Sunday Scoop - Silver & Gold for the Holiday Season & trending Triangle Scarves
I'm needing the cozy items. Love the idea of gifting sparkle.
Silver & Gold: Special & Glitz-y
Holiday Gifts & Special Treats that Shine
My brain can’t help it, I’ve been trained to think of merchandising assortments and key items for the Holidays. One way to make the selling floor or Landing Page pop? Metallics - especially silver & gold.
Silver and gold are foolproof choices because:
They transform everyday bestsellers into special holiday editions
They feel festive without screaming "Christmas" like red and green
They work perfectly for New Year's Eve so they have a bit of a longer shelf life
They appeal to both self-purchasers and gift-givers
Retail Diary Tip: Create impact by building dramatic displays - think tower presentations or special gift boxing for these metallic items. For lower price points you will often find these items massed out on a table in a ready to give special box. For higher price points, you can make the highlight the metallic SKU to bring a customer to an area (either physical or on site in a marketing box) and then have more neutral colors nearby to fill out the inventory.
I love wearing gold and silver together. I wear the pieces I love and some are silver and the other are gold. (Anyone else know the Girl Scouts song? “Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold!” I always think of that.)
Silver & Gold Holiday Gift Guide here
A few silver and gold favorites:
The Alaia heart bag in a shiny gold.
Too good to choose - the Loewe Flamenco bag in silver and gold.
She is just fun and priced well for a designer handbag (Dries Van Noten.) It’s like toting tinsel.
A top seller from Ariel Gordon Jewelry, available in silver or gold. *Currently 20% off with code CHEER2024 for Black Friday Sale.
This Jenny Bird bangle set has both silver and gold. This necklace is another item where you can have both.
An incredibly special dream item from Sidney Garber (and Ashley & Mary-Kate Olsen approved.)
I have worn these Dorsey earrings countless time. Low effort, High Impact. I like to wear the 3 carat and 2 carat together.
Field Notes
Catbird’s take on a Black Friday Sale
I wrote about Catbird’s Black Diamond Sale Thursday but they adjusted the event to be this Monday 11/11. I asked a few more details about how the event came to be:
“We started a Black Diamond
Fridayspecial at least 10 years ago. It was a different time in online shopping and we didn’t have any sales or promotions for Black Friday or Cyber Monday. We thought it would be fun and punny to strike out Friday and replace it with Diamond and make a batch of really special, and really specially priced, black diamond pieces. They became collectors editions and would sell out SO fast. We had to take a hiatus for a bit because we couldn’t keep up with demand. But now we have, and we’re back! For the last few years we’ve moved from one piece, to a little collection. We always riff on our classic pieces, and work with solid 14k gold. Black and gold are so beautiful together and a little flash of black diamonds can help bring some unexpected depth to a stack.
Retail Diary’s take: I think this is a brilliant example of how to do a promotion without having to markdown your brand or dilute the brand image. It is limited, special product you can buy at a price, and offer for a limited time. Perhaps you take a bit of a margin hit but it is more about brand loyalty and doing something special for your customers and bringing in a new customer who can discover your brand.
Fashion Finds
🎯 Threes a trend - what I spotted in triplicate this week. The Triangle wool or cashmere scarf:
Via
on Instagram and SubstackVia
in her fabulous Marie Claire newsletter Self CheckoutVia
Yolo Journal.You can find the look:
Cos - brushed cashmere available in 3 colors
Toteme - wool and cashmere blend
Quince - test the look for under $35
Chan Luu - I love their cashmere scarves and this is my go-to brand for oversized wraps.
Free People - $30 pointelle available in a bunch of colors (love the red). Loving the stripes too. (I think this one could be a great gift for girlfriends or something you need to grab in bulk.)
Everlane - feather cashmere in 2 colors.
Cuyana - available in single origin cashmere in 3 colors including a soft apricot shade.
Clare V - for a pop of color. These would be great for someone allergic to solids. Available in a checkered print or a brown & black zebra print with a contrast edge.
Brochu Walker - perfect tiny size at just under $100.
Feeling crafty? If you have any knitting skills this should be a quick stitch.
On the Cold Weather Knit front, Blanket Stitch continues. See here and here. Warm weather bikini too (or style with the beanie for the hot tub.) See the full edit here and the explanation of why it is trending from a previous Retail Diary (see below.)
I spied some great new shoes on the Loeffler Randall site so I had to ask about them. Hi
Leonie crystal - love this sparkly holiday flat.
Haven: A very cool mule. It was developed with this time of year in mind when we're used to wearing slides (all summer) and you still want that same easy slip-on end use. Haven has that casual functionality but with a little more polish perfect for this time of year (and a touch of a heel, which feels more winter appropriate).
Boots: We are loving the Damian (in black, with shearling lining and a lug sole), the Racquel in black (high demand for wovens at Loeffler Randall), and the Marcella in brown suede and wovens are really on trend and performing for the brand. Use code Sarah10 for 10% off on the Loeffler Randall website.
If you are looking for a cozy shoe, perfect for entertaining at home this season, check out the new Freda Salvador velvets. Use code RETAILDIARY15 to receive 15% off for first time customers on full priced styles.
Let’s chat Donni new arrivals. I’m super into the flannel items (flannel simple pants, shirt jacket, pleated pants and flannel flares.) Use code Sarah10 for 10% off at Donni. Excludes all sweaters, slippers and June Jewelry. Only 1 discount per an order.
And this sweater has been the ultimate security blanket that I needed this week. It will instantly make someone you love want to snuggle with you. Or give yourself a hug. I have the black and I’m debating grabbing a grey one too.
Beauty Finds
A great holiday gift or self-purchase to make sure you are soirée ready all season long. Doen x RMS beauty on a collab that includes a special shade of Lip2Cheek (Pinot - how perfect for the bordeaux moment we are in) and a Luminizer in Champagne (festive) and a RMS Kakadu Beauty Oil all tucked inside a velvet pouch that can double as your evening bag. Perhaps when you are wearing this dress with lace details that you can wear for holiday and beyond.
Retail Diary Gift Guides
Newest! Silver & Gold Holiday Gift Guide
Beauty Gifts - Holiday 2024. Shop here.
Luxe Upgrades are a great gift option. With price points starting at $18.
And while you are shopping this holiday season, don’t forget all of the Retail Diary Community Discount Codes can be found here. I recently added Supergoop! and At Present to the list (love their jewelry edit!!)
🛍️ Quick note: I write a lot (too much good stuff to share!) so if you’re reading via email only, you may need to click through to the web version or read on the Substack app. I promise it will be worth it. 🛍️
Retail Reads:
Retail
In Thursday’s Deep Dive I shared a few articles on what a Trump Presidency (2nd term) could mean for Retail. After I posted it I read
’s “Trump Won, So Shop Now” and it does a great job of breaking down tariffs. I was wondering how many Retailers and Wholesalers would try to front load orders ahead of January’s Inauguration.There is a site merchandising reason I’m completely OBSESSED (yes, capital letters. I’m yelling. It’s that good) with this Ssense Instagram post. It’s cool, it’s dynamic but it shows side by side the size difference in the products, here great handbags. When merchandising with those little white boxes online it is so difficult to show the true size of a product. This is why so often we see an iPhone next to the handbag or on figure so you can understand. But here Ssense played with it a little. I absolutely love it. (You have to click in it to see the sizes change to be a better representation.)
Holiday windows are one of my favorite times of year! I love seeing the creativity, imagination and celebrations. Selfridges is partnering with Ugg this season.
Love that Business of Fashion shared the love of California brands like Doen, Jenni Kayne, Buck Mason and The Great. About a decade or so in the past, California was known for more junior brands and not as elevated. This has changed and there are so many solid brands and style coming from the West Coast.
Fashion
A moment for ripped jeans that really resonated with me. First, Vanessa Friedman wrote about distressed denim and the place in American Fashion. Then, what I loved pairing this with was
tips for how to balance hole-y denim. It never felt like a “me” item. While it still might not be, I could get into mixing it in and wearing with mismatched items.The Men’s Swedish Fashion Brand, Our Legacy, received an investment from LVMH.
High-end pearl jewelry brand Mikimoto has teamed up with Chrome Hearts for a holiday collection.
Or maybe Stanley x LoveShackFancy collabing again is more the style of your household.
I can’t wait to see this expansion. Rosie Assoulin is expanding with a Core Collection with styles priced from $595 to just under $1K. For a brand that is colorful, bright and playful I’m excited to see it expand their price point and be even more accessible and still elevated.
The WSJ wrote about the scoat (scarf + coat) trend is continuing. This one continues to be my favorite and this is a solid alternative.
Beauty
WSJ wrote about Glossier’s Fragrance launch for You Deux and You Reve. How to make customers want to buy without ever smelling. 1) Build and engage the community 2) Have a super exciting social campaign 3) Price it accessibly. “How Gen Z Fell of Glossier’s New Perfume Without Ever Smelling It” (gift link to read behind paywall.)
E.L.F. beauty going into Dollar General Stores and their stock rose after the announcement. E.LF. has their holiday gift guide up now with well priced sets. I love their brushes.
Enjoy your Sunday Scoop. xx
Sarah Shapiro
What’s Next
More retail, fashion and marketing expert interviews coming next week including holiday retail strategies and gift guides.
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I am super into the triangle scarf and I got a leather one from Zara of all places that’s very buttery soft…now if only it would dip below 75 degrees here….🖤
I always look forward to Sundays because of your beautiful choices! Thank you 💝