Nov 9, 2010 | Fashion
I have been waiting with baited breath for FashionStake.com to launch for the past 6 months!!
Why…what is this website? you may ask. For one thing, FashionStake offers limited-time flash sales from independent designers.
Another flash sale site?? Why do we need one when we already have Gilt, RueLala, Ideeli, HauteLook, Beyond the Rack…et al??
THIS IS WHY:
FashionStake sells next season’s merchandise, not current or last-season items. Sales are in the form of pre-orders, so the merchandise is already paid for before it is produced.
So why is this an important innovation for struggling designers?
I personally have had my eye on this company for awhile, ever since it was featured in NY Mag’s The Cut back in April of this year. I’ve been thinking about re-launching my clothing line for some time, but the main obstacle is the high cost of manufacturing – and the fact that you won’t break even on the costs of the sampling, materials, and patternmaking until you’ve produced and sold at least 6-12 pieces. (Of course this number differs due to differing production costs and differing retail price points…but basically we’re all familiar with the concept that very little money comes back to the designer/creator after all that work has been done, and that a profit isn’t truly made until you’re making multiple, multiple pieces.) So the eternal question is:
How do you get concrete orders for your line BEFORE committing all that money to manufacturing?
In other words, how do you meet your order minimum to break even (at the very least) before you contract with a manufacturer to produce something like 25-50 garments?
It’s a question of creating demand before creating the product: “pull manufacturing.” After I created my line back in ’07, there wasn’t enough demand for it where I was…and I had to try and sell what I had on hand, which is infinitely more difficult. I had lots of money put into actual physical clothing…that didn’t sell. I still have something like $400 worth of work hanging in a closet right now.
Founder Vivian Weng saw the contradiction inherent to the fashion industry, and the difficulties many designers faced with funding their lines and finding their audience. Plus by waiting for pieces to hit the retail shelves, as a consumer she saw the “sky-high prices” and felt something amiss. While at Harvard Business School she teamed up with classmate Daniel Gulati to form FashionStake, a venture they hope will usher in a new era of designer direct fashion. The website launched in September 2010.
FashionStake aims to “democratize fashion” by holding online “trunk shows” (similar to what Gilt or Ruelala do), with timed flash sales. BUT….the items for sale are all from emerging designers, and are in the form of pre-orders…so the item is only produced if they’ve met their minimum costs. So much less risky for the designers.
But how is this helpful for the consumers?
Well, for one, the clothing and jewelry is not marked up for retail – it’s close to wholesale prices (about 40-70% off of what it would fetch at retail). Plus, it’s next season’s merchandise! (All the other flash sale sites, including Gilt and Ideeli – are selling last season or current-season merchandise – rarely next season – and it’s most usually at the retail price when they do.) By buying through FashionStake you’re getting in before the crowds, before it even hits the retail stores, before the season has even begun, and placing an order just as the designer is sending their order to the manufacturer. (Since it’s a pre-order, delivery of the item varies per brand; for some, it can be 2 weeks; for a few, up to 8 weeks.)
But you’re also helping a designer who didn’t have enough money upfront to produce their line – ensuring that everyone along the chain of supply will get paid (rather than having the designer supply the retail stores with stock, only to have it get returned to them if it doesn’t sell – or have to take out a loan to pay for the manufacturing since the factories require payment upfront). Each item sold on the site has an undisclosed minimum – the minimum orders the factory needs before they will go into production – so if there aren’t enough orders, the item isn’t produced. Which means a lot less fashion waste and no unsold items at the end of the season!!
So what brands are having trunk shows at FashionStake?
Tiny emerging brands whose product quality is still iffy, who may or may not actually make good on the orders they get? Nope. Nicholas K, for one, who’s has been showing at New York Fashion Week since 2003. JUMA, a mainstay in minimalist chic fashion that’s sold in Bendel’s, Harvey Nichols, and BuyDefinition. Lauren Merkin – I’m sure you’ve heard of her bags, coveted by celebrities and in-the-know women in the know the world over? Check out what’s coming up on FashionStake:
Upcoming Sales
Nov 10: Raquelle (“Breezy Basics” silk tops)
Nov 12: Mociun (“Art Deco” fine gold jewelry)
Nov 15:
JUMA (“Easy Inspiration” jackets and dresses)
Nov 17:
Lauren Merkin (the “3-in-1 Louise” clutch)
Nov 19:
Bijules – a favorite of Beyonce and Fergie (“Glacons” icicle-inspired jewelry)
Plus, it’s free to join, and by using my personal invite below, your account will automatically be credited $15!
And…use exclusive code CHICSTEALSNOV to receive Free Shipping on any order (shipped to a U.S. address) that you place during the month of November! (For my non-U.S. readers, use the code above and get $5 off shipping to any International address!) It’s a great way to get a jump on that holiday shopping!
xoxox
Carly
~If you liked this post, please share it!~
Leave Comment
Nov 4, 2010 | Fashion
Just a little break from the 30 Days of Outfits…
Or maybe a PREQUEL???! 😉
I went as a Ninja.
Every year Lil Tot has decreed what Mama will be for Halloween. When he was 1, he had a high fever and we didn’t do Halloween at all (though I did have a little bee costume for him)
At 2, he was a lobster and told me I should be a witch.
At 3, he was Harry Potter and told me to be a pirate.
At 4, he was Dash from The Incredibles and I was told to be a fairy.
But at 5, though he was going as a vampire it seemed he had no preference as to what I wore!
So I looked into my closet to figure out what I could cobble together with stuff I already had, and I managed to scrape together the perfect ninja costume.
I knew Hub would find it amusing that I was wearing a Japanese happi [coat] that said MATSURI [festival] on the back of it, along with numerous festival-related markings – since I last wore it in 1991 at my local town festival where I helped hoist a gigantic, 1000-pound shrine on my shoulders and carry it through the village. Not fun.
Anyway, I figured most people, especially those who can’t read Japanese, wouldn’t know the un-authenticity of the coat, and it would read “ninja.” Especially when paired with Lil Tot’s ski mask, black leggings and turtleneck, and an old pair of tights I cut up to use as armwarmers. I also used a scarf I made as a belt.
And yes, everyone we met during Trick-or-Treating “got” that I was a ninja! A lot of people seemed to love my shoes, which are authentic tabi – at 11, I was obsessed with the Japanese construction workers’ uniforms, which consisted of a pair of wide trousers that ballooned at the knees [tobi], and a pair of split-toe shoes with rubber soles [tabi].
(photo from source website linked below)
My father worked up the courage to visit a clothing store for construction workers and buy a pair of trousers and a pair of tabi for me as a birthday present. So I held onto them! The shoes are uber-comfortable, but of course I can only wear them (and the pants) as part of a costume;-) [Many workers still wear that uniform today, though their numbers appear to be dwindling. If you are interested in the traditional uniform of Japanese construction workers, as well as a thorough explanation of how each apparel element came about (it’s a fascinating read!), click here.]
And the sword is a plastic thing Lil Tot won at the fair.
Hope you guys all had a great Halloween! (Or Bonfire Night;-)
xoxox
Carly
~If you liked this post, please share it!~
Leave Comment
Nov 4, 2010 | Fashion
Finally caught up! (Should I think up exciting titles for these outfits besides “Day 3”???)
Today is Day 3 of my 30 Days of Outfits Challenge: November 3.
And here is the secret to my dress that I mentioned earlier!
I’m wearing the same dress as yesterday – EXCEPT it’s on inside-out and backwards.
Is that allowed? you may ask. Of course it’s allowed! It’s completely a different dress!
I know the dress is hard to see, but…
I first saw this studded t-shirt dress on an episode of “Gossip Girl” awhile back – Serena wore it to a party.
I LOVED it. But given that I was already planning on making my Risto Bimbiloski-style dress, I didn’t want or need yet ANOTHER t-shirt dress.
So I made this entire piece reversible, unzippable, and wearable back-to-front. It’s like a 6-in-1 dress!! The gray side of this dress is a viscose-blend woven. It’s silky-soft and luxurious.
The studs are a little uncomfortable when sitting, though!
Who remembers White Trash Charms? They were especially popular in ’02 or so, and I bought a pair of knockoff earrings in Japan. I don’t think I’ve ever worn them, though. I even have a matching necklace! (I wonder if the thriving knockoff business was what drove them OUT of business?? Shall have to investigate further…)
So the question is…
These over-the-knee boots I bought at Forever 21 – amazingly, size 9 fits perfectly on me (I’m a size 7.5 – what’s up with that??). I’ve been wanting vinyl-look super-thigh-high platform boots since I saw Taylor Jacobson’s Louboutins on Rachel Zoe last season. And finally Forever 21 came out with their version (that I Tweeted about the day I bought)!! They’re super-sexy and totally appeal to the Pretty Woman-esque lady-of-the-night in me…I guess;-) – LOVE.
My dog: Pudding. She terrorized our cat Muffin until the poor thing ran away last June. She has not come back.:-(
Pudding constantly gets stuff stuck to her face because of her whiskers. She has a bit of moss stuck on her because she’s been snuffling in the yard. Hub thinks she looks like an Ewok.
She’ll lick practically anything!!
xoxox
Carly
~If you liked this post, please share it!~
Leave Comment
Oct 26, 2010 | Fashion
Thanks to everyone for being so patient with me and my lack of posts recently! We got back from France late Friday, but I’ve been super jetlagged…waking up at 3:30 AM every morning and unable to go back to sleep afterwards, and super, super-sick with a head cold and hacking cough that hasn’t been getting any better. Plus a mountain of laundry, no food in the pantry, a pile of mail to go through…you all know how it is when you go out of town! So finally I’ve gotten around to editing all the photos I took…and here is a brief selection of them.
First off, the architecture in Paris was beautiful, and wherever we turned, even down the smallest street or cul-de-sac, hid the most breathtaking buildings, statues, and structures. I must have taken about 200 photos of buildings alone.
Plus, there was an art gallery on every corner. I’ve never been in a place where people respected and appreciated art so much!
Lil Tot at the Musee d’Orsay, viewing the scale model of Paris below the floor.
Me attempting in my pathetic French to buy lunch for everyone at a local market. We certainly did not buy a lot – but the total came to 74 Euros – $103!!
Secondly, the food was delicious – especially anything wrapped in pastry, desserts, french fries (or should I say frites?), and the macarons. I had never had a macaron before! Now I know what everyone’s raving about.
Thai lime-flavored.
We spent the first 3 nights in Paris, then the next 2 in the Burgundy region, then the last 2 nights in Paris again. We stayed in 4 hotels over 7 days! That was a few too many for my liking, though we did get to see quite a few different areas because of it.
We visited Euro Disney. I cannot really recommend it – Tokyo Disneyland is much, much better! (I’ve never been to the Disneys in the US, so that’s my only basis for comparison.:-/)
Entering the Trianon Gardens.
A building in the Hamlet, peppered with pigeons.
The Seine river.
One of the few stores I really wanted to go to – Kiliwatch, a huge vintage store. The prices were highly disappointing and the front half of the store was filled with furs and leathers and animal bits, which I found disturbing due to the sheer amount of it, regardless of it all being secondhand. Perhaps I’m a little more militant than I thought when it comes to animal byproduct in fashion items??
Another disappointment: the largest flea market in the world [apparently], the Marches Aux Puces de Saint-Ouen. Surprisingly tiny (were we in the right place? we wondered a few times), and populated with vaguely menacing, catcalling men shouting “Rolex! Rolex!” and selling Gucci knockoff purses and polyester clothing for 5 Euro apiece. Like the streets of New York with all the sidewalk sellers hawking their illegally-obtained goods in one place. Okay, I don’t know if any of it actually was illegally obtained, but it didn’t feel exactly…kosher, and the goods didn’t look particularly high-quality either.
Where we stayed
: (and the caveat to the below is that my in-laws footed the bill for these hotels, as well as choosing them)
A very unusual hotel situated in Paris’ left bank, with each guest room in its cylindrical tower filled to bursting with gilt ornaments, chintz lamps, lithographs, figurines, and embroidered wallpaper. It felt very old and very crowded, and if Liberace were still alive, I’m sure he’d love to stay there. (The bedframe in my in-laws room was constructed entirely of mirrors!)
The lobby of L’Hotel. Gawd, why is Blogger so #$@%%@’in slow???!
The center of the hallway is open and you can see all the way up to the top.
The room where we stayed. The decorated wallpaper/3D painting of the peacocks was unbelievable.
The breakfast buffet consisted of fresh juices, fresh figs, passionfruit, pineapple, and other fruits, salted and smoked hams, and a variety of croissants. The butter was sliced like a Ruffle potato chip.;-)
An 800-year-old (really!) chateau, with an old, falling-down tower they called “The Dungeon,” surrounded by a moat with fish in it, and on a beautiful 100 acre-spanse of land in the middle of a forest.
The moat.
“The Dungeon.”
A shot from inside.
The people at the hotel raised their own vegetables, and kept a menagerie of ducks, geese, quail, chickens, turkeys, and white peacocks wandering about the yard.
Plus they had a dog (not sure what kind of dog it was, but it was curly-haired and about the size of a standard poodle), who had been trained to find truffles on the property – and so all the meals in the dining room were filled with black truffles that the dog would snuffle out even when not specifically directed to do so.
Risotto with shaved black truffles found by the Truffle Dog.
Each place-setting at dinner had a pewter-cast knife-rest in the shape of what looked like some starving animal. Apparently each one cost more than $120 in the hotel gift shop! Lil Tot lined them all up with his birthday present, a replica Nissan GTR.
And then the animals all had to go through a tunnel in order to ride in the car.
Dessert was more of the delicious Thai lime macarons, hazelnut cream puffs, and strawberry wafers.
And of course the cheese-basket!
Breakfast.
An old suit of armor on display.
The Chateau was so beautiful, the air was so clean, the setting s
o charming and the food so good…I would recommend this place highest out of every place we stayed – and it’s probably the best place I have stayed ever!
Just a building en route.
Then we went to Vezelay for a day since my father-in-law wanted to visit the Basilica of St. Mary Magdalene, which is rumored to be Mary Magdalene’s tomb, as featured in The DaVinci Code.
We stayed at the Hotel de la Cote in Vezelay (I think it was in Vezelay) for one night. (Sorry there’s no accents on my vowels for the place-names…I’m not sure what the shortcut keys are for them.)
The cobblestone streets of Vezelay.
Then we returned to Paris.
Proof: I really was there!
It was bitterly cold and rainy for a lot of our trip.
In front of – yes – Chanel headquarters.
The infamous staircase on which Coco Chanel herself used to sit and watch her models present the Collections.
The Ritz Paris
We definitely felt out of place here. Though the hotel staff was accommodating, we felt very underdressed, and attracted a lot of attention with a young child in tow. Everything was so ornate and elaborate, the lobby reeked of a Lush store (I’m not sure what fragrance it was but it was wafting throughout in copious amounts), and we slept under a chandelier at night. It was quite convenient to lots of shopping…none of which we could afford.😛
They called this the “Hall of Temptation:” a hall lined with displays stuffed with product from Cartier, Miki House, Dior, Chanel… The name had me ROFL’ing because there was not the slightest bit of temptation felt on my part!;-)
A courtyard at the Ritz.
The room in which we stayed.
Macarons and delicious, soft caramels awaited us upon check-in.
They also provided a cake for Lil Tot’s birthday. Happy 5th, Lil Tot!
I have come to the conclusion that French people are obsessed with concealing their doors…as all the closet/bathroom/mini-bar doors in the rooms at every hotel we stayed at were wallpapered over and virtually indistinguishable from the surrounding walls…no obvious doorknobs (or doorknobs made to look like wall decorations that were randomly pasted on the walls thr
oughout the room, even on things that didn’t open), no hinges, no doorframes, doors concealed by velveteen screens that hinged outwards to reveal halls and more rooms…it was all very James Bond-ish.
I’m going to sound very ethnocentric for a moment and write that I had issues with the toilet paper – which, in many toilets throughout Burgundy and Paris – were tiny folded tissue-like sheets out of a dispenser. The toilet paper – even at the Ritz! – was uncommonly rough, too.
Plus about 99% of the toilets had the flush button on the wall. Is this something common in Europe?
The shower doors folded into the tub area when you wanted to take a shower!
Pushing a stroller through the streets of Paris is like competing in a cross-country roller derby without any rollerskates. Frightening at crosswalks (since the traffic waits for no one) and murder on your back with all the cobblestones and tiny, jaggedy sidewalks.
Many signs in Paris change every few moments. Watch the sign in front of the Louis Vuitton store – now you see it…
Now you don’t!
The window at Valentino.
We were all taken with how cars were towed – their back wheels hefted onto trolleys and then they were swung sideways out of their parallel parking spots!
We went to a restaurant – Flotille – it was the only restaurant where the staff was actually nice to us during our entire visit to France – and I ordered the marrow bone. I wasn’t really sure what I was expecting, but this is what came! (sorry, vegetarians – don’t look) A huge thigh-bone with gray sea-salt-sprinkled marrow, which one had to scoop out and spread on toasted bread. I felt guilty for liking it so much!
I sprained my right foot while we were at Disneyland, so my in-laws visited the Louvre while I was resting it back at the hotel.
I think though, we would have enjoyed our trip more if we were smokers, drinkers, did not have a young child with us, were more acquainted with the layout of the city, the mannerisms and attitudes, and the language. As it was we had a lot of difficulties and unfortunately a number of negative experiences in regards to those areas. Plus the exchange rate was abysmal – everything was about twice as expensive as in the U.S. – so we were unable to do any shopping and just buying meals was so significant there was nothing left over to really splurge. (My mother-in-law treated me to a couple Petit Bateau t-shirts which I had been wanting for awhile, though!:-) At least we missed the riots – but did have to wait in long, long lines for gasoline – and had more than one station tell us they were all out of gas and we had to go somewhere else!
Just before we left I bought some macarons at Pierre Herme. The top one is passionfruit mango, the one on the bottom left is dulce de leche, and the one on the right is rose.
I’m very glad to have had the wonderful opportunity to go and experience France, though a week was certainly not enough to see everything we wanted to! Au Revoir,
xoxox
Carly
~If you liked this post, please share it!~
Leave Comment
Oct 17, 2010 | Fashion
I’m always confused abut how to spell “donuts.” Is it “doughnuts?” They’re made of dough. But “donuts” is invariably used for the fried, fast-food variety. So are “donuts” bad for you?
These aren’t! (Relatively speaking.:-) These are baked out of a buttermilk batter recipe that uses much less butter than a traditional baked donut recipe – and since they aren’t fried, there’s so much less fat in them. Since I saw the recipe in the October 2010 issue of Health magazine, I was dying to try them out. At 140 calories a full-sized donut that’s just awesome! Plus 8 minutes to fresh-baked donuts – who can beat that?? I wanted to be crowned Best Mom in the Entire World – one who makes DONUTS! (DOUGHNUTS?) for her kid/s. So I went out and bought two donut pans from my local Sur La Table and got to work. (You can also buy them from Amazon; the regular size one
is about $10; the mini-donut version
about $9.)
Baked Buttermilk Donuts
(makes 14 regular-sized donuts)
Ingredients:
*nonstick cooking spray
*1 c whole-wheat flour
*1 c all-purpose flour
*1/2 c sugar
*1.5 tsp baking powder
*1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
*1/2 tsp salt
*3/4 c low-fat buttermilk
*2 large eggs
*1/4 c honey
*2 T melted butter
*1 T vanilla extract
Toppings:
*sprinkles
*powdered sugar mixed with water into a glaze
*cinnamon and sugar
*jam
*melted bittersweet chocolate chips
*nuts (I used crushed hazelnuts)
*shredded coconut
…The sky’s the limit!
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly coat a doughnut pan with cooking spray.
2. Combine flours and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk.
3. Combine buttermilk, eggs, honey, butter, and vanilla, stirring well with a whisk. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture; whisk just until combined.
4. Spoon batter into donut pans, filling 2/3 full** (this is important since they will puff up!!). Bake in middle of oven until donuts spring back when touched and are golden on the bottom (about 8 minutes). Let cool in pan slightly (about 4 min); turn out. Coat with toppings if desired.
So I made.
And I drizzled chocolate, glaze, hazelnuts, sprinkles, and coconut.
And we ate.
So was I crowned Best Mom in the Entire World? Not exactly sure – but both my boys were all giggly over them for days.
Perhaps not Best Mom…but Funniest Donut-Maker in the Entire World? No?
Give them a try and see the reactions! Hope you enjoy!
xoxox
Carly
~If you liked this post, please share it!~
Leave Comment
