Results tagged “saksfifthavenue”

What is it with Saks Fifth Avenue employees? Earlier this year there was the ol' "it was for charity" excuse, which was prequeled by all of these incidents. Now another employee has been busted for siphoning around $130,000 from his employer. 23-year-old Kashien Mercer is the latest to use the store as his personal ATM; too bad he was "caught on surveillance video behind a cash register crediting some of the illegal returns to the gift card, which he put in his pocket." He was busted on November 3rd and charged with grand larceny. Listen up Saks employees, your employer is on to you, it's time to try another department store.

Andy Warhol once said, “My favorite smell is the first smell of spring in New York," and now someone has stepped in to capitalize on the scent (good thing he didn't say summer in New York). Along with the Gap now using Warhol's "hot dead celeb" status to sell khakis; Laurice Rahmé, creator of Bond No. 9, launches her latest neighborhood fragrance (in collaboration with The Warhol Foundation) this month: Andy Warhol Union Square.

Stores were packed with post-Christmas shoppers, as retailers marked down their products in hopes of boosting holidays sales. So far, holiday period sales are up 3.6%, which is the "lower end" of expectations according to MasterCard Advisors.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery on Austin St. in Queens, a pedestrian struck off Balfour Pl. and Empire Blvd. in Brooklyn, and a rescue on Bank St. in Manhattan.
• The Domino Sugar factory on Brooklyn's waterfront has achieved landmark status.
• David Chase is heading to court to face a former municipal court judge who claims he came up with an idea for a show about a northern NJ mob family.
• David Blaine's next stunt of endurance in the Big Apple will be a tribute to I-bankers and lawyers logging billable hours, as he attempts to stay awake for as long as humanly possibly. The magic? No cocaine.
• Led Zeppelin may be traveling back to NYC for a return engagement. The songs remain the same.
• The men convicted in the 1989 "wilding" Central Park rape attack case have been given the go-ahead to update their lawsuits against the city.
• A former waitress at the strip club Scores is suing one of the managers for sexual harassment.
• New York City as retirement village.

Saks Fifth Avenue, by digiart2001 at flickr

It sounds like a Project Runway challenge: create a look Princess Grace would have worn. However, the six gowns that are currently being displayed in the windows of Saks Fifth Avenue were created by some of the top designers -- each being paired with a specific look to be reinterpreted in a modern way.

This week, the NY Times has some suggestions for wedding gifts from stores affiliated to museums, reasoning that those stores have wonderful gifts that are appealing to "people who are tired of shopping in the same old places — and might enjoy spending a couple hours in a museum as well." We wholeheartedly agree - when you know the couple well, that is.

The department stores have decorated their windows with holiday cheer, a tradtion that has been going on since the 1860's (Macy's first was in 1862)! Here's what you'll see this year:

Hmm, maybe it's time to ask Grandma or Great-Grand what they've gotten stashed away in a drawer: A woman auctioned a perfume bottle that her husband bought in 1939 at Saks Fifth Avenue and it sold for $216,000.

In September, we wrote about department store Lord & Taylor and many praised its prices and shopping environment. One passionate comment:

Lord & Taylor's is fantastic. Over the past 3-4 years, they've made a great effort to stock well edited pieces from younger, trendier brands. They're like Macy's in that they always have a great sale (and bonus coupons), but it's never as crowded, loud, chaotic, or unorganized. I've never had to wait in line for a fitting room or had to wade through knee-deep clothing that's fallen off the racks. The sales associates are polite, friendly, and are actually knowledgeable about the clothes that they're selling - I mean, how often do find a sales associate in a mid-priced large dept. store suggesting and pulling items for you!? So I guess if shopping in a calm, uncluttered store that offers well-made, stylish clothing AND thoughtful service is only for the elderly - friggin hand me my walker.

Well, now it turns out that Lord & Taylor's parent company NRDC, is considering a drastic change. Crain's reports, "NRDC may move the store - a landmark on Fifth Avenue and West 39th Street for 92 years - to another Manhattan location. Or it could leave town altogether, moving its flagship to the suburbs." President Richard Baker says, "It's nice having a Manhattan store, but I wouldn't call it key. We want to be where people live, not where they work."

There's a wonderful feature on department store Lord & Taylor by Toni Schlesinger in the Observer today. Earlier in the summer, it was announced that the Lord & Taylor chain had been sold to an investor group including the folks that backed the Time-Warner Center; though the deal isn't finalized yet, when Schlesinger wonders if condos could be built on top of the 424 Fifth Avenue location, lead investor Richard Baker says, "Yes, we could build on top. But we have made no decision what to do with the existing building." And he added, “I’m getting a lot of e-mails: ‘Don’t mess with Lord & Taylor!’”

Jason Schwartzman, Actor, Shopgirl

Gothamist guesses we need to report this bit of Lower East Side news, as Lockhart Steele is on vacation. As part of MTV's week of celebrating the MTV Video Music Awards, there's a $8.28 dinner entree promotion through tomorrow night at Lower East Side restaurants, including Essex, Punch & Judy, and AKA Cafe, are participating. See the full list here.