Shoes, Glorious Shoes

by Mary Lou Quinlan
Published November 11, 2009 in Fashion

In a recent piece in the New York Times, Stephanie Rosenbloom found a bright spot in a still slowly moving retail scene: the picked pace of shoe buying. It seems that women who’ve managed to skip buying dresses and handbags have detoured to the shoe department. Two reasons mentioned which we’d lay money on: Shoes fit no matter what size dress you wear, so they are the one treat that doesn’t make you feel guilty for eating that extra chocolate. And the changing fashions of this year have given a kick to boot sales, creating the need for a ‘boot wardrobe.’(I am guilty of bootie buying myself.)

The Ego Protection Half Truth of this shoe shopping is that it’s a cheap way to update last year’s outfit without the rub-off of the show-off problem of spending irresponsibly. “I just bought shoes this fall to work with my old stuff.” But the Whole Truth is that she knows that women notice shoes, often more than a new sweater and she needs to show that she’s defiantly still kicking. And since most of the purchases aren’t fancy Jimmy Choo’s but DSW and Payless, she can get extra emotional credit with friends by declaring, “But I got them at a buy one, get the second 50% sale.”  She can have her platforms and still keep her feet on the ground.

Tags: Ego Protection, Recession Spending, Shopping, The New York Times

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Facial HALF TRUTHS: Botox Bunnies and Parantheses Lines

by Jen Drexler
Published October 14, 2009 in Fashion

Reading The New York Post on my train ride is sacred.  While I disagree with their politics, I live for their gossip and lifestyle coverage.  Today’s Pulse Section takes the cake.  They outed a tell tale sign of Botox and called them Bunny Lines.  Picture scrunching up your nose like a rabbit and that is what happens when your forehead is too paralyzed to move when you smile.  A plastic surgeon explains that “The muscles on either side of the nose become hyperactive with smiling to overcompensate for the lack of movement in the forehead and around the eyes.”  My other favorite half truth facial phenomenon is the Parantheses smile lines that Juvederm promises to solve. We aren’t even allowed to have a genuine smile.  I’m all about doing the best with what you’ve got (even if what you got is a great plastic surgeon or dermatologist) but I think it is a little creepy to be face to face with someone who looks airbrushed in person.

Tags: Age, Half Truth

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Will ugly shoes save the economy?

by Jen Drexler
Published August 14, 2009 in Fashion, Media

Mary Lou on the subject on NPR

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Just Another Pretty Card

by Jean Crawford
Published July 9, 2009 in Fashion, Retail

Every year I buy myself a birthday gift (or two). I received a coupon neatly packaged in the mail last month from Anthropologie that caught my eye, and I decided this year I would allow myself a modest shopping spree to celebrate. Upon closer inspection of the coupon I read that it was only valid with my Anthropologie card. Did they mean that members card I got 2 ½ years ago in LA? The one that every time I shopped after signing up for it, they said they did not need it at the cash register? The one no one could tell me what it was for? Luckily I’m moving so I just cleaned my apartment head to toe and found it in an old container at the back of my closet. 

Of course I went to Anthropologie the day before the coupon expired and bought a good amount of clothing (at 15% off your entire purchase-who can resist!). I couldn’t help but ask the woman at the register why I had never received any other coupons or member benefits before. “Oh, they had people sign up for the cards but could not figure out for a while what to do with them. But when you signed up we asked for your birthday so this year we sent out coupons.” Seriously? Not a very exciting answer, particularly because she could not confirm that I would receive one next year so I’m left with nothing to look forward to with this hunk of plastic. Unlike the Sephora beauty card that Lily praised a few months ago and I’ve grown to love because I receive a free sample every time I shop, how am I supposed to justify giving away a precious card slot in my wallet for this Anthropologie card that has no promise or incentive?

Are there any cards that make you mad that you have to carry them around with no guarantee of reward, or do they get tossed right after you sign your name on them?

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Bare Escentuals Takes it to the People

by Jen Drexler
Published May 29, 2009 in Fashion

Yesterday’s New York Times (5/28/09) had a full page ad in the Style Section brought to us by the people from Bare Escentuals cosmetics.  Picture a full page of pretty dense text:

The attention grabbing headline “The advertising experts tell us that people don’t read lots of copy.”  In smaller print “I really hope not because this cost us a fortune.”

The ad goes on to talk about how their bareMinerals cosmetics are the bee’s knees (my words not theirs) and that the product is really awesome and used by millions of women.  The tone is very personal and simple and friendly without the over sweetness or over girlfriend tone that is driving me crazy in every other ad from everyone else.  It even takes another good natured jab at advertising executives.  More than anything this ad reminds us that there are real people behind this brand and even ends with an offer to meet the CEO, Leslie Blodgett, for coffee if you are ever in San Francisco conditioned with “I’m not kidding. Call our main office at 415-489-5000. Generally Hilda answers the phone.”

BTW, I couldn’t help myself so I called the number this morning really excited to talk to Hilda and set up time to meet Linda for a latte but alas I got a voicemail system that let me leave a mailbox in the wasteland that is the company’s general mailbox.  Stay tuned to see if my call gets returned. I am dying to know what kind of responses they have received.  Anyone have the inside scoop?

Bravo to Blodgett & Bare Escentuals for taking the risk on this ad. I still  won’t buy the product because Bobbi Brown and I are tough to separate but when I see it in Sephora I will think “hey, that’s my friend Linda’s company” and wish her well.

AN UPDATE: I heard back from Bare Escentuals in record speed and they’ve told me the response to the ad has exceeded their expectations.  They are getting calls from new customers and getting kudos from their loyal fans.  Glad to see the effort is being rewarded.  I’m even going to go check out their product line. I might be cheating on Bobbi before you know it …

AN UPDATED UPDATE: I’m cheating on Bobbi for sure now.  It took a while but I am officially a convert to these products (mostly the face stuff not the eye makeup or lips yet). I wasn’t sure at the beginning because there were a lot of brushes and instructions and it took up a lot of counter real estate but it is pretty great.  My makeup stays on after a cruel and humid NYC day and that is a huge feat.  So this advertising worked for this woman. 

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The Lady or the Spaniel?

by Mary Lou Quinlan
Published February 11, 2009 in Fashion

This morning’s New York Post greeted me at the door with a picture of Bar Refaeli, the new Sports Illustrated cover girl, posing in a teeny, lacy bikini in the cliché’d tug off position. (Isn’t there a new sulky pose in this century?)  

It’s funny that the issue coincides with Valentine’s Day because the swimsuit looks like one of those fantasy lingerie outfits that guys fall for in Vicky’s Secret and women open and blush, “Ooh. Just what I wanted, a see-through teddy with hearts you know where.” Wonder what the return rate is on those? 

Was I just jealous? Or was I channeling the thoughts of women everywhere opening their mailboxes and preparing for the living room ogle-fest? And, was I forgetting how much women love to look at other women, even if it’s born out of secret envy or wishful thinking that they might someday look (a little) like her? 

The SI supermodel picture was followed by another girl splashed all over today’s news. Her name is Stump. She’s a 10 year old Sussex Spaniel and the oldest dog ever to win the Westminster Dog Show. (Funny, as the media often does with women, the age reference gets top billing on anyone over 40, even if it’s dog years.) What’s great about Stump, as a woman’s ‘model’ is that she has a story. She almost died, was a last minute registrant and won despite a gait that even her handler called “plodding.” Despite her squarish shape and her funny walk, she showed that a true champion is an original who defies the odds. 

Given the choice, I vote for the girl with the long hair, the one so bored with celebrity that she napped on the floor during a live morning show. Now that’s confidence that’s beautiful.

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The Inaugural Rorschach Test

by Mary Lou Quinlan
Published January 21, 2009 in Fashion

After yesterday’s incredibly moving, historic inauguration, the talk today was all about the really important stuff, namely, what did we think of what Michelle Obama wore? Emails, blogs, client calls, all converged to debrief on issue number one. Did we like the green/yellow coatdress? Was the fluffy dress too fluffy? And of course, the perennial, nagging question, “Did she look fat in that?” (Note: I think she had a bullet proof vest under the sheath dress, because she’s thinner than that. I’d swap safety for vanity in a heartbeat!)

On one hand, it might seem that women (perhaps men commented, but I bet we outdid them), are shamelessly shallow to bring all this up. After all, Michelle is a leading national figure in her own right—mom, Harvard lawyer, successful professional, community activist and she weathered the challenging two years on the campaign trail with amazing grace.  So, why don’t we keep our wardrobe notes to ourselves?  

I think it’s women’s way of trying to get to know her, to gently poke our way into her psyche, to try to read her from afar to understand what she’s all about. (And, yes, to pick up our own glamour do’s and don’t’s for when we are on the inaugural hot seat.) So we wonder, were the green shoes a bit of informality on a formal day? Was the white dress a nod toward Jackie Kennedy or a connection to her own wedding? Does she care if she elevates the fashion IQ in the White House or is she just living her life as she sees it?

I like to think that our drive-by makeovers are really an inkblot test of our own dreams and insecurities. Michelle is in the national mirror, and we get to watch, even judge and maybe envy. My two cents…she rocked the House.

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Starbucks Assault

by Tracy Chapman
Published October 1, 2008 in Fashion, Retail

For the past two mornings I have stopped into a local Starbucks on my way to an appointment. A treat for me rather than a daily occurrence, I think of this place as a time out from the daily grind.

But while looking at the display case to decide what type of muffin I was in the mood for I felt pressured to quickly place my order as the man behind the counter kept forcefully saying “ma’am, ma’am, next, next.” Mind you it was 7:15 in the morning (by my clock I shouldn’t even be out of bed yet) and there was barely anyone else in the place. Even after I said “hold on” he continued to pressure me to make a decision. What’s the rush I wondered?

This experience makes me think of other rushed moments I have had in food service lately. Take Chipotle and Rickshaw, two restaurants in our neighborhood. Every time I go in there I can feel my stress level rise. The cashiers’ insistence on taking your order as soon as you walk in the door can take away my appetite.

This rush in customer service got me thinking about the economy. As we pay closer attention to where we are spending our money each day will consumers begin to expect even more? Many of us are already feeling vulnerable and unprotected during this economic climate – companies need to make us feel more at ease rather than assaulted on the check out line.

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Dance 3, Looks 10

by Mary Lou Quinlan
Published August 20, 2008 in Fashion

First came the nightly bikini volleyball games. Then, the banned, light up in the dark synchronized swimsuits from Spain. Now, the International Table Tennis Federation is blaming half-empty stands in Beijing on the female players who aren’t wearing outfits skimpy enough to show off their ‘curves.’ Welcome to the Hot Olympics, the games that score ratings based on how hot the female athletes look.

You’d think that if a woman could swim upside down underwater in perfect time wearing immovable red lipstick, that would be enough. But we’ve come to expect that athletes need to look gorgeous and sexy, as well as be strong and powerful, to get us to watch. And unless we are glued to our sets, desktops and mobile tech, sponsors won’t shell out their logos to slap on what’s left of the costumes, excuse me, uniforms.

But though it’s politically correct to call foul over the emerging sports runway, let’s be honest. Women (and men) like to look at women who look great…and it’s been going on a long time.  The Venus sisters’ courtside chic owes a debt to Chrissy Evert’s cute tennis outfits from the 70s. From Dorothy Hamill’s haircut to Flo-Jo’s manicure, we pick up on the nuances of style, even as we gasp at their phenomenal feats on the field, the ice, the mat. And now the hard bodies of Misty May and Kerri Walsh are hard for our overweight, under-worked out society to resist.

The fascination with fashion and beauty isn’t new. It just may be that this year it’s gravitating toward the more sexual and overt styles that we see in every mall and Main Street across the country. Subtle, unfortunately, isn’t enough. Nor is performance. We’re looking for the Perfect 10. Even if we say we’re not.

Tags: Sports

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Falling for Shoes

by Mary Lou Quinlan
Published July 16, 2008 in Fashion

Just Ask a Woman is within walking distance of shoe heaven. We are wedged between well-heeled Soho and Union Square, the foot traffic mecca and home of DSW whose strategic platform conference I recently emceed. (Yes, you’ll be slogging through shoe puns this entire blog!)

We recently completed a project for Naturalizer, where three women divulged that they’d been victims of ‘fashion injuries’.  “Ha Ha,” I laughed.  

Till last Friday.  

That’s when I slipped twice in the same shoes, cut my forehead, and earned myself an emergency dash to a beauty-centered derm, usually a cakewalk in Manhattan but no small feat on a weekend in July.  Five stitches later, my accident became a Rohrschach referendum on me and my shoe IQ. Female friends taught me firsthand (feetfirst?) the marketing Half Truth (Women love to shop for shoes) and Whole Truth (Women secretly despise the shoes they wear most).  

“Were you wearing super high heels?”(do they think I’m an impractical fashion victim?) “Get rid of those old flip-flops!” (am I pegged as a barefoot slob?) “Did you throw those shoes away!?” (and if I didn’t, I’m an idiot, right?) 

Truth be told, the real me isn’t a fashionista or a slouch. The guilty pair were my favorite, super cute Beverly Feldman straw ballet flats with an iridescent green crumpable bow and a teeny leopard-like edging. How could I toss my babies for one small slip?  

Instead I sneaked to the shoemaker (ironically named FIRM Shoe Repair), flashed my nasty stitches and sadly placed the weapons on the counter. Even he wanted to put them out of their misery. “Just one last chance,” I conspired. We say we want comfortable shoes. We do. But when they’re extra cute and loyal, we can’t send them six feet under before their time. (Anyway, if the new rubber soles won’t save them, my bonus DSW $10 certificate is burning a hole in my wallet.)

Tags: Half Truths

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