First of all, let me say that the “mature” man doesn’t equate to the intellect, character, personality or hygiene of that person. As “mature” women are being called for those NOT petite or skinny, the “mature” man can be considered in the same way. Living in the south, there are more “mature” men here than anywhere else I have been.
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11 Classic Watches for Men
Check out the coolest of the cool: 11 classic watches for men via Yahoo!, including Rolex, Omega, and Cartier. Here’s the complete list based on the article:
- Braun: The Analog
- Hamilton: The Khaki Field
- IWC: The Pilot
- Omega: The Speedmaster
- Cartier: The Tank
- Tag Heuer: The Monaco
- Rolex: The Submariner
- Jaeger LeCoultre: The Reverso
- Zenith: El Primero
- Panerai: The Luminor
- Audemars Piguet: The Royal Oak
My personal favorites in this list is the Rolex and the Omega. But would so love to find a vintage Rolex in my price range 
Prada IPO Five Times subscribed
Reuters reported that Prada’s IPO have generated 5x the demand for its original offer, valuing somewhere between $11 billion and $14 billion. Their IPO’s reach will most likely be within the Asian market, where they have recently established retail expansion in China. Their hope is to generate larger revenue, profit, and brand exposure within the Asian market to increase their IPO stature and lure investors into investing in their company.
More on this story at Rueters.com.
In my humble opinion, while I think the “Prada” brand is fantastic, it doesn’t seem to appeal well with higher middle class and/or lower upper class in terms of affordability. I think Gucci and Coach have been more accessible (and growing) for those that can spend the cash for their products, at least within the United States. I don’t really see Prada in that range, which I think is unfortunate.
Banana Republic is Launching Mad Men-Inspired Clothing Line
Just got word from Fashionista that Banana Republic, one of my many favorite stores, is launching a Mad Men-inspired collection with Janie Bryant. This is awesome news, not just for Mad Men fans who now can get their clothing inspiration from Banana. I admit that I have only seen a few episodes of Mad Men, but I definitely love the fashion in that era. It’s very classic, smooth, crisp, full of masculinity, and very stylish. As Lauren poignantly stated in her post, this collaboration will definitely help Gap’s ability to be seen as a more premier store for men’s [and women's] wear.
The best part is that the collection hits Banana Republic stores on my birthday!! Birthday shopping 
For more information on this, you should read Lauren’s blog post.
Banana Republic Cotton Patch-Detail Shawl Sweater
Banana Republic has this awesome Shawl Collar Sweater that I totally dig, as it is both comfortable and warm. The heather grey selection is very masculine and makes for a sweet alternate to black. It’s neutral enough to wear with jeans or khakis, yet versatile for most occasions that don’t involve being outdoors. Unfortunately, when you’re living in the south, you won’t have a need for sweaters when you have the piercing of the sun to keep you warm.
Regularly $98.50, this sweater is now on sale for $69.99 at Bananarepublic.com.
Express Men’s 60% Off Sale
Express is now having their 60% off sale for both Men’s and Women’s wear! I just bought another 1MX shirt this weekend for Father’s Day to add to my plethora of Express shirts. I just love them!
I also like these other items from Express:
Fitted Multi-Pocket Military Shirt
Stretched Cotton Producer Pant
What do you think about Express Shirts and Men’s clothing overall? Give me a shout and let me know your thoughts!
The Pros and Cons of Online Shopping
I’m sure many of my readers are already versed in online shopping, especially with the sweet deals and rising companies that have been seeping out of the ground the past 5 years. With the birth of online shopping within the past 12 years (think Amazon, Zappos, Ice.com, Groupon, Living Social, RunDaisy, etc.), there have been more and more stores opening the floodgates on their end to satisfy customers like myself to the world of online shopping.
In my own little world, I normally wouldn’t give a time of day to asking someone the pros and cons of doing their shopping online. To me, it’s pretty much a no-brainer, coming from one that is pretty much a power user on the web. With the “recession” that happened in the past 2 years, I found myself questioning my shopping habits and really focusing in more clearly on the pros and cons of online shopping.
Express Summer Essentials
Thanks to @ExpressLisaG for the heads up on this!
Express’ summer essentials are now available to view and buy! I’m a big fan of this year’s short-sleeve military shirts. I think Express has done a great job of developing and designing their summer products.
What do you think of their summer line? Let me know!
Nordstrom Buys HauteLook for 270M
Okay, I’m a little late on this news, but still it’s noteworthy nonetheless. According to the Wall Street Journal, Nordstrom, my beloved Seattle-based retailer, buys an awesome “flash sale” entity in the form of HauteLook for about $270 million in stock. That’s pretty impressive given the growing flash sales market around nowadays. Being a member of both Gilt Groupe AND HauteLook, I can definitely see why Nordstrom wants to take a piece of that action and turn it into dollar signs down the road.
What does this mean for the fashion industry? I’m sure there are lots of analysts that will share their perceived future of fashion and retail industries. But from my own personal opinion, I think this is a great investment on Nordstrom’s part, and definitely a way to get a foothold on their business by expanding their market and customer reach.
The downside that I see is in imagining what HauteLook would have been if it were to hold off on Nordstrom’s sale and decides to keep operating as an independent? I’m thinking in the lines of Twitter here… As you can see, Twitter’s refusal to accept Google and Facebook’s offer changed (if not, modified) the business of the social media industry. I can imagine that HauteLook, Gilt Groupe and its competitors can change the business infrastructure of the fashion and retail industries if they stayed in business as an independent.
Again, my 2 cents
Kenneth Cole CEO Resigns
As reported by The ROI Report and ChainStoreAge.com, Jill Granoff, Kenneth Cole’s CEO of three years, announced her resignation yesterday from the company, effective immediately.
I don’t know exactly why she left, or why the hoopla wasn’t as big as it could have been (as the report stated, it was “mutual”), but I’m wondering if this had anything to do with the controversial tweet that they made regarding the unrest in Egypt.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Kenneth Cole and its products, and have been a long-time fan for years. That tweet about Egypt, however, was tasteless, insensitive, cruel, and totally disregards the plight of people in that situation. And I have a big hunch (yes, it’s an assumption) that part of the departure stems from the global impact of that tweet and how that has affected them, whether in sales, revenue, reputation or what not.
Good luck, Ms. Granoff. I wish you well in you endeavors.
