Macy's has learned a hard lesson: when you take away a consumer's coupons, the consumer stops shopping. For years, Macy's essentially trained shoppers when to shop by having coupons at certain predictable times of the year. But when Macy's bought out big store chains such as Filene's and Foley's they stopped the coupons. Guess what? People stopped shopping. It was a retail disaster of unimaginable proportions. Foley's customers expect massive coupons, red apple shopping days, the works. You can't just yank those away and expect longtime customers not to be grumpy about it.
For years, the department stores that Macy's acquired, like Marshall Field's and Filene's, had relied on 15- and 20-percent-off coupons to alert people, like a Pavlovian bell, that it was time to shop. As part of its reinvention, Macy's tried to wean shoppers off them.
But the tactic backfired. With fewer coupons to clip, thousands of people from Washington to Los Angeles turned their backs on Macy's.
Now the company's chief executive, Terry J. Lundgren, one of the brightest stars in American retailing, is pleading mea culpa - and backtracking. Macy's pledges to issue plenty of coupons for the holiday shopping season.
It's a lesson that other companies have also learned the hard way. Since the first coupon was issued for the Coca-Cola Company in 1894, companies have occasionally tried to take them away - and suffered. Cuts by the Ruby Tuesday chain in 2004 hurt sales. Procter & Gamble's effort in 1996 led to boycotts.
Even in this era of Internet shopping, it seems, Americans are wedded to a low-tech form of marketing: the dotted-line clip-out coupon.
For years, Karen Gundling, 41, a communications consultant in Parma, Ohio, relied on 20-percent-off coupons from Kaufmann's in Cleveland to buy shoes. Then Macy's took over. "Now that Macy's doesn't do coupons, I don't buy shoes there," Ms. Gundling said.
Curbing coupons was not the only change that upset shoppers.
In 2005, Macy's, then known as Federated Department Stores, acquired May Department Stores, which owned 11 storied chains around the country, like Foley's in Houston and Robinsons-May in Los Angeles. Last year, Macy's changed all the store names, a move that upset loyal shoppers. Mr. Lundgren said the new chain, with 800 stores and $27 billion in sales, would be big enough to secure exclusive product lines from big names - as it did, with Elie Tahari and Martha Stewart - then blanket the country with advertisements to let shoppers know about it. To complete the makeover, Macy's reduced its reliance on midprice clothing brands like Levi's and Dockers.
Mr. Lundgren tried to create a new kind of national department store that would no longer compete head-to-head with lower-priced competitors like J. C. Penney and Kohl's. But the changes amounted to "too much, too fast," Mr. Lundgren acknowledged in an interview. It turns out that men, in particular, are creatures of shopping habit. They want to go to the local department store and find the Dockers where they have always been.
People do love their coupons and once they're trained on reliable coupons, they just don't buy until the coupon appears. That's the free market in action, as Terry Lundgren found out. So, tell us this: if he's such a "rising star" in the retail industry, why didn't he know that? It's not rocket science. All he had to do was ask his mom or his sister, or if they weren't available for consultations, do some market research. There's a concept.
The outspoken Keira Knightley is the new face of Coco Mademoiselle perfume by Chanel. Chanel went all out for this campaign, shooting a mini-movie called "Coco Mademoiselle" which stars Keira as a modern version of Coco Chanel herself. She is supposed to be mysterious, independent and strong.
"Coco Chanel's strong personality, her bold temperament and her charisma were impressive," states Knightley. "There was no one like her in the world...her impact went beyond fashion and transformed society by liberating women in both a real and figurative sense."
In this cinematic dialogue, the essence of Coco Chanel lives on. Shot in five days in Paris, the film is a collaboration between Knightley and director Joe Wright. The production was overseen by Jacques Helleu, Chanel Artist Director, who has guarded and nurtured the image of Chanel for 40 years. The film's soundtrack, "L-O-V-E" is performed by the soulful voice of Grammy award winner, Joss Stone. The score was originally composed by Bert Kaempfert and Milt Gabler in 1964 for Nat King Cole.
Coco Mademoiselle is a fresh oriental scent created by Chanel master perfumer Jacques Polge in 2001. The fragrance represents the ever-evolving spirit of Coco Chanel in this feminine, sexy, young and exciting fragrance. A national cable television flight of 30 and 60 second spots will debut September 24th through October 7th.
Keira said in an interview that she already likes the perfume and wore it herself, so luckily she didn't have to lie in the ads. You mean to tell us that actresses regularly promote products that the don't really like? What shocking news for a Friday.
We all know that a lunchtime hit of Botox can make you look years younger, but how about that breast augmentation procedure you've been considering? One day, that also may happen at lunchtime. A doctor claims to have created a new procedure which has very short recovery time. In fact, you can have a breast augmentation in the morning and go out to dinner that night.
The augmentation operation only takes between 30 and 40 minutes, so women undergoing it need only low levels of anaesthetic drugs, and is carried out using an extremely precise cutting device which reduces bleeding.
John Tebbetts, a Texan plastic surgeon who is due to describe the operation at the annual meeting of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons says women should no longer assume they need a period of convalescence after having their breasts enlarged.
"After the surgery we tell the women to go home, have a little nap then get up after two hours, wash their hair which helps them stretch their muscles, then go out to dinner.
"Between 80 and 85 per cent of our patients go out on the evening of their surgery."
He added: "Women have got to get out of the mindset that they are going to be ill after this operation."
Women who undergo the new procedure, which is being marketed as the "out to dinner" breast augmentation, are promised no visible bruising or need for special bras.
They are allowed to drive on the day of surgery and resume normal activities the following day.
It all sounds great, is it really that easy? The article doesn't say, but it sounds like he's using computer imaging to see exactly where to make the incisions. We can't wait to see how his talk goes over with his peers at the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons. Will the other doctors agree that the method is sound? One thing's for sure: his lecture will be quite popular. And if it is, it's going to be very, very popular.
Just think, in about ten years or so, you'll be able to go in for surgery in the morning and come out a totally different person by the afternoon. This will be especially useful if you're a spy or on the run from some mysterious covert organization.
For those of us who refuse to give up our personal essentials for air travel, finding just the right containers and bag to take them aboard the plane is key. We can buy travel sizes of certain products, but what about those products which don't come in a travel size? We like this Clear Bag System, made by 311 The 6" X 8" Clear Bag System cases meet the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) carry-on regulations on liquids, gels and aerosols.
Each case is equipped with Airless Pumps, which are environmentally friendly and keep products from leaking eveywhere at high altitudes.
"We've designed the Clear Bag System to help simplify post 9/11 air travel for people who want convenience, security and style," said Linda Padgett- Stinson, president, 311 Travel Bags. "The new fashion-conscious bags are not only practical, but versatile enough that they can transition from a carry-on accessory to a fashion accessory."
The Fashion Edition bags are priced at $34.95 and $44.95, respectively, while the Clear Bag System Original remains at $24.95. Each model is individually configured with the following components:
The Clear Bag System Original:
Four (4) medium (1.0 oz) pumps
One (1) mini (.50 oz) pump
The Clear Bag System Fashion:
Two (2) large (1.75 oz) pumps
Two (2) medium pumps
Two (2) mini pumps
The Clear Bag System Fashion Elite:
One (1) large pump
Two (2) medium pumps
Two (2) mini pumps
Two (2) small (.50 oz) jars
You can also buy additional jars and pumps in a variety of sizes, which is nice. You can purchase the bags at www.clearbagsystem.com.
The hair from legendary composer Ludwig van Beethoven has been fused into a diamond and auctioned off on eBay for charity. The synthetic diamond is one of three diamonds created by LifeGem from the carbon in a lock of Beethoven's hair. The second diamond belongs to John Reznikoff, who provided the Beethoven hair sample. In case you didn't Reznikoff holds the Guinness World Record for the largest and most valuable collection of celebrity hair. Reznikoff's celebrity hair collection may be even more valuable than previously thought if they are going to be fusing diamonds out of it. The third diamond is being kept by LifeGem for its celebrity diamond collection.
LifeGem is a company that creates diamonds using carbon from cremated remains as well as from locks of hair. The have a price list here. LifeGem's faq says it takes 6 to 9 months to complete the diamond depending on the color. The Telegraphdescribes the steps LifeGem took to create the diamond from Beethoven's hair.
Experts at LifeGem HQ in Chicago then burned the hair without oxygen to ensure it did not disintegrate.
They extracted 130 milligrammes of carbon from 10 strands and divided it into three separate diamond presses.
Each of the presses was exposed to temperatures of 3,000 degrees celsius and placed under one million pounds of pressure for a two week growing period.
Once ready, the stones were cut into Round Brilliant Diamonds, polished and then certified.
The Beethoven diamond auction can be found here on eBay. Bidding for the diamond has passed the $200,000 mark. The item has a buy-it-now price of $1 million. LifeGem's page says that 100% of the proceeds from the auction will go to charity.
With all the headlines about toys full of lead paint and deadly toothpaste coming out of China (which has far less stringent purity and health controls over products than the U.S. does), many consumers are wanting to buy American -- At least until China gets its contamination woes sorted out. But is anything still actually made in the U.S.A.? Most manufacturing has been outsourced to third world countries. Peter Cohen compiled a list of products that are still made in America.
In this video from CBS News Richard Schlesinger takes a closer look at the lives of people who live aboard luxurious houseboats. This particular couple lies on a million-dollar custom-built 2,300-square-foot houseboat in Lake Cumberland, Kentucky. According to an article about the luxury houseboats this particular houseboat also has "a commercial-style kitchen with a big refrigerator and double ovens, five bedrooms and marble baths." This sounds more like a houseyacht than a houseboat. Here's the video.
The concept of expensive dining has been taken to a whole
new level
by The Fortress Sri Lanka. The luxury resort in Galle, Sri Lanka now offers a special dessert that costs $14,500.
Priced at $14,500 The Fortress Stilt Fisherman Indulgence is an effort by the resort's culinary team to create a one of a kind dessert that is intrinsically linked with the destination, offering both long lasting memories and a keepsake of the experience.
Available on special request, the dessert's inspiration comes from the resort's logo of the 'stilt fisherman', a centuries old fishing practice that can still be seen along the country's coastline even today.
A combination of a gold leaf Italian kasata, flavoured with Irish cream and served with a mango and pomegranate compote and a bubbly-based sabayon enlighten, forms the mouthwatering base of this delicious desert, however, the finishing touch is the 80-carat aquamarine stone nestled on the handmade chocolate stilt fisherman.
Legend has it that an aquamarine has the power to calm, sooth and heal. Its blue colour is often reflective of the ocean and the life giving properties of water and has been used over the years by sailors and fishermen for protection and luck.
It also has a soothing effect on relationships and is said to endow the owner with foresight, courage and happiness, the recipe for a long and happy marriage and the perfect gift for those looking to surprise their loved one.
We think it's worth every penny -- so long as we're not picking up the check, of course. It's true that jewelry is calming, soothing and healing. Just the thought of an 80 carat aquamarine nestled in our sabayon gives us a feeling of great serenity.
Halo 3 is finally here. Microsoft's new release is the current must-have for serious gamers. It's expected to have blockbuster sales.
The Halo series, set in a future when humanity is battling a hostile alien race, has sold more than 14.8 million copies since its debut in 2001, making it one of the most successful game franchises. The last major game in the series, Halo 2, set a record in 2004 for first-day sales of any entertainment product, generating more than $125 million in the United States in its first 24 hours.
Microsoft and major game retailers expect to surpass that mark beginning at midnight tomorrow, when more than 10,000 stores across the country will open to sell Halo 3. In London, authorities have banned official "midnight madness" events amid fears of unruly crowds.
As early as July more than 1 million consumers had ordered the game, which will be available in three versions, costing $60, $70 and $130. (The top version comes with a space helmet inspired by Halo 3.) The game will ship in 17 languages.
"There is no question the Halo 3 launch is the biggest event of the year in video games, and for a lot of people it will be the biggest entertainment event of the year, period," said Andy McNamara, editor in chief of the magazine Game Informer. "Halo just has its tendrils into the imagination of a whole generation. Frankly, I don't know if Microsoft would even be in the game business today if it weren't for Halo."
Halo 3 is widely expected to be the top-selling game of the year for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console, the sole machine on which the game can be run. Halo 3 is also expected to drive users toward the company's Xbox Live Internet service. The only other release that had been expected to compete with Halo 3 this coming holiday season was Take-Two's Grand Theft Auto IV, often called G.T.A., but that game was recently delayed until next year.
"Halo 3 is the drive title for Xbox 360 to bring it to the next level, and given the fact that G.T.A. slipped into next year, Halo 3 is really in a league of its own this year," said Ben Schachter, an Internet and video-game analyst at UBS Securities. "Certain games, like Halo, have a special place, and they can help drive the entire industry forward."
*****
"People have been talking about video games becoming a bona fide mainstream entertainment medium, and you really see that playing out with Halo," said Neal Tiles, president of G4, which will begin its coverage in New Zealand, where the game will first arrive. "They're looking at $150 million in the first day, which is bigger than any movie has done. Culturally, it's at least as big as any film opening or TV premiere or book or Broadway opening, and probably bigger."
And if you really want to surprise your gaming-mad loved one, you simply have to get him/her a Halo 3 Limited Edition Xbox 360. Or you could just keep it for yourself. That's what we tend to do when we buy someone a particularly cool gift. We're selfish that way.
Update: You can find Halo 3 review links and resources here.
On February 17, 2009 television will go all digital. People receiving analog television signals - "over the air" signals via an antenna - will no longer receive television broadcasts unless they buy a converter box that will be made available in 2008. People with cable or satellite tv don't need to worry. There are estimated to still be about 19 million American households that rely on analog broadcasts.
The National Association of Broadcasters is worried that consumers are not well informed about the upcoming change. They may own an iPod but still have no clue that their TV will stop working in 2009. There is a campaign to educate the public about the switch. There will also be digital-to-analog converter boxes available that cost about $60 that will enable people with analog TV sets to receive digital signals. According to a Chicago Tribunearticle the government will also be offering coupons to households that need a converter box.
Here are a few things the NAB wants you to know: Converter boxes that will enable your old TV set to keep working will be available in consumer electronics stores early next year and probably cost about $60. You can apply for a coupon from the government that is worth $40 off the price of each converter box.
Each household may get two coupons. Details on how to get those coupons are being worked out.
You also can scrap your old TV and buy a new one that gets digital signals, although there is no subsidy for that.
Something to keep in mind if you're shopping for a TV, Ingram said, is that some sets in stores are able to receive digital signals as well as analog, but others cannot.
Consumers will be also be able to visit the Digital Television Transition Coalition's website. Their goal is to ensure that "no consumer is left without broadcast television due to a lack of information about the transition." When the information about the digital converter boxes and coupons becomes available this website will have the details.
Another option for the nineteen million people still using TV sets with rabbit ears is to subscribe to a digital or satellite service or purchase a new tv set that has a built-in digital tuner. Unfortunately, the government is not going to give you a coupon for your new TV purchase.
You know we love us some Martha Stewart around here. Now we have yet another joyous Martha Milestone to celebrate: she's joined up with the Gallo Brothers to create her own wine.
Martha Stewart is working with Ernest and Julio Gallo Winery to develop a brand of wines under the label "Martha Stewart Vintage." the wines will be offered in January, 2008 in six cities The wines will sell for around $15 a bottle.
The initial launch of 15,000 cases will include three wines: 2006 Sonoma County Chardonnay, 2005 Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvingon and 2006 Sonoma County Merlot. The wines will be offered in Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, N.C., Denver, Phoenix, and Portland, Oregon.
"Wine is an important part of entertaining and cooking," said Elizabeth Estroff, spokeswoman for Martha Stewart Living. "We have a lot of credibility and a strong brand equity in these categories." She noted that wine was just natural to explore.
We'll certainly give it a try. It's always nice to find a good, yet inexpensive bottle wine.
iRobot has upgraded its series of robotic vacuum cleaners. The company says it has sold over two million of the robot vacuums to date. Here are some of the new features in the new 500 series of Roombas.
A solid, heavy-duty design featuring modular components for enhanced durability and easy servicing
Anti-tangle technology so Roomba can extract itself from tassels and cord tangles
iRobot's proprietary built-in, light-touch intelligent sensing system that can detect when Roomba is approaching a wall or obstacle and automatically slow the robot for a gentler impact and quieter operation
One-button activation, simply press "clean" and go
A built-in voice tutorial for new users that demonstrates Roomba's features right out of the box
A new mobility platform that allows Roomba to travel on thicker carpets, climb higher thresholds, and transition easily between floor surfaces
New re-designed dustbin holds significantly more debris
Colorful faceplates in white, steel blue, champagne, burnt orange, silver, charcoal, and chestnut so people can personalize Roomba to match their style
The new Roombas range in price from $249 to $399. More specifications and details about the new Roombas can be found on Amazon.com and on the iRobot website. The new Roombas come with different faceplates but you can also personalize your Romba with a Roomba costume from MyRoomBud. They appear to have added some new costumers since we last blogged about them. YouTube is a good place to catch a Roomba in action if you are curious how it works. Some of the videos also show how pets interact with the device. There are over 900 Roomba videos currently on YouTube.
Everyone who received a romantic wedding proposal certainly remembers it well, even if the marriage didn't turn out so great. But a perfect proposal remains essentially a private moment in time. To the generation which posts every minute of their lives on their blog or social networking site, that's just not good enough. Now some enterprising would-be grooms are hiring photographers to secretly photograph the moment of the engagement. No, really, they are. It's called Surprise Marriage Proposal Photography and it is the hottest thing ever in the wedding world.
The soon to be fiance makes his arrangements with the photographer (there are firms that specialize in this). The photographer trails the couple around a park or other romantic location, surreptitiously disguised as a tourist or something, and takes pictures of the proposal and the joyful acceptance. Women appear to be divided on whether or not this is a good idea. Some women are furious that they weren't warned they were going to be photographed and find the whole thing to be stalkerish. Other women think it's romantic and love having that special moment captured on film.
Whether inspired by tenderhearted sentiment, the desire to record history in the making or something more narcissistic, some marriage-minded men are remaking one of humanity's most private moments into one that can be instantly shared with family, friends and even, thanks to the Internet, virtual strangers. They are conspiring with photographers who, with all the stealth of covert operatives, lurk in crowds, behind bushes and in the darkened recesses of restaurants to capture the delighted, unposed reaction of the fiancée-in-the-making.
"The trend is on the rise to have all the moments documented in your life," said Anna Post, the author of Emily Post's Wedding Parties, to be published next month by Collins. "You see it on MySpace and Facebook, where people have posted 200 photographs of themselves, and they're not even photographs of profound moments."
Ms. Post finds the idea of photographically preserving a marriage proposal "wonderfully romantic, personally," she said. She warned, however, that it is not for everyone.
The idea dovetails with the current trend toward photojournalistic realism in wedding photography. In recent years the intimacies of a wedding day - a glimpse of the bride as she dons her underpinnings, the stolen mash session between the newlyweds when the guests aren't looking - have become increasingly fair game.
"Initially wedding photojournalism was an aesthetic choice by photographers like me because it emphasized the story of the wedding," said Terry deRoy Gruber, a New York photographer who shot the wedding of Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, among others. "But as time has gone on, with the proliferation of the paparazzi, reality television and online autobiography all kind of cooked together, people almost feel it's really the only way to document something. Proposal photographs represent the absolute beginning of the marriage story, and for some groom who is influenced by these other forces, this is sort of an obligatory scene to record."
Over the last four years, he and his team of photographers, who charge $500 and up for these sessions, have clandestinely snapped proposals on the Lincoln Center Plaza after the opera; masqueraded as tourists in public places; and hidden in the wings of a cavernous and empty (save two) restaurant rented for the occasion by a prospective bridegroom, cameras concealed behind black cloth, the sounds of the shutters obscured by the clatter of dishes.
Still, the idea of being secretly photographed at a traditionally private moment can be unnerving to some women.
"I thought it was a little stalkerish to know that this person was following you to get these great pictures," said Briana King, of the secret photo session in December 2004 that Christopher Joralemon, now her husband, arranged with Gruber Photographers. A crew armed with telephoto lenses and dressed like tourists trailed the couple, who were on a stroll through Central Park - ostensibly to attend a holiday brunch - where they'd met at a dog run seven months earlier. "But the end product was good," Ms. King said. "It was a little weird but definitely worth it."
This is all part of the ever-growing trend of Lifecasting: the recording and broadcasting of every bit of your life, using digital media. It's like The Truman Show, but for everyone. The concept is simple: if you don't record it for posterity, it didn't really happen. Of course, that's completely bonkers, but hey, it is fun to look through all those old photos on Flickr.
The surprise photography thing seems kind of alarming to us when we think about how the photographs might catch us not looking our best. On the other hand, if you're heading out to a romantic date with someone you think might propose to you, wouldn't you already be dressed appropriately in slimming attire with full hair and makeup? This could be your engagement day, after all (most women have a good idea when this is coming). And if you look like hell on this date, you're probably don't care about him and are going to say no anyways.
So, what does this cost the romantic man who wants to record this moment forever? The fees vary considerably. If you're short of funds, you should track down an old college buddy or relative that hasn't met your intended yet and has some mad camera skills. For the best results, you really want a professional photographer who knows what he's doing. We love the pictured engagement shot from photographer Shay Stephens in New York, who offers a $500 package which includes two hours of a photographer's time, a CD-rom of the results in black and white and color, and a stylist who can give you tips about where to stage the proposal for the best lighting/location/dramatic impact.
Typos can be quite costly on eBay. A seller made a mistake listing a valuable beer in an eBay auction as "Allsop" instead of the correct name "Allsopp." A knowledgeable beer person going by the eBay username collectordan bought the beer for the very cheap price of $304 and then went on to sell it in another eBay auction for $503,300 - a profit of over $500,000.
This happened because the original seller stupidly made a typo in the listing, which happens rather frequently on eBay. In this particular case, he listed "ALLSOPP" as "ALLSOP", which means that his item would not be returned by users making a search for ALLSOPP items. You'd think people who are about place to an item for sale on eBay would at least ensure that the items are properly listed. I mean, it doesn't take that much effort to read a small paragraph at least thrice.
Taking advantage of this typo, one guy won the auction for a mere $400 and went on to resell the item for a staggering $500,000+.
Here is the first auction listing and here is the second one. As you can see the lack of a "p" in the first listing ended up being very costly. There's a special search engine from Branica (details here) that is supposed to help people catch typos like this one. Gizmag mentions a similar tool called Auction Intelligence. Tools like these can be used by buyers to find good deals and by sellers to correct potentially expensive mistakes like the one above. Proofreading is clearly an essential eBay skill. (via Luxist)
The 3 Gigabyte iPhone is
coming
in late 2008, according to a recent statement by Steve Jobs.
Making the comments at the "Mum is no longer the word" press conference at the Regent Street Apple store in London, Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple said: "You can expect a 3G iPhone later next year".
The news comes as a 2G EDGE-enabled iPhone will be available in the UK on 9 November.
When asked why the current model didn't have 3G, Jobs blamed power issues saying that the 3G chipset would be too much of a drain on the unit's battery life which promises 8 hours of call time, but said that future models would have the technology.
"We are working on the next iPhone already, the one after that and the one after that", Jobs said.
If you thought early adapters who paid $599 were grumpy when Jobs dropped the price to $399 soon afterward, wait until they hear about the longed-for 3 GB version.
Actor Will Ferrell is auctioning off an appearance in an upcoming film called Step Brothers on eBay to raise money for a non-profit cancer charity called Cancer for College. Ferrell teamed up on the auction with Craig Pollard - an old college fried of Ferrell's from USC. Pollard, a two-time cancer survivor, founded Cancer for College (CFC) in 1993. 100% of the proceeds from the auction will go to Cancer for College. Step Brothers stars Ferrell and John C. Reilly as two stepbrothers who become very competitive when their single parents get married.
Why is Will doing this? Will has teamed up with one of his friends and USC fraternity brothers, Craig Pollard, to support Pollard's non-profit Cancer for College. www.cancerforcollege.org Will is offering the spot in his new movie in order to raise the most money possible for the foundation. Cancer for College was created by Pollard, a two-time survivor of Hodgkins' disease to provide college scholarships to current and former cancer patients.
Will attends CFC's annual charity golf tournament and auction and serves and the celebrity host. This year, Will wanted to add something extra to the event. He decided to open up the part in his movie as an auction item. 100% of the proceeds from this auction is going to Cancer for College.
What does the winning bidder get? The highest bidder will meet Ferrell at the charity banquet in Southern California on September 28th, 2007 to be honored as the auction winner. Then, in October 2007, the winner will meet Ferrell again on set during a day of filming his new movie and appear in a scene with him in his new movie, "Step Brother".
As you might expect bids are high for this charity auction. The current bid is $18,600.00 after forty bids. The auction will run for approximately six more days until Sepptember 24th, 2007 at 07:30:00 PDT. The direct link to the eBay auction can be found here. You can also get to the auction via the Cancer for College website.
The New York Timespays homage to uber-stylist Rachel Zoe (pictured here with her husband, Rodger Berman at the 2007 Webby Awards), reporting on her rise to fame, her brilliant manipulation of the celebrity/tabloid/fashion zeitgeist, her Svengali-like plan which turned Nicole Richie from a Paris Hilton sidekick into a size 0 fashion icon, her plans to reinvigorate defunct fashion line Halston and -- of course -- Rachel's undying modesty about her power in the fashion world.
Zoe's job -- her innovation in the business -- was to maximize the fashion component of the Hollywood-equals-celebrity equation. And for Zoe, fashion means the red carpet. Movies don't necessarily depict a glamorous existence, but the red carpet has the gloss of perfection. When images of the girl and her gown are beamed around the globe, the dress, the bag, the shoes instantly become coveted symbols of a dream world. "The power of it all blows my mind every day," Zoe said as the Chanel show ended. "Anna Wintour is one of my heroes, but they say that I'm more influential. As great as it is, Vogue won't change a designer's business. But if an unknown brand is worn by a certain person in a tabloid, it will be the biggest designer within a week. When I worked with Nicole, there were things that she wore that designers had to remake for another season because there was such demand."
*****
Around the same time, magazines like Us Weekly began inventing their own cadre of celebrities, like Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. They had no discernible accomplishments or talent, but they did seem to go out a lot, and they thrived under the flash of the paparazzi. Magazines like Us constructed provocative narratives around them -- their romantic woes, their drug problems -- and Zoe, who began working with Richie in 2003 when she was viewed only as Hilton's plump sidekick, saw an opportunity. "Nicole is now what people refer to as the big thing that happened," Zoe told me in Paris. "Everything went from nowhere to everywhere. Nicole was about creating a look. Because of her fashion sense, which was really my fashion sense, she became famous. It was a huge moment: Nicole became a style icon without being a star."
And then Nicole became a star, too. Because of circumstances that remain murky, Nicole and Rachel no longer speak. But the relationship made their careers. Zoe began working with Lindsay Lohan, Kate Beckinsale and other tabloid-ready stars eager for a new fashion identity. Now she has 20 clients, each of whom reportedly pays her more than $6,000 a day to dress them for events, big and small. Some pay only for premieres and award shows; some also retain Zoe to provide clothes for their daily lives.
Perhaps Britney Spears could use a dose of Rachel. But it may be too late. Rachel says she wants to get away from the tabloid stars and move into pure high fashion pursuits. But remember, the celebrities and the tabloids are what made Rachel herself a star.
Demi Moore is
speaking out
about Hollywood's not so well-kept dirty secret: when women hit 40 they simply disappear from the silver screen. Well, Demi's not keeping quiet. And despite the fact that she looks 30, she hasn't had many film offers since her comeback role in Charlie's Angels 3 in which she easily upstaged Cameron Diaz in a bikini.
"It's been a challenging few years, being the age I am. Almost to the point where I felt like, well, they don't know what to do with me. I am not 20. Not 30," she revealed to Red magazine. "There aren't that many good roles for women over 40. A lot of them don't have much substance, other than being someone's mother or wife."
Demi's frustration with Hollywood's attitudes toward "women of a certain age" was evident throughout her interview with the publication. "If we are told we are not valuable once we hit 30, it is a problem," she said. "We all have more to give ... We can't just wait for something to happen. We have to say, 'I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more.'"
It's so true. When Helen Mirren won an Oscar all any journalist could talk about was how great she looked....for her age. Her win was celebrated because it -- and her career -- is so unusual.
And as for how she looks so fabulous, The Daily Mail (U.K.) claims
that Demi has spent over £226k on plastic surgery -- that works out to about $453,446.49. The editors gleefully list every procedure they claim she's had and the prices.
After a string of flops in the 1990s, she took a career break, during which time she met her current husband, 29-year-old Ashton Kutcher.
Miss Moore then returned to the screen in 2003's Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, emerging from the sea in a skimpy bikini which showed off the results of a cosmetic surgery spending spree.
As well as breast implants, collagen injections and liposuction on her hips, thighs and stomach, she had a £5,000 procedure to lift the sagging skin on her knees.
She also employed an army of advisers - including a nutritionist, personal trainer, yoga teacher and kick-boxing coach.
Demi looks amazing. In fact, looks better than 90% of the 25-year old starlets. Did she really have close to half a million dollars worth of surgery? That seems excessive to us. We think much of the upkeep cost comes from salaries for personal chefs and trainers. But hey, that's her business -- to look good. And act, of course. Demi is known for her unstoppable energy and work ethic. Maybe she could be convinced to have a little chat with Britney.
We love the Paloma Picasso sugar stack rings, which are gold bands each with a single semi-precious stone. They come in citrine, rubellite, amethyst, blue topaz and several other stones. Pictured left is the large citrine sugar stack ring, which is available at Tiffany.com
for $1,575. The other rings are similar in price, so you can stack away so long as your credit limit holds out. The rings come in small or large, and are 18K. They really are lovely, with a nice minimalist sensibility.
You can get the same look on a budget with these stack rings from Ariella, shown to the right. The entire stack is $65 from Nordstrom.com. They aren't Paloma Picasso originals, and they are only brass coated in 18K gold, but if you want the look and Paloma's designs are currently out of reach, this will tide you over in the meantime.
Liz Jones of The Daily Mail U.K.) gives the British perspective on Fashion Week and in the process asks an interesting question:
why don't the top Vogue editors wear the fashions that they tell us to wear? The big three are Anna Wintour (U.S.), Carine Roitfeld (France) and
Harriet Quick (U.K.). Anna Wintour wears that same style of low-heeled sandal from spring through summer, then switches to a certain style of boots for the winter. Her hairstyle never changes, and she wears large sunglasses all the time, indoors and outdoors. Carine Roitfeld has said in many interviews how much she despises handbags and usually refuses to carry one. Carine changes up her style and outfits quite a bit, other than the generally enforced No Handbag Rule. We don't know as much about Harriet Quick, not yet having developed an obsession for reading her every utterance as we have with Anna and Carine, so cannot comment on her style. So, what is the answer? Why do those who have the most influence over fashion seem to ignore it completely when they dress themselves?
Well, Anna Wintour, for one.
While I vaguely admire the fact that the formidable editor-in- chief of American Vogue has found her own personal style - shiny bob ( professionally ironed each morning after her tennis lesson), Chanel shades, full print skirt belted at her tiny waist, pastel cardi and pointy kitten heels - and stuck to it, come winter or summer (in winter she just adds grey woollen tights), I have to say I find her look rather boring.
For a woman with the world's best and newest designers at her fingertips, there is no excuse to be stuck in a style rut, which is what I am afraid she is in.
Like many magazine editors - such as Franca Sozzani at Italian Vogue who has kept her long blonde tresses and black voluminous clothes for what seems like decades, or Ingrid Sischy of Interview magazine who only ever wears a tracksuit and trainers and never seems to wash her hair, let alone have it professionally blow-dried - having a signature style is Ms Wintour's way of opting out, of being above fashion somehow, and I suppose it sure as hell makes getting dressed in the morning easier.
*****
Who is the bestdressed woman in fashion?
It has to be the formidably tanned and sinewy Carine Roitfeld, editor of French Vogue, who despite the fact she is well past 50 is still sexier than any model on the catwalk.
She's a woman who can make a jacket worn as a skirt look somehow right, and who can carry off wearing a corset, a pair of footless tights and absolutely nothing else.
Front row at Vera Wang on Friday, Carine was wearing a Balenciaga skirt with jewelled hem, Marc Jacobs heels, a Marc Jacobs clutch (although she famously hates carrying a handbag; she finds them vulgar) and an old grey tank-top.
When I asked her what makes a woman stylish, she said: "You 'ave to not care. The more expensive something is, the more recklessly you 'ave to wear it."
Wise words from Carine, that we should all strive to follow. Toss that Hermes Birkin around like it's the Devi Kroell faux lizard tote from Target. That's the spirit. See a photo of the Vogue ruling triumvirate here.
We all know how important security is for our favorite shoes. Remember that horrible shoe thief who snuck into Marla Maples' home and stole all her favorite footwear? Perhaps learning from that terrifying incident, Harrods instituted some spectacular security for the display of diamond-encrusted shoes by Rene Caovilla. A live cobra
guarded
the shoes, which are worth $120,000.
Rene Caovilla, retailer of Harrods, one of London's well-known high-end stores, designed a pair of ruby, sapphire and diamond encrusted sandals worth $120,000. Caovilla ordered live Egyptian cobras to guard the shoe counter on its launching day.
Security experts said that hiring a poisonous snake to guard their most precious footwear is really the most effective because no one would dare touch their most expensive sandals.
Harrod's spokesperson said, it is just for photo op and they hired the cobras just for the occasion.
"The snake has now been returned to its owner," the spokeswoman said.
"So no need to fear snake bites at the shoe counter then," she added.
"Not unless you're a burglar," the spokeswoman said.
Somehow this solution to the problem of shoe theft doesn't really appeal to us. Perhaps a nice lock on the closet door would be safer.
Every mom makes the little ones wash their dirty hands before eating, after going to the bathroom, after being around anyone who's sick etc. But as the CDC loves to remind us, it's not really the dirt that's the problem. It's the germs that cause all the problems. And E.coli. And bacteria. And virus. And...well, you get the picture. To adequately remove germs and other nasty things, one is supposed to spend a full 20 seconds washing one's hands, which apparently no one does.
Enter SquidSoap by Airborne, with its patented technology, which is designed to teach and train proper hand-washing technique to children. It's the only liquid-soap dispenser with a specially designed pump that stamps a child's hand with vegetable dye. It takes about 20 seconds of thorough hand washing to remove the ink mark, leaving the child with clean hands. We think they should put Squid Soap in public restrooms -- that should keep everyone washing for the full 20 seconds.
And speaking of that, we saw a show on Oprah about this very topic. A hidden camera watched womens' hands to see how long they washed -- the results were horrifying. Most of the women either a) didn't wash or b) ran water over their hands (no soap) for like two seconds. Can we say Hello E. coli (and heaven knows what else) contamination? Oprah's hand-washing expert said that you should wash for as long as it takes to sing "Happy Birthday". So, next time you're in the public restroom we expect to see you singing "Happy Birthday" to yourself as you merrily suds away at the sink. Or we'll set the hand-washing police on you.
Buzznet.com interviews Hayden Panettiere backstage at the VMAs. Hayden talks about her Roberto Cavalli dress, her new album and her adorable Heroes co-star, Milo Ventimiglia.
Hollyscoop.com shows Gwen Stefani's collection for L.A.M.B. during fashion week. We like the collection, especially Gwen's dress. Little Kingston makes the perfect accessory for the ensemble. There's nothing like a cute mom taking a bow with her baby to warm the cold cockles of buyers' hearts. Her cute husband Gavin Rossdale was there too, lending moral support.
Has Fashion Week in New York left you exhausted? Or did you miss all the fun? Here are some highlights to give you a flavor of the mood in New York:
Oscar de la Renta
banned faux fashionistas from his show on September 10th.
Note to the faux-cialites: Oscar de la Renta doesn't want you at his Sept. 10 show.
"None of the girls who just show up to places to get their pictures taken were invited,"
our insider said. "Oscar thinks they are tacky and is only interested in the women who actually
support his work and, you know, buy the clothes." Another source said, "The list was cut
in half - the new space for the show is on Park Avenue and there wasn't room to accommodate everyone." De
la Renta's rep declined comment.
Miss Sixty, on the other hand, reportedly
paid $50,000 a person to entice hot celebs to attend the show. That surely explains the appearance of the ruggedly adorable Clive Owen in the
front row.
Thursday must have been pricey for Miss Sixty. Word is the show's planners were baiting
stars with small fortunes to get them to attend their 10 a.m. show. One high-profile
publicist informed us that her clients were being offered up to $50,000 to hit the tents in the morning.
It paid off. Demi Moore, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Clive Owen and Mischa Barton sat front row,
though all four seem way out of the edgy denim brand's tweeny demographic. Maggie's
Birkenstocks said it all!
Marchesa is expanding
beyond just doing red carpet gowns. The collection was gorgeous.
Cathy Horyn of The New York Timesdespised
Gwen Stefani's L.A.M.B. collection.
The rise of the dastardly Internets and the associated newfangled technology
has apparently sped up the time it takes to knock off a designer original. Knock offs now hit the stores before the designer originals.
Designers are not amused. Remember that
law
that fashion designers were trying to get passed to protect them from knock-offs? Congress is actually considering it again.
But by far, the most entertaining PR stunt of the week was Jezebel.com's Barf Bag swag bags. The blog hired two models to dress in vintage stewardess ensembles. The duo handed out real airline barf bags which included a tongue depressor, Ex-Lax and some breath mints. The campaign asked the question: what about Fashion Week makes you barf? Apparently, the guests thought it was funny, the supermodels, eh, not so much.
Steve Jobs was pummeled with furious emails after his announcement yesterday of a $200 price cut to the iPhone. Early adopters were really angry that they had paid full price when a price cut was just around the corner. So, Jobs issued an apology and has offered a $100 in-store credit to customers who bought the iPhone. The details haven't been worked out yet, but kudos to Steve for being responsive to his fan base customers. His open letter to customers says:
To all iPhone customers:
I have received hundreds of emails from iPhone customers who are upset about Apple dropping the price of iPhone by $200 two months after it went on sale. After reading every one of these emails, I have some observations and conclusions.
First, I am sure that we are making the correct decision to lower the price of the 8GB iPhone from $599 to $399, and that now is the right time to do it. iPhone is a breakthrough product, and we have the chance to 'go for it' this holiday season. iPhone is so far ahead of the competition, and now it will be affordable by even more customers. It benefits both Apple and every iPhone user to get as many new customers as possible in the iPhone 'tent'. We strongly believe the $399 price will help us do just that this holiday season.
Second, being in technology for 30+ years I can attest to the fact that the technology road is bumpy. There is always change and improvement, and there is always someone who bought a product before a particular cutoff date and misses the new price or the new operating system or the new whatever. This is life in the technology lane. If you always wait for the next price cut or to buy the new improved model, you'll never buy any technology product because there is always something better and less expensive on the horizon. The good news is that if you buy products from companies that support them well, like Apple tries to do, you will receive years of useful and satisfying service from them even as newer models are introduced.
Third, even though we are making the right decision to lower the price of iPhone, and even though the technology road is bumpy, we need to do a better job taking care of our early iPhone customers as we aggressively go after new ones with a lower price. Our early customers trusted us, and we must live up to that trust with our actions in moments like these.
Therefore, we have decided to offer every iPhone customer who purchased an iPhone from either Apple or AT&T, and who is not receiving a rebate or any other consideration, a $100 store credit towards the purchase of any product at an Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store. Details are still being worked out and will be posted on Apple's website next week. Stay tuned.
We want to do the right thing for our valued iPhone customers. We apologize for disappointing some of you, and we are doing our best to live up to your high expectations of Apple.
The Spirit of Women Health Network and Carlos by Carlos Santana footwear have announce the opening of bidding for the Spirit of Women Celebrity Red Shoe Auction, an online charity auction of celebrity-autographed footwear that will benefit several health organizations, including the National Stroke Association and Peripheral Arterial Disease (P.A.D.) Coalition.
Available for bidding September 5 - 14 are red shoes autographed by:
Courteney Cox, Dirt, Friends
Susan Sarandon, Academy Award-winning actress
Laila Ali, boxing champion, Dancing with the Stars
Jennifer Morrison, House
Carlos Santana, legendary Grammy-winning recording artist
Available for bidding September 15 - 24 are red shoes autographed by:
Steve Jobs announced upgrades to the iPod family and a price cut for the iPhone. It was all rather complicated, but essentially here's what he said:
The iPod Nano is now wider and comes in cool colors (pictured above). The 8GB Nano will cost $199 and the 4GB will retail for $149.
The old, full-sized iPods will now be called iPod Classics and now have 160GB of storage.
The new Apple iPod Touch media player looks a lot like the iPhone. Essentially it's an iPhone without the phone. The 8GB model is $299 and the 16GB retails for $399. (not pictured). The iPod Touch has the ability to connect to the Internet using Wi-Fi wireless technology, and a mini Web browser that can view YouTube videos and search Google and Yahoo.
The iPhone's price will drop by $200 . The 8GB version now costs $399.
Ringtones for the iPhone are available at iTunes.com for 99 cents.
Apple cut a deal with Starbucks: when customers show up at Starbucks with a laptop running iTunes or an iPhone, the devices will automatically recognize the store's Wi-Fi connection so you can buy more things from iTunes.
Got all that? Because it took a really long time to wade through all the press releases. In any event, it appears clear that it will be an Apple Christmas.
Well, this is certainly unexpected. Maggie Gyllenhaal shows off her sultry/siren side in her new lingerie ads for
Agent Provocateur. Serena Rees, co-founder of Agent Provocateur, said: "Maggie is not an obvious sex symbol.
She is interesting looking, confident and beautiful in a way that is non-threatening, which makes her appealing to men and women alike." Dita Von Teese and Kate Moss have both modeled for the lingerie company.
These are just a couple of the photos which are part of "Lessons in Lingerie" the first in a collection of catalogues entitled The Adventures of Miss A.P. The next episode in the series, "Lady of the Manor," will be released in November. The books are free, but you have to pay shipping and handling. Maggie looks great. Time to cast her as femme fatale.
Milla Jovovich of the hip fashion line Jovovich-Hawk has
signed
to create a mini-line of clothing for Target to launch in Spring, 2008. Milla formed the fashion line in 2005 with her
model friend Carmen Hawk and it has been quite successful.
The eclectic line is now beloved by Tinseltown trendies such as Chloe Sevigny, Nicole Richie, Brittany Murphy, Joy Bryant and Ginnifer Goodwin. Even Victoria Beckham has been spotted wearing a Jovovich-Hawk Iggy mini. Vogue magazine has raved about the line's "girl-about-town cult status that most designers spend years trying to achieve."
Now Jovovich-Hawk is joining the likes of Patrick Robinson, Proenza Schouler and Libertine (in the U.S.) and Stella McCartney (in Australia) with a lower-priced capsule line (around $34.99!) for Target, due in stores for Spring '08.
Jovovich even wears some of her own designs as Alice in the sci-fi chick action flick, "Resident Evil: Extinction." The shorts she wears in the third RE are a variation on her "Alice Star" shorts in her Spring '07 collection. The third RE film opens Sept. 21, just a month before she gives birth to her first child with RE writer-fiancé, Paul W.S. Anderson.
*****
"Our Target line will have all our classic pieces: smock dresses, tunics, minis, all vintage-inspired, great prints," Jovovich said. "We took the things that sold the best for us but we're doing it on a bigger scale. To be able to do it with a big company that can afford to do it for a good price so that real girls can afford it. That's the reason we were interested."
The maternally glowing beauty admitted that narrowing down their collection was hard. "We're the queens of over-sized collections. We just can't decide. It was really interesting to see what their [Target's] take on our line was."
The two friends began their line in a haphazard fashion, designing and drawing on Jovovich's living room floor, producing limited pieces for personal use until a friend sent them to a buyer at Fred Segal. Jovovich professed some regrets at their initial naivete. "We're just now trying to find a business partner," she said. "We've done as much as we can on our own. We've created an image, a brand, a style. When you see Zara doing little smock dresses, leggings... It's hard because when you probably should have thought about having a real business partner from the beginning."
We really loved Milla in The Fifth Element. Alas, because she's no longer married to director Luc Besson, it seems unlikely that there will ever be a sequel. Chris Tucker's hilarious debut as a talk show host/drag queen/galactic celebrity was just too funny. And who could forget Milla wearing white a white bandage outfit and orange hair and still looking amazing while being carried around by Bruce Willis?
You can see more of Jovovich-Hawk's designs at the website.
The outspoken Keira Knightley is the new face of Coco Mademoiselle perfume by Chanel. Chanel went all out for this campaign, shooting a mini-movie called "Coco Mademoiselle" which stars Keira as a modern version of Coco Chanel herself. She is supposed to be mysterious, independent and strong.
For those of us who refuse to give up our personal essentials for air travel, finding just the right containers and bag to take them aboard the plane is key. We can buy travel sizes of certain products, but what about those products which don't come in a travel size? We like this Clear Bag System, made by 311 The 6" X 8" Clear Bag System cases meet the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) carry-on regulations on liquids, gels and aerosols.
Each case is equipped with Airless Pumps, which are environmentally friendly and keep products from leaking eveywhere at high altitudes.
The hair from legendary composer Ludwig van Beethoven has been fused into a diamond and auctioned off on eBay for charity. The synthetic diamond is one of three diamonds created by 
The concept of expensive dining has been taken to a whole
You know we love us some Martha Stewart around here. Now we have yet another joyous Martha Milestone to celebrate: she's joined up with the Gallo Brothers to create her own wine.
Martha Stewart is working with Ernest and Julio Gallo Winery to develop a brand of wines under the label "Martha Stewart Vintage." the wines will be offered in January, 2008 in six cities The wines will sell for around $15 a bottle.
iRobot has upgraded its series of robotic vacuum cleaners. The company says it has sold over two million of the robot vacuums to date. Here are some of the new features in the new 500 series of Roombas.
Everyone who received a romantic wedding proposal certainly remembers it well, even if the marriage didn't turn out so great. But a perfect proposal remains essentially a private moment in time. To the generation which posts every minute of their lives on their blog or social networking site, that's just not good enough. Now some enterprising would-be grooms are hiring photographers to secretly photograph the moment of the engagement. No, really, 
Typos can be quite costly on eBay. A seller 
The 3 Gigabyte iPhone is
Actor Will Ferrell is auctioning off an appearance in an upcoming film called 
The New York Times 
Demi Moore is
We love the Paloma Picasso sugar stack rings, which are gold bands each with a single semi-precious stone. They come in citrine, rubellite, amethyst, blue topaz and several other stones. Pictured left is the large citrine sugar stack ring, which is available at 
We all know how important security is for our favorite shoes. Remember that horrible shoe thief who snuck into Marla Maples' home and stole all her favorite footwear? Perhaps learning from that terrifying incident, Harrods instituted some spectacular security for the display of diamond-encrusted shoes by Rene Caovilla. A live cobra
Every mom makes the little ones wash their dirty hands before eating, after going to the bathroom, after being around anyone who's sick etc. But as the CDC loves to remind us, it's not really the dirt that's the problem. It's the germs that cause all the problems. And E.coli. And bacteria. And virus. And...well, you get the picture. To adequately remove germs and other nasty things, one is supposed to spend a full 20 seconds washing one's hands, which apparently no one does.
Has Fashion Week in New York left you exhausted? Or did you miss all the fun? Here are some highlights to give you a flavor of the mood in New York:
Steve Jobs was pummeled with furious emails after his announcement yesterday of a $200 price cut to the iPhone. Early adopters were really 
The Spirit of Women Health Network and Carlos by Carlos Santana footwear have announce the opening of bidding for the Spirit of Women Celebrity Red Shoe Auction, an online charity auction of celebrity-autographed footwear that will benefit several health organizations, including the National Stroke Association and Peripheral Arterial Disease (P.A.D.) Coalition.
Milla Jovovich of the hip fashion line Jovovich-Hawk has
