Well here in the studio, at least. New fall merchandise has been arriving at a rapid pace for the last month. We’ve been styling and snapping and cropping like crazy to get it all up on the site, which means that we’ve been staring at all our new goodies for hours on end. It’s truly not glamorous, but it sure is fun to play with a bunch of amazing clothes every day!!! Some of my favorites so far…

First, 3 of my favorites all in 1 outfit! The dress makes me feel… well, ethereal is the word that comes to mind. And the booties are so light that I’ve even been wearing them during our incredibly humid weather. But the leather shirt. The leather shirt just makes me crazy. So soft, so versatile and just so freaking cool. LOVE it. 

SFRD leather shirt vest, Gary Graham pintuck dress, Rachel Comey Memo booties

The Ruse dress from Rachel Comey. I ordered this, but it doesn’t fit SOOO disappointed. 

I am always on the lookout for a great pair of pants, and these Vanessa Bruno Athe pants are just the best pair EVER. I wasn’t supposed to own these, but fate — and my dog, Kuma — lent a hand. Arlene and I were trying them on when they first landed and were in the process of telling ourselves and each other that they weren’t for us and that we needed to save them for our customers when over walks Kuma (he doesn’t like to be left out). He looks up at me and then gives me a giant lick on the leg (he’s a black lab, so his licks are pretty big), leaving a giant stain on the — now mine — pants. BAD dog.

Vanessa Bruno Athe soft trouser, Gar-de leather jacket, Sophomore tee, Loeffler Randall pumps

And the coup de grace, the Navy faux fur from SONIA by Sonia Rykiel. Knocks me out, it’s so good. Arlene and I actually both bought this, which might be a problem since we do everything and go everywhere together. We’ve had matching outerwear before, but nothing like this. But how could we resist? It feels so delicious when you’re all wrapped up (and you don’t even have to worry about those pesky animal activists!) And it’s navy. I mean, come on. How many times in your life do you come across a great navy fur??? 

SONIA by Sonia Rykiel faux fur, stripe tee and zipper leggings, Prairies de Paris pumps

So many other amazing things, but if I list them all here I won’t have time to actually do my work! We’ll be back, I promise.

Brandon and I had such a fun time at the Rag & Bone event this past week…Thank you Intermix!  Thank you Elle!  We had a lovely time meeting the founders/designers of Rag & Bone, chatting it up about the next big things with Intermix owner Haro Keledjian (genius I tell you!!), “tucking in” some champagne as Marcus Wainwright from Rag & Bone had described it and to top it off, we even had our picture taken  All in all a very fun night!  I have and wore that evening this cool piece from Rag & Bone, a classic blue/white seersucker blazer.  I love it, I love the way it fits & feels on and I love a classic seersucker.  You can throw on something completely wacky and a cute seersucker blazer can balance it all out…shocking, but true.   My outfit that evening (inspired the very next day’s outfit and possibly, maybe, also the compliment David Nevill paid Brandon & I on our style that evening  Yep, that might be it)

Brandon (Sophomore Tee, Rag & Bone white blazer, Marcus Wainwright of Rag & Bone, me (Rachel Comey top, Rag & Bone seersucker blazer, David Neville of Rag & Bone

the next day inspired a white oversized tee, Nobody Rue Jean, Mason white blazer, Chloe bowed pumps.

funny thing...I actually got a compliment on my hubby's tee! It's got this great stretched out neckline.

Intermix owner, Haro Keledjian, Model Dana Taylor, David Neville, Model Amelia Poole, Intermix owner Khajak Keledjian, Model Cecily Rodriquez, Marcus Wainwright

last image via ChicagoNow.com

Last week renowned milliner, Philip Treacy, was in town for a personal appearance at Neiman Marcus on Michigan Avenue. As Philip would agree, Neimans is in the business of glamour.  And so is he, so it was the perfect match.

There’s no mistake about it, the man loves glamour. And he truly believes in glamour in your everyday life. He loves hats and admits that, no matter how the chips may have fallen, he wouldn’t have ended up doing anything else.

A piece from Treacy's Spring10 collection

Well, I love hats and I love glamour and to sit down with him was beyond amazing. To try and write about it is actually a little surreal. The whole experience was just… Well, I described it on Twitter as “maybe the most amazing day of my life.” We even tried on some hats!

Now I just have to figure out how to get my hands on one. Hmmm. Anyway…

Of course I asked him about all the current things happening in his life. 

We talked about Lady Gaga. She has indeed applied to be his intern and will have to go through the same process as any other prospective intern. A process which Treacy describes as “pretty rigorous.” Basically, if she can sew and she’s good enough, she’s in; if she can’t, she’s out. And Philip makes a point to let me know that she is quite serious about it. It’ll be interesting to see what happens. 

And Sarah Jessica Parker? Another SATC premiere hat???

At the Sex and the City premiere in a custom Treacy creation. Look at her work that hat. So good.

Yes! He is probably, literally, putting the finishing touches on it as I type this. What will it look like? Well, he wouldn’t say. Here’s what he did say:

Well, she does like a choice… Probably I will see her. And then we’ll decide what the hat is. And then I’ll have to make it overnight.

Can’t wait to see it!!!!!

And I was really curious about the shoes he did for Valentino. 

Although a seemingly natural progression to move into other areas of accessory design, I was curious why. He told me that the only reason he did it was because [the Valentino team] asked him to. If someone asks him again, we might see more. Here’s what he had to say about the differences between hat design and shoe design:

It’s still a shape.  And it’s a point of view. You can adapt your aesthetic to anything because hats are about shape and function and form, and so is everything else. 

It’s interesting to hear him talk about form and function and glamour all at the same time. I think many women would consider function and glamour to be mutually exclusive. But Philip most certainly disagrees.

Glamour is a function. Women are becoming less timid… It’s about not conforming. Hats were the conformist’s accessory and now they’re accessories of rebellion. Hats are fun, really. Whether you’re the wearer or the observer, it’s entertainment. It’s all entertainment.

[Women] don’t grimace when they come and try a hat on. They may not want to try a hat on, but then you can sort of surprise them or amaze them or shock them. It certainly brings out a reaction.

And his clients are certainly those who like to elicit a reaction. As he says,

I make hats for the most interesting cross-section of glamourous people in the world, from Prince Charles’ wife to Lady Gaga, from Marilyn Manson to Elizabeth Taylor… There’s something that runs through the minds of all of them. They’re all… Interesting people wear hats.

And interesting people make hats. And he has some interesting opinions, too. His favorite Oscar look ever?

Cher in Bob Mackie. After talking to him, it makes perfect sense that he would love this. This look brought about a discussion about Hollywood dressing. Obviously, Treacy is a big fan of old Hollywood glamour; he is most definitely not a fan of the Hollywood stylist.

I’m not really interested in that kind of boob-tube induced, spaghetti strap, Hollywood dressing. I don’t find that stylish. They all look the same to me… Stylists have ruined [the business]. They make everyone look the same and they make the artists paranoid about not looking the same.

Interestingly enough, while searching for the above Cher image I came across an interview with Bob Mackie from a couple of years ago, and he uttered some very similar sentiments. Needless to say, I did not mention that I am a stylist and that Arlene and I often have a fear that all the women in Chicago will be running around looking like us!

So with all the royalty and celebrities and iconic designers that he’s created hats for, is there one that stands out as his favorite?

It’s always the next hat you’re going to make. So my favorite hat’s going to be Sarah Jessica Parker’s hat for the premiere.

And I can’t wait to see it and his favorite after that. I’m certain he will go on to create many, many memorable and stunning works of art and, hand to God, I will own one someday. He is a master of his craft, an artist of the highest degree, and I’m so appreciative of the time he gave to me and the talent and gift he shares with the world. Thank you, Philip Treacy.

Here’s to glamour! Clink!

SJP image via Daily Mail, Valentino runway image via Style.com, Cher image via google images

WOW.  What a really amazing evening of fashion at this year’s Annual School of the Art Institute NightWalk 2010 benefit.  It was a gorgeous evening, a gorgeous event and everyone in attendance came out in full force to support the school.  Another big WOW for the all amazing streetstyle that night.  That was by far what made the evening so fun for me, next to meeting Gary Graham  Everywhere I turned was another fantastic look!  With 76 years of fashion, art & design education and with alumnus such as Halston, Matthew Ames, Cynthia Rowley & Gary Graham to just name a few, no surprise that the Fashion Department at the School of the Art Institute Chicago could gather so many lovers of fashion & art into one room.  I’ve already marked my calendar for next year’s event!

Always lots of fun running into Ms Candace Jordan at these events.

Too cute. Glasses and nose ring never looked better together!

This year's event was held in Renzo-Piano-designed Griffin Court of the Art Institute's amazing new Modern Wing

Here we are both in our pieces by Gary Graham. A little homage to this year's SAIC Legend of Fashion Honoree.

This woman's dress was one of my favorites. I loved it paired back to her flat lace up boots.

I just loved this woman jacket...look at the great knit insets under the arms.

Me, Gary Graham, Eliane from Gary Graham, Brandon & Amanda of SassafrasChic.blogspot

I love, love, love dance. I feel it from the top of my head to the bottom of my toes and deep, deep into my soul. Not to sound dramatic, but it truly moves me more than any other art form. The combination of movement, music, costumes, lighting… it just gets me every single time.

I have loved dance for as long as I can remember. Maybe it was the influence of my mother. She used to take me to see the Nutcracker every single December. We saw all sorts of dance performances together, including a very interesting one in Paris where the curtain would come crashing down with an unnerving thud after each movement.

There is a definite link between theater & dance and fashion. Fashion is undoubtedly an art. And a runway show is certainly a performance. Alexander McQueen knew this. And Karl Lagerfeld obviously knows it. But costume design is a very different thing from fashion design. Although some designers can actually cross over (Gaultier’s many memorable costumes for Madonna come to mind), they really are two separate art forms.

Anyway, after a lovely post by the Queens of Kingdom of Style about their visit to the Scottish Ballet, I got to thinking about exploring the dance in Chicago. I decided to reach out to the Joffrey Ballet and was thrilled to no end when I got a response from Eric with their PR firm. Eric invited us to chat with Marianne, the mistress of the Joffrey’s wardrobe department, and preview the creation of some original costumes for 2 world premiere pieces for Eclectica, their Spring program. So exciting!

When we got to the Joffrey’s costume department on Monday morning, it was 2 days before the premiere of the Spring program and everyone was busy, busy, busy completing and putting the finishing touches on the costumes to be worn. Marianne was sewing the entire time we were talking (frequently utilizing a pair of sewing scissors dangling from a ribbon around her neck).

Also in the running for favorite (and super-wearable, like put me in it RIGHT NOW) were these dresses from Crossed, one of the 2 premiere pieces making their debut. Choreographed by Jessica Lang, with costumes designed by Tamara Cobus.

a finished version waiting for its ballerina…

in progress…

 

     

and in action…

They also created these unbelievable corsets with contemporary tutus for the world premiere of Pretty Ballet, choreographed by James Kudelka with costumes designed by Denis Lavoie.

The corsets had over 32 pieces of fabric and took 10-15 hours each to put together. According to Marianne, Denis actually sent her a completed corset to show them what he wanted and then Marianne and her team adapted it to dance. Marianne says, “For me, the fun and the challenge is in taking someone else’s design and making it work for dance.” An underrated skill, if you ask me.

Here’s the Joffrey’s lead stitcher, Lavinia (or her hands, anyway), working on one of the many corsets…

a couple more in progress…

And on stage…

I was really hoping to see a sketch and finished costume, and although their renderings “bible” was not present (can you imagine how cool that must be??) there was this piece from Arpino’s Paquita. 

The sketch…

and the finished product…

Designed and built by the Joffrey’s Travis Halsey, this baby is like a piece of couture. With over 100 hours of labor, you would see this retail for at least $2500. In person, it’s like a fairy tale.

The Joffrey has a very exciting 2010-11 season coming up, including an All Stars program featuring Joffrey premiere pieces by the legendary George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. Can’t wait to see that one! Check out Joffrey.org for more info.

A very big and most heartfelt THANK YOU to Eric Eatherly and The Silverman Group, Marianne Marks, Travis Halsey and their whole crew, and the Joffrey Ballet for making this most amazing day possible!

 

Our May Cover Story is shot and should be up soon  This one came down to the wire!  I mean, the wire!  Brandon and I were getting looks together the morning of the shoot with a start time of 9am.  Thanks to the talented crew and the amazing location, all went off without a hitch and the story is beautiful.  This shoot we had a couple of inspirations…this great jewelry ad from Tous.  Oooo la la!

and this FANTASTIC dress from Les Prairies de Paris….

That dress lead us to the gorgeous Rose…..and Voila!  Karl’s take of Rose + Tous ad…..

Thank you Karl!! Cover-Story-Rose would not be Cover-Story-Rose without you!!

The talented crew...photographer extraordinaire, hair stylist extraordinaire and stylist extraordinaire. This is one of my favorite shots....on the white couch :)

OK, threw this one in. Me, behing-the-scenes the day before in our studio for another shoot. Studio shoots are a little nutty in our small space....clothes, makeup, a good handful of people and even sometimes a dog!

Many thanks to our friends, Lisa & Joel.  Their home (aka…amazing location) was absolutely perfect for this shoot.  Here are just a few detail shots of the location…..

4' metal wall hanging

a pair of ceiling lights in the living area

ceiling above the kitchen & dining area

I was cleaning up my iPhoto and came across all these great shots my daughter, Kit, snapped while we were in NYC.  I marvel at a kid’s eye…especially this one.  She’s one that also takes to being in front of the camera, but says she’d rather be behind.  My dad took great and many pictures of the family with his Pentax film camera.  Thinking of all those albums filled w/film printed pictures…I’m shocked.  My first experience with his camera produced a whole roll of blank images…total excitement to total dud.  Wow, how’d he do that??  I still have my polaroid and now a Nikon D40 (thank you Karl Rothenberger for all your tips!!!). Before the Nikon, Kit was snapping away with my phone.  There’s certainly an affinity there from generation to generation (albeit a little weak…like connect-the-dots) but innately there….OR could just be the asian in us  Here’s just a small sampling of shots of NYC showrooms (Findings, Sonia Rykiel & Olarte Foussard) & the Rachel Comey show….photography by Kit.

Funny, but the word “fresh” has been taunting (and haunting) me a little for the past few months. So I find it ironic that it seems to me to be the perfect title for this post.

On Monday, Arlene and I shot our cover story for May with the fantastic Karl Rothenberger and an adorable model from Factor, Rose. 

the lovely Rose, wearing Rachel Comey skort and blouse and N.D.C. boots

Rose’s mother told us that Rose wants to straighten her hair. Can you imagine???? You should of seen — and heard — the reaction in the room when that came out! Apart from her disappointment with her curly lot in life, this young model (she’s a mere 14 years old) takes her modeling very seriously. We asked her who her favorite model is and she said Karlie Kloss. Which is even more ironic because Karl just showed us this Karlie Kloss story from Vogue UK, shot by Alasdair McLellan, as inspiration for an upcoming summer cover story (to be shot in NYC, stay tuned!)…

{I swear I sat on a floor just like that in a room just like that and watched Richard Nixon’s resignation speech on a TV set just like that. Classic Americana.}

Born in the USA images via Fashion Gone Rogue.

This last trip to NYC was all about the girl power. From the lovely Mariana and Ana to the luminous Lauren Hutton (we saw her at The Smile and I told her she was beautiful — I’m such a dork!), it was all about the girls. Well, the one-and-only Sonia Rykiel was a big part of the girl power for Arlene’s 9-yr old daughter, Kit. 

I probably don’t need to tell you that the combination of pink and blue and red and leopard and stripes and hearts was like a paradise for Kit (and the chocolate muffins certainly didn’t hurt, especially after her disappointing breakfast at Starbuck’s). Our rep, Mina, took an instant liking to Kit and presented her with the most adorable pink, sparkly pen/key ring sort of thing (I’m ashamed to admit that Arlene and I were a little jealous — I’m not proud of it, but it was Sonia Rykiel!) Anyway, it appears that the trip was even more influential on Kit than we knew. A week later, on our 1st night back in New York, Arlene showed me this picture that Kit had drawn…

Okay, is it just me or is this totally inspired by Sonia Rykiel? I mean, Hello, they’re all wearing berets! Judge for yourself — here’s a peek at a few of the sweaters we saw at the showroom…

I find it fascinating to see how this came out, interpreted by Kit. I can’t wait to see what my very special Kittersons ends up doing with her life. She is clearly going to be a creative force to be reckoned with!

And lastly, when we returned from our 2nd trip to NYC, we found a package for Kit. In it was a beautiful Sonia by Sonia Rykiel silver flower necklace. And 2 pink sparkly pen/key rings Thanks, Mina. You’re the greatest!

Everyone loves Sonia, even my precious little puppy, Kuma…

Kuma, wearing Sonia for H & M :)

Aside from all the fantastic outerwear and pants for fall, fall market was also all about some awesome girl power!   We have met the most fantastic women on this trip!  The fun started the morning we left for NYC….we meet Ana & Mariana.  We first spotted each other in the security line at the airport, then at the same gate then, of course as fate would have it, on the plane.  They were seated directly in front of us!  That’s when Ana popped her head over her seat and introduced herself.  Enough with all the flirting and winking, right Ana is from Madrid and future showroom owner and Mariana is from Argentina and has an incredible handbag line, Mikai.  Mikai is the first line we bought for fall…right off Jet Blue!

awww....there they are, Ms Ana and Ms Mariana

I just had to pan back and get a full shot. How cute are they??

Below are a few shots of Mariana’s fabulous handbag line.  The leather and production is all out of Argentina.  Great everyday handbags that I would love to carry around well, everyday!

overnighter bag Look at that color!!

pompom bag. Love the size. LOVE the pompom.

small bandolera. Have you seen a cooler crossbody?? I don't think so!

Here we are after we ran into each other a SECOND time during our trip, right outside the Lyell store.