Sunday Scoop - Uniqlo's New Direction, Mid-Market Survival Guide & Lace Everything

Weekly retail reads: Uniqlo's game-changing strategy to must-know beauty finds (hello, Versed retinol body care). Plus, intimate apparel to fill your drawer and lace skirts for the holiday season

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Retail Reads:

Retail

• In the NYTimes Style section Laura Neilson wrote a profile about Clare Waight Keller. “Going From Royal Gowns to Uniqlo” (gift link to read behind paywall) There are a few key areas you will learn about CWK & Uniqlo’s business:

  • The piece tracks Waight Keller's fascinating career pivot from high-end luxury (where she designed Meghan Markle's wedding dress at Givenchy) to her new role as creative director at Uniqlo. It reveals how this seemingly surprising move actually aligns with broader industry shifts and opportunities.

  • The article gives unique insights into Uniqlo's business model, which turns out to be quite different from typical fast fashion. Their approach focuses on perfecting a limited number of styles rather than constant newness - just 250 styles per season, with half carried over. (You’ll also see a quote from me about Uniqlo’s merchandising approach and sustainability.) This strategy is already showing success under Waight Keller's direction, with her wide-leg trousers doubling sales without any marketing push. (Markle mentioned the Trench Coat as a favorite.)

  • Perhaps most compelling are her candid observations about being a woman in fashion leadership, including the stark reality that "I realized you can never step off the train," in this industry. Now at Uniqlo, she's building an all-female team and stated that “Working with Uniqlo offers me the luxury of time” - a different kind of luxury than her previous roles, but no less valuable as Uniqlo plans ambitious expansion in the US market.

  • And so fun - Clare Waight Keller’s collab with Reformation is now available to shop. If you’ve had your eye on another bold, organic cuff - you might like this one. The Coco Mariner Chain is a perfect building base.

• Halie LeSavage wrote for Marie Claire about the challenge of brands being in the middle, meaning, not opening price point and not high-end luxury. “Fashion is Losing the Middle Ground” A few reasons brands are challenged in the middle:

  • Retail polarization - The market has become extremely divided between high-end luxury and fast fashion, leaving little room for brands in the middle

  • Competition from European luxury brands - Shoppers are more attracted to European luxury labels due to better marketing and perceived prestige

  • Operational costs - Independent middle-class brands struggle with high costs of sourcing, logistics, and running their businesses without big company backing

  • Product challenges - Many middle-class brands have either lost their way on design, pricing, or both, leading to constant markdowns to move inventory

  • Lack of compelling value proposition - These brands often struggle to justify their mid-range prices, especially when competing against cheaper fast fashion alternatives or discounted luxury.

  • I’m adding one more to this mix - the proliferation and access to buying luxury goods second hand. Rather than spending $300 on a mid price brand you might be able to stretch that to purchase a used handbag on The RealReal, eBay or Fashionphile. There was so much interest in this space that TRR launched a new quality category - “As Is.” Searching Chanel “As Is” brought up this nylon and chain shoulder bag for $333.

  • Opportunities for brands in the middle looking to drive revenue:

    • Master inventory control with strict Open to Buy targets - cut underperformers quickly and reinvest in winners

    • Build nimble supply chains - cultivate manufacturer relationships that enable quick reorders of best-sellers

    • Test carefully via pre-orders - start small with new styles and let real sales data guide major buys. You can also engage your most loyal customers for feedback ahead of launching.

    • Create margin-building hero products - develop signature items with higher margins to offset development costs

    • Balance distribution and community - mix DTC/wholesale while building direct customer relationships

• Steff Yotka is leaving SSense and moving on to be the Global Editorial Director at i-d, but I really appreciated this piece she wrote in Ssense “Fashion is a Business of Ideas - Can You Keep Up.” This article made me think about a few of the important inflection points in the fashion & retail cycle. First, the feeling when you first see a show. Next, are you still thinking about the show the next day or after you see another show? Finally, what happens when it ends up in stores later? Can retailers and the merchants help translate those ideas from the runway to the sales floor/website? Do customers understand and want to purchase?

Fashion

• Gap partnered with Influencer Julia Huynh to create a “hoodie that hoodies.” I love this story (and captured here by Sara Spruch-Feiner for Glossy) about how a major retailer/brand understood that they might not have the ideal hoodie that Huynh was looking for. By asking Huynh to help create her dream style they were able to improve product and show they are listening to their customers. This is also a smart way to engage with Gen ZAlpha (Gen Z and Gen Alpha.)

• Marisa Meltzer wrote about Sorbara’s, a new specialty vintage boutique in Williamsburg opened by Kathleen Sorbara. Sorbara’s previous vintage boutique was Chickee’s (men’s and women’s) and when she moved to a larger location she renamed and made some adjustments.

Beauty

• It is so impressive to see the impact from a celebrity (in this case Taylor Swift) wearing/using your brand. But it is worth pointing out it seems like the co-Founders and Fazit brand were prepared to take full advantage of the opportunity. Yes! Love the TikTok of the founder that helped it go viral. I really hope they are doing pop-ups or activations in Miami, NoLa, etc for the final Era Tour dates.

• London’s Lips are going to be so kissable - and skin so glowy. Right now both Rhode and Summer Fridays are hosting pop-ups. Rhode’s space is inspired by the new blush sticks (I’m still really loving this blush a lot more than I thought I would) and is the first place to snag one of the new iPhone cases in the new colors and SF is leaning into the newsstand moment.

Intimate Apparel - Not VS

Now that we’ve chatted about VS (my thoughts here) there was a request to look at Intimate Apparel Brands that aren’t VS. Let’s chat.

First, for Bras I am a huge supporter of going to get yourself measured. In 2005 Oprah filmed a viral segment on bra fitting. The store featured, Intimacy, expanded after the segment ran and later was bought by U.K. brand Rigby & Peller. If you are looking for a good fitting bra my recommendation is to check out Rigby & Peller or a store like Bare Necessities or Town Shop. Many of these are NYC based. I also have seen some great boutiques in other cities but if you can’t find one near you visit one of these on your next vacation. They also have online shopping so you can order a bunch of styles to try at once.

First recommendation, for every day just get what fits. Different styles and sizes fit differently. For posture, for foundation etc, make sure you feel good in what fits. Might not look the best but it is so personal what fits well. I trust all those stores listed above. Now, let’s get into brands.

Brands that feel a little special

• What is “sexy” is very personal and subjective. Victoria’s Secret went after only one perspective of what “sexy” was/is. This section is more about special, treating yourself or wearing when you want something different than every day comfort. What I consider “sexy” might not be what someone else does.

• Araks looks so special and upscale. It is made well, has a point of view and I like the materials and sets. The specialness also comes from the less traditional colors, materials and pairings. Their sizing only goes up to DD cups fyi. What makes brands like this more expensive (especially with so little material?):

  • Really nice materials. Think silks, lace, mesh and other materials from higher-end mills that cost more and more delicate.

  • The more delicate materials also mean they need to be handled more carefully as they are sewn increasing labor and machine costs.

  • Smaller brand size/less inventory also means materials are more expensive.

• For cup sizes above a DD that are looking for lace and special, check out Empreinte. More expensive but it fits a range of larger cup sizes, is made well and still feels special and not old and boring. Marie Jo is another brand worth looking at.

• More brands: Eres (gorgeous), Simone Perele (appropriately priced and special) and La Perla (an OG in this space.)

Brands for everyday wear and empowerment

• There were a lot of questions about the brand Cou Cou Intimates (not be be confused with chouchou intimates.) Madeline Schulz wrote a great piece for Vogue Business over the summer about Cou Cou Intimates “Women Have Two Types of Underwear. Cou Cou Wants to Bridge That Gap.” The Gap was between the sexy stuff (Agent Provocateur and Fleur du Mal style) and then whatever inexpensive daily underwear you buy. In 2022 the brand raised a small amount of funds (including from model Natalia Vodianova) and launched. The brand is still on the smaller side (only around $13 million in revenue but huge growth expected this year - around 350%.) The brand does 85% of their sales via DTC. The brand uses 100% GOTS Certified Organic Cotton and what stands out for me is they are heavy in pointelle which is doing well right now. (See more of my pointelle thoughts here.) The “feeling” is more young and fresh. I’d like to see if they will expand outside of pointelle and cotton into any seamless options or mesh/lace.

• I’ve written about Skims a lot - mostly because I’m a huge fan of Jens and Emma Grede. So for this I’ll direct you to previous links here and here (and if you search Skims here you’ll find more of what I’ve written about the brand.) I think their crossover bralette and underwire bra are great. When I first tried I did not expect to like and here we are. To grow and compete even more with VS, I think they should open more of their own retail locations and also continue to partner with Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s on shop-in-shop experiences. This is how they can grow to exceed VS in share of market. They need many more people to buy into the world of Skims. Easy for the brand with their athletic partnerships and their pop culture moments like Sabrina Carpenter and White Lotus Galentine’s Campaign etc. They also need to be easily accessible in person and this has been a big piece that has been missing. Skims should also keep one eye on Aerie and other brands that are an entry point for Gen Alpha (think of life cycle experiences and being the first brand you connect with etc.)

• A bunch of interesting brands were founded around the same time to compete with the struggling in the news (but still over $6 billion in revenue) Victoria’s Secret. As VS lost market share it was smart for other brands to come in.

  • Third Love seems to have had the most promise. Third Love has also had their share of controversy but I haven’t heard anything in a long time so perhaps it has settled down or been resolved.

  • Kit Undergarments founded by the stylists Jamie Mizrahi and Simone Harouche was later acquired by Third Love.

  • Negative Underwear, similar to Skims, I really like their materials. Great bralettes, I like their underwear and love these lounge pants*. You can read more about the brand here. The founders share that they saw the white space to design an intimate apparel line from a women’s POV vs a men’s. And while the collab is no longer available, you can also read more about the brand from when they did a collab with Jenni Kayne.

  • Cuup mesh products are also incredibly popular and I’m a fan of this brand’s products too. Great bras priced well under $100.

• If you haven’t checked out Stripe & Stare I think it is worth having on your radar for prints, colors, comfort and quality. Another U.K. brand. (I think the U.K. and French brands do intimate apparel really well.)

• Sogole Kane
  asked about EBY and I responded that I also saw this brand all over my feed this week and wasn’t very familiar (I hadn’t even heard of the brand prior to this week.) My guess is they are doing an awareness push right now. I found this blurb in a Fast Company Brands that Matter article from LY. You can read more about EBY here from the brand directly. It looks like EBY has raised some capital via investors and a significant amount ($19.1M total.) Has anyone tried the brand? Favorite styles? Let us know in the comments.

• Intimissimi is another brand that has a sharp price point, solid assortment and can be an alternative to Victoria’s Secret.

• Underwear Retail Diary recommends: these (which people love), these are more shapewear, these are much much more shapewear but not restrictive or uncomfortable (I first learned about them from

  Jane Herman
  ’s Substack and I’m a fan 2 weeks after trying), any of these fits everybody for everyday, favorite thong forever.

So many more brands and a lot I just edited because this could go on and on if I don’t attempt to edit some. Comment with other brands you love or what is on your radar. If you have questions about a brand also comment and I’ll respond.

Retail Diary: Intimates

Lace Ready-To-Wear

Since we are talking about intimate apparel this next trend fits right in. I have been really into the lace skirts I’ve noticed. A simple skirt silhouette that you can wear anything from briefs to a full slip under depending on your style and comfort level. This feels like such a versatile piece because you can have fun and style it many different ways. It tends to dress-up a look too.

Lace Skirts

• Here is where my spiral started: Doen dropped their new Holiday collection this week and there were beautiful black lace pieces to style. If you ask me, the Nandi Skirt in black lace is the hero item of the whole collection. I love this skirt!! You can style her with a short black slip** underneath and a cardigan for a Holiday work event or to see the Nutcracker. Then wear her with the matching lace top (appears to not be released yet) and briefs (see the edit above or try these micro shorts from Wolford) if you dare for New Years Eve. If you like more coverage, Doen also released the Sebastiane skirt in black lace that is still airy and light but has the coverage built in. If the name looks familiar, it is because the Sebastiane was the white hot skirt of the summer.

• The Great launched an assortment of looks for Holiday this week. Some are more casual but then Wow! this lace Eras Skirt that you can pair with the Cotillion Top but I love it equally with this stripe sweater and sneakers.

• This Alaia skirt has strategically placed opaque sections so you don’t need to worry about exposing too much. You’ll eventually want to pair with these disco shoes when they are available.

• Love love love the scallop details on this Rabanne version and the matching crop.

• Two fuller skirts: Patou and ODLR (you could pair with this gorgeous new Tux shirt from The Great.)

• Rixo with just a touch of lace. Same with the silk bias from Vince.

• If short is more your thing, Saint Laurent has you (barely) covered.

• This sleek pencil skirt version is on steep discount but final sale. Same with this one from Rotate.

• I have and love this Hill House Home lace dress and this Fall I’ll wear with a sweater over to have the skirt look vs the dress I’ve worn in the past.

• Two great tops: this short sleeve from Self-Portrait and this very cool Zimmerman bodysuit would look great under a blazer.

Lace Skirts: Reveal a little. Reveal a lot.

🛍️ 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. 🛍️

Field Notes

Beauty Finds

• I know that skin care shouldn’t stop at my face, but remembering to apply products to my neck and finding the right products for my whole body can be confusing. I was thrilled when I clicked the “Retinol” navigation link on the Versed ecommerce site to find a solid assortment of products that target various use cases. I ordered the Press Restart Gentle Retinol Body Lotion because it is a gentle Retinol and a nourishing body moisturizer. This body lotion can help with uneven texture and firming skin. The latest addition to the Press Restart collection is the Advanced Retinol Body Butter. It was formulated with 30% more encapsulated retinol than the Body Lotion and has a thick whipped texture. Check out the PDP to see more information including their clinical trials. Of course I can’t leave out my personal biggest “opportunity area” which is those wrinkles around the eyes. My eyes squint naturally when I smile so I need all the help I can get. The Smooth Landing Advanced Retinoid Eye Balm has this impressive thick texture that glides on and sticks the landing - exactly where I need it to go and work its magic. Use the eye balm and then apply moisturizer to the rest of your face after. And don’t forget to use SPF all over, face and body, when you use retinol. Thank you to Versed for providing a discount code for Retail Diary readers: Use code RETAILDIARY for 10% off on their website (Sponsored by Versed but all opinions and thoughts are my own.)

• UBeauty recently launched their Resurfacing Flash Peel* and it is a mask/peel that takes 5 minutes (although you can build up to 20 minutes) to exfoliate with clinical-grade results at home. I tried at home and felt like I had a fresh face after. A new canvas that was brighter and smoother. I’m really impressed with the innovation at UBeauty and the ability to look at a single problem and then offer targeted solutions. I also appreciate that on the PDP it clearly breaks down the products to use together AND the order to use them in. Makes it so simple to figure out and not go overboard or apply a product only for the next one to reverse whatever you just did. Use code SHAPIRO20 for 20% off at UBeauty.

• The Outset launched Lip Oasis, a new hydrating lip product that promises not to be sticky. They’ve invested heavily in this lip product with clinical trials. I also noticed, since I’m a fan of their Gentle Micellar Antioxidant Cleanser*, that the brand is really leaning into the clear, white and blue in their branding and imagery. It helps to showcase how clean, hydrating and simple the brand is. Use code Sarah20 for 20% off.

• I’ve been going mostly polish free lately and I love the look of glossy clean nails. I was excited when I was given the opportunity to try the new Bare Hands French Manicure*. It is so easy to use and the tools are top-notch.

• Roz is having a Garden Sale for 20% off when you purcahse 3 or more items. The Roz Hair products I use weekly are the Milk Hair Serum - love for air drying, Saint Lucia Styling Oil (I use on my ends as they get dry) and the Foundation Mask. I also love to treat my hair before I wash it (sometimes even the night before) with the Willow-Glen Pre-Wash Treatment Oil.

• Credo Friends & Family sale starts 10/24 BUT if you follow me on Instagram I’ll be sharing a code to shop with early access. Here are a few of my tried & true favorite picks and what I’m stocking up on (both for gifts and myself).

  • Loving the new Westman Atelier Skincare Concealer. Gets the job done and feels luxe. I also really like this concealer.

  • Westman Atelier gift set - these blush sizes, although mini, still last forever for me and I love them. I also love this Westman Atelier Matte Lipstick.

  • My favorite body oil (perfect timing since I need to restock - my third bottle this year.)

  • I love the Sidia hand serum. I keep at my desk since it is so lightweight it doesn’t interfere with all the typing I do.

Fashion Finds

• New color (stripe pattern!) of my favorite Jenni Kayne Cooper Cardigan. Loving this iteration.

• Mansur Gavriel launched MG General Store with items across home decor and food highlighting Italian artisans. Perfect for the Q4 Holiday Season.

• Rothy’s Cozy Fall Sale ends on October 21st and all clogs, boots, and slippers are 20% off.

• Sporty & Rich has an Ivy League Drop tomorrow, October 21st.

• The La Ligne x Nori sweater shaver was one of my most popular links last week - but they are currently sold out on La Ligne’s site. You can also purchase here from Nori directly. This shaver is fantastic and if you want more details I shared here.

• Ring Concierge reached out with a promo code special for Retail Diary subscribers. 20% off Fine Jewelry 20% excluding classic and bezel-set diamond studs. Use code RetailDiary20 through October 31st. My picks are these hoops (own and love). I also love the cloud silhouette here and here and the split ring* that I wear on my pinky.

• FYI - I mentioned in last week’s Sunday’s Scoop that Left on Friday had a great campaign with 100% of proceeds going to The BC Cancer Foundation. LoF reached out and offered Retail Diary readers a 10% discount on their first purchase. Use code SARAH10 for 10% off until Tuesday October 29th. If you are looking for products to try this is my favorite bathing suit and I also love their activewear like these leggings and this sports bra (or crop top depending on what you are comfortable with.)

Odds & Ends

• Tory Burch Foundation, which empowers women entrepreneurs and supports them with access to resources, capital and education to build their business, is accepting applicants now and closes November 1st.

• Obsessed with the name even - the Teckel Clutch. I then started googling “soft leather flute case” and found this and this. Please note I really enjoy the new Teckel Clutch I just noticed the similarities and appreciate it.

• Good news for us -

  Becky Malinsky
  has a new column for Vogue! This first one is on 3 ways to style Bermuda Shorts for Fall. Congrats Becky!!

• I’m a paying subscriber to

  Allison Bornstein
  on Substack and Instagram. I just soak up all her tips and lessons on personal style for everyday life. This week she wrote about layering with tshirts and it made my week that she referenced my previous writing on the trend. “October’s 3 Styling Lessons”

Enjoy your Sunday Scoop. xx

Sarah Shapiro

What’s Next

Working on the next Brand Crush and I’m getting so excited to dig into Gift Guide season here at Retail Diary.

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