"Lexa Likes" the new Gap concepts!!

Gap Inc is a large corporation that features Piperlime, Old Navy, Athleta, and Banana Republic.  Recently, Gap has made headlines as they have made many changes from their executive team, media concept, and a new trends.
* Over the past several months, Gap has hired a new group of executives and redone their management team. This is a huge deal in the retail world! You know that when the executive team is being changed, the company is trying to do something new.
* One would have to assume this executive change is due to the company trying to change its ways. It was announced that by the 2013 fiscal year, Gap, Banana Republic, and the Old Navy brands will be lead by a single executive to reach a new level of global brand management. With over 3,200 stores in 40 countries, the Gap Inc has been expanding and going global. The goal is to blend the divisions of North American, international, online, outlet, and franchises to improve their market.
* Gap Inc is the first to take ad space on Metro cards. The front of the card says "Be Bright NYC" and the back gives you 20% to the store. This is a FAB way to get "plastic retail estate" or "commercial ad space". Gap has recently redone their store on 34th and Broadway so this was an ingenious way to get their name out as they are trying to get customers into this store. These subway cards are available at ten stations which were selected to their proximity to the stores and the frequency of riders.
Working in the city, has made me become a subway rider. If I can get a discount at Gap for riding the subway then I am all in! The blue and yellow subway card may be iconic for NY but in this age of advertising it is another way to get your company name out. The majority of NYers/ tourists use public transportation and will be using a subway card. It is a great way for these companies to get their name out since everyone flashes their subway card to get through those turn tiles. Every time you want to ride the subway you will be reminded of Gap, then how you have a 20% discount and will want to go shopping!
* Gap has yet another shocker for an industry that is obsessed with youth: their average customer is 39 years old! It is no secret that the fashion industry and retailers cater to the younger generation, this age is considered "old" for this industry. For a retailer to come out and say this average age can be suprising but refreshing. 39 is NOT old, many women are just starting a new journey in their life at this age. With the economy in shambles, most people are not becoming successful until their 30's. Also, most people are waiting to start families and a 39 year old can have a baby/ toddler without it being frowned upon. Much kudos to Gap for being loud and proud for their average customer being 39. They are being business smart since by that age more people are just becoming successful and are able to spend money. With most adults being parents, Gap offers them to shop for themselves (their look is more clean and professional) as well as their kids.
* Yet another change coming from Gap: a new website! I admit, I am not a frequent online shopper/ browser of Gap. However, when I found out that they had a new website I had to check it out. When I opened their home page, I was greeted with this eye candy! Always a great thing to see when you first open the webpage. I have to say, I really am loving their website. I found it clean and easy to find whatever you were looking for. Also, they have all their other brands at the top that brought you to that website. I am a fan of that feature so I know what their other brands are part of the company.
Gap definitely seems to be revamping its image! Between the subway cards and target age group, their business plan is fascinating. Their advertisement techniques and these new execs could bring the company back to the top of its game!

'Falling' into fall colors

Hello!
The other week, I took a trip to a garden shop as well as Terrain. (Check out my previous blog to go the scoop on Terrain! Terrain Blog) Now that it is officially fall, we need to update our wardrobes to the latest fall colors. These plants know exactly what's hot regarding colors.

Mint Green
This color is icy fresh! The perfect pop of color.

(Left) Studded cutout blouse from Nasty Girl. I love the see through blouse trend! What is fab about this is how edgy the blouse is. The studs on the collar and the cutouts take this sweet blouse into a fierce blouse! Nasty Girl Blouse

 (Right) Lace dress from Urban Outfitters. What is amazing about this dress is that it has an open back and the lace isn't to overpowering. Pair this with a leather jacket to keep warm for fall! Urban Outfitters Dress

Pink
This color is always a fav! Bring out your girly side

(Left) Anthropology collar. Collars are super trendy this fall! I love these replaceable collars so I can pair it with various outfits and style it my own way.  Anthropology collar
(Right) Free People scarf. I'm obsessed with scarves as part of my outerwear or as part of my outfit. It is the perfect accessory and tool to stay warm. Free People scarf

Burgundy
This color can be spotted on wine, lips, and clothes. 

(Left) Boots are always a fav for fall, especially when you add a heel and lace-up front. This is an unexpected color but still goes with the majority a majority of color schemes. Bakers Bootie

(Right) This H&M leather skirt is amazing. This is putting a twist on the classic knee-length skirt by adding some edge with the color and leather fabric. HM Leather Skirt

Ombre
From ombre hair to clothes, this faded coloring can be seen everywhere!

(Left) Free people beanie. I am obsessed with beanies during these chilly days! Hats are an easy way to keep warming while looking chic. They can make any casual outfit super trendy. Free People beanie

(Right) Ombre denim shirt. A button up is always a classic. Denim button-up shirts have been on trend and are the perfect layering piece for fall! Tobi denim shirt

Orange
A lovely pop of color and a brighter shade of fall. 

(Left) Urban Outfitters Cardigan. Cardigan's are a perfect layering tool and coverup. Having a bright color is a fun mix.  Urban Outfitters cardigan

(Right) Free People sweater. Chunky knits are amazing for fall! Sweaters are the epidemy of fall and cozy weather. Knits in a bright color are super fun. Free People knit

Mustard
Obsessed with this version of yellow!  

(Left) Anthropology colored jeans are hot! I've seen these colored pants all over the city and I'm obsessed! Perfect way to incorporate a subdued color.Anthro colored jeans

(Right) H&M peplum top. I'm OBSESSED with peplum tops. They look amazing on everyone and are super chic. HM peplum top

Terrain

This past week, I took a field trip out to Westport, CT to visit a shop called Terrain. Terrain is actually a garden+ outdoor store. Along with home decor and garden supplies, they sell jewelry and accessories. Not only will you be able to plant your orchids, you'll be able to look fierce while doing it!
Terrain is actually a division of the mega-brand URBN. URBN brands include Urban Outfitters, Anthropology, and Free People. So far, Terrain only has locations in Westport, CT and Glen Mills, PA. I've been fortunate enough to go to the URBN headquarters and Terrain keeps with that same rustic concept. You walk around the store and it is all wood with hints of hardware decorations and pipings. The theme of the store is very natural and verdant. Terrain is like the "cool kids" version of a home and garden store!
The space of the store in Westport is quite large. The interior is all open spaced with sections diverted to  home decor, plants, and accessories. It is finally starting to feel like fall and the store embraced that with the large display of pumpkins. The colors of greens, oranges, and yellows in the plants embraced the upcoming fall colors. Along with the indoor space, there was a patio filled with all types of plants and an area of outdoor seating for the restaurant. What made this store extra special was that it had a restaurant/ cafe in it. They had a cafe with pastries, expresso bar, and sandwiches. The other option was to have a sit-down meal. I was part of a lunch meeting and we made reservations for the restaurant. We were seated outside but the fall weather came a bit early. The winds started to pick up, the rain drops started to fall, and black clouds rolled in. The restaurant quickly got us a table inside. (Thankfully the rain didn't ruin anyone's hair!) Tables were placed near the cafe and into the store to accommodate every customer. The store has enough space that even with a few extra tables nobody felt confined. The food was delicious though! I had a grilled chicken salad and my other lunch goers had burgers. The food was really fresh, the colors on the plate were vibrant, and it tasted wonderful.

Cafe

For anyone that is interested in gardening then this is a must-stop place! They had an abundance of plants for everyone's tastes. The home supplies fit into the trend of being natural and whimsical. If neither of these fits your needs and your more of a fashionista, their accessories section is for you. The accessories keep with this rustic theme from canvas totes, printed scarves, and pendant jewelry. This store gives you such inspiration from all the smells and colors. The fashionista's and gardeners of the world can all appreciate this store. It's a must to plan a field trip to one of their stores!
Terrain is on "Lexa Likes" list!

Piperlime in SoHo

Jewelry Section

While most companies are moving online, Piperlime has been there and done that. The company was launched in October 2006 as a way for Gap to incorporate a shoe collection online. On September 6, 2012, Piperlime opened their first NY retail location in SoHo (121 Wooster Street). In the same neighborhood, there are companies such as Tiffany and the highest grossing Chanel in all of the USA. The surrounding stores have even given Piperlime gifts as a way to say thank you for giving them more business by attracting customers to the area.             
            Piperlime is able to create a variety of business with their range of prices and styles. On the same token, these luxury companies offer Piperlime their high-end clients as well. A genius strategy was a grand debut right before the major fashion events in the city, including Fashion Night Out and NY Fashion Week. Their first opening at Fashion Night Out was co-hosted by Guest Editors Rachel Zoe and Olivia Palermo. (More about these ladies later!!)

          

      *Shoe Palace*
  Even though they have had huge success as an internet based company, they realized how their online-only status was hindering their business. "I think [the customer] wants to be able to come in and get a sense of the environment, since really, being in a store allows you to do things. You're able to give people an experience across multiple senses. It's like the difference between having a relationship over email and once in person. It really allows the brand to come to life in a much more tangible way,” as per Jennifer Gosselin,
the SVP and General Manager of Piperlime.

Rachel and Olivia's Picks

As you walk up the cobblestone street, you are greeted by this vibrant window display. The mannequins are perfectly style and are standing on the signature lime green colored flooring. In one display, there is a green staircase that has a mannequin descending down it. As you walk into the store, the entire vibe of the store is very modern and fresh. They had a section of jewelry that was arranged in a very precise way that made it easy to see each piece. The standout piece of the store was the shoerack, or a shoe palace. The curved shoe rack snakes around the store with seating surrounded it, making for easy trying-on pleasure. The rack is almost like a bookshelf with various shelves for shoes and bags. This makes for easy viewing of all the styles of boots, flats, heels, and sandals.
The great thing about this store is that it has something for EVERYONE! The styles range from leather dresses to colored blazers. Also, their price range suits everyones needs. A shopper can spend $15 on a piece of jewelry or $700 on a bag. My personal favorite aspects of the store included the section for the “Girl on a Budget... Psst Everything is Under $100”. Another great section was the “Color Clashing”. They had all types of pieces from blazers, blouses, shirts, and knits in a range of color from reds, navy, burnt yellow, and burgundy. Another fav, the sections of “Olivia Palermo Pick’s” and “Rachel Zoe’s Picks”. Each of these fashionista’s sections were very true to their own personal style. As a personal fan of Rachel Zoe, I could see nearly every piece from that section being worn on the designer/ stylist herself. Also, a unique twist was a board called, “Meet your new best friends”. It has various pieces of clothing and shows you how to mix and match each piece. This is a great way to get inspiration for your look or to help style the look.

"Girls on a Budget"

             A cool feature to the store is that the have computers that directly link you to the Piperlime website. This enables the customer to purchase products online and have them shipped overnight to the store for free. For anyone looking for a place to go shopping or a fashionista looking for a new place to shop, this is a MUST. On the weekends, this store is “wiped out” as people are going around the store trying to recreate the perfect look. This is an up-and-coming hot spot and is going to be a major shopping destination. Be sure to check it out!
This is on my “Lexa Likes” list!!

Kuning: Spring 2013 Collection

 Fashion week is an event that everyone knows about, even if you aren’t in the industry. The tabloids and the media are all buzzing with who’s at the shows, what the designers are showing, and what the people are wearing. The bloggers and media are out in full force covering the action. Even the bystanders get involved by wearing their trendiest outfits trying to be photographed or attending shows. It could be described as the event of the year. Which happens twice a year and in the biggest cities for extra fashion madness!

For those die-hard fashion lovers like myself, we follow fashion week like it’s our food supply. We read, watch, and divulge into the shows and the clothes. It can almost be described as an addiction. 

For those lucky enough to get an invite, they get a special chance to attend these shows and presentations while the rest of us follow online. This year, I am getting the chance to be one of those attending the shows. I have the honor of attending my very first NY Fashion week. In my opinion, it is probably one of the best fashion weeks in existence. I have religiously followed the shows, but this year I get to do it in person. Saying that I was excited to be going is an understatement. Along with that joy, I had this underlying fear of what to wear! You have to be off the charts on the fierce scale to keep up with these seasoned veterans. Plus, nobody wants to end up on the tabloids “worst dressed list”. You have to keep up with the fast pace all while staying relevant in six in heels.

The first of the shows I attended was Kuning which was the line’s debut collection as well. We were both making our maiden debuts: myself attending the shows and Kuning showing a collection. It was created by two girls named Amanda and Lauren. The presentation took place at the Empire Hotel in one of the rooms upstairs. When you first walked into the room, the floor was covered in fake grass. As you looked around the room, there were various settings where the models were posing. The models could be seen having high tea with cupcakes, sitting with a poodle, and another was in a bird cage. The guests were shuffled to the edges of the room and the models starting dancing in the middle of the room. The music was upbeat as the models were moving to choreographed dance moves. There was shuffling, lifts, and twirls. The dance moves could be described as robotic but it brought this edge to the whimsical clothes. After the dance routine, the models returned back to their original positions. It was almost as though they displayed a story through their emotions. This style and show could be compared to that of the Sartorialist movement. The entire presentation was this wordless story. The line was athletic inspired with clean lines and impeccable seams. The clothes were basic but the little details brought that trendy factor. It was quite a creative show! You were almost transported to fairytale land filled with green grasses, high tea, and cupcakes.

Vivienne Tam: Spring 2013 Collection, Backstage, After Party

Wednesday night at 7pm was Vivienne Tam’s show at the Stage in Lincoln Center. Along with showing her spring collection, she was debuting her jewelry line TSL. Just arriving at Lincoln Center, you are welcomed by the sign “Mercedez-Benz Fashion Week” which can give any fashionista chills. As you look around you see people posing for photographs, busily typing on iPhones, and those hoping to catch a glimpse of a celebrity. We walked into Lincoln Center and there are a ton of booths set up around the room. To retrieve your ticket, you go up to this machine to get a print out or to the person behind the Apple computer. Very high tech and chic! We walked into The Stage and the room is pitch black. The only way to see is through the red backlight coming from the opening at the front of the runway. You have your chance of being able to have five seconds of feeling like a model as you walk the runway to get to your seat. To be able to get to your seat is a challenge in itself. It’s almost like a maze as you are trying to dodge the photographers, people doing interviews, and those mingling. I had an amazing seat: fourth row near the front of the runway. And I had an aisle seat making for easy viewing and picture taking.

The spotlights turned on and the show started. The show was based on the five elements of Chinese cosmology: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. The colors and structure of the clothes were a complete representation of this theme. The show started with a gauzy dress that had a geometric print on it with the colors of red, black, silver, and gray in the design. The audience got a view of her new jewelry collection with the  large, octagonal shaped earrings. 

The color scheme for the show stuck mainly to red, black, tan, white, and gray. Then you got the pop of color with this beautiful sea green color and metallic golds and silvers. The sea green went perfectly with the water/ earth theme and the metallics fit with the metal concept. The makeup was muted and au natural. The hair was slicked back with a middle part and some of the models had red/blue colored paint in the part. Every model wore the same bootie shoe.  The black material went up quarter length of the shin and the material went right before the toe. The sides had several straps and a killer 5 inch heel. A reoccurring trend in the collection was the prints and cutouts. These cutouts coincided with the jewelry shapes which really brought cohesion to the clothes and jewelry. I was in awe of the ENTIRE collection! The styling from the the slicked hair, jewelry, clothes, and shoes were on point. The collection was delightful and very wearable.

My boss (Ginger) is a a very close friend of Vivienne and I had the luxury of going backstage. When you go backstage after the show, it is complete mayhem! People are pushing and shoving to get a glimpse of Vivienne. There was media EVERYWHERE trying to talk to Vivienne about her new jewelry line. We stayed until the last minute to say a personal ‘hello’ to the designer herself. There was an after party at 9pm for her to debut the jewelry line. It was held at this new Japanese restaurant called Hakkasan. The restaurant was quite chic and was almost like a maze with the various walls and lounges. There was an open bar where they were serving margaritas and champagne. Servers came along with traditional Asian cuisine as well. There was one room with Vivienne and dozens of press that you could barely get into. The entire party was packed with various people. Vivienne had an extraordinary collection and made my first Lincoln Center show an event to remember!

Kithe Brewster 2013 Spring Collection

Last night, was the final day of fashion week as well as my final show I’d be attending. Going to this final show was almost like saying goodbye to someone, you don’t want want them to leave! This show was to be done by Kithe Brewster who is a renowned stylist. This would be his first collection that he’d be debuting at Fashion Week. Brewster has styled celebs from Heidi Klum to Tyra Banks. He is a good friend of my boss (Ginger) as their relationship bloomed during their time spent working together at Dubia Fashion Week.

The show was to be shown at the Nomad hotel. You walk into the hotel and it’s filled with dark wood and dimmed lights. We arrived a bit early and waited in the hotel Lounge until the start of the show. The start time was 8pm, by 815 we were shuffled up a marble, circular staircase and into the room. The event was held in a tiny room with about six rows of chairs. You were allowed to pick your own seat and awaiting you was a goody bag filled with some lotions. The chairs were placed so there were three mini runways for the models to walk. As we waited for the show to start, champagne and horderves were served. And we kept waiting... I made fast friends with the gentleman sitting next to me who worked for a website called socialvixen.com. We connected over his silver, sparkly nail polish he got from Betsey Johnson, FAB! At 9:15 the show finally began. The vibe of the show was dark and almost eerie. The music started off from that of a horror vampire movie, changed to hard rock, and then an ethnic dance beat. All the models had black wigs that flared out into a triangular shape. The makeup was done with dark purple eyes and a plum lip shade. There were several pairs of shoes that were being used form lace up boots to heels with an arched heel. The line was filled with a lot of loose layers and see through fabrics.  There were some dresses from the line that were done in prints or a sparkly fabric as well. An interesting aspect to the line was interesting details like the hand bag (literally, it was a hand), the thin scarves, or the zipper placements. It was a unique show to say the least!