legs legs legs

New Loubouboutique in Paris:

for all my shorties

I thought our buyers were making a big mistake by changing the novelty denim brand of the season from Current Elliott to AG Jeans. One’s cool, and the other one is the denim calling card of the masses. But after seeing this ad and trying them on in the store I am convinced of the error of my ways. This is the brand. And The Stilt is the jean.  Best of all, they make a 30″ inseam so shorties like me don’t have to live with their skinny jeans bunched at the ankles! (In case you were wondering, that trend is over… what? I’m still wearing my Earnest Sewns LC’s that way? With UGGS? Hmmm).

The Stilt is the best cigarette leg, slim but not legging-tight, and just the right length for any shoe. My wash of choice is the 6-Yr Project but since the advent of Blank and the fact that really no one should be paying more than $150ish for a pair of jeans, maybe the Coated Black or the Orlin. But for the record I these are better served in a denim without stretch.

kim’s brokedown closet

As all my friends know I am something of an eBay entrepreneur and I am figuring out the best way to share some tips with you. I am working on the details but in the meantime I am happy to share an absolute what NOT to do, brought to you by everyone’s favorite (re)tardy Housewife, Kim Zolciak.

The four-word descriptions; the blurry, discolored pictures of sad dresses hung on cheap dry-cleaning hangers; the comically presumptuous starting prices ($2K for this mess?). The pathetic misspellings of Gabbana (hint: it’s two b‘s. Not one. Not three). In short, the most elegant eBay store out there.

merci, paris

Merci has been open for a few months in the Marais (Boyfriend’s hood) and the reviews have been mixed. A few Parisians to whom I gushed about it flat-out snubbed it as gimmicky and confusing. Some friends said it was trying to hard to be colette. Indeed, even the Times’ David Colman waffled about before finally deciding he liked the concept (I guess if he didn’t, he wouldn’t be a Critical Shopper). Well, I’m a critical shopper, too; it’s kind of my job. But for me, Merci was love at first sight.

Merci is similar to colette in that it is a lifestyle shop with clothes, accessories, beauty, and home; it even has a few shared brands with that famous boutique, like YSL, Repetto, and Margiela. I like colette (and as a result of my latest visit, I’m coveting anything from AS29 and the new Opening Ceremony Keds); but personally, I think the product at Merci is more accessible and suited to my lifestyle. It seems like a place I could spend an entire afternoon with friends; shopping, eating in a cozy library full of used books with a kitchen the size of my own, playing le nez at Annick Goutal, getting lost among all the stationary and accompanying accoutrements, and leaving for dinner with a fresh bouquet of flowers in my hands. Read on for some of Merci’s highlights.

Above, a view of the vintage signs from the mezzanine. This space would later be turned into a sale shop, where I had to restrain myself from buying a pair of OTK Barbara Bui boots that were 50% off. Below, colored pencils ready to be plopped into customizable Caran D’Ache tins.

Above, a selection of home furnishings, ranging from furniture (not pictured) to kitchen and tabletop accessories, as well as a number of knickknacks that you’ve never heard of but absolutely can’t live without. Below, the Annick Goutal haute parfumerie on the ground level.

Why merci? All the profits go to charity. The idea is the brainchild of Marie-France and Berhard Cohen, the founders of Bonpoint, which they sold a few years ago. All proceeds go to a charitable foundation dedicated to helping women and children in Madagascar. I can understand why some people think the idea is contrived, since ultimately any shop’s endeavor is to make money, but at Merci the philanthropic aspect of the business is totally downplayed. The owners set out to create a space in which people can interact in a marketplace on many different levels and I think they have succeeded. Be sure to check it out next time you are in Paris!

Merci, 111 boulevard Beaumarchais, Paris; 00-33-1-42-77-00-33

inspired by 2.

Disposable glamour from nastygal: 1. BB Dakota Katelyn Blazer; 2. Lindsay Lace Shoulder Top; 3. Faux Fur Hooded Vest; 4. Slash and Dash Dress

and that’s all i’m going to say about that

I may as well have posted the pic from yesterday. Saturday @ 3:30 PM.

pop-up progress day 2

So this was the scene last night at Target’s pop-up shop:

I had the chance to chat with some of the girls working who looked miserable but were incredibly nice even though I didn’t buy anything. They said it had been quiet all day. I suspect a lot of the slowness has to do with the product assortment. I’m unhappy to say it is not that compelling. You can see in the pictures below the prices are great and so is the presentation but there is nothing there that shoppers can’t buy in another Target or other store (other than the Rodarte, which has so far not proven to be a draw despite all the buzz). I’m sure the 20° weather has a lot to do with it as well. Why go to a downtown corner of Manhattan when you can do your shopping all nice and cozy like in a brick-and-mortar Target? I am on my way to the hood this afternoon to meet a friend for lunch and so far can’t find any weekend updates; I hope it’s busier today!

brian ulrich: copia

Two weeks ago I made a fairly routine visit to Riverside Plaza Mall in New Jersey with assistant. The mall was bustling at 9 AM, before opening time. Mall workers were getting their morning coffee, there were seniors waiting for Maggiano’s to open (really who can blame them), and there were moms in Lululemon powerwalking around the mall (I guess it’s too cold to walk outside?). We wondered who these people were who hang out at the mall before the stores are even open — shopping being the ostensible purpose of visiting one. I spend time in malls because I work in the business, but when I want to play or shop, I turn to the city streets or the internet. Malls are a suburban thing — a community center and retail metropolis rolled into one. There’s no place for a mall in the city; as more and more people flock to urban centers to live and work, the raison d’être of such spaces is severely questioned.

So when I came across this interview by Nozlee Samadzadeh of Brian Ulrich, I was intrigued. Brian Ulrich is an artist who deals with questions of the economy, consumerism, and illusion in his project, Copia (the Latin word for “plenty”). An inspection of his website www.notifbutwhen.com, reveals a deeper look into American consumerism. Ulrich’s eerie oeuvre takes us through thrift stores overflowing with deserted spoils of the retail boom, piles of unused hangers stuffed into shopping bags, soon-to-be-waste in bulk, and jaded post-American Dream shoppers trying to make sense of the endless supply of products.

Most of the works take place in middle America, although there are some photographs from the UK. His series of photographs of abandoned malls, Dark Stores, is hauntingly beautiful and highly disturbing (especially for someone who works in retail… eeks). A mall closing is more than just an abandoned building; it’s the quick dissemination of the community whose livelihood depended on the mall. In the article, Ulrich touches on the concept of the “retail ghost town” and how the malls could possibly be repurposed, although many cannot be. These images are almost post-apocalyptic and very representative of what’s going on right now in America, although many people are unaware of this phenomenon. Some of the newly closed malls just look creepy, but images like JC Penney, Dixie Square Mall, 2009 and Belz Factory Outlet Mall, 2009 look like frames straight out of The Road or 28 Days Later. Something to think about.

pop-up progress day 1

Very busy day today! No time for (non-work-related) fashion. Apparently others feel the same way. This morning I sent my roving reporter Coop over to the corner of Greenwich and Gansevoort Streets to scope out the Target pop-up as promised. As you can see in the below pics, at 8:30 AM the shop was looking cheery and the gifts plentiful, but not too many shoppers. Mostly curious onlookers snapping pics.

When I arrived back to the hood at 2:30 after my meeting, the situation was looking more and more dismal.

Other than the red-clad sales associates (who I REALLY feel for in this 22° weather), there is not much action to speak of. The neighborhood is buzzing today and the Pastis overflow is at about a 3 so the dismal showing cannot completely be blamed on the weather. Later I will stop by again but at this point I am not holding out for any Rodarte catfights or Wii-inspired melees (sorry, brother).