Photo by Muffy Aldrich
The Modern Guide to The Thing Before Preppy

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

In Case You Missed It

 

With the Louvre closed because of the pandemic, museum officials are pushing ahead on a grand restoration and cleanup....  Even before the pandemic, the Louvre was taking a hard look at crowd management because mass tourism had meant many galleries were choked with tour groups. 

- NYT: Mona Lisa Is Alone, but Still Smiling <https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/26/world/europe/louvre-coronavirus.html>

 

Tricker's English Shoes:  <https://www.trickers.com/>

At Tricker’s, a 192 year-old maker of English luxury shoes beloved by Prince Charles and Japanese fashionistas, relief at averting a no-deal Brexit quickly turned to dismay at the new price of doing business with the European Union.

- Reuters: Historic English shoe-maker counts the costs of Brexit <https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-exporters/historic-english-shoe-maker-counts-the-costs-of-brexit-idUSKBN29V1B5 

 

More carats and sparkle: How LVMH plans to change Tiffany.

- Reuters <https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lvmh-tiffany-changes-focus/more-carats-and-sparkle-how-lvmh-plans-to-change-tiffany-idUSKBN29V0JH>

 

Fashion Nova’s Secret: Underpaid Workers in Los Angeles Factories.  The online retailer makes fast fashion for the Instagram elite. The way many of its garments are made is much less glamorous.

- NYT <https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/16/business/fashion-nova-underpaid-workers.html>

 

Consider creating a... well-curated collection of the basics... This concept involves buying higher-quality, more sustainable and, yes, probably more expensive items that will last longer. 

- Washington Post <https://www.washingtonpost.com/road-to-recovery/now-is-the-perfect-time-to-rethink-your-wardrobe-with-an-eye-toward-sustainability/2021/01/25/8895ff1c-542a-11eb-a08b-f1381ef3d207_story.html>


25 comments:

  1. Tricker's is truly an institution. Thank you so very much for all you do for us!

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  2. The Tricker's article is a perfect example of the folly of Brexit. It was never going to drive Britain into penury or chaos, but it will chip away at British growth and influence while providing no tangible benefits.

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    1. You're absolutely right, @John E.

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    2. The point of Brexit was not to bring "tangible benefits." Or did I miss something?

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    3. The Reuters article is full of errors and disinformation.

      "That has led the firm to raise prices for EU customers and absorb the rest of the hit in its bottom line."

      In fact, Trickers have just raised prices in the UK, e.g. Keswick and Matlock country shoes now costs £465, up from £415. That's a massive increase of 12% when UK inflation has been averaging around 0.3 to 0.5% over the last few months.

      "A deal agreed with Japan - which accounts for a third of Tricker’s business compared with about 15% which comes from the EU - would be a help". Britain signed a free trade deal with Japan on 20/10/20 - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/summary-of-the-uk-japan-comprehensive-economic-partnership-agreement.

      "Commitments on tariffs for the vast majority of products traded between the UK and Japan have been transitioned in CEPA without changes. In some cases, the tariff rates may be lower than the EU-Japan EPA."

      "British government budget forecasters estimate that the country’s economy will be 4% smaller in 15 years’ time than it would have been had it stayed in the EU."

      The latest forecasts from PWC are very different - https://www.pwc.co.uk/who-we-are/regional-sites/northern-ireland/press-releases/world-in-2050.html

      "UK could be the fastest growing G7 economy up to 2050, with average annual growth of 1.9%"

      "The UK’s long-term economic growth could outpace leading EU countries like Germany, France and Italy, even despite some medium-term drag from Brexit, according to new analysis by PwC"

      If Britain had remained in the EU, we'd still be waiting for Brussels to approve the Astra Zeneca vaccine for Covid. Instead, millions of doses have been administered, putting the UK months ahead of the EU in its vaccination programme.

      How's that for tangible benefits, Sartresky?

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    4. You missed this - https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2020/12/26/uk-economy-outstrip-europe-next-15-years/

      "UK economy to outstrip Europe over next 15 years

      "New global ranking lifts Brexit hopes with forecast that GDP in Britain will be 23pc more than in France by 2035..."

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    5. Brexit. The undefined being negotiated by the unprepared in order to get the unspecified for the uninformed.

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    6. Brexit - a return to the nation state as opposed to government by an unelected, unaccountable collection of globalist nobodies.

      UK voted to join a Common Market a simple trading arrangement. The hidden agenda was a creeping federalism that often goes against the interests and preferences of individual nations.

      Or a ‘German racket’ as Nicholas Ridley famously observed.

      Britain needs to up its game on retaliatory action - the sort of obstructive non tariff barriers and go slows the French are so good at. EU sells more to Uk than Vice Verda. Target French exports(or German exports if you want to reach the key decision makers).

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  3. Regarding Tiffany's being bought by LVMH, this would jive with what a sales associate and gemologist said to me recently at the Tiffany's where I live that if I like the Elsa Peretti pieces, now would be a good time to buy as the prices were going up. That and the fact that Peretti's current contract with Tiffany's ends at the end of 2022.

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  4. Tiffany's is overpriced now for the machine made products they produce with inferior quality gems. Their reputation was built creating jewelry with craftsmanship and quality unlike today.

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  5. Like just about everything else in Paris, the size of the Louvre is absolutely staggering. We enjoyed walking around it and wandering around the courtyard but never went inside. We realized that without a strategy and at least a few days it would be futile.

    Thanks for this.

    David J. Cooper

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  6. I was actually told by the lovely sales associate, who is also a gemologist, that I would be better off buying pearls elsewhere (Paspaley of Australia or Jewelmer, a long-held French-Filipino enterprise, for example) if I wanted South Sea pearls; and possibly Mikimoto for cultured pearls. Tiffany's is not a good pearl source because of the exaggerated prices due to the involvement of middle men. As for stones, the only stones still worth buying there are those considered haute joaillerie and apart from a Paraiba tourmaline that is way beyond my budget, I was not impressed with their selection. For just a little bit more money, I would rather buy at Seaman Schepps. What is still worth buying though at Tiffany's is silver, but only a couple of collections have attracted me, and I still do like Elsa Peretti. The other collections are unfortunately made to appeal to the bling generation. So if Monsieur Arnault wishes to elevate Tiffany's, he has my blessing. Goodness knows they need it!

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    1. Everything what Monsieur Arnault wishes, is to make more $ and squeeze another "brand"...You are right about their collection, I guess LVMH will make it even more bling-bling. As for the stones, I would add old mine cut diamonds (or in general old antique stones), usually much better quality, with no heat or oil treating, remade with recycled gold. Soul, history, hand made work, a very different story. Paraiba are lovely but I prefer cabochons, green or pink, lovely for summer pieces.

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    2. Everything what Monsieur Arnault wishes, is to make more $ and squeeze another "brand"...You are right about their collection, I guess LVMH will make it even more bling-bling. As for the stones, I would add old mine cut diamonds (or in general old antique stones), usually much better quality, with no heat or oil treating, remade with recycled gold. Soul, history, hand made work, a very different story. Paraiba are lovely but I prefer cabochons, green or pink, lovely for summer pieces.

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  7. While I am not in the market for high end jewelry, my family and I were lucky enough to visit the Louvre last January. We arrived in the midst of a transportation strike but where staying close enough to walk. We stayed at the Palais Royal which was central to everything Paris. At the Louvre, we saw so many incredibly famous works of art, it would be impossible to list them all. We also saw Empress Josephine's crown and necklace set with enormous emeralds and diamonds. Even the museum itself is fantastic. And like every silly tourist we managed to get photos of ourselves "holding" the glass pyramid. What fun we had!

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    1. My most memorable visit in Paris was to Napoleon's tomb. Sadly, I did not see the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. Maybe next time.

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    2. How neat to visit Napoleon's tomb! Wish I had gotten a chance to see Jim Morrison's grave too. But we did get to see the Catacombs -- very interesting and a long walk too. When we emerged back to the street level, we had walked for miles without even realizing it! Notre Dame was under repair when we were there. Hope to go back some day.

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    3. Napoleon and Morrison. The Battle of Borodino.
      “Blood in the streets in the town of New Haven.”
      That’s a rare combination.

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  8. I buy shoes all the time from Trickers and other UK manufacturers and never have to pay VAT because I am in the US. It is crucial that the UK make favorable trade agreements with its former colonies such as India and the US. We will see how the Biden administration handles this.

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  9. Sadly, so many great old names have lost their shine. For generations my family members were extremely loyal to Shreve, Crump & Low in Boston. We purchased jewelry, silver and giftware and used them for repairs, cleaning, etc. going back to the 1870s. The last time I went in was my first (and last) trip to their Newbury St. location. We were in search of wedding bands. The staff wasn't welcoming and once they did engage it was clear that the experience would be similar to a downmarket mall jeweler. Later that night we found ourselves at the Tiffany in Chestnut Hill Mall. We hadn't planned on buying, but the young woman who helped us was absolutely wonderful, asked all the right questions, put us at ease and treated us extremely well. She also put the extra effort into sending us a thoughtful and beautifully handwritten note about a year later--just after our wedding. The rings may have been a better deal elsewhere, but it was so nice to have exceptional service again. Since then I have done business with their stores in Boston, Naples and Montreal and have always been very satisfied. I hope that the purchase by LVMH doesn't change things too dramatically. I've had mixed experiences with some their other brands.

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    1. I love the Tiffany at Copley Place! I've had the same experience there as you have had at Chestnut Hill. My late grandfather was an engraver for Tiffany.

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    2. That's a great store, too. Glad to hear you had a similar experience. I hope that you have some of your grandfather's handiwork. I love beautiful engraving -- it is such an art.

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    3. Another fan here of fine engraving. Things my great and great great grandparents got at Shreve have simply gorgeous engraving, sometimes almost too florid to read.

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    4. It's terrific that you have those things. I wasn't a big fan of engraving until I inherited and spent quality time cleaning a Gorham punch bowl that I knew had been in the family for a while. Upon close inspection, I realized that, in addition to the very decorative engraving, the featured element was a landscape that included a textile mill that once was in the family. Thank goodness I started paying attention to what I had, because a few years later I was going through old papers and found the receipts from the commission in the mid-19th century. Rediscovering history is great fun.

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  10. Great post. Oh to be one of the folks working in the Louvre. Surrounded by such beauty and getting paid to be there! A win-win if there was ever one.

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