There is hope after all.

I am late for my hair appointment, so I only have a few seconds to write (I’m really hoping that a new haircut will get things started for me again. I link success and hair very closely). I just read an article about some new stores in NYC and I came across this quote from the designers of JF & Son. They have articulated in a few sentences what I have been thinking about a lot lately re: heritage brands, the fetishization of the old and, as my best (and only) regular commenter Lindsay called it, “guy connoisseurship”.

Mr. Boyer believes that a store must also clearly relate to some contemporary need. Not long ago he and Ms. King were in a bar in Williamsburg, where, as Mr. Boyer said, “guys had waxed mustaches and were shaking drinks.”“We were kind of critical of that — this over-fetishization of a past that also included racism and denial of women’s rights. We work with a lot of feminist artists and so we have no real reason to want to put a deer head on a wall.”He paused. “Is there not enough momentum behind new ideas? Are people not thinking about the future? Are we going to start walking around with monocles?”

JF & Son fall/winter 2009

Popularity in Three Easy Steps.

Three more things that would get me invited to better parties:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

j crew toque

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Silence and Noise cardigan and Mono lace collar

Vincon, Liberty, and The Bay. Don’t laugh.

I think I cut things off a little quickly last time, or that’s what I’ve been hearing. So let’s call this Are You There Retail It’s Me Margaret part 2.

Vinçon. Vinçon carries a lot of home and design products that you would find in any other upscale store throughout the world, but also some very useful regional products (the ubiquitous ham leg holder, clothing lines and drying racks of all sizes and configurations). From a visual merchandising perspective they hit it out of the park- displays can include: rubber chickens,  giant fake spaghetti made out of yarn, a whole display covered in crumpled up balls of paper. It’s housed partially in an old Modernista mansion on the Passeig de Gracia and a more 70/80’s space of wood and dim lighting. On any given day there is a great mix of families, couples picking out stuff for their wedding registry and tourists. It’s a STORE. Not a museum. They also have a public washroom (can you imagine asking to use the bathroom in Inform? I don’t think anyone has ever even farted in that space).

Liberty of London. Liberty is such a cool Grandaddy. It’s got a lot of history, but is not really a backwards looking store. It has some of the best designer floors and is rarely predictable in it’s buying. It also has the best selection of mens wear that men would actually wear. But it’s not afraid to hold onto some rather stodgy old-fashioned ideas like a whole floor dedicated to sewing supplies. That’s a lot of real estate for low ticket items (packet of darning needles anyone?) But on any given day that’s the floor with the most commotion- it’s also part of what makes it so English. You have little old Grans buying nightgowns and yarn and a beautiful (and expensive) oyster and champagne bar in the basement.

Now, I don’t want you to think that I want something for everyone. Heavens no. We all know that the glove made for all fits none. But what these stores have is a great instinct for what customers want, the ability to surprise, and the confidence to let the store evolve.  A while back I was lamenting the death of the boutique and wondering what on earth could be next in retail. And right now I am thinking that it’s the much maligned department store.

In Canada there is such an opportunity for a company like The Bay- and for sure they have made some huge strides since Bonnie Brooks took over. But will they have the confidence to see it through to its potential? Last I heard they moved the estate jewelry in the downtown store up to the furniture floor because it doesn’t make any money. But that’s what makes a department store great! These strange eccentricities! If anything they should move it to the centre of the womens wear floor and start actively pursuing better estate pieces. It’s the only reason I and any woman I know has gone to the womens wear floor for the last ten years. My other suggestion for the Bay is to get rid of the cafe and open a cafeteria. Somewhere that I would actually go for lunch. I think The Bay could be … well maybe not Vinçon or Liberty because that wouldn’t work here, but a good example of what Canadian retail could look like if we just stopped trying to look like everyone else.

Below, two of Liberty, one of Vinçon.

Are you there retail? It’s me, Margaret.

I have wanted to write something about retail for a few months now, but the thoughts wouldn’t form and the ideas didn’t gel so I have been letting it simmer on another burner. But today I read a little article about the (defunct) Boston store Design Research and it came together for me.

In the summer while I was in Europe I found very few retail stores that spoke to the place that they operated in. If you were looking for an Isabel Marant dress, J Brand jeans, See by Chloe or Phillip Lim you were in luck because every city has a tasteful boutique outfitted with white walls and a chandelier that carries those lines. But now that we all travel and we all have access to the same things, what makes us identify a store with its location? Or more specifically, what makes a store in Barcelona a Barcelona store?

Every city has heritage stores that are delightful (Barcelona has espadrilles makers La Manual Alpargatera, I’m not sure what Vancouver has that could compare but I am open to suggestions), but what about the next generation of retail? What is an example of a new store that is so intrinsically linked with a city’s culture? I know that stores do not exist just for tourists but what does it say about a city when there is no new development of a retail culture that is unique and self-supporting?

So, back to Design Research. This is a store that speaks to me in the way it approached design holistically (clothing/furniture/house wares) and with humour. Too often I find retail stores are either too generic or so rarefied they forget that design can be an experience shared by all. And you don’t have to carry only local products to be a local store that could not exist anywhere else in the world. You can offer a lot to people in your city that is useful, well made and original and do it in a way that captures the imagination of visitors as well. Design Research seems like a very optimistic American store where groovy families could go buy new cutlery and Mom could get a Marimekko dress. Could that happen now? Would people find it Utopian and flaky? Too European perhaps? Or just too middle class?

Another store that I think achieves a level of retail greatness that is unique to it’s location is Vinçon in Barcelona (below, some of their shopping bags throughout the years).

This post brought to you by: self loathing

Here are three things that I think would make me more attractive, more successful,  more fun to hang out with. And if you don’t believe me, just ask my bathrobe. It’s always telling me that I can do better.

Picture Julianne Moore

About the shows (sort of). I always really love A Detacher’s collections but they are never shown on style.com (bad blood?) so I often forget about the line. But when I am in New York it is always one of my favourite stores- the visual merchandising is outstanding.

Here’s a few pictures of the Spring 2010 collection (2010 makes everything sound like the olympics to me. 2010 has olympic taint. Ask any Vancouverite. You even say 2010 and you feel like VANOC is right behind you serving you a cease and desist order.)

Anyways… this collection is not going to blow your mind but it is very wearable and cheeky. I just watched the show on the website and it made me laugh, it’s got this very Valium induced muzak that devolves into noise and drone at the end. It’s exactly opposite what everyone else is doing this season with very UP UP UP (everything is fine!) cokey music. I think she really nailed how many women feel in general.

Fur trimmed dresses, gold nail polish. Be still my Russian heart.

Do you like my new layout? A little ugly no? I am too lazy to do anything custom, so this will have to do. The last format looked very 2006. Am I allowed to say that yet? Did they say things like that in 1909? That swash font is so 1905.

I was going to write about the shows but I was distracted (as always) by Anna Dello Russo (she of the Leopard wallpaper). Garance Dore took some pictures of her at the Ritz and Shazaam! She looks amazing. Everything is very rich and sparkly. The thing that makes it work for me is the bare face;  a lot of make up would make this very predictable. She definitely lets the clothes do the talking. I also love when people are unabashed with their enthusiasm. Take a picture of me trying on this dress! Now this one! Take a picture of my shoes!

Pictures from Garance Dore below.

RIP Gourmet

Gourmet magazine is closing down.  So depressing. How will I decide what to wear? The June “Fiesta Forever” spread was a real inspiration. Hibiscus coolers! Mango and watermelon spears with chile salt! Grilled corn! Can you see the outfit I’m putting together here? Conde Nast is keeping Bon Appetit instead. Down with Bon Appetit!

Living the Dream

This is a picture (from a book called Italian Touch) of Vogue Nippon Fashion Director Anna Dello Russo’s apartment. She’s got a giant still from the movie The Leopard as wallpaper. It looks incredible! I love the idea of taking some lush interior from a movie set and making it your decor without the commitment of actually having to live that way. It can be a backdrop for your real life with your real furniture and you don’t have to worry about getting cat hair on the couch.

I was thinking about what movie interior I would have as wallpaper, and even though it’s such a teenage boy pick, I would probably get the mansion from Scarface. You laugh now, but if you came over to my house and saw it you would think it was awesome.

There’s no business like show business

I went away to the Okanagan this weekend and it rained non-stop, but while laying in bed at the Ramada Inn drinking wine from a plastic cup and watching Weird Science I had a fashion revelation.  In the big party scene, just before the Tenderness soundtracked denouement, Kelly LeBrock is wearing an awesome sequined mini dress that looks so now I could hardly believe it (the only fashion I remembered from that movie is the visually offensive leotard she wears in the final scene). The dress could be a Balmain , but better because it’s actually from the eighties and not a tacky $6000 runway tchotchke.

When I got back to town I did some looking around and found some great beaded and sequined dresses at my favourite vintage shop Temple of the Modern Girl. Most of them would need to be shortened, but I think you could do it if you picked off a few rows of beads first, and I found this ebay retailer who had a couple of real winners all going for around $50.

So, some photos. Exhibit A: Ms. LeBrock in said dress. Exhibit B: Balmain dress. Exhibit 3: Ebay dress.