StyleWhipped

Fancy Meeting You Here...

Because I work from home (right now I'm watching my shih tzu sleep, worn out from a draining walk in the rain...), I tend to have a lot of meetings where "coffee" or "drinks" are invovled. Now, I don't drink coffee (I'm a tea girl) and I'm kind of cooked after two glasses of champagne (I'm also a very little girl!). So for me, it's always all about the ambiance of a place...and whether I think I'll feel comfortable enough to have a great meeting. I also live in Tribeca, so most of my world is below Houston Street (not even 14th!). So if I'm going to head all the way uptown to meet someone, it better be at a fun, fabulous, and maybe a little bit "fancy" of a spot...

So what are some of my favorite haunts? Ones that aren't too busy, that will let you linger for two hours over two glasses of iced tea, and that have food available in case your meeting runs long (and you've lingered over a few martinis!).  Often that means hotel lobby bars, but certain types of restaurants also do the trick. Downtown by me, the Tribeca Grand Hotel is my favorite, hands down. In fact, I have a meeting there tomorrow evening. A little further uptown in Soho? Like it's sister hotel in Tribeca, the Soho Grand Hotel provides the same level of sophistication and that European, stay-as-long-as-you-like feeling (and they are both dog friendly!).

If you're going to be in Chelsea, I have always liked The Park (its "scene" long over, the multiple choices of atmosphere are great for meeting new clients). Want to be super casual? The Chelsea Market and all its quirky little spots is a quick walk from two popular spots for events - The Altman Building and Metropolitan Pavilion.

Further uptown? During Fashion Week I stopped at the Bryant Park Hotel and The Morgan's Hotel much too often...! But seriously, both have fantastic lounges central to so much happening in midtown. And if you find yourself even further uptown on the west side of the city, the Lobby Lounge (really on the 35th floor) of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel is just adjacent to Columbus Circle. On the east side? Why not suggest something a little different and hold court in the upstairs lounge at famed Vietnamese restaurant Le Colonial? You can't beat the Saigon-meets-Paris feeling and the little appetizers are phenomenal.

No matter what part of the city you're in, please stop meeting everyone at Starbucks. Coffee is probably more expensive there than at a fab hotel bar, and no one is impressed with having to fight for a table and use those less-than-appealing restrooms. However, if you are going somewhere on the swankier side, don't forget to call and reserve a table because having to wait can kill a deal faster than you can say "great to meet you"...

~ Alison

Searching for a little stimulation

I've come to the realization that I've hit a wall. In December, I became aware that I was writing less and less. I told myself that it was the holidays and with the various parties, visits to family, frantic retail clients--I just didn't have the time but would pick back up in the new year. New Years day has come and gone, and still...nothing. How can that be? I love fashion, I love shopping, I love analyzing everything retailers are doing- old, new, good, bad. I've been working in the industry for years and can normally talk about this stuff for days. So why the block?

I didn't really understand until I was in a cab going through SoHo up West Broadway. The redundant visual presented the harsh truth. All of my favorite stores have shut down and had been replaced with a retail giant called "SALE". You know this store. Their branding is old and strong. They always use a big, bold font, their signature color is red, and they almost always use all caps. It all happened quickly, in the blink of an eye. One day you could do a 360-degree turn in any neighborhood, in any city or town, and realize that "SALE" has completely taken over with big signs in every window announcing it's presence. I'd become uninspired and disengaged because every store and every experience had become the same.

What happened? I know retailers are hurting and I understand the need to get through inventory and increase revenues. But why is everyone doing it at the expense of their branding and brand experience? Sure, when I was doing my holiday shopping I took advantage of price breaks and I liked it. But now...it's all a haze and frankly I'm bored. At this point, if I need something I'm just going online and seeing where I can get it the cheapest. And lately trying to get excited and inspired enough about something to write about it feels an awful lot like when teachers try to convince us that "math is fun!". Don't get me wrong, there are still things out there that I love (I do still have a pulse!), but I've got to work a little too hard to find them. So here's the scary part--if a super-consumer like me feels neglected, unstimulated and unmotivated, what's the average consumer feeling...and how are they going to react?

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. With the total takeover of "SALE" everyone is pretty much on a level playing field. This is the perfect time for brands and retailers to start standing out and differentiating themselves. This is the perfect time to be the hero and to be the one to bring the fun and adrenalin back into shopping. Pull yourself out of whatever force of desperation has been pulling you into doing what everyone else is doing, and remember why you got into this game in the first place and what your customers really want. Branding, business values and mission statements are not meant to change with the environment, they should be guiding you when the environment changes. I remain optimistic that we'll start seeing a change for the good in the new year. I just hope that it comes sooner than later.

- Cindy

Embrace the sale

I had every intention of writing a piece about how designers need to start thinking about sample sales as an extension of their brand. Meaning, customers should expect to experience the same look and feel there as they would in a dedicated store or space. It shouldn't matter that the space is temporary, the fixtures are limited, and the product is marked at 30-80% off. Sitting here at my desk with my marketing hat on...yes, this makes sense. But as I started writing, I began to hear the alarm of my trusty BS meter go off.

My goal in life is to make the world a better place to shop. Commerce is a reality of daily life and retail is a service industry. I just simply don't believe that the market should be packed in with people who have no interest in providing good customer experiences. But some of my favorite shopping moments have been at sample sales. The crowds of people, the gracelessly heaped piles of stuff, the chaos and disorder...I kind of love it. When else is it ok to run around with 10 bags looped through your arms, or with jewelry trays piled high with loot? I've decided that it's ok for sample sales to get down and dirty because people are simply in a different frame of mind and have a totally different set of expectations. You see the same women who intimidate you in chic boutiques and fancy restaurants turn into animals. At a sample sale, everyone is equal. The woman with the designer bag gets the same exact experience as the girl with the H&M bag, and it's great!

That said, there are ways to embrace the nature of a sample sale while making it a little more pleasant and stamping your own signature on it all. Make sure your staff is prepared to handle the task at hand. Make sure there are enough people there to get inventory out on the floor, to answer any questions, and to keep the flow of traffic moving smoothly in and out. Leave the attitude at home. It's amazing how a friendly staff member can calm frenzied and overwhelmed customers (Thank You Rebecca Minkoff support!). Don't forget that sample sales are often a new customer's entry-point to your brand. A good deal will keep her satisfied, but a good deal with great service will keep her coming back.

- Cindy

New Store Review: Maryam Nassir Zadeh

Earlier today, after a fantastic warm-you-up lunch at Schiller's Liquor Bar, Serge Van Lian (StyleWhipped's resident interior designer & columnist) and I visited an amazing new store on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Owned by LA-transplant (and Serge's good friend) Maryam Nassirzadeh and her fiance, Uday Kak, this is more a lifestyle experience than your average shopping destination. Maryam is a RISD- and Parsons-trained designer, and before opening this store had a successful eponymous line and worked as a designer at 12th Street by Cynthia Vincent.

In a white-brick-walled open space on the corner of Rivington & Norfolk, Maryam Nassir Zadeh (the store's name is a slight variation on her given name), customers immediately feel as if they've stepped into someone's fabulous downtown loft...with a definite ethnic, foreign twist. Maryam herself is Iranian, and much of the wares in the boutique are from all over the globe.  An entirely glass store-front leads to minimalist but warm displays of clothing, jewelry, shoes, vintage pieces, bags, belts... even textiles, art and plants.  Silk dresses from Vena Cava hang on bold iron racks next to delicate glass necklace carefully displayed on low wood tables. Over-the-top crystal-embellished cuffs from Erickson Beamon are nestled in cubicles across the room from tiny hand-made baby booties.

A tightly edited collection of vintage shoes, bags and clothing rounds out what Maryam and her fiance refer to as "a space beyond trend [and] a timeless environment." With their extremely personal aesthetic at work here, they have definitely acheived that goal...we could have easily been in another era, in another city...or right here in New York in 2008.  With prices that range from $80 for a hand-blown glass ring to thousands for designer pieces, there is something for everyone to enjoy, appreciate or admire at Maryam Nassir Zadeh.  Visit the welcoming, lovely Maryam and her beautiful space at 123 Norfolk at Rivington or online at www.maryamnassirzadeh.com.

~ Alison

           

Quiet before the frenzy

 Black Friday events and promotions are already starting, even before my turkey has even gone into the oven! This weekend is going to be a shopping frenzy like no other. Despite the fact that retailers are already promoting 30-70% off, people are waiting for this weekend to get an extra 20% on top of those sale prices and, hey, a free gift would be really cool too. Times are tough and budgets are tight. Even more reason why we must resist losing our minds and getting caught up in the swarm -- or the next thing you know, you'll have an armload of cashmere sweaters that were really good deals but no one wants to wear.

So instead of getting carried away by the power of the sale this year, I've  vowed to be more thoughtful and strategic with my holiday shopping. Instead of getting everyone a bunch of bargain throwaways, I'll get fewer gifts that are a little more special. One online shopping destination that I recently found and love is Unsung Emerging Designers. An 'online clothing boutique featuring emerging, indie designers from all over the world', they offer clothing and accessories for women (with some mens stuff as well) that can be custom tailored, one of a kind, and won't be found at your local mall. So avoid the crowds, be a holiday gifting hero, and support our indie designers!  Happy Thanksgiving!

- Cindy 

 

Sales Sales Everywhere...

With just about every retailer in panic mode, we have more sales, shopping events, and promotional offers than we know what to do with. As customers, our challenges include finding the best possible deals available, and staying focused on spending on the things we really like and not the stuff that we're only buying because it's cheap. My secret weapon? Shop It To Me. Promoted as 'your free personal online shopper', Shop It To Me's user-friendly process has you select your favorite brands (537 to choose from!) and your sizes, and will automatically send you regular emails (you decide if you want them daily, weekly or semi-weekly) telling you when your favorite brands are on sale and have your sizes available. You can even edit your settings to include a maximum price and minimum discount on your results. They organize your email content by retailer, and will also let you know if there's a free shipping or other promotional offer code available. At a time when stores are doing everything they can to drive more traffic in, but also streamlining staff...this service definitely alleviates some of the stress and frustrations from holiday shopping.

- Cindy

(sample email)

Guest Writer Danielle Rodman: "YOUR BEST FACE" is my new best friend!

I am a total product junkie.  So when Alison asked me to review a new skincare line called "Your Best Face" I couldn't have said YES faster!  I tried four products for one week, and I really loved them all.  Two of the products I would absolutely buy again because they are specific to my skin needs.  I only wish there were more than four products in the line, and am anxious to see what their expansion will include!

"Defend" is a YBF product for anyone that has oily or combination skin. It absorbs any excess oil you have and also has anti-aging properties & protects your skin from UV damage. I don't have oily skin, but my boyfriend (who is very "anti-product" unless it's his usual Cetaphil Cleanser!) snatched this from me and has been using it ever since.  For him to use a product like this is a BIG deal...so it must be wonderful and really do the trick!

"Correct" is my favorite product in the line. It's a rich eye cream for control/correction as well as getting rid of those dark circles under your eyes. I have used all the best eye creams on the market and am totally hooked on this one. I actually even gave away my tube of Dermotologica that I was using because I love "Correct" so much!  My eyes actually feel tighter as soon as I put it on, and it is by far the best product from YBF.

"Control" is a wrinkle management cream which is also great for hydration and reversing sun damage. I did use this product all week, and although I don't have many wrinkles yet, it did feel wonderful to put on and light enough to use morning and night.

"Restore" was my second favorite product. It's a fantastic skin brightener that really evens out your skintone and manages to easily hydrate your face without being too thick for daytime use.

You can check out all four products, ingredient information, and retail prices at www.ybf-skincare.com. Now I just hope they come out with a cleanser and I'll be all set!

-- Danielle Rodman

Authenticity and Service as a part of your culture

Three of my favorite places to shop are Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, and any Shu Uemura counter (now that the store in SoHo is gone. *sigh*). Why? It's not because every trip has been a home run, it's not because I've personally had anything to do with their shopping experiences, and it's certainly not because of their every day "affordability". It's simply because they provide excellent service that is sincere and authentic.
                                                                                                

Service is something we think about often (usually when we're not getting it), but how does authenticity translate into a brand experience? Quick example- a good friend of mine visited a very posh and celebrated hotel recently. The service was prompt and attentive, but every response was so polished, so automatic, so mindless! He quickly got tired of hearing that his room was the bellman's "favorite", and that the wine he chose with dinner was his waiter's "favorite". Everything was so scripted and robotic, that it became a huge turn-off. That initial warm and fuzzy feeling left him as soon as he realized that it didn't matter if he ordered a Bud Light, it was going to be the bartender's "favorite".

 

It was over 10 years ago when I was first interviewing in NYC. It was my first trip into the city alone, my first ride on the 6 train alone, and I had a half hour before my interview with a headhunter in the General Motors building on 5th Avenue at 59th Street. I was anxious, and that anxiety only grew when it started to pour. Not knowing where to go, I ran across the street to take refuge in the nearest store. The sympathetic saleswoman behind the counter took one look at my pathetic self, kindly told me to "just wait one moment", and came back with paper towels and an umbrella that happened to be on sale. It was a few years before my next purchase at Bergdorf Goodman (and even at that point I could still barely afford it!), but that rainy day left an indelible impression on me. I had a similar experience of outstanding service during a crazy holiday shopping trip at Saks Fifth Avenue when I noticed an executive inviting an elderly woman to make a local call from her office (the pay phones in the lounge weren't working), and another experience somewhat recently when a Shu Uemura makeup artist created a wedding look for me using products that I already had (some of them NOT from Shu Uemura).  The woman at Bergdorfs did not have to go out of her way to help a young woman who clearly wasn't there to shop, the executive at Saks did not have to interrupt her busy day (without being asked) and volunteer the use of her office to a woman who was not going to make or break her holiday sales goals, and the makeup artist could have easily convinced me that I needed to buy new Shu Uemura products for my bridal look. These are the experiences and stories that cultivate loyalty and lifetime customers. These are the experiences that motivate me to send all of my friends their way.

                                                 

So please, do yourself a favor and make service and authenticity a part of your culture. Empower your employees to make on-the-spot decisions and to take action based on their best judgment. Train them and teach them how to maintain the integrity of your brand while speaking in their own voice. It's not something that's going to cost you an arm and a leg, and I promise your customers will thank you for it.         

- Cindy                                  

Makeover: Beauty and Attitude

Many women know that a bridal shower can be as excruciating as a whoreable bridesmaid dress. The best you can hope for is that it's short, the cookies are good, and that the bride-to-be gets a bunch of good loot. This is why I was so surprised when I had a GREAT time at the bridal shower of my dear friend, Jennifer, this past weekend. Adding to my amazement was the fact that this all took place at Henri Bendel, a department store that I used to avoid and always had to be dragged to. 

I never understood the allure of Bendels. I've heard women rave about it and I just didn't get it. I would walk into the ground floor, get attacked by well-meaning makeup counter reps, and be so exhausted and out of patience by the time I got to the end of the ground floor, that I would turn around and walk back out the door. Man, was I missing out! The shower started out with a light lunch and delectable little brownie bites in the somewhat new (opened May 2007) Chocolate Bar cafe. Following our lunch, Bendel's stylist April Lang gave a fun presentation on how to pack with useful tips for a honeymooning bride, then took us for a tour around the entire department store. Having never made it past the second floor before, my eyes were finally opened to the bounty of Bendels, and I was a kid in a candy store. The end destination for each guest was in a makeup artist chair at one of the many beauty brands at the store. I was lucky enough to have landed in Tiffany Bednash's chair at Mally Beauty where I got an amazing makeover (more on Mally in today's Daily Devotion).      

The final part of the shower was my favorite part of the day (ok, maybe a close second to the brownies at the Chocolate Bar cafe). Instead of bringing gifts to the shower, each of the guests purchased a $25 gift card at Bendels to spend on the bride-to-be while we were there. This had everyone running around from the hair accessories section, to the jewelry department, to the fantastic book section on the third floor, to the sale section in the basement (did we know that Bendels had a sale section???). Ok, so there aren't a lot of things for $25 there, but we got creative and branched out into groups and combined gift cards. At the end of the day, Jennifer ended up with stuff that she really loved- a fab giant cocktail ring, style book, makeup, a gorgeous feather headband, etc.

Maybe the success of the day was due to the event being organized by fantastic and creative friends (thanks Jin and Nora!), maybe it was due to the attentive and friendly service from everyone working at Henri Bendel, and maybe there was a little extra ingredient in those spicy brownies (kidding!). But I've definitely learned my lesson in not judging a store without really experiencing all it has to offer, as well as learning how great an experience can be when partnering the right place with the right people for the right reason. All I can say is that I can't wait to go to Henri Bendel again. In the meantime I'll dream of having Mariah money and fashioning my future, 2-level "closet" into a mini-Bendels...   

- Cindy

Takashima-eh

I'm a little embarrassed to admit this...I've only recently been to Takashimaya for the first time. I've worked with luxury and prestige brands in New York City for years, and have only just stepped through the front door of the legendary department store. I think the fact that it is legendary is the very reason it took me so long. I was saving this trip as a special treat for a rainy day, and that rainy day finally came.

I went to Takashimaya with a good friend and frequent shopping companion, and we were totally prepared to be blown away by luxury at a whole new level. The baby stuff was adorable and there were several stunning pieces of statement jewelry on the womens floor, but overall we were...bored! There was no feeling of newness or excitement. I really wanted to love it there. I wanted to leave with a mental list of exotic things I wanted to buy when I won the lottery.

Throughout the rest of that day, I kept thinking about who their target customer is. The staff was polite and helpful, the store was comfortable to navigate through, the clothes and accessories were all very high-quality (in safe, neutral shades) and carefully selected. It's perfect for the older, well-to-do tourist and expat crowd. The only problem with catering to this crowd is that they may only visit you once in their lifetime. I can see why people talk about this place. It does feel special and different. But it embraces a kind of old-school luxury that feels a bit cold and inaccessible. Walking through there was very much like walking through a museum. You just didn't want to pick anything up, let alone buy or try.

Today's luxury consumer comes in all shapes and sizes, and they expect shopping experiences to cater to their needs and their lifestyles. Brands and retailers are challenged with addressing their quickly evolving audience, while holding on to their brand integrity. It's not an easy task, but the effort simply needs to be seen. Otherwise you risk the chance of looking old, outdated, and out of touch. I really wish the best for Takashimaya. They have something very special to offer, but need to find a way to better engage customers. Until then, I may not be shopping there, but I will go back to enjoy a lovely pot of tea in their Tea Box Cafe.

- Cindy