Apparel + Shoes + Accessories: Holiday party fashion advice from experts

By Bronwyn Turner
Correspondent


Want to make Santa’s best-dressed list this year? Don the right apparel before you head for decked halls and you’ll be a hit at the holiday parties, area experts said. Here is a look at their Top 10 list of holiday fashion must-haves.

The Little Black Dress

“It’s more of a must this year because people are watching their pockets a little bit more, and it’s easy to make the black dress look different twice,” Jesse Conrad, owner of The Firm in Galveston, said.

Diana Montes, who co-owns Jill’s Fashions and Bridals with her husband in League City, is seeing dresses with one shoulder — “they call it the cold shoulder look.” Backs of dresses are a fashion statement as well, with cutouts and low backs.

Monica Barry, owner of ha.ba.’s in Galveston, advises going with color in holiday fashions, or if you have to wear the black dress, pull out the bling. “Really pump it up with large accessories and bright colors,” she said.

Sequins

Sequin dresses are back in again, with the large paillettes (sequin spangles used to detail and trim, sometimes of different shapes), Montes said. Conrad is seeing a lot of sequined shoes as well.

Glitz And Bling

“If you watch what’s going on with all of the MTV and teenage girls, bling everywhere is in — big bangle bracelets, big chunky necklaces, the big rings with lots of rhinestones on them,” Montes advised. Conrad sees glitz and gold in hair clips and bags as well.

Clutch Bags

Look for the bangle bracelet clutch bag. “You put it on your wrist instead of carrying it under your arm,” Dina Austin, store manager for Rainbow Apparel in the Mainland Crossing Shopping Center in Texas City, said.

Montes likes the “little bitty sequined handbag that can hold your cell phone, camera, compact and lipstick. ... For parties, clutches are hugely in.”

Shoes That Make A Statement

“Stiletto heels are still in, much to our chagrin — the higher the better, especially if it’s on a platform, like a 5-inch heel on an inch platform,” Montes said. Ankle and tall boots are part of the holiday fashion this year as well, the women said.

Barry noted the new shoe décor — open-bottomed leather bangle boots or high leather boots that attach to high heels. “Shoes are another way to dress up,” she said. “Nothing is just a simple pump any more.”

Leggings

Leggings in lace, fishnet and gold or silver lamé are fashionable this holiday season. Look for leggings worn under sequin dresses, with lots of color.

Faux Fur

Jackets, shawls, and capes with fur trim are in fashion. Watch for marabou, with small, fine fluffy feathers, in jackets and shawls. For the Interfaith Caring Ministries holiday style show last week in League City, Montes dressed a model in a form-fitted dress with an animal print top and faux fur jacket.

Shawls And Wraps

Shawls with sequins, knitted shawls, marabou feather shawls and psychedelic-colored shawls are all in fashion. Montes also likes a small marabou shrug (cropped garment that covers less than a vest worn over a shirt).

Vivid Colors And Prints

Animal and abstract prints are right for the party scene. Montes advises the color purple.

Makeup

Look for purples and pinks in eye shadow, and a little sparkle on the shoulders.

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Five Fashion Follies

• Trying to look older or younger. “Remember, our minds don’t age as quickly as our bodies do,” Diana Montes, who co-owns Jill’s Fashions and Bridals with her husband in League City, said. Teenage fashions are for teenagers.

• Clashing colors. Coordinate lipstick with your outfit. Stay within the same color palette.

• Poor fits. “Sometimes people can wear something that’s ill fitting and look disheveled,” Montes said.

• Rouge is not in. The more natural look is in.

• Embarrassingly form-fitting clothes. “You always want to accent the positive,” Montes said. “We all come in all shapes and sizes. It doesn’t matter if you’re a size 0 or size 32, you still want to look beautiful.”

SOURCE: Experts offer holiday party fashion must-haves

In contrast with electronics, women's apparel sales fell 3.3% in the first half of November

Consumers are generally cautious heading into the critical holiday shopping season, with preseason trends suggesting that electronics sales may be solid while sales of apparel, particularly women's styles, could get pummeled.

Spurred by the release of a hot videogame and earlier-than-usual promotions on televisions, U.S. shoppers spent 6.1% more on electronics in the first half of November the month, through Nov. 14, than a year ago, according to a recent analysis from MasterCard SpendingPulse, a unit of MasterCard Advisors.

The new data, based on MasterCard SpendingPulse data, which reflect estimates on all payment forms, including cash and checks, comes days before Thanksgiving, the traditional kickoff to the holiday selling season, when consumers traditionally spend several hundred billion of dollars. Retailers count on holiday sales for as much as 40% of their annual sales and half their annual profits.



In contrast with electronics, women's apparel sales fell 3.3% in the first half of November. Sales in the category have fallen for more than a year, with nine months of double-digit declines from the year-earlier period since October 2008, according to SpendingPulse.

Spending on luxury goods showed the largest drop, with a 9.2% year-to-year decline, after posting an increase in October, MasterCard SpendingPulse said.

Overall, U.S. households are expected to spend about 7% less on gifts this season, shelling out an average of $390, according to a report released Monday by the Conference Board. This year, 39% of households are planning to spend less than $200, up from 35%. The Conference Board survey covers a sample of 5,000 U.S. households.

Sales of electronics in the preseason were aided by the hottest videogame of the season, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The game came out early this month and shattered records, likely boosting sales for the category overall. Call of Duty made $550 million in its first five days of release, according to developer Activision Blizzard Inc., which said that was an entertainment industry record The results surpassed all videogame, movie box office and book sales records for five days after release.

In addition, retailers such as Best Buy Co., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. have begun earlier-than-usual promotions on TVs and videogames. And many people are buying laptops and netbooks loaded with Microsoft Corp.'s new Windows 7 operating system.

Preseason Internet sales of a range of merchandise were up 19.4% over the first two weeks of November 2008. Mark Snyder, chief marketing officer for Kmart, part of Sears Holdings Corp., said he has seen evidence that shoppers are plotting purchases. Kmart's layaway program, which expanded to online this year, is proving popular.

"The thing that is most different this season is the preparedness of our shopper," Mr. Snyder said. "Last year, the economy hit her right between the eyes. This year, instead of being defensive, she is being offensive and really scouring for bargains early, realizing the power is with her."
Journal Community

Vote: Will you buy personal electronics this holiday season?

Mr. Snyder said Kmart has also witnessed a trend toward gifts of lasting value, which is why the company is planning to sell 100% cashmere gloves and scarves, for $9.99, and down comforters, for $19.99, on Black Friday—the day after Thanksgiving and the biggest shopping day of the year for many retailers.

"Retailers have to dig deep and pull out their A-game right now, because it is a very competitive environment," Mr. Snyder said. "Whereas you might have given something more trendy in the past, a down comforter is relevant to what is happening right now."

For the first two weeks of November, sales within the specialty apparel category were down 5% from a year earlier. The decline was a sharp turnabout from October, when spending on specialty apparel rose 3.4%, providing a short-lived glimmer of hope before the Christmas shopping season. Men's clothing fell by 1% in early November. Sales of shoes, which had shown two consecutive months of year-to-year increases in September and October, fell by 1.5% in the first two weeks of the month.

The National Retail Federation said earlier this fall that it expects U.S. retail sales to fall to 2005 levels in the 2009 holiday season, though the expected decline of 1% isn't as deep as the 3.4% plunge of the 2008 holiday season.

According to a preliminary Black Friday shopping survey conducted for the National Retail Federation by BIGresearch, up to 134 million people plan to shop this Friday, Saturday or Sunday, up from 128 million who planned to last year. According to the survey, 57 million people say they will definitely hit the stores, while another 77 million are waiting to see what retailers are planning before heading out the door.

Discount and department stores will be the biggest attractions for consumers this weekend, with 66% and 62%, respectively, planning to head to their favorite big-box store; 41% said they would shop at electronics stores; 36% planned to visit a clothing or clothing accessories store.

Write to Vanessa O'Connell at vanessa.o'connell@wsj.com

This article is from online.wsj.com

Black Friday - one of the biggest shopping days of the year - rolls around

By Marian Accardi

Times Business Writer marian.accardi@htimes.com

Stores face challenges with slow economy, football rivalry

Black Friday - one of the biggest shopping days of the year - rolls around as the county's jobless rate remains at 7.5 percent and the average price of a gallon of gas in Huntsville is about a dime higher than a month ago.

Merchants have yet another challenge this year - the Iron Bowl football game starts at 1:30 p.m. on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, cutting into prime shopping time.

Retailers are fighting back with expanded hours, deals on popular merchandise and rewards for early-bird shoppers.

"We'll have more than 200 door-busters across the store - in accessories, apparel, shoes and in the home store," said Janet Brown, the manager of Belk's Parkway Place store. "We have lots of great items specially priced for that morning." The first 250 shoppers will also get gift cards in amounts from $5 to $1,000.

Belk stores open at 4 a.m. on Friday, an hour earlier than in previous years.

"This gives shoppers an extra hour to shop before the big game," said Brown. The Iron Bowl schedule, she said, did play a role in the retailer's decision to open earlier. "They realize what an important game this is, particularly in Alabama."

German Pardo, a manager at the Target store at Valley Bend at Jones Farm shopping center, promises very competitive discounts. And Target stores are opening Friday at 5 a.m., an hour earlier than in past years, and staying open until 11 p.m.

Even though the Iron Bowl falls on Friday afternoon, Pardo still expects a good turnout.

"I think it'll be a huge day for us," he said

This article is from www.al.com