Shop Talk: The Mall Store You Should Start Reconsidering

Read with coffee: Five style headlines to know this a.m.

Ann Taylor Spring

Yes, this is Ann Taylor. | Images via Ann Taylor.

  • Remember when Banana Republic got a new creative director and suddenly turned from mecca of Job Interview Outfits to OMG-I’d-actually-wear-this-out? Well, another mall stalwart is following suit. Meet the new (and shockingly cool) Ann Taylor. [The Zoe Report]
  • Kate Spade is launching a new company called Frances Valentine, a shoe and handbag line that’ll launch in the spring. It’s described as having a “wholesome but quirky, colorful Americana to the look, though everything is produced in Spain and Italy … putting the price points slightly higher than the Kate Spade of yore.” [WWD]

  • Opaque black tights, the constant fashion dilemma. While some women love them (including me), others see them as the equivalent of sweatpants, telegraphing to the world that you’ve given up (or admitting that you’re a human who feels cold). Still, sometimes outfits do look better with bare legs – but that doesn’t mean you have to suffer. Here are five tips for going sans hosiery in winter. [The Guardian]
  • Why don’t you let Gwyneth Paltrow sell you a $200 bobby pin? Find this and six more of the craziest, most expensive items by celebrity designers you can buy right now. Or not. [People]
  • Just before we embark upon the holiday party circuit, let us all relive that time Angelina Jolie walked a red carpet with weird white (non-cocaine!) powder on her face, and learn why Hollywood red carpet makeup does not work IRL. [The Cut]