Weekend/NJ Store Recap

Took a trip this weekend up to NJ, visited all the stores along the way...let's just say I was not thrilled. The John Barrit merchandise which was part of the reason I went was nowhere near the volume we had received down here in Philly, and the Patrizia Pepe selection, while good, was not what I was hoping for in terms of specific items, though, I did manage to pick up a beautiful cotton/silk blazer in Elizabeth. Note that neither Secaucus nor Totowa, NJ received Patrizia Pepe items, but that was expected.

To the sides you can see a few of the Patrizia Pepe items - just about every store that had PP merchandise got in this great leather jacket - it kind of looks stained, but I believe that was intentional. And a few stores got in some high-top sneakers -- Jersey Gardens had these shoes in blue, yellow and I believe a tan/brown -- the rims of each shoe are covered in an almost neon-like plastic. Quite cool stuff - and at $69.99, you won't find it anywhere else for less (Yoox has them for $138 in case you need a comparison). 

As for the Transit (made in Italy) items that were supposed to come in, I saw none of it, whether in Philly or any NJ store, including the Paramus store where it usually comes in serious volume. There were women's Transit items in each store, but no men's items. A report via Twitter, however, has indicated that Transit men's items were spotted at the Soho store. So take a look there if you're interested.

For those of you that missed it on Twitter, the Philly store received several pairs (read 7 or 8 total) of shoes from Goffredo Fantini (made in Italy). Much more well known for their women's items, but great men's shoes nonetheless. I bought myself four pairs - a pair of waxed-canvas boots, two pairs of sandals, and some penny loafers -- all seen in the group shot. I was kind of in love w/all these shoes if you can't tell, that's why you're seeing all the pictures. None of the NJ stores received any of these, and the Philly store only received items in Size 9 (42 EU). My guess is one or two of the NYC stores received a few scattered pairs. Also amongst them were items from Hope by Ringstrand Soderberg, which included that pair of waxed-cotton boots I was referencing (see group picture on the bottom, middle pair).

And, the unfortunate part of the week....the junk -- tons of t-shirts in each store I visited from Grimm (www.grimm.ca). I mean these these are ill-fitting generic t-shirts to begin with, and then they each have some really stupid cartoon joke on them, generally immature sayings -- "Wine is the answer...does anyone remember the question?" "I don't drink beer anymore...I don't drink any less either." If these things sell at the $5.99 they're marked at, I'd be surprised. It always amazes me what crap they can get their hands on.

The other stuff that meandered in -- sportswear items from a company called 'Q-Fresh'. More generic Under Armour-like items that no one is going to buy. And shoes from Affliction that have these little spikey things all over them. Not my cup of tea

Looking forward to next week...I've been told that the Philly store is going to be the dumping ground for a whole load of NYC and NJ leftovers from fall in the next couple of weeks. So those folks down here, get ready to enjoy 75% discount on lots of items (supposedly the discount rate on men's stuff is only 50% right now b/c it sells quicker than the women's items and doesn't go out of style as quickly - if you're wondering why the women's stuff is 75% and we only get a meager 50%).