Michael Tonello's Blog, page 23
April 20, 2014
Follow-up to Hermes Belt ....
...from a few days ago (on this blog).I was asked "What would happen if a customer was at Hermes buying three pairs of trousers, each a different color, would they not sell the customer three belts?"And, "Does this belt rationing also pertain to shoes? Is there an annual shoe limit?"
Something to ponder on this Easter Sunday...
(hat tip Ward)
April 18, 2014
Spotted on Facebook: Birkin Wedding Registry
People are asking where we are registering for our engagement party and wedding.
We registered at:
✅Cash
✅Check
✅Gift Cards
✅BMW
✅Range Rover
✅Hermes Birkin
✅Gucci
We registered at:
✅Cash
✅Check
✅Gift Cards
✅BMW
✅Range Rover
✅Hermes Birkin
✅Gucci
Are Hermes Belts the New Birkin? Hermes Playing Games...
This just in. Received this email moments ago and thought you'd all get a chuckle out of it:
"A customer of ours ordered two belts on hermes.com. The next day she ordered a third oneThen she got a call from Hermes informing her that she can only buy 2 belts per year."
"A customer of ours ordered two belts on hermes.com. The next day she ordered a third oneThen she got a call from Hermes informing her that she can only buy 2 belts per year."
April 17, 2014
Victoria Beckham Turns 40 With Diamonds - But No New Birkin - Pity
40th birthday is no Posh affairShe’s been a pop wannabe, one fifth of the biggest girl band of all time, queen Wag, washed-up solo star, actress, model, author, humanitarian and, now, respected fashion designer.
She’s also managed to marry the fittest footballer ever, have four gorgeous children and go to war with Naomi Campbell, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Jordan and Rebecca Loos.
Phew, that’s a lot to cram into 40 years.
And how will Mrs Beckham be celebrating her milestone birthday tomorrow? Diamonds? Dom Pérignon? A magnificent ball for 1,000 of her closest A-list chums? After all, this is the woman who sat on a golden throne for her wedding and has a Hermes Birkin collection worth £1.5 million.
Well, it seems the artist formerly known as Posh Spice has finally realised that less is more: she’s opted for a simple dinner party with her parents, hubby and a few select friends. There will be no other Spice Girls, no other Wags, just her nearest and dearest. OK, OK, that does include Eva Longoria, Simon Fuller and Gordon and Tanya Ramsay, and Becks is said to buying her a £50,000 diamond bracelet, but that’s still pretty modest by VB’s standards.
Victoria Caroline Adams decided she wanted to be famous after watching the musical, Fame. Soon after, she enrolled in a performing arts school and became a fully-fledged all-singing, all-dancing theatre brat, auditioning for everything from the lead role for the 1995 box office bomb, Tank Girl to an advert in The Stage for ‘street smart, extrovert, ambitious girls able to sing and dance’. It would be the audition to change her life: before you could say “zig-a-zig-ah”, she was a Spice Girl.
Music, movies, merchandise, heck, pretty much world domination, followed and she will forever be remembered as pouting, Gucci-clad, bob-haired Posh Spice. She never spoke, she never sang, she never smiled but she did do a weird wink-and-point thing. Classic stuff.
It’s a world away from her image now: the uber-successful and respected fashion designer whose clothes are all about understatement and elegance.
Ah ‘understatement and elegance’, two words that were clearly not in her vocabulary for the 2006 World Cup.
This was the dawn of the Wag and it was all about fake boobs, fake hair, massive sunglasses and tiny hotpants. With Cheryl Cole on her arm, VB tottered around in six-inch heels and Roberto Cavalli’s finest £10,000 trashy dresses with breasts pushed up to her chin and hair down to her backside. Your average circus clown had more subtly and sophistication.
But still, I have to confess, Gaudy Spice is my personal favourite incarnation of Mrs B. She was a lot more interesting back when she wasn’t perfect. These days, she’s obviously learned from her years in the public eye and is thoroughly in control. And who can blame her? After all, she’s expertly navigated many a storm during her time in the spotlight: David’s alleged affair with Rebecca Loos, a backlash over her musical ability, a flop of a solo career, the world’s obsession with her weight, four pregnancies and the scrutiny they bring and countless other tales of backstabbing, bitchfights and bickering.
Is she miserable? Is she materialistic? Is she a bad wife? Does she have an eating disorder? Has she had plastic surgery? These are all questions she’s had land at her Jimmy Choo-ed feet countless times over the years – and she’s always dealt with them with grace and a smile. Well, more of a smirk than a smile but you get the drift.
After years of never quite fitting in, she’s now finally found her niche at the age of 40 – heading up her own eponymous fashion empire, where dresses go for two grand and everyone from Cameron Diaz to Anna Wintour are fans.
She’s also found a voice on Twitter, where she gives her seven million followers an insight into her A-list life, keen sense of style and actually quite fun personality. She’s even been known to post pictures of herself smiling and playfully jumping up and down on a bed. Shocking, I know. But forget Posh Spice, forget Designer Spice, forget Solo Spice, her most successful role is that of wife and mother.
She and David never look happier than when they are at each other’s side surrounded by Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and little Harper. For all that they’ve been through, they seem a genuinely happy and loving family – and what better birthday present is there than that?
Well, that £50,000 bracelet sounds nice . . .
She’s also managed to marry the fittest footballer ever, have four gorgeous children and go to war with Naomi Campbell, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Jordan and Rebecca Loos.
Phew, that’s a lot to cram into 40 years.
And how will Mrs Beckham be celebrating her milestone birthday tomorrow? Diamonds? Dom Pérignon? A magnificent ball for 1,000 of her closest A-list chums? After all, this is the woman who sat on a golden throne for her wedding and has a Hermes Birkin collection worth £1.5 million.
Well, it seems the artist formerly known as Posh Spice has finally realised that less is more: she’s opted for a simple dinner party with her parents, hubby and a few select friends. There will be no other Spice Girls, no other Wags, just her nearest and dearest. OK, OK, that does include Eva Longoria, Simon Fuller and Gordon and Tanya Ramsay, and Becks is said to buying her a £50,000 diamond bracelet, but that’s still pretty modest by VB’s standards.
Victoria Caroline Adams decided she wanted to be famous after watching the musical, Fame. Soon after, she enrolled in a performing arts school and became a fully-fledged all-singing, all-dancing theatre brat, auditioning for everything from the lead role for the 1995 box office bomb, Tank Girl to an advert in The Stage for ‘street smart, extrovert, ambitious girls able to sing and dance’. It would be the audition to change her life: before you could say “zig-a-zig-ah”, she was a Spice Girl.
Music, movies, merchandise, heck, pretty much world domination, followed and she will forever be remembered as pouting, Gucci-clad, bob-haired Posh Spice. She never spoke, she never sang, she never smiled but she did do a weird wink-and-point thing. Classic stuff.
It’s a world away from her image now: the uber-successful and respected fashion designer whose clothes are all about understatement and elegance.
Ah ‘understatement and elegance’, two words that were clearly not in her vocabulary for the 2006 World Cup.
This was the dawn of the Wag and it was all about fake boobs, fake hair, massive sunglasses and tiny hotpants. With Cheryl Cole on her arm, VB tottered around in six-inch heels and Roberto Cavalli’s finest £10,000 trashy dresses with breasts pushed up to her chin and hair down to her backside. Your average circus clown had more subtly and sophistication.
But still, I have to confess, Gaudy Spice is my personal favourite incarnation of Mrs B. She was a lot more interesting back when she wasn’t perfect. These days, she’s obviously learned from her years in the public eye and is thoroughly in control. And who can blame her? After all, she’s expertly navigated many a storm during her time in the spotlight: David’s alleged affair with Rebecca Loos, a backlash over her musical ability, a flop of a solo career, the world’s obsession with her weight, four pregnancies and the scrutiny they bring and countless other tales of backstabbing, bitchfights and bickering.
Is she miserable? Is she materialistic? Is she a bad wife? Does she have an eating disorder? Has she had plastic surgery? These are all questions she’s had land at her Jimmy Choo-ed feet countless times over the years – and she’s always dealt with them with grace and a smile. Well, more of a smirk than a smile but you get the drift.
After years of never quite fitting in, she’s now finally found her niche at the age of 40 – heading up her own eponymous fashion empire, where dresses go for two grand and everyone from Cameron Diaz to Anna Wintour are fans.
She’s also found a voice on Twitter, where she gives her seven million followers an insight into her A-list life, keen sense of style and actually quite fun personality. She’s even been known to post pictures of herself smiling and playfully jumping up and down on a bed. Shocking, I know. But forget Posh Spice, forget Designer Spice, forget Solo Spice, her most successful role is that of wife and mother.
She and David never look happier than when they are at each other’s side surrounded by Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and little Harper. For all that they’ve been through, they seem a genuinely happy and loving family – and what better birthday present is there than that?
Well, that £50,000 bracelet sounds nice . . .
April 16, 2014
Whole Foods "Kermès Birkin" Fetches $1,600
Instagram sketches turn regular dad into modern-day Warhol
Every morning, Donald Robertson boards the 8:30 a.m. Metro-North train from Larchmont to work at Estée Lauder in Midtown.
The bespectacled father of five — who is a creative director for special projects at the cosmetics giant — brainstorms ad campaigns, develops products and sits in an office.
But before he has even reached his desk to start his day, the unassuming 52-year-old has already done a full day’s work — in his basement studio, where he paints, sketches and gaffer-tapes quirky, colorful works of art inspired by the world of fashion.
He’s prolific, too. He wakes up at 4 a.m., and by the time he leaves the house, he’s already dashed off a handful of zeitgest-y pop pieces.
“People say I am reminiscent of Andy Warhol because he started as an illustrator and then transitioned into art. I am kind of in that position now. Andy’s output was maybe monthly. I like putting out three or four things a day,” says Robertson, who also doodles intricate sketches during meetings like most people sketch circles.
With no place to share his art, he used to dole it out to lucky friends or co-workers. But in November 2012, his assistant signed him up on Instagram under the handle “DonaldDrawbertson,” and the photo-sharing platform has launched him from beauty industry darling to internationally selling artist.
His followers have swelled to 24,000 — many of whom are major fashion taste-makers. Fans were constantly asking to buy his work, so in December he began selling his pieces on the Trendabl app. Prints start at $250 and paintings can fetch up to $2,200. He has sold paintings in Italy, England and Brazil.
No medium or style icon is off limits.
Robertson will sketch Vogue editor Anna Wintour and creative director Grace Coddington with a giraffe of his creation named Mitford; paint a cardboard box to look like Louis Vuitton luggage; use a piece of toast to make Pharrell’s famous hat; or draw amazing likenesses of Karl Lagerfeld on toilet paper.
“My main influence is a cross between Wes Anderson and Damien Hirst. Because the thing about both of them is everything they do feels really hands-on. You can see their hands in their work,” says Robertson.
“Warhol felt very computer-y and silk screen-y and almost a little bit colder.”
The Toronto native has always blazed his own trail. In 1982, he was asked to leave the Ontario School of Art because his instructors thought he was too commercial.
“I went to art school for, like, ten minutes, and I got asked to leave,” he says.
He went to Paris for a year trying to get work as an illustrator but returned to Toronto and helped launch MAC cosmetics there.
While he never finished school, he came to New York in 1989 and toiled for many years at Condé Nast, where he was a creative director at Glamour and Cargo magazines, before heading to Estée Lauder to work with Aerin Lauder, and then to Bobbi Brown Cosmetics.
But his new-found Instagram fame still blows his mind: “This is a 100 percent unexpected thing,” he says. “I’m just some schmoe-y guy who lives in surburbia.”
Meanwhile, the recognition has led to some unexpected collaborations.
British designer Giles Deacon, who found Robertson on Instagram, used his lip-prints for his latest collection; “Game of Thrones” star Emilia Clarke wore one of the pieces on the cover of the April issue of InStyle UK.
He recently designed wallpaper for Warby Parker founder Neil Blumenthal and his wife Rachel featuring pandas spinning on stationary bikes. J.Crew’s children’s line Crewcuts picked up the print, and will use it for next season’s collection.
“Thanks to Instagram, there is no one I am not working with that I wanted to work with. And that is global. The reach of this app is insane. That’s why it’s so fun. [Magazine editor] Carine Roitfeld ‘regrammed’ me the other day. And then [J.Crew creative director] Jenna Lyons did,” he adds.
Robertson, who describes his work as “happy and high-end,” embraces the immediacy of the platform.
“You get to react in real time,” he says. “It used to be that you did a painting, but you’d have to save it for your next art show. We live in an ADD culture, so I want constant flow.”
Robertson, who is planning a gallery show in New York this June, doesn’t plan on quitting his day job any time soon. In fact, it fuels output — and his mad-scientist mind.
“John [Demsey, Group President at Estée Lauder] knows I have attention issues, so he bops me around. This is the perfect job for me,” says Robertson of his 9-to-5 gig, where he works on numerous brands.
“The magic in what I am doing is that it’s not all day long. I just have this little window where I can pull this stuff off. Plus, when you are working with these different brands and different people, you get a gazillion different ideas.”
After seeing an Instagram friend post, “It’s not easy being green,” Robertson was inspired. “I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, Kermit.’ And I had orange gaffer tape that reminds me of Hermès, so I said, ‘I’m going to do Kermès.’ I didn’t come up with the line ‘Kermès’ — an Instagram user came up with it.” It’s now a recurring motif. This Kermès “Birkin” bag is made from a Whole Foods shopping bag repurposed with gaffer tape; a woman in California recently purchased one for $1,600.
"It's literally Zappos boxes, milk cartons and anything else that would go in the garbage," says Robertson, who transformed his recycling bin into a "Louis Vuitton" luggage set that graces a table in his home. "It is turning garbage into prestige products." Since garbage isn't his wife's favorite medium, it will likely go up for sale.
Wintour is another popular motif for Robertson because of her iconic appearance. “I really like people that lock into a look,” says Robertson. “She is like the ultimate brand, herself.”
In one piece, he crafted the Vogue editrix’s head from a walnut and created her signature bob with gaffer tape — then used it as a stopper for a Chanel No. 5 perfume bottle.
In a sketch, Wintour appears with the giraffe Mitford, which Robertson re-imagines as her employee: “He’s always been Anna’s temp because she needs someone who isn’t going to talk [or] make a movie. [I thought], ‘She should get a giraffe. They are silent.’
http://instagram.com/donalddrawbertson#
http://nypost.com/2014/04/15/instagra...
Every morning, Donald Robertson boards the 8:30 a.m. Metro-North train from Larchmont to work at Estée Lauder in Midtown.The bespectacled father of five — who is a creative director for special projects at the cosmetics giant — brainstorms ad campaigns, develops products and sits in an office.
But before he has even reached his desk to start his day, the unassuming 52-year-old has already done a full day’s work — in his basement studio, where he paints, sketches and gaffer-tapes quirky, colorful works of art inspired by the world of fashion.
He’s prolific, too. He wakes up at 4 a.m., and by the time he leaves the house, he’s already dashed off a handful of zeitgest-y pop pieces.
“People say I am reminiscent of Andy Warhol because he started as an illustrator and then transitioned into art. I am kind of in that position now. Andy’s output was maybe monthly. I like putting out three or four things a day,” says Robertson, who also doodles intricate sketches during meetings like most people sketch circles.
With no place to share his art, he used to dole it out to lucky friends or co-workers. But in November 2012, his assistant signed him up on Instagram under the handle “DonaldDrawbertson,” and the photo-sharing platform has launched him from beauty industry darling to internationally selling artist.
His followers have swelled to 24,000 — many of whom are major fashion taste-makers. Fans were constantly asking to buy his work, so in December he began selling his pieces on the Trendabl app. Prints start at $250 and paintings can fetch up to $2,200. He has sold paintings in Italy, England and Brazil.
No medium or style icon is off limits.
Robertson will sketch Vogue editor Anna Wintour and creative director Grace Coddington with a giraffe of his creation named Mitford; paint a cardboard box to look like Louis Vuitton luggage; use a piece of toast to make Pharrell’s famous hat; or draw amazing likenesses of Karl Lagerfeld on toilet paper.
“My main influence is a cross between Wes Anderson and Damien Hirst. Because the thing about both of them is everything they do feels really hands-on. You can see their hands in their work,” says Robertson.
“Warhol felt very computer-y and silk screen-y and almost a little bit colder.”
The Toronto native has always blazed his own trail. In 1982, he was asked to leave the Ontario School of Art because his instructors thought he was too commercial.
“I went to art school for, like, ten minutes, and I got asked to leave,” he says.
He went to Paris for a year trying to get work as an illustrator but returned to Toronto and helped launch MAC cosmetics there.
While he never finished school, he came to New York in 1989 and toiled for many years at Condé Nast, where he was a creative director at Glamour and Cargo magazines, before heading to Estée Lauder to work with Aerin Lauder, and then to Bobbi Brown Cosmetics.
But his new-found Instagram fame still blows his mind: “This is a 100 percent unexpected thing,” he says. “I’m just some schmoe-y guy who lives in surburbia.”
Meanwhile, the recognition has led to some unexpected collaborations.
British designer Giles Deacon, who found Robertson on Instagram, used his lip-prints for his latest collection; “Game of Thrones” star Emilia Clarke wore one of the pieces on the cover of the April issue of InStyle UK.
He recently designed wallpaper for Warby Parker founder Neil Blumenthal and his wife Rachel featuring pandas spinning on stationary bikes. J.Crew’s children’s line Crewcuts picked up the print, and will use it for next season’s collection.
“Thanks to Instagram, there is no one I am not working with that I wanted to work with. And that is global. The reach of this app is insane. That’s why it’s so fun. [Magazine editor] Carine Roitfeld ‘regrammed’ me the other day. And then [J.Crew creative director] Jenna Lyons did,” he adds.
Robertson, who describes his work as “happy and high-end,” embraces the immediacy of the platform.
“You get to react in real time,” he says. “It used to be that you did a painting, but you’d have to save it for your next art show. We live in an ADD culture, so I want constant flow.”
Robertson, who is planning a gallery show in New York this June, doesn’t plan on quitting his day job any time soon. In fact, it fuels output — and his mad-scientist mind.
“John [Demsey, Group President at Estée Lauder] knows I have attention issues, so he bops me around. This is the perfect job for me,” says Robertson of his 9-to-5 gig, where he works on numerous brands.
“The magic in what I am doing is that it’s not all day long. I just have this little window where I can pull this stuff off. Plus, when you are working with these different brands and different people, you get a gazillion different ideas.”
After seeing an Instagram friend post, “It’s not easy being green,” Robertson was inspired. “I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, Kermit.’ And I had orange gaffer tape that reminds me of Hermès, so I said, ‘I’m going to do Kermès.’ I didn’t come up with the line ‘Kermès’ — an Instagram user came up with it.” It’s now a recurring motif. This Kermès “Birkin” bag is made from a Whole Foods shopping bag repurposed with gaffer tape; a woman in California recently purchased one for $1,600.
"It's literally Zappos boxes, milk cartons and anything else that would go in the garbage," says Robertson, who transformed his recycling bin into a "Louis Vuitton" luggage set that graces a table in his home. "It is turning garbage into prestige products." Since garbage isn't his wife's favorite medium, it will likely go up for sale.
Wintour is another popular motif for Robertson because of her iconic appearance. “I really like people that lock into a look,” says Robertson. “She is like the ultimate brand, herself.”
In one piece, he crafted the Vogue editrix’s head from a walnut and created her signature bob with gaffer tape — then used it as a stopper for a Chanel No. 5 perfume bottle.
In a sketch, Wintour appears with the giraffe Mitford, which Robertson re-imagines as her employee: “He’s always been Anna’s temp because she needs someone who isn’t going to talk [or] make a movie. [I thought], ‘She should get a giraffe. They are silent.’
http://instagram.com/donalddrawbertson#
http://nypost.com/2014/04/15/instagra...
April 15, 2014
Johnny Weir & Victor Voronov Reconcile - It's All About the Birkin Baby
Johnny Weir's husband agrees to reconcile but ONLY if skater pledges to publicly apologize for nasty divorce mudslinging Victor Voronov has reportedly agreed move back in with Weir only if he signs papers pledging he'll tell the world he's sorry for the high profile digs The agreement stipulates that Weir's mother must also butt out of the couple's personal finances Weir filed for divorce from Victor Voronov - his husband of two years - in February, while in Sochi commenting on the Olympics Voronov accused Weir of cheating using gay dating app Grindr and of biting him during a fight
April 14, 2014
Carole Bayer Sager and the Infamous Hermes Blue Roi Croc Birkin bag
If that handbag could talk, oh the story it could tell! But alas it can, there are actually three chapters in Bringing Home the Birkin about that very bag she's holding in her hand. Forget Apple, General Motors, Exxon, Eli Lilly....Invest in Birkin Bags!
Why Do These Hermès Bags Cost $70,000? By SUSANNA KIM
ABC NEWS Business Digital Reportervia Good Morning America Many consider collecting a male-dominated hobby, with men dominating categories like stamps, cars and baseball cards. But a surge in luxury accessory sales in the secondary market, handbags in particular, have reinforced female dominance in accumulating items like Hermès handbags that can sell for five figures. The Hermès Birkin bag, a line of bags made by the French luxury retailer and inspired by British actress Jane Birkin, has played a major part in attracting bona-fide collectors. "Until very recently, people with lots of bags didn't self-identify as collectors. They were shoppers, buyers or 'fans of Chanel,'" said Matt Rubinger, director of luxury accessories for Heritage Auctions. "They weren't creating a collection with a lasting value or investment in mind. As we've hosted these auctions and people see how strong the market is, that has shifted." Heritage Auctions recognized the growing popularity of the market and brought on Rubinger three and half years ago to launch the luxury accessories category. Rubinger said that of Heritage's 35 categories, such as sports collectibles, they are all dominated by a male customer base, except for luxury accessories.
Because Hermès can have waiting lists that can span years for Birkin bags, handcrafted in France, the secondary market exploded with the prevalence of online retailers. Websites Ruelala and Gilt host semi-regular sales for luxury handbags, but none are quite as expensive as Birkin bags. On Monday, Heritage Auctions is hosting in Beverly Hills a "Fine Jewelry and Luxury Accessories Auction" that includes 68 Birkins out of 275 bags. The most sought-after item is a crocodile Birkin bag that was custom made with an indigo interior. It's estimated to be worth $60,000 to $70,000.
Crocodile Birkin bags can retail for $60,000 in Hermès stores; leather Birkin bags for about $10,000. Why the big price tag? Rubinger doesn't deny that these bags are "not the norm" for most American households. Buyers with means are paying for both the brand and the quality, Rubinger explains. "One craftsman sits in factory in southern France and starts with the first stitch, from start to finish. You pay for that craftsmanship," he said. "If they can't get enough of a certain material that meets their standards, they discontinue it."
Hermès did not respond to a request for comment.
What has enforced luxury handbags as a collectibles category was that many pieces, such as the Birkin, were not only holding in value through time, but rising. "In the luxury space, if you buy a new luxury car, you are not thinking of lasting value," Rubinger said. "If you buy a Range Rover, you aren't planning to sell it for more than you bought it." Luxury handbag collectors, on the other hand, can. "If you really pay attention to what you're doing, you're not going to lose money, and in the best case scenario you can make money on this bag that you enjoyed," he said.
Last year, Heritage Auctions launched weekly online auctions for luxury bags that start on Tuesday and last for seven days. About 75 designer bags start at $1 with no reserve.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/women-...
