Deidre Woollard
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Lingerie for older women is big business
Filed under: Swimwear and Lingerie
Most lingerie is made for the young and lithesome but a former Starbucks exec is cashing in by targeting women 35-60 years old who have an annual household income of at least $90,000. The Seattle Times profiles Victoria Roberts who runs a lingerie line called Zovo, a collection of loungewear, robes and lingerie in 100 percent silk and cotton. The brand was started just two years ago, and will soon be available in some Nordstrom stores. They also have an online shop. The chemise shown here sells for $64. Why the name Zovo? I have no idea but I am sure she didn't want to "Victoria-ize" anything since a certain lingerie giant has pretty much cornered the market on that.
Teri Hatcher's Badgley Mischka campaign
Filed under: Style in the News, Celebrities with Style
The latest celebrity to front a major fashion campaign is Teri Hatcher. The Desperate Housewives star is in the Badgley Mischka campaign for Fall '07. The ads were shot by celebrity photographer Ellen Von Unwerth and show Hatcher in swimwear and revealing lingerie as well as evening wear. The campaign represents Badgley Mischka's move to appeal to a wider audience of women for more than just evening looks.
While I applaud the use of an older woman in an ad campaign it's a shame that she always has to be Photoshopped back into her twenties.
Ann Taylor to go after the baby boomers
Filed under: Stores We Love
For those of you that despaired over the news that Liz Claiborne is phasing out their older skewing apparel lines, I've got some good news. The New York Times reports that the Ann Taylor chain is working on a new casual apparel chain for the older, baby-boomer generation. The new chain is set to open in late 2008 and will be a fashionable competitor for other dominators of this clothing sector such as Talbots and Chico's. Hopefully, they will have better luck than the Gap did with their Forth & Towne stores. I hesitate to predict big success for this one if only because I think the boomers are still mostly department store shoppers.Get your Louis Vuitton at the museum?
Filed under: Style in the News
Should an art museum also be a boutique? Usually the line between the exhibits and the gift shop is pretty firmly drawn but for a few months, a gallery at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles will host a store selling Louis Vuitton Murakami bags and other goods. The designs are part of an exhibit of the Japanese artist Takashi Murakami's works that runs from Oct. 29 through Feb. 11. The museum's chief curator has said that a mock up of Murakami's commercial ventures would not have worked. The museum won't get a share of the profits but perhaps the thought of designer shopping at the museum will attract new visitors.
Is that really Gwyneth on the cover of W?
Filed under: Style in the News, Celebrities with Style
Um, maybe there is something to that story of Gwyneth Paltrow using snake venom on her face. What else can explain September's W magazine cover? The perpetually pale and WASPy looking faux-English lass now looks like she's been spending secret time in Donatella Versace's private beauty palace. The spray tan, the giant brush brows and the blindingly white hair render her virtually unrecognizable. I understand the urge to try something new with your look sometimes, but appearing on the cover of a fashion magazine looking like La Cicciolina seems like an odd career move. I haven't seen all the contestants yet, but this is in the running for the worst of the September covers.Sacre Bleu! H & M to hit the Champs-Elysees
Filed under: Stores We Love
Last year, a Paris commission banned H&M from the fashionable Champs-Elysees shopping area in Paris, which is home to Cartier, Louis Vuitton and other high-end retailers. The claim was H&M's cheap and chic style would "banalize" the street. Never mind that the area is already home to a Disney Store and the Gap.Now the retailer has been given approval for a store on the fancy street. The move suits today's shopper who is comfortable shopping at both high-end designer stores and cheaper places, combining the designer purse and the discount top in the same outfit. What's next for the Champs-Elysees, a Target?
Kate Spade bags, now with 100% less Kate Spade
Filed under: Handbags, Accessories, Style in the News
Andy and Kate Spade have announced that they are leaving Kate Spade, the bag label they started in 1993. The business grew into a huge business and sold last November to Liz Claiborne Inc. for a reported $124 million. When Liz Claiborne acquired the company they signed up the Spade for a six-month contract. With their time up, the Spades are out, ostensibly to spend more time with their young daughter. Both will remain members of the brand's board. The news comes hot on the heels of the recent news that Liz Claiborne is considering ditching a bunch of brands to focus on the Kate Spade and Juicy Couture brands. Does it make a difference to consumers if the person who founded the brand and who is the name behind it is gone from the business? We'll have to keep tabs on what happens to Kate Spade bags without Kate Spade.
Gorby is the most unlikely model
Filed under: Handbags, Accessories, Celebrities with Style
What do Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Lopez, Uma Thurman and Mikhail Gorbachev have in common? They have all modeled in Louis Vuitton ads.
That's right. The former president of the Soviet Union is starring in a new ad campaign by the pricey purveyors of must have bags. Gorby's ad is part of a campaign shot by Annie Liebovitz that also features, Andrew Agassi and Steffi Graf and Catherine Deneuve. The ads will appear in the ad-heavy September fashion magazines.
The shoe inspired by a movie
Filed under: Accessories, Shoes
If this sparkly Jimmy Choo heel seems a bit otherworldly, that's deliberate. The satin Stardust sandal is named after the new movie which stars Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert DeNiro and Sienna Miller. In the movie, based on the Neil Gaiman novel, Clare Danes plays a fallen star who wears a mystical pendant. The Stardust sandal features a faceted crystal with a gold chain that is reminiscent of the necklace Danes wears in the movie. You practically need to be a movie star to afford these shoes, the four-inch heels will sell for $850.Disney plans fragrances for preteen boys
Filed under: Fragrance, Kids and Babies
Do preteen boys need fragrances? Disney thinks so. They are creating 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and Buzz Lightyear-branded fragrances which are aimed at boys ages 4-11 in Latin communities. Brandweek reports that the new products will be be available in Wal-Mart, Kmart, Target, Duane Reade, Fred Meyer and Longs Drugs stores in areas with large Hispanic populations. The Disney-branded items will sell for $9.95 and $19.95 and they will be targeting mothers and grandmothers for holiday gift giving. According to the article, U.S. males are slower to get into fragrances than European, Latin and South American boys so the Disney fragrances are expected to give them a push. Baby colognes for both boys and girls are already an established part of European and Latin culture.
