Miami was a BLAST!!!!! Everyone in Baltimore was calling me non-stop to ask me questions!!! I think they all were just jealous I was on the beach, and they were not! Well it's back to reality for me....what a terrible welcoming...we have got negative wind chills in New York! I hate how fast time flies! Even for the pop up shop! Time is running out...we are only open in Harbor East for just a few more days!

I spoke to Gita earlier today to catch up on all the action that I missed. We are now having a sale at the pop up shop. Pop in and find much merchandise at 50% off!!! How exciting is that! Merchandise has been running out the door, so if I were you, I would pop in before it is too late!

Check out our latest video about our sale!

http://www.vimeo.com/8443217

Good news. The life of my life is still in Baltimore...waiting for me...I know it!! I can't wait to go visit it again...It's meant to be...I know it!..

Bienvenido a Miami

Well here I am...in good ol' Miami. I have officially escaped...

The sounds of the waves crashing onto the shore are so soothing...all of that madness of last week seems like it is a distant dream...I am actually wondering what has been going on up north...I have really been enjoying being on vacation and hope the next few days go by very, very slowly..

I do love this place!!! Lots of sunshine, lots of happiness = lots of love = lots of shopping! Wow I am so logical...see what the sun does to me!! Maybe I can convince Gita to move back here and open her shop here and send me to Miami with it!!!!

Well, it's about that time...must nap now to prepare for a rocking Miami night..and of course, I will be equipped with my latest accessory from Dresscode..!

Great News!

GREAT NEWS!!!! We are not popping away as soon as you think! Dresscode by Gita will be keeping 100 International Drive company throughout the holiday season until December 31, 2009. Aren't you excited?! We are giving you time to pop in for gifts for those you may have forgotten!!! (Something which I must confess I do every year...)

I spoke to Frances today...she has been doing a great job holding down the fort at 100 International Drive. She even told me that she did not get frazzled today!!! That is a great sign...! Everything seems to be in order and our best friend, lightspeed, seems to be working just fine!!!! We are ending 2009 on a great note!

...goodbye snow, goodbye retail madness, goodbye negative degree windchills..Tomorrow is the day I have been waiting for a very long time...I am off to the sun, to the beach, to MIAMI! Just gotta do some packing, shopping, i-pod syncing, the procrastinator in me will shine tonight! I better go! See you in MIAMI!

The Weather Outside is Frightful, but Harbor East is so Delightful

Wow. What a storm we had on the East Coast. I was able to escape Baltimore before it got really bad...phew! Apparently, it was considered a blizzard!!! But that did not stop Frances!! She was determined to keep the shop open for Super Saturday and she did!! She stayed in the Hilton right by the shop so she could make it work and believe it or not, people weathered the storms and came in to shop! Everyone was delighted to see that we were open, because who doesn't want to shop when it's snowing outside! It didn't stop me either! As customers entered the shop, the storm would enter with them, as inches of snow would pile inside as the doors would open! But Frances managed to keep the shop open until 5, right before the weather got worse! Way to go Frances!


All shops were back open today and people were popping by. Can't believe Christmas is just 4 days away....You must pop in to check out our delightful shop before we pop away on Thursday!

Dresscode by Gita Goes Virtual!!!!

I think Dresscode has found their lucky charm...and that is Gita's mother! The past few days, Gita's mom has had to hold down the fort at the Cross Keys shop, and every time she has been there on her own, many customers have come in and purchased items!!!! I don't think we are going to let her go! :)

As we have two stores currently in Baltimore, staffing has been limited, inventory has been split up between the two stores, and many phone calls have been placed daily between the stores...

Well, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to 2009!!!

We connected between the two stores via web cam! It was brilliant!! Talk about innovation! We had a customer in Cross Keys who was looking to buy an earring, however, one of the pair was nowhere to be found! To the web cam we go! Gita dialed in, we connected via the web, she showed Frances and I what she was searching for, and wallah, in a matter of seconds we found it! Gosh, this was so much easier than having to describe the earring on the phone and saved much more time!!

Perhaps you may see some virtual selling from us in the in the future..........

So this week has brought more foot traffic into the stores, which is great, mostly in the evening time. However, people that come in are randomly entering and wondering what is going on at 100 International Drive, Retail Suite 102! It seems that people still do not know that the pop up shops are here!!!! But nonetheless, loving the idea that shops pop up every now and then in different locations....

I am heading home tomorrow! I get to escape right before the Christmas madness AND big snowstorm !! Aaahh to think in a week from now I will be relaxing on the beach, listening to the sound of the waves crash onto the shore under the warm, Miami sun...

As for now, I am going to take advantage of being indoors and enjoy a nice glass of mulled wine...I am going to make Frances join me so she de - frazzles a bit.... ;)

So, if you are in the area this weekend and can weather the storm, pop in for a glass of delicious mulled and browse the great merchandise here at Dresscode....only 6 shopping days left!!!!

9 Days Until We Pop Away!

Wednesday Wednesday. The middle of the week...I cant believe its just about 9 days until we pop out of here! Today, it has been a little quiet, we have spent the day mostly organizing inventory, pricing more items, organizing the shop, and making sure everything is in place! Finally, after all these days, I think we are starting to feel a more settled in the shop! Pop up shops are not easy to create! There is so much work that goes into it, things I wouldn't even think of. I feel as though today we have had the most amount of down time in a while, so we had time to sort out little things we have been meaning to. Frances seems relieved! ;)

I was just googling pop up shops to see if my blog came up on the search, (which it did! )...and I found this!

http://www.radarredux.com/2009/12/baltimore-pop-up-shop/

It's a cute read about the pop up shops in Harbor East, including a slideshow on the bottom of great photos of all the shops here!

Today, I also had some time to visit a few of my favorite items in the shop, including...the love of my life...I just wanted to keep it some company...so I dusted it a bit, we chatted a bit, it was good fun!

The day is just about to come to an end, so it's now time to hit the COLD COLD streets of Baltimore!!! Can the weather ever make up its mind!!!

I walked in here yesterday morning and smelled the delicious reminisce of mulled wine along with ginger biscuits..mmm what a fragrance...it really put me in the holiday spirit again...not that I need much to do that because I do love this time of year!

After coming back from the weekend, of course I noticed things had changed since I left! New merchandise was out and the windows have changed, and they look fabulous!

Apparently on Sunday, it was raining cats and dogs! As a result, shoppers kept themselves indoors, making it a very quiet day down in Harbor East. As a result, Gita and Mclean, our PUST (Pop Up Shop Team) team manager, spent the day redoing one of the windows. They used chains, ornaments, and netted fabric to create a huge necklace in honor of Lanvin. I wish there was a human sized version of it!

Billy, our other key PUST team member, helped with the other window yesterday. It now has Lanvin bags hanging down from the top off chains! Too cool!

We got 20 copies of The Red Book in yesterday...so if you are a fan, hurry and get your copy before it is too late!

It seems that more and more people are hearing about the pop up shops as there has been much more foot traffic than there was a week ago, which is great news!

Frances kept me entertained today as every time she got near the computer or any sort of technology, something would go wrong. The computer would freeze, the credit card machine wouldn't work, and she would get super frazzled....as a result she nicknamed herself Frazzled Frances! She reminds me so much of my aunt, so I am a pro at calming her down!!! I just tell her to breathe, relax, and remind her that everything will be ok...things go wrong, and they may consistently go wrong, but try and be calm or it will turn into one, stressy, frazzled Frances mess. ;)

Crisp Air, Mulled Wine, and a Fabulous New Accessory

Crisp air, mulled wine, and a great accessory or two from dresscodebygita....

What a great way to spend a Saturday, wouldn't you say?

I really missed out today, as I have been in NY. Today, customers were able to sip on mulled wine as they browsed the great selection of merchandise at the shop!!!! What a great holiday treat! I wish I was there for the fun, but if you missed out like I did, who knows, maybe you (and I) will be able to enjoy some mulled wine some time again soon....

After speaking with Gita, it seemed that today was a great day down at the pop up shops. Customers were strolling around with their dogs, families were popping in and out of the store, and best of all, everybody left with a great buzz ;)

Happy Friday!!

Woohoo it's finally Friday!!! It's been a great first full week down here in Harbor East, full of lots of action...news, parties, and much, much more.

In fact, I have something for you to see! Click on the following link which will show you what went down here at 5 AM on Wednesday morning!

http://www.wbaltv.com/video/21924682/?taf=bal

Pretty cool, eh? Sandra, the reporter (not Sarah, which is what I referred to her as in my previous blog, sorry Sanrda!!!...hey at least I got the first two letters right at 5 am!! ) really did put together a great segment for us! Thank you Sandra!

I am a bit tired today...on my third cup of coffee...this is definitely due to the fabulous pop up party we had last night here in the shop....

We kept it simple...Birchware biodegradable birchware spoons, napkins stamped with "Dresscodebygita's 21 day pop up shop," (apparently an idea inspired by my mother), a whole lot of nuts, (which I ate so many of, I am surprised I didn't turn into a cashew by the end of the night!) and of course, lots and lots of champagne...

The turnout was great. I think we had about 60 - 65 people that popped in at various times throughout the evening....however, if you were not on "the list," you were not able to enter...and our 17 year old, 10 foot tall bouncer, Mclean, did a really great job at controlling the crowd! (Ok, not 10 feet tall, but super tall!)

Everybody was commenting on how great of a selection of merchandise we had down at the shop and everybody had lots of fun trying on different pieces of jewelry. A few of us were standing around with keys to the cases, making this easier for everyone to do. It was great fun because people could see their favorites on their friends to get more of a feel as to how their pieces of choice looked.

So last night I experienced something amazing, something I have never experienced before, something I wish everybody has a chance to experience at least once in their life...and this was...love at first sight... I know that one day we will meet again, you beautiful Gem Palace diamond encrusted bracelet...We are perfect for each other you and I, and I do look forward to being with you one day in the I hope near future... :)

(If you haven't been able to tell yet, I love to be dramatic!)

Well, I hope everyone is having a very Happy Friday! I sure am! I love Fridays! Have a great weekend everybody and HAPPY SHOPPING!

...just 11 shopping days to go!

15 Days to Go!

Go all the way to the back of the enormously long store, walk down the corridor which seems equally as long, but is really a quarter of the size, find the nice security guard, ask him a question, follow him back down the same long corridor which just seems longer at this point ...and finally, I am there...WHAT a process....all of this, just to use the bathroom!!! That is exercise for the day!!! My random thought I just had to share...one of the reasons I just do love blogging! :)

ANYWAY, I am very proud of myself. I made it down here this morning at 5 AM!! I have to admit though, I really was half asleep this morning...I was so asleep, it took me five minutes to realize I was wearing the wrong boots on the wrong feet...left boot on the right foot and right boot on the left foot... (oops)...I'm telling you..the morning and I are not friends...

So we were supposed to go on LIVE this morning on WBAL, however, there were some technical issues which I did not comprehend, but I think it worked out for the best. The news reporter, Sarah, decided to do small takes of Martina talking about the shop as well as great shots of the merchandise, all of which she said she will turn into a great segment that should be airing on WBAL tomorrow...Sarah asked if I wanted to be on TV as well, however, I was in such a fog this morning I had to decline the offer...it's ok, my two minutes of fame will come some other day..

A reporter from the Baltimore Sun came in this morning as well! I am glad the news of pop up shops is causing such a stir! The pop up shops really are a great thing! Lots of customers love the idea! I think Gita may be starting a trend in Baltimore...

It seems that foot traffic picks up in the store in the evening. People tend to come in after work or the gym...apparently there is a great view into our shop from the gym and it's leaving everybody very curious! So come on everybody, pop into our great shop! 15 days to go!!!!

We are having a party in the store tomorrow from 5PM to 7:30 PM!!! If you are in the area, trust me, you don't want to miss out on this one!! See you tomorrow!

Day 5

Pop up shop day 5! The shop looks better and better everyday! It's great that all our merchandise is displayed on furniture that has wheels because Gita has the freedom to change the shop everyday...and it does change daily, throughout the day..aren't pop up shops so much fun!

We did get some great new merchandise in today that is now beautifully displayed throughout the shop! I definitely have my eye on more than a few pieces! I was able to try on a few of the new pieces, and they look even better on, than displayed! I sure am glad Christmas is around the corner ;) My parents are coming down to Baltimore on Thursday...if you are reading this mommy and poppy...consider this is a BIG HINT. :)

We also are featuring The Red Book, by Carl Jung, that Gita's brother, Sonu Shamdasani, has translated! Well, I have to admit that I do not know much about Carl Jung or The Red Book, but those of you that do know and those who are interested in psychology, this is BIG NEWS! Also something worth coming down to check out! Proceeds from the book will be donated to the Philemon Foundation. Check out the website at https://philemonfoundation.org/mission/

The store was a bit quiet today, but the highlight of the day is that ABC news came down to interview Gita! Check her out at 5:30 PM and 11PM today! We are getting some more news coverage tomorrow morning from WBAL....at 5 AM. That means I am waking up at 4 AM?! Huh?! 4AM is considered party time in my book, not work time! If you know me, you very much know I am not a fan of the morning. So if you are "up" for a laugh at 5 AM tomorrow, be sure to tune into WBAL where you will witness me sleeping vertically. See you early in the AM!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year and Pop Up Shops are Finally Here!

Hello hello my dear blog readers! It's been a few days now since I have had the chance to blog but I am back! I know....you missed me...but Well. the past few days have just been super busy, so yes, loads to catch up on...here we go!!

It’s the most wonderful time of year and pop up shops are finally here! (I'm a secret poet, didn't you know it? ) The entire space here at 100 International Drive is filled with five shops total and they all look fantastic. Everyone worked really hard in putting together each of their respective shops and it really shows.

As for our shop, I feel like I am in some sort of art gallery…no not just because of the great artwork that covers the walls, but because everything is so unique – from the way the merchandise is displayed to the décor. Men’s shirts hanging delicately on red satin ribbon off a photography pole, paint cans, fabric, and bursts of red, silver, and hemp all through the shop....and everything is united in such a unique, stylistic manner.

Thursday, the day before the shop opened, was definitely a long day! But we had a great team that worked very hard to bring the pop-up shop to life. We spent the day mainly merchandising, decorating, and checking on the little things….computer and technology included!

I thought computers were supposed to make life easier! It seems as though everyday I have one issue or another with technology in general! Phone, ipod, laptop, remote control...everything is just so complicated these days...I miss the days of having to write everything down, the days of a simple button that you press to turn something on or off…gosh I can't believe I am writing such things...do I sound old or what! Anyway, my point being, is that we had some major computer issues on Thursday. Lightspeed, our inventory system, has not been working properly for days and we were on a mission to get it fixed….and what a mission it was! But through the process, I did make a very good friend, Michael. He really is the greatest customer service man ever, kept me very entertained as I was trying to sort all this out. We chatted about the weather, traveling, life, you know…and finally after 2 hours, I connected and got Lightspeed going! I was sad to let Michael go, but what a relief because now we could actually sell some merchandise. Major issue solved…or so I thought…we opened at 12pm Friday…and guess what, no internet and major Lightspeed dysfunction!! I didn’t mind though because I would have loved to chat with Michael, who would have sorted everything out and made all my problems go away! ☺ Unfortunately...we didn’t need him that day because we sorted everything out in a matter of a few hours....

Luckily we did because we had our first sale on Friday within hours of opening!! A men’s shirt! Exciting! The customer picked my favorite one but we do still have a great collection hanging on those red satin ribbons!!!

It is now Monday evening...The start of our first full week as a pop up shop! It's been a little dead in the shop today, but hey it's Monday, everyone is exhausted from the weekend. We have a full week ahead. The pop up shop has really transformed again since I came in this morning. My favorite Chrstmas tree has shrunk in size, and the leftover paint cans have been used in different places around the shop. Everything is spaced out and now the shop looks like a super chic boutique. Bright oranges and greens have popped up in the store and new merchandise has been displayed. Each day the shop gets better and better! Check out the photos to see how it's changed!

We Finally Did Pop, Now it's Time to Shop

After much fun, excitement, and stress,
we finally popped up, and my hair is left a mess!

jewelry, accessories, graffitti, paint cans, hemp, and lots of red
my vision has come alive...Gita had said!

The shop really does look fantasic,
If you pop by, trust me you don' want to forget your plastic

Do scroll down, for I have given you a sneak peak
for now, I need to catch up on my much needed sleep.

I do have much more to share,
pop in over the weekend if you dare.

Wow! December 4th has arrived and we have finally opened! The entire store is looking great! All of the five shops! The transformation from yesterday to today is incredible. Everyone worked really hard just like the dresscode’s other store at Cross Keys, I feel like I am an art gallery. Everything in the store is unique from the décor to the way the merchandise is displayed. The shop is really pulled together in such a wonderful and unique way.

Yesterday was definitely a long day! But we had a great team that worked very hard to bring the pop-up shop to life. We spent the day building the chrismtas tree that I love so much, merchandising the shop, and checking on the little things. he shop.
Natalie’s son made a super cool Chrismtas tree skirt… skirt with dresscode written on in in graffiti, which is perfect for the Christmas tree made of paint cans and ties in the artwork Deepak has displayed. The artwork was unveiled yesterday and it adds such a great touch to the shop.

We had some major computer issues yesterday , of course,. Aren’t computers supposed to make life easier! They are so hectic sometimes. Well anyway, Lightspeed, our inventory system, has not been working properly for days and we were on a mission to get it fixed ASAP or we would be in some serious trouble which would be too much drama. First, I had to find an internet connection. Of course I knew there was a Starucks around the corner, I hate to admit it, but it is one of the things I do look for when I am in a new city…but good thing I drink so much coffee because I knew that they would have a way to connect to the internet. First problem solved. Howerver, the next step was now connecting myself to the internet, which was another mission, I won’t get into the details. Luckily, my new best friend, Michael from London, the Lightspeed customer service guy was so patient and friendly as I tried to connect. Michael, the greatest customer service man ever, kept me very entertained as I was trying to sort all this out.We chatted about the weather, traveling, life, you know…and finally after 2 hours, I connected and got Lightspeed going! What a relief because now we could actually sell some merchandise. Majore issue solved…or so I thought…We opened at 12pm today…and guess what, no internet and major Lightspeed disfunction!!! I didn’t mind though because I would have loved to talk to Michael, who would have sorted everyting out. We were able to sort it out within a few hours though so it was not a problem. so I spent two hours trying to sort them out. Lightspeed, our inventory program, was NOT working…luckiy, Michael, the greatest customer service man, was very patient with me and kept me entertained as I was sorting out the issues. But finally after

We did have our first sale today too within 2 hours of opening! The foot traffic is definitely so much more than at Cross Keys, and everyone has been commentcing on the uniqe concept of the store! They love everything from the satin ribbons that hang the chic men’s shirts on the photography pole to the graffiitti artwork that fills the wallsThe shop is really pulled together in such a unique way – reds, graffiti, hemps. I love being in harbor east, it is such a great area. I am curious to know how the weekend goes, but I will find out when I return Sunday. For now, I am heading back to good ol’ New York to enjoy the weekend after a great week in Baltimore. Need to rest up …its almost party time! 17 hours on a bus in a matter of 5 days – I’ve had to have breakend SOME sort of record!
Of course there is always going to be drama when opening a store, butust just learn to go with the flow and Gita does it so well. There will most likely be problems and stresses along the way but the more stressed you make them, the more intense they become. As my good friend says, life is easy when you go with the flow….and that is exactly what I am going to do…

One More Day and We Will Be On Our Way!

I am currently on my way back to Baltimore...had to head to NYC to pick up the ribbon, which I did forget to do this weekend....Well ok fine, I wasn't in NY just to pick up the ribbon, but it does sound more dramatic that way...doesn't it? I do love adding drama to the drama..But anyway, it was the last thing on my TO DO list and I felt so good crossing it off and throwing the list away! I am sure a completely new list will start tomorrow, but I am glad I finished all I had to do with still one more day to go! High five to me!

Tomorrow is going to be a HECTIC for sure. It's just one day to go to the pop up shop and we need to bring all the merchandise from Cross Keys to Harbor East and set up the whole store. I definitely need to rest well tonight...and I am going to start resting...now...

Until tomorrow...

3 days to go!

All the tenants in the pop up shop congregated today to go over a few things such as shop timings, events, music, loading dock, you know, all that sort of stuff. There are 5 pop-up shops in the space, total! We are located in the center just beyond the entrance...there is a furniture shop to the left of us, and three clothing/shoes shops to the right that travel deep back into the space. I did not realize how big the space was! I was glad I finally got to see the interior of the shop. Sort of what I had pictured...high ceilings, white walls, room to do whatever we want. Our shelves and tables are there, completely built, waiting to be filled with our great merchandise...our mannequins are there too, waiting patiently to be dressed....they must be getting cold!!! ;)

I think the shop is really going to come out great, especially with the creative minds of Nathalie and Gita. They are really great at coming up with such innovative ideas! Natalie made a good point today...our Christmas tree is made out of empty paint cans....now what happens if a sudden gust of wind knocks all of them down...or someone knocks into them and topples them over...and I wouldn't be surprised if that someone was me! Well, good thing she brought that up because we need to find a way to work around that! Fill the cans with sand? Stick them together with duck tape? She also suggested a few different ideas for the tree, which of course, I won't share here, but our Christmas tree is one you will definitely one you won't want to miss! Yes...I am super excited about it! So funky!

Next, we had another mission! We had to find a couch and round table. We wanted a couch in the space so your kids/husbands etc sit down and relax while you go through and try on our merchandise, much of which you won't be able to find at our store at Cross Keys! We needed a round table to stand our Christmas tree on, so it can stand high and tall in the sky! Thanks to Michael Beatty, our mission was complete within a matter of minutes!

3 days to pop-up! Woo hoo!