Hi — Wednesday evening I saw Amy Smilovic from Tibi at Sherri McMullen’s epic new boutique in San Francisco, McMullen. The new Maiden Lane location is gorgeous and if you haven’t been, go immediately. I’m so excited to have a gem like this in the Bay Area. The assortment of the store was fantastic — Heirlome, Ossou (I might be back for these jeans that were pretty perfect), Christopher John Rogers, and of course a large assortment of Tibi.
Amy and Sherri shared stories of what it was like building businesses with partners that are really of a shared mindset. Sherri opened McMullen about 20 years ago and Tibi is about to celebrate 30 years. They have been together since McMullen launched and that is the kind of connection and long-term support you can really appreciate in the fashion industry when trends and businesses can change so quickly.
I also enjoyed meeting Tina Boetto IRL and catching up with Angela Galvez and talking shop. The McMullen team put on a really special event to highlight Amy Smilovic’s new book Almost Reckless.
In this send: A night at McMullen’s new San Francisco boutique with Tibi and the partnership behind it. Plus: how Sézane’s $90 fragrance compares to the competition, Farm Rio x Barbour, why Alo wants you to shop now, the trend that is up 315 percent on Poshmark searches, Hill House Home coats and collabs, where Revolve landed for their second location, ShopMy + sports, and I would love to do Happy Hour with Ina Garten.
Deep Dive
New Collabs — from Love Shack Fancy to Barbour, and everything in between.
New Launches — Sézane has me doing a fragrance price comparison
Sale Season — Alo Yoga with 30 percent off, and get your cart ready for the Sephora sale
Forecasting — recapping all the new additions from vintage coats to taffeta and balloon pants
New Store Openings — Opening just in time for Q4
People in the News — a new Chief Merchandising Officer at The RealReal and ShopMy adds a CRO and head of biz dev for Sports (!!)
In My Feed — two podcasts I loved, more Vogue thoughts, and my latest for Puck’s Line Sheet
New Collabs
Adding to the Love Shack Fancy collab tracker (which after a bunch of summer collabs has seemed a little quiet). LSF x Kendra Scott. This is what the tweens will want for the holidays.
Auralee x Tekla on their second collaboration. This is a collab to get you ready for cozy cocooning at home.
Hill House Home x Williams-Sonoma is back for the holidays. They launched a Mahjong Set which is right on trend, very Nantucket inspired ornaments, holiday Nap aprons, get in the holiday spirit!
Farm Rio x Barbour collab feels super directional. I’ve seen a lot of Barbour collabs like J.Crew, Tuckernuck (note, this is an earlier collab and no longer available), A.P.C. and this one feels so much more decorative and like Farm Rio really leaned in to their design language.
New Launches
Just in time for prime holiday shopping season, Sézane has launched their first fragrance. Le Parfum Sézane. It is $90 for 100mL which is priced really well compared to:
$78 less than Marc Jacobs Perfect
$60 less than Kayali. As reported by Rachel Strugatz, Kayali is Sephora’s top-selling fragrance brand.
Dedcool is $90 but for only 50mL. So double the price.
$26 less than Glossier You
$35 less than another contemporary brand, Love Shack Fancy, 75mL for $125. If adjusted for the size, Sézane is actually $77 less than LSF.
Lingua Franca put the Brunson celly on cashmere. 10 percent of sales from the collection go to the Second Round Foundation.
The new caramel shade of the Jamie Haller Trap kitten heel is a good one. I own two pairs of Jamie Haller kitten heels (the kitty and the trap) and love them both. Comfortable like a flat. The long front row seats of the TWP runway show was filled with women wearing Jamie Haller kitten heels. Perfect for the days you are running around and on your feet.
Sale Season
Alo Yoga is offering an early Black Friday Sale. Let’s break this down:
First, early to get you to shop before everyone else goes on sale. Although many brands are doing this now too. But by going first/earlier they are hoping to get a greater share of the wallet. Less competition for where you will spend your money.
Next, if they do a sale again later you might buy gifts for someone else. This is the time to gift yourself.
Finally, the requirement is to join and be a member. The brand is also doing this to collect names and emails in their database. Grow acquisition and make it easier to market to their audience in the future.
Therabody is having a beauty and wellness sale with up to 25 percent off. This is my rec — I own and love the TheraFace Depuffing Wand.
The Sephora sale starts October 30th. This is the time to stock up on gifts and anything you want to try.
Gifts I recommend: I love gifting Merit to friends and my SIL. Ditto with Westman Atelier. For any teenager or babysitter I would give this. And my daughter would love this but she already has more lip balms than she will ever use.
What I love and suggest if you are looking for something to try: I really like the new Westman Atelier foundation*, and if you want something with a lighter touch try the Ilia skin tint*, this eye mask actually stays put, and an easy to apply lipstick I keep in my handbag.
Forecasting
This section for today’s send will be rounding-up the trends we’ve already spotted, and adding in what’s new. Honestly, being vulnerable here, but this is just a way for me to be productive about my own Type A and OCD tendencies. Everything gets organized.
Vintage/Ornate inspired coats:
La Ligne’s duster is added to the mix.
Dôen launched their Holiday collection and these jackets fit the bill: the Lamont Coat sold out (keep an eye out for returns), the Lenon Coat is the more neutral option. Dôen also added a vintage inspired brooch to their assortment to add to any coat you already have.
Just how major is the coat this season? Well, Hill House Home went big with a coat collection. Can they own coats like they own The Nap Dress™? Last year the Clarisse was a top style, not just for HHH but across the ShopMy links, so there is history there. The key styles in the vintage and ornate inspired look have already sold out their preorders: the Annabel, the Kit. Still available: the Valerie, the Miriam and plenty more.
The full Forecast of this style coat is here.
Stats from Poshmark: searches for “brocade jacket” are up 315 percent and orders are up 129 percent year-over-year and for “fur trim jacket” orders are up 84 percent.
Bitchy Leather Skirts: this is perhaps my favorite trend of late. Given the price point I apologize in advance, but here is one from The Row where I can almost feel the leather through the screen. And another one from Nour Hammour that I absolutely love — the waistband!
Major Mahjong Moment: Westman Atelier created a Mahjong Set in their signature colors for the holidays. I did a report on the margin breakdowns of sets like this and why I think the Mahjong Set could be big for the holidays. And earlier this week Arma (check out their pony hair jackets and suede pants) partnered with Becky Malinsky to host a games night that included Mahjong. I expect we will see a lot more fancy mahjong parties this holiday season.
Fancy (taffeta) pants: A new pair of taffeta pants has entered the chat. I continue to be intrigued and impressed with what Shopbop is doing with their private label business. Of course I need to see under the hood in terms of markdowns, inventory levels, margin, etc to get a real sense but the merchandise and the price points feel right. Shop all taffeta pants here.
Billowy Balloon Bottoms: Balloon pants are still floating around. I was wondering if the colder temps would deflate this trend but it hasn’t yet. Jamie Haller has a new silk version available in a tomato red and black. Dôen also added an ivory silk and lace dressy version for the holidays. See the full recap of styles here.
Good — Better — Best lessons: I found a new triangle scarf from Sézane and the price is “good” in the Good - Better - Best ladder BUT it is alpaca and not cashmere. Then, to further spiral I would likely put this other triangle scarf from Sézane into the “better” price point only because it is smaller in dimensions and priced slightly higher since it is in yak wool, so it is the mix of size and pricing that lands it there. Check out Me + Em for a better price point also in merino and yak.
