Sarah Jessica Parker and the Low end trend

In Class we have been discussing big name designers who are choosing to make lower end lines for various department and chain stores. I think this is a very interesting phenomenon in the fashion world today. Though this down market trend can be a huge success, i.e. Karl Lagerfeld and H & M, these designers can also ruin their brand image and be considered a sale outs such as Isaac Mizrahi for target. There is also a trend in the market today of big name celebrities creating their own lines such as Beyonce Knowles and her line House of Dereon and Justine Timberlake and his line William Rast. These lines are generally very pricy and exclusive. But there are also big name celebrities that are also choosing to market their lines at a lower price point. One big name celebrity that is jumping on this down market trend is Sarah Jessica Parker. Sarah Jessica Parker is known for her fashion forward and quirky style from the hit show Sex and the City. Through out the 6 year span of the show Sarah Jessica Parker grew to be a fashion icon. In early July of 2007 Sarah Jessica Parker debuted her new line, Bitten, at Steve and Berry stores around the country. The price point is very low, most items range from $10 to $20 and the ads stated thing such as “Fashion is not a luxury, it’s a right” and “A sweater shouldn’t cost more than your groceries”. I think this was clever and really targets the early 20’s crowd, who may love fashion but may also not have a lot of extra cash. I read about Bitten in a Marie Claire article and wanted to find out more. I had never herd of a Steve and Berry’s so I went online to see if there were any stores in the area and as it turns out there was a store only 20 minutes from where I live. I wasn’t very impressed with the store itself. It reminded me of the clothing section of Wal-Mart, with its cheep looking hard wood flooring and poor display. But I was pleasantly surprised by the Sarah Jessica Parker line. Jeans were only $15 and tops were around $10. There was also a large selection of accessories including bags, shoes, and jewelry. Also the products seemed to be of a high quality for such a low price point. Overall I think the Sara Jessica Parker line will be a huge success. The low price point trend for Big name designers and celebrities can be a hit or miss, but for Sarah Jessica Parker I think she hit this one out of the park.

The First One: Such An Emphasis on Sex

Mary Jones
August 22

Why do companies feel the need to portray sex so often in their advertising? Is it effective and if so why does society have such a fixation on sexuality? The taboo that sexuality is in the American society has also caused our culture to glamorize it. This is an interesting phenomenon of how the forbidden always seems to be the most enticing due to the rebelliousness of human nature. I wonder does the saturation in todays media of sexual acts have a direct relation to the rise in teenage pregnancies and the transmission of STDs. I think that it would shows some expertise if a company was able to find another method to attract consumers to its products or services.