"MARC DREIER'S CRIME OF DESTINY" VANITY FAIR NOV 09

 
Bryan Burrough writes a fascinating account of Marc Dreier's $380 million, four-year Ponzi scheme in November's issue of Vanity Fair, a story that compels us to reconsider our quest for success and happiness.

The annotated version goes something like this.  Dreier finishes a degree at Harvard Law School and starts working at a prominent Manhattan law firm.  He builds a successful career for himself, eventually starting his own firm with several partners.  But things start to unravel both in his personal life and professionally just after 9/11, when his wife files for divorce and his partners go their separate ways.  In his desperation to achieve financial and material success, he comes up with a scheme to sell what  are essentially IOU's to hedge funds, using forged financial statements and documents and claiming that he represents a billionaire real-estate magnate (a former client with whom he had a falling-out with).  He ends up scamming $380 million, but gets caught when the US housing market crashes and the investors demand their money back, which of course by that time is long gone.  A judge sentences him to 20-years for his crimes.

I know this story belongs in the Wall Street Journal rather than on a fashion label's blog, but the underlying message is so powerful that I felt it applied to what we do here.  It's really a story about the perils of going after the quick buck, of taking shortcuts.  But most importantly,  it's about using the ends to justify the means.  When we say as a brand that "innovation breeds longevity and Dealers of the Purple Cloth is here to make history," we really mean that it's not just about the end goal for us.  While we'd love for every piece we design to be a commercial success, our goal is the build the brand the right way, which means taking risks and putting out styles that we believe in, regardless of how they affect our bottom-line.  And I truly believe that as long as we keep that long-term focus, success will follow.

You can read the full article here.

"MARC DREIER'S CRIME OF DESTINY" VANITY FAIR NOV 09

KARMALOOP x PURPLE CLOTH PRESENT DEFINITION OF SEXY CONTEST

Dealers of the Purple Cloth and Karmaloop are proud to present the Definition of Sexy contest.  The Grand Prize winner will receive a gift basket worth $500 and the Runner-Up will receive one valued at $200, so don't miss out on your chance to win these great prize packages!

Check out the full contest details and how to enter here.

KARMALOOP x PURPLE CLOTH PRESENT DEFINITION OF SEXY CONTEST

NERDLIKE.COM x PURPLE CLOTH TWITTER GIVEAWAY!

Dealers of the Purple Cloth has teamed up with Nerdlike.com to giveaway an F-Bombs Tee from our Fall Collection.  Check out the contest details here.

NERDLIKE.COM x PURPLE CLOTH TWITTER GIVEAWAY!

FUNNY SHIT: ONE RAPE, PLEASE (TO GO)

In the mood for a good laugh?  Read this article titled "One Rape, Please (to go): I Paid a Male Whore to Rape Me Because I Wanted To" by Tracie Egan.  Thanks to our friends over at Nerdlike for putting us on to it.

FUNNY SHIT: ONE RAPE, PLEASE (TO GO)

THE INSPIRATION: HEAVY IS THE HEAD TEE

We're kicking off a series of blog posts today titled The Inspiration.  Basically, the idea for this came in response to a slew of emails that we've been receiving from our loyal followers.  In every one of these emails, the sender starts by telling us that they love one of our designs (obviously!) and then gets into how it connects with their own life.  We couldn't be happier, because as you hopefully already know, we really make an effort to create designs that have substance, are relatable, and that provoke thought (or at the very least, are undeniably witty!).  So, we thought we'd give you a peek into our minds and tell you a bit about the inspiration behind some of our designs.

So let's start things off with the Heavy is the Head Tee from our Holiday '09 delivery. 

This tee features the phrase "Heavy is the Head that Wears the Crown" screen-printed across the back.  On the front, we have our very own Crown Princess, sitting on a thrown, surrounded by stacks of paper and yup, she's wearing a crown which means she's the H.B.I.C.  For those of you who actually paid attention in English class, you'll remember that this is really an adaptation of the original quote from Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part II: "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown."  Phrased differently, same meaning.

The idea for this tee came about because we, as a society, tend to glamorize peoples' lives who we perceive as "doing it" such as celebrities, athletes, actors, etc.  We even get people coming up to us all the time and telling us how lucky we are at such a young age to be running our own clothing company.  Now don't get me wrong, we're very fortunate and we appreciate every day that we get to do what we love for a living, but there's a lot that comes with the territory of being the boss.  In other words, you might think that someone lives the perfect life, but do you really know what it means to be successful and the responsibility and grind that comes with it?  Just some food for thought for the day.

THE INSPIRATION: HEAVY IS THE HEAD TEE

ALCHEMIST VS. JUST BLAZE - RED BULL BATTLE

Untitled from Makavelliott1971 on Vimeo.

This one's for all the real hip-hop heads out there.  The marketing people over at Red Bull have a knack for finding creative ways to penetrate the "urban" demographic.  They recently sponsored an event in the ATL that pitted two of my all-time favorite producers, the Alchemist and Just Blaze, against each other in an all-out battle of the beats with the two alternating through their respective catalogues of hits.  If I had to pick a winner, I'd probably give it to Just Blaze, but then again, when you produced like half of Jay's post-Blueprint hits, it's sort of unfair, isn't it?

ALCHEMIST VS. JUST BLAZE - RED BULL BATTLE

FRIDGE FREEZER ICEBOX NEW ZEALAND

Our girl Laurie from Fridge Freezer Icebox -- New Zealand's newest and baddest sneaker boutique  -- sent us some pics of the 3-level store which opened on Saturday.  In addition to stocking Purple Cloth (yup, we global), you can expect to find the freshest and most exclusive offerings from Nike, Reebok, Vans, Adidas, and Jordan brand, among many others.  Congratulations again Laurie!

 

 

FRIDGE FREEZER ICEBOX NEW ZEALAND

HOLIDAY COLLECTION NOW AVAILABLE @ KARMALOOP

The Dealers of the Purple Cloth Holiday delivery is now available on Karmaloop.

Honestly, how great does Kelly look in our Hustle Dollaz and V-Neck Zipper Tees?

Some other must-have pieces?  "You hustle dudes, I hustle dollaz"... how witty is that?!

Make sure to check out the whole collection here.

HOLIDAY COLLECTION NOW AVAILABLE @ KARMALOOP

OCTOBER RETAIL SALES UP HIGHEST SINCE APRIL '08

Read some positive news today coming from MR Magazine that retail sales for the month of October increased by just over 2% over last year's total -- the second positive month in a row and the biggest same-store sales gain since April of 2008.  So, translated in English, what does this mean and why should we care?

All this means is that there are some early indications that the retail sector is beginning to rebound.  We all know (or at least I would hope so) how hard the credit crisis hit the US economy, and especially the retail sector.  As a company whose bread-and-butter is predominantly the specialty boutiques located South of the border (the Canada-US border that is), we obviously weren't immune from the impact and saw first-hand how small business was affected by the economic slowdown.  Almost overnight (basically from one Magic trade show to the next), the number of our accounts dropped while others ordered fewer styles and kept to strict budgets anticipating slower sales.  And retailers that we weren't carried by but that had expressed interest in picking up the line, suddenly felt it was too risky to introduce a new label in their stores.  I could probably go on for at least a few more bars, but I think you get the point.

So unless I've totally missed my mark, you can see now why we and almost every other fashion brand out there cares.  Our retailers are truly our partners, and that's no cliche.  Jay-Z said it best: "If every n**** in your click is rich then your click is rugged / Nobody will fall 'cause everyone would be each others crutches" (that just might make a hot tee).  Having said that, it's great to hear that retail is picking up, that consumers are starting to spend money again, and business is back on the up-and-up on our end as well.  We're in some great new stores and have some exciting things lined up for this season, so check back in for the announcements.

SOURCE

OCTOBER RETAIL SALES UP HIGHEST SINCE APRIL '08

NEW PANOS YIAPANIS CREATIVE!

Stylist Panos Yiapanis collaborated with photographer Nick Knight and model Carmen Kass to create this wicked representation of FW 09/10 fashion.

SOURCE

NEW PANOS YIAPANIS CREATIVE!