freddy&ma

"A Signature Life"

One of my favorite women is Diane Von Furstenberg.  I've long been a "2nd generation" fan of her infamous wrap dress --- if you don't know about that moment in time, you should rush to read her book, "A Signature Life" which you can find in our Library.  One of the coldest nights this past February, I dragged my very good friend Cate very far downtown where I had an invitation (passed down through about 7 people who couldn't attend) to the gallery space that Diane owns down in the West Village.  She is beautiful, intelligent and an inspiration to any woman who wants her own business. Read her story, or at least, look at the pictures in the book!

math is out, art is in

in my experience people who care about fashion and have a decent sense of style tend to be right brain people.  by this i mean that they tend to be creative types who probably enjoyed art class more than algebra.  and i am sure many of you have had your artistic abilities belittled when compared to 'real' skills such as math and hard sciences.  after hearing a talk this evening by Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind , i am happy to report out that in his view right brainers are going to rule the economy of the future.  math is out, art is in. 

a true supermodel

One of my most memorable New York moments was the evening I was having drinks with an old friend at the Hudson Hotel and witnessed some other old friends also having drinks: Bono (you may know him from a little band called U2), Christy Turlington, and Helena Christensen.  The ordinary person may have been most excited to see Bono, but for me, the sight of Helena, my absolute most favorite model, had me in awe for days.  Some of you would probably remember her best in the Chris Isaac "Wicked Game" video from (gasp!) 1991!  The great thing about supermodels, as much as you may want to hate them, is that these women truly become connoisseurs of style and taste.  I am enclosing the article from WWD today, regarding Helena's latest venture: boutique owner.  Let's plan a field trip down to Hudson Street one day soon.

luxury in a virtual world

both 'stores' pictured sell prada.  is it just me or does the idea of buying prada from that website feel sort of like buying prada from some random guy. in an alley.  in brooklyn.  the mysteriously low, 'slashed' prices don't instill confidence either.  is it really that hard to make a website that is up to the quality level of the goods that it sells?  the guy on the street actually has an advantage over the website, i am SURE i am getting a fake from him, with the website i am not really sure. 

Fashionista or not?

As a designer and self-described "clothes whore", I pride myself on knowing designer names and recognizing certain pieces.  Lately, I am finding it increasingly difficult to keep tabs on all the new talent that is out there -- we're no longer in Calvin and Donna territory.  As evidenced by the out of control magazine piles in my teeny tiny Manhattan apartment, I am far from being up to date on my designers.  My favorite, "cheat sheets" so to speak, are the runway shows on www.style.com, which can get you up to speed on any given designer in a matter of seconds.  It's quite a bit more convenient and succinct than thumbing through the latest issue of W on the subway, dropping subscription cards every time someone elbows you......this crash course in designers will also enable you to dabble in a competitive New York sporting event, known to most as "name dropping" .....be sure to read the models names on the bottom of each image, as your familiarity with these superhuman creatures' monikers will surely cement your position of "supreme fashionista" in most social circles (note: I said "most" circles.  Do not attempt to compete with magazine editors and PR girls, unless of course, you are a member of either of these exclusive groups).

april showers bring may yowsers

ok, the headline probably doesn't make sense, but every girl i know right now is limping around.  why you ask?  well dear readers, spring is upon us and sandle season has arrived.  the NYTimes puts it best:

Eager to test-drive the new sandals, flip-flops, wedges and espadrilles bought in advance of the season, they were cheerfully submitting to what many accept as a rite of spring: pain.

it is surprising that more designers do not address this issue.  it is interesting that many well known shoe labels have a male name attached to them, Steve Madden, Jimmy Choo, Kenneth Cole for example.  it makes perfect sense, they never have to wear the painful creations they design!   

Ms. Gajzer faults the shoemaker, not the wearer. "When you're paying between $300 and $600 for a pair of sandals, you expect them to be remotely comfortable," she said. "Otherwise the designer should be smacked."

all shoes designed at freddy&ma will be test driven by ma to ensure a painless fit.  unless of course they look really good.

random analogy of the day

having a great idea that you would like to turn into reality is a bit like standing on the edge of a diving board.  climbing the steps, walking out to the end and taking a few bounces is the process of having an idea, researching it and figuring out how to make it real.  but there is only so much pre-work you can do.  at some point you just have to push off and head for the water.  it turns out that your entry into the water is not that important, what really matters is whether you sink or do you swim.  the same with a business idea.  your initial entry into the market is not that important.  splash or not, what is important is that you have something in the market, people start to purchase it and you are prepared to evolve your idea over time to make it great.  now you are swimming!  don't be afraid of sinking though; standing on the tip of the board forever will not teach you how to swim, starting to sink a little bit will. 

ok - i admit it, the above entry is a bit cliche, sorry, it's late - on a more important note, the launch party fund made surprising gains today, thanks to all our diligent investors.  keep those mouses clicking!

creativity is the new black

for those of you right brained folks out there, here is a cool article from the left brained academics at Harvard on how creativity is the new black in business.  read.  discuss. start being more creative immediately.

H&M = cheap chic = key to new luxury

in todays NYTimes there was a great article about the insanely expensive fashion show H&M put on in central park last week.  it seems that everyone who is anyone was in attendence to view the latest cheap chic.  i was particular fond of the following passage.

"I don't buy clothes like that," the designer Behnaz Sarafpour said the day after the event, which she did not attend.

Having set foot into an H&M store only once, Ms. Sarafpour has missed the opportunity to buy obi-waist skirts for a fraction of the cost of those sold under her name at Barneys New York. "For people who know quality, whether it's literature, food, fashion, whatever, they know what goes into making a product that's on the high end," she said

some people just don't get it.  H&M is not trying to be high end.  they are just trying to make cool clothing at affordable prices.  and i applaud them for this, and so does my bank account.  not everyone can afford to buy everything they own at barneys.  i don't shop at H&M only b/c it is cheap, i shop there b/c they have some great stuff and if i am going to buy a lime green button up shirt that will go out of style in less than a month, i would rather pay 10 bucks for it at H&M versus 200 bucks at Barney's.  and with my $190 dollars i can then go into barneys and buy a jack spade laptop case which i will hang onto for a while.  what i am describing is the new paradigm of luxury.  every girl i know wants a Chanel purse, a Coach bag, a pair of Jimmy Cho shoes.  but unfortunately, these items cost a lot of money.  and for the vast majority of people out there, you have to think a little bit before plopping down 300 dollars for a pair of shoes.  stores like H&M allow people that have a sense of style to outfit themselves nicely all the time and then occasionally treat themselves to the higher quality, expensive luxury products like those sold at barney's.  this is a win for everybody.  people who are not uber-wealthy get to look great all the time AND have some really high quality items, H&M gets to make money and the luxury brands get access to a demographic that normally could not afford them b/c they were spending all their money just trying to look decent for work.  H&M is the IKEA of fashion.  everybody knows it is not high end, but it looks nice and is great for everyday.  Behnaz Sarafpour should be thanking H&M because they have enabled many more people to have enough money (or credit) available that they can afford her high end wares.  this is what is fueling the recent explosion in the luxury goods market.  new luxury - trading down to the stylish commodity (H&M, Target, IKEA)in order to have enough money to afford high end luxury items.   

btw -  the freddie&ma launch party coordinator wanted to thank everyone who has been clicking on our ads over on the RIGHT.  the coordinator would also like to remind everyone to KEEP CLICKING.  we have a lot of clicks to go if we are going to have a launch party that rivals H&M's little soiree in central park last week.

whole foods should sell shoes

i just finished another shopping trip to whole foods where i left the store with a smile on my face, a very light wallet and a VERY SMALL bag of goods.  why don't other retail segments copy the whole food way of making the experience of spending your entire paycheck at one time delightful?  how would you make shopping in a department store as engaging and delightful as shopping in whole foods? 

sampling in whole foods is a key to their customer experience and i would say that the department store equivalent of food sampling would be trying on shoes.  let's compare the experiences of both of these 'sampling' activities. 

with sampling at whole foods, watching the  person expertly layering organic hummis on a tortilla and topping it with an olive is so engaging i find myself putting olives and tortilla chips in my basket even though i hate olives and never buy tortilla chips.  trying on shoes, on the other hand, involves sitting in an uncomfortable chair and staring at the wall for 5 minutes while a salesperson disappears into some back room only to emerge with every size of shoes except for the one that would actually fit me.  and in the RARE event that they have the shoe i want, i get to walk around in it for about 10 seconds then have to decide if it is what i really want or not.  i don't end up trying on or buying shoes b/c the experience of doing it is so great, yet i buy heaps of stuff from whole foods for that very reason.  don't the people who design department stores shop at whole foods?  i bet if whole foods sold shoes you would end up buying shoes every other trip to the store(note - actually, my sister buys shoes on just about every other trip to the store, regardless of the experience, so maybe i should say EVERY trip to the store instead).  maybe the shoe saleperson in whole foods would even me olives and hummus when my size was out of stock.....