the saddle shoe is a low-heeled casual oxford shoe ( hence the alternative name " saddle oxford " ) , characterized by a plain toe and distinctive , saddle-shaped decorative panel placed mid foot .

saddle shoes are typically constructed of leather and are most frequently white with a black saddle , although any color combination is possible .

saddle shoes are worn by both men and women in a variety of styles ranging from ultra-high platforms to golf cleats .

some groups identify with this type of shoe irrespective of current fashion trends .

those associated with ska , sometimes known as rudeboys , often wear them in some combinations since both the classic look and the black/white color scheme represent the genre as a whole .

saddle shoe

, frank w . hoffmann ; william g . bailey , “saddle shoes” , in
with the popularity of the saddle shoe other two - toned colors emerged , including black shoes with white saddles , white shoes with red , and tan shoes with brown . at one time or another it ' s likely that nearly every conceivable color combination has found its way into the saddle shoe .
what made you want to look up saddle shoe ? please tell us where you read or heard it ( including the quote , if possible ) .
q : lastly , what are saddle shoes again ? a : saddle shoes are a casual form of oxfords where the centre section of leather ( the “saddle” ) is a different colour ( typically black on white ) – as is sometimes the heel spine .
i also will think of saddle shoes and poodle skirts going together , but i have also seen several saddle shoes for men . it is also interesting to see the different color combinations .
oxfords come in two styles – dress styles ( sometimes referred to as balmorals ) and casual styles ( sometimes called saddle shoes ) . saddle shoes are distinctive because they have a layer of leather in the middle of the shoe that is often a different colour .
the classic saddle shoe is a dress - style shoe with a leather white toe box and back , and a black instep and vamp , which includes the throat , tongue and eyelets . the instep and vamp together form a shape much like a saddle in the center of the shoe , hence the name . a contrasting black strip also ran up the rear of the shoe at the back of the heel , often with a buckle at the top . the rubberized composite low - heeled sole was coral colored .
saddle shoes – two - tone , plain oxfords usually for more casualwear . commonly found in the us .
in the post - war era of jive , jitterbug and the king , elvis presley , a two - toned snappy shoe replaced the respectable penny loafer . that crazy new footwear was the saddle shoe and it bunny - hopped and bee - bopped its way into popular culture .
let’s be honest . shoe lingo isn’t always clear - cut . why are there so many names for everything anyway ? surely a shoe either has laces or it doesn’t ?
it’s more commonly understood ( especially in the us ) that oxfords are plain shoes and any brogued shoe is a brogue . broguing can be applied to numerous shoe styles .
shortly after the outbreak of war i wrote to the english friends about clothing and raised the question as to whether we should send you
saddle shoes .
it seems i gave you busy people no end of trouble trying to discover what a saddle shoe is . . . it is originally white and has a brown or black saddle - shaped piece of leather across the instep . the american adolescent is properly shod for all except dress occasions in saddle shoes , but not clean ones ! these shoes , for reasons that only a teen - ager can explain , must never be cleaned !
the official preppy handbook served as a joke - slash - bible to the preppy way of life , and in it , swedish tennis shoe brand tretorn was listed alongside sperry top - siders and saddle shoes as the preppiest styles to wear .
these example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word ' saddle shoe . ' views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of merriam - webster or its editors . send us feedback .
a casual shoe , usually white , having a band of leather in a contrasting color across the instep .
traditional ( or balmoral ) oxfords – most common shoe for smart or professional occasions in black or brown .
in 1906 as an accessory for tennis and squash . the saddle was not initially conceived of with style in mind ; it functioned as an orthopedic girdle that reinforced the instep and held the shoe together against the strain of fast starts and jolting steps .
in 1957 elvis presley thrilled a generation in jailhouse rock with his ultra - cool blue eyes , sexy gyrations and deep resonate voice - - and he did it in saddle shoes as well as in another up and coming shoe that would eventually replace the saddle shoe : the humble sneaker . james dean , who died in 1955 at the age of 24 , was another icon and lightening rod for youth . one of the most famous photographs of james dean shows him standing in jeans and sneakers . with dean and presley both embracing this new trend it was just a matter of time before saddle shoes ended up at the back of the closet , and sneakers took their place up front .
oxford shoes are plain , low - heel lace - ups in which the tongue of the shoe is a separate piece to the vamp ( that’s the upper part of the shoe ) . their ‘closed lacing’ style brings the eyelets completely together – making them different from derby shoes which they are often confused with ( but more on that later ) . named after the iconic university , the oxford shoe became popular as students began to champion the ankle – rather than knee - high – shoe trend .
you saw many poodle skirts and saddle shoes and there was just something special about lacing up those shoes . anytime i see a pair of girls or womens saddle shoes , i am reminded of those fun times , and imagine that many people even have better memories than that when they put on a pair of those shoes .
this time , fanning laced into a pair of black and white saddle shoes embellished with all - over studs , which gave the ’50s schoolgirl staple a distinctly punk - rock edge .
i have seen a mixture of many different colors - not just the usual white and black . maybe they aren ' t authentic saddle shoes , but the are created to look very similar to them .
growing up catholic in america in the mid - century was a heady , paradoxical blend of excitement and repression , glamour and asceticism , mystery and cruelty , sensuality and sexism , beautiful lace mantillas and ugly saddle shoes .
still , despite the more casual dress of today ' s fashions , saddle shoes continue to be widely available at most department stores , bearing testament to their enduring appeal . they bring to mind an era of innocence , naivety , youth and the sounds of a generation caught between the greasers of the ' 50s and the hippies of the ' 60 ' s . their classic look and styling has endured the changing times , and on those occasions when sneakers won ' t due , saddle shoes remain a hip choice for eclectic shoe lovers everywhere . try a pair on and see if you don ' t feel the magic !
oh yes - saddle shoes ! i did not grow up in the 50 ' s , but during homecoming week at our high school we always had a 50 ' s day where we would wear our finest clothes from that era .
like many staples in prep style , you either love boat shoes or hate them . personally , i adore them . in fact , as i sit in my office writing this article , i am wearing a pair of boat shoes by brooks brothers . while many credit sperry topsider with the initial introduction , and most people consider them the quintessential boat shoe , there are many companies today that make them . boat shoes are pretty much exactly what they sound like . they were created as a non - slip shoe for sailing and are generally are made of leather and sometimes suede or other materials . they are worn exclusively without socks and as a casual shoe that is tied using leather boat shoe laces . for more information , check out this great primer on boat shoes by my colleague sven raphael schneider .
“i think it’s simple [ as to ] why the cortez became a staple for l . a . youth : the shoe was for the ’hood . it wasn’t mainstream fashion like it is now . accessibility and price point made that shoe what it is , ” says spanto , the co - owner of l . a . streetwear brand born x raised , who was raised in venice , california . “they sold it at every swap meet , every hood shoe store for $ 20 - $ 30 . it fit the aesthetic of how we dressed in the ‘80s and ‘90s : classic american workwear , dickies , and ben davis . ”
best has quantities of the arnold type of buckled sports shoes , as well as the saddle shoes that have been popular on campuses for many years ; lots of felt hats of the dunlap type , varied by odd crowns ; and round - crowned hats with bound brims—stetson classics .
kiltie oxford – the kiltie oxford features a flap of leather over the laces which looks like a kilt . these became common on the golf course but as a style , the kiltie has become a fashion - forward shoe .
, ’ from the london - based shoe designer chrissie morris , who links the loafer’s appeal to its “understatement , ease , the associations with loafing around and relaxing . a loafer is meant to be a ‘land runner . ' ”
[ … ] by lisa birnbach the boat shoe began to be identified as an essential and integral part of the preppy style . boat shoes however are not just restricted to preppies but have been adopted by a large [ … ]
loafers , like boat shoes , are synonymous with coastal culture . there are a variety of loafers on the market from the most casual forms to semi dress shoes . they are typically categorized as being a low , lace - less shoe that you slip on and wear out , rather than as a slipper indoors . traditionally , loafers are a casual shoe , but recently many preps have begun wearing them with lounge suits or to work at offices with a more relaxed dress code . they come in a variety of styles , colors and materials and occasionally will feature tassels or decorations on the front of the shoe . for a detailed discussion of loafers in all their varieties , read the ultimate loafer guide .
[ … ] by lisa birnbach the boat shoe began to be identified as an essential and integral part of the preppy style . boat shoes , however , are not just restricted to preppies but have been adopted by a large [ … ]
even though the cortez was readily available in los angeles and wasn’t expensive , it was still a status symbol for those who were brave enough to wear it . “everything has changed since then , but back then you didn’t wear that shoe unless you were about your shit , ” spanto says . “if you weren’t about your shit and you wore that shoe to school or the movies , best believe you were going to get pressed . your shoes were probably going to be revoked . ”
their black , white and red colour scheme prefigures the zigzag floors and red curtains of the infamous red room sequence , in which detective dale cooper dreams that the murdered laura palmer tells him the name of her killer . later in the series , a one - armed shoe salesman plays a significant role , while bobby and shelly find a tape of laura’s therapy sessions hidden in shelly’s husband leo’s shoe . in twin peaks , material objects take on inflated significance . everything and nothing is a clue .
nowadays , there are lots of variations of the oxford ( see below just a few ! ) traditionally a men’s shoe , over time oxfords have also crept into the women’s fashion scene , becoming an androgynous yet fashion - forward wardrobe staple for women .
clockwise , from top left : chrissie morris shoe , $ 770 ; urltoken . g . h . bass & co . penny loafer , $ 89 ; urltoken . marc jacobs loafer , $ 1 , 295 ; urltoken . chloé loafer , $ 795 ; urltoken .
but once all of that wears away , there’s still going to be a great shoe , one that fadlon wore back in his days at fairfax high school in los angeles . “it has its moments . it comes and goes , but it will never go away , ” he says .
at 80 , allen no longer is the bespectacled , saddle shoe - wearing comic genius who famously was too busy playing clarinet at michael ' s pub to collect his oscar for annie hall ( at least he doesn ' t wear saddle shoes anymore ) . but on this april morning , the razor - sharp director invites thr inside his
bubble
for a conversation covering everything from his 20 - year marriage to soon - yi previn , now 45 ( they have two daughters , 15 and 17 ; he also has three children with farrow ) , to his nonexistent relationship with technology . he doesn ' t use a computer but , ironically , is now part of the amazon revolution . the internet giant not only bought cafe society for $ 15 million — marking the end of allen ' s six - film run with sony pictures classics — but also is funding allen ' s first streaming tv series , a limited - run comedy in which he will co - star with elaine may and miley cyrus .
never fear ! we’re here to help . we’ll soon be bringing you a concise dictionary of all the shoe terms you need to know . in the meantime , we’ll take you on a thrilling journey through the world of oxford shoes ( just kidding , but we hope this guide will help ) .
the loafer’s rise to fashionableness follows on the heels , so to speak , of another seemingly trend - proof shoe that has been widely adopted by fashionable young women , the oxford , and can be classed as part of the men’s wear resurgence in women’s fashion that was set off again , and most recently , by phoebe philo when she took over as creative director of céline three years ago . but as morris rightly points out , the loafer , unlike the oxford , is a casual shoe . that’s how it was conceived of — indeed , in the days before sneakers became ubiquitous , it was the only permissible casual footwear choice .
the history of the loafer is really the history of two shoes : the bass weejun and its more upmarket spinoff , the gucci loafer ; its from these two styles that all other loafers spring . the bass weejun was first made in 1936 and was intended to be a man’s shoe . but so many women were buying and wearing boys’ sizes that two years later bass launched a feminine version that was a line for line copy of the original . thanks to its mix of informality and comfiness , the weejun went on to become a staple on college campuses across the united states . it’s on display , along with white bucks and saddle shoes , at f . i . t . ’s excellent ivy style exhibit , which is up until the end of january . patricia mears , the exhibit’s curator , describes it as “the collegiate shoe” of the period that stretched from the 1940s through to the late 1960s , when , along with so many stalwarts of the preppy wardrobe , the loafer was largely abandoned in favor of more countercultural footwear .
despite the ivy league associations and moccasin construction , the loafer is neither american in origin nor named for a little known native american tribe . instead , weejun is a corruption of “norwegian . ” what does that scandinavian country have to do with the preppiest of american shoe styles ? as it turns out , quite a bit : the loafer as we know it came about thanks to a combination of lost generation wanderlust and a growing and more general desire for comfort . though paris was the most famous destination for f . scott fitzgerald and his lesser - known cohorts , some of his peers journeyed further afield . those who went to norway noticed that norwegian fisherman made themselves comfortable shoes that consisted of leather sides joined by a strip of leather across the instep like moccasins — still the way true loafers are made today . “when these young men started wearing these shoes back home , ” explains g . bruce boyer , a fashion editor and author , “american and english shoemakers copied them and advertised them as being similar to the norwegian fisherman’s shoe . ” foremost among the brands making this new shoe was g . h . bass , which had been founded in 1876 by george henry bass .
the cortez has also made the news recently because kendrick lamar , who vowed to only wear the sneaker in 2013 , has left his sneaker deal with reebok and signed a new one with nike . and he’s back to wearing the cortez , which has helped energize the sneaker and its connection with his hometown of compton . “i think it’s dope that kendrick wears that shoe , because he’s from l . a . and gets it . it’s part of his growing up , ” spanto says . “things have changed , it’s more mellow now . some of the cultural appropriation stuff that’s going on right now ? i think that’s kinda weird . but the shoe wasn’t just made for us , it was made for something else . so it gets complicated . i went to whole foods a few months ago , and i tweeted , ‘there are way too many cortez in here . ’”
the cortez became notorious in los angeles and the danger around wearing it was real . “you couldn’t wear those fucking things . i remember i had a pair in fourth grade . in fifth grade i went to get a pair , and my mom was like , ‘i’m not getting those shoes . ’ parents knew you couldn’t wear that shoe where we lived , ” spanto says . “shit’s not gonna end up well if i buy you those shoes . ”
although the cortez is affiliated with los angeles , and even california as a whole , it still is nike’s first sneaker for all intents and purposes , and the brand will continue to tell its story for years to come , for better or worse . “the cortez put nike on the map in an organic way , ” fadlon says . “now they’re trying to push and manufacture the excitement around the shoe , and it doesn’t feel as authentic as it once was . ”
part of the cult appeal of twin peaks is in the way it encourages its viewers to look for clues and to participate in the detective process , which gives rise to endless speculation . it is the original watercooler television . clothes are no exception to this process . why does the character of audrey horne change from sensible black and white saddle shoes to red kitten heels when she gets to school ? the obvious answer is out of adolescent rebellion . however , the repeated close - ups on the shoes throughout the pilot episode draw attention to them and encourage the viewer to speculate on their meaning .
oxfords are one of the most timeless , classic and stylish shoes a man can own . traditionally , men would choose an oxford shoe for smart and formal occasions such as around the office , weddings and other ceremonial occasions where suits or eveningwear is advised . nowadays , oxfords are also worn during more casual occasions and can add a rock and roll edge to the right look . you can go classic with black or dark brown for formal occasions whereas a tan oxford can go well with dark jeans . don’t be afraid to mix it up though . experiment with tailored trousers with subtle patterns .
the sneaker’s gang affiliations also initially pushed away 23 - year - old cortez collector david navarro from the bay area , who runs the popular sneaker youtube channel , davidgotkicks , years after the sneaker’s heyday in los angeles . “it all started when my friends had them , but i found out they were gang - related and i wasn’t trying to get checked , ” he says . “but i noticed it wasn’t a gang shoe anymore and it’s evolved into lifestyle . it’s a dream to see the sneaker get popular now , because they’re finally getting the mainstream recognition that they didn’t have a few years ago . ”
in the 1950s , it didn’t matter if you were a bobby - sor in a long skirt or elvis presley onstage in shiny black trousers—you owned a pair of saddle shoes . they were the footwear of choice for good girls and bad boys alike . this summer they’re suddenly everywhere again , available from niche designers as well as big names , like this tri - tone , leather - soled version from cole haan . ( and if you dig the old - school rubber - soled style , don’t worry—g . h . bass still makes great ones . ) wear yours with a slim - cut lightweight cotton suit or go sockless in a pair of rolled - up selvage jeans or skinny chinos . and don’t be afraid of a smudge or two ; you’re not on your way to a sock hop .
it all started in 1968 when nike co - founders phil knight and bill bowerman marketed the shoe under the “aztec” name with japanese footwear brand onitsuka tiger , which resulted in a cease and desist from adidas . they’d go on to change the name to “cortez , ” after spanish conquistador hernan cortes , who’d defeated the aztecs . then , in 1972 , knight and bowerman would bring their cortez sneaker to their newly formed brand , nike , while onitsuka tiger continued to produce the same sneaker . it took a legal battle between the two companies before it was agreed upon that nike would make the cortez while onitsuka tiger would produce the corsair . and that was only the start of the cortez’s history and where its authenticity would first start to take place .
but that’s an aberration . for the most part , loafer has a spotless reputation . indeed , between the fitzgeraldian glamour of its roots and the patrician associations that ensued , it’s a shoe with its own quiet brand of glamour . moreover , it’s remarkably catholic in its appeal , swinging from one end of the style spectrum to the other , all the while appealing to men and women , young and old , the fashion conscious as well as the oblivious , in countries around the world . there’s something very freeing about wearing something so broadly accepted . timelessness is an overused adjective in fashion , but in this case it’s apt . which might not be the sort of comfort that the loafer was intended to address , but it’s just as compelling a reason .
in the united states , the supremacy of the bass weejun was unchallenged — from james dean to j . f . k . , everyone wore them . on college campuses , they were de rigueur , and , says boyer , worn until they fell apart and had to be held together with duct tape ( a prime example of the endurance contest that prepsters subject their clothes to ) . they were sometimes worn without socks , but while this is now a fashion statement , in the early 1960s , when boyer was an undergraduate , it was more a question of convenience . “guys who lived in the dorms wore them that way , ” boyer says . “if they were late for their first class they would put on their loafers without putting on their socks first . other guys would show up in their pajamas . ” pennies were often inserted in the cutout on the instep ; theories abound as to why this was done — so girls who were out on less - than inspiring dates could call for a lift home ( not that phone calls were ever cost a cent ) ; for good luck ; to commemorate the wearer’s birth year — but if there ever was a reason , it’s been lost . men of elegance wore tasseled loafers , which originated in england and were copied by american firms like alden . loafers were always brown , which is part of what made them a casual shoe — dress shoes of the era were black and were kept polished and in good repair . after graduation , loafers were worn only on informal occasions and black lace - ups ( or , for coeds , pumps ) became the norm .
with ' cafe society ' set to open the french festival , the director reflects on his unreflective stance on aging (
if you focus on mortality , the house always wins
) , his movies (
i would erase all but a few
) , saving wife soon - yi , working with miley cyrus , why tv is
harder
than he thought and his willful avoidance of his own press :
i scrupulously have avoided any self - preoccupation .
people often have said , ' gee , you live in a bubble ' — and maybe i do ,
admits woody allen as he settles into an armchair inside his private screening room on new york ' s upper east side . a creature of habit , he has been watching movies ( and taking meetings ) in this somber little theater for the past 35 years .
i get up in the morning ,
he says ,
take the kids to school , then do the treadmill , then get into my room and work , have lunch , go back and work , practice the clarinet , see friends or go to a basketball game . it ' s a bourgeois , middle - class worker ' s life . but it ' s enabled me to be productive over the years .
productive is putting it mildly . allen has churned out a movie a year — from classic new york comedies ( manhattan , hannah and her sisters ) to bergman - esque dramas ( interiors ) to stylish london - set crime capers ( match point ) — since the 1980s , with combined grosses of nearly $ 600 million . he barely missed a beat even during the tumultuous 1990s , when his split from mia farrow threatened to blow up his reputation ( accusations that allen abused their then - 7 - year - old daughter dylan were not pursued by police after an investigation , but the battle still rages , with a grown - up dylan reasserting the claims two years ago in the new york times ) .
right on schedule , allen is about to bring his 47th picture to cannes — cafe society , a coming - of - age tale set in the 1930s about a young man ( jesse eisenberg ) who moves from new york to hollywood , where he lands a job with a big - time agent ( steve carell ) and falls in love with a pretty assistant ( kristen stewart ) .
it was such a glamorous time in california ,
says allen .
you ' d read about the mocambo and the cocoanut grove and ciro ' s and all the movie stars going out at night . and then there was new york nightlife — socialites and politicians and gangsters .
you ' re 80 now . mortality was always a theme in your early work . does it still worry you ?
well , yeah , sure it worries me . first of all , it did worry me when i was 5 . and it ' s worried me throughout my entire life . and yes , it does worry me , sure . the only thing you can do , i think , the best solution , is to try and push it out of your mind , not think about it and just focus on ,
gee , am i going to be able to get the right scene for jesse eisenberg and steve carell in this movie ?
to focus on problems that , if you strike out and they don ' t succeed for you , you are still ok . if you focus on mortality , the house always wins .
i do think i evolved artistically . when i first started making movies , i was interested in just the jokes . then , over the years , i became more ambitious and wanted to do deeper works or better works . and this is either a good thing , depending on where you sit , or a bad thing . there are people that would say ,
i think this is great and very healthy and you went on to make some very good films ,
or they could say ,
you never should have done [ that ] .
i shot a few scenes in california with bruce willis , and bruce was going to do something on broadway [ misery ] and it was just too much for him . so we replaced him with steve carell .
you know , that was always a myth . i never hated l . a . it’s just not a place i could live in because i don’t like sunny weather . but i like cities like new york , where i can walk out of my house and i’m right in the middle of everything and there’s noise and traffic and we get gray , cloudy days and snow , ” says allen , photographed april 20 at manhattan film center in new york city .
i wanted to do kind of a novel on film , about a family and the relationships of the members toward one another , and the protagonist ' s love relationship . i wanted it to have the structure of a novel , so i could move around and dwell on various members of the family . that ' s why i narrated it because i was sort of the writer of the novel that you were experiencing when you saw the film .
yes and no . when i first started in the business , i was 16 , 17 , and i would go up to agents ' offices . and these agents were very powerful figures to me . i remember going out to california once , going to william morris , and there was a very beautiful receptionist there . and i thought ,
my god , she ' s as beautiful as any of the movie stars .
no , no . you know , that was always a myth . i never hated it . it ' s just not a place that i could live in because i don ' t like sunny weather and i don ' t like being dependent on a car . i like cities like new york , where i can walk out of my house and i ' m right in the middle of everything and there ' s noise and traffic and we get gray , cloudy days and snow . but i have many friends in california . i enjoy going out there for short periods of time . i don ' t like to drive . i can drive , but i don ' t like to .
well , you read the [ old ] gossip columns , the hollywood columns , [ which ] were in new york as well . so much of what you knew from california , you knew from the columns that you got in new york — hedda hopper and sheilah graham . they would give you the hollywood news , and it sounded very exciting .
i never enjoyed reading . i was not a bookish guy . i read comic books till i was 18 . i read over the decades because one has to read to survive in life . but it ' s not what i do for pleasure . i ' d always rather watch a baseball game or a basketball game or go to the movies or listen to music .
the [ new york ] times because it ' s habitual since i was younger . and then somehow or another i catch up with the tabloids . my driver has them when i ' m sitting in the car .
i never , ever , ever read anything about myself . not my interviews , not stories about me . i never , ever read any criticism of my films . i scrupulously have avoided any self - preoccupation . when i first started , that was not the case . [ but now i ] just pay attention to the work and don ' t read about how great i am or what a fool i am . the enjoyment has got to come from doing the project . it ' s fun to get up in the morning and have your script in front of you and to meet with your scenic designer and your cinematographer , to get out on the set and work with these charming men and beautiful women and put in this cole porter music and great costumes . when that ' s over , and you ' ve made your best movie , move on . i never look at the movie again — i never read anything about it again .
from left : allen , cinematographer vittorio storaro and eisenberg on the set of ' cafe society . ' “i always wanted to do a movie that had some of the nightlife [ of the 1930s ] in it , ” says allen . “it was such a glamorous time . ”
i was immune , yes i was . you can see i worked right through that , undiminished . made films all through those years and at the same rate i was making them . i ' m good that way . i am very disciplined and very monomaniacal and compartmentalized .
no . i don ' t think she lives in new york . i think she lives in connecticut . i ' m not sure . or travels for unicef or something .
oh , well , one of the great experiences of my life has been my wife . she had a very , very difficult upbringing in korea : she was an orphan on the streets , living out of trash cans and starving as a 6 - year - old . and she was picked up and put in an orphanage . and so i ' ve been able to really make her life better . i provided her with enormous opportunities , and she has sparked to them . she ' s educated herself and has tons of friends and children and got a college degree and went to graduate school , and she has traveled all over with me now . she ' s very sophisticated and has been to all the great capitals of europe . she has just become a different person . so the contributions i ' ve made to her life have given me more pleasure than all my films .
you ' re saying how you changed her . how has she changed you ?
( allen pauses . ) well , she ' s given me a lot of pleasure . i adore her , and she ' s given me a wonderful life . we ' ve been married 20 years . and we were together for a few years before that . and she has given me the great years of my life , personally . she ' s a great companion and a great wife . she has given me a stable and wonderful home life and great companionship . i guess whenever you meet somebody and they ' re the right person for you , there is a great emotional contribution they make to your life .
( pauses . ) changed me ? i don ' t know if you could say she changed me . i don ' t know if i ' ve changed . i might be the same person i was when i was 20 . i ' m not sure . i mean , i seem to have the same habits , the same work habits , the same phobias , the same enjoyments . i don ' t think i have changed much over the years at all . when you mention it , i try and think about the ways [ i ' ve changed ] . i don ' t know if i ' ve changed much .
there aren ' t a lot of films that interest me . when i first had this screening room 30 years ago , 35 years ago , i used to be able to come here every saturday night and see something with my friends . but that doesn ' t happen anymore .
i saw a picture called rams , which i liked , an icelandic film . but i don ' t see many american films . i used to be able to . when i grew up , there were a dozen films to see every week . then we went through that period in the ' 60s where the director emerged as a formative figure in american filmmaking , and there were a lot of terrific films . and then the industry realized they could make more money making big blockbuster films . but none of them have ever interested me .
from left : allen with misha , farrow , dylan ( in farrow’s arms ) , fletcher and soon - yi in new york in 1986 .
no . never seen them again . i made take the money and run in 1968 or so ; i ' ve never seen it again . never seen any of them .
it could be . i don ' t know . for years , i would send the film and not go . i don ' t know [ why ] . i never liked to fly on an airplane for six hours and get the time change . it makes me crazy ; it takes me six months to get [ over the time change ] . just from daylight saving time , i can ' t recover . so then i started to go , and my wife likes to go , she enjoys the south of france . i mean , i like the south of france , too . it ' s a film - oriented event , and so it ' s enjoyable .
of mine ? well , i would erase all but a few . ( laughs . ) there ' s probably six or eight of my films that i would keep , and you could have all the rest . purple rose of cairo i would include , and match point and husbands and wives , probably zelig , probably midnight in paris . it ' s starting to get harder …
i made them so long ago , i don ' t even remember them well . i don ' t have the same affectionate feeling for them as the public had . when i made manhattan and saw it , i was very disappointed at the time . and i spoke to arthur krim [ the head of united artists ] and said ,
if you don ' t put this film out , i will make a film for you for nothing .
he said :
you ' re crazy . we like the film and we have an investment . we borrowed money to make [ it ] . we can ' t just spend a few million dollars and then not put a film out . it ' s insane .
so they put it out , and it was a very big success . i have often said , it ' s great luck , and we take credit for stuff that is out of our control .
by tomorrow i ' ll have edited it and finished it . six half - hour episodes .
no , i do not have a title for it , but it ' s six half - hour episodes . and it ends . it ' s not the kind of thing that could go on in perpetuity . it ' s one story . it ' s a comedy that stars me , elaine may and miley cyrus primarily , a domestic comedy that takes place in the late 1960s . and hopefully people will find it amusing . it ' s not going to start any new religions , i can tell you that .
i met her for this project . i noticed years ago that my kids would be watching hannah montana . and i would say :
who is that girl ? she ' s got such a good delivery . you know , she snaps those lines off so well . the show is a silly little show , but she ' s very good at what she does .
and then she emerged as a singer , and someone showed me a little clip of hers from saturday night live , and i said ,
it confirms what i always thought about her : she is very good , she is really a talented girl .
she wanted to take some time off , but she [ agreed to do the series ] because the role interested her . so i met her right here .
from left : jodie markell , barney cheng , treat williams , tiffani thiessen , soon - yi , allen and debra messing at cannes in 2002 for allen’s ' hollywood ending , ' which opened the festival . says allen of going to the south of france : “i never liked to fly on an airplane for six hours and get the time change . it makes me crazy ; it takes me six months to get [ over it ] . ”
right here , yeah . she came in here one day while the casting people were here . she came in and we chatted for a few minutes — a perfunctory chat , just getting to know the person . but i wanted to hire her . i didn ' t need that five minutes of silly chat .
last year , you seemed to regret embarking on a tv show . do you still regret it ?
it was much harder to do than i thought . i thought ,
i ' ll sandwich this in between two films and knock it off . what ' s the big deal ? it ' s television .
but over the years , television has made enormous strides , and wonderful things are being done on television . and i found as soon as i started to get into the project , i couldn ' t bring myself to slough it off because this is not television of 50 years ago , where every silly thing was acceptable . you ' re working in a medium that has grown up and has got wonderful things being done in it , and , yes , you may prove to be an embarrassment , but you don ' t want to be a total embarrassment .
i don ' t watch them . i ' m not home . i don ' t have the incentive . i ' m out having dinner with friends , and when i come home , i ' m tired and i want to quickly see the last quarter of the knick game or the last couple of innings of the yankee game or the mets game . i ' m just not interested enough .
i can ' t work any of that stuff . my wife could work it , but i can ' t .
no . i have none of that stuff . and i ' m not good at that . i ' m not good technically . i have a cellphone , but it ' s very limited . i know this : i can make calls , and my assistant put all my jazz records on it . it used to be when i would go out of town and i ' d practice the clarinet , i was always schlepping a lot of vinyl recordings from city to city .
when you turn 80 , what are you looking forward to ? becoming decrepit ? the solution is to push it out of your mind .
no , i don ' t think so . the only other deal i made with them was to put out cafe society . but i didn ' t want to put it out and then go stream it right away , so we said it would have to be a normal putting out of a picture . it would have to play for several months in the theaters , the way i normally put a picture out — in a few theaters and then a larger amount . depending on what the box office is , it either goes larger quickly or slower or whatever voodoo strategies those companies have . but that seemed fine with me .
every once in a while , i ' ll have a nightmare , yes . not often . but i will occasionally be screaming in my sleep , and my wife will be shaking me . but not often . i sleep like a dead person .
my views on religion are the same . i feel it ' s a pleasant fantasy for people to try and mollify the pain of the reality of existence .
i ' m a hillary fan . i like bernie very much . i think what he espouses is wonderful . but i think hillary will get more done of what bernie would like than bernie could get done .
no . i ' ve met trump because he was in one of my movies , celebrity . he ' s very affable , and i run into him at basketball games and at lincoln center . and he is always very nice and pleasant — [ which is ] hard to put together with many of the things he has said in his campaign .
i did . i chatted with him for five minutes at i think it was les deux magots [ a cafe in paris ] . i was there having coffee , and someone said :
samuel beckett is over there . would you like to meet him ?
and i said ,
sure ,
and i went over and we chatted for a little while . he was very nice . i was never a great beckett fan . but i wanted to meet jean - paul sartre . i wanted to do that , and someone connected with him said ,
it can be arranged for a price .
no , no . i didn ' t follow up on that because the whole thing was too sinister for my psyche .
editors note : corrected to reflect that in 1993 authorities did not dismiss charges against allen , but declined to pursue them after an investigation .
with a good jacket either a pleather biker jacket or even a good peacoat .
and went head - to - head with other classrooms in hula hooping , singing , and twist competitions .
, suit and string tie , has awesome hair that she styles with a toaster - like contraption designed by a hairbender friend .
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in germany , abundant renewable energy means that when supply exceeds demand , consumers can get paid for using power .
we called them dink shoes when i was a kid . i don ' t know why .
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the story of an imaginary word that managed to sneak past our editors and enter the dictionary .
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urltoken unabridged based on the random house unabridged dictionary , © random house , inc . 2018
1936 , friends ' intelligencer , volume 100 , philadelphia , pa . : wm . w . moore , oclc 10359090 , page 109 , column 2 :
1936 , the new yorker , volume 12 , new york , n . y . : new yorker magazine , inc . , oclc 271677163 , page 37 :
; republished new york , n . y . ; abingdon , oxon . :
finally caught on in the 1920s as a result of spalding ' s decision to outfit the bottom with spikes and go after the golf market .
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dwell is a retailer of furniture in the united kingdom .

the company was originally established in 2002 as dwell retail ltd. , and opened its first store in london the following year .

after falling into administration , it was re-established in july 2013 .

the company was acquired by british retail group dfs in august 2014 .

dwell ( retailer )

furniture retailer dwell has secured £5m in private equity investment from key capital partners to aid expansion plans .
how frequently should a retailer introduce new product ? like most , dwell , a retailer defined by its affordable , design - led furniture and off - the . . .
dwell , the upmarket furniture retailer , is close to collapsing into administration , putting 350 jobs at risk .
dwell , the furniture retailer , is opening its first new stores since its collapse into administration two years ago .
sofa giant dfs has acquired furniture retailer dwell in full to attract “younger , more urban customers” who it hasn’t traditionally targeted .
furniture retailer dwell has collapsed after attempts to sell it failed , putting about 300 jobs at risk , including in yorkshire .
aamir ahmad , founder of collapsing furniture retailer dwell , has finalised a deal to save the mid - market contemporary furniture business .
dfs is the uk’s second largest furniture retailer behind ikea with over 100 stores nationwide .
it caps a strong year for the retailer which has seen it expand under difficult circumstances by taking over smaller rivals such as sofa workshop and dwell .
uk furniture retailer dwell has become the latest high - street design brand to go into administration , ceasing trading with immediate effect and closing all 23 of its stores .
in 2009 , furniture news interviewed the founder of dwell , aamir ahmad . as the retailer ' s demise was announced today , we revisit that story to . . .
if the retailer does fall into administration , dwell will follow a string of other retailers that have collapsed over the last 12 months , including hmv , jessops , blockbuster and comet .
dwell is the latest casualty in the battered retail sector , which has this year seen firms including entertainment group hmv , bed retailer dreams and youth fashion chain republic plunge into administration .
other key capabilities provided to the retailer included footfall , dwell time and conversion metrics in separate areas within the store ( including fitting rooms and tills ) , number of unique visitors and visit frequency trends .
in a statement on wednesday , dwell said it was still open for business .
collapsed uk furniture retailer dwell is to reopen five of its 23 stores following a deal with the company ' s original founder - but furious customers of the old company are claiming their orders will not be honoured .
dwell’s approach to product , presentation and service earned it many fans , and by the end of 2010 , bolstered by a £5m investment from key capital partners for a 30 % stake in the company , the retailer’s store portfolio had grown to 24 plus one concession . dwell’s high ambitions were steadily being realised .
last august , dfs bought out the rest of dwell’s brand and assets in a move to attract younger and more urban customers , although dwell continues to be run as a standalone subsidiary .
manufacturer ? publish your products to reach retailers across the world . retailer ? sign up for the newsletter with the latest news , features and products .
but the upmarket retailer , majority - owned by private equity firm key capital partners , has struggled amid sluggish consumer confidence and a weak housing market .
these insights gave the fashion retailer a fresh look into the stores’ performance and a way to identify the best practices and improvements points on the store attractiveness .
dwell , the furniture retailer , has been saved from disappearing off british high streets thanks to its founder aamir ahmad returning to lead the company . ahmad’s plan will save over 150 jobs and keep the business operating from at least five stores and the web .
“dwell continues to trade as usual and fulfil customer orders . the business has not appointed administrators . ”
in 2011 , furniture retailer habitat was forced to place 30 of its stores into administration . it managed to retain three stores in the uk and set up outlets in branches of diy retailer homebase in a move that was criticised by elle decoration editor michelle ogundehin , who claimed habitat was
as good as dead
.
retailer design within reach helped create a new appreciation for the modernist aesthetic . with design more mainstream than ever , why is the company in such dire straits ?
the upmarket retailer said it had ceased trading and closed its 23 stores and one concession , while asking staff to stay at home , as it prepares to appoint administrators .
dwell is reported to be close to appointing duff & phelps as administrator and its website has been taken offline .
the 23 - store retailer filed a notice of intention last week to appoint the advisory firm duff & phelps as administrator , with a formal announcement expected over the coming days .
dwell hired argyll partners last month to look at options including a sale . however , no buyer has so far been found
dwell’s fate was sealed by dire sales of big - ticket items and a recent cash - flow crisis . it had been working with advisers at argyll partners to find a white knight and to secure fresh working capital but interested parties walked away . a dwell spokesman said : “as a result we have been left with no option but to close the business with immediate effect . ” the retailer said those customers who have bought products from dwell and have outstanding orders should contact their card issuer , which means that some non - credit card shoppers could lose out .
dwell , which specialises in contemporary furniture , lighting and accessories , opened its first store in balham , south london in 2003 .
check out some of our favorite items in the “ modern by dwell magazine ” collection below , and head to target for more .
dwell’s pre - tax losses widened to £675 , 320 over the year to 27 january 2012 , according to its latest accounts . the chain was originally founded as a mail - order furniture business by aamir ahmad , who stepped down as managing director in november after a refinancing . dwell’s chairman neil mccausland also left last year . the private equity firm key capital partners invested £5m in dwell in august 2010 .
ahmad advised customers with outstanding orders to check the company’s social media platforms for advice . however dwell ' s twitter account said :
please note we are no longer dwell retail ltd . previous orders will not be fulfilled , as we are now a new company .
dwell is a design and technology brand that is connecting the modern world . founded in 2000 , dwell’s mission is to bridge the gap between design professionals and enthusiasts , and it reaches the worldwide design community through its print publication , digital platform , live events and products .
the retailer is now opening two new shops in former dfs warehouses , the first in an out - of - town shopping centre in glasgow later this month and the second in september in new malden , surrey .
in an opposing move though , online homeware retailer urltoken opened a physical showroom in london last year , with ceo and founder ning li saying that a physical space was a good way to supplement the online shopping experience .
the massive retailer teamed up in december with dwell magazine to launch a collection that gives the likes of west elm , ikea and crate and barrel a run for their money . on - trend copper serving pieces sit alongside modern bar trolleys and cool accent pillows . bright blue bookshelves are offered with dining chairs , natural wood coffee tables , and even outdoor furniture .
gant is using music to encourage consumers to stay shopping for longer in store . the fashion retailer reported customers now stay in store on average nine minutes longer following the deployment of a new music platform from soundtrack your brand .
with the new methods provided by walkbase , the fashion retailer was able to assess the overall potential and the current performance of their stores in different settings . they have also started to utilise the best practices from the well performing stores , which are already partially adapted across their estate . the retailer has continued to gather up store data and is currently in the process of planning the systematic improvements in the selected stores . they are also considering to change the location of some stores to more favourable ones and are investigating the financial side of the potential move . the retailer estimates that the improvements they have started implementing based on this assessment alone are already bringing significant benefits to the overall business .
from saturday 6th july , dwell will reopen their stores in tottenham court road , westfield white city , westfield stratford , barton square in manchester and lakeside in thurrock . talks with other landlords are underway with a hope that additional stores and jobs can be saved . dwell’s online store ( www . dwell . co . uk ) will also reopen on thursday . advice to customers who have outstanding orders will be available on the company’s social media platforms .
dwell warned :
the current economic environment is uncertain , consumer confidence is low and trading conditions are challenging within the declining household and furniture sector .
dfs , one of the uk’s leading retailers of upholstered furniture , is pleased to announce that coin furniture limited , trading as dwell , the . . .
dwell , which ceased trading on 20 june 2013 with the loss of 300 jobs , held an estimated £1 million of customer deposits when it went into administration .
aamir’s focus was always the product – progressive and fashion - led , dwell’s offering evolved almost monthly , and was deployed to generate as much excitement as possible .
the dwell boss said that the two new stores were being run as a trial with the view of opening a third standalone shop before the end of the year .
upmarket furniture chain dwell today closed all its stores and ceased trading both on the high street and online with immediate effect , with the potential loss of 300 jobs .
mr ahmad spent the next year re - hiring 150 staff and turning the stores and dwell’s online business back to profitability before signing a marketing agreement with furniture giant dfs .
“we’ve long admired target for how they embrace good design and cultivate unique partnerships , so we’re thrilled to work together on introducing this new collection , ” said chris deam and nick dine , co - creative directors of product design , dwell . “with modern by dwell magazine , we’re excited to introduce modern design to more people than ever . ”
dwell announced on wednesday that aamir ahmad , who founded the brand in 2003 but left in november 2012 , had agreed a deal to rescue the company and save 150 jobs .
the dramatic turnaround soon after took many by surprise . despite significant investment , within seven months of key capital partners taking charge of dwell , the company ceased trading on 20th june , 2013 . a lack of working capital was cited as the reason for dwell’s collapse – its stores were closed , its staff let go , and a mass of orders left outstanding .
the accounts show that dwell , which is owned by key capital partners , had net debt of £6 . 1m but £11 . 7m of debt due for repayment during the next 12 months .
dwell started trading from a single store in balham , south london , in 2003 and expanded in the south of england . in recent years it has opened stores in birmingham , manchester and glasgow .
the operator of dwell ' s twitter account appeared to feel sympathy for customers ' plight , writing :
f * * * ing snakes indeed . i didn ' t get paid by them either .
aamir ahmad , who started dwell in 2003 and sold out of the company in 2012 , reopened stores in tottenham court road , westfield london , westfield stratford city , barton square in manchester and glasgow town centre .
dwell ' s staff have been asked to stay at home while administrators are appointed . the company ' s website has been taken offline and customers who have already placed orders have been advised to contact their card issuer .
one thing our guests love about shopping at target is that there’s newness around every corner . and this winter will be no exception . enter modern by dwell magazine , a new collection in home that we just announced .
to help the retailer answer these questions , walkbase solution was installed in multiple stores . the stores were selected in such a way that there were different surroundings and the level of assumed potential , but also so that for each of these contexts , there were multiple stores that could be benchmarked . with proper calibrations , our wifi sensors were able to distinguish both store visits as well as the outside potential , i . e . the amount of people walking in front of a store within any given timeframe . the ability of walkbase to assess outside potential and conversion to store visits from that ( i . e . “capture rate” ) , gave the retailer a valuable new insight into the store performance .
dwell reopened its online store this week and will reopen five high - street stores from saturday 6 july at tottenham court road , westfield london , westfield stratford city , lakeside shopping centre in essex , and barton square in manchester .
i first interviewed aamir ahmad in the summer of 2009 . then a 19 - store business , buoyed by well - established online activity , dwell had become one of the uk’s most popular contemporary brands among young , aspirational shoppers .
the modern by dwell magazine collection features more than 120 items , including furniture , décor , tabletop and home accessories separated into indoor and outdoor collections . get ready for copper bar tools , terracotta planters , sleek patio sofas and more !
founded by aamir ahmad , sean galligan and dave garrett , dwell began trading with a single store in balham in 2003 . it grew across london , with stores in balham , islington , kingston , richmond , tottenham court road and westfield .
understanding how their stores were currently performing and whether there were any potential new angles ( kpis ) for assessing store performance in a unified way , were one of the key priorities for the retailer . the fact that stores are strongly affected by their surroundings ( or “context” ) had been a particular problem in assessing performance fairly across the stores , especially in terms of their attractiveness .
he added :
although we are not legally obliged to , we are doing everything we can to find a solution for customers who have lost out . our primary goal is to help customer and suppliers regain their trust in the dwell brand . ”
in november 2012 the founders left the business and a new management team was installed by key capital partners . on 20 june 2013 , dwell retail announced that they had ceased trading with immediate effect , and all 24 stores plus the concession outlet were closed .
it’s been a turbulent couple of years for dwell . from departing principals , to entering administration , to the return of those principals and the purchase of the brand by dfs , furniture news’ paul farley tracks the trajectory of one of the uk’s trendiest furniture retailers
yet this was just the beginning of aamir’s task – with the brand’s reputation with suppliers and customers alike brought low by the recent events , it was up to the newly re - installed team to win hearts and minds , and restore dwell’s good name .
this will make dwell , which opened its first store in balham in 2003 , the latest high street casualty this year . this follows the demise of hmv , blockbuster , jessops and republic , although all four have emerged out of administration under different owners with significantly fewer stores .
recent developments indicate that he’s been successful . following the announcement of a brand partnership with dfs back in february this year , the upholstery retail giant fully acquired coin furniture ltd ( t / a dwell ) , in august , making it a fully - owned subsidiary of dfs furniture group .
the company said : “the business had been working with its advisers to secure further working capital for the business and was actively in the process of talking to a number of interested parties who saw the value of the dwell brand and product , its customer base and its multi - channel proposition .
the business has been working with its advisers , including argyll partners and duff & phelps , to secure further working capital for the business and is currently talking to a number of interested parties who see the value of the dwell brand and product , its customer base and its multi - channel proposition ,
the company said .
ahmad founded dwell with his family and friends in 2003 and successfully grew it over 9 years , but along with his co - founders was replaced in november last year . he will be stepping back in to run the business as ceo . ahmad comments : “our priority lies with the customers and suppliers who have been let down by the former management . we are working hard to try and resolve the issues , in particular outstanding customer orders . although we are not legally obliged to , we are doing everything we can to find a solution for customers who have lost out . our primary goal is to help customer and suppliers regain their trust in the dwell brand .
once upon a time , way back in the 1990s , america was a land of design philistines . dwell and domino didn’t exist . on tv , people didn’t trade spaces , nor did straight guys have queer eyes to help them remake their post - frat - boy apartments . many of us still thought ray eames was a man .
the only signal of any change in direction came in november 2012 , when the company’s founders and core management team – aamir , sean galligan and david garrett – departed , aamir commenting : “dwell has achieved much over the last two years despite the difficult market conditions , and i am convinced that the brand is well placed for continued growth . ”
making modern design more approachable , accessible and affordable to our guests than ever before , modern by dwell magazine will be available at select target stores and on urltoken beginning dec . 27 . prices will range from $ 49 . 99 to $ 399 . 99 for furniture and $ 16 . 99 to $ 99 . 99 for décor , tabletop and accessories .
a spokesperson for dwell said :
the business had been working with its advisers , to secure further working capital for the business and was actively in the process of talking to a number of interested parties . however , despite this interest , it did not progress . as a result we have been left with no option but to close the business with immediate effect .
dwell has stores at lakeside retail park in essex , tottenham court road in london , manchester’s trafford centre , glasgow , balham , bimingham’s fort dunlop and bullring shopping centres , bluewater in kent , bristol , cardiff , cheltenham , guildford , kingston , leeds , manchester , milton keynes town centre and retail park , nottingham , reading , richmond , solihull and westfield shopping centres in west and east london .
“we spend a lot of time getting to know our guests , even spending time with them in their own homes , ” said mark tritton , executive vice president and chief merchandising officer at target . “many of our guests have told us they want to add a modern aesthetic into their environment , but they want it to be easy and , just as important , affordable . that’s a challenge we were happy to accept . with our friends at dwell magazine , we’ve created a line that captures modernism beautifully . the collection is a great complement to our current assortment – it’s stylish , high quality and the prices are great . i know our guests are going to love it . ”
for inquiries related to this message please contact support . for sales inquiries , please visit urltoken
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looking to update your home ? we have stores across the country so you will find contemporary interior inspiration around every corner . our stores have a great selection of our bestselling collections covering all areas of the home . if you’re looking for a new sofa , you’ll find all our fabric swatches in - store allowing you to pick out the right design . in addition you can also take advantage of our complimentary click & collect service in all stores .
registered office : the pavilion , 118 southwark street , london se1 0sw . company number : 8586227 . vat registration number : 165 0057 30 .
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the workhorse of any lounge is the coffee table . the sofa naturally dominates due to its size , the tv demands all the attention but , the coffee table is where you and your well - deserved glass of wine rest in the evening . it’s sometimes a f
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the business , which used to have 23 stores primarily in london and the south east , was left with just five after it was rescued by its founder .
the repurposing of dfs warehouses comes as the recently floated company adapts its warehouses and distribution centres to make more efficient online deliveries .
however , mr ahmad believes there still needs to be a mix of online and in - store shopping .
“furniture retail needs each channel to play its own part – customers like to come in and touch and feel sofas but they might place their orders online or through the catalogue , ” he said .
online shopping accounts for 30pc of sales , catalogues for 20pc while customers visiting bricks and mortar shops still accounts for half of the group’s sales , mr ahmad said .
the company ' s facebook page has been flooded with comments by customers saying they have lost money .
i phoned up this am only to be told that the order i placed on 25th may is null and void ,
wrote mags mckie .
£500 worth of orders deleted from my account ,
commented susan lowe barrie .
i was waiting for 4 chairs to be delivered ,
said margaret jones in another facebook comment .
phoned customer services today and was told would def not get the order now and should contact bank to claim back payment . was told i could reorder from new company as chairs were in stock .
he said in a statement :
our priority lies with the customers and suppliers who have been let down by the former management . we are working hard to try and resolve the issues , in particular outstanding customer orders .
customers reacted angrily to the tweet .
i ' ve just been told by customer services that they ' re not honouring deliveries , but i can buy from the new company !
said andrew lansdell on twitter yesterday .
i ' m only a customer and am £857 short , what are you going to do about that ?
asked another customer .
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of the 23 existing stores , the majority are located in london and the south east of england , with others in birmingham , manchester , bristol , cardiff , leeds , nottingham , solihull , cheltenham and glasgow . it operates a concession at the house of fraser department store in london , which has also closed . the announcement means that around 300 jobs are at risk .
in a movie filmed at last year ' s clerkenwell design week , producer thorsten van elten told dezeen that online shopping is a
better model
because
the rents and rates on the high street are outrageous ,
but added that people still love physical stores .
in 2010 , the company received £5m in funding from key capital partners . the company announced plans to expand to 60 stores and 20 concessions across the uk within five years , and opened a flagship store on tottenham court road . by the end of 2010 the company had 24 stores , including a concession in house of fraser , and had locations across uk including birmingham , cardiff , manchester and glasgow .
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relief came from an unexpected quarter in the form of aamir and his original team who , just two weeks later , finalised a deal to save the brand , five stores and 150 jobs .
to read this interview , register for free to access the online magazine ( october issue ) here .
furniture news is a leading publication for the interiors sector featuring coverage of the latest furniture designers and the furnishings trade in the uk and overseas .
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dfs furniture company plc is floated on the london stock exchange with a market capitalisation of c . £270million , trading from 21 stores
in june 2010 , this article won the deadline club award for business feature writing . the judges commended writer jeff chu for demonstrating , “a great nose for news along with persistence and dogged analysis . he exhibited the highest standards of journalism by identifying his subject and convincing key players to reveal hidden facts . ”
the wigan garden spade is a thing of verdant beauty . its hunter - green steel and sunny ash - wood handle evoke the pastoral fantasias of an aspiring gentleman farmer — a dwarf maple in your yard , perhaps , around the base of which you can , with wigan in hand and wellies on feet , conquer weeds and plant petunias . it’s got history too : smithies have been handcrafting tools at the same lancashire forge since king george iii sat madly on england’s throne . thanks to design within reach , it can be yours for the queenly sum of $ 95 .
or it could be mine : i now want one , and i don’t have a yard or even a potted plant . it’s that combination of storytelling and compelling design that has propelled dwr from a web - and - catalog - only startup 10 years ago into a major nationwide home - furnishings brand today .
according to the genesis story of design within reach , it wasn’t really the people’s fault . we just didn’t know . the finer things in life , which the enlightened residents of europe had come to appreciate over decades of danish - designed , italian - made existence , weren’t available to most of us . they were cloistered in showrooms open exclusively “to the trade” ; only interior designers could give us the golden keys .
along came a san francisco - based revolutionary named rob forbes . he decided to seize those keys and share them with all of us … who had the money . ( the name design within reach was never meant to suggest that we’d all be able to afford the lovely things . ) in 1999 , he launched a low - overhead business featuring an online store , an email newsletter , and a direct - mail catalog . these were more than just sales tools — they were the three main components of a nationwide introductory course in modernist design . he and his company became educators and tastemakers .
the branding was genius and so was the timing . americans were ready to trade up in all aspects of their lives — from their takeout coffee to their homes to the furnishings inside . dwr rode this wave of consumer spending , splashing onto the stock market in july 2004 . after its first day , the market valued the company at $ 211 million , an optimistic 70 times its 2003 net earnings .
before his ouster , brunner had painted the company’s current woes purely as a product of the economy . but while dwr’s sales did plunge by a quarter in september 2008 , this isn’t a story about the recession or even a simple corporate parable about overlarge appetites . the truth that has emerged from months of conversations with company insiders , former employees , design collaborators past and present , and founder rob forbes — in his first public comments since breaking his ties with the firm in 2007 — is that dwr has been a victim of its own unintelligent design . it veered from one ill - advised strategy to another , ranging from a craven knockoff program to a baroque pursuit of brand extensions , including an accessories boutique called tools for living , where you can buy that wigan spade .
“we want to make dwr great again , ” krevlin says . “we’re doing everything we can . ” for a guide of what not to do , he only has to look back at the company’s recent history . given the depth of its woes , the tool for living that design within reach’s new leadership could really use most is one that it doesn’t yet stock : a huge shovel .
rob forbes loves creation stories . on a blustery late - summer afternoon in san francisco , we’re still warming up in a cozy soma bar when he learns that gin is my drink of choice . he launches into a spiel about a local distillery called no . 209 . “you can smell the spices , the juniper , ” he says , and insists that i just have to see its “amazing” and “beautiful” stills . i settle for the next - best thing : i order a no . 209 and tonic .
the company that forbes built was as much about selling stories as it was about shilling furniture . to you or me , a jens risom lounge chair ( $ 770 ) might be a convenient , even attractive arrangement of wood and fabric ; to forbes , it’s the tale of one man’s inspiration , written in maple and cotton webbing . in the first dwr catalog — 239 , 984 copies were sent out in july 1999 — “for every chair , there was the biography connecting the person with the product , ” forbes says . “from the beginning , our brand equity was the sum total of the people behind it . ”
dwr tapped a wellspring of desire that most people didn’t even know existed . “it woke up the american market to high design , ” says shane reilly , ceo of decorati , one of the many online design resources that have popped up in recent years . “it paved the way . ” while provenance is ubiquitous today — we want to know the names of our chefs , our farmers , our font designers — potential investors questioned forbes’s business model 10 years ago . “the vcs told me it wasn’t going to work because americans were interested in cheap , cheap , cheap , ” he says . “your only choices at the time were pottery barn — fashion furniture , seasonal products , and lifestyle — and crate and barrel , which had a minimal , mediocre furniture selection . good design wasn’t really available . ”
even when a piece was available , you might wait months for it — under the old model , a sofa wasn’t shipped or even built until you ordered it . one of dwr’s original taglines was “in stock and ready to ship” ; you could be sitting on that new piece in two days if you lived in san francisco , six days on the east coast . “we played on the desire for immediate gratification , ” forbes explains . “if you really love something , you’d rather have it sooner than later . ” this inventory - heavy model wasn’t cheap , but by focusing on web and catalog sales , the company kept costs manageable .
it worked . dwr boosted sales of modern classics by giants from eero saarinen ( 60 - inch marble pedestal table , $ 6 , 683 ) to charles and ray eames ( eames lounge chair and ottoman , $ 3 , 049 to $ 4 , 799 ) . it rapidly grew the market for european brands previously accessible only to the kinds of folks who jetted to milan for the furniture fair . and it brought unexpected success to newer american designers who created original pieces for dwr , including jeffrey bernett ( flight recliner , $ 2 , 800 ) and ted boerner ( theater sofa , $ 3 , 880 ) . “to their greatest credit , they’ve really honored designers , ” boerner says . “it’s largely thanks to them that i became a name . ”
even as the economy dipped into recession in 2001 and dwr’s dotcom - era peers died off , the company grew . thanks to its well - designed magazine - like catalogs — forbes hired the new york firm pentagram to create the dwr logo — and forbes’s accompanying email newsletter , “design notes , ” the company won a following even among those who could not yet afford most of its offerings , and acquired the nickname design not quite within reach , a moniker more affectionate than arch .
but after forbes stepped back from day - to - day management in 2001 and was replaced as ceo by former eddie bauer chief wayne badovinus , dwr began to chase growth in the run - up to an ipo . it added stores , which it calls “studios , ” rapidly — from just one in early 2002 to 63 in 2006 — nearly all in high - rent districts in major cities . “we got cocky , silly , fat , ” says ousted ceo brunner , who as dwr’s real - estate chief oversaw the logistics of expansion . “when we went public , the feeling was that we could have a 250 - store business in 10 years . i don’t think there are 250 dwr stores unless you water down and become pottery barn modern . ”
in the spring of 2006 , the board replaced tara poseley , a former gap exec who had succeeded badovinus but lasted only seven months , with brunner , who had retired just two months before . a no - nonsense coal - miner’s son — as a child , he says , “i was so fussy my dad thought i was gay” — he speaks bluntly and confidently , frequently alluding to things that obviously smart people allude to , including gnosticism , philip johnson , and maslow’s hierarchy of human needs . ( a mensa plaque sat behind his desk . ) with a textbook poker face atop a portly body , he has the look and the presence of a dad that you never want to disappoint ( or else ) , and his self - assurance seemed perfect for a company in search of a compass . “his message was right : we were on course and we were chugging ahead , ” says one ex - dwr staffer .
his honeymoon lasted perhaps six months . forbes , who had wanted to depart sooner but remained on the board to provide continuity , says that dwr quickly became “the ray show . ” brunner unleashed a flurry of moves to restructure the company . he ditched dwr’s in - stock - and - ready - to - ship strategy . he ignored some board members’ entreaties to close underperforming studios and even intensified his focus on the stores at the expense of the web site , whose production was outsourced . worried about the strengthening euro , he deemphasized the newer european design that forbes favored , putting a much greater emphasis on better - known but lower - margin classic designs by modernist greats like the eameses . he added pieces inspired by his own likes , including a club chair that the company named the “ray , ” based on one that brunner saw in a parisian flea market .
the company’s finances seemed to improve : 2007 resulted in a revenue peak of $ 194 million and a small profit , and brunner says dwr was showing considerable year - over - year financial progress in 2008 — until the economic collapse in the third quarter . “we got hit literally overnight , ” he says . sales from the third quarter of 2008 onward have consistently been about 30 % below what they were in previous years .
but dwr’s financial reports before the crash reveal that the company was hardly in robust condition . in the second quarter of 2008 , dwr’s same - store sales declined 3 . 2 % and the company posted a net loss of $ 159 , 000 , an improvement from a $ 575 , 000 deficit in the same quarter of 2007 — but only because dwr recorded a tax benefit of $ 541 , 000 from the previous year’s loss . sales through urltoken fell 3 . 3 % in 2007 , and in the first half of 2008 , they sank 12 . 3 % compared to the first half of 2007 .
as these challenges accumulated , brunner slowly transformed design within reach . it became a company that looked less and less like the bold startup that revolutionized the design sector and more and more like the plodding retailers — eddie bauer , gap — where he’d spent so much of his career .
the original design within reach studio sits on san francisco’s tree - lined jackson street , in the shadow of the transamerica pyramid . dwr always tried to put its stores in notable buildings ; this one lives in an elegant , three - story former liquor warehouse that made it through the earthquake and fire of 1906 . the building’s survival inspired local editor and wit charles field to write , “if , as they say , god spanked the town for being over frisky / why did he burn the churches down and save hotaling’s whiskey ? ”
step through the doors — which still bear dwr’s old tagline , “the source for fully licensed classics” — and the first piece of furniture you’ll see is the dover credenza , a nearly 7 - foot - long american - made piece distinguished by the louvers on its doors . available in veneers of ebony - stained oak or walnut , the credenza costs $ 4 , 000 . what the saleswoman can tell you , if you know to ask , is that until last year , dwr carried an extraordinarily similar credenza — in form , function , and price — called the sussex . the dover “is a replacement , ” she says . “it’s the same , except sturdier . ”
around the corner from the dover , there’s a wall with a montage of portraits of designers who have worked with dwr ; one of them is terence woodgate , the briton who created the sussex . in september 2008 , he got a call from the sussex’s manufacturer , the spanish company punt mobles , which had just received a letter from dwr canceling a large order . design within reach had swapped it for the dover , telling punt mobles , “they could not justify the carbon costs of importing from europe , ” woodgate recalls . and because the dover differs slightly from the sussex — its legs , for instance , are slightly thicker and made of aluminum , not steel — “they also said it was not a copy . ”
“but it is , ” woodgate insists . “they’re clutching at straws to justify plagiarizing a design . ” dwr’s web site credits the dover to dwr design studio , a fact that infuriates woodgate . “i remember the exact moment i came up with this design , ” he says . “i saw this fisherman’s hut that was covered in clapboard — only the door wasn’t . i thought , what if the door had clapboard on it as well ? that was the inspiration . i wonder if they remember their moment of inspiration . ”
the replication of the sussex is startling for two reasons . first , the original had long been a dwr star . the company had included it in every single annual report since going public as an example of dwr’s “design exclusives” — products not available anywhere else in the united states that the company believed to be “future design icons . ”
second , brunner has been a vocal defender of design integrity . two years ago , when the manufacturer emeco won trademark protection for its iconic 1006 navy aluminum chair , which dwr stocks ( $ 415 ) , he hailed the decision in a public statement . “if the creative minds of today and tomorrow do not believe they can protect their ideas and the benefits that provides , they may stop having them , ” he wrote . “intellectual property is perhaps the single greatest asset humankind has — it needs to be nurtured and protected . ”
yet in early 2007 , say three former dwr employees , the company began systematically copying popular pieces such as the sussex . “the board was screaming for margins to improve , and this was seen as a quick route to do it , ” says one , who requested anonymity to avoid breaching a nondisclosure / nondisparagement agreement signed upon departure from dwr . “there was a running list of the top - selling products , and we scoured that to see if we could source it elsewhere . there was no way they’d touch the classics because there was so much talk of authenticity . ”
dwr focused mostly on popular european - made pieces created by designers well known within industry circles but less so among the general public . board member peter lynch , a charmingly effusive retail executive with little design experience — “dwr has converted me and educated me , ” he says — gushes that “we’re getting a lot smarter about how we source product . ” midway through an interview in dwr’s upper east side studio in manhattan , he pulled me over to a sectional sofa called the albert ( $ 5 , 700 ) and told me to sit . “isn’t it terrific ? this used to be called the albero , but it’s basically the same sofa . my brother has one , ” he says proudly . “it used to be made in italy . now it’s made in america , from american leather . bison ! ” ( “it’s not bison , ” says a dwr spokeswoman . “it’s just called that . it’s really cow . ” )
at least a dozen of the company’s current offerings are essentially unauthorized reproductions of a foreign design . “rather than saying , ‘let’s come up with something better to replace it , ’ they said , ‘let’s come up with something similar to what people liked , ’ ” says a former dwr employee . french designer christophe pillet , who didn’t know that dwr was copying his tripod lamp until fast company directed him to the company’s online catalog , says : “they are pirates and thieves , like the chinese — except even the chinese are calling me now to ask me to make something original for them . ”
brunner saw dwr’s strategy as “completely legal . we’re not doing anything wrong . ” in every case , he said , dwr’s product - development team improved on the original design . in most instances , the tweaks were small and not obviously better . take pillet’s tripod lamp . “we were inspired by it , ” says vp of marketing chris hope . dwr’s version ( also called the tripod ) “diffuses light differently . we changed some of the mechanics . ”
the strategy is a disappointing echo of a controversial decision forbes made shortly after design within reach’s birth . he couldn’t get permission from knoll to sell mies van der rohe’s barcelona chair , and so dwr did an “inspired by” piece , to the original specs , called the pavilion . forbes emphasizes that dwr never tried to pass the pavilion off as the mies original , but still squirms and stutters over the decision to sell it . “i didn’t feel that good about it… . it bugged me … because … as a designer …” he trails off and finally continues . “yes , it’s legal to sell those things , but it’s how you go about doing it . we all have our instincts about what you can live with . some people are happy with breast implants and some aren’t . ” knoll finally allowed dwr to sell the barcelona chair in 2005 .