Michael Kors, the Fashion Designer of the Moment

                                                              Image from www.theiconmag.com

You may be surprised to learn that Michael Kors has been around a long time. We have the impression here in Europe that Michael Kors has just appeared on the scene in the last couple of years. He has certainly made an impact in that time. He is everywhere you look. He is opening a new shop on Bond Street in London’s West End, but he is also in the upmarket Westfield shopping centre, he is in Harrods, House of Fraser and John Lewis. He has a new collection for Net-a-porter.

As any designer knows, it is quite difficult to be everywhere, but if you are everywhere, you also need to be selling everywhere; otherwise, before you know it, you are nowhere. But Michael Kors is selling everywhere. So how is Michael Kors doing it? And who is Michael Kors anyway?

Michael Kors is an American designer who was born in 1959. He studied at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology and in 1981 he launched his women’s fashion line in a number of New York’s best known fashion stores. In 1997 he was appointed the Creative Director of the French Fashion house Celine. It was only in October 2003 that Kors left Celine to concentrate on building up his own brand.

Michael Kors’ fashion lines are comfortably in the Luxury category with a price tag to match. He has well designed fashionable clothes with sensible nuances and interesting colours. Kors himself says that he wants women to feel good in his clothes, and they should certainly do that. But Kors has matched his clothes lines with extremely well designed accessories. His watches, his handbags, his shoes even his sunglasses, are very well designed and certainly have a special modern look, feel and touch about them. They certainly have the ‘Je ne sais quoi’ factor.

Michael Kors’ impact has been such that we have had to adapt the English language to suit him. The English word ‘Cor’, an informal word to express surprise and admiration, as in ‘Cor! What a beautiful handbag!’ has now become ‘Kors! What a beautiful handbag!’

Again the need to give an explanation on why on one bought the handbag in the first place has moved from ‘’Cause’, short for ‘Because’, a conjunction which means ‘for the reason that’ which does not give a reason without further explanation. This has simply been adapted to ‘Kors’ as in ‘Why did you buy this handbag?’ The answer is ‘Kors!’, where no further explanation is needed.

So do you have your Michael Kors accessory for the summer? The answer is quite simply  ‘Of Kors!’

Image from www.pursepage.com

Mulberry’s new Carter handbag

 Mulberry has launched its new Carter bag, coming in a range of sizes from mini, midi and double handled version. It is not clear where the name Carter has come from and what its objective is, but the name has a masculine ring to it, which seems a little odd for a feminine handbag. I get images of Michael Caine from the 1971 film ‘Get Carter’ and imagine him hitting one over the head with the handbag.

                                                        Image from www.coolspotters.com

The Carter has received enthusiastic support from the fashion critics, so far be it for Luxury Hedonist to put a spoke in its wheels. However, despite being extremely well made and presented in a range of interesting colours, the bag is probably too much like those nondescript handbags secretaries used to carry in the 1980’s, which used to hide, rather than show their personalities. The word most associated with the Carter seems to be ‘safe’ rather than ‘elegant’ and most critics have been ‘kind’ rather than really analytical, although that might seem rather mean.

Does the Carter have the ‘Wow’ factor, the ‘Je ne sais quoi’ of handbags? This is normally immediately apparent in a bag, which of course is visible to the human eye. It is a bit like love at first sight. Does it shout out at you, or niggle you with its charm and whisper ‘buy me’? Will it make an impact on the street, will other ladies give you an admiring glance as you walk by, or sprint up to you from across the road to ask you what it is, and where you bought it from? Or will the holder have a secret smug smile, which tells the world you have something special in your hands, an object which attracts a vile amount of those twin, but contrasting emotions, jealousy and admiration?

No, I am afraid the answers to the questions are no, no and no. It doesn’t, it won’t and it can’t. But that is probably because it is safe; its lines do not protrude differently to so many bags of the past. It doesn’t create a fuss, the bag does not scream or shout or create a tantrum. It does not pout, seduce or tantalise. Which is probably just as well as Mulberry is a company is on a roll at the moment, announcing shop roll-outs as quickly as its profit increases, so the launch of a safe bag to add to its already impressive collection is probably just what the shareholders needed.

The Shopping Trip

Yes, ladies I know you have been shopping before...Paris, Milan, LA...but you haven't been here before....shoes you haven't heard about ...not to mention the handbags...and the clothes...This is the best unknown destination for shopping that you have never been to before.

You are going to be looked after in exclusive style-you and your girlfriends. You can plan the perfect trip. It is one week of hedonist shopping, with everything in place for the perfect voyage. And you will not forget this one!

Keep guessing, because I am not telling you where it is yet.

Ok Ladies, I know that you are dying to know what shopper’s paradise I am promising you, but I am not going to tell you yet. But take it from me; you are not going to be disappointed. It is a modern capital city, with many beautiful buildings. It has been modernized in recent years and now has a bustling port area which has been turned into a centre of nightlife. Yes, this city has a cracking nightlife, but that is not why we are recommending it. It is because it is a shopper’s paradise.

Firstly there are many antique shops, you know, those kinds of things you can't find anywhere else. Some celebrities have discovered this location, and make a point of looking for antiques whenever they are there. A famous British singer is well known in this part of town.

Then there are the shoes. Of course, there are many of the best known designer names here, but you wouldn't necessarily come for that. It is the up-and-coming names that will catch your attention. Why? Because some of these shoes will make your grillfriends (yes, that is the correct spelling-these are girlfriends who will grill you until you tell them where you bought the shoes! Only they won't be able to get hold of them quite so easily!).Different designs...you know the ones that will make your grillfriends perk up and not stop the questioning until they get some answers.
               

                                                              Image from www.rhythmandmotion.ca

The handbags are mostly made from pure leather of the best quality. Something different, something to really get your hands on. They don't make them like this anywhere else. Made to inspire and to spread envy amongst the female population. These bags will inspire confidence and admiration.

Somebody whispered to me the location must be Rome. No, it is not Rome! And you might not want to go home (not in a hurry anyway), as Michael Bublé might have said. But, there is plenty of Italian influence, and the Italian restaurants are to die for!

Yes, the food is great, and for some foods it is the best in the world. Full stop. No doubts. Because when you are on a serious shopping trip, food is important. Ladies have to keep their energy levels up. How else can they keep going day after day, after many a wimpy man has long given up?

Even the name of the city is cool. Cool. Cool! A city you will never forget, that you will dream about.

No, you haven't guessed it yet...as Michael Bublé might have sang, but he didn't and to put you out of your misery, it is not anywhere in Canada.

I am going to give you a quick dance around the city. It is a European city but is not in Europe, they speak European languages, but alot of English is also spoken, the British have had a big influence on the city, but so have the French, the Spanish and the Italians. Latin sophistication and English charm, or English sophistication and Latin charm. Whichever way you want it, it is here.

The city is classical, but modern, old but new, big but small, bustles but is calm; this city is what you want it to be....

And so let me explain a little. You will be blown away by the classical buildings, built in the style when they really knew how to build properties to stare at, to stand in awe of, and to live in style and luxury. And yet they have modern buildings, in glass and steel that stand comparison, although in my opinion in a different way, to the wonders of the past.

Image from www.flickr.com

They build new shopping malls here, for example, like nowhere else. They look and feel like monuments, they are celebrated buildings with lines which pay homage to the classical architecture of the past. They have frescoes that look like they were plucked from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. Did Michelangelo live a second life here? It certainly looks that way.

And yes! This is a city of music and dance and shopping, celebrated and renowned for shopping, but not as much as it should be. You can be romanced and listen in awe to delicious pop songs, ballads and opera. And the dance! They do not so much dance, as set the place alight! Yes, you can dance while you shop. Ladies prepare to move your bodies; you will discover parts of your body you didn't even know existed! Wow, let's go shopping....in Buenos Aires.

Image from www.en.wikipedia.org

How to Wear a Watch

How to wear a watch I hear you say? How daft is that? Everybody knows how to wear a watch; you just put it on don’t you? Or do you? Well, yes, you do but have you ever noticed that some people look incredibly good with watches, always with the right watch on the right occasion? That’s right, different watches suit different occasions, and that is one of the things that proper styling ensures, that the person looks good with their watch for the occasion in question.

                                             Image from www.free-press-release.com

So let’s get rid of a few misapprehensions about watches. The first is probably that watches tell the time. Watches do not tell you the time. They show you the time, and if you are wearing them right, they will show you a good time.

The second thing is that people do not notice watches. You would be surprised; people pick up very quickly on the kind of watch you are wearing. Your watch is a statement to the world. Just a question-do you know which of your friends wears a Rolex or Cartier watch? I could be mistaken, but I think you will be able to name every person you know who has either of these watches. So watches do matter.

                                                   

  Image from www.watcheshead.com

Thirdly, watches are not a fashion item nor do they make a difference to what you are wearing. On the contrary, watches can make or break a look or an image. If you are dressed in a dress suit and you wear a cheap black digital watch, you are going to look silly. People will judge you on little or nothing these days, and if your watch does not suit the occasion or your clothes, you will suffer the consequences.

So, having got rid of some misapprehensions, let’s look at some positive points for wearing a watch.

Firstly, as you dress for the occasion, so your watch should suit your clothes. The watch should not bring your clothes or you down, nor should it be ‘over the top’. Wearing a Rolex in swimming costume and flip-flops when you are dressed for the beach is probably not appropriate. A plastic or rubber watch, which can also be stylish, might be more suitable.

                                Image from www.vogue.co.uk

On the other hand, wearing a plastic watch to the office every day, may not also be appropriate unless you happen to work for Google. A stainless steel, or gold coloured watch may be more appropriate.
 So watch your step and choose your watch accordingly, so that you can be shown the time.

Luxury Shopping in Bicester

There is a new kind of game in town. It is a pleasurable activity, because it involves buying luxury goods at good prices. How is that possible you ask? Surely it is not luxury unless you pay an arm and a leg for it?

Image from www.tourinaday.com

Deep in the Oxfordshire countryside, approximately nine miles from Oxford, lies the picturesque village of Bicester. It rhymes with ‘Sister’, who you should probably take there. It also rhymes with ‘Blister’, which is appropriate as you will need to do some walking. It is here that Bicester Village was built as a Mecca for all luxury shoppers.

It is a little confusing to see Bicester Village on the company’s website as ‘London’, as it is clearly not. It is not even ‘Oxford’, but there you go. I guess it is aimed at foreigners who think that London includes most things in England.

Here we have it, a Bond Street without the traffic and without the hassle. And more to the point, without the prices. Yes, this is luxury shopping at its best. Or is it? You doubt it, because you know you are not going to have that hard swallow, deep determination to be able to afford that handbag you have always wanted and never quite been able to afford. No guilty feelings, that has to be a new way to shop!

It is a bit like the first time you go to Primark. You look at the prices and you suddenly realise that actually you can afford to buy four or five of the things they are selling, instead of just one, somewhere else. But do not think that this is Primark, and the prices are a give-away. They are not.

The brands are selling last year’s collections at reduced prices. Putting it another way, everything they were unable to sell last year, they will try to sell through their outlets at Bicester Village at a reduced price. But if you think about it another way, you buy luxury brands exactly because they stand the test of time. So if you wear something from last year’s collection, does it really matter? So everybody’s a winner.

There are perhaps a few kingmakers who are notable by their absence. Louis Vuitton and Chanel are the principal ones, but they do not discount anything anyway, so it is probably not surprising they are not present. There are also a few pretenders who are probably surprising by their inclusion. Luxury Hedonist thought best not to embarrass them by naming them.

Some brands have embraced Bicester Village like a sister and gone to town. Ralf Lauren, for example, has three shops, encompassing their Children’s clothes, the main store for men’s and women’s fashion, and their Home store. In their main store, they have a fine selection of goods at good prices. There some other stores who have not really grasped the concept of selling luxury products at non-luxury prices, and would probably prefer they were elsewhere. Some other top brands, like Gucci, to their credit, seemed to have embraced the concept and sell some very attractive products at very acceptable prices.

Image from www.inoxformag.co.uk

Bicester Village is only an hour and a half by road from London, and also has very good transport links. Coaches travel regularly from London and there is also a rail station, with good links to London. It is only an hour away via Chiltern Railways from Marylebone Station in London. The village has a very good tourist inflow, with tourists from all around the world.

So if you want to go to Bicester, grab your sister and prepare for one or two blisters!

The Cinderella Syndrome

Once upon a time, a beautiful young lady left a party in a real hurry and in her haste she left one of her stunning shoes behind. A shell- shocked prince was left with his heart in turmoil with only a shoe in his hand as a clue to the identity of the beautiful lady he had spent the evening with. There and then the prince vowed to find his princess via her shoes. Ever since that time, ladies have had something about shoes. Shoes that can turn an ordinary girl into a princess.

So what is it about women and shoes? Surely the most famous shoe colletion is that from Imelda Marcos, the wife of Ferdinand Marcos, the President of the Philippines from 1965-1986. After the people’s revolution, the angry crowds stormed the President’s palace. Within the palace walls, the people discovered Imelda’s collection of more than 3,000 shoes. Although there were many more extreme extravagances, it was the shoe collection which came to symbolize the Marcos’s extravagances.

If you think about it, it is perhaps not surprising that women collect shoes. After all, do men not collect everything from antique cars, wine, stamps and coins? A recent study by Co-operative Insurance has shown the extent of the women’s passion for shoes. While the average woman in the UK will have about twenty pairs of shoes, about half of those are purchased for special occasions that never arrive.

Image from www.stylehive.com

The most important reasons why women purchase shoes were to go with a new outfit (52%), to stay on trend (18%), and to fuel a shoe obsession (10%). However 37% of women said that they purchased shoes to cheer themselves up. Wow, the ladies need quite a lot of cheering up!

If you ask a lady why she needs so many shoes, she will often reply that she needs different shoes for each different occasion. That sounds fine, but how many different occasions can there be? Let’s think, there are formal occasions, party occasions, work occasions, beach occasions, and one or two other occasions. No, no, no, that is thinking like a man! The fact is that women see each new day as a new occasion, and even moments within the day being new occasions. This has the advantage of practically making the occasions practically infinite!

The other point about shoes is that women buy shoes for themselves. Men very rarely venture into the shoe territory. Men will purchase jewellery for their special lady, they will buy handbags, sometimes they will buy accessories or even outfits, but rarely or will they ever buy shoes for the lady. The reason is that the risk is too great and dangerous. There can be consequences, intended or unintended…

Image from www.stylehive.com

The most important thing about shoes is their loyalty. With women’s shifting weight, dresses and jeans can sometimes be a traitor to their owner, but shoes will always fit. And so shoes will always have a special place in a woman’s heart, especially when you are waiting for that unexpected occasion when a Prince might knock at the door with a shoe in his hand, the special occasion when an ordinary girl can be transformed into a princess by a simple shoe. With a shoe a lady can, at a stroke, alter her height, and alter her standing in society in a few simple steps. No, it is no longer surprising that women love shoes with a passion.

  

Image from www.connect.in.com

Japanese Luxury

We have all been shocked and astounded by the events of the last few weeks in Japan. It was not immediately apparent how these events would affect the world of luxury and fashion. The funny thing is that almost immediately the news broke out, shares in the luxury fashion companies Louis Vuitton and Burberry fell. The markets understood why. Markets never lie. The truth is always in the share price.

The fact is that the Japanese are avid shoppers of all luxury brands, but Louis Vuitton and Burberry in particular. The figures tell the story that a significant part of all sales of Louis Vuitton and Burberry sales come from Japan. These figures do not even take into account sales to the Japanese outside Japan which must also be quite considerable.

 If you have ever visited the Louis Vuitton shop on the Champs Elysees in Paris, you will know what I am talking about. It is like an invasion. The Japanese queue up outside, and often the shop has to restrict entry and sales to the Japanese to one item each. Can you imagine that? You have clients who want to buy up all your goods, so you make them queue up outside, and also restrict them to only one product!

 Sometimes the Japanese are so desperate to buy more, they will approach total strangers in the street and offer to pay them money to enter the store to purchase more goods for them, and offering the strangers good money just to complete this task.

Some years back, stories surfaced about Japanese businessmen and their phantom golf trips. The businessmen would tell their wives they were going on a business golf trip to meet up with clients abroad. They would carefully pack all their golf equipment, and then dump it at the lockers at Tokyo airport. Afterwards, they would head to Bangkok or Manila for sex trips. On their return, they would make sure they collected their golf bags before returning home, fully satisfied.

These days I am sure the Japanese women are getting their own back on their men. They are obviously telling their men folk they are visiting their mothers for a week or so, dumping their children at their mothers, before heading for the airport to meet up with their girl friends for the trip to Paris or London.They then indulge in their own
 kind of orgy. An orgy of buying luxury goods.

If you are lucky you may see these Japanese at the airport flying back to Tokyo. They are quite difficult to spot, but with a discerning eye you may be able to identify them. They will probably be discreetly wearing LV sunglasses, with a LV scarf, and a LV belt, a couple of LV handbags, LV shoes, topped by a LV hat. You get the picture don’t you?

They say that 94% of all the women in Tokyo have a Louis Vuitton handbag. Now that’s what I call penetration! So why do the Japanese go mad over luxury brands like Louis Vuitton? A European would probably buy a luxury product because their friends do not have it, but the Japanese will buy a luxury product exactly because their friends have it. It’s called keeping up with the Jones’; I wonder how you say that in Japanese?