Posts with tag retail

Sales of men's clothing are on the rise, and women's apparel sales are dropping. Big-name department stores from Macy's to Bloomingdale's have noticed the trend, and research shows that despite the rough economy, menswear sales actually rose by .8 percent between May 2007 and 2008, while women spent a whopping 3.5 percent less on their wardrobes during that time.

Of course, everyone has a theory as to why this is. Some point to the influence of TV shows like "Mad Men," which glamorize a dapper, well-suited look. Others say that in a tough economy, guys realize they need to dress better than ever to stand out in the crowd of job seekers. Or it could be that as designers churn out newly slim silhouettes, guys have to update their closets to avoid looking dated.

What do you think?

We can't say that we've never returned clothing after wearing it, but we can say that we've never bought clothes with the intention of returning them. Saving a buck is nice, but we draw the line at completely destroying a sales person's week -- unless they deserve it. Apparently, Brendan Fraser may not have the same code of ethics.

According to a report in the National Enquirer -- which has become surprisingly trustworthy source -- he returned thousands of dollars worth of design duds that he bought for a hifalutin' shindig at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The Mummy star reportedly went through some covert dry cleaning to cover up his penny pinching. From the article:

Brendan Fraser... spent thousands on designer clothes he wore to a special event, then sneakily reattached the tags and returned them to the story for a refund after hurry-up dry cleaning!

Insiders say Frugal Fraser's assistant arranged a 2:30 am laundry pickup at his swank BevHills hotel, insisting that the dirtied duds had to be ready by daylight because "the items were being returned to the store" where he bought them.

So many major designers have done lines for H&M that Donatella Versace would be a seemingly logical choice to team up with the retailer. But, she won't be following in the steps of Stella McCartney, Viktor and Rolf or Roberto Cavalli.

If you follow the fashion industry at all, you know that designers release their new collections according to seasons -- Fall '07, Spring '08, etc. Makes sense, right? You need a different wardrobe in April than you do in November. However, according to this article in the Wall Street Journal, the days when people swapped out their wardrobes with every change of season may be long gone.

Liz Claiborne Inc, Target, Kohls and JC Penny are all following the trend -- shifting the way they sell clothes, so they have items on the rack that customers need "month to month, instead of season to season."

So what gives?

Apparently part of the reason is that these days, we spend so much time inside that there's no longer a need for the kind of big, bulky clothing our parents used to keep warm during the colder months. But the primary reason for this growing shift away from conventional season-to-season design is said to be something more...fundamental.

In short, it's due to climate change. According to Radley Horton, Columbia University climatologist, "There are less extreme differences between seasons." In fact, Spring comes 7 to 10 days earlier than it used to, fall is a week later than it was in decades past, and the months in between are growing milder -- meaning, that the chore of overhauling your wardrobe ever 3-4 months is quickly becoming unnecessary.

Who knows, maybe this means you don't have to stop wearing white just because Labor Day has come and gone.

What makes you splurge on a cool new pair of jeans, or spend a little more than you wanted on a hip new shirt -- is it really the look, or is it the store?

A number of studies suggest that it's the latter. Scientists (and retailers) know that smells, sounds -- even the color of the walls -- make the difference when a customer is deciding whether to buy an item of clothing. Research suggests that impulsive buyers are more likely to be lured in by fun music, whereas more pensive customers are more receptive to an alluring scent. Everyone is likely to think products are higher in quality if they're surrounded by pleasant decor -- with your cultural background determining which colors you find the the most appealing. And we're also all enticed by quick turnover -- meaning that stores which repeatedly replenish their racks with the latest fashion are more likely to get us buying now, instead of waiting a couple months for the same items to go on sale.

The moral of the story is: don't be fooled. Every store -- no matter how light, fun and friendly it seems -- has one goal: to make money by selling you their product. Avoid overspending by making sure you're purchasing something you actually want instead of something you were tricked into buying by hip music and cute decor.

For most of us, buying nothing but designer clothing would be out of the question (assuming we still wanted to eat and pay rent, that is), if it weren't for discount stores. Rummaging through the racks of second-run shops and "bargain basement" style outfits like Last Call Neiman Marcus is the only way I'm able to afford anything that isn't a knock-off.

But all that might change, now that the Supreme Court has lifted a ban on manufacturers' ability to enforce the Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP). To be honest, I've never seen a price in a retail shop that matched the MSRP, and had always assumed it only existed so discount outlets could use it as a marketing gimmick -- so the outlets could "prove" to customers how much they'd "drastically reduced to all-time-low prices." I can't imagine how much more expensive it will be to shop for designer clothing now that this ban is no longer in place.

That said, there's always thrift and "vintage" stores -- where you'll have to dig a lot harder to find quality goods, but you'll still definitely save some money. Plus, I'm sure designers will still operate their own outlets -- but if you don't live close to an outlet mall, you're out of luck. Even then, now that there will be less competition from other retailers, I doubt those designer outlets will reduce prices as much as they do currently (which isn't much).

So...um... eBay, anyone?

Oprah Winfrey's name on anything seems to give it extra clout and allure to buyers, now Oprahphiles will have a shop all their own. The first ever Oprah-branded retail store is across street from her Harpo Studios in Chicago. Construction has just begun and no opening date has been announced. The store will be full of Oprah-logo merchandise such as totes and workout gear that are already for sale online in Oprah's boutique as well as books in Oprah's book club and other items Oprah chooses such as such as African baskets and art. The store will also include a small cafe. It seems like this is planned to be just a one-off store but could we perhaps be facing an empire of Oprah stores across the land?

Calvin Klein's white label has become so popular that the line is heading out on its own into five retail stores in the United States.The stores will have a stark design that will mimic the luxury minimalism we have seen from the line recently. The first five stores will be in shopping malls: The Beverly Center in Los Angeles; Cherry Creek in Denver; The Mall At Partridge Creek in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; Natick Collection in Natick, Massachusetts; and Lenox Square in Atlanta and will open in November 2007. Each concept store will average approximately 10,000 square feet and will bring together merchandise from the categories available today under the Calvin Klein white label line of men's and women's better apparel. If the stores are a success there could be as many as 100 stores eventually.

As an article in WWD reports, opening signature stores is a growing trend among luxury fashion brands which one used to sell their wares primarily in department stores. This gets me thinking about the shopping experience as a whole. Let's say you are looking for a purse. Now if you were in search of a type of purse, say a brown leather satchel for example, then the department store is the obvious choice. But it seems that many people find themselves attracted by the aesthetic of a certain brand and therefore wind up wanting to know what that brand has new. This type of brand identity has led to the rise of not just the signature stores but also the store within a store designer-branded boutiques that many of the larger department stores have adopted.

Nordstrom may be selling their Faconnable brand of clothing. It may not be a brand you seek out but if you have seen it while browsing in a Nordstrom store or especially at their Nordstrom Rack discounted stores where it seems to often end up at sale prices. So far, company spokespeople have just said that they are reviewing options but an NY Post stores has projected bids of around $200 million for the line. Nordstrom bought the French clothing line in 2000 and the line is sold in their mainline stores and four U.S. boutiques as well as in 23 other countries. There are 36 Faconnable boutiques in Europe but Nordstrom hasn't really been able to make Faconnable work for them here in the States. The bidder is thought to be a private-equity firm. It seems like the brand should head back to a European-based company. My question for you is, as a shopper, will you notice, or care if Faconnable is no longer at Nordstrom?

When Tom Ford opened his palace of male opulence in New York it seemed like it would be a one-shot deal. But Tom, who revitalized Gucci and then took off for a career as a film director (allegedly), seems to have a new goal: total world domination. He has announced a worldwide expansion plan that puts a flagship store in Milan, London, Los Angeles and Hawaii. Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus will also have in-store shops starting in the spring.

Domenico de Sole, his business partner has been quoted as saying that they want to be the first luxury brand of the new century. For Tom, luxury is sleek with a side of sass: elegant bespoke suits, heavy, seductive perfumes, leather and velvet and lush sensuality.

The big question is when is Tom going to head back into women's wear. A Suzy Menkes article in the International Herald Tribune quotes Tom as saying that he has no immediate plans to move back into designing for women but that when he does he wants to do something new and dramatic that isn't on the market.

First it was H&M now, another fast fashion retailer from overseas, Topshop plans a big Manhattan push. Owner Philip Green announced that he plans to launch three Topshop stores in Manhattan following the success of Kate Moss's collection for the chain. The line is currently on sale at Barney's in the United States and is selling briskly. Green has said that they hope to open a Manhattan store within nine months. If Topshop makes it in New York, we could see Topshop around the U.S.

How important is the bag your clothes come home in? For those of us used to digging through thrift stores, a plastic sack re-cycled from the local grocery store is about all we can expect, but I've noticed that nicer boutiques pay considerable attention to packaging.

That's why these clever bags from the Brazilian creative firm, IFD Communication, caught my eye. The company "provides complete solutions to companies looking for integration in offline and online needs into their advertising, marketing and consumer." It appears one of those solutions is creating surprisingly and hysterical bags for retailers. Both these concepts are devastatingly clever, eye-catching, and just plain fun.

I'll admit it, I'd shop at a store just because I got to walk home with my new clothing in one of those. But what about you -- does it matter, or is it just a needless expense?

(Side note: check out the company's Flickr page for more fun design concepts!)