A Walk on the Pretty Planet

Hello-Hello! We hope everyone is experiencing the same soft summer light and bright day as we are enjoying here at the Prepatorium!

Today is an exhilarating day for us. Why? Because the ever-so-wonderful Legally Blonde Mel, better known as I Pick Pretty, yes, she of the wit and wisdom and writing style we could only dream of emulating, asked us to take part in her ‘Featured Blogger Friday‘ post!

IPickPretty.blogspot.com

Please join us in taking a walk on the Pretty Planet, orbiting in the same solar system (or so we have been told by the scientific community) as Planet Prep, only in a vastly more attractive fashion, as one would expect.

Besides, Miss Pretty is offering a 20% discount on an entire category of items at the Princess Shoppe (did we say custom items perfect for Father’s Day starting at $19?!) that we are not at liberty to reveal in this less-than-perfectly-pretty-space. Indeed.

Thank you your Prettiness, we are not worthy, but most assuredly grateful. In fact, we feel so honored to be included in such a Pretty Place we are declaring today as a Pretty Prepalicious Friday, meriting our official Seal decreeing it thus.

We hope your day and entire weekends are equally Prepalicious!

Haute Pink, More Preptastic Bargains Abound

Hello-Hello and greetings from the frenzied corner condo at Princess Intergalactic HQ!

Did everyone note the hot pink Angie Harmon is wearing on the cover of this month’s T&C (Town and Country)?

According to the Journal, she is just one of many in the “hot new color,” as explained in this story by Christina Binkley.

“No longer relegated to the garish masses, the saturated pink shades known as fuchsia and magenta are suddenly haute.”

The story includes a photo of an upscale kitchen by über-chic designer Clive Christian.

PHOTO: Courtesy Clive Christian via WSJ

The story even shares an inventive new appellation for what we have always called hot pink: “mangenta”.

Regardless of what one calls it, the color is a bright spot for many retailers:

“”Pink represents a certain playfulness and confidence, particularly in men,” says Simon Maloney, head of buying and production for shirtmaker Thomas Pink, where pink is selling well and will be marketed as a key color for fall.”

Below we show Pink’s Efland Stripe Traveller for men in their pink & white Stripe.

Thomas Pink

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There are still more Sales and Savings to pass on, beginning with Boden:

BodenUSA.com

Boden is doing a 15% off Mini-Boden special.

Kate Spade’s email shows “up to 50% off,” but when visiting the company’s sale pages one is greeted with a heading promoting “up to 75% off,” although that selection is limited.  The preppish retailer is also providing complimentary shipping on all orders; no need to invest a specific amount to enjoy this courtesy.

This makes things like the Haig Point Kei a relatively good bargain at $221.

KateSpade.com

The highly unusual but oh-so-wonderful 25% Off Bobbi Brown promotion ends tonight at midnight, so make haste if in need of cosmetics from this source!

BobbiBrown.com

Generally a little too hip for us, but fun nonetheless, the Gargyle Spring/Summer Sale is underway.

Gargyle.com

Loads of good buys are available, including classics like the mens Fred Perry Cardigan, now $75; its original price was $135.

And Men’s clothier Zegna begins their End of Season Sale tmorrow.

Zegna.com

We are absolutely buried today, so we shall simply scramarama and hope everyone enjoys a delightful evening!

Chuck Bass & Don Draper – Need we Say More?

Hello-Hello, and happy day everyone!

We start with a nudge on a must-read story in the Times for fans of the styles seen in Mad Men and/or Gossip Girl.  Friday’s story looks at the costume designs for popular television shows, including interviews with Gossip Girl’s costume designer Eric Daman and Katherine Jane Bryant of Mad Men.

PHOTO: Giovanni Rufino/CW

Mr. Daman’s thought on sartorial selections for Ed Westwick’s character, Chuck Bass?

““He’ll walk around the Hamptons in a beautiful mint-green suit and a bow tie if he feels like it.””

Is there a better representation of Betty & Don Draper doing formal apparel?

We highly recommend the story and accompanying interactive photo piece. Below, some of the Mad Men cast backstage at the Golden Globes earlier this year.

PHOTO: Gavin Bond via INStyle.com

Mad Men aficionados may be intrigued by this story sharing the compromise reached in the ongoing hoo-haa over adding two minutes of commercial time to the hit show when it returns this August. (The 16th of August to be precise, but really, who’s counting?) A wise decision it seems, the two minutes are added but the content is not curtailed; the show will run into the 11pm hour a tad.

And in a final Mad Men note, the show’s style is invoked in this brief review of the new Liz Claiborne Men’s Line.

“The debut collection combines the slim cuts of the Mad Men era with classic preppy pieces–narrow polos and cardigans, bermuda shorts in madras, and two-button jackets.”

This is the first menswear line created under Isaac Mizrahi; it is created by a designer of whom we are fond, the gifted John Bartlett.

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We also have a few SOTTs (Signs of the Times) to share:

• Lots of speculation that Eddie Bauer may be filing for bankruptcy as early as this week; for more info, head for the story in USA Today. This one frustrates us no end, as this was once a great American company; now reduced to a B-school case study in what happens when a brand loses its way.
• Neiman Marcus will cut the hours it is open in some locations to trim expenses; the story in yesterday’s WWD explains that the changes in hours will vary by location. For example, the underperforming Galleria store in Houston will now open at 1pm on Sundays (instead of noon), while another location will close at 8pm Monday-Friday, instead of the more standard 9pm. Hours at premiere sites like Northpark in Dallas and the Beverly Hills store will remain the same. And as we’re speaking of Neimans, don’t forget their sale continues. The new promo code for complimentary shipping with any purchase amount is JUNNM.

In other Sales & Savings news, Lord & Taylor’s Friends and Family sale offers an “Extra 25% Off Almost Everything,” with “10% off Cosmetics and Fragrances.” Use the promo code FRIENDS at checkout.

Online Shoes is doing their Summer Sale:

And J. Crew has decided to throw in Complimentary Shipping with their Extra 20% off promotion.

Yes, they call it Free Shipping, but TP refuses to use that term; it isn’t really ‘free’ by our definition.  It is complimentary, or included, or no charge, but not free. (Ooooh, do we have a reappearance of Crankenstein Princess?!) The promo code remains the same, EXTRA20.

And to continue our tedious whine-athon, we’re curious to know if anyone else finds it almost laughable/borderline offensive when a retailer puts an item “on sale” by taking approximately 13% off the original selling price? The issue came to mind with the Crew Perfect-Fit Short-Sleeve tee:

J Crew

We don’t mean to unfairly pillory J. Crew, and we adore the tee, there are more than we care to think about a few here at the Palace.  Nor is J. Crew the only company pursuing what seems an insane practice, but 13% barely covers the sales tax in some locales these days. Can someone help us understand?

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Okay enough of our insanity, it’s time to perk up with a few Pretty in Pink items, our first from Polo Ralph Lauren, also holding a sizable Sale and Clearance event.

The Fairway Print stretch polo is now $69. While not for us, the shorts hold potential. (This could be attributed to our Logophobia, but it seems a high proportion of the womens items we surfed had the logos-on-steroids issue.)

The second is a discovery by our good friends over at the Pink and Green Scene:

The Company Store

The letters are just too cute, available at The Company Store.

Happy hunting, if that is your task today! Until next time, g’bye.

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.

Tiffany & Cartier for Sale at…Bluefly?!

Hello-Hello!

Because we have an all-afternoon volunteer commitment, today shall be more photos and fabulosity!

We begin by fulfilling a promise we made yesterday: more pictures from Saturday’s Veuve Clicquot Manhattan Polo Classic. On the left, Emily Mortimer; Alek Wek is on the right in the cheery yellow Zac Posen dress.

Kelly Klein wore Dolce & Gabbana; Chloe Sevigny was in Chloé.

It’s possible readers are more interested in pictures of these two gentlemen, but we think not. We’re quite sure you are operating on a higher plane, coming from a much more cerebral place…yes?

PHOTO: Steve Eichner/WWD

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We move on to a rather amazing SOTT (Sign Of The Times): news that discount online shop Bluefly will be selling Tiffany, Van Cleef & Arpels, Bulgari, and Cartier jewels. (Gasp! Oh, the horror!) However, it is not as if Bluefly shall be carrying new jewelry pieces on the site, nor shall they be regularly offering such upscale goodies as a matter of course. This story in today’s WWD (Women’s Wear Daily, subscription req’d.) explains:

“Bluefly has so far eschewed the private-sale format, but on June 8 will hold its first invitation-only, limited-time sale.”

“Prices are about 20 percent less than new. For example, an estate Cartier Love Bracelet will cost $3,080 rather than $3,850 at regular retail.”

We must confess our appreciation of the Love Bracelet; the Queen Mother still wears hers, acquired way back…well, just way back when.

PHOTO: Courtesy of Cartier via WWD

As noted, these are estate pieces, not brand new items coming directly from the jewelry stores themselves.

The sale is a joint effort with upscale estate jewelry wholesale firm Circa. (Come now, we’ve all noticed their ads in the Times discreetly offering ‘assistance’ in generating a little pocket change by liquidating those silly trinkets collecting dust at the estate. Oh, pshaw, admit it, you know you’ve secretly pondered the possibilities created by letting another generation ummm… experience the beauty of  Great-Grandmama’s pearls. And that monstrosity of a ring left from the wedding-that-wasn’t when that new-money-and-no-taste-man was chasing after Aunt Evangeline, you know the one with the 2.8 carat ruby absolutely laden with those garish diamonds?! Beyond Nouveau Gauche, it was an abomination – why not dispose of it? Good. At least we understand each other.)

And who might one see in the next sale of this kind at Bluefly?

“The next sale might feature the moderns David Yurman, Judith Ripka and John Hardy…”

(Pssst… again, that’s Circa.com and their number is 877.876.5493. Not that you would ever consider calling them. Indeed.)

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A few quick sales to share before we scoot:

That’s right, the Lilly Pulitzer Warehouse Sale starts tomorrow!

Also, Polo Ralph Lauren is taking deeper discounts in their sale and clearance event.

We leave you with a darling shot of Daisy Duke’s darling godson, Baby Zeke, in his snappyseersucker sailor suit. Miss Daisy is clearly looking after his sartorial needs. (Heh-heh-heh.)

http://www.streetinsider.com/Corporate+News/Highlights+From+Abercrombie+&+Fitch+(ANF)s+Q1+Conference+Call:+Disappointed+in+Quarterly+Loss%3B+Fashion+Headwinds+Remain/4657841.html

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* (CEO) There is a price consciousness dictating shoppers’ purchases today unlike anything I have seen before. We’ve spent years building our brands to compete on quality, aspiration, and a unique store experience, not on price.

* There are also fashion headwinds. We are currently in a cycle that lacks a dominant trend in the female business. Trends that appear to have some traction are not the long-term trend of classic, casual, preppy all-American sportswear that is core to our heritage.

* As an update to our specific plans for new store openings in 2009, domestically in addition to the Hollister flagship in SoHo, we now expect to open 10 stores in 2009. This figure includes 2 abercrombie kids’ stores, 4 Hollister stores, 2 Gilly Hicks stores, and 2 outlet stores.