Lazy Month

Okay, we owe all of our fans an apology. We only had one post in June. It would appear that it was a lazy month. But you would be wrong to assume so. It was a very hectic month for me. The 9th saw me on the way to Boston to attend the graduation of my nephew from Walnut Hill Academy. Having spent his four years of high school being boarded in a "foreign" state (he lives in New Mexico), I am sure it is strange for him to be home. However, it will not be as strange for him to head off to the University of Michigan in the fall as it was for me to leave home and go to college.



You never know where you may find what you need. Each morning in the hotel we were greeted by the extremely pleasant staff and one woman has a sister-in-law who just graduated from FIT. Well I jumped on that because we need a fashion illustrator for our project. Once I made that contact fashion illustrators started falling out of the sky.



We are working on adding the newest member of our team. He is a wonderful artist who is going to add so much to the entire project. We also have had a lot of progress with identifying photographers, moving through some really difficult issues and mocking up game boards to test runway configurations. It is moving very quickly.



We have a great team. In addition to Janice, Kenny and me we have:

• Christine Dougherty who is a great artist and has an impressive background as a costume designer;


• We are seriously courting Christopher Jernberg, who is a great artist, originally from Sweden, also with impressive credentials and a huge body of work;


• Cheryl Pegues who is a graduate of La Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, has done costume design in Paris and has a great body of work to her credit also; and


• We are courting an image consultant who as asked to remain anonymous for the moment.

As we roll out the project and its various facets, you will get a sense of what we are trying to do and how incredibly excited we are to be part of such a great project.

That said, Men's fashion week just ended in Paris. I haven't really followed it but now that it is July it means Haute Couture is coming to Paris as we speak. This is the month that it is all about luxury and lovely fashion. My big question is who is going to be present and who is not.

The industry is really in turmoil due to the economy. Christian Lacroix has filed bankruptcy in an attempt to reorganize and survive the downturn. I am betting that he will be able to pull it off. It would be a sad commentary to lose this design house and label. I am hoping that no one else is in big trouble. We need these guys to stick around. They are the artists of the day.

It is a month that I do not normally spend in Paris as the weather is not to my liking and it is too close to the start of the fall fashion season. But this year, we will watch from a distance. We are too close to the launch to take the 10 week journey.

Okay you came for fashion and that is what the last part of this post will address. First, I was horrified by most of the collections for Resort 2009/10. Resort, as Janice will confirm is a tough season. It is swimsuits, flimsy tops and cropped pants at a time when the wind is howling, snow is blowing around (if you live in the right part of the world) and you are really focused on the winter holidays.

I personally do not own a single piece from a resort season now that I think about it. Living in San Francisco, my wardrobe is pretty much sans season. It is never warm enough, for an extended period of time, for me to invest in a lot of 'summer' clothes. My clothes take me through the entire year.

That is a major consideration for all who are building a wardrobe. Do you need seasonal clothes or can you get away with a one-weight works all year? If you need seasonal clothing remember that other than a thick warm sweater, tops are, or should be non-seasonal. That silk blouse can be worn at any time of the year. Likewise that classic white shirt can be worn any time.

Even that pastel colored top can be worn in the dead of winter with the right pants and the right jacket. It can be used to lighten the outfit. Black, ink, charcoal, chocolate brown are great but you need to add a bit of color and lightness. And speaking of white shirts, if yours is more than 18 to 24 months old, ditch it.

Janice and I were talking to a couple of friends the other night about that. All white shirts (and tee shirts) will yellow with age. It is just how it works. If it is a shirt you love and it is not worn out, take it to a great laundry and have it professionally dyed to a great color. It's like the shoes and the great cobbler who can renew and repair those great pumps.

Okay here is the last item. Balenciaga has these really great black and white roman sandals that go all the way to the knee. They are from two seasons ago and I want them. Okay, I violated my cardinal rule. If you really want an item watch it until it gets to your price range or until it is the last one in your size and make the decision to go or not go for it. I should have gone for them and now I will be forever reduced to looking at them as a photograph in a magazine.

However, no tears. There will be other great sandals out there to snap up.

a la prochaine!!

Debra