Lots of Bits and Pieces

So last week didn't offer anything major, but a few nice items here and there helped fill out some horribly over-picked stores.

First off, one of my favorite labels FINALLY came in this season (I mentioned them a while back, but that appears to have been only leather jackets manufactured under the label by CDP)  -- Messagerie (made in Italy) by GMA SRL. Not a huge selection, but the 34th St. store and the Soho store had a few sportscoats and jackets from them. Also spotted a few pairs of pants at 34th St. This stuff has a very similar asthetic to Jey Cole Man, i.e., refined casual w/a bit of a rocker edge, and the quality is way up there. I haven't seen this stuff at any other stores; my guess based on previous years is that some merchandise wound up in one or both of the Elizabeth stores.  Blazers were priced at $50-$60. There may also be some stuff from Bryan Husky, which is also made by GMA, but I didn't anything from the label. Was really hoping for some suits, but alas... :(

Previous posts aside, 57th St. East side and 34th St. had small selections of jeans from 7 For All Mankind in various colors, priced at $89.99. Honestly, while the stuff is just fine quality-wise, the pricing, as I mentioned in prior posts, is awful. Considering what can be had at Daffy's in terms of jeans, these should be roughly half the price of what they're currently asking. Wait til they go on clearance, or at least the first round of markdowns.

A tiny bit more merchandise from Conbipel came in as well (Italian equivalent of the Gap from what I can tell) - shorts and pants. This stuff is made in the far east, but at $10 for a pair of shorts, I snapped up two for myself in a gray and olive drab.

Shoes from a company called 'Banana Breeze' (made in China). There were a few different kinds -- stay away from the patent leather loafers (not real leather on those from what I could tell, just ugly); but each store seemed to get in a bunch of shoes in the 'Prosper' model, shown to the left. Very nice things, and at $39.99, they're a bargain, though not necessarily the best quality shoes I've ever tried on. They're currently selling for over $60 at 6pm.com and Zappos.com.

Also, each store got in a small selection of shoes from Florsheim. Nothing special, but worth noting.

One final line item -- each store got in a small handful of new ties from Altea (made in Italy). Some awesome stuff, especially a lot of cotton and cotton-blend ties which are perfect for spring/summer, all at $16.99. You probably won't be able to notice the difference between the old stuff and the new stuff, unless you've been through about every tie rack like I have, but watch out for some ties w/a light-brown Altea label on the back, as those are some of the newer ones.

And one last addition -- most stores got in a small number of beach duffel bags, which are tagged the Bloomingdales Men's Store, at $13.99 each. White w/blue or orange trimming (two variations); Small little things, which is why I'm calling them beach bags -- nice for that purpose if you need it.