Preppy Sales & Savings for the Weekend

Hello-Hello, and gobble-gobble!

Here is an updated list of markdowns, discounts and promotional offerings for  your consideration. Don’t forget that many retailers are also planning special pricing/online doorbusters/etc. for Cyber Monday.

Talbot’s is offering 20% off purchases and $5 shipping through midnight the 29th. Use promo code 020556520 online to receive the discount.

LL Bean: 20% off all sweaters + a $10 gift card with any $25 purchase; the sweater discount end ends at midnight Monday but the gift card offer runs through 12/24.

Lacoste is offering 30% off all merchandise ending Monday night (the 30th); use promo code THANKS09 at checkout to receive the discount.

Polo Ralph Lauren: Is offering 25% off online and in stores through 12/7/09; use promo code HOL2009.

Rugby is doing the same as its parent company (Polo Ralph Lauren), 25% off online and in stores through 12/7/09; use promo code HOL2009.

Tory Burch is doing a gift with purchase, the limited edition Cheetah Print Tote seen below, with purchases of $100 and more while supplies last. Shoppers spending more than $300 will receive 30% off their purchase through December 22nd.  If purchasing online use promo code TURKEY30.

Courtesy Tory Burch

Bobby Jones is taking 30% off Fall merchandise and also has a good sale section online with discounts up to 70% off original retail prices.

Banana Republic has a variety of offers, including an excellent in-store bargain: cashmere sweaters are ‘Buy One Get One Free’, although that may end tonight (Friday). Online only BR offers 30% off all “sweaters, outerwear and more” through the 29th.

Banana Republic Outlets: 50% Off the entire store.

Banana Republic Outlet Stores

We don’t know if a coupon is required to enjoy the 50% discount, but just in case, click here to print one out for this BR Outlet stores deal.

Kate Spade is offering Facebook fans 20% off any one regular-priced item through the 29th. Print out the coupon below, or head to the Kate Spade Facebook page and print it out; online shoppers seeking the same discount can use promo code WALLPOST at checkout.

Brooks Brothers: Friday & Saturday 7am – Noon receive an additional 15% off your entire purchase; receive an additional 5% when using your MasterCard or your Brooks Brothers Platinum MasterCard. This offer also applies online through Saturday night the 28th.

Brooks Brothers Factory Stores: 40 percent off all items until Sunday, and an extra 10 percent off of on Saturday until noon.

Ann Taylor: Take 40% off a single regular-priced item online, use promo code SAVE40 through

Ann Taylor Loft: Take an additional 50% off your entire purchase, with some exclusions through Saturday night.

Coach Factory Outlets: Take an additional 20% off prices at Coach Factory stores; the coupon must be printed and brought into the store for the discount to be applied.

Tommy Hilfiger Outlet Stores: 40% off the entire store all day on Black Friday and additional discounts for specific days; to download coupons providing these markdowns, click here.

The Gap: Already underway and online-only, 50% off all regularly-priced  Men’s & Women’s Sweaters, Kids & Baby Cozy Fleece styles.

Saks 5th Avenue: Up to 60% off original prices on selections for her & him, various additional offers too lengthy to list; also free shipping for any online order, use promo code HOLIDAY9, offer valid through midnight Monday night (the 30th)

Neiman Marcus: The Women’s Apparel Sale is already underway with up to 40% off original prices; there is also free shipping on any online orders until midnight 11/30/09, use promo code NMNOV at checkout.

Neiman Marcus Last Call: Shoppers using their Neiman’s card will receive an additional 25% off, ends 12/1; select stores are open midnight-8am as well, click here for details.

Barneys: their sale is already underway online with up to 40% off on select merchandise.

Bergdorf Goodman: free shipping with any online order, use promo code SHOPBG at checkout.

At Bloomies:

Nordstrom continues its Sale, and offers complimentary shipping on orders of $100 and more; use promo code HOLIDAY09

Henri Bendel continues its Thanksgiving sale with savings of 20% to 50%, ending 11/28.

We apologize for any stores and/or sites that may have been missed. Happy Hunting!  We will see you back here on Monday, and hopefully over at our big event: the Preppy Princess Pink & Green Monday sale, 24 hours of 20% off everything.

Is ALL Black Fleece on Sale? Also, Obama Fashion Bailout?

Hello-Hello everyone…and happy It’s-Almost-the-Weekend-Day!

Today we start with one of TP’s favorite designers (regular readers know the truth), Thom Browne. Yes, he of the cropped pants on men’s suits, including his Brooks Brothers Black Fleece Collection. Among other things.

First off, next week Mr. Browne makes his European debut, presenting his line in Italy for the first time.

PHOTO: Daniel Garriga/WWD

And in other Thom Browne news (heh-heh), an update on the standalone Black Fleece store in the West Village from the the eagle-eyed staff at Racked.com. They have been monitoring things at the site and reported yesterday that after months of inactivity, they saw movement!

“After months of darkness, the lights have come on inside of the corner store and it looks as though they are working on painting the walls and refinishing the floor.”

Below left, the Black Fleece Embroidered Trouser at Brooks, discounted a whopping 75% to a mere $375; but remember, it is only a bargain if Mr. Wonderful prefers flood pants.  On the right, a far more enticing item, the Men’s Cashmere Argyle Sweater, 50% off its original selling price, now $500.

Because we so care about proper maintenance of your trust fund, we scoured all the Black Fleece we had time for, and only discovered one item that was *not* on sale.  And that is….?  The Triple Guard Stripe tie, described this way on the site: “As worn by Jennifer Aniston on the cover of the January 2009 GQ magazine.” Indeed. Was this not Ms. Aniston’s entire wardrobe for that photo?

Brooks Brothers Black Fleece

Actually, the same tie is used with a look we happen to love, the Women’s Black Fleece Classic Wool Jacket. This will not surprise frequent blog visitors as we have been vocal about our fond feelings for many of Mr. Browne’s women’s designs.  This lush jacket is now at $950, half of the original selling price.

Brooks Brothers Black Fleece

We were more-than-surprised to see something unusual on sale at Brooks: their fragrances for Men and Women.  On the Shock-O-Meter, this is up there with the Saks Designer Jewelry sale.  Seriously.

Çourtesy Brooks Brothers

We have *never* seen fragrances on sale at Brooks, so this clearly goes in the SOTT (Sign of the Times) category.  In this post we did talk about the three Men’s scents remaining in the line, but there was no guarantee they would be carried indefinitely.

And in another SOTT, we give you this:

Saks Designer Sale

80% Off at Saks?????

Please excuse us while we locate an ice pick to thrust directly between the eyeballs.  At the very least we require a Prozac Latte just to carry on. The thought of Saks disappearing from our horizon is unbearable. (Yes, we realize there are far more tragic things in the world, but they are not what TP elects to discuss in this blog.) We shall simply operate under the dum spiro, spero philosophy.

Next SOTT:  Polo Ralph Lauren is also pushing deeper discounts, “Up to 70% Off” original prices.  This Cashmere Turtleneck Dress looks snuggly and chic, and at only $129 it could be a great investment piece.

Ralph Lauren

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This could easily be a SOTT: A story in today’s Times headlined “U.S. Fashion’s One-Woman Bailout?” accompanied by this photo montage:

photo credits below

Reporter Guy Trebay does an excellent job looking at Michelle Obama and her impact on the fashion industry, making for a great read.  There are also several online photo slide shows and interactive features  on the topic of First Ladies and Fashion (including inaugural gowns) worthy of your time.

And speaking of same, the marketing minds at retailer White House/Black Market have unveiled four sketches of Inaugural designs for the next First Lady.

Courtesy White House/Black Market

The four gowns can be seen starting tomorrow at WHBM’s Union Station mini-store, and better yet, they are being used as a fundraiser for Clothes off our Back.

As explained in WWD’s story on the promotional effort:

“Back in June, we were thrust into the spotlight when Mrs. Obama wore us on ‘The View,’ and since then we’ve been on a journey with her and we wanted to take her to the inauguration,” said brand president Donna Noce. “Our tag line is ‘From Our White House to Yours.’”

The dresses are named The Abigail, The Eleanor, The Jackie and The Ladybird, and are all handmade, in Size 8.

Photo credits for the Michelle Obama NY Times montage: Darren McCollester/Getty Images; Ron Edmonds/Associated Press; Rick Wilking/Reuters/Corbis

Michelle Obama (in Maria Pinto) & Laura Bush

Hello everybody — does anyone recognize the lovely lady in this photo?

PHOTO: Tina Fineberg/AP

Does this picture help?

PHOTO: Alfred Eisenstaedt, Time-Life/Getty Images

The iconic photograph of a sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square is from V-J day in 1945.  Up top,  90-year-old Edith Shain is being held by actor Nick Mayo from the cast of South Pacific; she is one of several women who claim to be the nurse in the photo.  Ms. Shain is in the city to serve as Grand Marshal in tomorrow’s New York City Veterans Day parade.

Courtesy: Playbill

The show is on TP’s list of Top 5 Broadway musicals, and the Queen Mother simply raves about Mario Lanza signing “Younger Than Springtime.”

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

PHOTO: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty

Monday we saw the coral dress Maria Pinto hoped Michelle Obama would be wearing in Chicago on election night, as discussed in this post. The future First Lady wore it for today’s visit by the Obamas to the White House to see President and Mrs. Bush.

The dress was originally described by the designer to Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan for a piece in the Journal’s ‘Heard on the Runway‘ blog:

“… a coral-red silk crepe sheath with three-quarter sleeves, an empire waist and a high neckline with a burst of sunray pleats emanating from the collar, is a piece that Ms. Obama bought a few months ago but hasn’t worn to an event yet….”

Getty Images

Above, Mrs. Bush and Mrs. Obama in the residential portion of the White House. And what about the designer for the gown the next First Lady will wear to all those Inaugural Balls the night of January 20th?  We still have no confirmation on the Cassandra Bromfield rumor, and as Ms. Pinto shared more recently with Ms. Tan:

“‘Barack gave me this huge hug and said, ‘You’re coming to D.C. with us!” says Ms. Pinto, whose brightly colored, tailored sheaths were spotted on Michelle Obama on the campaign trail.

As for whether she’ll to go Washington, D.C., the Chicago-based designer, who has seen sales spike 45% in the last 12 months, says there’s no question. “Hell, yeah!” she says. “I’m going anywhere they want me to go.”’

BTW, we do want to compliment Ms. Tan on her many ‘firsts’ on this continuing story; she knows her stuff.  Not a surprise, considering she was senior fashion writer for In Style magazine before moving to the Journal.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

We seem to have a new term coined by our friends at Saks in their effort to help ease us through these challenging times. It is ‘Chic-onomics 101’ or more accurately, at least in our vernacular: Investment Bags. (And it appears from this that Saks isn’t the first to use this term, not by a long shot.)

A reminder: the Saks sale now online is available at all the stores as of tomorrow, Tuesday, Nov. 11.

More later!

A New Take on Preppy, Luxury Retailers, Preppy Giveaway

Hello-hello!

We thought we would start this evening with a look at a brand heretofore unknown to The Princess: Kiel James Patrick.

Courtesy: Kiel James Patrick

As described by the designer:

“Kiel James Patrick irregularly stitched bracelets, are individually created solely by the designer from the finest vintage materials. Fabrics are meticulously hand-selected to uphold classic New England motifs.”

Their are a number of brightly-colored collections. The site also offers scarves:

Courtesy Kiel James Patrick

The scarves are original designs by Mr. Patrick, 100% Virgin wool, and bound using silk and cotton.

Next, some readers may remember our story about Tiffany opening its FiDi store a little more than a year ago.

PHOTO: Robert Caplin/Bloomberg News

Situated in the heart of the Financial District (the store is actually on Wall Street), the opening was awash in fanfare and frivolity. The Princess was quite enamored of the Tiffany blue gowns, despite the wrinkles, really unforgiveable under the circumstances.)

Courtesy The Shophound

Initially things went swimmingly.  But in a recent story on the Portfolio website, some say this location isn’t exactly the best place to be right now for high-end retailers. A snippet from the story:

“Sales are already softening at downtown boutiques just as the all-important holiday shopping season gets underway, and the outlook is grim.”

Tiffany’s neighbors Thomas Pink and Hermès and luxury luggage-maker Tumi are said to be suffering, along with Canali, who just opened last spring over on Broad Street. (They do incredible menswear, especially tailored apparel, although the styles are generally a tad too ‘hip’ for the Princess Consort.)

Courtesy Canali

Business publisher Crain’s had a story a few weeks back looking at how ‘luxury retailers’ will weather the tough economy:

“Midtown stores such as Saks and Barneys, both of which are located not far from Lehman Brothers’ 49th Street and Seventh Avenue former headquarters, will be hurt by the market turmoil and massive layoffs. Saks’ flagship Fifth Avenue store accounts for about 20% of the company’s total revenues.”

“Some mid-to upper-end stores, like Coach, which has 10 stores in Manhattan, may stay afloat due to the trading down effect. Shoppers could be more apt to purchase a Coach handbag, retailing for between $200 and $500, than a Prada bowler bag at Barneys which sells for more than $1,900.”

We leave with another reminder to leave on comment about something you are thankful for about the United States…a comment on something you are grateful for related to the USA; leave the comment on this post, or any other post published since last Wednesday, and you will be entered in the Great Preppy Giveaway!  You could win this great Bungalow Scout tote from Preppy Princess!

Bungalow Scout Tote

And if you mention this giveaway on your blog and you are the winner, you also automatically win this set of preppy Madras cards to be sent to anyone of your choosing! (And TP pays the shipping on all of this!)

Holly House Cards at Preppy Princess.com

For full ‘rules’ and how it works, click here!

Grins & Giggles until next time!

Politics and Fashion #6, Preppy Knitting, Paul Smith Bargain Store!

Hello-hello to everyone on a sunny afternoon. We hope you are also seeing the sun shining in your corner of the globe!

Following Monday’s post about Cindy McCain’s jewelry, we have another look at fashion and politics. Below, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin walking onto the stage for last night’s Vice Presidential Debate in St. Louis.

Photo Jim Bourg/Reuters

Below, the Alaska Governor is seen on Tuesday in Sedona, Arizona, prepping for last night’s debate with Randy Scheunemann, a senior policy adviser for the McCain-Palin campaign.

Photo: AFP/Getty Images

An intriguing story in Thursday’s WWD looks at an odd phenomenon: the unwillingness to comment on her apparel by fashion industry insiders.

“I am not commenting on this one,” Saks Fifth Avenue fashion director Michael Fink replied when asked about the $2,500 silk shantung Valentino jacket Palin wore to the Republican National Convention that was reportedly purchased at Saks. “We just can’t comment,” a spokeswoman for Valentino said when asked about any other pieces by the designer that the candidate had worn.”

Below, Ms. Palin in the much-discussed Valentino jacket worn the night of her acceptance speech at the Republican convention.

Photo: Paul J Richards/AFP?Getty

Other tidbits gleaned from the onslaught of editorial copy being devoted to the topic? The candidate has supposedly changed lipstick brands from Mary Kay to MAC, and much is being made of her shoes. In particular, the red Naughty Monkey brand shoes the Governor wore on August 29th when she was announced as Senator McCain’s running mate in Dayton, Ohio.

Photo: John Gress/Reuters

The shoes are garnering attention because (among other reasons) they are apparently a brand Paris Hilton is seen wearing. Ms. Hilton is of course, one of our first AntiPrep selections.

Below Ms. Palin’s shoes behind the podium at the debate.  At the risk of engaging in unbecoming behavior, we feel it necessary to point out that amazingly, we were unable to locate any photos of Senator Biden’s feet. Do you imagine we simply didn’t search hard enough?

Carlos Barria/Reuters

Much is also being made of the fashions worn by Michelle Obama, wife of Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama. Below, the Senator and Michelle Obama at a campaign rally in Detroit earlier this week.

Photo: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP Getty

Below, a photograph better showing Ms. Obama in another dress provoking commentary, an off-the-rack shift from H&M; the retail price for the dress is $34.95.

Photo: Alex Brandon/AP

Quite by accident TP stumbled across a site that is absolutely heaven-sent at this point in the process, Mrs. O.

The site is described in the following way on their ‘about’ page:

“The site hopes to be a central, ever evolving resource to chronicle Mrs. O’s look, while providing fashion commentary and information.”

Below, Ms. Obama on the cover of More magazine’s October issue.

2008 More magazine

The Huffington Post has a story from More’s Editor-in-Chief, Lesley Jane Seymour, detailing the behind the scenes machinations that went into the cover shoot.

“Her people had begun, days earlier on the phone, by ordering us not to bring any fancy dresses that “would look presumptuously inaugural.” I got that.”

“But then a second dictum arrived: Obama was going to wear a dark brown dress by H&M. We immediately sent an assistant uptown to get us the dress…”

“It took several more rounds of negotiations to bring the two businesses–selling magazines and selling a candidate’s wife–together. What won the peace prize: a bright pink Maria Pinto sheath, and as a back up, a navy satin Narciso Rodriquez shift (both dresses from Obama’s personal closet).”

Deeper into the article Ms. Seymour reveals once the pink Maria Pinto dress was on, the magazine asked her to remove the bow on the collar. It is clear from the cover what side won that point.

If you ever question why on earth you spend any time whatsoever reading our silly little blog, today we shall earn our keep. How? By alerting you to the Paul Smith store opening on the 16th in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn.  And this is important because…? The shop is carrying only merchandise that is on sale. Marked down. Discounted. By whatever word one elects to use, this makes it pretty much a must-see in many fashionistas’ minds.

Above, a Men’s shirt with fabulous detailing, and below, a hat and matching gloves for the ladies.

Below, two pair of their fabulous socks, for which we have long had a serious weakness.

That will become a new stop anytime we are in the city.

Now, compliments of Second City, how about this for a fabulous collection of penny loafers?

It comes via Second City Style and is more than fun to look at, with loafers from a large group of designers including Kate Spade, Tory Burch, Ferragamo, and Cole Haan. The Princess is quite fond of Second City, a delightful site always overflowing with good information.

TP must admit complete and total ignorance on the art of knitting; the total of our knowledge is the phrase “knit one, purl two,” and how we can even recite that much is a mystery.  However, if we were to take up knitting, it is possible we might attempt creations like the two seen below, discovered on the blog Learning from Chavah.

Oh, one more thing following up on Tuesday’s post about the incredible email problems the House of Representatives was experiencing mentioning the email backup. This tidbit from The Hill explains it now also applies to the telephone

To cap off our little news roundup, word that come next year A&W, KFC, Long John Silver’s, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, will start posting calorie information. Do you want to know?