Notes of a shopaholic
Saturday, March 08, 2003:
The Donna Karan blazer I purchased on Ebay a while back arrived yesterday. Ick. Although a nice material, I hate the cut. And the hole on the sleeve is quite noticeable. I guess I'll try to sell it again on Ebay, although now I feel I can see why it only fetched $8.00 in the first place.
I've decided to return four of the five items I purchased on Yoox. Instead of getting the pants all altered, I just purchased the bigger size, and a blazer one size up from the one I got last week that was too small. And I think I'll return the Diesel pants too--maybe see if I can get more for them on Ebay first--cause I just am not excited about them.
Steven Sherman // 2:39 PM
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The Times has posted their spring men's fashion issue. They're much more into touting the overall coolness of guys on the cutting edge of independent film, music, etc. than showing the clothing. For a shopaholic, its a shame. Who really cares whether that hard-to-see black blazer is by Helmut Lang or Dior Homme? The only objects that get any real respect are interior design stuff by the Bourellec brothers (don't know how to link to this slide show--its the article called 'Oh Brothers, Where Art Thou'). Since I have what I consider an exciting and interesting life, I'd rather fantasize about some great new shoes than about producing my own movie. On the other hand, if the Times is planning a men-of-blogger feature for the fall fashion special, my e-mail address is threehegemons@aol.com. That's threehegemons@aol.com.
Steven Sherman // 6:17 AM
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Diesel's advertising can be quite sophisticated and amusing or kind of cloying, sometimes at the same time. For example, I got this email yesterday:
"It doesn't matter if you get fatter.
In Diesel jeans you just look better.
The fads and fashions of dieting have had their day.
And that's because in Diesel, you get to look fantastic ALL the time.
- great shapes
- slimming contours
- hemlines that take pounds off you
- boot cuts that will dramatically slim down your existing feet
So no need to walk past that burger bar with your head turned away in shame, or leave that extra meatball in the corner of the plate because you're worried about that extra weight that sits on the waist band of your trousers.
Just BUY Diesel, and it'll be as if dieting never really worked anyway. You'll look great and be able to eat whatever you want - with no visual side effects AT ALL."
This seems to simultaneously promise something and mock that promise. I suppose that's the point, but.. what was the point again? Anyway, they have a link to a free calendar if you go into one of their stores next week here.
The link gets you to the new ad campaign for their denim line, featuring fairly witty shots of (very thin) models cavorting with oversized junk food.
Steven Sherman // 5:56 AM
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Friday, March 07, 2003:
I went and saw "Talk to Her" tonight. It was good, maybe a little sluggish... But this isn't a film review blog. The key point here is the male lead (the bald one) has the most excellent wardrobe. Very contemporary European understated glamour. One excellent blazer after another. And a distressed leather jacket to die for.
Wow! A dream comes true. Conde Nast is planning a new magazine whose concept would be 'Lucky for Men'. Interestingly enough, they claim the encouragement for the magazine comes from similar mags in Japan, rather than the commercial success of Lucky itself. Full article.
Steven Sherman // 3:40 PM
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From Chuck Shepherd's News of the Weird: "according to Britain's The Sun, both George Bush and Saddam Hussein recently ordered the same $975 handmade shoes from the Milan, Italy, shoemaker Vito Artioli (Bush in size 10, Saddam 9 1/2)". Full article. And while some might think naked-for-peace protests represent a threat to clothing, and hence the very existence of this page, shopaholic wants to go on record as believing that rigorous adherence to any uniform is good for the fashion imagination.
Steven Sherman // 3:39 PM
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Thursday, March 06, 2003:
Interesting men's socks are hard to find, so its nice to encounter Ovadafut at Guyshop. At $19 to $28 kind of pricey, but not as bad as Comme des Garcons similar offerings.
Most copy writers are too terrified of either their straight readers or their gay ones to ever joke around about the homoerotic quality of much of men's fashion, so I kind of have to hand it who ever wrote this at guyshop, although I'm not quite sure it works.
Steven Sherman // 6:49 PM
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Wednesday, March 05, 2003:
Zagat's, the restaurant guide people, have produced a shopping guide for NY.
Steven Sherman // 3:34 PM
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My Yoox orders came today--both of them. A few notes. First of all, delivery time is phenomenal. Amazing as it sounds, this was shipped from Italy this week. I put in these orders over the weekend. Basically the stuff arrived as quickly as I would expect stuff from Bluefly. All the stuff is what I ordered. I love the Gigli coat, and while the Marrio Matteo blazer is a little smaller than I'd like, and it's very 'winter'--a thick wool--I'll probably keep it.
Now for the bad news: The Romeo Gigli pants, which were listed on the site as 'American size 34' are European size 44. This means they are roughly an American size 30. I cannot get close to zipping them up. I have had this problem at Daffy's before, although obviously it is easier to deal with when you can try stuff on. Tremendous confusion between American and European sizes. They are going to get a lot of returns from the US unless they can offer more realistic sizing details. Also, while the color on the site was listed as 'Apple Green', these pants are somewhat bluer than I anticipated. They should probably show swatches of real colors from photos of the merchandise rather than telling people to match color names with their template.
Similarly, the Block 60 pants are a European size 46. I can actually squeeze into them, which is fortunate, since I like them quite a bit. I think if I get my trusted seamstress to let out all the material she can manage, they should fit okay. This will probably cost me about $20 (it will be not only in the back, but what she can get from the side darts), somewhat undermining the bargain price in the first place. But they are really cool.
The Diesel pants are nice, and fortunately, Diesel markets to Americans, so the 34 on the tag is fairly realistic--but they are quite similar in material to a pair of Diesel pants I've had before, so I feel a little like they are 'reruns'.
I will definitely be returning the Gigli pants--at first glimpse, the return instructions aren't all that clear. Finally, the merchandise had a slightly funny smell out of the box--what's up with that??
Steven Sherman // 3:15 PM
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Tuesday, March 04, 2003:
For those who can't get enough of Japanese street style, there is this site.
Steven Sherman // 6:34 AM
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NYSale.com has an excellent search function to find sample sales in the New York Metro area. Bookmark for your next trip to New York, or come back to my site, since I'll put a link up to it today.
Steven Sherman // 6:08 AM
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Monday, March 03, 2003:
Why do the Japanese love Louis Vuitton? Could it be because the logo looks sort of like the lotus flower emblem of the Japanese royal family? (full article, subscription may be required).
Steven Sherman // 6:45 PM
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Sunday, March 02, 2003:
The Yoox revolution continues. I couldn't let their winter sale end without picking up a few more items: Apple Green Romeo Gigli pants (not the cheaper Gigli line), $42; Block 60 plaid pants $23; Diesel gray pants $22. You don't see prices like that even on EBay! While checking out Yoox, be sure to check out the We Are Here page. Mamo rules!
Steven Sherman // 6:38 PM
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You know you're a shopaholic when... your dreams are about shopping. Last night I awoke quite vividly recalling a dream in which I'd snagged that weird 'inside out' blazer by Prada from last season for about $150. Funny, I wasn't sure about this item when I saw it in Neiman Marcus, but in my dream it worked quite well.
Steven Sherman // 6:45 AM
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