Puttin' On the Ritz!!

The high end has finally arrived in the Pacific Northwest. Over the weekend, Bravern Center, in Bellevue, Washington opened boasting the first Neiman Marcus in the area. There were galas and very excited shoppers who were chomping at the bit to get a taste of luxury shopping at its best. I dare say they were not disappointed.

Local press covered the event and reported that there were those who had budgeted funds just to do a bit of shopping during the opening weekend. However, when I read that one woman had budgeted $100 to spend on cosmetics at Neiman Marcus, I wondered what exactly she was going to purchase. Another reported having saved money for a designer handbag. Her budget was between $850 and $1250. Again, I cringed. Not a lot of handbags, produced by the designers she was going to find at any of the shops at Bravern were going to be available at that price.

This is Nordstrom country. This is their backyard. This is where corporate headquarters happens to be along with the Nordstrom family. Until this past weekend, they were the highest ranking retail department store in town. Having spoken with a few people who graced the opening, I believe that Nordstrom is not going to lose many customers to the newly placed retail boutiques in Bravern Center. There was a great deal of sticker shock among the brave souls who ventured out to get a taste of 'designer label heaven'.

So to all of the press who are writing articles and generating newscasts indicating that Nordstrom now has some competition, please think again. Other than Piazza Sempione, Hermes and a couple of artisan bakeries, the offerings are already in the area.

If there is an avowed Louis Vuitton customer, they have already fled Nordstrom and gone to Fifth Avenue in Seattle to the Louis Vuitton boutique. They can already hop across the street and gander at the offerings at Gucci. It is true that Neiman's is going to carry some designers that are not in the current line up at Nordstrom but so what? It will be easy to hang on to the Nordstrom customer. That is still one of the anchors at Bellevue Square, which is three blocks west of Bravern Center, on NE 8th in Bellevue.

I personally hope that Bravern Center is a success. It is high time that a greater selection of luxury offerings were available to the shoppers of this area. However, I also have some suggestions for the company that owns Bellevue Square and the Bellevue Collection. No, I am not going to post those suggestions on this blog. I am going to send a private letter. Mr. Freeman deserves some degree of confidentiality and who knows, he may really like my suggestions.

Now that I have gotten that out of the way, I will acknowledge that Mercedes Benz Fashion Week is in full swing in NYC. I have been following the shows on-line this fashion season. I will begin reporting on the collections later this week. However, as you all know, I have always been a bit curious as to why Fall Fashion Week (meaning held in the fall and showing the collections for spring and summer of 2010) is always the big draw. I love fall fashion so for me the Fashion Weeks not to be missed begin in January.

Just the same, I know we must all dress for spring and summer. I will be fair and judicious in my comments. We'll start with NYC and work our way to Paris. For all of those who are wondering if I am having a bit of withdrawal (or downright depression) covering the events via the Internet instead of in person, the answer is yes. But, you have to do what you have to do. We, The Fashion Project, will be back in the saddle soon enough. Come January, we will be there, in person, in force and in style.

a la prochaine!!

Debra