There is nothing like spending a vacation with family, i.e. a sister that babysits. A sister that drops you off at your favorite shopping Mecca for a seven hour “Mall-cation,” while she bravely spends the day with the Fashionista. I was in “Blogger Bliss” at one of my favorite malls, Southpark in Charlotte, N.C. I leisurely perused the latest fashions and window displays of Tory, Kate and Lily, followed by an excursion to Hermes.
If you’ve followed my blog, you’ll know how much I adore Hermes, in fact I’ve devoted several blog posts to Hermes inspired interiors. In between a little window shopping, I took some photographs of a few finer details that caught my baby blues. Everyone was so very accommodating, the ladies at Lily Pulitzer allowed me to step behind the counter to get a better shot of the wall treatment. The sweet girls at Kate Spade did a little fluffing for me. Seriously, could Kate Spade promote happiness and “that fashion forward girl about town” feeling any better? My good mood ended in Hermes, as a design blogger most companies understand the importance of what we do, bringing the latest and greatest in design inspiration to our readers. Unfortunately, some do not. Luxury brands spend more time and effort in creating eye-catching if not downright breathtaking window and store vignettes (I admit it’s difficult not to feel a little overly excited and trigger happy with the camera).
So when I walked into the French purveyor of signature scarfs, ties and soft goods, my intention was to get a few photographs of some tableware, but before I could get my third photo I was stopped, not quietly, but in a booming voice that echoed throughout the silence and hushed tones of this luxury giant, turning the heads of the well-heeled clientele, in my direction. It was as if an “Hermes Orange” spotlight magically appeared and I was caught red-handed in one of the most heinous crimes known to this luxury giant-Yes, I am the “Design Blogger Paparazzi!” Luckily there wasn’t any I-Phone smashing or confiscation of the few photos that I took, and I wasn’t thrown into an orange padded cell in the back of the store to serve out a sentence. But, I did have to deal with an uncomfortable display of elitist behavior from the Assistant Store Manager, and the icy stares of several other employees. It will be a long time before I walk into an Hermes store (so much for adding to my Hermes scarf collection) or even write about them, my once beloved creator of my favorite shade of “Orange” has turned me “Red” So I took the “Walk of Shame” out of the store in my Tory Burch sandals, and will I return to that particular store? I think not. Did it ruin my “mall-cation”? For a “New York Second” before I walked back over to Kate Spade for a dose of happy. My crime not asking to take photos, since most have been so very gracious after I’ve identified myself. What did I learn? Ask first…snap later.
A gorgeous display of all things John Derian at Neiman Marcus.
“Hip and Sass-itude” at Kate Spade.
I could have danced all night at Kate Spade.
Wouldn’t this wall treatment at Lilly Pulitzer look fab on a ceiling?
So sweet at Lilly Pulitzer “Do we ever have to leave? I’m so happy here.”
Hand painted walls at Lilly Pulitzer. La…la…lovely.
A closer peek…
A little pillow plumping at Frette.
I hope you found a little design inspiration and for more don’t forget to visit my Pinboards on Pinterest…
Cheerio!
Vicki
