MACY'S helps us BELIEVE this Holiday Season.

Herald Square in New York City is home to Macy's flagship store that they proudly advertise as "The Worlds Largest Store". The store is an institution. Having existed in some form since 1858, it is a part of NY Heritage. The store was immortalized by the film Miracle on 34th Street starring a very young Natalie Wood in 1947. To this day, the store pays homage to the movie with holiday dedicated windows recreating scenes from the film. My favorite is when thousands of letters to Santa are dumped on the judges desk in court!  Many of you have gotten to know Macy's in the last few years as their massive expansion and consolidation plan saw several other stores become Macy's doors.

Growing up I definitely felt the "Magic of Macy's". We lived north of Manhattan near West Point Military Academy and Bear Mountain State Park. The nearest mall in Nanuet, NY had a Macy's and I spent countless hours there shopping for Christmas gifts and birthday presents. I always visited the electronics department to see the big screen TV's. There was no Best Buy in those days! I still remember buying dark chocolate covered pretzels from the candy counter - just one or two because they were expensive.

Over the past 15 years, I must admit that I have not spent a great deal of time in Macy's Herald Square store.  In fact many jaded NY'ers like myself avoid the area due to the throng of tourists. NY'ers think of tourists as a blessing and a curse. We love that you enjoy being in NYC, but we hate that you are in our way...

I recently went to Macy's to get Euros for my Madrid trip at the American Express office that is housed inside. The store really is like a big city unto itself with restaurants, Starbucks, etc. I have to say, from the moment I walked in and saw the Christmas decorations that had just gone up - I couldn't help but smile. That feeling of a bustling store at Christmas that excited me so as a kid came right back. As much as I like Barneys or Bergdorf's - I don't get this feeling when I go there.

I walked down the center aisle and was surrounded by thousands of Christmas lights and hundreds and hundreds of shoppers. I know we are in an economic downturn - but shoppers are still out there looking for holiday gifts. Right in front of me was the Macy's BELIEVE meter that is celebrating the stores program to deliver letters to Santa Claus at the North Pole. I had to snap a pic with my cell phone as I was really taken off guard. I learned about the Believe program. Simply bring a letter to Santa from the little shoppers in your life addressed to Santa Claus - North Pole - and drop it in the big red mailbox. Macy's will donate $1 for every letter to the Make-a-Wish foundation for children with a max of 1 Million Dollars. The company has also added an excellent web page that is exciting for kids and adults to visit -Macy's Believe. What a great way to help out a terrific charity and help your little guys and girls keep a tradition alive. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Thierry Mugler Saves Beyonce from Wardrobe Malfunction!

Beyonce has named French Fashion legend Thierry Mugler the Creative Director of her upcoming  world tour.   Mugler who is best known for his extreme corseted couture and ready-to-wear looks will not only wardrobe the chanteuse - (he has designed approx. 60 looks for the tour), but also take charge of lighting, staging, and directing film segments for the show.    This is what really got Mugler interested in the project - as his passion is behind the camera.   He famously directed George Michael's "Too Funky" video that had tongues wagging and pushed limits in the Technicolor orgy that Thierry calls home.   For "Too Funky" he cast super models and superstars of drag and performance art such as Joey Arias.  To see the video - "Too Funky"

Mugler has been off the runway for at least 5 years - focusing on directing his Angel fragrance campaign and the costuming of the Cirque show Zoomanity in Las Vegas.   His designs were always a no-brainer for stage performers due to the dramatic proportions.  Diana Ross incorporated Mugler's Mens Purple Jackets in her stage show for years. 

Beyonce is a stunning beauty and a natural choice for his corseted frocks - we can only imagine what he will whip up for Beyonce's famous curves.   Her hourglass figure filled the vintage Mugler scorcher in all the right places in this photo!  The singer said she became interested in Mugler after seeing the exhibit at the MET's Costume Exhibit with a Superhero that featured several of Thierry's creations.   The back story is also that Beyonce wants to play Wonder Woman on the big screen.   I'm sure she is thinking of Thierry to help her do that costume justice!

Now if we could only convince Beyonce to stop wearing those dreadful House of Dereon dresses her mother Tina designs for her.   Every time she wears one of the bedazzled gowns she is a disaster from the waist down.   The red carpets missteps have led some to call it "House of Derierre" among other things.  Super Thierry to the rescue!! 

ON-Line not In Line with Retailers.....UPDATE

THIS JUST IN.  It turns out - that chicken little was wrong!   After all the dust settled - on-line sales on Monday were actually up 15% from the previous year!!!  Sales were over $850 million - making it the second biggest on-line day ever!   Profit margins as I previously mentioned are another story - but the news sent the market rallying in any event.

Cyber Monday - the Monday after black Friday has proved to be the busiest day of the year for on-line retailers the last few years.   This year however, the click click clicking was not so loud.... e-tailers as they are called saw a decrease in sales on Monday from a year ago..    Traditional retailers however saw increases in thier business this weekend - but you have to ask yourself at what price?   The stores are practically giving away the merchandise - so it doesn't take an economic genius to forecast profits will be down in the next quarters.   Lets hope this WAKE UP CALL to manufacturers to stop  over-producing is really taken to heart this year.   Also, lets all do our part to conserve and buy less quantity but more thoughtful gift this holiday season.  

Many of your favorite retailers are offering HUGE sales and all kinds of incentive programs and even free shipping.   Barneys has great current sale merchandise and free ground shipping on their site.  Every price category is getting in on the act this year ranging from K-Mart to Chanel there are deals happening.   Chanel has a limited time offer of free shipping on cosmetics bought on-line.   This might be the only time you will ever see me write the words Chanel and Free in the same sentence!!  Get started on that holiday shopping before everything is gone!!

BLACK FRIDAY IN MADRID

I'm in Madrid for a long holiday weekend.   I spent "Black Friday" in the Prado Museum.   There is a Rembrandt exhibit on now and it is incredible to see all of these pieces in one show.   The museum has a permanent collection that is worth bragging about.   The amount of Goya, Velasquez, El Greco, Rubens, etc. is staggering!  It is a definite must see on your trip list.   More on Madrid to come later.   The news channels are full of accounts of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India.  At this time - the siege continues and the death toll climbs.   It seems surreal to watch the networks  split their coverage between these hideous attacks and retail shopping in the United States!  It is before noon in the U.S. and already some shoppers have been at it for hours!   Early reports say more cash is being spent than in recent years - this could be a good sign that people are not running up their cards for holiday shopping.   Lets wait and see just what the results are this year!