Dear Readers: In the days following Black Friday -- that nationwide orgy of shopping right after Thanksgiving -- Team Fixer always seems to get letters from people who felt things didn't go as planned.
Dear Readers: In the days following Black Friday -- that nationwide orgy of shopping right after Thanksgiving -- Team Fixer always seems to get letters from people who felt things didn't go as planned.
After pushing steep discounts throughout November that are usually reserved for the day after Thanksgiving, retailers from Kohl's to Toys ''R'' Us are offering even bigger cuts and promotions for Black Friday in a frantic bid to pull in shoppers. But the bargain hunters showing up for the early morning specials on toys and TVs are not expected to buy with the same gusto as a year.
Jessica Sedgwick: What do you get for the girly-girl who loves all things makeup, skin and hair? How about a special holiday gift set that only comes around once a year and is filled with the best little products each brand has to offer? Whether it's a co-worker in an awkward "Secret Santa" situation or a friend who loves to try out new things, a holiday set could be an easy hit.
Blog: Shopping with Jessica More in Fashion/Beauty
The Gap considered removing smiling portraits of Jennifer Hudson from its new holiday ads after her recent tragedy, but decided to keep the images after the grieving star said she wanted to go ahead with the campaign, a representative for the clothing chain said Friday.
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Jessica Sedgwick: It all started with a girl on the L. Or, more important, the L girl. The impossibly beautiful girl who could be yours if you could just, ya know, talk to her. "I take the L to work every day, and I started standing on the L, seeing a really attractive girl and thinking, 'I'd really like to talk to her but there's no way I can,' " says Josh Galecki, president of Chicago-based Loop Apparel. Pump up volume B spot jackpot Shopping: Updates from our blog
Fans of Oprah Winfrey can find their hero's favorites lines at Oprah's new online store. The site, www.theOprahstore.com, launched this weekend, features most of the products that can be found at Oprah's brick-and-mortar store at 37 N. Carpenter, across from Harpo Studios. The 'O' blog: All Oprah. All the time.
Macy's kicked off one of Chicago's favorite traditions Saturday with the unveiling of its State Street store's animated window display and the Great Tree in the Walnut Room.
• Photos: Holiday spirit
I often receive e-mails from women who struggle to find "age-appropriate" clothing. For instance, can women over 30 still wear skirts that stop short of their knees? Is it OK for a woman in her 50s to shop at Forever 21? (I say yes to both, by the way.)
Keep those receipts!
Casting call
Shopping: Updates from our blog
Lewis Lazare: So everyone is angry and depressed about the nation's economic crisis, and Macy's is giving us a heaping helping of sentiment for the holidays. Starting Nov. 9, the famed national department store chain that now includes the former Marshall Field's outpost on State Street, will roll out its new holiday campaign with the theme "Believe." As in you must believe in Santa Claus.
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Bill Zwecker: The force of nature that is Martha Stewart swirled through Chicago on Thursday, boosting her new, very comprehensive Martha Stewart's Cooking School cookbook, but also further reinforcing the lifestyle guru's far-reaching brand.
Purple is the new black. Well, not quite. I mean, will anything ever be the new black? But purple is this season's welcome addition to our beloved black.
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Photos:
Purple fashions
Purple invades makeup counters
Relax longer, for half the price
Nighttime savings time!
Spooky mystery sale
Blog: Shopping with Jessica
Luxury menswear and boys' wear retailer Hickey Freeman opened its fourth retail store in the country and first in Chicago on Saturday at 114 E. Oak St. The 4,000-square-foot store in a former town house that once housed Ultimo features the full Hickey Freeman collection, from a $350 boy's coat, to $145 hand-tailored neckties, to $1,695 jackets made of Loro Piano's Storm System materials that are wind and waterproof.
