Pressed for holiday gift ideas? Let Net-a-Porter help. The online luxury-shopping emporium has launched a new Gift Finder, which features everything from Barbies designed by Christian Louboutin to Rebecca Taylor party frocks to Rick Owens leather coats. Need a little stocking stuffer? The gift guide has baubles galore, plus some Kiki de Montparnasse lingerie that we think any girl, naughty or nice, should find this time of year.
And for you extra-late (city-dwelling) procrastinators, don't worry about shipping: For London and Manhattan, same day deliveries are available until 24 December.
We always welcome good news when it comes to This Economy, so it's good to hear that, so far, retailers feel encouraged after Black Friday sales. Preliminary data indicates that consumers started shopping earlier this year, and online sales increased significantly compared to a year ago.
Some of that could be because many retailers opened earlier than normal at their brick-and-mortar shops. A number of retailers also posted their door-buster deals online at midnight on Thanksgiving morning, which led to earlier traffic. Compared to Thanksgiving a year ago, PayPal dollar flow increased 25 percent, according to Time.
Retailers also are also looking for Cyber Monday, a bump in e-sales the Monday after Thanksgiving, to help their bank statements. According to retail sales consultant Matthew Katz: "There's a lot of positive momentum, but we're not out of the woods."
Sometimes, you just have to stick with what works. Yves Saint Laurent recut some of its iconic pieces for Barneys New York in June (using leftover cotton drill fabric), and the collection promptly sold out in days. Designer Stefano Pilati is now doing new vintage, the remix, in larger quantities for holiday shopping season.
The YSL Edition New Vintage range will include styles from the archive and will be made from a several fabrics from company inventory, according to WWD. Styles will go out to stores in early December, and those worried about the environment can take heart that the new-vintage styles will reuse YSL leftovers.
