Random fashion thoughts

lol @ forward/outside the box

Originally Posted by APK

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Who's complaining about Context? I think slack tide's mishap was the first time I've seen anyone with poor things to say about them.

slack tide was complaining about roden gray no? context had higher price points for identical products but yeah it was a while back. ive purchased from context tons of times and i only wished they would match prices but they dont

Originally Posted by notwithit

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I can't say I know much about Japan's retail model, but I did notice that there was basically a set price for everything, and that price was consistent from retailer to retailer. If Bears, Americaya, and Hinoya Plus Mart all carried the same item, it would be the same price at each. I think this pretty much carried through to stuff like beer and sushi at convenience stores (at least in the parts of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Hiroshima I saw).

Is price fixing considered acceptable there? Is the MSRP considered law?

Also, I distinctly remember people kvetching about Blackbird's prices being a few clicks higher than comparable retailers with webshops out there a while back, so I'm not surprised to hear her side of the story on that.

i know there are very strict and sometimes ridiculous laws concerning consumer goods. e.g. used car inspections drive down the used car market by making it expensive to maintain one. this is why you see a lot of japanese used cars exported to places like australia. CDs are like $40 and most people rent them (remember blockbuster music? lol) or buy on MD. food is tightly controlled - even though it's ridiculous and expensive (requires high tech solutions) they grow food in japan at the behest of MITI or whatever it's called. just a few examples.

Originally Posted by LA Guy

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I think that she had a really good idea (a very engaging blog,) and then hit some high points. However, I think that she is fighting the tide right now. She's made some enemies, and she's trying to do her thing, which involves retail prices higher than the industry average. She lost one of her best employees, who really built the blog, as well as developed the rapport the store had with internet communities and blogs, (AFAIK, there is no bad blood, he just moved on). She also tends to be very outspoken, which can be refreshing or jarring, depending on where you stand. Right now, my read is that it's jarring to more people than it is refreshing.

Compounded with that fact is that she is not (she ever pretended to be a) Tommy Maxfield or an Alan Bilzerian type of tastemaker, so there is not really that much at her store that is really unique to it. Yes, Maxfield will charge a ridiculous amount for vintage LC luggage, but no one else will have it. Alan finds stuff that I've never seen, nor heard of, and I know I'm not going to find it unless I personally go to workshop in Italy I've never heard of. Blackbird is just not that caliber of store, so it's hard for her to fight the tide, and just charge whatever.

I visit Blackbird everytime I go to Seattle. However, the past few times I've been there, I haven't bought anything. About 2/3 of the store was stuff I didn't care for at all anyway. There was one Odyn Volk piece that I liked, but, Odyn Volk is carried by other retailers I like just as well (Acrimony in SF), and at significantly lower prices. All those factors made it hard to justify the purchase.

We'll see.
it's odyn vovk


do you go to alan bilzerian a lot? you're LA guy not Boston guy.

Wow, I just took a veritable buttload of photos for my upcoming FS thread (preview: CP training boots, olive, size 45, NIB; CP Italian army mids, white, size 45, used; lots of denim that doesn't fit me). Took freakin' forever. Thinking about the next couple of days - Mountain Goats show tomorrow night, B-more aquarium on Saturday - the first chance I'd have to post is Sunday, and I still have to resize the pictures, write any accompanying text, decide on prices...this had better be worth it.

how much (shoes)? ***** waitin on tax return

Which ones?

Either way, feel free to shoot me a PM, or wait for the thread to go up. I'm not 100% set on prices at the moment, and I feel like I'm gonna fall asleep in front of my computer at the moment, so I'ma go pass out now.

Originally Posted by notwithit

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Wow, I just took a veritable buttload of photos for my upcoming FS thread (preview: CP training boots, olive, size 45, NIB; CP Italian army mids, white, size 45, used; lots of denim that doesn't fit me).

Took freakin' forever. Thinking about the next couple of days - Mountain Goats show tomorrow night, B-more aquarium on Saturday - the first chance I'd have to post is Sunday, and I still have to resize the pictures, write any accompanying text, decide on prices...this had better be worth it.

**** takes time doesn't it? That's why cheap ass low ballers and flakers make it all the more painful. Godspeed out there.

Originally Posted by wEstSidE

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how much (shoes)? ***** waitin on tax return

tax for suckas

How long ago did Mortar quit being an affiliate?

Originally Posted by tonio028

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I'll add to this. I'm not Mr. PC by any means, but I got the same impression from that read. There's a way she could have expressed her disdain for warm weather concrete jungles and the over-abundance of conservative men's clothing, etc., while not throwing out a big "**** you" to consumers outside of Seattle and her own locally based customers who enjoy some more expensive button downs, chinos, US made shoes, from lines they can't find in their own fashion-less cities and local B&M stores, and have no where to turn other than e-commerce. After that BB read, this consumer will throw back that "**** you" by avoiding any future purchases. But by Nicole's response, I'm not "special, forward, or outside the box" enough for that store anyway.
I don't think she's necessarily a snob, but more a person with a chip on her shoulder. I know plenty of professional women in a 'man's world' (read: the backwards culture that is Utah) who perceive hostility (real or imagined) towards themselves and think the only response is to be hostile back. In at least one of the interviews, she complains about this very thing. There's a way for Miller to show that she thinks what she does, she does well, but complaining about everyone/everywhere else only makes her sound like a whiny brat. I've always been on the fence about buying from Blackbird due to the prices, but these interviews sealed the deal. No thanks. I'm not sure how anyone could drag Context into this. They seem like a couple of bang-up guys who have probably the best selection of heritage/workwear around. Not to mention, they have nice flash sales and their rewards program is a nice incentive.

Originally Posted by whodini

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How long ago did Mortar quit being an affiliate?

Whenever Wrong Weather became one.

Originally Posted by zissou

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I don't think she's necessarily a snob, but more a person with a chip on her shoulder. I know plenty of professional women in a 'man's world' (read: the backwards culture that is Utah) who perceive hostility (real or imagined) towards themselves and think the only response is to be hostile back. In at least one of the interviews, she complains about this very thing. There's a way for Miller to show that she thinks what she does, she does well, but complaining about everyone/everywhere else only makes her sound like a whiny brat.

I think this is a pretty sexist appraisal of the situation and seems pretty inaccurate, or at least based on pretty shaky reasoning :\\ Maybe she just as an aggressive personality? I wonder what the response would be like if it was a man saying these words?

Originally Posted by zissou

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I don't think she's necessarily a snob, but more a person with a chip on her shoulder. I know plenty of professional women in a 'man's world' (read: the backwards culture that is Utah) who perceive hostility (real or imagined) towards themselves and think the only response is to be hostile back. In at least one of the interviews, she complains about this very thing. There's a way for Miller to show that she thinks what she does, she does well, but complaining about everyone/everywhere else only makes her sound like a whiny brat. I've always been on the fence about buying from Blackbird due to the prices, but these interviews sealed the deal. No thanks. I'm not sure how anyone could drag Context into this. They seem like a couple of bang-up guys who have probably the best selection of heritage/workwear around. Not to mention, they have nice flash sales and their rewards program is a nice incentive.
I pretty much credit Tyler for creating the blackbird brand. Oh and stfu already Unc.

you and the sexism