Notes of a shopaholic

Saturday, April 05, 2003:

I was out in Greensboro, where I work, for a book sale this morning. I don't usually have time during the week to poke around the shopping locales, but I figured while I was out there... First up was SRI shoe warehouse, which had a really excellent pair of Robert Wayne sort-of-ankle-boots in the distressed leather I like so much for $60. I was very torn, because I liked them a lot, but had no plans to buy anything of the sort. So I decided to hold off for a week. Then at the mall, Dillard's had a heavily reduced rack, including a pair of Kenneth Cole pinstripe rayon/polyester trousers. Plus a Ralph Lauren v-neck alpaca/wool (fairly lightweight) houndstooth sweater that looked really good for $35. It reminded me a little, strangely enough, of Martin Margiela, as did a cardigan with leather patches they had at the Ralph Lauren warehouse sale. Not the first designer I would think would influence the folks at Polo. I picked up the pants, but when I got home I decided they're a little too tight around the waist, especially when I sit down. So they'll have to go back. I might yet pick up the sweater, which I only passed on because I won't be able to wear it for about six months.
Steven Sherman // 5:25 PM

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From the New York Times this morning:

Calvin Klein Seeking Substance-Abuse Help
By CATHY HORYN

he fashion designer Calvin Klein said yesterday that he was seeking professional help for substance abuse, nearly two weeks after his erratic behavior during a Knicks basketball game at Madison Square Garden briefly forced a halt in play.

The incident, in which Mr. Klein seemed to try to engage Latrell Sprewell in conversation as the Knicks player was about to throw the ball in-bounds, raised questions about the designer's health and his role in his company.

Since the episode, captured by newspaper photographers and television cameras, the fashion industry has been buzzing with speculation about Mr. Klein's health and whether it would have an impact on sales of his apparel, home furnishings and many other products.

"Something like this creates a lot of damage for a designer because people don't respect that kind of behavior," said Kal Ruttenstein, the fashion director of Bloomingdale's. "I see damage because Calvin opened his first in-store boutique at Bloomingdale's and customers know him from personal appearances. I see damage on all levels, from underwear to ready-to-wear."

A number of analysts said they saw little long-term damage to the Calvin Klein sales. "What he did at the Knicks game was really harmless and a little embarrassing, but it doesn't take away from the clout of the Calvin Klein label," said Jennifer Black, an analyst for Wells Fargo Securities. "I think it's positive that he's getting help — that's what people want to know."


It is an interesting question--would you trust a guy who talks to Latrell Sprewell during a game to make your underwear?




Steven Sherman // 5:09 AM

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Belated Monthly totals for March:

Marrio Matteo plaid blazer (Yoox.com): $78 (returned)
Gigli tweed overcoat (Yoox.com): $78

Romeo Gigli Apple green cotton pants (yoox.com): $42 (returned)
Block 60 plaid pants (Yoox.com) $23 (returned)
Diesel gray pants (yoox.com) $22. (will sell on Ebay)

Marrio Matteo Tweed Blazer (Yoox.com) $78 (returned)
Block 60 Plaid pants (Yoox.com) $23
Earl jeans black jeans $60
Donna Karan New York tweed blazer $75

Marc Jacobs style vintage shirt $15

Polo Ralph Lauren Striped wool cardigan $50

Monthly total (stuff not returned or to be sold on Ebay): $300 (yet again, ouch!!)

Yoox has obviously captured my interest, and, for now, more or less marginalizes brick-and-mortar stores.

My new orders from Bluefly and Yoox came yesterday. Everything looks good. My summer wardrobe is just about complete. Which kind of sucks, since as a shopaholic, the pleasure is in frequent shopping, not definitively putting everything together. I suppose somehow I'll determine something else I need.
Steven Sherman // 4:13 AM

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Wednesday, April 02, 2003:

After about seven phone calls, and two or three e-mails, my order with Urban Evolution has finally been resolved. They are out of the item I ordered. If anyone owns a store out there, can I make a suggestion--don't start selling stuff on the web unless you are fully prepared to promptly deal with customer queries. Better to avoid it altogether than generate negative feelings among potential shoppers at your brick-and-mortar store and future web-shoppers.
Steven Sherman // 6:40 PM

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The New York Times has an article on the big fashion sweatsuit trend, saying it will replace denim as the key fashion casual. I don't know. Before it was a big fashion trend, denim always looked pretty good. But I can't say the same about sweatsuits. Some of my students have been trying the fashion sweats look. Can't say for sure, but I suspect they are wearing the Guess or Old Navy imitation rather than real Juicy Couture. Even with that caveat, I remain skeptical of the look. These young women too easily blend in with their classmates who aren't making any effort and are just wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt. Old standbys, like black slacks and a button-front blouse, a tank top with a skirt, or a dress work much better (even when obviously pretty inexpensive clothes) at looking well-put together. Perhaps I should announce this in class.
Steven Sherman // 4:37 PM

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Didn't notice these D&G shoes when I was shopping on Yoox yesterday (just log into on another window, and the link will work fine). Its pretty unusual to ever see men's shoes made of anything besides leather, suede, or canvas. Will have to think about it, especially if some of the purchases yesterday don't work out.
Steven Sherman // 4:31 PM

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Tuesday, April 01, 2003:

As I said, I was aching to do some shopping once April began, so in addition to my Bluefly order I put in an order with Yoox: A diesel t-shirt (at $28, pretty much the same price its getting on EBay), Diesel linen-cotton sky blue pants ($53), and a striped long sleeve shirt from B.Sbee, a company I'm totally unfamiliar with. Total was $125 dollars.
Steven Sherman // 11:08 AM

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Looks like some of Bluefly's buyers have been shopping in interesting places. This morning on the men's side they have a whole mess of interesting stuff from, among others, Michael Kors, Martin Margiela, and Costume National. I still just wound up purchasing the charcoal sharkskin Theory pants I've had my eye on for a while. But I really like the Miu Miu belts.

Two points about shopping on Bluefly this morning: SAVE20 got me 20% off, and when exactly did they raise their delivery charges to $7.95 per shipment?
Steven Sherman // 6:19 AM

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Monday, March 31, 2003:

Yoox now has a promo section for people who register and click on myyoox... Looks like today's special is 10% off leather. More interesting stuff on the women's side than the men's--I especially like this top by pinko, which has a real 'they can do that with leather?' quality to it.
Steven Sherman // 7:44 PM

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Faithful readers of this blog may have noticed that my posting has been more erratic lately. Like everyone, I've been a little preoccupied with the war. Not to put too fine a point on it, I'm against it. But I don't believe a war is cause for excessive somberness, austerity, etc. On some level I think if American men would learn to worry about their looks and the pleasures of new clothes, they'd be less prone to working themselves into a psychological frenzy about kicking some butt (vicariously, of course, watching on CNN, no one is actually rushing to volunteer to hang out in some desert and get shot at). So long story short, I have still followed my favorite web sites closely, and plan to make some purchase or purchases tomorrow (it being the first of the month, and I decided a couple of weeks ago I'd spent enough for March already).

Looks like Yoox is down today. Grrr. And I still haven't gotten the shirt I ordered from Urban Evolution over a month ago. Double Grrr.
Steven Sherman // 2:33 PM

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