Tag Archives: Style

Rants, Style

Thursday Friday, Together Bags Any Day Now

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 I admire go getters who turn that one great idea into a money-making business. But sometimes, things move too fast or not fast enough, and those go getters make big promises they struggle to keep.

I really hope that’s not the case with LA-based accessories brand Thursday Friday whose founding duo Roni Brunn and Olena Sholomytska created the Together bag – a wildly popular canvas shopper emblazoned with a pop-arty Hermes inspired bag print on the outside. With the original $35 price tag (the price has since risen to $45 to counter rising cotton prices), they literally sold like hotcakes.

What could be wrong with instant success and enormous publicity you ask? Well, this fledgling company has had a very public struggle to fill orders placed as long ago as January, causing an outcry on its Facebook page from frustrated buyers. In full disclosure, I’m among the hundreds of people worldwide waiting on bags I ordered and paid for at the start of the year.

It seems the wait may soon be over. Late yesterday, Thursday Friday posted the following to its Facebook page: 

“We understand your frustration with us. We have been dealing with the delayed shipments, cotton price rise and production halts since we started. When we designed our products, we did not expect it to explode in (the) way it has and the overwhelming demand from all over the world has exceeded our production. Please be patient with us, we take your orders very seriously and we are shipping all orders from Jan/Feb.”

This long-awaited assurance prompted many hits of the Like button, and was met with a flurry of thankful, hopeful comments from Facebook fans.

Sure, we all knew when we ordered bags in January that they were on backorder and would be delivered sometime in March. But as March turned into April and spring weather coaxed us to swap chunky leather bags for a lighter tote, there were still no bags and intermittent communication from the firm left shoppers wanting. There were discussions about how to get a PayPal refund, and even threats of getting the Better Business Bureau involved.

‘Production Snafu’

The problems started when, with unexpectedly high and relentless demand, Thursday Friday had to work with an unfamiliar factory which was not only seven weeks late with orders but produced bags of unacceptable quality that Thursday Friday wouldn’t sell to customers. Even once a suitable factory was booked, it was slow to replenish stocks.

“During this production snafu, we understandably got more incoming customer emails, and this volume overwhelmed our support team,” Creative Director Roni Brunn, half of the Thursday Friday duo, told G’DayBklyn. “We’ve been hiring and training new staffers with the same eye for quality and care that we have for our products.  Again, this level of attention to detail has created another lag – a delay in answering support emails.”

What there has been all along though is enormous publicity for the bags – from blogs like this to The New York Times, Elle and The Daily Mail, and a prolific Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr presence by the company. That presence, as it turns out, can be both a blessing and a curse. Sure, a company can promote itself brilliantly through social media, but on the flipside, when something goes awry all those chatty friends and followers have a very public place to rant. And that they did.

A string of negative comments and delivery queries litters Thursday Friday’s Facebook page. So much so, that the company repeatedly asked people to take their issues to customer support rather than use Facebook  as a complaint forum. 

“We try our best with those whose frustrations are voiced on Facebook, and we completely understand that our responses may not work for everyone,” said Brunn. She said the company contemplated sending an email to customers “but thought it’d be whiney of us. We’re lucky to have anyone interested in our products and just want to push through any setback.”

Interestingly, even bad publicity – in the form of legal action from French luxury brand Hermes, whose iconic Birkin bag inspired the Together tote – has only fueled demand for the quirky bags.

Hermes, whose Birkin bags sell for upwards of $9,000, contends that Thursday Friday is  “riding on the reputation and recognition of the Birkin Bag” to sell its otherwise generic tote. And in so doing,  Hermes says Thursday Friday is creating confusion among customers and putting Hermes’ reputation at risk.

I’m not sure that anyone is confused by a leather bag worth thousands and a cotton tote, but the suit has done nothing to damp demand for Together bags.

As we cross our fingers that the wait really is coming to an end, Brunn assures Together bag carriers can still be the coolest kids on the block.

“These bags aren’t close to ubiquitous,” she said, putting a positive spin on the setbacks and delays.  “People who ordered them in January will still be among the first to carry them.”

Style

Happy Birthday to Me

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Ok, so my birthday is far enough past that I don’t feel completely gratuitous bragging about the most beautiful gift ever from the best husband ever. And before everyone prepares to retch slightly at all this syrupy joy, let me be honest.

Yes, dear husband does have excellent taste. But no, he wasn’t just randomly surfing vintage websites in search of the perfect gift for me. He did however take the hint when I thrust the laptop in front of him and sighed, “Isn’t this divine!”

It won’t surprise anyone who knows me that the chain comes from my favorite purveyor of high-end vintage clothes and accessories Rice and Beans Vintage. It is a vintage 1970s Gucci gold and enamel GG chain, which can be worn either as a belt or a necklace. It is casual and glamorous all at once.

My husband suggested I buy it as my birthday present and I followed orders. When he asked the next day if I planned to buy the necklace, it was already making its way from Maine to Brooklyn and it was worn out for the very first time to birthday dinner.

I don’t know if I am imagining it,  but there seems to be a resurgence of demand and adoration of the Gucci brand, which has played second fiddle on and off over the years to the ever fashionable Chanel. I’m merely an armchair follower of  haute  fashion, and a frugal one at that, but while Chanel is forever, Florence-based Gucci seems to have slipped on a hip, rejuvenated vibe as it celebrates its 90th anniversary.

At Milan Fashion Week, for instance, Gucci just unveiled its Fall 2011 Ready-to-Wear collection, loaded with color, fur and Fedoras to create what Gucci Creative Director Frida Giannini called a “contemporary female dandy.” Giannini cited UK singer Florence Welch, of Florence and the Machine, as an inspiration for the collection.

Also feeding into Gucci’s celebratory vibe, the fashion house and Italian car giant Fiat used Milan’s Fashion Week to roll out the adorable  “500 by Gucci.”  The special edition and highly covetable version of Fiat’s iconic 500 car marks Gucci’s anniversary and the 150th anniversary of a unified Italian peninsula.

Gucci’s Giannini custom designed the zippy city-car, which comes in white or black and is distinguished from the regular Fiat 500 by Gucci’s signature green-red-green stripe. It will be sold online from April 1 to June 30, with a price tag beginning at 17,000 euros or roughly $24,000 US dollars.

I wonder how big a hint I will need to give dear husband for the car – in white please!

Raves, Style

Me + Hermès ‘Together’ At Last

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This totally falls into the “why the heck didn’t I think of it” category. And yes, I know it has been all over fashion blogs and mags here and abroad but I love it and cannot resist. If, like me, you’re unlikely to have a spare $20,000 anytime soon to invest in a covetable Hermès handbag, then meet the Together bag created by LA-based accessories label Thursday Friday.

These canvas shoppers are fully lined with an interior pocket for phone and keys; what sets them apart from all the other canvas carryalls being schlepped by gym rats, diaper-toting mamas, greenmarket goers and the environmentally conscious alike is the pop-arty Hermès inspired bag print on all five exterior sides.

They’re cheeky, good-looking and practical. Trouble is, just like the iconic Birkin bag they’re “modeled” on, the Together bags sold out within weeks of their launch last year and are now back ordered.

The bags, a sort of anti-status, status symbol and sturdy enough to carry in rain, sun or snow, come in red, blue or camel and with a very manageable $35 price tag. To order, click here.

Events, Style

Stripes Galore at Petit Bateau Pop-Up

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I have made no secret of my love of stripes, the French-Navy-striped “la marinière,” in particular and French label Petit Bateau is one of the masters of the iconic striped tee. Even better when Petit Bateau has a massive sample sale and it’s just a brisk walk away from home.

I was late to the game on this sale – it began in early December – but it is in full swing still until the end of January and there was plenty of stock at last check.

I scored a classic, long-sleeved stripey top pour moi and about five adorable shirts for the kids. Everything was at least half price, often even more; think $15 for a red + white striped boys’ cotton tee.  Like any sample sale, you have to dig through boxes and there isn’t a fitting room. The chap running the show is incredibly accommodating though and let me slip things on over my clothes. For the record, if you happen to be petite and small chested in particular, don’t worry that there aren’t many tops in women’s small – try the 12, a sort of teen/junior sizing – and it will likely work just fine.

There are pants, tunics and a smattering of skirts and underwear too, but the real boon is in the tops.

The sale is at 219 Seventh Avenue, between Third + Fourth Streets. Cash and credit cards are accepted.

Style

Clodhoppers to Chanel:a journey in shoes

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I have horrible feet. Really ugly, wide, hard-to-fit feet that at any given time are plastered with at least one Bandaid and a myriad of shoe-related injuries. My feet are clearly not meant to be trapped in shoes; either that, or I’m not meant to walk as far as I do each day in footwear.

I saw a guy on television last week who rarely wears shoes. Dubbed the “barefoot professor” by his students, Daniel Howell has made a career – and written The Barefoot Book: 50 Good Reasons to Kick Off Your Shoes – about his barefoot endeavours. An Associate Professor of Biology at Liberty University, where he teaches Human Anatomy & Physiology, Howell has long hiked and run barefoot and decided to extend it to the rest of his life out of comfort and curiosity.

He said he was even removed from an airplane en route to New York because he did not have on shoes: he had to go to Old Navy for flip flops before they would let him back on the plane. It seems odd that in this post shoe-bomber age, with shoe removal and pat-downs the standard for air travel, a shoeless man is viewed as a threat. But I digress.

Given access to unrealistically clean streets and spotless floors, I may go barefoot too. It’s no surprise then that I am not a shoe person. Handbags, YES, but shoes, not so much.

I’ve marveled but never embraced the passion my friends have for their shoes; the Carrie Bradshaw-esque love affair with sky-high, feather and bauble-adorned shoes queued on closet shelves. Love fashion as I do, I haven’t braved a Manolo Blahnik sale or a Christian Louboutin frenzy because skinny shoes with pointy toes just aren’t an option for me. Or so I thought until I wandered recently into a newish consignment store m.a.e. in Park Slope.

The owner, a self-proclaimed “shoe girl” with a predilection for Manolos and a size 10 foot, opened a whole new world of shoes to me. She waved off protests that my feet were too wide for pretty little shoes and sat me down with a stack of beauties in swag of different sizes until I found pairs that fit and looked fabulous. Because of the long pointy toes, I had to go up a size or so, but many of the shoes actually worked.

My spirits lifted: I couldn’t believe that for all these years I’ve dwelled on horrid childhood experiences as confirmation that gnarly, wide feet should be hidden in Doc Marten’s and the like.

my foot = a pasty

I recall someone close to me (you know who you are) likening my feet to pasties, a broad semi-circle pastry stuffed with meat and vegetables (see right), and calling the shoes of my youth clodhoppers!

I strutted out of m.a.e. with a dainty pair of vintage Chanel black + white kitten heels, and a new confidence about shoe shopping. I’m still not quite ready for the Louboutin sale, but at least now I will bother to keep on trying shoes to see what works.

m.a.e. isn’t just about shoes; there are a couple of racks of designer-label clothes and some handbags too, but the shoe selection sets the place apart from other neighborhood consignment stores. Beacon’s Closet it is not. There is a definite bent towards Manolo Blahnik, either gently or barely worn, and at a fraction of their retail prices. The last time I stopped by there were vintage Gucci loafers and pumps as well as plenty of Prada, and some Chanel and Ferragamo.

m.a.e. is at 453 7th Avenue, between 15th and 16th streets in Park Slope, 718.788.7070.

Style

Barneys Co-Op Opens in Bklyn

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Barneys Co-Op opened calmly today on Atlantic Ave in Brooklyn. There was no long line to get in, no glitterati and very little fanfare. It was the perfect entree for the uber hip store on a stretch of Atlantic Ave. shared largely with Middle Eastern grocers. 

Keeping it local and low key, simply dressed wait-staff offered trays of mini cookies – coconut orange and black and white among them – from One Girl Cookies on nearby Dean Street, and a bar was set up to the back of the store. But there was no over-the-top flash or pretension. It felt comfortable and jolly; the staff all very happy to chat and answer questions, many of them new to the Barneys franchise.

The clothes of course are gorgeous and pricey. The store is split between two levels, with designer denim – think J brand Houlihan skinny cargo pants and Current/Elliott boyfriend jeans – and more casual gear downstairs.

Today was mostly about browsing, with plenty of stroller-pushing mothers stopping by for a look; longer term, it will be interesting to see if the new the Co-Op store, aimed at a young, fashion-forward crowd – and dubbed the “wayward offspring” of Barneys New York – can tempt locals to part with a big chunk of change for an of-the-moment Rag & Bone or Alexander Wang creation.

The new Barneys Co-Op is at 194 Atlantic Avenue.

Style

Wish List

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Forget the pink leopard Mulberry for Target bag – it’s pink crocodile I am lusting after. This iconic Hermes Kelly bag in fuchsia is totally a “wish list” item, dream list perhaps with an almost $30k price tag but I like to look nonetheless. I stumbled across it at Bswank.com, a luxury resale website I like to ogle for covetable, if not (yet?) attainable, designer pieces.

For the record, this divine Kelly bag is pink Nile crocodile with palladium hardware. The details state that the Nile crocodile is farmed in Zimbabwe and that gorgeous high gloss is achieved by buffing with stone. Hermes, the French luxury-goods house, introduced the bag in the 1930s but its popularity soared much later when in 1956 Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco was snapped carrying a large black crocodile Kelly bag, which she used to shield her pregnant tummy from paparazzi. After the image ran on the cover of Life Magazine, the bag became a hit and was later renamed the Kelly bag.

“One of my clients has an incredible collection of amazing Hermes bags in all sorts of skins and colors and is consolidating her collection, hence I have several divine pieces on consignment,” says Lucyann Barry, the founder of Lucyann Barry Luxury Resale, in a sales blurb accompanying the bag.  

I am always fascinated that people have piles of these luxury pieces stashed away in grand closets, being the kind of gal who treasures her single vintage Chanel handbag and would be happy – satisfied even – to add maybe one more and call it a day.

Meantime, it can’t hurt to look …

Style

Mulberry for Target Selling Fast

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This is the “chosen one” from the much anticipated handbag collaboration between English luxury house Mulberry and Target – that went on sale today in stores and online. It’s the bag people are talking about and angling for  – and at last check today, the large cerise leopard tote priced at $49.99 was  out of stock at Target.com though I’m sure supplies are being replenished. A couple of other, less out-there designs were also sold out online hours after going on sale. But surely I am missing something? Perhaps it is more luxe looking in person, or perhaps I just don’t like pink and black leopard print, but I really don’t get the appeal of this bag. Judge for yourselves of course, but move fast – these bags are flying off the virtual shelves.

Naturally the one bag I do like enough at $49.99 – the large denim satchel –  also sold out online on day one of the latest designer team-up with Target. Though I would quickly remove the dangling heart, which doesn’t appeal to me. I guess the drawcard with all of these bags is the similarity in styling to the way more expensive and equally-coveted Mulberry handbags that sell for hundreds of dollars.  Mulberry was established in 1971 in Somerset, England, and fast  became the first British lifestyle brand for its attention to craftsmanship and quality.

Style

Jeggings, Meggings + Mantyhose

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As mother of a 5 year old who has refused to wear anything but skinny jeans for the past two years, shunning all other legwear as “too puffy”, my recent shopping  finds should come as no surprise. And yet, somehow, I’m stunned at the insidious spread of the dreaded JEGGING to children’s wear and beyond.

I was in Old Navy one recent morning before work and wandered over to girls’ leggings to find, hanging alongside the ubiquitous multicolored leggings, baby jeggings. Just like mama owns, only in sizes from toddler to tween..

If somehow you missed the advent of the jegging, let me explain. It’s basically a denim jean in legging form, – so a super-stretchy blue jean, usually with an elastic waistband and often with jean-like stitching details – hence the unfortunate name, jegging. Besides the horrible name, I don’t object to the product per se. Who doesn’t love to pull on something comfortable that gives, tucks neatly into high boots or looks just as good with ballet flats. Jeggings  – I love mine from Uniqlo – can look great.

And then there’s the other side. It’s tricky for women to pull off the skintight silhouette, disguising womanly lumps and bumps under long tunics. Plus, I often feel badly that I resort to the legging look all too much, rather than structured clothing with zippers and buttons. It concerns me sometimes that we – me included – are rearing our children largely unaware of belts, buttons and shoelaces.

That said, it seems the jegging, along with elastic and Velcro are here to stay. And not just in the children’s aisle.

Legwear for men is getting an overhaul too, with man leggings – meggings perhaps – on the runways and already in some fashion forward retailers. The UK’s Daily Mail reported last month that men also are increasingly keen to wear tights. So much so that Selfridges in London has a range of man pantyhose – yep mantyhose – designed exclusively for guy-sized legs.

The mantyhose are made by lingerie brand Unconditional and are a sturdy 120 denier thick. At about 70 GBP a pair or roughly $111 US dollars, the look doesn’t come cheap and really, hipster, fashionista, whatever, this just cannot be a good look en masse.

It’s nothing new of course; think court jesters, ballet dancers, some athletes, Superheros and rockstars – meggings and mantyhose have been on the radar for years. But in 2010/2011, unless you’re Spidey or glam -metal rocker Bret Michaels, perhaps stick with a manbag instead.

Raves, Style

Things I Like … Right Now

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I love this vintage button pin featuring graphic art by Carol Summers, a master American print maker renowned for his intensely vivid colors and woodblock techniques. The pin is stamped 1971, and may have some collectible value as do Summers’ prints. The Santa Cruz resident has works in museums including The Art Institute of Chicago, Biblioteque National in Paris, New York’s Museum of Modern Art and Brooklyn Museum of Fine Arts.

But for me, the cool vintage pin – purchased from my favorite online vintage store http://www.riceandbeansvintage.com/– is all about wearable art. I plan to use it to drape and pin into place some of my oversized, slouchy winter sweaters. Or maybe I’ll pin it on my bag the way my kids do with their superhero pins!

I’m also loving this Claudia Pearson poster for its bright cheekiness. It’s the first in a series of hand-drawn type posters featuring some classic and some more obscure song lyrics. This one was inspired by Roy Ayers “We Live in Brooklyn Baby!” Pearson, a Brooklyn local, has been published in the New York Times, Elle, The New Yorker and The Big Book of Illustration, among others. She also has one children’s book and is working on another. Besides prints like the one pictured, her illustrations are available on tea towels, totes, cards and books. You can find her work in her etsy store.

 

 I am not the crunchy, granola-making sort BUT I am having a clog moment as the weather turns and the Havaianas no longer cut it to run the kids to school on a chilly, wet morning. Plus, I am not very good at wearing shoes. Seriously, no matter what shoes I wear I manage to end up with red, chewed-up heels and other assorted blisters and bumps. I am obviously meant to be barefoot but since that isn’t practical roaming the Brooklyn streets, clogs – which have no back – seem like a practical alternative. What’s more, they could work well with the whole knee-high-sock-trend that’s promising to be big this Fall. I haven’t owned clogs since I was a very young girl back in Adelaide and probably still in primary (elementary) school, and I probably haven’t worn knee-high socks since then either – but this Fall, it’s all about to change. I like the lightweight Sven clogs, available online or at Refinery on Smith Street, the go-to for Brooklyn women searching for clogs or the other staple Saltwater Sandals. I know there are much fancier and pricier clogs out there right now, but I’m thinking Sven might do the job and be a good “trainer” clog so to speak.