You can pretty much tell the difference between the target customers for Kate Spade New York and Kate Spade Saturday by where the designer has chosen to place her stores--KSNY in the Galleria, and now Kate Spade Saturday on University Blvd. in Rice Village. The Houston Saturday, which opened today (which is, confusingly, Friday), is only the third in the country, after store openings in New York and Los Angeles. 

"This girl is younger," says Kyle Andrew, Senior Vice President and Brand Manager for Kate Spade Saturday, "in her 20s and 30s, in college or a couple jobs out of college, she doesn't have as much money to spend, and her life is not as polished maybe as the Kate Spade New York customer. Both brands are about color and pattern and optimism, but we're doing it for a younger customer. The materials are less refined--cottons and canvases."

Besides canvas and bright colors, younger customers apparently want customization, which is part of the reason the store is promoting the weekender bag at right, which you can order in any number of color combinations.

So why Houston? "Really we are still in testing mode to see who our customer is and what she likes about us," said Andrew. "We felt we had the coasts covered, and then we wanted to test places where the Kate Spade New York name is trusted and respected and well known. Houston is a great market for Kate Spade New York."