FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2010
Hoping consumers make a pattern of purchasing
fashion from C1
ate for retailers and designers; this was a way to lure penny-pinching consumers into stores when the merchandise was at full price. FNO was not about celebrating the runways, high-end designers and rar- ified goods; instead, it was a wholly com- mercial endeavor, one that sought the participation of every brand from Gior- gio Armani to Zara. And to underscore the point that this was a party to which all were invited, Wintour, whose work- day uniform involves Prada and Oscar de la Renta, made a pilgrimage to Macy’s in a Queens shopping center to try to pry open the non-designer wallets of the hoi polloi.
With so much razzle-dazzle, retailers were confident they could stir up excite- ment and publicity. But would anyone actually shop? As it turns out, some of the biggest fi- nancial gains last year were made by stores with the least amount of hoopla in their aisles. For example, New York de- signer Tory Burch spent the evening at her Meatpacking District boutique where she hosted a block party with mu- sic and hamburgers. The biggest activ- ity? Burch autographed a tote bag that was a gift with a $100 purchase. While the company wouldn’t specify revenue for the night, sales were twice what or- ganizers had hoped and dreamed. But the biggest winner might have
been Lord & Taylor. Last year, the chain was struggling with double-digit sales decreases when the company was invited to participate in New York’s FNO. The de- cision was not a no-brainer, says Brendan Hoffman, who has been president and CEO for about two years. There would be a substantial outlay of resources: labor, materials, overhead. And there was no guarantee that, after downing free cock- tails, people would buy anything. And in the New York retail world, Lord
& Taylor also had an image problem. Even though it carries contemporary brands such as Plenty, BCBG and Diesel, it’s struggling to overcome a reputation for being stodgy. As a brand, it doesn’t have the high-end gloss of Bergdorf Goodman (and its corporate sister Nei- man Marcus) and Saks Fifth Avenue. It doesn’t have the cool credentials of Bar- neys New York. It lacks the enormous footprint of Macy’s. And it isn’t known for its glitzy embrace of trends in the manner of Bloomingdale’s.
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JEMAL COUNTESS/GETTY IMAGES FOR CONDE NAST ALLURING: Fashion’s Night Out organizers are drumming up excitement with events such as Tuesday’s runway show at Lincoln Center in New York. No, Lord & Taylor, founded in 1826 and
located in an unchic block of Fifth Av- enue in New York, still plays the national anthem each morning when it opens its doors for business. “We knew we were not going to get the
A-plus listers coming to our store,” Hoff- man says. There would be no Justin Timberlake, no Olsen twins, no Lindsay Lohan. But as it turns out, the store didn’t need them. FNO “was an unqualified success,”
Hoffman says. “It jump-started our fall season.” Indeed, it was like Christmas in Sep-
tember. Sales surged 40 percent over the previous year. The thousands of custom- ers who came through the doors didn’t just linger on the main floor; they wan- dered through the store, from cosmetics to menswear. And money flowed from their wallets as if a dam had suddenly burst. “The business has been on a terrif- ic run since early September last year,” Hoffman says. In addition to a financial jolt, the store
also got an ego boost when FNO’s young- er customers — younger than the ma- trons so often associated with Lord & Taylor — walked through the aisles in a giddy, cocktail haze. Why did the store have such a suc-
cessful night? “We had to make it more interactive.
We had to come up with other sorts of fun ideas,” Hoffman says. “We had a blog- ging station. We had a scavenger hunt. We had New York City firemen from their calendar helping women shop.” In other words, the gimmicks didn’t
PETER KRAMER/ASSOCIATED PRESS
RAZZLE-DAZZLE: Fabulous parties are part of FNO, but last year, some of the biggest financial gains were made by stores with the least amount of hoopla.
Like everything else that the fashion industry does — until it learns better — this year’s FNO promises to be bigger, glitzier and more ostentatious than before.
Family get-togethers are pushing her away CAROLYN HAX
Dear Carolyn: I have for the most part gotten along really well with my in-laws. However, their lack of planning has really started to bug me. Kids’ birthday parties, holidays, adult milestone birthdays, you name it, they always plan last-minute and expect everyone to come. It’s not uncommon to get an e-mail or phone call on a Sunday for the following weekend. Twice this summer I asked a month ahead if there would be a party for two upcoming birthdays. Both times I was told no. My husband and I made other plans. Then, last-minute, we were told yes, there would be a get-together — and in one case that we were expected to help pay for it. I am torn between not going on principle next time this happens, and feeling that family comes first and we should cancel prior plans to attend family events. I nicely tried to mention to one of the family ringleaders that it would be helpful if we could all plan ahead more, and she told me she is too busy to think ahead. That makes no sense to me. Do we start canceling on principle, or should I try to broach the subject again — and if so, how?
Let’s Plan Ahead!
Define “expect.” If you don’t go, do your in-laws punish you with guilt trips, histrionics, silent treatments? Or do they just hope you’ll come, and express proportionate disappointment when you can’t? The answer wouldn’t change what you need to do about it, which is simple — attend the things you can, and miss the things you must, for plainly expressed reasons: “Oh, no, we’re busy next Saturday.” Instead, what your in-laws expect will
determine the appropriate attitude toward this problem. If you’re being treated as outlaws or
ingrates for having your own plans, then you’re right to wrap yourself in principle. Don’t skip anything just to make a point,
NICK GALIFIANAKIS FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
gack — getting huffy never solved anything — but do have the courage to decide what you want and stick to it, histrionics notwithstanding. If, on the other hand they’re just hoping you’ll come vs. expecting it, then your attitude needs some adjusting. It’s normal to want to please people,
and saying no is hard when you want to please someone. With in-laws, that desire to please often feels more like pressure — and from that position, saying no starts to look like a risk. By trying to poke/prod/plead with your in-laws to change their ways (to, uh, yours), you’re essentially asking them not to put you in the position of having to say no to them. While understandable, that’s taking the whole I-want-to-please-you transaction a little too far, by blaming them because you have to say no. If, again, you’re not getting any nasty blowback for missing some family
events, then they’re not really doing anything to hurt you; it’s hard to see collective disorganization as personal. So that puts the responsibility on you,
to act on your preferences without rancor. If you prefer attending family events, then cancel your other plans. If you prefer to stick to your original plans, then own your feelings about it: “I wish we’d known sooner — I feel bad when we miss family parties.” Whether these consequences motivate your in-laws to start thinking ahead is, rightly and entirely, up to them.
Write to Tell Me About It, Style, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071, or tellme@
washpost.com.
ONLINE DISCUSSION Carolyn Hax’s weekly Web chat is at noon Fridays at
www.washingtonpost.com/discussions.
I’m Still Here BB
Casey Affleck’s documentary is as puzzling as its subject: actor-turned-rapper Joaquin Phoenix. W24
distract from the clothes. When planning Friday night’s extrava- ganza, the company decided to again re- main celebrity-free; this time by choice rather than default. Oh sure, there will be designers touting their wares, from Joseph Abboud giving men wardrobe tips to Carmen Marc Valvo and Yeohlee Teng advising the ladies. But they will not be serenading customers, teaching them a hip-hop routine or otherwise en- gaging them in non-fashion-related fol- derol. It will be an evening that’s all about clothes. All about moving merchandise at full price. Of course, “if Justin Timber- lake rang the office and said he wanted to come to Fashion’s Night Out,” Hoffman says, “we’d welcome him with open arms.” Lord & Taylor proved the industry
doesn’t need celebrities to make the big sales. But a little glitter never hurts.
givhanr@washpost.com
Movie reviews
Turn to Weekend for reviews of movies opening today, including:
Flipped B1
⁄2
Rob Reiner’s heavy-handed exploration of puppy love needs to grow up. W24
Also reviewed: “Hideaway” W25 “Legendary” W25 “Bran Nue Dae” W26
To view movie trailers, read more reviews and buy tickets online, go to
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