Open To Buy
Field Notes - Montecito, Denim, and Bloomingdale’s newness
Forecasting — trend spotting
Fashion & Beauty Finds — sales and new deliveries
In My Feed - content and stories I’ve been reading this week
In this send: Wrapping up my southern California Channel Checks with Montecito. Laid back and filled with advanced contemporary brands. Plus: Godmother Books, work dresses, Montecito Country Mart, The Post Montecito, Jamie Haller, senior jeans, Nour Hammour, cupro, another Love Shack Fancy collab, Pool Slick Lash Lacquer, Mixik, Reef, Capri, and I hope you have a fun weekend with plenty of tabs open.
Field Notes
I hadn’t been to Montecito in about a year and was eager to check out The Post Montecito. After my daughter and I shopped/Channel Checked around L.A. we drove to Montecito. See our notes from The Grove here and Nordstrom and vintage spots here.
Summerland: I’ve always wanted to visit Godmother Books because I love book stores so much. Even though I read on a Kindle and borrow books via Libby. I stepped inside and I knew I could get lost, in the books, for hours. Unfortunately my daughter wouldn’t let me. This is the place I want to spend an afternoon. I also stopped by Heidi Merrick next door. This is the only store front the brand still has and it is well merchandised with plenty of special pieces, everyday staples and the space is open and easy to shop. I love “California” brands like this personally because as someone who pretty much only wears black and solids I still feel right at home. This is what I call a great “work dress” and it is on sale. I also love the architecture of this dress.
Montecito Country Mart: La Ligne opened at the end of July. Marfa Stance is opening at the Mart at end of August. Marin Country Mart has had a Marfa Stance location for awhile now and it has been doing well according to sources, especially with the milder temperature year round the build-your-own outerwear is designed for flexibility. I also love the Clic at MCM but the location at Marin seems much bigger. The edit is always fantastic and one of the things I like is you can find interesting basics (black dresses, easy pants, t-shirts), special pieces that are more heritage — like Il Bisonete, and if you need to get a hostess gift or home decor you will always find something interesting here. The store is from Calypso founder Christiane Celle. One store we don’t have at Marin Country Mart that I really loved is Mate Gallery. It is the tiniest space but has a fun assortment across price points. Plenty of vintage and just the best RRL merchandise. While the merchandising can seem chaotic, it really isn’t. Makes it fun to discover something new every time.
The Post Montecito: First, the space. Runyon Group developed the Post Montecito and then sold it this past spring for a nice profit. Now the Runyon Group is developing a property in the Hamptons. I visited the two spaces back to back on a Saturday late morning/early afternoon and Montecito Country Mart was busier and felt more crowded — like there was more going on.
Teller was a fun boutique to shop with a smart assortment of brands like Donni, Kallmeyer, Agolde, Tove, and Still Here. Advanced contemporary brands and the merchandise and brands were all mixed together making it easy to pair a top from one brand with pants from another. I really liked this space as it felt like an “adult” boutique to shop. I feel like if I need something to wear I could always find something to wear immediately.
The Lela Rose boutique recently opened and the interior design is beautiful. Built-in closets that you can wander around. This Lela Rose was heavy in the Ranch collection. There is a Brochu Walker here and when I was in the store a woman was trying this faux leather top on and I hope she got it. It looked great on her.
Plenty of great accessories stores: Janessa Leoné, Freda Salvador (I’d like to bring your attention to a woven mule reminiscent of the Jada ballet flat and the Carmela pump that is like the Jada ballet flat got a little height.), and the jewelry at Marisa Mason was beautiful. And there was a lot of it.
Then I wrapped up my afternoon at Jamie Haller. I’ve been so excited to visit the shop ever since I spoke to Haller shortly before she opened this spot. She was driving back and forth to Montecito from L.A. to work on preparing for the opening. There was a comment recently from a reader that the inventory and sizing assortment was spotty at Jamie Haller. I agree. This isn’t a brand that focuses on always being in stock. As a customer this can be frustrating, super frustrating, but as a retailer and someone who wants to see brands do well in the long-term this is likely the smarter approach. It is more of a slow growth strategy minimizing overstocks and reducing the need to markdown goods.
I tried on a couple of pairs of pants and jeans but they didn’t have my size in a few styles. I also wanted to try on the Jazz shoes which weren’t in stock. I did pre-order the Trap shoe in Fire this past June but they haven’t arrived yet. I just checked the site, looks like they are expected to ship this week! Lucky me. For a more fall/wintery version the Kitty (another shoe I have and love) just arrived in moss and claret/burgundy ponyhair. I tried on the San Diego Sandal and loved. This could easily be a 10K to 15K step flip-flop. The Hero jean is a solid option for petites. I liked the fit of this and I’m 5 foot 2 inches for reference. I also liked the fit of the Kick Trouser. Overall I really like the Jamie Haller store and while this is the only location currently, I hope she opens a couple more. What I really like about a Jamie Haller boutique versus shopping the brand in a large department store is you get all the products together. The shoes, ready-to-wear, and other accessories and it makes it easy to play around with them.
That’s a wrap on my L.A. and Montecito Channel Checks. I’m already wanting to return. Next stores on my list to visit in the area: the reopening of Palisades Village which opens this weekend, the new Agolde store, I skipped Mohawk General this visit but want to go visit again (they are getting a little facelift at the moment), and Still Here is opening on Melrose. They do something special and different for each location so I’d like to see that too. Montecito I’ll need to swing by the Rosewood Miramar next time.
More Field Notes
Denim Days: Denim season continues. The category for back-to-school and the go-to item for transitional weather. Spotted this week:
Madewell x Eva Joan customization in Austin, Nashville, Chicago. See more details here.
Abercrombie x Abbode monogramming and embroidery.
American Eagle showing up on campus with sorority rush.
Have you heard of “Senior Jeans”? Seniors in High School have all these traditions that were not a thing when I was in school. Back in my day…we decorated a pennant to highlight where we got into college and that was it. I bet by next year we will have brands hosting events to decorate and DIY. Gap x Michaels for next year maybe??? Other DIY projects: parking spaces, car decorating, senior boxes. There are tons around graduation, prom, last game of the season etc. too.
More of my denim recaps from this week here.
Bloomingdale’s new additions: In recent weeks Bloomingdale’s has expanded the vendor roster with the Loulou de Saison shop-in-shop, Ulla Johnson, and Dries Van Noten. I’m excited about the add of DVN because it gives the department store the right amount of edge and something interesting to the mix. I’ve brought this up before and seen it in the comments, but the shoppers in the branches wish there would be some fun brands added to their mix too. It is always a push and pull of building the brands out and still making sure they get a healthy sell-thru but you would think operations wise in 2026 it would be a solvable challenge. Additionally, while I was doing some online research regarding Nour Hammour, Nordstrom recently added to their vendor assortment, I was searching for the brand at Bloomingdale’s. While they don’t have at this time, customers are clearly searching for the brand here. Below you can see a screenshot of what auto-populates.
Forecasting
Comme Si just launched what might be the easiest easy pants that are also a little elevated with the sheen. What makes them have that sheen and a super soft hand is the Cupro Twill material.
Cupro is a material that acts like a silk, but is easier to care for, drapes really well, less expensive than silk, and is considered sustainable because it is produced from the short fibers left on the cotton seeds. Which would otherwise just be waste.
A few other pants and pieces in this material that I love:
I saw these at Paloma Wool in L.A. and loved them in the navy. They are 92 percent cupro and 8 percent elastane giving them that stretch.
A more tailored pair from Dries Van Noten.
Left on Friday has a great travel set in a Japanese cupro — and described as naturally moisture wicking, quick drying, bio-degradable, and anti-static . The pants, a short sleeve button down, a maxi dress, and the shorts.
This Skims jersey wrap dress.
I own this J.Crew dress from maybe 5 years ago in black and it is the perfect summer travel dress. It is 60 percent cupro which makes it travel so smoothly and this one on Poshmark is in the blue shade of the season. Here is the newer version with thinner spaghetti straps but the same 60 percent cupro blend.
J.Crew’s cupro blend top in 60 percent cupro would be a less expensive alternative to an all silk shirt and easier to care for.
I added the LoveShackFancy x Fanatics collab, launching with 8 universities, to the LSF collab tracker. All Power Four teams — in the SEC, ACC, and Big Ten. Major football programs.
I’ve been noticing more bandana accessories, similar to the Call It By Your Name totes. These easy, simply made loafers have been all over my feed this summer. Feels like the newer version of this type of shoe. Fabric upper with a flexible rubber sole. I also just discovered this cute fringe-y mini bag.
Longchamp east-west handbag. Back in my Retail Diary days I was recapping east-west handbags so I added to this round-up.
Fashion & Beauty Finds
Tory Burch’s end-of-season Private Sale kicked off. A few finds:
A dress in the blue shade we’ve been talking about. They named it “Bay Blue”. (I’ve been asking around and heard Reef, Turquoise, Paradise Blue, and Capri*.)
The Pierced Mules are included in the Private Sale event.
From trends I’ve been tracking this season: Polka dotty, a canvas tote, balloon pants, and this creative take on the cardigan that has a trompe l’oeil bikini top.
Nour Hammour’s new fall collection just launched. Éclats de Nuit. A few highlights: this fur jacket is described as a ‘90s style to wear for evening or with denim, a flow-y leather midi skirt, a leather robe coat, removable collar on this bomber, loving the name of this jacket — the Matriarch. Fits perfectly.
Left on Friday is having their summer sale — 30 percent off all swimwear. Note it is Final Sale but if you know your size, these hold up so well it is a great time to stock up for next summer, or with the weather we will likely be able to swim for another few months this season. This is my personal go-to one piece, and this one piece has been the best seller for the season (see my reporting in Puck’s Line Sheet on top affiliate links).
We have more new beauty products coming. Pool Slick Lash Lacquer (aka Mascara) from Fara Homidi was teased via Instagram. I’ll add to the August New Beauty Tracker when it launches. The brand launched sunglasses earlier this summer and an excellent eye shadow palette so it’s a great time to expand into mascara.
Merit Beauty launched a mascara, Clean Volume, in June. And Jones Road Beauty launched their new mascara earlier this week.
When I checked in with a beauty exec this week she said this is typical and we aren’t seeing any more than in previous years. Lots of new fragrances coming soon too. I added Chanel’s new Coco Mademoiselle Crush Absolu to the beauty tracker.
Korean beauty brand based in L.A., Mixik, has a pop-up this weekend in L.A. — 621 S Western Ave. This is a teen-focused brand that is sold in Old Navy, Tilly’s and CVS. My daughter has tried these pimple patches* and says they work great.
In My Feed
A travel syllabus. Print this one out or archive it to reference before traveling. I love packing guides and travel looks so I devoured this immediately. Plus no one does a bag round-up and accessories like Joyce Lee — I’m a fan forever.
This was illustrated perfectly by MacKinley Jade. No notes.
Frasers Group has acquired Harvey Nichols out of insolvency (aka bankruptcy). [Business of Fashion]
Made just for you — always. See you Tuesday
xx, Sarah Shapiro
Private Label Issue 34
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Catching Up:
Deep Dive: Sézane Says It's Slowing Down
Hi! It’s been a busy reporting week at Private Label HQ (my 4 foot desk) since I also published a story for Puck’s Line Sheet on the key items in each summer category with the data from ShopMy. You can read it here and see the shorts, swimwear, sunglasses, and sandals — and as Lauren Sherman wrote in the emailed newsletter: “It’s riveting. It’s insightful. It tells you everything you need to know about the current consumer psyche!”
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Why didn't I think of Senior Jeans when I was in high school?
I would love to see the internal site searches for Bloomingdales and Nordstrom - they always make the best case for adding brands/items to your assortment imo.