WSJ: A Splurge on St. John Shows What You Can Get for the Price of Luxury

I have always thought this of St. John and had recently decided that when my "ship comes in" I shall adorn myself in this brand. Their recent ad campaigns are looking younger and more relevant as well...

Style -- On Style: The Suit That Turns Me Into a VIP --- A Splurge on St. John Shows What You Can Get for the Price of Luxury; Best Table in the House
By Christina Binkley
30 October 2008
The Wall Street Journal

Maitre d's are expert decoders of social rank. When I dine with CEOs at Michael's in New York or Spago in L.A., we score the best tables. On my own, I wind up seated near the kitchen doors.
Unless I wear my St. John suit.
It is very understated, with no logo. The navy blue knit tank dress hits right at the knee. A zipper up the front of the jacket adds a modern edge, but the look is timeless. That is what St. John is famous for -- and it is why the brand is often disdained by the trend-conscious fashion cognoscenti.
Yet when I wear my suit, maitre d's snap to attention, sales clerks rush to assist me and people I barely know offer me favors.
What is it about the cut of certain clothes that signals "VIP"? Men's Brioni suits and Charvet shirts are famous for it. Bottega Veneta and Akris have it. Their head designers can tell you the fabric cost the moon and the tailor apprenticed for three years, but it's more difficult to define what conveys the effect of Somebody. As with pornography, you know it when you see it. Delivering that cachet -- that power -- is the promise of the luxury business.
It was curiosity about these questions that led me into the boutiques on Fifth Avenue in the summer of 2007, shortly after I began writing this column. Comfortably middle-class, I had shopped for years at the likes of Saks outlet Off Fifth, Banana Republic and Zara. My mom raised me to believe clothes should be comfortable and practical, not frivolous.
At Versace, I tried on a $1,100 white cotton blouse with ruffles down the front. I exited Versace as I had entered -- empty-handed and skeptical.
Just up the avenue at the St. John boutique, a salesman helped me select a half-dozen jackets and dresses. The ensembles cost a couple thousand dollars apiece -- a steep price, but only a third the cost of similar outfits at high-fashion brands like Chanel and Akris. My salesman arranged it all in a vast dressing room and hovered outside the door. An hour later, I emerged from the store with the most expensive items of clothing I have ever purchased. I felt shock, shame, pleasure: The suit hadn't even been on sale.
The cost of luxury can seem outlandish -- particularly now, in an uncertain global economy. Clothes are particularly hard to value. While cars and high-tech gadgets -- Maseratis, Audemars Piguet watches and first-generation iPhones -- offer not only performance but the cachet of a visibly rich item, clothing does less to convey what you spent on it. Clothes get stained and snagged, and they go out of style quickly.
But clothes also have the power to transform you. Clothes "can be used to beguile, seduce, mock, lie and deceive," semiotics professor Marcel Danesi says in his book, "Of Cigarettes, High Heels, and Other Interesting Things." He adds, "Criminals can dress in three-piece suits to look trustworthy." Designer Marc Jacobs this year was asked to leave a Chelsea art gallery when an employee mistook him for a homeless man. The iconic designer's clothes apparently signaled "soup kitchen."
Most important, clothes can speak the secret language of status. In one of my early forays in my St. John suit, I dropped my kids at school on my way to work. A mom I've known for two years stopped me outside the building and exclaimed, "Wow. What do you do for a living again?" At the office, a colleague complimented my suit and asked, "Did it cost $1,000?" (I dissembled. If only.)
My suit and I got on a plane and drew the attention of a passenger in an ostrich-skin baseball cap and matching boots. It was Pete Rose. The baseball legend wound up telling me where I could get boots just like his -- flipping open his cellphone to display the number for Friedman's Shoes in Atlanta. "All the athletes shop there because he has big sizes," Mr. Rose confided.
As a woman at midlife, I find that if I want notice, I must command it. Waiters can be slow to respond to my black Banana Republic pantsuits. But they "ma'am" my St. John. Store clerks glide over to offer coffee while I browse. Maitre d's offer hangers for my jacket. A gentleman insisted on carrying my luggage onto a plane at JFK airport -- a chivalry he surely wouldn't have offered to my Lucky brand jeans. Is it my imagination, or do New York cab drivers pick me and my St. John over other hailers during rush hour?
At New York's fashion week last February, I sat outside the Bryant Park tents in my St. John, talking on my cellphone. A photographer began shooting pictures of me.
I don't think people recognize the label. My suit doesn't have the boxy shape, tweedy fabric and decorative touches of the traditional St. John's suit.
But the suit does have a good fit, strong workmanship and non-trendy style. Glenn McMahon, chief executive of St. John Knits Inc., says my jacket is known as the "Angelina" after former St. John model Angelina Jolie. Spun, dyed and knit in Irvine, Calif., St. John's signature wool-blend yarn has a patented twist that gives the garment memory so it doesn't wrinkle in suitcases or get baggy when worn. It can be "blocked" into a new size or shape, if mine should change. As a result, my suit rarely needs dry-cleaning, and looks as good at the end of the day as it did at sunrise.
These days, getting value for money is more important than ever. But spending money on hot designers doesn't guarantee you'll impress others. My green-gray Marni suit, which cost about $675 at the brand's Milan outlet, garners compliments but no restaurant-table upgrades. My cropped Stella McCartney jacket, $304 on sale at Barneys, has led to no adventures.
But recently, a friend gave me several hand-me-down Chanel jackets and they, like my St. John, stop sales clerks in their tracks.
---
Email Christina.Binkley@wsj.com

Chocolate Skulls

OK, I have to admit that this comes wholly from Daily Candy Chicago, but I had to spread the word to New York, as these SKULLS can be ordered online. What could be better than a regular skull for Halloween? Well a CHOCOLATE skull of course!

Dia de los Muertos Chocolate Skulls

What: Solid chocs with edible, salt-coated eyes made in honor of the Mexican holiday.

Where: Vosges Haut Chocolat, 520 N. Michigan Ave., at Grand Ave. (312-644-9450); 951 W. Armitage Ave., at Sheffield Ave. (773-296-9866).

Calypso 30% off Sale Oct 30 - Nov. 4

Click here for your coupon (works in-store as well as online):

http://www.calypso-celle.com/campaigns/2008/friendsfamily/friendsandfamily.pdf

Ike Designs Jewelry: I just can't get enough

So sue me. OK, please don't. But seriously I cannot get enough of Ike Designs Jewelry by Dori O'Dea. I went to a private showing on Sunday and flipped over the pieces you see pictured here. I have ordered earrings, which I will unveil once I receive them. But in the meantime, I debate over whether or not I should get the necklace with the 2 silver discs -- and what design I should get. She was showing the "D for Dori" sample. AH HA! Perhaps I should get a "G" on top and an "S" on the bottom.

Thank you for helping me work through this.

Otherwise, check out the chain on the one necklace with the stone pendant, and the design of the other necklace. She is planning to make earrings out of the series of discs, thus creating a set.

And the earrings pictured on top - especially the ones to the far left? Amazing. I want those too.

Rouge Tomate & Cavatappo Wine Bar: Food & Drink

Yours truly had the great opportunity to have dinner and lunch at soon-to-open (October 28) Rouge Tomate before it opened to the public. Located on E. 60th across from Barney's, Rouge Tomate "provides a harmonious alignment of balanced cuisine, well-being, and social and environmental consciousness. This nutritional approach demonstrates a genuine respect for the integrity of ingredients used in crafting balanced, healthful and flavorful dishes."

Bottom line? The space is amazing, beautiful, airy, and I'm not sure exactly what I mean by this, but...harmonious. If a restaurant could look healthy and delicious, this is the spot. And the food presentation is artistic and beautiful -- I might even say breathtaking if I wasn't afraid that it'd sound a bit too gushy. I have to say that of everything I ate the lobster and beet salad (lunch) was my favorite as was the chocolate/peanut butter dessert (dinner).

And last night I made it into Cavatappo Wine Bar on Third Ave. and 26th St. (other location on Second and 89th). With a substantial selection of wines, a bit of food, decent music and a mature atmosphere, this place may be one of the saviors of a neighborhood on the brink of turning into Hoboken. If you are in the hood and not interested in football or jello shots, I strongly suggest this as a top option.

Schmap to it!

Since a photo taken by yours truly has been included on Schmap, I have both added a Schmap widget to my right-hand side bar and decided to write a bit about it.

Schmap is a leading publisher of digital travel guides for 200 destinations throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The innovative technology behind Schmap Guides also lets end users publish their own ‘schmaps’ (to share trip itineraries, local reviews and more), and powers a popular range of Schmap Widgets, displaying maps with content and event schedules for travel, sports, concert tours and more on a fast-growing network of websites and blogs. Founded in 2004, Schmap is privately owned and based in Carrboro, North Carolina.

So as you will see, you can use the widget to map SHOPPING locations throughout the city and get a bit of info about hundreds of retail locations. Although I have noticed a few stores that are still listed, but no longer in business (think Princeton Ski Shop).

Check it out!

Portolano Sample Sale: Oct 27-31, 2008

Portolano Sample Sale
October 27-31
10 AM to 6 PM
(Closed on Saturday & Sunday)
15 West 37th St. (11th Fl.)
NYC

designer gloves . knits . small leather goods . handmade italian silk . emilio cavallini hosiery

No Refunds or Exchanges
Major Credit Cards Accepted

Kooba Sample Sale: Oct 28-30

I am not the world's foremost handbag expert, but these bags look super nice and come in great colors and materials. They are not cheap, which is why this sample sale is really worth checking out--

Kooba Sample Sale

Tuesday October 28th – Thursday October 30th
Hours: 10am – 8pm (Closed 2 – 3pm)
141 W. 36th Street
Between Broadway & 7th Ave.

Cash, Visa, MasterCard & Amex Accepted

City Opera Thrift Shop Annual Fall Event: 10/23

Click on image to view details on the City Opera Thrift Shop annual fall event!

Mother of the Groom Picks Anne & Alex

The only thing that may be worse than bridesmaids dresses are mother-of-the-bride (or groom) outfits. So what did a savvy little lady from Madonna's hometown do to resolve this age-old problem?

She went SEPARATES!

Here's how it went down straight from the mermaid's mouth: "The top is Anne Klein, the bottom is Alex Evenings. Both were purchased at Macy's after long hours of trying on the most atrocious 'Mother of the Bride or Groom' dresses...a sea of pastels with beads, sequins and frou-frou."

And as luck would have it, this mother is out of children to marry off, so both items are on sale - a guerilla shopper exclusive! If any mothers would like to purchase said items, she'll give them a deal!