Spring is a Comin' + Must See Leathers

Well the only new merchandise in the Philly store this week are some Timberland boots at $79.99; decent stuff, even saw a few pairs marked with Woolrich wool on the outside of them. Don't know if these went to other stores, supposedly there no trucks this week, so it may have been a hold-over from a prior week.

Otherwise, the store is getting ready for inventory, and then the Spring merchandise. Inventory is happening next weekend from what I've been told, so I'd estimate Spring goodies to start arriving in two weeks. And yes, that should be decent merchandise, not the junk we've been getting for the last few months.

Mostly unrelated, but I've been a big proponent of bringing in leather goods to Daffy's. It's a veritably untapped marked in this country for guys in terms of discounters stocking the stuff, and I happened to stumble across one manufacturer that doesn't appear to have any of its wares over at Yoox, so should be ample room for Daffy's to take a bite if they actually wanted to try something new for a change. I'm sort of drooling over some of the stuff -- Il Riccio, and its sister brand, Oxide. Imagine if this kind of stuff was available at decent prices. I for one would run to Daffy's to get a hold of these kinds of bags.

Swimwear for Christmas?

Well, first off happy holidays to everyone out there.

Second -- for some reason a rather large selection of bathing suits from Bottom's Out came into Philly this week. Not really sure why, wish someone had an explanation. I've only seen Bottom's Out stuff in the sleepwear area, so not sure about quality, probably nothing great. But it's cheap stuff, so may be worth a look if you're taking a vacation this winter to a warmer climate and need some trunks.

Other stuff -- activewear from a brand called Thriv, all of which had this rather odd zippered back pocket on the rear; and boots from Marco Feretti -- normally the shoes they get in under this label are pretty awful - square-toed and out of style, but the boots are not half bad. Sort of motorcycle inspired, and some buckles on them. Nothing tremendous, but at least better than 3/4 of the merchandise that's been sitting around.

As a quick note, I've been advised that Spring children's merchandise will be hitting the stores in a few weeks, so I expect menswear to be appearing shortly thereafter, maybe beginning of February. I will post a more exact date once I get more info.

New Suits in @ Philly

Well I didn't see much else of note other than a batch of new suits labeled Aquaviva (made in Italy). Not sure whether these made it into other locations, but I wouldn't worry about that if I were you - quality on these things seemed pretty poor, and while they seemed better than, say, the ENYILE suits that have been sitting around since July, I wouldn't be buying them - construction was pretty bad and styling just seemed boxy. All were marked at $199.99 w/original retail of $795. 

New 20% Off Coupon

Just a quick note -- Daffy's emailed out another 20% off coupon earlier this week which is good until the 24th. If you didn't get the email, the coupon is printable off of the main page of Daffys.com, under the 'Weekly Promo' tab. Not much to buy right now, but if you need a last minute gift for someone, this will come in handy.

More Worthless Stock at Daffy's

Sad to say, but we're well beyond the point where even decent merchandise is coming in, and now the stores are simply getting in random stuff to fill up the racks. The Philly store is in such a bad state that I wound up using my 20% off coupon on a pair of pajama bottoms.

Case in point - here are the items that came in at the end of last week -

Athletic-wear from Head - more well known for tennis rackets; Some outerwear from Dickies under what I believe was its Stormies label; a handful of windbreakers from Beverly Hills Polo Club and some truly awful sweaters from a label called Rodi-Mood - 100% acrylic. How can a store legitimately convince itself that it can sell sweaters from China retailing around $10 and made entirely of acrylic, right next to Italian-made sweaters made of merino wool and cashmere that are retailing between $50-$120?

The only saving grace was that I noticed a raincoat from Hawke & Co. (literally one in the whole store from what I saw) - nothing phenomenal, but better than most of the new merchandise I've seen in the last few weeks outside of the new store on 44th & Broadway in NYC. The interesting thing about it was that it not only had the regular Daffy's hangtags, but it also had a label from Off 5th (the Saks closeout store), and the Daffy's price was $50 cheaper. See pic to the right. I don't believe this was bought from Off 5th, as the vendor code indicates that it was purchased direct from Hawke & Co. and the jacket seemed too clean to have had a prior retail life at another chain, but your guess is as good as mine.

New In @ Philly + Daffy's Friends and Family Discount

Nothing really new down hear in the past few weeks. A few Beau & Brummel sportcoats showed up (see prior posts), and a few pairs of shoes from Bacco Bucci (nothing to get excited about).

On a positive note, they were handing out Friends and Family Discount cards today good for 20% off an entire purchase between 12/11-12/13. Don't know if they're handing out at every Daffy's, but can't imagine it's limited to Philly.

UPDATE: Check your email. Daffy's sent out digital versions of the 20% off coupon this afternoon (12/10).

Thanksgiving Weekend Recap Part 2 - Marshall's Shoe Parade

Well to my surprise, a number of Marshalls in New Jersey were carrying Santoni (made in Italy) shoes for $99.99 (though, for some reason, the NYC store had them marked at $299.99).  That being said I took some pics of what I could find. Enjoy. There's one more update tomorrow or this weekend still about the suits available at Marshalls/TJ's, though, those are almost exclusive to the NYC area or at least major urban centers. Many locations also had shoes from Sergio Rossi (made in Italy) -- they make shoes under the Gucci label as well - $299.99; Dolce and Gabbana (made in Italy) - I believe $299.99; Prada (made in Italy) - $299.99; Cesare Paciotti (made in Italy) - $99.99;Boemos (made in Italy) - $99.99 - yes, the same Boemos that comes into Daffy's, just this stuff is usually a small selection of loafers; Adolfo Carli (made in Italy) - $129.99; and something called HAL (made in Italy) - also $129.99 - wouldn't be surprised if this brand came from Adolfo Carli.

Santonis - Pair 1
Santonis - Pair 2
Santonis - Pair 3
Santonis - Pair 4
Santonis - Pair 5
Santonis - Pair 6
Santonis - Pair 7

Adolfo Carli
Prada
Cesare Paciotti

Yoox.com Spring Merchandise is Up in Full

Huge amount of new merchandise up at Yoox.com for their Spring collection.  A lot of great items thus far. Feel free to post your favorites here, or tweet us a link via @yellowbaggers on Twitters. We'll be adding links via Twitter as to some items that my pop up at Daffy's in the spring time.

Highly suggested to go to Yoox.co.uk first, so that you have access to the European selection of goods, as they seem to filter out a number of designers to the American audience for some reason (i.e., Jey Cole Man) - possibly due to the fact that Daffy's sells a bit of it here in the States.

Thanksgiving Weekend Recap Part 1 - Daffy's

This will be a multi-parter, just b/c of the sheer amount of stuff and the little time which I have to update the blog at the moment. So, in general Daffy's stores are at that point in the season where most of the locations have basically nothing worthwhile - While there's a great selection of shirts from Milena SpA in each store right now, including lots of boxed shirts from Carrell and Del Siena, the rest of the items leave a lot to be desired. Here are the highlights:

44th & Broadway (Times Square) store:
-- Large amounts of Transit (made in Italy); Probably the best selection in the entire chain right now. Includes a number of items I have yet to see in other locations.

-- A huge selection of items from Tyrone's is available only at this store as well - Tyrone's is a high-end men's boutique out on Long Island; Daffy's gets shipments once a season from them. Pics to the sides show the items available, including suits and blazers from Isaia (to the left), Pal Zileri, Zegna (above), Belvest and Boglioli. And in the Pal Zileri merchandise, there were a few 3-piece tuxedos which caught my eye as well. There were also plenty of casual items, including shirts from Luciano Barbera, pants from Valentini and jeans from Agave Denim. 

-- By far my favorite items however, were suits and sportcoats from Tombolini (made in Italy) (right). The construction and design on this stuff just far exceeds anything I've seen at Daffy's for these prices -- $199/suit, $89.99 and up for blazers. Sadly, for both the Tyrone's merchandise and the Tombolini items, they were all in larger sizes (read: nothing below a size 40 jacket size, and size 34 pant size). All items were marked as Samples (always the best stuff).

57th St. East Side: Large amount of suits and blazers from Beau Brummel, a small boutique based in Soho. Most were branded with the store name, or a brand called "Giovanni Gentile". There was also one double-breasted suit from Thierry Mugler (made in Italy) (see pic to the left - pretty awful, but Mugler usually has some pretty strange designs to begin with). Again, mostly large sizes though there was one suit in a size 38, still too big for me (I'm a 36). The same selection found its way to the Jersey Gardens location, including the Thierry Mugler suit.

44th & Madison: A few blazers from Beau Brummel, under the store brand; decent quality

18th St: The only place I saw this stuff, and hopefully it will stay that way, but this store had several items from a men's lingerie company called 'Mansilk', including men's thongs in deep red colors. I understand there's an audience for that, but not my cup of tea.

East Hanover, NJ: Only store that had snow suits from an Italian company called 'BITING'. Can't find much about the company, but seems that these things go for well over $100 in the EU- Link

Several stores also got in some Joseph Abboud chukka boots, which were decent. Off 5th stores also seemed to get in the same items.

A Sign of the Future?

A very good read on the closing of the entire Syms/Filene's Basement chain.  Just because people are now looking for bargains and discounters are doing well, doesn't mean everyone is profiting - a warning to our friends in Daffy's corporate that it's time to shape up. WSJ Article

I will have a full report on my live tweeting adventures later this weekend on the blog. For those of you that missed the tweet regarding 44th & Broadway - they got in a HUGE shipment of merchandise from Tyrone's (check prior posts), which included a number of great looking suits from Isaia and Pal Zileri, and sportscoats from Zegna, Belvest and Boglioli. And the store also got in suits from Tombolini (made in Italy) - those things were truly awesome - $199 each - a steal.

Happy Thanksgivng! + Live Tweet Update

Happy Thanksgiving!

Per request of some readers out there, here are pics of the Santoni shoes I picked up at Marshalls last week - one is a pair of beige suede brogues w/rubber sole, the other is a pair of gray suede ankle boots also w/rubber soles, both of which I'm saving for Spring. There were some nicer ones in the store w/full leather sole, but none in my size and I was too excited to remember to take my phone out for a few snapshots.

And a quick update on Daffy's merchandise - I stopped into Philly on Wednesday, literally just to wish the staff a good holiday, and a glance of my eye caught wind of the fact that they're now selling Norelco and Panasonic shavers. I truly hope this is just a seasonal thing for the holidays.

Anyway, I will be starting my live tweeting tomorrow (twitter.com/#!/yellowbaggers) around 10AM eastern from the 44th & Madison store in NYC. The plan then calls for the new Times Square store at 44th & 8th, then 34th St., then Soho, then 18th St., then a brief stop at the TJMaxx/Marshalls combo on 18th St. a few blocks away, then back uptown to the two Daffy's on 57th St. All in all I'm planning on 7 Daffy's total, and will be live-tweeting from all of them if everything goes to plan. Saturday will continue with stops in three Jersey stores - Paramus, Totowa and East Hanover. Sunday may be a Daffy's-free day, though I may stop over in the two Elizabeth stores if I have time to kill on my drive back down to Philly. So it's possible I may visit literally one dozen Daffy's in the next three days. Why, you ask? I have an addiction :)

Yoox.com Spring Preview + Live Tweeting This Weekend

Yoox.com just opened up its preview section for Spring merchandise. I don't see any Daffy's stalwarts listed there yet in terms of brands, outside of Incotex, but definitely some nice stuff coming. Check out the selection here.

On a separate note, I will be hitting numerous Daffy's locations starting in NYC on Friday, will be continuing through Sunday at the NJ stores.  I will likely be live-tweeting as I visit each Daffy's location. Follow along at - http://twitter.com/#!/yellowbaggers

Mid-Week Update

Somehow managed to get out of work early today, so I stopped in by Daffy's for a minute just to take a look around; surprisingly, the store had gotten a lot of stuff in early this week, whereas most weeks the majority comes in on the Friday truck.

Tons more shirts from Milena SpA (made in Italy),  especially under the Del Siena and Carrel marks. Very nice stuff indeed, $29.99, as per usual. Unsure if most stores will be putting these out on the racks or leaving them in boxes. Will vary by store depending on how many shirts they get in/how much room they have.

Small selection of ties from Bruno Piatelli (made in China), slim cut; last season I was not impressed with these, but they're better quality than almost all the new ties they got in from Kenneth Cole, Geoffrey Beene, Penguin, etc... - a few very nice wool ties, though they're 50/50 wool and poly, but no one will be able to tell the difference. $19.99 a pop.

Shoes from R.J. Colt and Unlisted by Kenneth Cole. The RJ Colt ones had these huge lug soles, almost like they came off a 70's disco floor, really ugly. And the Unlisted shoes weren't much better. Avoid both at all costs.

In sportswear, seems like all the stores got in a selection of Avia athletic shorts, though none in a size small, and just came in this week were some pretty awful fleece sweatshirts under that label as well - I mean, if the fleece feels cheap, it can't be good.

Finally, all sale merchandise is an additional 25% off. There are some good deals to be had there, especially on items from Sait/Mastai Ferretti, and jeans from William Rast that are already marked down to approx. $47.

And for those of you w/access to the new store on 44th & 8th, it has been reported that there are blazers from Ortenzi, and pants from Tombolini, both made in Italy and highly recommended by yours truly.

New Times Square Store Opens Tomorrow, 10AM

According to Daffy's Facebook and Twitter accounts, the new Times Square store will be opening tomorrow at 10AM. The store is at 44th St. between 8th & Broadway. I will have full reports in a week and a half, but until then, please send reports if you get a chance to stop by. Specifically looking for details of any new merchandise that hasn't been seen in any other stores as of yet - perhaps there's an unlikely chance that they've been saving Mabitex for the new opening (more like zero chance, but one can always hope).

And for those of you keeping track of what I honestly believe is kind of absurd -- there are also stores at 44th & Madison, 34th & Broadway and 57th & 7th, all within an easy 15-20 minute walk or 5 minute subway ride of this new store.

Loehmanns.com Now Open

As if we needed another discounter entering the online market, Loehmann's just launched an online service, which features men's and women's apparel. Surprisingly, they decided to skip the flash-sale trend, and go for the traditional online retail environment.

What's not surprising, however, is the poor men's selection and steep prices. You can take a few seconds and look yourself, but I don't believe there's much there worth your time or money.

Thoughts?

Marshalls, Century & Twitter

So not much at Daffy's this week; really the only new merchandise that I saw as of Friday were some scarves - $39.99 for ones from Portolano, and $24.99 for ones from Altea (made in Italy). Both nice things, though I'm quite happy w/the $13.99 ones they've had out for the last month or so, also made in Italy.

Not merchandise related, but --- the Daffy's Facebook page keeps teasing that the new store is opening soon. I never really quite understood the purpose other than its Times Square location, b/c they've got so many other stores right in that area. But I'll be checking it out over Thanksgiving break if it's open at that point. Wondering if there will be merchandise exclusive to that store, or what, if anything, it will be stocking that's particularly special.

The Philly store had some interesting news -- according to some employees, the building down here has been sold by Daffy's corporate. I am unable to confirm this story, and it is only rumor at the moment, but would be interesting to see if they move to a new location as the space that is there is simply not being used to capacity. Sale of the building does not mean that they are necessarily moving, it may just be that corporate thought it was a good time to cash in, and possibly get out of having to make any necessary repairs to the building that's on the older side.

In other news ---

Yellow Baggers is now on Twitter - http://twitter.com/#!/yellowbaggers -- The twitter feed will mainly be a short summary of blog posts, but it will also be an easier way to post updates when I simply don't have time to write out an entire blog entry.

Was back home today to help out with some family matters, and stopped in at the local Marshalls. They had a small assortment of beautiful Santoni (made in Italy) shoes, all marked at $99.99. I picked up two pair for myself. Quite an awesome price. Doubtful that they're offering this stuff at many other locations.

And finally, I found out after returning a tie at Century 21 that I'm on the "frequent refunder" list (or at least that's what the CSR called it). Apparently my credit card/membership card is flagged that I've returned too many items in the past --- so in order to return a $20 tie, I had to spend an extra 20 minutes, waiting for three different managers to sign off on the return. I get that they want security, but that's just absurd and makes me not want to shop in the store anymore. Not a way to treat a customer with so-called "Gold Member" status - sure I've returned a number of things, but you don't have to treat me like I'm on the 10 Most Wanted list or something.

eBay for Inspiration

Every so often I come across some eBay retailers that are hawking some pretty incredible Italian merchandise for very little, and I'm always intrigued by the brands that never seem to pop up at Daffy's and/or Yoox. One such eBay retailer goes by beverlyhillsbazaar ("BHB") - there are alter-egos of this account, and prior accounts for the same seller from what I can tell.

Some labels I've come across on the eBay account that I wish we could get at Daffy's - Angelo Nardelli (they sell tons of this stuff), Cycle, Reign, Luigi Baldo; shoes from Certo, OXS, Buttero and others; and accessories from the likes of Tino Cosma and Tardini. Names you rarely see anywhere else, though I've come across some of these items on Yoox and in Century 21 in NYC.

By no means is this an endorsement of the seller's services; I bought literally one item from the seller nearly two years ago. I just wanted to enlighten everyone to the fact that there are other sources of merchandise out there -- how some of these sellers get the merchandise is beyond me in terms of who originally retails this stuff State-side, but they are out there.

Lots of Odds 'n Ends

Here's the rundown from the prior week - again, lots of little bits of random stuff --

The one major supply of merchandise that came in this week was from Space 2000 SpA, makers of Bomb Boogie, Censured, and a few other labels, including a new one which I noticed this year, Fred Mello. Space 2000 is an Italian company, but all of the items are made abroad. Still, decent quality stuff, along the lines of John Barritt, or thereabouts. The majority of what came in was in the coats section -- puffer jackets, and other casual coats, as well as an assortment of leather jackets. Some stores also got in knits and a few other random items -- I managed to head up to visit some NJ stores this weekend, and took in 4 additional locations.

As for the other nonsense, here's the rundown, though probably not a complete list:

- A new assortment of ties - Kenneth Cole, Geoffrey Beene, Penguin and Bloomingdales Men's Store. All appear to be from the same manufacturer. Ties also came into Philly from a different supplier under the name BelVetro - these were pretty awful. As a whole, I'd say to stay away from this stuff. Altea (made in Italy) ties are all on sale, and there are decent supplies of Moschino and Ferre ties in each store, so I'd stick with those any day of the week over this other stuff.

- Wheeled duffel bags from Beverly Hills Polo Club

- An assortment of hats including items marked London Fog and Bailey

- More winter accessories - Gloves and scarves from American Eagle (yes, the store in the mall); Scarves from Amicale (cashmere) - $35.99; Scarves from Elgin (made in Scotland);

- Cufflinks - Ben Sherman and Joseph Abboud

- Wool coats from Cole Haan (only saw these in Philly) - leathers came in a few weeks ago

- And as a side note -- new markdowns:

All Altea (made in Italy) ties are now marked down, approx. $12.49 each; and all shirts from Sait/Mastai Feretti (made in Italy) have been marked down as well. Select items from other labels, including Patrizia Pepe were marked down as well. If you're looking for dirt cheap items, the Paramus, NJ store has the remainder of the Spring merchandise, and they're desperately trying to get rid of it -- lots of PF Flyers in large sizes, $5 and under, 2-Xist underwear dirt cheap as well. Also lots of shorts/pants, though the selection is better in larger sizes -- all insanely cheap. Don't know how much longer that stuff is going to stick around there.

Lots and Lots of Chotchkies

Much bigger update to come later this weekend, but for those of you entering a Daffy's near you, beware that the stores are now likely to be cluttered with all sorts of chotchkies - i.e., knick-knacks, brick-a-brack, odds-n-ends.

I stopped in for a brief visit today, and I couldn't believe all the random items literally piled on shelves. Pics to come.

Knits from Fuzzi are Back! + Lots of Randomness

Knits from Fuzzi Srl (made in Italy)  are back - always latecomers for some reason, but really awesome knits from Fiume and Nanibon -- looks like Nanibon updated its logo since last season. These are probably the best knits Daffy's gets in, hands-down. Prices are slightly higher than in past seasons, especially with some of the heavier wools, but they are well worth it -- I paid $119 for a double-breasted heavy wool knit sweater (almost a jacket it was that good). Small but decent selection down here in Philly. Other locations will vary, some may not get any.

Also, a few cashmere knits from Sojrn. While I believe these are made in China, they are very high quality and worth the Daffy's price of $89.99.

Those were the highlights of the week, here's a rundown of the randomness -

Leather jackets from Cole Haan. Good stuff in terms of the merchandise itself, but every discounter in the country has these things, and most at a price less than Daffy's - $299; I've seen them at TJMaxx for $199.

Wool coats from Andrea Neri (made in Italy) - these coats are ok, but quality is really hit or miss depending on what you get. Styling is also pretty non-existant; very basic stuff, but will keep you warm. Better than FB and Kemitch in my book.

Gloves from Portolano. I could have sworn they were stitched incorrectly, cause my hands just felt really awkward inside them. It's quite possible that's why they made it to Daffy's. Other gloves I've seen over the last few weeks - Carlo Rossi, Fownes, Calvin Klein and Les Copains (these ones  are retailing at $49.99)

Saw a pair of pants from a company called Bleifrei. Unsure if these were women's things that somehow made their way into the men's dept as happens on occasion (the website does not feature menswear), but they were quite nice. I saw literally one pair retailing at $29.99.

Also saw one pair of Perry Ellis pants which I was not happy about, considering what cheap junk the stuff is. I can't imagine how they consider selling these at $29.99 when there is so much better to be had for the same or less in their stores. Stuff like this never ceases to amaze me.

A small selection of some pretty ugly shirts from Ami Sanzuri - they carried his stuff in the Spring, which included a bunch of speedo-like bathing suits. At $8.99, they're practically admitting how awful these things are.

A few knits from a company called Harry's Club. Unsure what to make of them, but the fact that the label said "Styled in Italy" makes me quite wary of these things.

More, believe it or not --- random pullover knits from System, puffer jackets from Kenneth Cole and Kenneth Cole Reaction, and bow ties from Countess Mara. All not worth your time.

Florsheim & J&M Shoes + Interview w/Daffy's CEO

In the last few days since I've been in, a whole new bunch of shoes came out -- a number of items from Florsheim's Imperial collection (nothing really great here, perhaps if those were deadstock from 30 years ago...), and a bunch of casual shoes from Johnston & Murphy -- these included black and mahogany wallabies/chukkas (made in Mexico) for $79.99, and red-rubber bottomed navy oxfords (made of Sheepskin in Brazil) for $69.99 (pics on the sides are the models available in the store - Kholson & Brennan). The J&M shoes were quite nice, albeit a bit on the expensive side, the Florsheim's are not worth your time IMHO.



Also happened to notice that there were a lot more shirts from Milena SpA (made in Italy) out on the floor this week as well, especially a ton of shirts from the B>More range.

And finally, another article from the Bergen Record, a North Jersey newspaper, interviewing current Daffy's CEO Caryn Lerner - here.

Belts Anyone?

...Cause that's all you've got this week from what I can tell. Made a quick stop into the Philly store yesterday, and even though I was told some more coats came in, the only thing new that I could see were some additional belts from Torino (made in USA). These are some really nice things, and most are of exotic leathers - I've seen a number of crocodile belts, ostrich, water buffalo and sting ray. Quite an eclectic selection, most in larger sizes. Pretty good quality. Now, if only Daffy's had gotten in some of the bags from Torino Leather, I'd be much happier.

For a Quick Read

An article on North-Jersey based off-price retailers, including Daffy's. http://www.northjersey.com/news/131416978_Off-price_makeover.html

New Flash Sale Site (non-Daffy's)

There are certainly enough flash-sale sites out there to choke a horse - just to name a few that carry guys merchandise - Gilt, Hautelook, Ruelala, Prive, Jacksthreads - but this one seems a bit different. A friend of mine forwarded me a link to venteprivee.com. (no this is not a referral link, so feel free to click away w/out regret). According to the all-knowing Wikipedia, it appears that this company has existed in Europe for a long time, well before Gilt, and almost pioneered the concept of flash sales, at least for clothing. Now it seems that they're opening up shop State-side, and I'm very intrigued to see what labels they'll be carrying.

Does anyone out there have experience w/the site from the EU? I'd be interested to hear any first-hand accounts.

Ho Hum Week @ Daffy's

So things are slowing down at Daffy's in terms of new merchandise coming in -- here's a short list, as there wasn't much of anything worth noting aside from some leathers/shearlings (see last line) ---

A lot of Made in Italy scarves, almost all 100% wool, or a mix w/silk and/or cashmere. The labels appear to have been removed on all of them, but they are quite nice in all sorts of different patterns. The vendor code is IBELLE if that sounds like anything anyone recognizes.

Bags are back from Korchmar - nicely made leather bags, but I wouldn't exactly call these things stylish. Much more utilitarian than anything else.

Some backpacks from Beverly Hills Polo Club were put in the men's dept. for some reason.

Other random stuff --- wallets from Nike; some boxed scarves from Donald Trump Collection.

The best part of the last week -- Philly got in two shearlings (yes, literally two, that is it) from a leather manufacturer that came in last season w/a much wider selection. Unfortunately, I don't know the name of the manufacturer, but the vendor code is OLIV, and you will recognized them b/c the label inside is cut out, and they have a navy hang tag which looks pretty strange - sadly, don't know how else to describe them. Will try and have pictures for next week -- but bottom line is these things are made extremely well, and have a bit more styling/fit than the Owen Barry stuff that came in a month ago. They're selling between $400-$500 w/a claimed original retail of over $1500 - which does not surprise me at all. These particular items were marked final sale, and I don't believe the other shearlings are marked that.

Quick Note

Forgot to mention... all of the stores also seemed to get in a nice selection of wool knit scarves/neckerchiefs from Intermoda SpA (made in Italy) along with the ties that came in -- mostly under the labels of Guy Laroche and Galieni. Sadly, most were too small to be used as true winter scarves and I would categorize them as neckerchiefs for lack of a better term.

More Nonsense

As I've said before, you never get the good stuff at Daffy's without an equal amount of junk. Such was the case with the latter part of this week -- the Cosby sweaters are back again in full-force with items from Birillo, Stacatto, etc... - all made in Italy,  but styling that would be more appropriate for the 90s.

Also came about some really awful heavy-cotton polo shirts from some American brand, I believe it was 'Time Out'. Unsure if that was the exact name, but if you see them, you'll know what I'm talking about. They look like they came out of the bargain bin at K-Mart. Really subpar quality.

Shoes from Giorgio Brutini are scattered about the various locations. Pretty poor construction on these things.

Slightly better merchandise (not much) came in in the form of nylon jackets for fall/winter in various labels, including Giado and Amazing (might be missing a second word in the label for this one). They appear to have been produced for an Italian company, though were not made in Italy. The vendor code on these is 'SIAM' if anyone wants to give a guess at who makes them/where they're coming from. Decent stuff; at least better than the other items listed here. 

The only thing interesting to some people -- for whatever reason, the Paramus, NJ store is apparently the dumping ground for all of the leftover spring/summer merchandise. They had huge racks filled w/75% off merchandise, including a number of pieces that I remember seeing down here in Philly. Also lots of 2-Xist underwear at 75% off as well.

New This Week + Some New Philly Stores (non-Daffy's)

Well stopped in for a quick look around. Again, not very much new stuff in-store -- there were a bunch more winter coats from John Barritt, decently made; and a huge load of pants from Banana Republic came in, all retailing for $19.99. Honestly, I don't know why Daffy's is carrying that stuff again, when it didn't really sell last season. People aren't exactly coming to Daffy's for Banana Republic closeouts - that's what the BR Factory Store is for.

The only thing really noteworthy were some boots in from Canadian company Pajar. Most were retailing around the $79.99 mark. While they're made in China, the quality on these things for a nice and solid winter boot is pretty good, and styling is decent as well.

And now for you Philly people out there, wanted to mention a few stores which opened up recently on Walnut Street -- Jack Wills, a British clothing retailer opened a store in Philly a few weeks ago (strangely, it now has more locations in the U.S. than in the UK). The sales staff said it's now the biggest location worldwide, though the square footage is still pretty small. Decent stuff - the aesthetic is more of a preppy version of Abercrombie/Hollister - certain items are not worth your time, such as the shirts and 'WILLS'-embossed hoodies, as you can get those sorts of things anywhere if you actually want them. But a few of the blazers were nice, though for $400, I would expect much better construction. The only thing that really intrigued me were some of the shoes. They're apparently made by a company in England called NPS. From what I've read over at SF, NPS are middle-of-the-road quality shoes - definitely not anywhere near the quality of a Trickers or Church's, but may be worth your money if they go on sale.

Also new on Walnut St. is a North Face store, but more importantly, a few doors down from Jack Wills is a Barbour store. I never actually realized that Barbour produced that much merchandise, but it's some really great stuff - includes lots of coats, of course, but also blazers, sweaters, hats, gloves, some awesome leather and waxed cotton bags...just lots of nice stuff. A bit pricey, and quality varies depending on the item, but definitely a cool place to stop in and look for a few minutes if nothing else.

Forgot to Mention....

Nothing especially new persay, but I forgot to mention that in the last few weeks, including the NYC stores, have gotten in leathers and other various items from Conbipel (Italy's answer to the Gap), and some leathers from Space 2000 SpA under the Bomb Boogie label. Note that the Conbipel 'leathers' felt more like pleather than the real thing, but I didn't bother to check the labels inside since the garments are not really up to par with the stuff that's actually made in Italy -- even though Conbipel is an Italian company, its merchandise is produced in the far east, though, often-times if you want something uber-cheap it's at least fitted more properly than the American labels that come into the young mens department (read: One-Ninety-One, Company 81, etc...)

10/1 Update

Nothing particularly great in this week, in fact I didn't notice any new clothing aside from some accessories (listed below):

A new batch of ties came in from Intermoda SpA (made in Italy) -- namely ties from Moschino and Gianfranco Ferre. Unfortunately for myself, the ties were too wide, but there were definitely some beautiful pieces in there including a number of wool ties. Both labels were $29.99

The only other new stuff that I noticed down here in Philly was some assorted chachkis - optical mice, shoe shine kits, Travelocity-branded airplane pillows, and some wallets. The only thing notable out of that bunch was the wallets which came from J. Fold - these actually retail at better department stores such as Bloomingdales. But I would personally have liked the wallets w/out all the other nonsense. I suppose they're trying to be more like TJMaxx/Marshalls/Ross that sell all the electronics and trinkets, but I don't know if that's a great move.

To Those that Celebrate...

Shanah Tovah!

NY Rundown

Made it up to NYC in search of shoes and pants -- didn't really find much of either, sadly, but here's the rundown --

Leather cashmere-lined gloves from Les Copains (made in Italy) retailing for $49.99. I was never expecting Daffy's to be getting in gloves from Les Copains, much less sell gloves for $50/pair. Mind you, this is a welcome surprise, but it just seems out of place when everything else sells for less than $25 in the winter section. I probably wouldn't spend $50 on gloves for myself just b/c I treat my gloves so badly, but they were very nice items. Saw them at Wall St. and Soho I believe.

Don't know why I even bothered, but the Wall St. store was again a complete bust. I had stopped at C21 for a few minutes, so I figured why not. Just a huge waist of time, though, if you do need something you can't find at another store for some reason, the racks in there are packed to the brim since no one really buys menswear down there.

Martin Dingman shoes -- only a few pairs available at 34th St. location. I did not have the chance to stop by 57th West Side or 44th & Madison, but no other stores were carrying Dingman nor any shoes from Boemos other than 34th St., which was a huge bummer considering I was looking for shoes so I didn't have to spend unneeded sums of money on Yoox.com.

Any major sort of Incotex output seems to have happened at the 57th St. East Side store, and whatever was there is basically gone already. Every other store I visited either had nothing from Incotex, or had maybe one or two pairs. A decent selection of pants from Giab's slightly made up for the lack of Incotex there. The Soho store had a few of the weirdly-sized pants that Philly got in this week, many marked 'Trofeo 600.' (unsure what that's in reference to, but the interior tag on those Trofeo pants made it look like they were made for Zegna).

John Barritt merchandise was all over the place - coats, blazers, suits, pants, sweaters, shirts... never seen this much before, but I'll take it any day over FB, Kemitch, Sottotono, etc... 18th St. even got in some decently made scarves under the label. Also, for those of you that missed out on the Incotex pants and are looking for some wools, the John Barrit wool pants are decently constructed and are well worth the $29.99 they're asking for them. Remember, this stuff is not phenomenal quality, but it's not on the low-end either. I'd say it's middle-of-the-pack.

Finally, most stores got in a new shipment of shirts from Milena SpA (made in Italy), including shirts from B>More already out on the racks and then tons of shirts in boxes from Delsiena, Marcus, Milena and other brands, much like they had last season. Again, I wish they wouldn't leave shirts in boxes as it's a huge annoyance, but what can I do other than complain here :P

And the find of the day --- A pair of white leather chelsea boots from Coming Soon by Yohji Yamamoto (made in Italy) marked at $89.99, claiming an original price of over $800. They were not in my size, and I had absolutely no personal use for them, but they can be yours if you stop by 57th St. East Side and browse the shoe racks. 

Small Update

Took a few minutes to drop by today, here are a few notes -

Lots of suits from John Barritt/Luck in Luck/Mr. Ramos, decently made stuff this season all from Mavecon SRL. Also, a number of sportcoats, sweaters, and other pieces.

Shoes from Martin Dingman seem to have made an appearance already for Fall. These didn't come in til late in the Spring season, so that's surprising. Only a few pairs in Philly, but I'd expect more in most stores over the weekend.

Philly got in its first selection of Incotex pants, but for some reason, everything was mis-labeled in terms of size. Perhaps that's why they made it to Daffy's, but if this is the case in every location, do yourself a favor and try on several sizes to make sure you're getting what you want. Very strange, but all the stuff down here in Philly so far was marked 'As Is' for $29.99, and I've heard reports of other locations getting the full-price (Daffy's full-price anyway) for the pants which are probably sized properly. But still, be slightly wary.

I've also been told there may be a new shipment of ties coming in tomorrow or early next week. Moschino/Ferre ties from Intermoda (made in Italy) have yet to come in for the season, so it's possible that may show up. Some Costume National items usually pop up in there as well, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

Incotex in Stores Now

Thanks to Richard who commented on the prior post, and the wonderful folks over at SF (Photo), it is clear that Incotex pants have made it into stores, and in a much larger selection than I anticipated based on my foray to Secaucus.

Philly has added an additional delivery on Monday for the Fall, but there are no current-season Incotex items as of yet (though I know you can still find one or two pairs from the Spring).

Other notables which you may see in store -- wool coats from Report Collection, and lots of shoes from Rocawear, and some sneakers from Puma.

Quick Rundown

Had a long week at the job in Philly, decided I needed an equally long drive. So, I went up the Jersey Turnpike hitting several Daffy's in search of shoes from Boemos, shirts from Alea and bits and pieces from Copen Group... Here's the quick rundown of what I saw in terms of new merchandise - many of you will be quite interested in the pants -

More leathers from Compagnia Delle Pelli (made in Italy) - seems like almost all the stores got a small restock of CDP leathers. Great stuff, though it seems these are all CDP branded, and are mostly in larger sizes.

Lots of jackets, sportcoats and some suits from a company called Scott James - nothing really terrific, but better quality than most of the non-Italian stuff they usually get in. Unsure what I think of the aesthetic - thoughts? Here's a link to the company's website - LINK

The Alea shirts had an interesting label I hadn't seen much of in past seasons, but if you come across shirts from G.V. Conte, take a look. Quite interesting pieces to say the least. 

Some pants from Giab's (made in Italy) seemed to have trickled into stores. Nothing in huge volumes, maybe a handful of pairs per store if you're lucky. Giab's produces for, among others, Aquascutum and Bamford & Sons.

And here's the bit that I think many have been waiting for patiently this season -- a small handful of Incotex pants were available at the Secaucus location. I picked up a pair of corduroys for myself, $16.99, marked 'As Is' due to some imperfections. But here's the key takeaway --- none of the other stores had these yet, and given my past history w/Secaucus, they often put out merchandise a week before every other store gets them b/c the store is connected to the warehouse. So -- you have been apprised of this info before the stuff even gets into the stores --- I exepect Incotex pants to be making their appearance in every other store this upcoming week. Get there early, b/c these things never last - great quality and huge resale market b/c of the insanely low prices. Unsure what variety to expect, but based on the Secaucus showing, don't expect a wide selection; and I didn't see any wools at all. I am going to reach out to Daffy's to see what the story is w/pants from Mabitex this season, as those are usually the first things to hit stores. Will post more info as soon as I hear anything.

Update, Week of 9/10

Well, even though the Fashion's Night Out special deliveries were a bit underwhelming, some nice stuff came into the Philly store in the last day or so. Quick rundown of the notables that came in this week, some of which were quite good --

Shoes from Boemos (made in Italy) - various styles of shoes from Boemos, one of the best lines that Daffy's gets in. Unsure which other stores would have received them as well because the last shipment of Italian shoes did not make it into any stores other than 34th St. in NYC, and a few random bits in the Jersey stores.

Shirts from Alea/Rosso Malaspino (made in Italy) - Glad to see that the handful of shirts which came in a few weeks ago was only a small taste of Alea merchandise for this season. Almost two full racks of shirts from Alea Fashion Industries were out on the floor today, including items from Harry Brook, Rosso Malaspino, HB by Alea, and Alea. All great stuff, though I noticed some of the shirts indicated 'Made in Moldova,' if that matters.

Suits/Coats from Copen Group (made in Italy) - A number of suits came in, as indicated in the previous post, under the Pennesi label. Other stores will likely be getting this stuff in as well (probably 34th St and 57th & Lex). Today they had a handful of wool coats from Copen Group as well, labeled under Basile and Pennesi. There was a really beautiful gray houndstooth coat in an 80/20 wool/cashmere blend, though a bit much for my tastes. We'll probably see sportcoats and pants in the next week or so. Hopefully some items from Royal Hem will pop up as well.

Coats from FB (made in Italy) - not the worst stuff on the floor right now in terms of winter coats, but still not my favorite brand. The better-made items will say 'SAMPLE' on the price tag, and will not have FB markings on the coat itself.

Shearlings from Owen Barry (made in England) - these are really well made, but honestly the styling needs a huge update. As I mentioned in the prior post, these didn't exactly sell very well last year, in fact at one of the Daffy's I used to frequent, they were giving salespeople $5/coat if they helped a customer purchase one. At $399.99 each, they're steeply priced for Daffy's goods, but if you want something warm, you probably can't do much better.

Coats from Kenneth Cole and Rialto (made in Italy) -- A number of wool coats came in from the Kenneth Cole label (made by GIII Apparel Group - they make a ton of wool coats in China for many of the mainstream American labels), as well as a huge batch of coats from Rialto. Neither label's merchandise was particularly special.

Cashmere sweaters from CH Classics - made in China stuff, but they're cashmere, so they're likely pretty decent. I didn't pay too much attention to them, but there's certainly a lot of them on the floor right now, as well as items from Uomo Bravo (the Daffy's house brand).

Jeans from William Rast - All $64.99; Mentioned these in the previous post.

Shoes from Robert Wayne - nothing really special, but they got a few shelves worth here in Philly.

"Special" Shipment Update

Well, underwhelmed would be the right word. I was happy to see a number of suits from Copen Group (made in Italy), almost all under the Pennesi label, though upset I did not see any sport jackets or wool coats. But the suits are nicely made, some w/Loro Piana fabric, all at $199.99. The rest of the deliveries were some  Pashmina branded faux shearlings, and a number of heavy shearlings from some place in Britain. They carried both of those lines last year, and they didn't sell; It's one thing to get in shearlings - it's another thing to get in ones that are actually stylish.

The only thing special I saw, as it were, was a small selection of jeans from William Rast all marked at $64.99.

Perhaps I will be happier this weekend when more stuff is brought onto the floor after the Friday delivery, but honestly there was very little "fashionable" about what I saw in store tonight for Fashion Night Out.

Those of you outside Philly, feel free to leave updates as to what you see. If you see any suits, sportcoats or otherwise marked "Royal Hem," definitely leave a comment.

"Special" Shipments Arriving In Store for Fashion Night Out

Quick update -- Daffy's Facebook updates have indicated that there will be extra special shipments arriving in all stores today and tomorrow (9/8) to celebrate Fashion's Night Out which is happening tomorrow night in NYC. Most stores only get shipments on a M-W-F or T-Th basis, so this is quite unusual.

Unsure what to expect, but I'm hoping it will be something worthy of purchasing and sharing on the blog. Fingers crossed.

PLUS -- only on 9/8, there is a 20% discount on all leathers and shearlings. While some of the merchandise has already been picked over, do yourself a favor and get to your local Daffy's for a quick look. You will not find jackets of this quality anywhere else for these prices -- mind you, make sure you're buying something from Gazzarrini, Patrizia Pepe, or the vendor code/source designation code on the price tag reads "PAOL" (backwards) on the price tag -- see here for more info, which indicates the leather is from Compagnia Delle Pelli.

More NJ Updates

(Update 9/8, picture added of Coming Soon sportcoat)
 
Managed to venture into a few more locations over the Labor Day weekend - the East Hanover store was the most surprising ---

For some reason only known to the folks at Daffy's corporate, they decided to place a small selection of the Hirschleifer's merchandise in the East Hanover store, along with the biggest selection I've seen this season from Messori (made in Italy) and Coming Soon by Yohji Yamamoto (made in Italy). The Hirschleifer's stuff included items from Woolrich, Gitman Bros. and Band of Outsiders -- BOO shirts (only two or three, nothing particularly special other than the fact that they were indeed BOO at Daffy's) were running $69.99. Messori merchandise was much of the usual, but the only place thus far I've seen suits, and even a nice camel-colored wool coat. The Coming Soon merchandise was really nice as well with a number of wool jackets and blazers, as well as other random bits and pieces. All priced well below retail. The store also had a very small selection of items from Transit (made in Italy), and is the only store I've seen this season with merchandise from Culturata (made in Italy), which was in the form of a few wool/cashmere blend zip-up cardigans.

I also paid a visit to the Elizabeth store which also had a few items from Coming Soon - much smaller selection than East Hanover, and a few items from Transit also. Strangely, there were also a few shirts from Cockpit, which I have yet to see at any other store.

So that's the Jersey-wide update. Sadly, I didn't get to visit the Jersey Gardens store -- the mall was literally so packed on Monday that security closed off all the entrances to the parking lot so I couldn't even get into the mall. Perhaps another day, though I don't think I missed much since the last time I visited. Philly to come again next weekend.

NJ Stores Update

Made it back up to NJ for the Labor Day weekend, a few things worth mentioning that didn't come into Philly:

Suits from a company called Sartoria Antica Italiana (made in Italy); really pretty bad - construction seemed ok, but styling is far from up to date. Saw these in the Paramus, NJ store at $199.99.

And Transit (made in Italy) has already made its debut in stores -- much earlier than in prior seasons. Paramus, NJ had a nice assortment of pants, jackets and sweaters/knits. I'm assuming the NYC stores got a bunch of stuff as well; Philly, for whatever reason, never receives any Transit merchandise, even though I know it would do really well down there. Now, mind you, I was also in the Totowa, NJ store where I caught a glimpse of some of the women's labels - Transit, Gant, Liu Jo, and a lot of really high end labels --- a) that store is usually full of junk; b) why are women getting all these great things, and the men are getting shafted?....

Such are the updates for now; If anyone heads over to Daffy's over the weekend, you may be able to find some great deals in the sale racks. I picked up a Futuro shirt for $5.62, which happened to be mixed in with the regular priced shirts. If you don't want to bother looking through the clearance racks, but are interested in a possible deal, look through the regular racks of shirts, pants, etc...and look for season code 'C' on the price tag -- see this post for more info. 

Look What Popped Up at Daffy's

Well, I'll start off with the week in general - pretty lackluster.  New stuff included a few random shirts from Milena SpA (made in Italy) - good stuff, but nowhere near the amount of shirts they got from them last season (last season there were tons of Milena shirts in boxes -- i.e., Del Siena, B>More, Marcus, etc...) and we also got some more Steve Madden shoes and shoes from Impulse -- both of which I could do without.

But fortunately for Daffy's, I have something good to point out.  One of the staffers down here in Philly who knows my tastes mentioned she found some interesting labels amongst some of the sweaters, in particular... (see pic, may need to click pic to see label)

Jil Sander! (made in Italy) -- now, realize that Daffy's did NOT get in a shipment from Jil Sander. However, apparently Jil Sander knits, at least a few cardigans anyway, are made by Teodori.  I mean to find these things, you'll need to sift through everything, but there are likely a few to be had in the various stores. This particular sweater was a navy cardigan, priced at $49.99. I can promise you this would have retailed easily for over $200. In the meantime, it was, as usual, thrown in with everything else and you wouldn't know the difference. But that's the stupidity of Daffy's for you. Anyway, this was the find of the week, and at least made up for the lack of merchandise that's come in the past few weeks.

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

A Good Week Not to Visit Daffy's

Well hopefully everyone out here on the east coast will be safe this weekend. I'm hoping that Irene doesn't take a huge toll on things, but predictions thus far are looking pretty bad.

As far as Daffy's goes, the only thing I really noticed this week was a number of knits and boots from Uomo Bravo, which is Daffy's own house brand. Really not worth your time.

And for those who don't follow the facebook updates --- all NYC Daffy's stores are closed tomorrow. All other locations, including NJ stores, Manhasset and Philly are closing at 3PM.

Please stay safe [and dry].

Things Are a Bit Shaky in Philly

Completely unrelated blog post. I hope everyone is alright -- we just had a small tremor here in Philly, and apparently it started in Virginia and has gone up the entire east coast.

Messagerie Musings

Needed a quick break from work, so I went poking through some of the Messagerie merchandise over on Yoox. It always amazes me at some of the accessories that Yoox gets in but we never get to see at Daffy's. Even if it's just ties or hats, we never really see that in any brand. Here's a pair of shoes that I'd be all over if they were in my size -- just cool and unique IMHO. As a side-note, I believe Yoox is starting to prohibit several designers from being purchased in the States -- specifically stuff which is being carried at Daffy's - namely - Jey Cole Man, Solosali, Alea, Rosso Malaspino, & Royal Hem are not available state-side, but are available if you change your country outside of the U.S. Wasn't always this way, so it makes me wonder...

Update Incl. NY Stores

Went to NYC this weekend, really looking for two things -- Gazzarrini suits in size 36, and some Italian-made shoes. I found neither of them - the Gazzarrini selection was awful with nothing in my size (I suppose I could simply be a few weeks late, but still there's always been one or two items in my size), and the only store with any Italian shoe selection was 34th St., which was pretty limited --- Philly has a larger selection of Italian shoes than 34th St.

So here the rundown after browsing six of the seven Manhattan locations this weekend. Sadly, not much to report -
- Ortenzi (made in Italy) suits and sportcoats - the only place with suits/blazers thus far is Philly; there were a few size 40 topcoats at the 44t & Madison store
- Daniele Fiesoli (made in Italy) - a few knits available in each store, not a huge selection as in past seasons, but every one seems to have gotten a few pieces
- Alea/Rossomalaspino (made in Italy) - shirts from Alea Fashion Industries - VERY limited selection; usually the racks of full of this stuff, but I saw a handful of shirts per store
- Arnau (made in Spain) - a few nicely made shirts at 57th St. East Side and 44th & Madison -- they had first appeared last season at 57th St. West Side
- Umberto Zebra (made in Italy) - various items, including suits at 34th St.; pretty bad all around, with a lot of man-made fabrics, as is usual from this company; construction is decent, but not my favorite because of the materials; the same manufacturer also put out jackets under the name 'Coon' (yes, like the Southpark character)
- Killtec - This is some sort of fleecey ourterwear, made in China. Most stores received a few items.
- Beau Brummel - The 34th St. store had a few shirts from this company; it appears to be a high end store in lower Manhattan, unsure if it's still around
- And the worst of all - Sottotono (made in Italy) - this is the stuff that you ask yourself, why in the world would they even bother putting this stuff in the stores; probably the worst construction and materials of any Italian garments you will see at Daffy's; avoid this stuff at all costs

That's really it for new merchandise. Honestly, everything was quite disappointing overall, especially since I didn't find what I was looking for. One thing which really annoyed me was the fact that the mens departments had been moved into the basements of two stores -- Soho and 57th St. West Side have moved their mens dept's from the first floor to the basement. Aside from simply throwing me off in terms of layout, it kind of just showed me what Daffy's corporate thinks of their menswear - that, plus all of the Italian shoes that the women are getting in and being advertised on Facebook, it just annoys me. As is evidenced by the huge number of stores now catering to men and the resurgence of high-end, made in America, menswear, it is clear that Daffy's is missing a huge market. Whether this will improve has yet to be seen in my book. I understand that there's more money likely to be made in womens-wear, but come on.

Quick Update - Fiesoli Knits + Ortenzi Suits

Headed for NYC this weekend, so will have a much bigger update coming up. But, wanted to point out some nice pieces that came in this week - knits from Daniele Fiesoli (made in Italy) - these include items from Wool & Co. and Milkywear, amongst others. Some really great stuff --- I already bought myself this beautiful shawl-collar 100% merino wool sweater for $69.99.

Another boon for the week -- suits from Ortenzi (made in Italy) - these things are fully canvassed and made extremely well. I saw several suits and even three-piece tuxedos in Philly, but they were all size 40 and above; I don't think you'll be seeing many Ortenzi items in small sizes, same as last season. But keep your eye out for some high-end labels amongst the Ortenzi merchandise - last season I saw a suit from Paul Smith and a blazer from Bikkimbergs - both of which were made by Ortenzi.

More Patrizia Pepe

For those not on the Daffy's email-list, the email just went out that more Patrizia Pepe merchandise has arrived at stores. I'd probably suggest waiting til the weekend or next Monday so that all the inventory is put out on the floors, but for those of you that really love the stuff it's always first come first served. Be sure to leave any comments if you spot any particularly great finds.

Alfie Bobo Musings

Just wanted to share the awesome Alfie Bobo leather jacket which I picked up this week here in Philly. It's a half leather/half boiled wool baseball-style jacket with some really awesome details. Pics of other Alfie Bobo jackets currently available at Daffy's can be seen here.

Italian Shoes are In, Plus Knits from Alea

Fall Italian shoes came in this week, the vast majority from Tremp (made in Italy) and Bait (made in Italy), as well as a few items from Boemos (made in Italy) and a few other labels in unmarked boxes -- I saw a few pairs of nicely made boots from a label called Bagatti (made in Italy), and happened to come across one pair of shoes from Coach. Selections will likely vary by store, but I highly suggest you get there sooner than later, as these things never last, and based on past seasons, Daffy's will not likely be getting in much beyond this batch for the rest of the season (though, I really hope I'm wrong about that).

I already mentioned knits in the prior post, but on top of Solosali and Teodori, Daffy's got in, for the first time I can recall, knits from Alea/Rosso Malaspino (made in Italy) -- I saw a number of 100% cashmere sweaters from them. Really beautiful things. I assume this means we'll be seeing shirts from Alea in the very near future.

Another small batch of shirts came in - various items from Admiral's Cup, Spada, Pueterey and others, all made in Italy. Approx. $29.99/shirt. Nicely made stuff, but wasn't a very big group of items.

Also in the shoe dept. -- more shoes from Banana Blues and something called Rockabilly - the Banana Blues ones are at least passable; the Rockabilly, I wasn't too fond of. Honestly, I wish the whole shoe dept. was just stocked to the brim w/Italian merchandise, but sadly that's not the case.

Not much else to report this week. I'll be making a trip up to NYC next weekend, so will have updates per store, as time permits. Hoping there are still some Gazzarrini suits left for me by then (size 36US/46EU if anyone wants to take a lookout) - sadly, Philly has only gotten junk thus far suit-wise, even though it's probably the second-largest, or possibly even the biggest, store in the whole chain when it comes to shear retail space.

First Batch of Knits

The Philly store got in its first major batch of knits for Fall, including lots of chunky wool sweaters. A good mix of items from Solosali (made in Italy), and Teodori (made in Italy) -- Solosali was running approx. $69.99/item, I didn't catch the price on the Teodori items, though they were marked as samples, so likely less than the Solosali.

Also a bunch of random samples from labels like Kuhlman and Natural Blue by Visitor. The random American brands all came from the same manufacturer, but I wouldn't have the first clue as to its name. Prices on these things were pretty incredible considering many pieces were made of wool and decently constructed -- everything I saw was $16.99 or less.


I also noticed amongst the Compagnia Delle Pelli jackets, one piece made for Angelo Nardelli -- ATTENTION DAFFY'S BUYERS - if there is a high-end yet relatively unknown brand from Italy to get into the store, this would be it. Nardelli closeouts have been popping up a lot on eBay of late and I think it would be a great addition of merchandise to the store.

Gazzarrini + CDP Makes Me a Happy Man

After a brief vacation, here's the rundown of what came in from the past week:

Some gorgeous Italian-made leather jackets from Gazzarrini (made in Italy)  and Compagnia Delle Pelli (made in Italy), which includes leathers from Alfie Bobo. While there are various styles available, the best are the shearlings, and some leather puffer-style jackets. Nothing I've seen was over $350. You will not find better leather jackets of this quality for a lower price, that is, unless you wait til they go on markdown, but chances are they'll be gone by then -- these things sell fast. Sadly, nothing in my size (46EU/36US) as of yet.

In terms of Gazzarrini, most of the stores also got in a small selection of outerwear, shirts, vests, knits, blazers, pants and some accessories (belts, ties and scarves). Philly got in an awesome cashmere-blend sweater which I picked up for myself -- the only thing I've seen in a size small thus far. None of the stores I've visited have gotten in suits, and maybe three blazers total amongst three stores. I expect that the suits are reserved for 34th St., 57th East Side, and Soho, as has been the norm the past few seasons.

More Patrizia Pepe came in as well, including some great outerwear and various sports coats. Huge variance by store. The Jersey Gardens location had a pair of high-tops from PP, but that's the only one I've seen.

Shoes from Bait (made in Italy) - these are more casual/streetwear shoes, but are made pretty well. I saw some blue slip-ons in Elizabeth (to the left), and some nice brown motorcycle-style boots in Jersey Gardens; Philly has yet to get anything. Marked between $69.99 and $79.99 if I recall properly.

And then the disappointment of the week - suits from Joseph Abboud. No one needs to go to Daffy's to pick up this stuff, especially not when they're priced at the same or higher prices than much better-made Italian suits. For $239.99, this can be yours, but you can also get the same thing at Burlington, Syms, Century 21, TJMaxx/Marshalls, etc... for the same or lower price.

(8/11) - UPDATE - Forgot to mention -- most stores also got in a small selection of shirts and blazers from John Barrit. These were actually nicely made and most were marked as Samples, so the prices were great as well.

Room for Improvement - Part I - Education

This is the start of a series of articles where I think Daffy's could easily improve. The first in this series is about brand awareness.

Part of what I've wanted to accomplish with this blog is to educate consumers out there about the brands that Daffy's carries. Most of the Italian brands they carry consistently have few, if any, retailers in the United States. Generally speaking, a store can't simply put clothes on a rack and expect people to buy them - as much as I'm far from a brand-hog, there's value behind a brand. And Daffy's would create a much more loyal customer-base if they explained to people what it is they're stocking in their stores.

Now, I realize, Daffy's is likely under contract not to advertise what it is they're selling. But, generally, those contracts don't prevent retailers from advertising within the stores themselves. One store's motto which I've always appreciated, even though I think their merchandise is simply horrific, is Syms -- "An educated consumer is our best customer." Plenty of the new sample-sale sites have two or three paragraphs about the brands they're selling, and often have videos about the lines as well telling the history and showing pieces from the label regardless of whether those particular pieces are going to be sold in the upcoming sale.

With Daffy's, however, we're lucky to be getting a little sign above some racks indicating a particular designer, but even that means little when most people who are not familiar with Daffy's would have no clue what the label is all about. But the general deal at Daffy's is -- let's just throw everything together and let the customer sift through everything. That might work at, say, a TJMaxx/Marshalls or a Ross Dress for Less, but the fact of the matter is that doing such a thing cheapens the merchandise that Daffy's gets in -- on the whole, leaving out the young mens dept. and any american closeouts the store gets in, the merchandise is high-end and retails for well beyond Daffy's prices. But there's no way that people are going to take anything seriously or pay attention to brands when the store itself doesn't take care or pride in the display or stocking.

So just a few suggestions -- have an in-store touch-screen display which links you to the websites of these designers, or at a minimum, show a video or some pictures of the merchandise or the company's line in general -- simply, let the customer get a feel for what you're selling so that the customers will develop a taste and liking for a specific brand. Another part of this equation would be to separate out the merchandise by designer/manufacturer -- Now, I realize such a thing may be hard with shirts, from, say, Mastai Feretti which contracts with literally hundreds of different labels for production, but there's no reason that merchandise cannot be separated out and labeled as 'Mastai Feretti' or 'Saitt' (MF's parent company). The value of the clothing is simply diluted when high-end merchandise from Italy is mixed in with junk from Calvin Klein, Geoffrey Beene, and the slew of other items that come in as made in China.

And I have a feeling, that if Daffy's offered brand-awareness for some of the companies they deal with, they would actually pay Daffy's to do so. Gilt-Man has been incredibly successful, in-part, because many unknown labels are using it as a launch-pad to get their brands known to the American public. But what better way for Italian brands to get recognized than in a store with over a dozen locations in the metro-NYC area. I can't imagine how many companies would kill to be exposed to the fashion-obsessed denizens of NYC, and Daffy's certainly has the retail space to provide that, and unlike Gilt, people would actually be able to see and try-on the merchandise first-hand.

The most important part about all this is quite simple, but a step which would require more effort by Daffy's than a simple marketing campaign --- EDUCATE THE EMPLOYEES - I would say about 95% of the employees who are stocking the racks and helping out customers have absolutely no clue about the merchandise the store carries - and in fact, most managers have no clue either. Honestly, the best employee in all of Daffy's is a wonderful man by the name of Andre in the 57th St. East Side store. Not only is he incredibly easy to talk to and will go out of his way to help you find something, but more importantly, he knows the ins and outs of every label carried at the store --- and he makes it his job to visit the websites of all these companies, and he even keeps up on trends in the general fashion world, outside of the obscure designers often carried at Daffy's. He is one of the few people I have met in all of the Daffy's I have visited that has anywhere near the encyclopedic knowledge as I do of the store's merchandise. The problem is that he is the exception, and not the rule. Every employee at the store should be able to explain to you the difference between Gazzarrini and Messori, and explain why shoes from Tremp are better than, say, Florsheim or Rockport.

I can't tell you how many times I've taken time out of my day to help out fellow shoppers looking for suits/shirts/pants/shoes who are clueless about what exists at Daffy's, and have only been frustrated by employees who either don't know anything about the merchandise or are simply unable to verbalize a response (no offense intended, but some of the Daffy's employees, especially in some of the NYC stores, are not exactly well-spoken). The thing is, that is not my job, and while I am happy to do it, Daffy's should be training their employees to the Andre standard, not simply giving people a job to be stockists - the merchandise is simply too good for that.

I hope part 1 of this series will be insightful, at least to the folks in Daffy's corporate, who may be looking for ways to improve the store. It is far from my job to be an educator and publicist for a company that processes over $200 Million in gross-revenue every year - thank G-d, I have a full-time job, and while I would love to be working for Daffy's if the proper circumstances arose, that is not what I get paid to do. In the meantime, I do it out of love and respect for a store that I wish did a better job itself. Part 2 coming next week -- stay tuned for merchandise updates on Monday or Tuesday.

More on Patrizia Pepe

Just so everyone understands the nature of what Daffy's gets in with the merchandise from Patrizia Pepe, I wanted to share some pics of outerwear I've been ogling over at the company's webstore - which, by the way, looks like they're selling now in the U.S., but I doubt prices on these things will ever get anywhere near Daffy's-range. The notch-lapel shearling to the left is running $1428, and the leather/knitted bomber is going for $1385.


Link to the Patrizia Pepe Store

Sale Time for Spring Merchandise

Looks like Daffy's is finally marking down all of its Spring merchandise, and most of the markdowns now have an additional 30% off, at least according to the facebook page. Probably the best deal right now are all the shoes from Martin Dingman --- everything I've seen in the last week or so has been marked down at least 50% from its original price -- so the most expensive shoes which originally started over $90 are at $46 and change. Some really great deals on very well-made shoes.