Count Your Bblessings

Posted On July 29, 2010

by Max Berlinger

Dammit! This is not how we wanted our day to start. Our hearts sank when we opened WWD yesterday morning and saw that four-year-old menswear boutique Bblessing is shutting its doors this Saturday. It seems that although many say the worst is over, the pesky recession is still affecting our friends and neighbors.

The shuttering of the store comes as a huge surprise to us as it always seemed like a smashing success. Bblessing was an fashion insider favorite that received tons of press for its terrific selection of well curated goods—featuring a perfect mix of larger names like Rag & Bone and Raf Simons mixed with relatively unknown labels and one-of-a-kind vintage. But alas, the retail scene is in a time of major transition, and shoppers aren’t behaving in their usual manner. “The shop has been pretty slow for the past year,” manager and in-house line designer Nicholas Kratochvil acknowledged to WWD.

The last day of operation will be this Saturday, July 31st, with a farewell fete starting at 5pm. Until then, we’re both happy (what? we love a sale) and completely devastated to announce that everything at the store is on sale, with spring 2010 items marked down by anywhere from 75%-90%. And when we say that everything is on sale, we mean it—the store’s bordello-cum-gentleman’s club style furnishings are also available for the picking. But don’t be too sad, we contacted Kratochvil and he gave us a salivation-worthy prophecy: While the store has no plans to reopen or move, he told us, “I do however plan to launch my own project in time for autumn 2011.” Phew, a silver lining after all.

In a time menswear-only stores are few and far between—especially ones with their fingers so firmly planted on the pulse of what’s next, new and cool—it is with a heavy heart that we bid Bblessing adieu and look forward to its return, in whatever incarnation best suits it.

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Count Your Bblessings

by Max Berlinger

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