Great Preppy Giveaway Week 3, Inaugural Dress Update

We must acknowledge acting somewhat like a Pouty Princess over the seemingly never-ending debacle going on here:

Until we realized we get to give away some preppy goodies! It is time to announce the winner of the Great Preppy Princess Giveaway winner for Week 2…. (drum roll):

verybusymomwith4

Whoo-hoo! Some may recall that our Thankful Thursday topic for last week’s giveaway was ‘one friend you are grateful for,” and Miss Lisa, founder and curator of VBMW4, shared this comment as her entry for the giveaway:

“I am thankful for my friend Julie who knows when to help me, when to advise me and when I need to listen. I am in awe of how she just knows how to act in every situation.”

As the winner Lisa receives a treasure trove of goodies from the Preppy Princess, including a Boatman Geller Carrie & Tuck personal stationery station and a fab Madras Refill Set! (This is so fun!)

Now for Week 3, our comment topic is anything for which you are thankful. How easy is that? Just leave a quick comment on something, someone, someplace you are grateful for… and voilà! You are entered!  Wonder what you can win this week? Read on.

Week 3 Great Giveaway goodies include this Perfect Circle Apron….

PreppyPrincess.com

Accompanied by the matching gloves; clearly one cannot risk a fashion disaster in their own kitchen.

PreppyPrincess.com

Of course, if Cook is handling the duties, and you have no worries about keeping the splish-splash off your cocktail dress, then the Apron/Gloves Set always make the perfect gift for someone else.

Also for the lucky winner, the understated elegance of the Trey’s Stripes notecards. Naturally the Princess will personalize the set of 10 cards, per your wishes.

PreppyPrincess.com

Don’t forget that if you mention the Great Giveaway on your blog or home page a Bonus Gift goes to anyone you choose! Because it wasn’t won this past week, we’ll roll over the Week 2 Bonus Prize Pack.

The Bonus Prize includes the Laguna Beach apron, along with one of our favorite books, Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart.

So don’t forget… scroll down and make a quick comment!  “I am thankful for ______.”

Leave your comments before midnight next Wednesday, the 26th, and you are entered in the Giveaway.  And because sharing is caring, *do* think about mentioning the Giveaway on your blog, or your Facebook or MySpace page, whatever works for you (in a good, clean fun kind of way) so you can share the Bonus Prizes with someone near and dear.

Our first comment comes from Legally Heidi, here is part of what she shared:

“i’m thankful for my pal Liz. Her and i have had a rough friendship but we’ve always come out on top She’s the one friend i know i could call at 2am upset and she’d listen to me.”

Do let TP know if you have any questions…that is why we are here!

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A quick update to our most recent post on the search for an appropriate prep school for Malia and Sasha Obama.  We reported that our intuition pointed to Maret being out of the mix, with the choice down to either Georgetown Day School or Sidwell Friends.  The Post (Washington) seems to confirm this:

“… school search appears to have narrowed… and the much-buzzed-about Maret School is apparently out of the running.”

Also, we promised to let you know what we discovered about Michelle Obama’s attire seen in the CBS 60 Minutes Interview:

Aaron Tomlinson/CBS News Handout/Reuters

As speculated, the pieces were by Maria Pinto, who seems to have achieved ‘Most Favored Nation’ status when it comes to the future First Lady’s fashion choices, IOHO.  According to the Trib:

“… wore the “Eme” top and “Rani” skirt in an iris color, designed by Chicago’s Maria Pinto. The ensemble is from Pinto’s spring collection, but rendered in tweed for Obama, a loyal Pinto client. The sleeveless element was retained from the original design.”

We continue to see sketches of possible inaugural ball gowns from varying designers; here is one from Tracey Reese, as seen in this story from the Detroit Free Press.  We simply love that look, the dress is absolutely beautiful.

Tracey Reese

BTW, today’s Times (NY) had an excellent story about price wars between online retailers and the  tactics they employ to move merchandise.  For example, we had no idea Zappos uses a sister site for its discounted and marked down products…did you? (If interested, it is 6pm.com)  And 6pm does carry most, if not all, of the name brands Zappos stocks.

Also, Steve & Barry’s will be gone permanently.  After being bailed out of an earlier bankruptcy three months back, yesterday the company filed for liquidation in New York. We have no news yet on what will happen with Sarah Jessica Parker’s Bitten line of clothing, currently sold at the retailer.

Happy-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.

🙂

SATC…the Morning After. Including the Big ‘Oops’ on SJP Nina Ricci Gown

Hello-hello and happy-happy. Are we all recovered, or at least well on the way to recovering from the Sex and the City weekend? Good, because just when you thought it was safe… and we do apologize in advance… there is a bit more SATC news. Well actually, just a few little tidbits, the first one you have probably heard all about: ‘The Dress Tempest.’ In case you haven’t, it’s quite the buzz.

As the photos above make rather evident, Sarah Jessica Parker was not the first and only to wear that stunning strapless Nina Ricci gown on the red carpet. As she was told by designer Olivier Theyskens when she specifically questioned him about it. Remember the big Met gala on May 5th yours truly was simply gaga over? Both Theyskens and his boss told SJP the dress had not been worn by anyone other than for magazine photo shoots. Can anyone spell Pinocchio? On May 5th socialite and former Vogue staffer Lauren Santo Domingo wore the gown to a rather significant red carpet event, the Met Costume Institute Gala. With whom did she go to the ball? Mr. Theyskens.

How is Mr. Theyskens described on the Nina Ricci website?

“His spectacularly constructed dresses are a constant feature on red carpets and magazine covers…He is firmly on the side of the women he dresses and interprets with wonder.”

This is not the first time the label has been dishonest with a celebrity regarding a gown. Such bad form. Honestly. Evidently they also burned an original prep, Reese Witherspoon; details are in the posting by NY Times blogger Cathryn Horn. And it isn’t as if Ms. Santo Domingo and Mr. Theyskens aren’t fast friends, frequently turning up at functions together. It’s that very friendship however that makes the deception that much more blatant.

We will leave Mr. Theyskens to his own self-destructive devices and move on to a much jollier SATC topic. (And ooooohhh, we do so love the timing of this. Brilliant, day-after kind of stuff that gets lots of play. Why, just look at us sharing the love!) And it involves the actress playing Charlotte, the film’s character with the closest thing to a preppy style aesthetic.

Word from the ever-so-fabulous Belk department store group they have signed a long-term deal with SATC’s Kristin Davis. The collection will launch this fall and include shoes (of course) and other accessories like handbags and jewelry, sportswear, and sleepwear. Davis ultimately hopes to expand the lines for an even broader range of merchandise, including bed and bath. (Snooze release here.)

The partnership seems to make sense, at least on its surface merits. Davis says she grew up shopping at Belk, which adds a nice touch to the arrangement. For those unfamiliar with the company, Belk is southern born and bred, going back to 1800’s, now with 300+ stores in 16 southern states. And here is the amazing part of the Belk equation, especially in this day and age: the company remains family owned and operated. If the designs and quality meet expectations, this might have a future.

Fellow Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker’s Bitten line for low-price retailer Steve and Barry’s leads the way in this arena. Of course, there is a line of special Sex and the City tee-shirts and tanks for sale at Steve and Barry’s with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Children’s Defense Fund.

BTW, has anyone noticed the extraordinary volume of SATC merchandise out on the street? (And online as well; tee-shirt below from HBO online SATC store.) This is evidence TP has been a bit under the weather, as we should have not only expected this, we should have been predicting it. Hhhhmmm… it seems the the tiara is tilting a bit up there. Indeed.

The Times asks: Is Sarah Jessica Parker’s Dress the Cheapest in the World?

Is This the World’s Cheapest Dress? asks Eric Wilson. For those who may not have seen Thursday’s NY Times, writer Eric Wilson raises the question in his story about Steve and Barry’s, the retailing phenomenon with stores where the most expensive items are just $8.98. That price point includes the dress shown above, from actress Sarah Jessica Parker’s ‘Bitten’ line of clothing. The article looks at Parker’s role with the company as well as the retailer’s philosophy and merchandising mantra. What The Princess found amazing was the story’s popularity online, as it was still the most popular story on the paper’s site at 5pm Friday evening. But then a little voice asked “How many stories on the front pages of every newspaper do you really need to read before remembering: “It’s the economy stupid!”? Or, as is popularly said these days, “Duh!”. BTW, a visit to the Steve & Barry’s website reveals that part of that philosophy mean capitalizing on the Sex and the City craze, one of the few phenoms giving Steve and Barry’s a run for their money.