Retail Scoop

I don’t know about you, but it appears that I am way behind with my beauty shopping. I do admit I don’t have the most rigorous beauty regimen, and don’t have the name of the brand I use at the tip of my tongue. Considering the e-tailer expert I am, I shouldn’t have been shocked by the number of online stores dedicated to beauty. Yet, that was my exact reaction when I read the article published in WWD, under the self explanatory title, “BEAUTY E-TAILERS”. I have compiled a shorter list that doesn’t include mega stores (hope you’ve heard about Amazon), sites that have a brick and mortar operation, flash sales and discount sites. If you have had shopping experiences with any if these sites, I am looking forward to hearing from you.

	Beauty.com : is a leading online destination for a diverse assortment of prestige beauty ranging from the widely recognized to niche, hard-to-find beauty products
	Beautyencounter.com : is a premiere online source for fragrances and beauty products that offer consumers an exceptional range of hard-to-find international and specialty products.
	Beautyticket.com Beautyticket.com is a premium beauty experience that brings the best of beauty to women on every budget
	Cosmeticmall.com is where you shop the most exclusive and hard-to-find beauty products on the planet
	Dermastore.com is offering the largest selection of skin care and beauty products with informative user and professional reviews
	Folica.com believes that hair is the most important accessory, and sells everything for a great mane
	Fragrancenet.com believes in exceptional beauty and exceptional prices
	Luxuryparlor.com sells luxury beauty, organic products and accessories
	Parfumsraffy.com sells high-end niche fragrances from around the world
	Skincarerx.com Customer service, 60 day return and free shipping orders over $49.
	Skinmedix.com was born from the idea that the world’s leading skin care products need not cost a fortune.
	Skinstore.com carries the most trusted brands with proven results
	Timetospa.com has one philosophy: inner peace, outer bliss- and a wide variety of products and tips are available to un-stress you.

According to Wikipedia, Masstige is a marketing term meaning downward brand extension or “prestige for the masses”.  These products are “premium but attainable” or otherwise called democracy in luxury.

There seems to be an increasing trend among premium designers to use their names and talent to create short or long lived affordable lines. From Jil Sander, Karl Lagerfeld, Vera Wang, Stella McCartney’s to more recently Lanvin; they have all dibbled into the lower markets. WWD quotes Jil Sander, “I took part in the transformation of fashion from a couture craft into a contemporary industry. We are much better equipped to realize quality on a much larger scale.” Recently, she has been quoted as saying, “To me, luxury has nothing to do with high prices”. So, now you have it. You don’t need to break the bank to be elegant. Designers say it, and consumers couldn’t agree more.  Where do you find all these affordable brands? From Kohl, that successfully carries Simply Vera; to H&M, Target and regular department stores; everybody seems to have them. What’s the best way to play the Masstige game and win? Learn your brands. Product knowledge is important – not just for vendors, but also for consumers.  Once you find the designers you love, check out if they have a better priced line and make these items the backbone of your wardrobe.

Brooks Ross knows cashmere, as he should. His mother, Ann Ross, founded Madison Avenue’s upscale destination for women’s fashion, Leggiadro, in 1985 and now has boutiques in New York, Americana Manhasset, Melrose Place, Ocean Reef Club, Monticeto, Palm Beach, Nantucket, Palm Desert, Naples, Sarasota, Dallas and Charleston. Sticking with the foundations of luxury, Leggiadro designers and craftsman all Leggiadro clothing is spun and died in Italian factories. And their pillow soft cashmere is the best in the world…or pretty darn close.

What’s so great about cashmere?

Everybody loves cashmere – the texture, the warmth, the luxury. Have you felt it?

I mean it’s beautiful, but why is good-quality cashmere so expensive?

There is a lot of fundamental differences between types of cashmere. Five things to keep in mind are: length of fiber, location of raw fiber, color of raw fiber, location of production and weight of item.

So it’s like pima cotton – longer fibers make it softer? 

Exactly. Longer fibers create greater strength Think of it like interlocking hands with a person. If you are holding each other by your fingertips, it won’t take a lot of force to break that bond. If your hands are fully clasped, it will take more force to separate. Shorter fibers have a tendency to pill.

Then where the fiber comes from is important as well. But isn’t a goat a goat? 

There are Kashmir are in many countries; it’s where on the goat the fibers come from. Premium fibers come from a very small area in the center of its chest, the underbelly, and are hidden underneath a coarser outerlayer of hair called “guard hair.” The hair that comes from there is also the purest in color. Other parts of the animal might have fibers gray or brown. Those are harder to die.

Why Italy? 

Italians have ingrained, historical knowledge of how to deal with the fiber. Leggiadro spins their fabrics in Italy because of their ingrained luxury tradition of both spinning and dying the yarns.

What was the fifth one? 

Weight. So it might seem counterintuitive, but the lighter the material, the more delicate and luxury. A very fine sweater requires almost three times as much time to make the same sweater at a heavier weight. Our artisans are more careful about small imperfections. A broken needle or small twist can entirely ruin the quality and weave. They must be extremely meticulous.

Hence the name Leggiadro.
Right. Leggiadro means aesthetic beauty with lightness and grace.

Emma Dinzebach

Busy winter! Fashion Weeks is still raging in Europe, but for a second we wanted to pause and toast to the U.S.A. Olympic athletes…and their designer, Ralph Lauren. For the first time since we can remember the Winter Games had American fashion mavens doing a double take. In the opening ceremonies, athletes donned class cream Polo turtleneck sweaters. “Was that Shaun White?” we asked ourselves stunned for a moment at the way Polo’s design made even the alternative snowboarders and the rowdy bobsled team polished and poised.

During the closing ceremonies Sunday night we. were. stunned. Stunned. U.S. Olympians looked awesome. How U.S. athletes turned out more tailored, put together and undoubtedly classy than nearly all their European counterparts is nothing short of miraculous. Ralph Lauren truly outdid themselves with their Olympic design by leaning on their classic legacy. But the Olympic designs also transcended Lauren’s preppy foundation with hipster friendly cardigans and for the outdoorsy types, down jackets.

Olympic apparel – the adorable navy with red cardigan (above), the open ceremonies cream sweat, smart navy down puffer jackets and “Create Your Own” Olympic polos are available online.

Emma Dinzebach