Thanks to Paris
Hilton, yesterday was a
great day on Viktor
Viktoria’s website:
www.viktorviktoriashop.com!
We are frantically trying to get this great Tee back in stock. As of today we only have a few Larges and XLarges left but hopefully, we will be able to get more ASAP!
Be sure to visit Viktor Viktoria at Mayfair Mall or shop online at www.viktorviktoriashop.com We have a huge collection of really great T-shirts for women and men as well as unique clothing, hot rhinestone jewelry, accessories and much, much more!
Staying hip without
going broke
Teens' need for
latest fashion doesn't
have to crush parents'
wallet
When it costs
nearly as much
to buy a
living-room
couch as it does
to dress a
high-school
junior for
success in the
classroom then
it's time to
rethink shopping
habits.
Even for parents
who can't turn a
deaf ear to the
"Oh puhleeze"
cries of their
penniless
fashion mavens,
there are ways
to make sure
your teens stay
up to date so
that they won't
die of
embarrassment
and you won't
have to mortgage
the furniture.
Call it
"disposable
fashion,"
said Marshal
Cohen, chief
industry
analyst for
the NPD
Group, the
retail
consulting
company.
That's the
miniskirt or
the jumper
dress that
can be
picked up at
Kohl's or
J.C. Penney
for a
fraction of
the price
that it
costs at,
say,
Bloomingdale's
or Talbots
for Kids.
"It's great
when you can
buy a new
fashion item
for less
than it
costs to dry
clean the
$200 one,"
he said.
Or try this
long-held
approach to
fashion:
"invest" in
a to-die-for
item and
pair it with
pieces from
less pricey
lines. In
fact, it's
even chic to
mix and
match those
$150 Seven
for All
Mankind
jeans with a
cheap chunky
turtleneck
from Target.
"Consumers
are learning
that it's
really now
about
complementing
the upper
end of your
wardrobe
with fashion
look-alikes,"
Cohen said.
"Target's
copying the
same fashion
trends that
designers
and
specialty
stores
have," he
added.
So is
Wal-Mart,
taking a
page out of
the Target
playbook.
Wal-Mart has
spent a lot
of design
effort and
marketing
time to fill
its racks
with
clothing
that's not
only low in
price but
fun and hip.
Its Web
site, for
example,
touts
"Uniforms
that fit in,
jeans that
stand out.
T-shirts
that rock
and
backpacks
that roll."
And there's
a
sultry-looking
model
lounging in
Metro7's
newest
arrivals,
such as a
$16.94
velvet
blazer and a
tuxedo shirt
priced at
$19.94.
But be
picky. Many
discount
retailers
are getting
it that they
have to stay
on top of
the fashion
scene even
if their
offerings
are going to
be in
lower-quality
materials
and fabrics.
At Sears
Roebuck, for
example, a
Mudd denim
miniskirt
with black
leggings can
be had for
$14.99.
Limited
Too's got a
solid bubble
skirt for
$12.99.
Shopping
around is
acceptable
There's no
shame in
price
shopping,
says
Friedman
Billings &
Ramsey
analyst
Adrienne
Tennant.
Legions of
people, even
teens, have
been
checking
prices for
decades,
with many
now turning
to the
Internet to
start
looking and
comparing.
But beware
of the
fashion
price point.
Because
there has
been such a
dramatic
turn in
fashion this
year --
industry
style
watchers are
calling it
the year of
the inverted
pyramid
because
skinny jeans
and leggings
are getting
paired with
layers of
shirts,
sweaters and
vests or
oversized
sweaters --
the more
trendy the
look, the
more moolah
it will
cost.
Urban
Outfitters,
for example,
tends to be
"too far
ahead of the
curve,"
Tennant
said, and
prices the
fashion-forward
apparel at
the high end
of most
budgets. Old
Navy and
Gap, on the
other hand,
will have
more
affordable
skirts and
heavy cotton
shirts, but
they're not
likely to be
the height
of runway
collections.
Meanwhile, a
retailer
such as
Abercrombie
& Fitch is
trying to
hold on to
the cool
factor while
keeping
prices in
line. Last
year's
prince of
teen
fashions is
looking more
like this
year's big
yawn as
teens
confess they
are tired of
the
washed-out,
tattered
jeans look
that they
were willing
to fork over
big bucks a
year ago.
"Abercrombie
has put the
brakes on
the
super-high
end of the
line,"
Tennant
said. Gone
from its
front
windows is
the Ezra
Fitch line,
an
over-the-top
collection
of denim
that carried
price tags
approaching
$200 for a
pair of
ripped
jeans.
But there
are those
in-between
retailers
who will
have racks
of the
latest wash
and
fabrication
in pants or
tunic tops,
but at more
affordable
prices.
Tennant's
favorite
this year is
American
Eagle
Outfitters,
which she
said has
stocked up
well on
smart-looking
skinny jeans
and denim
jackets
because it
has tough
year-over-year
sales
comparisons
to face.
"If you want
the best
fashion for
teens at the
best prices,
it's
American
Eagle," she
said. "It
may not have
the absolute
cheapest
prices, but
it's
certainly
competitive
and you're
getting a
lot of value
for the
price."
Parents
could use
the savings
And not to
worry that
you may be
taking too
cheap of a
route.
You'll be in
good
company.
Well, at
least a lot
of company.
Britt
Beemer, of
America's
Research
Group, said
more parents
are pulling
in the
pocketbook
strings
harder this
year than
they have in
the last
five to 10.
Blame it on
the
macroeconomic
pressures
out there,
such as high
gasoline
prices, but
Beemer said
he's hearing
more and
more parents
talk about
how they'll
buy the baby
new shoes --
feet do tend
to grow like
weeds on
kids -- but
keep them in
last year's
fashions. At
least for
the next few
months.
"Everybody's
spending
less,"
Beemer said.
"This is the
first year
in a long
time that
luxury
consumers
are telling
me they were
shopping at
brand outlet
stores more
than the
department
stores for
those items
because the
prices are
20% or 30%
less."
For
comparison's
sake, here's
a look at
the price
differentials:
-
At Kohl's, young men's vintage Levi 501 jeans are on sale for $32.99.
-
At Abercrombie & Fitch, the Porter vintage straight-leg jeans are available for $69.50.
-
At Neiman Marcus, Dolce & Gabbana's Western jeans sell for $575 a pair.
-
At American Eagle Outfitters, women's stretch leggings will cost $19.50
-
At Old Navy, women's seamed canvas pants are selling for $29.50
-
At Urban Outfitters, Damsel slim cropped leggings will cost $24.
-
At J.C. Penney, a Worthington pencil skirt is on sale for $24.99.
-
At Bebe, a pencil skirt will run $89.
-
At Hollister, a button-down, Western-styled shirt sells for $39.50.
-
At Nordstrom, a button-down, Western-style shirt will cost $89.
