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Sweetie darling, of course it's Lacroix

Break out the Bolli Stoli: Serious couture is coming to catalogs. Multititle mailer Redcats USA announced in September that its La Redoute catalog is teaming up with Christian Lacroix. The fashion icon, made famous by the '90s British comedy series Absolutely Fabulous, is the catalog's premier guest designer for the fall 2007 season. Lacroix has designed six pieces for La Redoute USA: a fur and leather “Feria” tote for $299.99, a “Falbala” Trench (also $299.99), a silk taffeta “Sevillane” dress for $199.99, a fur and leather “Fiesta” bag for $149.99, the “Bauduc” extra-large bath towel ($44.99), and satin and leather “Hacienda” boots ($179.99). We know these prices are a steal compared to what Lacroix designs usually command, but they are still a tad steep for us. If this is what we need to be fabulous for fall, however, we'll take one of everything. Absolutely.

A haunting obsession with Halloween

We suspected Halloween was becoming a holiday more for adults, as well as a more upscale occasion, but this proves it. The first 33 pages of Grandin Road's 88-page Autumn '07 edition are devoted to Halloween gear. What would Grandin Road — an upscale home and gifts spin-off of Frontgate — sell to celebrate the spooky event? A copper cauldron for $199, a life-size cloaked reaper figure ($119), a real wooden coffin ($99; add $129 for the 5-ft. mummy with flashing eyes and sound effects); a dog's pirate costume ($34), and plenty of other Halloween-themed decor and accessories. Nobody loves Halloween more than we do, but it seems some people are spending way too much time and money on the holiday — especially those coffin buyers. That's just scary.

But I don't want to visit your Website …

Catalogers may want to drive customers to their Websites, but if you show something in the print book, it would be nice if you sold it there as well. For instance, apparel and linens merchant Garnet Hill's fall edition shows a skirt pared with a striped top on page 3. If you are interested in the shirt, there is no key to find the item's copy block or page number. Rather, you will be directed to “visit Garnethill.com” to find it. The item appears again on page 7 under a trench coat. It's shown a third time under a cargo jacket on page 18. At least this time Garnet Hill provides the item number and price, but the cataloger still asks you to go to its Website for some reason. Sometimes customers see an item in the catalog and they just want to pick up the phone and order it. Making them go to the Website can put an obstacle in the path to purchase and result in a lost sale.

Praying for a home sale?

It's nice to know that somebody is benefiting from the real estate slide. The Catholic Co., a cataloger/Web marketer of Catholic books and gifts, reports that sales of the faith-based St. Joseph home sale kit rose nearly 100% in late August/mid September. (We're not sure what the kit entails, but we think the process involves burying a small plastic St. Joseph figure in your yard and following instructions for prayer to the saint.) According to the company, sales of the item historically correlate with the strength of the housing market and the overall economy. The Catholic Co. says it can often tell the strength of the economy in any given area based on the number of St. Joseph home sale kits its ships to that area. It is probably not a good sign that rather than seeing a lift in particular areas of the country where the economy is struggling, the cataloger is now shipping the kits all over the country.