Urban Outfitters and O.G. fixies
So Urban Outfitters announced last week that they were going to start selling colorful single-speed/fixed-gear bikes, and the reaction in the fancy-bike community, both online and with people I know, was not particularly positive. Here’s a fairly representative comment from the discussion on velospace:
i have faith that humanity is smarter than this and that it’ll make urban outfitters look stupid even to people hopping on the band wagon.
Ha! Yeah, right! The new hipster bikers that the O.G. hipster bikers (some of whom have probably been riding fancy bikes for upwards of five years!) so dread seem to be totally into a colorful, customizable, messenger-ish bike that sells for $400. For example, check out this Nylon post and the comments, which I think epitomize what veteran bikers find so annoying about new bikers:
With their new online Bike Shop, they’ve gone above and beyond the call of Outfitting duty and given us the tools to build our dream bike. In what is probably their most technical undertaking yet, the site allows you to customize nearly every aspect: frame size, saddle, grips, chains, rims and tires. Really, just talking about bike parts is already making us feel like a cool mechanic (we said grips.)
So there’s a few main points O.G. bikers make about why the Urban Outfitters bikes are a travesty:
Spring Fling: A Girl Can Dream..
If the unusually mild weather has you itching for spring, the upcoming forecast for your wardrobe is even sunnier!
Love is in the air in the fashion world for Spring 2009:
And last but SO not least KIM GORDON + URBAN OUTFITTERS (DEBUTING TODAY!!!!!)
’70s flashback: bottle vases
You, too, can own two halves of a bottle!
Urban Outfitters, in their aggravating way of selling expensive prefab DIY kits, now has a $58 kit for making votive holders/cups/vases out of glass bottles.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the example they gave of a finished product (see right), which is two bottle halves that frankly look as if one misstep might have you asking “WHY SO SERIOUS?” But I have been wanting to make some bell-jar terrariums for growing herbs lately (that may well be another post), and bell jars are expensive, so if there’s a DIY to make what I need, all the better!
But is the word here really DIY? I usually am a sucker for projects in which you get to use chemicals and fire, and the Urban Outfitters kit has both. But I cannot abide pre-assembled kits that treat the DIY aspect as a bonus that should be priced accordingly, as if the added sex appeal you get from being able to say, “Oh, this half a bottle you’re drinking out of? I cut it myself!” is worth that extra thirty bucks. Dammit, you Do It Yourself to save the money it would take to pay Someone Else to Do It! You’ll never live like common people! You’ll never do what common people do!
Whew, sorry there. So the picture wasn’t appealing, the price wasn’t appealing, but a touch o’ the google and several ways to actually DIY with nothing more than string, rubbing alcohol, matches, a bucket of cold water and sandpaper turned up. I chose this video for its cheerful soundtrack.
I would seriously advise that you make sure you’ve got all-cotton string if you attempt this; five years of girl scouts taught me that string with plastic inside to strengthen it smells real bad when on fire.
The Urban picture was not that appealing, but it seems worth it if I could end up with something like these:
Images ganked from Green Wine Bottles and, uh, Weddingbee.
Well, we’ll always have somewhere to buy patterned leggings
Photo from Urban Outfitters online catalog
Tons of retail outlets teeter on the the edge of the econopocalypse these days as shoppers cut back on unnecessary expenses, and you’d think that Philly’s own Urban Outfitters, Inc., would be among them. I mean, they sell high-ish-priced items, generally involving ’90s-revival plaid, asymmetrical large-fonted words, birds, non-standard sleeve decisions or all of the above, that don’t really have a use beyond the buyer’s opinion that they look neat. Examples: a plush mustache.
This is not even touching on my issues with where they draw the ever-eroding line between “This is a shirt, it must be worn with pants” and “This is a dress, it may be worn with metallic tights.”
But anyway, URBN released last year’s sales numbers today, and they seem to be doing quite all right. Better than all right, in fact. While the average in-store sales numbers (across Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie and Free People) did drop 1% in the fourth quarter, it was more than made up for by online and catalog sales, which nudged total URBN sales to $1.8 billion, 22% up from the previous year.
Three months ended Twelve months ended
January 31, January 31,
---------------------- ----------------------
2009 2008 2009 2008
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
(in thousands) (in thousands)
Urban Outfitters
stores $ 213,435 $ 196,625 $ 771,362 $ 628,328
Anthropologie stores 172,098 165,853 642,161 561,990
Free People stores 9,588 6,302 32,907 17,192
Terrain 1,165 -- 5,656 --
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Net store sales 396,286 368,780 1,452,086 1,207,510
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Direct-to-consumer 87,810 72,920 272,472 205,742
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Retail segment net
sales 484,096 441,700 1,724,558 1,413,252
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Wholesale 23,982 23,711 110,060 94,472
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Total net sales $ 508,078 $ 465,411 $1,834,618 $1,507,724
========== ========== ========== ==========
Looks like the impossibly pretty URBN HQ down at the Navy Yard is a pretty good place to be right now; I guess they’re not going to have to stop feeding the koi anytime soon.
But you still cannot purchase a $20 anti-war scarf/terrorist scarf. Old news, but still entertaining.
All the URBN numbers at yahoo biz
Cheap Sneaks at Urban Outfitters Online
I have a serious sneaker problem. Despite the fact that I rarely do anything more physical than walking to the subway, I love athletic shoes. Urban Outfitters has some cute ones on sale on their website. The above Nike Dunks are going for $49.99. For more options, click through.
Nike Laser Court Force High — $49.99
Asics Heathered Mexico –$59.99
Adidas Hoop Mid — $39.99
I Really, Really Want It. But I Really, Really Don’t Need It.
I’ve spent the last three days crushing on this coat rack from Urban Outfitters. I am desperately trying to justify an actual need for this $68 purchase, but can’t. There is ample closet space in my apartment. Way more than would ever be necessary for two people. When we have company, there’s never an abundance of outwear scattered across the living room. But that doesn’t stop me from checking everyday to see if there’s still some in stock.
Old is the new New
Urban Outfitters is now the go to store for kidnappers, serial killers, and anyone else looking to give a romantic touch to their annonymous correspondence. Bang out those ransom notes (and build finger strength, you laptop wussies) on the Olivetti Manual Typwriter.
Save a bundle but lose some hipster cache and purchase elsewhere for half the price.