Saturday, August 26, 2006

MySpace Sale - In Lieu of our Newsletter Sale

I'm getting so many emails from you guys about the (late) private sale, so I've decided to stop torturing you. Until we can get our newsletter list review completed, use this MySpace sale coupon code. And while you're at it, check out our MySpace page, and add us!

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Finally, the online sale you've been promised!!!

Use coupon code ccspace826 at checkout to receive 20% off your entire order, between now and August 31st!!

Now's your chance to get one of our brand new corset dresses, some fabulous new shoes, or a sexy Halloween costume at a rockin' discount - click here to start shopping!


Remember guys, this coupon discount cannot be combined with any other coupon or discount. Please email info@pinupgirlclothing.com with any questions, thanks!

"Competition", "Imitation", and "Protection"

I've written before about the tendency of other people to imitate the winning formula of an established company over making their own way - learning and growing as they do.

It's human nature - people take the path of least resistance. The trailblazers come through first, doing the heavy lifting, clearing the way - and the imitators follow.

Now, everyone copies everyone else to some extent - I've seen a beautiful bodice on a BCBG dress and said, "Wow, that would look amazing in champagne satin atop a black velvet sheath!" - but generally, most people understand that it's one thing to take an element and give it your own signature - and quite another to completely rip it off and pretend it was your own idea.

Competition is also a fabulous, healthy thing. When you've got other people doing something similar to you, it keeps you on your toes and pushes you to remain one step ahead.

But every once in awhile, someone comes along who simply copies everything that makes a store or website unique - the layout, the brands and items, and even the website text. That's not "competition", and it's not "imitation". It's impersonation. This isn't a company that wants to distinguish itself in the market - it's one who wants to "ride the wave" of an older, established company by using tried and true promotional and marketing strategies, and selling the established website's top-selling merchandise.

In a case like this, the older, established website is put in the not-so-great position of trying to find a way to remain a unique destination for its customers.


Luckily, suppliers are aware of this problem and will work to "protect" the established company from this sort of situation.

"Protection" is a common practice among Brick & Mortar stores. Let's consider the case of a store in Anytown, USA. They sell a bunch of fabulous retro and rockabilly stuff. They've been a loyal buyer of the top retro brands for years, and their store is doing fantastic.

Then, someone else opens a store in the same town, not far away, and starts stocking the same brands. The first store adds a new brand they've discovered, and without fail, the new store starts carrying the brand.

But wait, you say - that's just the free market at work! Maybe so. But a Beauty Fiend Diner Dress is a different than, say, a slice of pizza. That dress is exactly the same no matter who you buy it from. So, now you've got two stores in the same area carrying the same items.

The suppliers understand that this situation actually doesn't benefit them at all - they aren't going to sell more dresses now that there are two stores in Anytown - they're going to sell the same amount, only divided between the two stores, because there are only so many customers for that dress in Anytown, USA.

The web is different from Anytown, in the fact that the web has the whole world as it's target market. But that world is still small - there are only so many customers for a certain type of product. And a website that impersonates another site is acting similarly to that new store in Anytown - by hoping to attract the same customers as the website it's impersonating.

So, in cases like this, suppliers will work with the established company to make sure there is less overlap between the products the two websites sell.


Every once in awhile, we get an email from a customer asking us why we don't sell Stop Staring Clothing. I mean, it would make perfect sense for us to sell their line - it would be a perfect fit for Pin Up Girl.

Well, back in 2002, we met with the Stop Staring people. They were very sweet and awesome - but they also made it clear that another website had exclusives on many of their best sellers. They were protecting their biggest customer - and protecting themselves as well by preventing the oversaturation of their line.

We were disappointed, at first - there were some beautiful dresses that we knew would do really well on our site. But not being able to sell Stop Staring ended up being a net positive for us, because it pushed us to do our own thing and create a line of clothes that fits our website perfectly.

We still love the Stop Staring line - the designs are so classic, timeless, and pure. But you don't need to buy it from us. There are sites all over the web that sell their line.

PinUpGirlClothing.com is most concerned with bringing you the latest, most unique selection of fabulous clothing, shoes, and accessories, and we have worked with our suppliers for years to make sure that we stay on the cutting edge, always bringing you the best selection of fantastic items anywhere - online and off!

Friday, August 25, 2006

Corset Dresses!





At long last, our elusive Corset Dresses and Tops are here!


You can see everything here.

This collection was originally scheduled for last fall, but I must have done something to anger Cthulu, because these dresses just couldn't seem to get themselves out of production - until now!

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Shoes, and Newsletter News!




Shoes of much fabulousness!

So many awesome shoes came in over the last week, that my closet has now reached terminal mass. So, I apologize to any of our customers who wear a size 8 1/2 - we're a bit low on that size after Ariel and I got through shopping.





The shoe above may look familiar - it's the polka dot version of our insanely popular "Misty" skull wedge slingback (temporarily out of stock, but we've got 5 cases of it on the way - hold tight!). It's now available in Black, Navy, and Red polka dots, and coming soon, in Tan & White polka dots!


Check out all of our new retro shoes!



In other news:

I know I promised you guys a newsletter and 20% off sale this week, but our mailing list service/host threw us a curveball. We have about 30,000 customers who subscribe to our newsletter, and the mailing list service made us do a "list review". So, we had to send an email to all 30K customers asking them to confirm their interest in receiving the newsletter before we could send it. And since that's a lot of people, we can't really send out the newsletter until next week. So sorry about that!


But on the bright side, if you haven't yet signed up for our newsletter, now's the time to do it - the 20% you save could be your own!




And, lastly:

Pin Up Girl is happy to announce a new addition to our team: Production Manager Liza Cortez. Liza is a FIDM graduate with a degree in fashion design, most recently working as a design assistant at Marc Jacobs. Liza will be managing all of the day-to-day aspects of production for our Pinup Couture signature line. Welcome, Liza!!

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Pinup Girls Clothing at PinUpGirlClothing.com

Pinup Girl Clothing has been the web's finest source for Pinup Girls Clothing and Retro Pinup Clothing since way back in 1999! We started as a humble dancewear company, selling cute, skimpy outfits with a Pinup edge.

Over time, we realized that our customers wanted shoes and accessories that also fit this Pinup theme. So, we added brands such as Pleaser, Ellie, Blue Q, Classic Hardware, and Eldorado Club. Then in 2002, we launched our Signature line of retro Dresses and Separates, and a retro clothing legend was born!

Pinup Couture acolytes are well acquainted with the fantastic fit and unsurpassed quality of our Pinup Girl Clothing. Our fabrics are top-notch and original - from our own designs, our dresses are as comfortable as jammies, and the prices are easy on the wallet! When you purchase Pinup Girl Clothing, you can rest assured that you'll be wearing it for years to come.

Keep an eye out for some exciting new styles for fall and winter - we have really outdone ourselves this year!

Monday, August 21, 2006

Just Added - Beauty Fiend!


Beauty Fiend Rockabilly Gear - Exclusively Online at PinUpGirlClothing.com!




Check back in a day or two for even more styles, as well as brand new styles from Steady!

New Hair Flowers, Super Yay!!!!



I am super excited because we just got a whole mess of fantastic new hair flowers from The Diva Pinup!



We can never seem to keep these babies in stock, and I'm sure this has something to do with the fact that they are very high quality, in addition to being stunningly gorgeous. And now, we've got cherries, as well!



Take a look!