L.L. Bean Ventures Into New Territory
L.L. Bean, the Maine catalog company best known for rugged basics, has branched out. This month, it is introducing Freeport Studio, a line of clothes and accessories for women who eventually have to change out of their hiking shorts and T-shirts.
The collection, which includes sand-washed silk dresses, drawstring pants and raffia totes, marks the first new brand in the company’s 86-year history.
“This is something our customer has been asking for . . . garments that fit the Monday-through-Friday part of their lives,” says Fran Philip, senior vice president of Freeport Studio. “We see this as solution dressing.”
Prices are moderate, with clothes ranging from $35 to $150. For more information, call (800) 554-4071.
Tie on a Joke: Maybe we should have seen this coming.
After the jokes comes . . . the tie.
Viagra, the most-talked-about drug since penicillin, has made it into Nicole Miller’s funky neckwear collection.
So far, the black tie--festooned with yellow bananas and blue pills--has been such a hit at J.S. Edwards in Pikesville, Md., that the store has had to reorder several times. Owner Edward Steinberg even created a display around the $60 ties, adding a playful prop: an empty Viagra pill bottle.
“People are taken aback at first,” he says. “But then they chuckle.”
Sweetly Scented Slumber: Never mind spraying yourself. The latest way to smell good--as well as heal your mind and body--is to spritz your pillow.
Two of the newest slumber enhancers are Origins’ Sleep Perchance to Dream pillow mist and Coty’s Breathe Deeply Pillow and Room Spray.
The Origins version, with its mix of vanilla, cinnamon and chamomile, aims to ease insomnia. But the distinctly citrusy scent may leave you dreaming of orange groves. ($20 for 3.4 fluid ounces at select department stores.)
Coty’s spray, which is part of its Cold Comfortherapy line, takes a medicinal approach. With extracts of echinacea, rosemary and sweet marjoram, it tries to take some of the sting out a cold or the flu. (The spray costs $7.50 for 4 ounces at area drugstores.)
