Coutorture

coutorture — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:00:00 -0700

eLuxury Shuts Down e-Commerce, Introduces Temporary Site

eLuxury officially shuttered their e-commerce operation on Friday and introduced a fun, temporary editorial format to keep people coming to the site. In early 2010, eLuxury will relaunch as a globally-minded editorial site with "unique and original content" but, until then, visitors are entertained by taking daily quizzes which prompt them to answer questions like "Dirty Martini or Virgin Mary?'. The temporary format is poised to include imagery and video content as time passes, presumably to keep visitors engaged over the six month waiting period.

ELuxury Shuttering, Major Markdowns Begin

coutorture — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 07:53:43 -0800

ELuxury Sale: Zac Posen Textured Metallic Dress Was $1,600 Now $672, Rag & Bone Runway High Waisted Tux Pants Was $370 Now $158, Peter Som Watercolor Pintucked Skirt Was $795 Now $338, Proenza Schouler Sequin T-Shirt Was $825 Now $347, Giuseppe Zanotti Leather Stiletto Bootie Was $850 Now $359, Marc Jacobs Coco Tote Was $1,450 Now $511

With the news that LVMH-owned e-commerce site ELuxury is shuttering, we can only assume that the markdowns are going to be unreal. Right now for instance, customers can take an extra 30% off sale merchandise. Sure, this is happening everywhere, but take a look at the inventory and you'll notice a big difference. A piece of advice: search by size, or you'll be lost in the sixty-odd pages of goodies. Our picks, above.

Fashion In 50 Seconds 01/09/09 ELuxury Shuttering, Peter Som Not Showing At Fashion Week & More

coutorture — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 06:35:06 -0800

ELuxury, the e-commerce site owned and operated by LVMH, is closing down it's 'retail section' within the next six months and will transition into editorial.

Peter Som and Creative Design Studios have split, forcing Som to pull out from New York Fashion Week. There's no denying that Som has had a tough year.

On a lighter note...

Fred Flare is desperately trying to cheer everyone up. For Valentine's Day mail in a homemade Valentine and Fred Flare will sell it for $4 and give the money to charity.

Last night Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs celebrated in honor of Stephen Sprouse. Check out a photo gallery from last night's event right here.

eLuxury Shopping For A Good Cause

coutorture — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 06:44:00 -0800

Juicy Couture Flap Lock Flash Bag $195.00, Acne Jeans Iman Platform Oxford Pump $209.00, Anlo Brooke Skinny Jean, Poe Wash $194, James Perse Drop Back James Tee $65.00$35.00, Carolina Amato Gloves Driving Gloves, Earth $149.00

This week eLuxury will donate 5% of their online sales to cancer research with the entry of this discount code. At checkout, enter 5rfh and the money will be donated to Run For Her--an organization that helps raise awareness about ovarian cancer and the research efforts to discover a cure. Above, we picked out five items, all around $200, that we recommend. Just because you're on a budget doesn't mean you can't give back and these items, whether worn as an outfit, or individually, are the perfect way to do both.

Sharing is Caring

coutorture — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 06:21:36 -0700

Barbour Putney Jacket- Olive $250 - Barneys

Rag & Bone Superfine Cashmere Scarf $225 - La Garçonne

Acne Jeans Hug Diner Jeans $299 - La Garçonne

Tod's Heaven Buckle Loafer $395 - eLuxury

Steven Alan Reverse Seam Button Up $162 - Ron Herman

Gender confusion is one of the great psychological dilemmas of dressing well for the fashion set so its little surprise to us that fashion couples often share wardrobes, from Steven Alan button ups to Barbour barn coats, sometimes the out fit for the run to the coffee shop in the morning tells you more about gender roles than a Camille Paglia screed

The Allure of Designer Blue Collar

coutorture — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 07:24:50 -0700

Surface To Air Wide Blue Shirt $194 - Oak

KSUBI Frill Mini $183 - La Garçonne

Marc by Marc Jacobs Chambray tailored shorts $168 - Net-A-Porter

Rag & Bone Chambray Sahara Pant $220 - La Garçonne

Lark & Wolff by Steven Alan Shirt Dress $78 - Urban Outfitters

Current/Elliott Chambray Shirt Dress $210 - eLuxury

This morning we got an email from Filson advertising their chambray work shirt. Now given the original demographic of Filson this is hardly surprising that a classic workshirt would be a popular item to send out in mailer, but the brand has been newly adopted by the Freeman's set with every creative yuppie in the LES and Williamsburg carrying their classic briefcase.

Indeed, the adoption of hearty hard living garments at designer price points has become endemic among the hipper retailers. Chambray in particular has become a fabric of choice for everything from shirts and dresses to trousers and shorts. Chambray, a fine lightweight fabric woven with white threads across a colored warp, originated in Mesopotamia around 50000 B.C in another age of intellectual flourishing so perhaps its just a fabric of the people for the next set of snobbish people. Proving that despite Sarah Palin's feeling of safety around Carharrts and steel-toed boots anyone can adopt comfortable workwear.

The Terrible Burden of Basics at Narciso Rodriguez

coutorture — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 06:45:48 -0700

Narciso Rodriguez Shirt Dress $1250 - eLuxury

Narciso Rodriguez Overdyed Cotton Dress $1495 - eLuxury

Narciso Rodriguez Runway Kimono Dress $1650 - eLuxury

Narciso Rodriguez Anniversary Dress $915 - eLuxury

The great disappointment of the Liz Claiborne and Narciso Rodriguez partnership sits for us at the uncomfortable space between creative vision and production values. As a designer, Narciso is not one for daring geometric interpretations or commercially confused offerings, he gives high end consumers the subtle brilliance of basics done right. In this sense the partnership should have been a great boon to a designer needing production and sourcing help to further his commitment to making the best possible garments. Having a conglomerate on your side gives you the ability to negotiate deals with textile firms and producers that would be impossible as an independent. Whether or not this support manifested we may never know. But we can only hope that there was no stifling of creative effort because in truth we wonder who could possibly argue with his incredibly appealing and easy to sell garments.

What A Tassel!

coutorture — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:36:22 -0700

Sautoir by Nicole Romano $175 - Vivre

Malachite Tassel Necklace by Kenneth Jay Lane $250 - Vivre

Estee Lauder Exclusive White Linen Passementerie Bow by Jay Strongwater $325 - Neiman Marcus

Dsquared2 Golden Mesh Bracelet with Tassel $175 - eLuxury

Erickson Beamon Tassel necklace $910 - Net-A-Porter

All of the fiddly bits on display at Louis Vuitton's Spring 2009 show are liable to give minimalists a heart attack but for those that like a little ornamentation it was great inspiration for Fall. One of the best styling tricks was the incorporation of tassels in unexpected places. While you can't buy the collection for a few months you can certainly get a head start on the tassel trend right now. We have taken the liberty of suggestion a few options.

Cowboy Boots For Those That Cooked The Golden Goose

coutorture — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 08:09:55 -0700

Golden Goose Sienna Pull-On Boot $1311 - eLuxury

Golden Goose Charlye Pull-On Riding Boot $1164 - eLuxury

Golden Goose Kate Motorcycle Boot $1143 - eLuxury

Golden Goose Golden Zip Cowboy Boot $1143 - eLuxury

In some perverse reversal of the Spaghetti Western tradition (cheap American cowboy films made in Italy) Golden Goose takes an American product, makes it in Italy and gives us a much more expensive product. We think Italian duo Francesca and Alessandro Gallo have made the perfect boot for our cowboy President. They go perfectly with 700 billion dollar rescue packages for Wall Street. Lonesome cowboy indeed.

It's Not The ROI! It's The FOI?

coutorture — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 06:14:44 -0700

While much of our coverage privileges runway during show season, we are not entirely inured to the allure of the fashion party, thus with the help of eLuxury, we decided to treat our readers on a behind the scenes look at the fundamentals of throwing a fashion week bash.

eLuxury, under the new leadership of David Asher, threw its hat into the Fashion Week fray this season with a party at 60 Thompson on the evening of September 11th. Taking over the rooftop of the hotel (hauntingly lit by the glow of the lights emanating from Ground Zero) as well the a VIP section of Thom Bar, the party was an opportunity for the New York fashion community to meet the new CEO and become more familiar with the San Francisco based, LVMH owned, luxury ecommerce retailer.

And meet and greet we did, as your editors bumped into the new CEO right off the bat in the elevator, where the bare-chested Galliano-esque creative gamely discussed his activities for the evening. Clearly it was to be a rockstar agenda with fun as the main activity, though closely followed it would seem by inebriation. In fact, when we asked David on our way out, only jokingly, about the ROI of the gift bags, he told us "You are too mathematical. It's not about the ROI! It's about the FOI. Fun on investment."

That sentiment, while perhaps not deeply reassuring to shareholders given our extremely precarious financial times, is certainly part and parcel of the fashion party experience. To mix a few telling historical references, in an age and industry of Babylonian excess, why not fiddle while Rome burns? Here Sarah Logan, Director of Merchandising for eLuxury, fields our questions on just what makes a fashion party tick and how to make it fun.

Coutorture: What is the purpose of throwing a party at fashion week?

Sarah Logan:To bring people together to discuss ideas, inspirations, and experiences. Fashion week is the ideal time to capture that energy.

C: How do you judge if an event was a success?

S: If there are a lot of laughs, smiles, and animated conversation. The more of all of the three things mentioned; the better the party.

C: How do you craft a guest list. Who do you hope to attract? Whom do you hope to avoid?
S: You hope that every guest will come away with a new friend, a new notion, or a new intention. It is always best to avoid the dramatic.

What goes into planning the event?
S: Commitment, belief, and purpose. Most importantly, providing guests with a few hours of pure revelry.

C: What are some of the critical decisions?
S: Location is key. Guests need to feel welcome and comfortable enough to linger and mingle. Dom Perignon always helps.

C: How do you choose a menu?

S: Cocktail menus need to be party attire friendly, and need to consider a range of eating habits. It is always best to plan for more food and drink than you think is needed.

C: What about drink sponsors?

S: We have the luxury of being affiliated with LVMH, so our offering included Dom Perignon, Chopin, and Ruinart Rose Champagne. And since we are based in San Francisco, we felt it appropriate to fly in a resident Bar Chef to mix an exclusive eLUXURY.com cocktail- the "eLUXIR."

C: Why is eLuxury throwing their hat into the fashion week party fray?
S: Since we are based in San Francisco, we thought fashion week in New York would be the perfect venue for welcoming our friends on the opposite coast.

C: Is this a new marketing direction for eLuxury?

S: We always strive to offer our customers and audience with the best possible experience, so our marketing strategy remains true to that initial philosophy. Increasing presence and exposure is a key factor in that vision.

C: How does a party translate into sales? Or does it?
S: Hopefully a guest will leave feeling pampered and exhilarated. A happy shopper is a loyal shopper.