Guilt Free Gilt

Ok ladies, there's a tightly kept secret I'm about to share with you.

We all know about sample sales, the best part being the insanely low prices, the worst part being the possessed pushy grabby women competing with your possessed pushy and grabby self for those to die for rock bottom priced, high end designer shoes.

Well, for people with a US address at least, that is set to end as a I'm about to let you know how to bypass the queues.

Gilt.

And we're talking golden names like Valentino, Chloe, as well as more contemporary names like Twenty8 Twelve, Catherine Malandrino, Botkier, Gryson, Sergio Rossi, Delman, Alice Temperley, James Perse, Me & Ro, Vera Wang, Marc Jacobs, Cynthia Rowley, Acne Jeans, Vivienne Tam, Missoni, lambertson Truex....need more?

Oscar De La Renta, Rachel Leigh, Malo, Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent...ok I'll stop.

The Gilt Groupe provides access, by invitation only to men's women's and children's coveted fashion and luxury brands at up to 70% off retail. And they really know how to keep the shoppers moving as any item placed in your shopping basket stays for 5 minutes unless you checkout. If you don't checkout within 5 minutes its released back into the pool for another shopsavvy piranha. The better he price and brand, the faster the stuff moves and I remember a few months ago they had these fabulous Marchesa dresses reduced from $600-$1500 down to $50-400. They all pretty much sold out while I was trying to work out which one I liked!





Just so you know, handbags fly. The bonus being a handbag is always the right size, unlike a dress or a pair of trousers.

And now I'm happy to share the love and pass on some invites (for a limited time only! so sign up fast!)

Just click this link

http://www.gilt.com/invite/tigerbites

and you're just minutes away from guilt free gilt.

Please note, you can only sign up with a US address so if you don't have one, I'm going to do a post next week on a new UK based sample sale site.

Happy Shopping Ladies as believe me when I say Xmas has come early.

xxxx

Gunning For Fashion Gold

Abuja...the big city of dreams, where the real money in Lagos lies.

Its not a city I've spent much time in, but from the little I have seen I can safely say things in general work better, look a bit better and feel a bit better.

And that was my opinion before I came across what must surely be the most stylish looking boutique I've seen in Nigeria.

You know how some businesses make a cacophony of noise when they burst on the scene, only to die a very quiet and quick death.

And then some businesses, make a quiet entry. The people in the know are the first to know about it. They all simultaneously fall in love with it, the way you can fall in love with something when its new, unchartered territory, and quite frankly you got there first.

D BOUTIQUE definitely falls into the latter category.

Slowly but surely D BOUTIQUE has been creating a quiet revolution in the way the moneyed women in Abuja shop.

The grand entrance, more in line with the style of an important political arena, lets you know you're about to enter something new, something special and something...expensive.






D BOUTIQUE is slick, stylish, sexy and expensive, just like its owner and just like its shoppers. With a look and feel that can best be compared to the 'fabulous lifestyles of the rich and shameless' calibre of boutiques on Melrose in LA. The decor has been kept simple but stylish, with a striking palette of black white and bright pink. Throw in a little bit of gilt on the mirrors, some glamorously gothic black crystal chandeliers, and a smattering of sparkly cushions and you have one decadent looking boutique. All this and we're not even onto the clothes yet.

In keeping with the laidback sexy aesthetic of LA, the style ethos of D BOUTIQUE is 'casual chic'. Each item in the store is presented with a specific purpose in and function in mind. Yummy mummy going to lunch, moneyed it girl out on a hot date, maverick fashionista hitting the clubs, high rollers looking good enough to eat...D BOUTIQUE has got you covered. No detail is overlooked in their bid to deliver the perfect garments to the most discerning fashion enthusiasts. D BOUTIQUE deliberately seeks out clothes and accessories that are individually designed, aiming for the high levels of quality attained best when things are made by hand.

Jaded By Knight's one of a kind, reworked vintage creations are one of LA's most reputable and cutting edge designers. Their choice of fabrics and avant-garde styles are intrinsically unique and ahead of the pack. Rawyalty tees bring out the bling with their Swarovski embellished patterns (for men and for women). Pair your bling tee with the celeb loved jeans that create the most bodacious butt, True Religion, or Citizens of Humanity if you prefer your glamour with a rock edge, and you're on your way to mastering the art of the casual chic daytime look as loved by the Hollywood elite. Make like the Real Housewives of Orange County (via Abuja) in a sexy low cut and heavily embellished top or dress by Sky. Or if you prefer your daytime attire a little more PG-13, take a look at the collection from Voom and Sweetees.

There's nothing like a shroud of mystery to keep tongues wagging and minds running into overdrive so for now, I'm not telling you who the owner is. I will run his Tiger Bites Q&A next week though. Yes I said HIS. But to keep your minds ticking away, the name D BOUTIQUE was created by the first letter of his surname and boutique sums up the concept of the store "A nice and peaceful area where one comes to relax, take their time and enjoy the day. I believe it's all about the shopping experience".

Uzi’s definitely gunning for style gold with this fabulous spot as he clearly has a firm grip on the stylish weapons in his arsenal. Love it.


Monday........10am to 8pm
Tuesday.......10am to 8pm
Wednesday...10am to 8pm
Thursday......10am to 8pm
Friday...........10am to 8pm
Saturday.......10am to 8pm
Sundays........12pm to 6pm

Website: http://www.dboutiqueng.com

Office: 0805 768 8888

41 Jimmy Carter Street, Asokoro, off Yakubu Gowon Crescent (Villa Side)
Abuja, Nigeria

Cheap AND Cheerful? In Nigeria?

So a response from 'anon' to my last post got me thinking.

Her comment was…
”I'm interested in why you think retail a la Primark and F21 won't work in Lagos. Pray tell! Thanks :)”

I started my answer which turned into a bit of an essay so I decided to share. I’m certainly no expert on retail but I’ve been in the field for coming up to three years so I’ve learnt a few lessons about Nigerian shoppers along the way. The main one being they're a tough crowd but when they like something they love it so big up to the Tiger Tem massive!

I remain unconvinced you’d get the footfall needed of ready to spend shoppers. Primark and Forever 21 transcend many barriers such as age, class, status as they offer cheap, disposable versions of high end products a lot of people can’t afford. Yes they do basics but I suspect their main trade comes in from the more ‘fashion’ items…otherwise perhaps they wouldn’t be changing stock on an almost daily basis.

Prejudice is alive and kicking in Nigerian society. Go cheap, you exclude the people with money, almost instantly..the snob factor I call it. Go expensive, you exclude the people without money. In Nigeria, I don’t think we have that pride in ‘Oh my god you won’t believe how cheap this was!’ In the US and Europe, it’s a full on competitive sport.

Nigerians don’t have the obsession with celebrity, fashion, catwalks, fashion seasons the same way as Europe and America, where the demand is feed/created by numerous magazines, TV shows etc. So I don’t believe we’re as likely to gravitate towards cheaper versions of high fashion products. Our Local Celebritries usually wear some approximation of traditional....in which case cut out and keep the pic, and take it to your tailor.


Location would be another key factor. Do we have the equivalent of Oxford Street? Times Square? The cheap shops pick prime locations to maximise exposure and footfall abroad. So where would Primark go here? The Palms? The location already excludes a significant portion of its market. People with less cash would be intimidated by the location and would continue to shop at Tej market or Balogun market. Unless of course you’d want to put it in Tej…in which case, Primark you’re not, market trader you are. BIG difference.

I don’t have detailed knowledge of the true cost of living for the average Joe in Nigeria so I’ll tread a little carefully here. The difference in disposable cash in Nigeria and abroad is huge. The day to day costs of life in Nigeria are high and salaries are extremely low. So this limits the amount of disposable cash for people at the lower end of the salary scale. In Europe and America, the differences aren’t necessarily as huge.

Minimum wage in the UK just hit £5 I think, so if you work a 40 hour week that’s about £800 which is a pittance. Or 200 000N which is a damn good salary and definitely not anywhere near the bottom of the salary scale. I know in the UK at least, living can be heavily subsidised by the government and in the US as well, and that’s before we even get onto rent controlled apartments.

I’m aware that’s a big generalisation so any more informed readers feel free to correct me.

And lets look at South Africa. It’s the ‘easy’ Africa for most retail giants and they’re yet to get the really big European or American retailers in there (unless things have changed dramatically in the past year). I heard LV and someone else like Gucci just moved into Cape Town….but the cheap as chips shops….I suspect they’re dubious as to whether they’d get the footfall. And South Africa has a proper thriving retail culture. (by proper I mean a proper shopping experience).

When Topshop released the Baxter skinny jean, within weeks they were selling 18 000 a week. Let that marinate for a second. 18 000 women, who could find their size, liked the fit and had the £40 odd to drop on them. Or 10 000N.

I think its most unlikely such figures could be achieved here. And then add the hassle and undue expense of running a business in Nigeria and I go back to my starting point that a slightly more mid range store would probably do better. They sell less at a higher price and simple economics mean provided you can strike the right balance, you’ll probably make more money. And isn’t that what retail is all about? Just look at Sir Philip Green...the billionaire.

What To Wear?

My latent shopaholic tendencies have highlighted a key problem with retail (and the inherent lack of) in Nigeria.

I love dresses, I love shopping. I want a new dress. I don't want to fork out like $300-400 which seems to be the going rate with a lot of designers here. Yes seriously, just convert the prices. And I'm not looking for a full on ballgown anyway...which appears to be a HUGE trend here....or is it just that Nigerian women love to overdress?

And I don't want ankara. I'm suffering from ankara overload, I have enough ankara dresses and I think they're better suited to daytime anyway.

Now maybe I'm a little too obsessed with Tiger Tem and our accessories to notice a bevy of fab shops to get a good retail fix....or is it just that there aren't any?

You're a stylish, knowledgeable bevy of beauties so I thought I'd ask you.

No this isn't some clever way of doing some market reseach before I launch a clothing empire...I have no interest in being that involved in clothing. My interest starts and stops with what to wear.

So the burning question is where do you go for a satisfying retail fix in Lagos?