Marshalls Fashion Police ticket thousands

An 11-day sweep of Boston by the Marshalls "Fashion Police" resulted in 125,000 citations, a Marshalls publicist said today.

Locals weren't cited for bad haberdashery - indeed citations were handed out to men and women who were "fabulously dressed," said Marshalls, a Framingham-based retail chain.

So what terrible fashion felony were some of these folks charged with? Being "victims of high-price fashion," Marshalls said; by its lights, overspending for overdressing is a high crime of the most grievous nature.

Part of the retail empire of TJX Cos., Marshalls is an off-price chain that sells much of the same designer label clothing available at tony department stores, only at lower prices.

At Marshalls, and its sister chain T. J. Maxx, a core belief is that a fondness for haute couture and penny-pinching are not incompatible.

To ballyhoo that message, Marshalls began deploying teams of Fashion Police - a.k.a. "Deal Divas" - earlier this month.

The first stop was Boston, with the diva dragnet since moving on to Chicago; a visit to San Francisco is also planned.

This police force is made up of models, sporting oversized price tags and the latest spring styles; part of their mission is to hand out citations.

Recipients of citations are directed to Marshalls stores where they become eligible to win prizes.

Yesterday Stephanie Yip Hang Yee of Quincy came forward with a winning citation for a grand prize of a $5,000 shopping spree, Marshalls said.

In a statement, Marshalls spokesperson Amy Cafazzo noted that the Fashion Police "are aimed at driving in-store traffic and reinforcing Marshalls' core messaging."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)