political candidates and/or spouses and their individual styles.

Next……

…quite the to-do over photographs of a royal kind. A man is free on bail on the other side of the pond, following an early-morning raid earlier this week by Scotland Yard. This all involves the memory card to a camera that was stolen from Kate Middleton’s younger sister, Pippa, seen below with sister Kate. (That is Kate above, with Prince William.)

Kate & Pippa Middleton

Why the worry about the photos on the memory card? Because Kate Middleton is Prince William’s longtime girlfriend, and the photos were of the couple on their recent holiday on the Caribbean island of Mustique. The suspect was actually trapped with the assistance of The Daily Sun, when he tried to sell them the card with 40 photos of the two relaxing on vacation. His asking price? £50,000, or about $85,000.

Tomorrow…? Well, we’ll just have to wait and see what trouble we can stir up.

PHOTO CREDITS: AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, REUTERS/Mike Segar, AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, REUTERS/Brian Snyder, Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images, Justin Sullivan/Getty Images, AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, Justin Sullivan/Getty Images