Feel Like A Little French List?

Because I just can't resist...and because you might want to practice your French...a new list in the vein of Stuff White People Like, Trucs De Bobos or Stuff Bobos Like

that is guaranteed to offend someone...somewhere.

Petite Brigitte Blog has the definition of Bobo

A fairly affluent or educated person who repudiates, denies, or rejects the background from which he or she comes and embraces that of another, most likely lower or less educated, socio-economic one so as to not appear snobbish. Bobos, from the French term “bourgeois bohémien” often graduate from private schools, live in hip, but somewhat sketchy neigbhorhoods, marry an ethnic or ‘other’to upset their parents, or espouse unconventional food or cultural traditions to prove that they are above their bourgeois upbringing. As soon as the going gets tough, however, their breeding will show, and they will watch your napkin placement and use at the dinner table.

and an example

Jack tries so hard. First he spent those three years digging latrines in Nicaragua with that exchange group until his Nana paid him to come home and go to SMU law. He is really quite a bobo. He married that Mexican women–she went to Dartmouth, and her uncle was president of Mexico, but now *he* is all about Mexican realness and is an ardent supporter of the Zapatistas and refuses to let their 2 yr old speak English. I heard that he had to recently go to Boston to attend a Raytheon shareholders meeting so that’s why he was buying suits at Brooks and got his beard trimmed

From the list #5 Les Tongs (flip flops)

Le bobo, quelque soit la saison, aime à avoir l’impression que Paris est un village, son vélo une charrette et ses graines de quinoa bio du foin. Le bobo a un rapport étrange à la ville, pourtant créée initialement comme un facilitateur d’échanges commerciaux, qui fait que lorsqu’il arrive au pouvoir, l’élu bobo tend à vouloir recréer artificiellement ce côté village. Ceci se traduit par des zones piétonnes, des plages sur les berges, et tout un tas d’éléments qui contribuent à compliquer le travail des gens non-bobos (lapalissade à vrai dire, un vrai bobo ne travaillant que très peu), allourdir les échanges de flux, et accessoirement ralentir l’activité de la cité.

And the Bobo Look has been all over the runways this season...Are fashion designers now looking to Rachel Zoe for inspiration?

Oscar De La Renta Bobo Style from What's In What's Out on Harper's Bazaar Online

Vintage Value Venture - A Little Aquascutum

Well...we had a little sprinkle of rain today...so it must finally be Fall...
and what better to wear in Autumn than a little Aquascutum.
So maybe you don't live in a country manor house surrounded by hedgerows and heaths filled with heather...but you can dress like you do.

This vintage Aquascutum tweed suit from Couture Allure Vintage is perfect for the Town and Country crowd. Add some sensible Ferragamo or Bally flats and it's perfect for tea with the Vicar. Add a pair of wellies and a Barbour and it's perfect for a stroll around the moors.

Couture Allure Vintage Aquascutum 1970s Wool Tweed Suit $85

Really where else but the web can you buy a brand name wool tweed suit for $85?

OK I admit that it might be a little too suit-y for your taste, but you can break it up and wear as separates. Wouldn't this jacket look great over a black turtle neck sweater and a pair of black jeans? And, wouldn't the skirt look great with a camel twinset in cashmere?

So, how do you accessorize a suit that's got so much going on? With these vintage Kieselstein-Cord Labrador earrings from Beladora.com, of course.

Beladora Kieselstein-Cord Labrador Earrings $2850

Now in case you haven't heard, Manor born and raised Guy Richie has finally broken it off with Madonna. Maybe after all the hype over his divorce and new movie RocknRolla dies down he will be looking for a new Lady of the Manor...

With this suit and earrings you will have the perfect outfit to fit the horses, hounds and hunts lifestyle.

Lord of the Manor Guy Richie - Finally without Madonna

Oh, and Couture Allure Vintage has a great vintage blog. Take a look!

Luxe For Less - The New Paradigm For A Perilous Period

We've just had a sub prime meltdown leading to a banking crisis and a market crash.

With the election coming next week we might be on the verge of a new period of market optimism and financial ferociousness.

Or not.

So I think now is a time to be reading the Forbes.com featured articles on Luxe For Less or How To Live Well In Lean Times.

One of the best articles by far is Jeanine Poggi's

How To Bargain At Retail.

Let's face it, retail stores are under pressure facing the dread 4th Quarter sales.

Was there ever a better time to bargain at retail...I don't think so.

"Especially in this gloomy economic climate where people are hesitant to shop, retailers are much more eager to move merchandise," says Deborah Kolb, professor of women leadership at the Simmons College School of Management and author of the book Everyday Negotiation: Navigating the Hidden Agendas of Bargaining. "The performance of store managers is often based on how well they sell merchandise. Sometimes their best alternative is to sell the item to you at a discounted rate rather than have it sitting there and eventually go on clearance."

So here's the scoop.

"While most retailers do not have formal policies regarding negotiating ticket prices, you would be shocked to know how many retailers want to negotiate," says Cohen. "Retail prices are an artificial, arbitrary number. Ticket prices are not ordained by some almighty being. They are created by humans. Anything that results from a negotiation is negotiable."

"Being a buyer gives you tremendous authority," he says. "Salespeople know that if you don't spend your money in their store, you will spend it somewhere else."

The best time to ask for a discount is at the end of the month or quarter, when managers are closing the books or trying to make room for new merchandise. Don't bombard a salesperson during a busy Saturday afternoon. Wait until the store is quiet and you have the salesperson's undivided attention.

And the money quote is this

"You need to be indifferent towards whether or not you succeed or fail," Kolb explains. "If you really want the item, it is less likely you will leave the store without it--even if it means paying full price. You need to be willing to walk away."

In a place far away...in a time long ago...also know as B-School, I had a professor challenge our class to ask haggle for bargains in established retail stores. This went against everything that we were culturally programmed to believe. Asking for a discount at Neimans? Impossible.

Poggi's article goes on to address the fact that it's a cultural thing.

"While Americans are used to bargaining for car prices, in our culture we feel most ticket prices are set in stone," Kolb says. "But women in all other cultures are hagglers. No one believes the ticket price is the real price."

So...leave your cultural biases behind and go forth and haggle!

Vintage Value Venture - A Beladora Emerald and Diamond Necklace for Style that is Substantive

Fred Leighton Emerald and Diamond Necklace

Staying on the topic of the transformative power of clothes and accessories...

What to wear to the Red Diamond Event?

A Jones New York black satin dress from Macy's $150.

A Fred Leighton Emerald and Diamond necklace from Beladora $250,000.

It's the accessories that make the outfit...not the clothes.

'nuff said

Savvy Shopping - The St John Suit For Status

Christina Binkley in the Wall Street Journal article

The Suit That Turns Me Into A VIP

writes about the transformational value of clothing, a fundamental principle that while true, it hard to define. We've always known that "clothes make the man" but which clothes exactly are the key to being treated like a VIP.

Maître d's are expert decoders of social rank. When I dine with CEOs at Michael's in New York or Spago in L.A., we score the best tables. On my own, I wind up seated near the kitchen doors.
Unless I wear my St. John suit.
It is very understated, with no logo. The navy blue knit tank dress hits right at the knee. A zipper up the front of the jacket adds a modern edge, but the look is timeless. That is what St. John is famous for -- and it is why the brand is often disdained by the trend-conscious fashion cognoscenti.

Yet when I wear my suit, maître d's snap to attention, sales clerks rush to assist me and people I barely know offer me favors.
What is it about the cut of certain clothes that signals "VIP"? Men's Brioni suits and Charvet shirts are famous for it. Bottega Veneta and Akris have it. Their head designers can tell you the fabric cost the moon and the tailor apprenticed for three years, but it's more difficult to define what conveys the effect of Somebody. As with pornography, you know it when you see it. Delivering that cachet -- that power -- is the promise of the luxury business.

The cost of luxury can seem outlandish -- particularly now, in an uncertain global economy. Clothes are particularly hard to value. While cars and high-tech gadgets -- Maseratis, Audemars Piguet watches and first-generation iPhones -- offer not only performance but the cachet of a visibly rich item, clothing does less to convey what you spent on it. Clothes get stained and snagged, and they go out of style quickly.
But clothes also have the power to transform you.

Most important, clothes can speak the secret language of status.

At this point I have to say that clothes alone don't make the difference. It's the entire package that matters and accessories are a big part of the package.

Sorry Christina, but a well fitted classic black suit from a mid priced line such as Tahari, Theory or yes even Banana Republic, in a good fabric with fine jewelry, a high end watch, classic Cole Hahn black pumps and a good handbag will get you more play with the Maitre D's at Spago and Michaels, that this St. John Suit with no jewelry and the wrong bag and shoes.

And...when the St. John Suit that you paid thousands for is out of fashion, you'll still be wearing the fine jewelry and the high end watch.

Even you state that paying a lot for designer clothes doesn't necessarily bring value.

These days, getting value for money is more important than ever. But spending money on hot designers doesn't guarantee you'll impress others. My green-gray Marni suit, which cost about $675 at the brand's Milan outlet, garners compliments but no restaurant-table upgrades. My cropped Stella McCartney jacket, $304 on sale at Barneys, has led to no adventures.