On August 6th, Bloomingdale’s will open a scaled down version of its New York flagship in the Santa Monica Place shopping center in California.  The new store will have sharply edited assortments of contemporary women’s and men’s sportswear, accessories, shoes, cosmetics and denim.  The so called “SoHo template” store (modeled after the SoHo store in New York) is less than half the size of a typical Bloomingdale’s.  The company is eyeing locations in Dallas, Seattle, Phoenix, and the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington D.C.

Meanwhile, Saks is slated to close their Charleston store by the end of this month in efforts to close stores with weak sales.

Yes, I know the title of my post is a little dramatic, but there is some truth to this title.  Abercrombie & Fitch had to temporarily close their namesake store in South Street Seaport and sister store Hollister in SoHo recently.  Abercrombie is asking the Mayor for advice on how to handle bed bug infestations in commercial spaces.

Bed bugs have long been a problem in rental apartments in New York where tenants have been more consistent in reporting the problem to the New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development.  Owners of New York City apartments tend to try to mitigate bed bug infestations on their own and are less likely to report the problem.

Bed bugs are not a problem in New York City alone.  A recent EPA conference highlighted that bed bug infestations have tripled since 2005 in the U.S.  Yikes!

So if you are planning a shopping trip (or hotel stay) in the city in the coming months, check your luggage and belongings when you get home!

I learned recently that Theory is owned by Link Holdings Co. Ltd.  Although Theory was founded in 1997 by Elie Tahari and Andrew Rosen, Tahari sold his interest in the company in 2003.  Andrew Rosen still owns a sizable share and stayed on as chief executive.

I assumed Tahari still had a stake in Theory since the brands were and continue to be merchandised in close proximity in stores like Saks and Neimans.

Now, Oliver Theyskens who most recently designed for Nina Ricci will be designing a capsule collection for Theory called Theyskens Theory for Spring 2011.  The collection will have higher price points than the usual Theory prices

Now you know!

Check out www.longchamp.com.  Click on United States and then, E Shopping.  The Sale Header should pop up.  I clicked around and saw that most of the leather bags selected for the sale are 50% off.  Some of the popular “pliage” (you know that handsome nylon and leather trim foldable bag) are only 20% off.  I really did see some attractive leather bags.  Happy Shopping.

Gold prices have increased 13% in the past six months as financial investors look for a stable investment while avoiding fluctuating currencies.  Gold is selling for more than $1200 an ounce today compared with around $925 a year ago and approximately $420 five years ago.

Gold hasn’t reached the high prices of the early 80’s (would have been around $2100 adjusted for inflation), but the trend of ever higher prices is not expected to abate.  Thus the need for discount shopping!

Check out www.bluefly.com.  I signed up for email notifications recently because I saw a jewelry sale of designers like Tiffany and Van Cleef & Arpels at 20% to 30% off.  Many of the cutest styles were sold out by the time I found the sale so I don’t want to miss the next opportunity.  You may want to sign up too.

I love jewelry.  If you want to tempt yourself with some compelling values from jewelry designers like Gurhan, Temple St. Clair and Me & Ro, check out the special values section at www.ylang23.com.  This is a website that sells an amazing assortment of both established and up and coming jewelry designers.  While you’re in the mood, you may also want to look at the sale section at www.fragments.com.  This site also sells designer jewelry, but Fragments also has a good assortment of fashion jewelry if you are looking for something fun for summer.  Happy Shopping.

Devi Kroell has resigned from her namesake company.  Kroell is best known for her exotic skin hobo bags and wood and crystal clutches.  I covet her wood clutches.  A designer of Austrian decent, she started her business is 2004 and won a 2006 CFDA award.  She has two U.S. stores, one on Madison Avenue in New York and one in the Forum Shops in Las Vegas.  Industry observers are guessing that she had a falling out with her financial backers. Sad, sad, sad.

All of these sites have some gems hidden among the things you probably don’t want.  I spotted some handsome Gucci handbag styles at www.bergdorfgoodman.com and lots and lots of Christian Louboutin styles at www.barneys.com.  Remember, I didn’t say that the Gucci and Louboutin’s were affordable, just on sale!

I am loving the site www.theoutnet.com  I ordered two Pucci items recently (sorry I must have Pucci on my mind).  For both orders, the items shipped the same day that I ordered them and I received them each the next day after ordering.  I returned one of the items and the company processed my return right away and notified me by email.  Why can’t everyone offer service like this?

TheOutNet.com is the sister site to www.netaporter.com. When items on Net-A-Porter go on sale, they are moved to TheOutNet site.  If you sign up for email notifications (like I did) they send an email whenever new sale items hit the site.

Net-A-Porter carries high end designers -everyone from Alexander McQueen to Zac Posen.  They are known for carrying high fashion pieces and for their excellent service.  They offer same day delivery in London and New York.

I am happy to report that their great service extends to their sale site.  Take a peek at www.theoutnet.com now!

Barneys New York is opening a new Co-op store in Brooklyn, New York in the Cobble Hill neighborhood in September.  They are also planning to open a Co-op in August in Santa Monica, California in Santa Monica Place.

Saks Fifth Avenue, sadly is closing their store in San Diego at the Fashion Valley Mall.  The store is planed to close mid July.  In Portland, Oregon, both the women’s and men’s stores will close in July as well.  These closings are part of Saks strategy to focus resources on their most productive stores.