Ralph Lauren & Brooks Brothers Expand Collections, Kennedy Mini-Series Finds a Home

Hello-Hello, happy, sunny day!

When composing the portion of yesterday’s post about the storm we presumed that would be the extent of our dealings with the matter.  Silly Princess.  The abundance of amazing images prompts just a bit more coverage, with thanks to our treasured readers for your gracious tolerance of our tedious fascination mild interest in the topic.

First, a photo from New Hampshire that gives new meaning to “Park & Ride”.

AP via The Telegraph

The interior of just one of the hundreds of vehicles left on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago Tuesday night.

AP via The Telegraph

Lower Manhattan Wednesday.

AP via The Telegraph

How significant portions of I-70 in Missouri looked on Tuesday and parts of Wednesday.

EPA via The Telegraph

One of our favorites is the “Free Snow – Shovel All You Want” sign in Massachusetts.

Via The Telegraph

Okay, we have had enough of the folderol, we move on.

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Our next item on the agenda, Brooks Brothers’ expansion of its Home Collection.

The growth of the line was noted in this story in Home Accents Today. The group now includes a broad selection of lampshades.

Brooks Brothers

Very much in keeping with the Brooks image and product line, the shades invoke visions of pinstripe suits, button downs and silk repp ties.  Below, Cotton Oxford Pleated Chandelier shades.

The Table Top category has been expanded as well; below we show a piece from the company’s partnership with the National Audubon Society, a beautiful Dessert Platter.

Brooks Brothers

In the Help Me Understand category we do have a few entrants, including the Asanoha Plate.

Brooks Brothers

The plate is more than attractive, with an appealing design. Nor do we have any quarrel with the necessity for The Consort the staff to wash the plate by hand, after all it is hand-painted. Our confusion stems from the logo; why would anyone want to display the retailer’s Golden Fleece on their dishes?

The pillow selection remains much the same as when the group was launched,the Striped Pillow collection is still very stylish.

Brooks Brothers

We spotted one addition to this group.

Brooks Brothers

For our thoughts on this item, just scroll back up and re-read the Help Me Understand section.  Overall we find lots to like in the expanded line, it is a stellar representation of the brand’s classic heritage. While not personally looking for gray flannel lampshades, we do think there are many places they will be simply perfect. (If desirous of more background on the collection, click here for one of our more in-depth posts on the topic.)

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Our other fashion morsel involves expansion for Ralph Lauren.  In a story about the designer’s fall preview, WWD (Women’s Wear Daily, subscription req’d.) explains:

“New this season is a distinct denim collection under the Black Label Denim moniker, as well as an expanded accessories assortment that covers shoes, leather goods and watches.

Here are some of George Chinsee’s photos that accompany the story.

Back to Jean Palmiere’s story:

“The new Black Label Denim component is designed to provide a “sexy, hip weekend look” for the customer who is comfortable in the label’s more-tailored offering. “It’s all aimed at that guy and takes him from formalwear to jeans.” Coated cargo pants and jeans with both skinny and wide legs were blended with cashmere sweaters and leather jackets.

Lauren said he decided to offer this collection after standing inside his Madison Avenue store and seeing all the women coming in to shop wearing jeans. “I realized we don’t have high-quality, high-fit denim,” he said. “So we did it for men and women. I wanted to make it a full business on a high level.”

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We have an update on an earlier story, the highly controversial “Kennedys” mini-series, the Hollywood Reporter has more:

“The controversial miniseries will world premiere on April 3 on the ReelzChannel, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.”

 

Via Reelz Channel

We anticipate this will start viewers scrambling as they try to sort out where the network is on their cable and satellite systems, if it is carried at all.  Click here to visit the Reelz website.

With that, goodbye until next time, we hope your day is sunny and bright!

And The Winner Is… “Gossip Girls Haunt the Hamptons”

Hello-Hello, welcome to an insanely busy day here at the Prepatorium!  (There is a positive side to the mayhem, you have a mercifully brief post with far less insipid nattering on insightful commentary from these quarters!)

We said we would share the Top Ten posts here on the blog when we reached our millionth blog view. Here they are:

ThePreppyPrincess.wordpress.com

That number one post, Gossip Girls Hit the Hamptons, dates all the way back to June of 2008 and featured the cast shooting on location.

JustJared.Buzznet.com

We used the photo full size of Ed Westwick to make a point, here is a bit of the original post:

“We have never, ever, actually known a human being who would get off the train attired like this. You are in a suit, or you are in khakis and a blazer, or you are wearing jeans and a button down, you know the routine. Three argyles all at once and spectators and the shorts…? No. Not even close.”

The three argyle items are the sweater, socks and tie.  The post also included actor Chace Crawford in a swarm (gaggle? herd?) of teenage girls.

JustJared.Buzznet.com

The rest of the cast is also seen in that particular post. Season four is confirmed, the next location shoot for the cast and crew is Paris.

The rest of the list seems to make sense… Olympic Uniforms from Polo Ralph Lauren, Sperry & J. Crew, various perceptions and interpretations of the preppy aesthetic.  Hhhmmm. (But Gossip Girl in the Hamptons as the most popular post…? Yikes.)

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Before leaving you, we have some Sales and Savings we simply must share, it is that time of year as we approach a holiday weekend. Here we go:

• 40% off entire purchase at Brooks Brothers factory stores tomorrow (Thursday, 5/27/10) through the 31st
• Kate Spade offers an additional 25% off all Sale merchandise now through June 1st and free ground shipping on all orders
• Elaine Turner is offering 33% off through Memorial Day; use promo code MEMORIAL33
• Nordstrom’s Half-Yearly Sale for women and children is underway now
• Gucci is allowing customers to reserve items online from their sale that starts June 1; click here for details
• J. Crew’s Summer Sale is underway, we cannot offer any insight on markdowns
• Lacoste is promoting up to 70% off at their outlet stores
• The sale at Saks offers up to 60% off original prices (apparently one should disregard the graphic they show promoting “30-40% off”)
• This one is just in from our friend at the oh-so-chic Beladora Jewelry: use discount code BHB to receive 10% off your purchase at Beladora, or 5% off your purchase of the fab vintage jewels offered at Beladora 2. (The divine image below is from Beladora 2.)

We know there are more that have come into the electronic in-bin, but we are so behind schedule we can’t list them all, please accept our apology.

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We leave you with these Pretty in Pink pillows from Thred, part of their Tropical Preppy collection.

Holli at Thred is more than talented, we adore her creative pillows.

With that, may everyone stay cool, stay safe and stay happy!

Was Sarah Jessica Parker’s Dress “Too Cheap” for Steve and Barry’s? + Williams Sonoma Home Sale!

Way back on May 5th of this year we chatted about the NY Time’s article on discount retailer Steve and Barry’s, home to Sarah Jessica Parker’s ‘Bitten’ line of clothing; the headline for the story asked “Is This the World’s Cheapest Dress?” with an SJP floral print dress (seen below) accompanying the story as the rhetorical dress in question.

In his article Times writer Eric Wilson looked at the retailing phenomenon Steve Shore and Barry Prevor created with their company, a chain where the most expensive items are just $8.98. More accurately, Wilson honed in on precisely how Steve and Barry’s merchandise could be sold profitably at that price. From the story:

The question on everyone’s lips: How do they make a decent dress or a jacket, with sleeves, or a pair of functioning shoes for $8.98?

Because that price point includes the dress shown above, from Ms. Parker’s ‘Bitten’ line, as well as merchandise tied to teen star Amanda Bynes, a relatively new line from surfing legend Laird Hamilton dubbed Wonderwall, basketball-themed pieces from Ben Wallace in additon to the Stephon Marbury basketball & sport tennis shoes, a performance collection from Venus Williams called Eleven, a golf collection named Bubba Golf after Bubba Watson and others.

“There’s been a revolution, a full-blown revolution,” Mr. Shore said, sounding, at times, just a bit like Crazy Eddie. “We just haven’t told anyone yet. If the Gap or Abercrombie & Fitch or J. Crew said that everything in the store is going to be $8.98 or less, it would be front-page news. But while no one was noticing, we opened stores across the country that have identical clothes for much lower prices.”

The question, again, is how.

That was, and remains, the question of the day. Mr. Wilson appeared to be pressing for an answer in his story, but never seemed to get one that spoke directly to the issue. It hasn’t been two months since the story was published, and well, here we are. Things are not good at Steve and Barry’s; they are in fact, very bad.

We don’t know if it was ‘the World’s Cheapest Dress‘ or not as the article asked, but we are pretty sure it probably needed to cost more than it did. A dollar more…? Two dollars…? How much exactly would have been enough to avoid what is going on now: a frantic search for funding to keep the company afloat, ongoing planning to close at least 100 of the company’s nearly 300 stores, continuing work on a bankruptcy filing should that be required, and all of the other unfortunate tasks that become necessary when the train leaves the tracks while traveling at a high rate of speed.

It is a shame, because a lot of people are impacted by what happens with the company, as are a lot of hopeful fans who believe in Steve and Barry’s credo that good fashion doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. We’ll keep you posted.

If you aren’t too depressed after reading all of that, here’s one activity to put on your list, be it online or in person: the Williams Sonoma Home Sale.

There are always loads of goodies at this one, and this year doesn’t disappoint. There are always wonderful finds to spruce up your own cottage or winter residence, and if that isn’t in the plan, they have so many items that make ideal gifts, especially Hostess gifts when heading out as a guest for a weekend at the beach. These Raffia Embroidered Pillows just scream “summer fun” with their whimsical fish and crab motifs!

And we’ll absolutely have to notify our recently returned stateside Nautical by Nature preppy to take a look at the Nautical Rope pillows, as they just looko like something she needs… if she doesn’t already have them. In pairs. The Pure and Simple Soaps from Scotland are always a hit and great to have in the house.

Those are just a few of the samplings from W-S Home, always worth a minute or two in our opinion, and not only because we were already at the website looking at Ice Cream recipes, as we were. So? I mean, what is the big deal if we have quite the full table for a festive Fourth gala. And Cook has been given the weekend off. The whole weekend. Off. And yours truly said she would make the ice cream. Personally make the homemade ice cream. This will be good.

You see we have one of the contraptions shown here, and it did seem like a good idea at the time when planning menus for the week to decide that the final course be something all American… ice cream! Of course! Homemade! Oh yes! In fact, I’ll make it myself, surely this is something I’m capable of! Oh Nooooooo.

Oh well. Photos may follow. If not, ask questions at your own risk.

🙂