Ideeli Holiday Event

Ideeli provided a sneak peek of holiday gift items that ranged from the practical (Cityslips, cufflinks, ties) to the fabulously fashionable  (La Mer watches, Melissa shoes). Don’t forget to add Ideeli to your list for holiday shopping; you can bet that we will!

Product-n-Press Preview

A bunch of brands came together to present their latest products, and of course we zeroed in right on the beauty items! We revisited an old classic, Yardley of London, and checked out one of their new scents, Pomegranate Rose, learned about the charitable initiatives of CleanUp soap, KISS cosmetics new products, including premium false eye lashes with applicator strings, and nail art pens.

Uniqlo’s New Worldwide Flagship Store, 53rd and Fifth Avenues

With over three floors of selling space and select dark wash jeans at an introductory rate of $9.90 a pair, you can guess that the store was full of customers and the line had serpentined its way along the top floor. The depth of the store merchandise provided all of the brand’s key merino wool sweaters, foldable jackets, thermals, and more in a vast array of hues that certainly felt like eye candy; fingers crossed Uniqlo will launch e-commerce soon!

John Hardy Fall 2011 Luxury Jewelry Collection

Take a gander for yourself at the latest John Hardy offerings, that in a nutshell, are universally flattering and simply stunning. Head Designer and Creative Director, Guy Bedarida, created six core collections, Bamboo, Bedeg, Dot, Kali, Naga and Palu, inspired by his travels, and in particular, of Bali.

I’ve been excited for quite some time for the Steven Alan for Uniqlo designer collaboration project to come out, so I foolishly went to Soho on a Saturday. By the masses on Broadway and hour-long check out and dressing room lines inside Uniqlo, who would ever have thought that we’re in a recession? Anyways, the Steven Alan women’s collection was largely in a palette of red, blue, and a bit of black (not mixed together) with ruching, pleats, and sweet little pin tucks. There were some retro dresses that felt a bit Built by Wendy to me, with the real gems being the button down shirts. I like the  ones with accordion pleating and slight Peter Pan collars (seel left), as well as the chest pocket roll-tab ones, both available in blue & white, red & white or black & white.  There was no way I was waiting in the atrociously long dressing room lines, so I tried on the items in a mirrored corner of the men’s section. Final thoughts: for about $50 each, the button tees are a nice investment to make, whose mid-quality wil most likely last you more than a season. 

The men’s Opening Ceremony collection was a nice capsule of lightweight multi-colored button downs (see right), more dressier shirts that came with a pocket square, and blazers. Overall impression was that both of these collections could be a success, however Uniqlo needs to figure out a better way to funnel people through the store, as I don’t think its such bargain basement prices to elicit waiting on line for more than 15 minutes.

-Julia DiNardo

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