December 2009

DIY for the New Year: Websites that let you Design It Yourself

December 28, 2009

On December 16th, I watched a segment on the Fox Business channel with Laura Kofoid, one of the co-founders of a new website called Laudi Vidni (“individual” spelled backwards) that allows consumers to design their own handbags, working with eight basic shapes and forty different colors of leathers/fabrics that can be combined for a seemingly [...]

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Japanese Frugality + Twilight = The Fashion Industry’s Next Big Move

December 26, 2009

Japanese consumers are changing their buying habits, ditching the Louis Vuitton for the Gap: “Many fashion experts say the rise of what are often termed ‘recession brands’ reflects a longer-term shift in fashion preferences among the Japanese . . . And nowhere is that change more apparent than in Tokyo’s Ginza district, once a magnet [...]

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Photos: L’Artisan Parfumeur Al Oudh

December 22, 2009

God bless Bertrand Duchaufour for finally making a fragrance that I like. I’ve been whimpering out in the cold these past 21 months, scratching at the door of the Duchaufour Appreciation Club to no avail, but with the introduction of Al Oudh for L’Artisan Parfumeur, I’m no longer the wretched Duchie outcast I once was [...]

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Luxury Industry News Roundup: 12/18/09

December 18, 2009

1.) In Case You Were Wondering Why Scarves Are Suddenly Everywhere (Again):“For many Muslims the question isn’t ‘Should I veil?’ It’s ‘How should I veil today to match my outfit?’ . . . Women from New Jersey to Jakarta are trying new ways of wearing wraps taught on YouTube or showcased on runways. They’re wearing [...]

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Additional Fashion & Fragrance News: 12/14/09

December 14, 2009

I’d like to post every intriguing news items regarding the luxury industry in my weekly roundups, but the posts would become overly long and unwieldy and what’s luxurious about that? Right. That’s what I thought. But here are a few items from last week that I think are worth mentioning, and I hope you’ll forgive [...]

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Luxury Industry News Roundup: 12/11/09

December 11, 2009

1.) Men’s Fragrance & Skincare Take a Dive:“From April to September (of 2009), sales of the men’s fragrance category declined 13% … compared with the same period last year. Dollar volume generated by new launches during the third quarter was down 30% compared with the third quarter of 2008 . . . sales of the [...]

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Photos: Le Labo Poivre 23

December 9, 2009

Katie Puckrik succinctly describes Le Labo Poivre 23 as “peppermill overkill” while Lee from Perfume Posse shifts into imagery voice hyperdrive and writes that Poivre 23 is “a pepper of wonder; the sort of pepper the first traders must’ve sniffed and felt the wingstrokes of angels in the rhythm of their fast-beating hearts.” Okay, well, [...]

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Christmas Party 2009: People in Motion

December 7, 2009

I do a lot of still-product photography and so don’t get much of an opportunity to show off how beautifully my camera photographs human beings, but we hosted Louise’s annual holiday party this past weekend (Louise’s husband has set up a temporary office space in their dining room, so a social shindig at their pad [...]

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Luxury Industry News Roundup: 12/04/09

December 4, 2009

1.) Feds Warn Holiday Shoppers to be Cautious Against Fakes:“‘If the price is too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true,’ said Claude Arnold, special agent in charge of investigations for immigration and customs enforcement in a five-state area including Minnesota . . . The troubled economy combined with consumers’ [...]

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