| Fashion News Washington |
A Night of Festive Flirting & Fashion at Ibiza
Calling all Seattle singles and daters--there's a fun singles event tomorrow night for those of you looking for a bit of love during this holiday season
(or perhaps a few tips on how to find love).
Tomorrow night, the Seattle-based date coaching and matchmaking company, The Professional Dater, is hosting A Night of Festive Flirting &
Fashion at Ibiza Dinner Club. Alma Avery Rubenstein, Founder and Creative Director of The Professional Dater, will be at the event to give mini
dating classes to Seattle singles. Alma is a certified counselor, personal matchmaker and self-proclaimed expert in the field of dating and finding
love. She has worked with other local single event companies such as Space City Mixer, is an instructor at area colleges such as the University of
Washington and South Seattle Community College, and has appeared on ABC's The Bachelor. Shona Brenner, President of SBD Fashion
Consulting, will accompany Alma in helping Seattle singles put their best foot forward. And of course, there will be food, cocktails and mingling.
My personal advice is to wear something sparkly and festive (for the ladies) or pressed and clean (for the men), pop a couple breath-freshening
candy canes in your pocket, and hit the town for a holiday party that you don't need a date for, but could find a date at.
Jeans, jeans n everywhere there's jeans
Monday, December 24, 2007
A few days ago I read a letter that was in another newspaper from a girl in high school, complaining about all the jeans that kids wear in school.
Everybody wears jeans in school, and she thought it was just too much.
I agree. I was walking through the Galleria the other day and noticed the same thing. Eighty percent of the people were wearing jeans and 79
percent of them did not look good in jeans. What is the world coming to? Why can't people express their fashion individuality and wear something
more fashionable than "dirty jeans," as I call them?
I wear my jeans when I work in the yard, cleaning out the garage, taking out the garbage can or working on the car. I do not wear them to the mall, I
do not wear them to a nice restaurant, I do not wear them to the movies, etc. Why does everyone have to wear jeans all the time?
Some of the Hollywood types even wear them on the Oprah show or the Ellen show in front of millions of viewers. Even on the Christmas in
Washington television show with the President and Mrs. Bush in the audience, one of the performers wore his dirty jeans.
Let's all make a New Year's resolution to wear something other than dirty jeans, 365 days a year. How about a pair of nice clean slacks with a
sweater? For the women, how about a nice shirt, or slacks, or dress?
Please no dirty jeans. Only a small percentage of the female population looks attractive in jeans.
Let's show the world we are proud of who we are and want to improve the appearance of the planet - no more dirty jeans.
You call that a prediction? Looking back and ahead at the big lifestyles trends
It's an annual sport - making New Year's predictions. So which ones were the winners, and which were the losers in 2007? And what will be the
entries for 2008?
A look back and ahead:
FASHION
2007 prediction: The year of the dress.
2007 reality: It was, indeed the year of the dress - a voluminous one in the spring and a more fitted one this fall. Stephanie Solomon, Bloomingdale's
fashion director, says dresses not only sold well in the dress department but also in sportswear, where skirts and pants are more typical
best-sellers.
2008 prediction: Solomon still believes in dresses, especially those in bright colours, bold prints or the "patio-style" dress that is long, flowing and
reminiscent of the 1970s, but she thinks the big headline will be full skirts.
2007 prediction: Pointy-toed stilettos would walk on out the door.
2007 reality: True. Ballet flats and wedges kicked other shoes to the curb as women realized that pain wasn't a prerequisite for high style.
2008 prediction: Solomon says flats won't fade, but, by next winter she expects women back in their triangular toes and high heels. "If you look at
some of the big names, they're showing pointed again," Solomon says. "Changes take longer in footwear. When trends are comfortable they last.
The ballet flat - everyone likes it."
-AP Fashion Writer Samantha Critchell
TOYS
2007 prediction: Demand for Sony's PS3 will continue to surge, and toys that interact with the Internet, inspired by the hugely popular Ganz's
Webkinz, will be all the rage.
2007 reality: Nintendo's Wii took thunder away from PS3 as the most sought-after holiday 2007 gift. Who knew that demand for the Wii continues
to outstrip supply? A plethora of Internet-related toys, from BarbieGirls.com to Shining Stars, catch children's attention, but the rock star trend,
led by all things Hannah Montana, is even hotter, with sales surging in electric guitars, music videos like Guitar Hero 3, and other role-playing items.
2008 prediction: All hail the rock star, as appetite for those sorts of games will continue to grow.
2007 prediction: Nobody quite predicted the scale of toy recalls due to lead paint and dangerous magnets.
2007 reality: But when news hit this summer that even name-brand toymakers' playthings might not be safe, parents became more cautious. While
there was no widespread rejection toward Chinese-made toys, some started turning to more "eco-friendly" products.
2008 prediction: It will be the year of the green toy as more retailers and toy makers offer more eco-friendly options in natural materials. Board
games should also score well as families stay home amid a challenging economy.
-Anne D'Innocenzio, Associated Press Writer
FITNESS
2007 prediction: Time-efficient workouts for those with tight schedules.
2007 reality: True. Fitness professionals responded to the growing number of Americans who want a good workout in a short amount of time.
Curves, which offers a 30-minute workout, now has over 10,000 locations worldwide. More personal trainers offered 30-minute sessions this year.
Fitness DVD workouts included several short, intense workouts. There was also a surge in the gruelling fitness boot camp classes and fusion
classes, which combine several workouts into one.
2008 prediction: More fitness boot camp classes. "You can get a good workout in a short amount of time," says fitness guru Denise Austin. Also,
more fusion classes, combining cardio, toning and stretching.
And more people are looking to cut even more time, purchasing DVDs and creating home gyms, says Leslie Sansone, fitness consultant for
NutriSystem Advanced. "It doesn't always fit that we can go to the health club and go to the classes," she says.
2007 prediction: Hoop dancing for fitness - like Hoopnotic Hoopdance, a class/DVD workout that incorporates a Hoopnotic Hoop and pumping
music. Hoopnotica classes were listed in "The Vogue 25" in the January 2007 issue.
2007 reality: Hoop dancing gained some popularity, but "I don't see it taking off," says certified fitness trainer Jesse Cannone, who works in the
Washington metro area.
2008 prediction: While we may not grab a hoop, we're going to dance away the fat in 2008, says Sansone, who credits "Dancing with the Stars" for
the number of fitness classes infused with dance. Fitness centres are offering belly dancing, cardio dance and ballet-inspired workouts.
-By Megan K. Scott, Associated Press Writer
TECHNOLOGY
2007 prediction: Apple's iPhone will conquer; and Google will launch a phone.
2007 reality: The iPhone did conquer, but Apple stumbled by first pricing it too high, then cutting the price too quickly, angering early buyers. The
decision to make it exclusive to AT&T has made it a target for hackers worldwide.
The Google phone has yet to appear, and guess what? It won't even be a Google phone, it will be a bunch of phones, made by others, with Google
software and ads.
2008 prediction: Cellphones, and wireless gadgets in general, are going to be more interesting than ever, and not just because the iPhone has shaken
up the field.
Look for wireless capabilities to show up in new types of devices, much like Amazon's new e-book reader can download the latest best-sellers and
this morning's New York Times over the air.
The wireless networks are ready for it, and carriers have realized that there's money to be made in branching out and letting, say, digital cameras
send pictures wirelessly.
-Peter Svensson, AP Technology Writer
FOOD
2007 prediction: Food television will be dominated by reality-style shows.
2007 reality: The news that Emeril Lagasse's long-running "Emeril Live" is being cancelled by the Food Network is yet more evidence that the
behind-the-stove format of food TV is going away.
2008 prediction: Food television, especially on the Food Network, will become increasingly entertainment driven, while old school channels such as
PBS will cater more to the how-to-chop-an-onion crowd.
2007 prediction: America is overdue for a diet fad. It's been a while since carbs were demonized, and Americans are hungry for a get-thin-fast plan.
2007 reality: Common sense won out. The grapefruit diet didn't make a comeback and there was no overwhelming successor to Atkins.
2008 prediction: Common sense did not, however, convince most Americans to cut calories. Obesity remains a major concern and it's only a matter
of time before a quick-fix diet plan grabs headlines again.
2007 prediction: The natural foods industry will grow, as will the harder-to-define local foods movement.
2007 reality: They appear to keep growing. In 2006 (the latest year for which data are available), organic food sales totalled nearly US$17 billion,
or about three per cent of all sales. That's up from less than two per cent in 2003.
2008 prediction: The local foods movement is now all but hardwired into the restaurant scene, and signs pimping local products are showing up
even at mainstream grocery chains. Look for these trends to be redefined by major corporations unwilling to cede market share to small-time
players.
Cheap dollar turning U.S. into a giant discount store
By Candace Jackson
The Wall Street Journal
Article Last Updated: 12/22/2007 11:47:59 AM MST
Click photo to enlargeJulie Ambrose, visiting New York from Reading, England,... (Mark Lennihan/The Associated Press )«12»Retailers are
reporting a surprise hit this holiday season: luggage.
As shopping-mad tourists from overseas take advantage of the weak dollar, many are having to buy extra suitcases to cart all their purchases home.
The Tumi store at New York's Time Warner Center says sales are up by 30 percent over the same period last year, thanks largely to foreign
travelers staying at nearby hotels. At FAO Schwarz, customers are buying duffel bags sold right by the cash registers.
In recent years, the U.S. has been beset by a steady stream of foreign tourists seeking bargains. Now, with the dollar at new lows - and the holiday
retail season in full swing - the stream has turned into a flood.
The influx has some retailers rolling out the red carpet for anyone with a foreign passport. To prepare for Chinese shoppers, the South Coast Plaza
in Costa Mesa, Calif., is in the midst of printing a store directory in Mandarin. Earlier this month, Taubman Centers, which owns four shopping
centers in the Detroit area, started sending limousines stocked with eggnog and store coupons to chauffeur shoppers from Canada for a ''six-hour
shopping spree'' across the border.
Stores say overseas shoppers aren't just buying a lot - they're also showing some distinct spending habits, often different from Americans'. Saks
Fifth Avenue says Europeans are snapping up UGG boots (hip with Americans circa 2004), for example. Many Asian
-
shoppers tend to go for the highest-end luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci, but also wellness-related items such as massagers and
vitamins.
Josefina and Carolina Hallstroem flew to New York for a few days of shopping on Icelandair from Stockholm. The pair, ages 21 and 25, were on
the lookout for a Victoria's Secret store. ''We go for the lotions and perfumes,'' said Carolina, as she lugged a shopping bag with eight pairs of shoes
in it. (She'd already pitched the boxes.) The underwear retailer's annual fashion show airs in Sweden, even though there aren't any stores there, she
says. Plus, ''shampoo is also much cheaper here.''
In November the U.S. dollar hit a record low against the euro, with one euro buying more than $1.48 (as of late Friday in New York, one euro
fetched $1.44). For Brits, a pound now buys slightly more than $2. And with cheap flights, Europeans say they can nearly break even on their
travel expenses with the money they save on clothes and gifts.
Canadians are also driving south to find bargains. In September, the greenback hit parity with the loonie for the first time since 1976, reversing a
long-held American conceit that things were cheaper north of the border. (Back in January 2002, the U.S. dollar bought 1.6143 Canadian dollars.)
As of Friday afternoon, the U.S. dollar bought 1.01 Canadian dollars.
Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, a retail consultant, says the overseas shopping jaunt, once the territory of the upper crust
and corporate jet-setters, has ''dramatically expanded'' to the masses. ''It's not just proper private school accents'' heard in stores, he says. ''It's
regular lower- and middle-class people who come over because of the savings.''
The Dolphin Mall in Miami says the increase in shoppers from abroad has forced it to add two more daily shuttles on some days to Miami
International Airport. The mall's tourism manager, Lucia Plazas, says Germans, Italians and others have been buying so much she's had to call cabs
to drive behind the buses carrying tourists who can't fit on the shuttles once they're packed with purchases. ''The amount of bags has been a
challenge for the drivers,'' says Plazas.
This December at the Holiday Inn near the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., more than a quarter of the 171 rooms are sometimes filled with
shoppers who have come over on direct flights on Iceland Air from Reykjavik. Each spends around $2,500 at the mall's stores, says Evie Walter,
the hotel's director of sales. '' 'Where's Victoria's Secret?' '' is usually one of the first questions they'll ask, she says. Though some don't speak
English, ''there's usually someone in the group who can understand,'' says Walters. ''If not, charades always works.''
Even in Fargo, N.D., which is a three-hour drive from the nearest major Canadian city, there's been a relative windfall of foreign shoppers this year.
Staffers at West Acres Shopping Center, which houses a Lady Foot Locker, an American Eagle Outfitters and a Gymboree, recently started
counting license plates in the parking lot and walking through the mall armed with clipboards to tally the number of Canadians.
Rusty Papachek, the mall's general manager, says the day after Thanksgiving one in 12 customers was from across the border. (Last year they
didn't count because they hardly noticed any nonlocals, he says.) Papachek is now running radio promotions in Winnipeg, 220 miles away.
Canadians are also driving up sales at the Bass Pro Shop in Auburn Hills, Mich., buying ice-fishing and moose-hunting gear, says Doug Phillips, the
store's promotions manager. He says in the past couple of months about one in 10 shoppers has been Canadian, compared with just a handful a
couple years ago.
In New York, Lord & Taylor's sales are up by 25 percent so far this December versus the same December period last year, due in part to growth in
shoppers from overseas, says president and chief executive Jane Elfers. About two weeks ago, the company began advertising the store's holiday
windows as a tourist destination on 3,600 taxi TV screens.
At Saks Fifth Avenue's flagship store in New York, the alterations team has noticed a rise in requests for quick-turnaround jobs from overseas
tourists who want their clothing ready before they leave town. Suzanne Johnson, the general manager, says she's also changed the signage in the
store to keep things simpler for foreigners. ''They really wouldn't understand 'contemporary collections,' so we just say denim,'' says Johnson.
While overseas shoppers avoid buying gift cards because they usually can't be used back home, they're shelling out for electronics that aren't
always compatible in Asia or Europe. At the gadget-stocked Brookstone store in Tyson's Corner Mall near Washington, store manager Michael
Jones says he's added 10 new items with built-in electricity converters for European and Asian customers. He estimates that one in every 20
shoppers at his store is from the United Kingdom this year, up from about one in 100 last year. Japanese shoppers, he says, are snatching up
massaging chairs, which start at around $2,000, and shipping them back home: ''They understand it better.''
Maureen Crampton, the director of marketing at the Forum Shops at Caesars in Las Vegas, says British customers there tend to gravitate toward
brands they have back home like Ted Baker and Thomas Pink. Christine Aquino, a manager at Pink, says British men have been buying the
140-thread-count Egyptian cotton ''Prestige'' line of dress shirts. Those are popular with American men too, she says, but Brits tend to go for
brighter patterns like red striped, blue and green. ''They're more colorful than most people here in the United States.''
Rock & Republic, a company that makes designer jeans and accessories, has noticed shoppers from the U.K., France and Germany traveling to the
U.S. to buy their clothes - even though they're also available in Europe. ''It obviously doesn't make our international retailers very happy, but it
gives people an excuse to come to the States because you get so much bang for your buck,'' says Andrea Bernholtz, the company's president. The
most popular denim style this year is the boot-cut jean, she says. European customers, however, ''really like the embellished look,'' including jeans
decorated with crystals, flocking or studs. ''In America we're a little more laid back, and maybe we're not going to wear crystal jeans everyday.''
Calling all Seattle singles and daters--there's a fun singles event tomorrow night for those of you looking for a bit of love during this holiday season
(or perhaps a few tips on how to find love).
Tomorrow night, the Seattle-based date coaching and matchmaking company, The Professional Dater, is hosting A Night of Festive Flirting &
Fashion at Ibiza Dinner Club. Alma Avery Rubenstein, Founder and Creative Director of The Professional Dater, will be at the event to give mini
dating classes to Seattle singles. Alma is a certified counselor, personal matchmaker and self-proclaimed expert in the field of dating and finding
love. She has worked with other local single event companies such as Space City Mixer, is an instructor at area colleges such as the University of
Washington and South Seattle Community College, and has appeared on ABC's The Bachelor. Shona Brenner, President of SBD Fashion
Consulting, will accompany Alma in helping Seattle singles put their best foot forward. And of course, there will be food, cocktails and mingling.
My personal advice is to wear something sparkly and festive (for the ladies) or pressed and clean (for the men), pop a couple breath-freshening
candy canes in your pocket, and hit the town for a holiday party that you don't need a date for, but could find a date at.
Jeans, jeans n everywhere there's jeans
Monday, December 24, 2007
A few days ago I read a letter that was in another newspaper from a girl in high school, complaining about all the jeans that kids wear in school.
Everybody wears jeans in school, and she thought it was just too much.
I agree. I was walking through the Galleria the other day and noticed the same thing. Eighty percent of the people were wearing jeans and 79
percent of them did not look good in jeans. What is the world coming to? Why can't people express their fashion individuality and wear something
more fashionable than "dirty jeans," as I call them?
I wear my jeans when I work in the yard, cleaning out the garage, taking out the garbage can or working on the car. I do not wear them to the mall, I
do not wear them to a nice restaurant, I do not wear them to the movies, etc. Why does everyone have to wear jeans all the time?
Some of the Hollywood types even wear them on the Oprah show or the Ellen show in front of millions of viewers. Even on the Christmas in
Washington television show with the President and Mrs. Bush in the audience, one of the performers wore his dirty jeans.
Let's all make a New Year's resolution to wear something other than dirty jeans, 365 days a year. How about a pair of nice clean slacks with a
sweater? For the women, how about a nice shirt, or slacks, or dress?
Please no dirty jeans. Only a small percentage of the female population looks attractive in jeans.
Let's show the world we are proud of who we are and want to improve the appearance of the planet - no more dirty jeans.
You call that a prediction? Looking back and ahead at the big lifestyles trends
It's an annual sport - making New Year's predictions. So which ones were the winners, and which were the losers in 2007? And what will be the
entries for 2008?
A look back and ahead:
FASHION
2007 prediction: The year of the dress.
2007 reality: It was, indeed the year of the dress - a voluminous one in the spring and a more fitted one this fall. Stephanie Solomon, Bloomingdale's
fashion director, says dresses not only sold well in the dress department but also in sportswear, where skirts and pants are more typical
best-sellers.
2008 prediction: Solomon still believes in dresses, especially those in bright colours, bold prints or the "patio-style" dress that is long, flowing and
reminiscent of the 1970s, but she thinks the big headline will be full skirts.
2007 prediction: Pointy-toed stilettos would walk on out the door.
2007 reality: True. Ballet flats and wedges kicked other shoes to the curb as women realized that pain wasn't a prerequisite for high style.
2008 prediction: Solomon says flats won't fade, but, by next winter she expects women back in their triangular toes and high heels. "If you look at
some of the big names, they're showing pointed again," Solomon says. "Changes take longer in footwear. When trends are comfortable they last.
The ballet flat - everyone likes it."
-AP Fashion Writer Samantha Critchell
TOYS
2007 prediction: Demand for Sony's PS3 will continue to surge, and toys that interact with the Internet, inspired by the hugely popular Ganz's
Webkinz, will be all the rage.
2007 reality: Nintendo's Wii took thunder away from PS3 as the most sought-after holiday 2007 gift. Who knew that demand for the Wii continues
to outstrip supply? A plethora of Internet-related toys, from BarbieGirls.com to Shining Stars, catch children's attention, but the rock star trend,
led by all things Hannah Montana, is even hotter, with sales surging in electric guitars, music videos like Guitar Hero 3, and other role-playing items.
2008 prediction: All hail the rock star, as appetite for those sorts of games will continue to grow.
2007 prediction: Nobody quite predicted the scale of toy recalls due to lead paint and dangerous magnets.
2007 reality: But when news hit this summer that even name-brand toymakers' playthings might not be safe, parents became more cautious. While
there was no widespread rejection toward Chinese-made toys, some started turning to more "eco-friendly" products.
2008 prediction: It will be the year of the green toy as more retailers and toy makers offer more eco-friendly options in natural materials. Board
games should also score well as families stay home amid a challenging economy.
-Anne D'Innocenzio, Associated Press Writer
FITNESS
2007 prediction: Time-efficient workouts for those with tight schedules.
2007 reality: True. Fitness professionals responded to the growing number of Americans who want a good workout in a short amount of time.
Curves, which offers a 30-minute workout, now has over 10,000 locations worldwide. More personal trainers offered 30-minute sessions this year.
Fitness DVD workouts included several short, intense workouts. There was also a surge in the gruelling fitness boot camp classes and fusion
classes, which combine several workouts into one.
2008 prediction: More fitness boot camp classes. "You can get a good workout in a short amount of time," says fitness guru Denise Austin. Also,
more fusion classes, combining cardio, toning and stretching.
And more people are looking to cut even more time, purchasing DVDs and creating home gyms, says Leslie Sansone, fitness consultant for
NutriSystem Advanced. "It doesn't always fit that we can go to the health club and go to the classes," she says.
2007 prediction: Hoop dancing for fitness - like Hoopnotic Hoopdance, a class/DVD workout that incorporates a Hoopnotic Hoop and pumping
music. Hoopnotica classes were listed in "The Vogue 25" in the January 2007 issue.
2007 reality: Hoop dancing gained some popularity, but "I don't see it taking off," says certified fitness trainer Jesse Cannone, who works in the
Washington metro area.
2008 prediction: While we may not grab a hoop, we're going to dance away the fat in 2008, says Sansone, who credits "Dancing with the Stars" for
the number of fitness classes infused with dance. Fitness centres are offering belly dancing, cardio dance and ballet-inspired workouts.
-By Megan K. Scott, Associated Press Writer
TECHNOLOGY
2007 prediction: Apple's iPhone will conquer; and Google will launch a phone.
2007 reality: The iPhone did conquer, but Apple stumbled by first pricing it too high, then cutting the price too quickly, angering early buyers. The
decision to make it exclusive to AT&T has made it a target for hackers worldwide.
The Google phone has yet to appear, and guess what? It won't even be a Google phone, it will be a bunch of phones, made by others, with Google
software and ads.
2008 prediction: Cellphones, and wireless gadgets in general, are going to be more interesting than ever, and not just because the iPhone has shaken
up the field.
Look for wireless capabilities to show up in new types of devices, much like Amazon's new e-book reader can download the latest best-sellers and
this morning's New York Times over the air.
The wireless networks are ready for it, and carriers have realized that there's money to be made in branching out and letting, say, digital cameras
send pictures wirelessly.
-Peter Svensson, AP Technology Writer
FOOD
2007 prediction: Food television will be dominated by reality-style shows.
2007 reality: The news that Emeril Lagasse's long-running "Emeril Live" is being cancelled by the Food Network is yet more evidence that the
behind-the-stove format of food TV is going away.
2008 prediction: Food television, especially on the Food Network, will become increasingly entertainment driven, while old school channels such as
PBS will cater more to the how-to-chop-an-onion crowd.
2007 prediction: America is overdue for a diet fad. It's been a while since carbs were demonized, and Americans are hungry for a get-thin-fast plan.
2007 reality: Common sense won out. The grapefruit diet didn't make a comeback and there was no overwhelming successor to Atkins.
2008 prediction: Common sense did not, however, convince most Americans to cut calories. Obesity remains a major concern and it's only a matter
of time before a quick-fix diet plan grabs headlines again.
2007 prediction: The natural foods industry will grow, as will the harder-to-define local foods movement.
2007 reality: They appear to keep growing. In 2006 (the latest year for which data are available), organic food sales totalled nearly US$17 billion,
or about three per cent of all sales. That's up from less than two per cent in 2003.
2008 prediction: The local foods movement is now all but hardwired into the restaurant scene, and signs pimping local products are showing up
even at mainstream grocery chains. Look for these trends to be redefined by major corporations unwilling to cede market share to small-time
players.
Cheap dollar turning U.S. into a giant discount store
By Candace Jackson
The Wall Street Journal
Article Last Updated: 12/22/2007 11:47:59 AM MST
Click photo to enlargeJulie Ambrose, visiting New York from Reading, England,... (Mark Lennihan/The Associated Press )«12»Retailers are
reporting a surprise hit this holiday season: luggage.
As shopping-mad tourists from overseas take advantage of the weak dollar, many are having to buy extra suitcases to cart all their purchases home.
The Tumi store at New York's Time Warner Center says sales are up by 30 percent over the same period last year, thanks largely to foreign
travelers staying at nearby hotels. At FAO Schwarz, customers are buying duffel bags sold right by the cash registers.
In recent years, the U.S. has been beset by a steady stream of foreign tourists seeking bargains. Now, with the dollar at new lows - and the holiday
retail season in full swing - the stream has turned into a flood.
The influx has some retailers rolling out the red carpet for anyone with a foreign passport. To prepare for Chinese shoppers, the South Coast Plaza
in Costa Mesa, Calif., is in the midst of printing a store directory in Mandarin. Earlier this month, Taubman Centers, which owns four shopping
centers in the Detroit area, started sending limousines stocked with eggnog and store coupons to chauffeur shoppers from Canada for a ''six-hour
shopping spree'' across the border.
Stores say overseas shoppers aren't just buying a lot - they're also showing some distinct spending habits, often different from Americans'. Saks
Fifth Avenue says Europeans are snapping up UGG boots (hip with Americans circa 2004), for example. Many Asian
-
shoppers tend to go for the highest-end luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci, but also wellness-related items such as massagers and
vitamins.
Josefina and Carolina Hallstroem flew to New York for a few days of shopping on Icelandair from Stockholm. The pair, ages 21 and 25, were on
the lookout for a Victoria's Secret store. ''We go for the lotions and perfumes,'' said Carolina, as she lugged a shopping bag with eight pairs of shoes
in it. (She'd already pitched the boxes.) The underwear retailer's annual fashion show airs in Sweden, even though there aren't any stores there, she
says. Plus, ''shampoo is also much cheaper here.''
In November the U.S. dollar hit a record low against the euro, with one euro buying more than $1.48 (as of late Friday in New York, one euro
fetched $1.44). For Brits, a pound now buys slightly more than $2. And with cheap flights, Europeans say they can nearly break even on their
travel expenses with the money they save on clothes and gifts.
Canadians are also driving south to find bargains. In September, the greenback hit parity with the loonie for the first time since 1976, reversing a
long-held American conceit that things were cheaper north of the border. (Back in January 2002, the U.S. dollar bought 1.6143 Canadian dollars.)
As of Friday afternoon, the U.S. dollar bought 1.01 Canadian dollars.
Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, a retail consultant, says the overseas shopping jaunt, once the territory of the upper crust
and corporate jet-setters, has ''dramatically expanded'' to the masses. ''It's not just proper private school accents'' heard in stores, he says. ''It's
regular lower- and middle-class people who come over because of the savings.''
The Dolphin Mall in Miami says the increase in shoppers from abroad has forced it to add two more daily shuttles on some days to Miami
International Airport. The mall's tourism manager, Lucia Plazas, says Germans, Italians and others have been buying so much she's had to call cabs
to drive behind the buses carrying tourists who can't fit on the shuttles once they're packed with purchases. ''The amount of bags has been a
challenge for the drivers,'' says Plazas.
This December at the Holiday Inn near the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., more than a quarter of the 171 rooms are sometimes filled with
shoppers who have come over on direct flights on Iceland Air from Reykjavik. Each spends around $2,500 at the mall's stores, says Evie Walter,
the hotel's director of sales. '' 'Where's Victoria's Secret?' '' is usually one of the first questions they'll ask, she says. Though some don't speak
English, ''there's usually someone in the group who can understand,'' says Walters. ''If not, charades always works.''
Even in Fargo, N.D., which is a three-hour drive from the nearest major Canadian city, there's been a relative windfall of foreign shoppers this year.
Staffers at West Acres Shopping Center, which houses a Lady Foot Locker, an American Eagle Outfitters and a Gymboree, recently started
counting license plates in the parking lot and walking through the mall armed with clipboards to tally the number of Canadians.
Rusty Papachek, the mall's general manager, says the day after Thanksgiving one in 12 customers was from across the border. (Last year they
didn't count because they hardly noticed any nonlocals, he says.) Papachek is now running radio promotions in Winnipeg, 220 miles away.
Canadians are also driving up sales at the Bass Pro Shop in Auburn Hills, Mich., buying ice-fishing and moose-hunting gear, says Doug Phillips, the
store's promotions manager. He says in the past couple of months about one in 10 shoppers has been Canadian, compared with just a handful a
couple years ago.
In New York, Lord & Taylor's sales are up by 25 percent so far this December versus the same December period last year, due in part to growth in
shoppers from overseas, says president and chief executive Jane Elfers. About two weeks ago, the company began advertising the store's holiday
windows as a tourist destination on 3,600 taxi TV screens.
At Saks Fifth Avenue's flagship store in New York, the alterations team has noticed a rise in requests for quick-turnaround jobs from overseas
tourists who want their clothing ready before they leave town. Suzanne Johnson, the general manager, says she's also changed the signage in the
store to keep things simpler for foreigners. ''They really wouldn't understand 'contemporary collections,' so we just say denim,'' says Johnson.
While overseas shoppers avoid buying gift cards because they usually can't be used back home, they're shelling out for electronics that aren't
always compatible in Asia or Europe. At the gadget-stocked Brookstone store in Tyson's Corner Mall near Washington, store manager Michael
Jones says he's added 10 new items with built-in electricity converters for European and Asian customers. He estimates that one in every 20
shoppers at his store is from the United Kingdom this year, up from about one in 100 last year. Japanese shoppers, he says, are snatching up
massaging chairs, which start at around $2,000, and shipping them back home: ''They understand it better.''
Maureen Crampton, the director of marketing at the Forum Shops at Caesars in Las Vegas, says British customers there tend to gravitate toward
brands they have back home like Ted Baker and Thomas Pink. Christine Aquino, a manager at Pink, says British men have been buying the
140-thread-count Egyptian cotton ''Prestige'' line of dress shirts. Those are popular with American men too, she says, but Brits tend to go for
brighter patterns like red striped, blue and green. ''They're more colorful than most people here in the United States.''
Rock & Republic, a company that makes designer jeans and accessories, has noticed shoppers from the U.K., France and Germany traveling to the
U.S. to buy their clothes - even though they're also available in Europe. ''It obviously doesn't make our international retailers very happy, but it
gives people an excuse to come to the States because you get so much bang for your buck,'' says Andrea Bernholtz, the company's president. The
most popular denim style this year is the boot-cut jean, she says. European customers, however, ''really like the embellished look,'' including jeans
decorated with crystals, flocking or studs. ''In America we're a little more laid back, and maybe we're not going to wear crystal jeans everyday.''
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