New Brahmin

One Last Thing...

...while we've heard rumblings about this for a week now, shoe store Leokadia in the South End is officially closing on Sunday. Everything is for sale, even the furniture. Good luck with your future endeavors, Jessica! via Style Carrot

Spring Cleaning

New Brahmin will be down today until Monday while we clean this bitch up. I know I could've posted a few more blind items like "Which mobile vintage store owner has killed two hamsters in one year?" but apparently some people don't dig the vagueness. We'll be back in action sometime on Monday, clean as a whistle!

Inside Look: Rue La La

Private sale websites are, in the grand scheme of things, a very new retail concept. They are almost unavoidable topics of discussion. Newspapers are fascinated by them and shopping blogs are obsessed with them. To the untrained shopper, they may all seem the same, but each members-only private sale site is geared toward a different demographic and offers a wide variety of shopping experiences.

What many people may be surprised about is that one of the biggest private sale sites (boasting 1.6M members), Rue La La, is right in our backyard. Actually, it's literally in my own backyard, as I live approximately 30 yards away from their Channel Center HQ. Which is why I was flattered when they invited Jessica and myself over for lunch the other day. I jumped to the opportunity since I'm only familiar how the company works via the photo studio and have always wondered how all the elements come together.

If you aren't a member already, click here to sign up!

Find out what makes Rue La La tick after the jump...

[image source]

(Full disclosure: I have freelanced as a stylist for both Rue La La and it's sister company, Smart Bargains, in the past, but no longer do and one of our founding contributors, Callista Wilson, has worked for them since they began)

Daily D's

Amy Winehouse for Fred Perry WWD

All about the Chanel iceberg The Cut

Designer Richie Rich is launching a new line, Tabloid Hero, with an infomercial staring Kim Kardashian (if this were 2005, it would've been Paris Hilton) Page 6

How to transform a hoodie into... Conceptual Devices

Seacrest OUT of fashion NY Times

Good news for your little sister: Abercrombie & Fitch has to keep discounting to boost sales WSJ

Barneys v. WalMart, which bag is worth it? Racked

The whole blogger/editor is getting a bit tiresome Black Book

Name that hand model The Big Money

Oh, Olivier! Style File

Blind Item: Shameless Self Promotion

While promoting oneself is a necessity as a freelancer, there are certain things that end up looking as a desperate (and to some observers in town, laughable) cry for attention. Which questionably employed stylist has been posting pictures of themselves to a highly trafficked user-generated look book site? Not that we typically frown upon such things, but the album is becoming more of a don'ts section than something you'd want to imitate. Word to the wise, submitting your picture to these types of sites might be easier than getting shot by The Sartorialist, but it does not equal getting real press if it's user-gen.

Lip Service

I was at a friend's house the other night for dinner and the topic of lipstick came up. Now, I'm the last person who can talk about beauty products, but there's always at least a tube of lip gloss and a chapstick floating around in my coat pocket or bag of the moment. My two friends, retail veterans and beauty addicts, decided to dump their bags out and show me how much lip product was floating around.

One friend (seen digging through her bag) had a mini-flashlight (seen glowing) that her husband gave her because of her bottomless bag. She had about 11 lipsticks, glosses, liners and balms in her bag. My other friend (who's pile is neatly to the right) had 9 in her bag at the time as well. I'm more than sure that if either went through their collection of handbags, they'd definitely find just as many tubes hidden throughout. 

While the outcome of the purse purge doesn't shock me at all, it did make me wonder about makeup hoarding in purses overall. I can only imagine what's in Jeannie's bag (either all or nothing) but than again, she's a professional makeup artist. What about you, dear readers? Are you prone to stashing tons of lipsticks/glosses in your bag? I wonder if it's work/industry related (all mentioned here work in fashion/beauty) or just a ladylike thing, to have so many beauty options at your beck and call. What do you think?

Daily D's

American Eagle confirms it's closing Martin + Osa, which has a store at the Natick Collection The Thread

Madonna's rumored fashion line for Macys will be a juniors line inspired by her daughter Lourdes, may possibly collaborate on a separate project with Ed Hardy (barf) Racked NY

Neiman Marcus turned a $4M profit. Sounds paltry but this time last year they were $509.3M in the hole WSJ

Burberry is suing the TJX Companies (TJ Maxx, Marshalls - based in Framingham) for allegedly selling counterfeits and "other infringing products" WWD

Giancarlo Giametti, Valentino's life/business partner, wasn't so happy about the recent Valentino couture collection and FBed about it, now retracts by saying something along the lines of fashion is like parenting The Cut

So there's been some drama about the Haul Vlogging craze, which is too complicated to explain since there's all sorts of pop-feminism being thrown around, but here's a very well-thought and concise explanation of what the hell is going on Threadbared

Old Spice gets a makeover LA Times

Super cool - pieces from new wave musician Aimee Mann's designer wardrobe up for sale at Vagabond Vagabond NYC

Gisele has a blog. It's in Portuguese Gisele Bundchen

Debbie Harry is going to be the new Chuck Taylor Contactmusic

Jason Wu finally gets to meet Michelle Obama as she donates her inaugural dress to The Smithsonian The Cut

Givenchy screwed some models with exclusives to walk their show, then cut the girls the night before Page 6

Insight on fashion's attraction to young fashion bloggers Business of Fashion

Prepare Yourself (And Your Bank Account)

Stilisti Salon on Newbury Street is hosting a "sample sale" on Tuesday, March 23rd from 5 to 8pm. It's not what you think, I promise it's not hair products. The sale is offering up the most covetable brands, some of which you can't find around town anymore at 50 to 75% off their original prices. It's womenswear only, but we hear that there will also be some men's denim available as well. Get there early because it's going to get crazy pretty fast. You MUST RSVP, which you can do by emailing info@stilistiboston.com.

Tuesday, March 23rd 5pm to 8pm 

Stilisti Salon 138 Newbury Street, 2nd Floor, Back Bay 617.262.2234

Daily D's

McQueen's final fifteen Racked

Did French Vogue get blacklisted from Balenciaga because Carine let Max Mara (a consulting client) knock off a sample coat from Balenciaga? Or, as one commenter mentions, because Marie Amelie Sauve, a Ghesquiere bestie and stylist for the house, was fired from the mag? Fashionista

Kelly Cutrone talks sex toys The Frisky

Lohan can't discuss her departure at Ungaro because "there's legal things going on" WWD

An interview with Tim Blanks (anyone remember Fashion File? Swoon) Vice

The designers of Aquascutum, who gave their resignation last week, will be taking over for Brian Atwood at Bally FWD

A Gap in Vancouver literally flips for it's new "Sprize" customer loyalty program (which is basically just price adjustments) Design Fetish

Lagerfeld, commander of the French Legion of Honor WWD

Crossbody Crossover

Is there anyone out there who isn't completely in love with Alexander Wang? I haven't met many people who have been able to say that they honestly dislike fashion's new favorite wunderkind; his price points, on the other hand, have enemies all their own. As I was perusing Target this weekend (because I thought JPG hit stores Friday, silly me), I came across this bag...

I was initially drawn to this particular Converse Crossbody Bag ($19.99) because of its color, but soon decided I loved the slouchy shape as well. It didn't take me long to realize I was attracted to it because it reminded me of the Alexander Wang Brenda Zip Chain bags ($725) I have been seeing everywhere (shown below). These bags are definitely not dead ringers for each other (different straps and zippers most obviously), but with a $700 difference in price, I'd take the Converse bag in a heartbeat. Sorry AWang.

[image 1] [image 2]