The Shophound

As A Designer, She's A Great Singer: Beyoncé's Mini-Hoochies

We love Beyoncé. We really do. We think she's a fabulous multi-talented diva who's gorgeous and seems like she might actually be a halfway nice person. We always figured that the whole "House of Deréon" venture was sort of a gift for her stylist mother to keep her busy.
But seriously, what the hell kind of kids' clothes are these?
We all know that little kids love to dress up like grown-ups, and they like to pretend that they have a grown-up job.
It's just that there are some jobs perhaps they shouldn't be encouraged to emulate, like the ones that pay by the hour vs. the whole night.
A good rule of thumb: Nobody should wear high heels until she is at least able to read without moving her (hopefully lipstick-free) lips.
Same thing goes for false eyelashes.
Ads For Beyonce's Children's Line Are Promoting Itty-bitty Hoochie Mama (5 Blogs Before Lunch)

Things Are Looking Questionable at Barneys Again

Things seemed to be going so smoothly at Barneys lately, having completed what appeared to be a seamless transition in ownership with the current executive team intact...until last weekend.
Howard Socol, Barneys' chief executive has mde it clear that he plans to resign not because he is retiring or a better offer has presented itself, but because of what has been reported as sharp disagreement with new owners over the still small chain's business strategy, particularly concerning how overseas expansion would be operated. Apparently, he and Barneys' new owners, Dubai-based Istithmar clash over how to map the company's future to the point where Socol, who helped guide the chain through an embarrassing bankruptcy in during the 1990s, no longer feels able to lead the store.
This of course, leaves the top spot open at a company that has seen more than its fair share of turmoil over the past couple of decades. To it's credit, the retailer's famous cutting edge sensibility has been protected by longtime creative and merchandising executives like Simon Doonan and Julie Gilhart, who have served as the store's public face much more than Socol has. The question is, who will they get to replace Socol who can maintain the store's consistency and work cooperatively with its demanding new owners?
The Chief of Barneys Is Expected to Resign by Michael Barbaro and Eric Wilson (NYTimes)

The Weekend Spree

• Bloomingdale's saves a forest. They discontinue the catalog to focus on e-commerce growth. (DNR)
• Will Vera Wang's SoHo boutique ever open. Or even begin construction? (RACKED)
• Sometimes the littlest things make us excited. Introducing transparent Post-its. (Cool Hunting)
• It's official. Boat shoes are totally happening. Viva La Top-Sider! (Fashionista)
• Bashing the Bowery with Blondie's co-founder and guitarist, Chris Stein. (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)
• Between the Nina Garcia drama and the Project Runway drama, Elle is in a pickle. (The Cut)
• What's selling this season at OAK? (We are the Market)
• Time Wasting par excellence!:  Surveying eyebrow fashion over the years. (ABC)
• Oh, the perils of the plunging neckline at work. (Wall Street Journal)

Adding Insult To Injury: Hog Pit Barbecue To Be Replaced With Cheap Shoes

Watching a neighborhood change in Manhattan is an exercise in disappointment these days.
The Meatpacking District is about to lose two of its popular restaurants, Florent, about which we have written a great deal recently, and The Hog Pit. The popular barbecue joint will be turned into a Steve by Steve Madden shoe store come January when it is due to be displaced, predictably, by a rent hike.
There is a Steve store not far away on Bleecker Street, so it is a little surprising that Madden would choose to open another so nearby, but clearly the strategy is to burnish the image of a lower end product by placing it in a fashionable location. So far, The Meatpacking district has been moving upscale with designer stores, but could this development start an influx of more moderate chain stores? Hot Topic coming next?
WWD broke the news this morning in a brief article about the neighborhood, and suggested that it may be changing so fast that the elements that made appealing in the first place are being erased.
Well, we knew that. "What is the tipping point of a gentrifying neighborhood?" Sharon Edelson asks. "The answer depends on whom you talk to."
Breathless real estate executives are thrilled at the potential of the neighborhood, dismissing the beloved Florent as "history" and looking to the High Line Park renovation to bloat rents even further, naming the usual suspects, Bloomingdale's, Barneys and Ralph Lauren as furiously searching for space in the area. Polo spokespeople have now emphatically denied that they are interested in the area at all, which tells you how much to trust real estate executives. While The Hog Pit is not quite the institution that Florent is, at least it adds another dimension to the mix in the area, while Steve will add...another one of his cheap shoe stores.
Meatpacking District in Flux by Sharon Edelson (WWD)

It's Rogan Day

Sometimes we have to wonder how it is that Rogan Gregory won the big CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund prize for emerging designers? After all, if he has the wherewithal to orchestrate the opening of his second Manhattan boutique and a special preview at Barney's Co-op of his Target collaboration all on the same weekend, how could be possibly need cash prizes and mentoring? He seems to have things well in hand.
Much has been made lately of the cooperation between Barneys and Target for this preview, but it's notreally that surprising, and nobody seems to remember that last year, a similar event took place at Opening Ceremony for the Proenza Schouler/Target collection. Barneys is a natural choice because they have been Rogan's biggest supporter since his label started. Today, Co-op customers were not remotely dismayed by the $15 to $45 price tags on the capsule collection. The dreary weather may have kept it from being a stand in line and wait for insanity event like the Kate Moss/Topshop launch, and the Co-op was busy but not chaotic this morning at 10:45 AM, with shoppers loading their arms despite a three-item limit (which may or may not have been enforced). It appeared that customers were also receiving special Barneys/Target canvas totes with their purchases. Considering that the line will be available at Target stores all over America in a few days, it would have been silly to find a feeding frenzy at Barneys. As for the collection, the less expensive fabrics adapted well to Rogan's stripped down aesthetic, and look well constructed for the lower prices. Barneys Co-op customers will totally get it, but we wonder if it might be too subtle or minimal for the real Target crowd?
After Barneys, we shot dowtown to the new Rogan boutique that opened yeterday at the Bowery and Bond Street. By now, with the Bowery's gentrification in full swing, complaining about  it is utterly beside the point. In typically stealthy mode, Rogan has done his best to obscure his shop from the street, using the subtlest of signage. He has replaced the 'r's in the 'Bouwerie Lane Theatre' sign that remains on the building with his own blocky stencil script, making the store, like his Tribeca shop, pretty easy to miss. The interior is painted totally black with dramatic spotlighting which makes the store look closed from outside. Once inside, the theatrical lighting is striking, particularly on a gloomy day, but often makes it hard to examine the goods with spotlights glaring in your face at odd angles and much of the store in dark shadow. In the back, there is an elevated loft, which when we visited, held three employees who seemed to be folding things in utter darkness, which just seemed creepy.
As for the goods, Rogan has expanded beyond his signature denim, into more refined dresses, blouses with more tailored jackets and trousers for men in addition to printed tee shirts and jeans, all still in a minimal black, white and gray palette.
The store has an alluring, mysterious atmosphere, but if you're looking to do serious shopping, bring a flashlight.
Rogan for Target Go International at Barneys Co-op Madison Avenue only through May 11
Rogan Bowery, 330 Bowery at Bond Street, East Village

Our Last Post On SUPERHEROES At The Costume Institute

Now that all the news about the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Ball has been thoroughly exhausted, perhaps it's time to see the actual exhibition related to the hoopla.
Superheroes: Fashion And Fantasy is kind if a big summer movie of a museum show in no small part because so many of the clothes in the show actually come from summer movies.
It is perhaps not the most scholarly of the Costume Institute's exhibitions. Compare it to the extensive and impressive Gustave Courbet exhibition upstairs with its novel's worth of accompanying text, and it looks ever more lightweight, but no less entertaining.
The movie costumes include two Spider-Men (classic and Symbiote black), Michelle Pfeiffer's shiny, sutured Catwoman, an Iron Man, Christopher Reeve's Superman and Clark Kent outfits, an armored Batman from next month's The Dark Knight, one of Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman bustier bodysuits which has sadly faded to red, gold and purple and, possibly the most fascinating, Rebecca Romijn's Mystique "costume" from the X-Men films which consists of body paint and a few strategically placed appliqués of textured latex, confirming that she was almost entirely naked throughout the three movies (which somehow managed to be rated PG-13).
The rest of the show is comprised mostly from dramatic runway pieces that were supposed to be "inspired" by superhero garb, though Giorgio Armani, for example, has admitted that he had not a single thought in his head of Spider-Man when he created the cobweb dress that sits next to the wall-crawler in the "Graphic Body" section of the show. Many of the comparisons are more coincidental than deliberate, though John Galliano's Wonder Woman and Catwoman inspired outfits for Dior are clearly derived from comics, or at least the movies and TV.
Real comics fans probably won't find the show too satisfying, and if you think that comics geeks aren't into fashion, think again. Many are known to have encyclopedic knowledge of the various iterations of their favorite heroes' costumes over time. They will easily notice that the two famous Thierry Mugler cyber-babe costumes reflect the look of DC Comics' Cyborg character much more than the Iron Man costume they are associated with in the show. Aside from identifying the creators of the famous characters shown in the exhibition (which after countless lawsuits with Marvel and DC Comics is practically mandated by law) little mention is made of the artists who have designed and redesigned various superheroes' looks over the decades. In fact, a survey purely of Superhero design over the years might not be a bad idea itself.

Even More Jewels In Store For Madison

More then ever, Madison Avenue is simply becoming a great big jewelry mall.
So far, the current economic uncertainty has not discouraged the precious jewelers of the world to add a branch amongst some of most expensive real estate on the eastern seaboard. Presumably they don't think their clienèle will be affected, though signs are point otherwise.
Still, among the undiscouraged are Stephen Russell, who is in the midst of moving to a much larger store on the corner of Madison and 76^th, and celebrated French jeweler Mauboussin.
The Place Vendôme institution dates from 1827, and will be making its American retail debut in the space that once hosted the second version of Shanghai Tang. It is located a door away from the future location of a great big Graff store on the corner of 63^rd and Madison. Half a block away, giant pictures of Catherine Zeta-Jones herald the impending arrival of a new Di Modolo shop.
Taken together, the proliferation of these stores is a little mind-boggling. We certainly know that there's always plenty of rich folks around Manhattan coming from somewhere, but all those jewels lined up in shops that are practically side by side at this point does make one wonder, even in New York, exactly who is buying all this stuff?

Sample Sale Reports: John Varvatos & Adam by Adam Lippes

In this morning's Thurday Styles, Mike Albo gives us the umpteenth review of the new John Varvatos store inhabiting the former CBGB's space on the Bowery. The crux of the article was that poor Mike was, literally, poor Mike and not in the position to make any purchases on the day he visited the store.
We certainly hope Mike is savvy enough to know that the big John Varvatos Sample Sale started today, which should solve his problem, and includes every label bearing the designer's name including his main collection, as well as the more casual one known as ★ U.S.A., and the line he makes for Converse.
Here's the good news, and there's lots of it:
Changes have been made from seasons past, and the sale has moved from its usual location in a storefront on lower Fifth Avenue to a much more spacious Flatiron district loft, complete with the poky freight elevator ride to the ninth floor. This is how we like it, with no curious passersby from the sidewalk getting in our way.
At noontime, things were exceedingly well organized, with small office rooms devoted to accessories or sweaters or dress shirts, each attended by a helpful staffer who may or may not have been regular Varvatos employees. Actual production and runway samples were sequestered in their own room with their own, lower price structure so as not to mix in with the regular stock that made up most of the merchandise. Prices appeared to be just a it below wholesale, and shoppers were given an extensive price list upon entry, an unusual but welcome touch that even included a sizing guide. For example, suits in the main line were $495, down from a retail of around $1,300 or more. Varvartos' tags usually have an MSRP printed, making it easy to gauge savings. There was a general abundance of goods, especially men's shoes, and the entire back section of the room was piled with carefully organized boxed. Shoes went for $100, and boots for $200, very good prices for one of the designer's most popular categories. Overall, it's well worth going out of your way if you're a guy. Women's was limited to a small selection of Converse items, and there was little crowd allowing for peaceful shopping.
Here's the bad news:
There's not much bad, but if you need a suit, the pickings are slim. Also, one of the drawbacks is that the designer's style is so consistent that if one is not intimately familiar with the latest collection, it's often hard to tell exactly how current the merchandise is.
John Varvatos Sample & Stock Sale through Saturday May 10, 26 West 17th Street, Freight Elevator to 9th Floor, Flatiron District

After the jump: Adam by Adam Lippes

Mid-Week SuperSpree

• Barneys & Target pair off in a mutually beneficial promotional partnership. (WWD)
• The Staff International Sample Sale is getting ugly. (RACKED)
• A Q&A with CFDA Award nominee Thom Browne. (Chic Report)
• For the sneaker obsessed: An Interview with Scott Patt, Creative Director of Converse. (Cool Hunting)
• Do not mess with the three stripes! Adidas wins over $300 million from Payless in a trademark suit. (WWD)
• The Heatherette team has not broken up, but that doesn't mean they are actually still in business. We are betting that we have seen our last runway extravaganza from the duo. (Fashionista)
• A preview of Raf Simons' tweedy Fall bags for Eastpak. Where can we get these?! (Haute Concept)
• Is Microsoft really considering opening its first store in Brooklyn? Before Manhattan? In Fort Greene? For $2 million a year? For Brooklyn? (Gothamist)
• File it under unexpectedly striking: Craig Arnold’s cuffs made from recycled camera lenses. (Chic Report)
• Fashion media is abuzz over perennial Press Punching Bag Anna Wintour's highly amusing, custom designed, futuristic Chanel Costume Institute Gala costume. Us? We were too distracted by her curiously plump looking lips. (The Cut)
• Steven Alan lists his bestsellers for Spring. (We Are The Market)
• A lengthy interview with white-hot menswear designer Tim Hamilton. (East Village Boys)
• Dueling writers debate Mother's Day gifts. (Wall Street Journal)

SoHo Gains Etro & Loses A Korean Deli

Here's the good news:
ETRO, one of The Shophound's longtime favorite labels will be opening its second boutique in Manhattan at the corner of Spring and Greene Street. The New York posts reports that the Italian textile and fashion company has purchased outright the ground floor store at that location, but they don't suggest when Etro will begin selling their signature vibrant paisley and floral printed wares.
Now the bad news, (at least for SoHo residents):
The new boutique will be replacing one of the few remaining delis in the SoHo area. Those of us who love shopping in SoHo often forget that the neighborhood is home to many who live in the lofts above all those boutiques. To put it plainly, you can't get a pint of Ben & Jerry's at 11:30 PM from an Etro boutique.
One would think that the current economic uncertainty would slow the influx of boutiques, but not yet.
The endangered delis are not quite out of the woods.
Etro Buys Corner In SoHo (NYPost via RACKED)

Pink And Green Attack Imminent On Madison Avenue

Workers have been furiously finishing Lilly Pulitzer's new Madison Avenue home.
Their website lists tomorrow May 8^th as the opening date, and sweaty personnel were seen scurrying back and forth inside, feverishly stocking the store for customers, we can't be sure they will be ready by tomorrow, but this weekend is a sure thing. After all, they do need at least a few weeks of business to sell their brightly colored wares before Memorial Day when their customers flee the city for The Hamptons.
Lilly Pulitzer 1020 Madison Avenue opens May 8^th(?), Upper East Side

Pop-Up du Jour: Made In Hong Kong Has A New Meaning

It seemed like a idea with potential.
The "guerilla" store Made In HK will be open throughout the month of May (except the 11th) featuring items by independent Hong Kong based designers. What with the long history of manufacturing and exceptional shopping in the former British Crown Colony, we were expecting some kind of treasure trove, but, alas, what we found was more of a sparse collection of somewhat random items.
We would have thought that there were a few more independent designers in Hong Kong who made something more interesting than patent leather tote bags. There were a few interesting clothing items, some Hong Kong periodicals and some cute modern jewelry, but overall, we were underwhelmed. Here's hoping that we caught them early, and there are more interesting things on the way.
Maybe?
It is actually part of a series of retail ventures being produced by (multiple choice) who describe themselves thusly:

(multiple choice) is a project-based retail venture. each project will take on a different form depending on its concept, which can be anything from a place or a function, to a colour or even a texture. its debut project, “made in hk,” takes the form of a month-long guerrilla store featuring clothing, accessories, and objects by hong-kong based independent labels. their innovative designs are a vibrant counterpoint to the negative stereotypes conventionally associated with the “made in hk” label.

Well, ok. We'll be looking out for the next one.
Made In HK through May 31st 181 Lafayette Street between Broome and Grand Streets, SoHo

Costume Institute Ball Roundup: Lots Of Stars, Few Actual Superheroes

As we had hoped, Wonder Woman did make her appearance with her bulletproof bracelets at the Met's Superhero-themed Costume Institute Party of the Year. To her credit, Lynda Carter managed to actually wear part of her original costume without making a big, honking buffoon of herself. In fact, she looks pretty amazing at 56.
The red carpet shots (exhaustively chronicled here) show that dressing in the theme of the evening was a rocky road for many party guests, some of whom opted for bright graphic prints, shiny lamé or black, body-conscious styles in a nod to the exhibition, Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy, which starts tomorrow (get in line behind us).
Oddly, for all the Hollywood stars at the gala, Carter was one of the few who has actually worn a superhero costume, and the only one who made an iconic impression fighting evil. George Clooney, of course was Batman in the universally reviled, franchise killing Batman & Robin, a role, performance and costume (nipples) for which he regularly apologizes, and Tom Welling, Clark Kent of TV's Smallville has yet to actually become a fully fledged Superman and don the blue tights. He hasn't even started flying yet. Tobey Maguire, Christian Bale, Michael Keaton, and a whole raft of X-Men actors are among the many, prominent, popular actors who have played superheroes on film recently, yet none of them made an appearance, including some (Bale, Edward Norton) who have upcoming releases they should be promoting. Even Patrick Stewart, X-Men's Professor X, currently in town performing Macbeth, would seem to have been a shoo-in.
Instead, the movies were represented by love interests like Katie Holmes and her successor, Maggie Gyllenhaal of the newly revived Batman series, and Jennifer Connelly and Liv Tyler, two Betty Rosses from the recent and upcoming Hulk movies. Nobody from the huge, new Iron Man film appeared. Kate Bosworth provided a Lois Lane, and the blockbuster Spiderman series was represented only by Elizabeth Banks who has played Betty Brant, a small supporting role.
Perhaps Lou Ferrigno was too much to hope for.
The Costume Institute's Party of the Year photos (Style .com)
Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy at The Metropolitan Museum of Art , May 7 through September 1, 2008 (Official Site)

Cinco De Spree

The blogs are bloated with "news" about who is wearing what to the Met's Superhero Ball tonight and blah blah blah.
All we care about is is making sure that Wonder Woman Lynda Carter is properly respected with an invitation, and she apparently has been and will be wearing her original bulletproof cuff bracelets. No word on the magic golden lasso.
Additionally:

• Douchebag Alert!: New York's nightclub will be glutted with celebrities post-Gala competing with Cinco de Mayo revelers. (Chic Report)
• Q&A with CFDA nominee Tory Burch of those shiny little medallion flats. (Chic Report)
• Gareth Pugh is the designer of the evening for his superhero-inspired looks. Tomorrow, who knows? (Style File)
• Blue & Cream's sidewalk lounge on the Bowery disappoints. (RACKED)
• Q&A with Joe Corre of luxe lingerie label Agent Provocateur. (Style File)
• Marie Claire is said to be waiting in the wings to pick up Elle's "Project Runway" sponsorship when their contract runs out and the show migrates to Lifetime. Is it me or is ALL the news about this show bad, bad, bad? (WWD)
• The Miller sisters' Twenty8twelve label is branching out into handbags. (WWD)
• Chelsea protests as a greedy landlord tries to drive neighborhood mom & pop businesses from his newly acquired Ninth Avenue property. (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)
• Retailers are quietly relying on their outlet divisions to support them through the current economic crunch. (Wall Street Journal)
• Madonna's golden touch strikes again as she chooses Givenchy's Ricardo Tisci to design her tour costumes. (Fashionista)

Rogan's Target Line Gets A Special Preview At Barneys

Friday is D-Day at Barneys Co-op.
The Madison Avenue flagship is doing its best to promote its exclusive three-day preview of Rogan's Go International capsule collection which is expected to bow at Target immediately afterwards.
Rogan is, of course, a mainstay brand at the Co-op, and Barneys has been one of designer Rogan Gregory's earliest supporters, so together they are trying to whip up the sort of excitement that they had last year with the Kate Moss for Topshop debut. We feel confident that faithful Rogan ladies will go out of their way for the chance to pick up their favorite designer at a fraction of its usual price.
And speaking of a fraction of the price, Barneys was buzzing this afternoon with busy tourists snapping up spring clothes. Sure the Euro is strong, but on top of that, nearly the whole store had 40% sale signs on every rack and shelf. While the markdown season usually begins in May, this time, the price cutting is earlier, broader and deeper, including many designer labels (Prada, Lanvin) that typically get held until the end of the month, or even until June.
Barneys is far from alone in pushing sale dates forward this year, according to today's WWD. Even the toniest department stores are feeling the pinch, and are marking down goods as early as possible, preferring to sell as much as they can the first sale price rather than getting stuck with too much inventory at final clearance time.
What's bad for them is good for you!
Look at it as a correction for the skyrocketing prices on already expensive designer clothes, so enjoy the unusually complete assortment of sale merchandise and shop now. Inventories for Fall will start out much leaner, so don't expect a repeat of the rampant reduction next season.
The Pressure Is On: Retail Anxiety Builds As Economy Weakens (WWD)