Never one to let a perfectly good (made up) holiday pass me by, I will happily wear stripes on National Stripes Day (not that anyone needs a reason to wear stripes), because stripes are all-purpose and always in vogue.
Les Wexner, chairman/CEO of L Brands (admittedly not exactly a bright spot in retail), famously said that, "when a retailer doesn't do well, I'd say ... well, it's traffic, it's the environment, it's the Internet, it's catalogues, it's Walmart ... I mean, there are always reasons. And generally it's the merchandise, stupid." (Again, I love this quote and plan to explore it in more depth in the future.) I think UO's recent performance (or more specifically, Free People's) speaks to how fundamental the concept of "merchandise first" is. Without attractive and covetable merchandise, there's a limited path for growth.
A current closet favorite is this Free People jumpsuit that I picked up some weeks ago during an extra 40% off sale (sizes have become limited online). It is a particularly demanding item to wear (I somehow found the will to fasten all the covered buttons on the day these photos were taken, but I doubt I'll ever wear it this way again), even for a jumpsuit, but I love everything about it, from the floaty fabric, to the pretty floral print, to the (maddening) covered buttons.
Speaking of fleece-lined tights, I hope all of you near me in latitude and continentality (or north of me; *shiver*) picked up dozens of those UO ones that I kept pushing on you over the years. I now have some 50 unopened pairs just sitting in my closet waiting to be called to duty.
One category of apparel I start to order in bulk when it gets cold is coats. Today I want to share some photos and my thoughts on J. Crew's Perfect Winter Parka, which is a stylish yet functional option. It will not replace that full-length down-filled puffer for especially biting winter days (if it's below 20°F, you will need stronger defenses), but should be adequate, with its sherpa-lined hood, water-resistant insulation, and quilted inner layer, for most winters, when equipped with the right base layers (like pieces from Uniqlo's HEATTECH collection).
I "borrowed" (with little intention to return) from my mom this Alice + Olivia Andreas Mid-Length Collarless Tweed Jacket w/ Pearlescent Trim, which is still available in smaller sizes on the Neiman Marcus website (also sold here, here, here, and here). It reminds me of the Marc Jacobs Scalloped Tweed Jacket that I own and love to bits, but is less juvenile and more versatile. For those around my size, the XS was ~ a size big on me but I think a more relaxed fit actually lends the style to be styled more casually.
As someone who has bought into the retail apocalypse narrative/hysteria, I was skeptical. Clearly it was not going to obtain favorable financing terms considering today's retail environment nor find many banks willing to support its efforts, and even if some intrepid private equity firm does step in to provide equity financing, the lesson that J. Crew/Toys "R" Us/Neiman Marcus/Payless has taught us is that, loading your company with debt--the projected amount would have been around 7-10 billion dollars for Nordstrom--in order to take it private may be no different from breaking all of your limbs in order to escape some restraint, only to starve to death because you become trapped in a different sense (apologies for the gory analogy, but you get the idea).
For months, I waited with anticipation for the story to further unfold, but the Nordstrom family announced in mid-October that it would temporarily shelf its plans to take the company private and will resume its efforts after the holiday season, when it may be better positioned to negotiate sweeter deals. In the meantime, it will continue to navigate these murky retail waters (opening showrooms! Expanding into Canada!!) and cross its fingers for catastrophic Amazon server failures.
(I've been spending a lot of money at Nordstrom, which is what inspired this tangent about its activities. One of my recent, more ambivalent purchases is the Pleione Tie Sleeve Sweatshirt pictured in this post: I really like the concept, but the sweatshirt material has proven unexpectedly difficult to style. It quickly went on sale (40% off) in all colors, and sold out seemingly overnight, but popbacks are frequent so definitely bookmark the page if you are interested.)
