The Fashion Business

What are you really paying for when you spend more on a cashmere sweater? Not just high quality or better style, the WSJ reports.

"Black Friday" brought with it its typical deep discounts, crowds and long lines. But will the excitement to shop last throughout the holiday season? Or are shoppers just grabbing their bargains now and mostly sitting out the rest of the season?

Some reflections on the early reports of "Black Friday."

A blog entry about one billionaire's effect on consumer spending habits. It's more astounding than you might think.

Turns out fashion isn't all about being superficial. Read on to find out ways your purchases can give back.

A recent WSJ piece talks about retailers' effort this holiday season to encourage shoppers to accessorize-- thereby increasing their spend per shopping trip and bringing in more dollars for the bottom line.

But wait, aren't consumers supposed to be cutting back this holiday season? What makes retailers so sure they will actually buy extra accessories they don't really need?

An article in the Times' business section today says there's some suspicious, and perhaps illegal, insider trading going on at both Coach and Crocs.

The holidays aren't looking so happy for retailers, and surprisingly, even upper middle class consumers are feeling the squeeze, the WSJ reports.

An article in today's Wall Street Journal discusses Bloomingdale's latest effort to target female baby boomer shoppers: a department called Quotation.

What this department lacks in organization (in how and where it sells its boomer apparel), it makes up for in customer service. I think the latter makes all the difference.

One of the latest Style pieces in the New York Times compares the luxury handbag market to the housing bubble burst.

Will the luxury handbag market suffer the same fate as the housing sector? Only the "moderately" expensive ones.

High-end designers are making their clothes trickier to copy by making them more detailed.

It's interesting to note how cheaper versions of higher end clothes might suffer in execution, but I'm not sure, at the end of the day, if it matters.

An article in yesterday's Journal attributes a proliferation in children's designer labels to an increase in fashion bullying.

But the author fails to give compelling evidence, via firm numbers, that one actually relates to the other. And kids making fun of others for their fashion sense isn't exactly a recent phenomenon.

Last week was Los Angeles' Fashion Week. Nobody who's anybody cared.

A recent Wall Street Journal article explores whether or not premium denim brand 7 for All Mankind will be successful as it continues its product expansion beyond just jeans.

As argued previously, I think product extension makes the brand stronger, not weaker.

Just how important is the fashion industry to the economy of New York City? Maybe more than any of us realize, according to reviews of Elizabeth Currid's "The Warhol Economy."

An article in today's New York Times Style section argues that there aren't enough African American women on fashion runways. I've got news for you: they aren't the only ones being left out.