fashion column

Little Red Riding Vogue: Think Globally, Shop Locally

chathamcommunique

While working for WHIRL this summer, one of my favorite parts of the internship was familiarizing myself with local shops. These were stores that I must have walked past a million times in my life, but had never really seen. And not only did the internship get me into the shops; it also got me acquainted with the store owners and employees—considering you wouldn’t really trust a stranger to come in, take whatever they like, and leave.

Now, of course, I do have my own particular tastes, and so not every store’s style matched up with my own. It doesn’t mean they weren’t great—it just means that I’m very particular. Also, some of the stores would be geared towards an older generation so their styles did not work for a younger person.

One of my favorite stores was Kristi Boutique in Aspinwall. Although I cannot remember seeing it before in passing, I’m sure I must have. And now, whenever I head down to the Waterworks Mall, I can’t help but notice it.

Kristi Boutique boasts a great selection of clothes and styles that can honestly work for any age group. Specifically, they have a denim “bar” with dozens upon dozens of jeans, shorts, and more. They also explicitly carry Project 11 belts and belt buckles that you can interchange for a unique look every time. They have an abundant supply of soft t-shirts for yoga and a great assortment of accessories—such as designer sunglasses that could make you swoon.

Being in the same building as a yoga studio, Kristi Boutique has a relaxing atmosphere to the point where you could lose hours in there, just checking out every intimate detail of the little store. Everyone that works there is a pocket full of sunshine and although the prices are pretty steep, I would absolutely recommend stopping in if you’re in the area.

Another store I was head over heels for was e.b. Pepper on Walnut Street in Shadyside. Although it’s a bit less relaxed than Kristi Boutique, e.b. Pepper has the most incredible clothes. Sure the atmosphere is a bit stuffy, and if you’re young and wild like I am, you constantly feel like they’re watching you like a shoplifter, but the fashion absolutely outweighs any negatives.

Much like its atmosphere, the fashion of e.b. Pepper is high class, but also charming. Once again, the prices are pretty intimidating, but definitely worth it. If you ever need an incredible dress for an important event, and you’ve got money to burn, go to e.b. Pepper. You’ll find something that no one else can top, and everyone can admire. If you want to look “Vogue”, shop at e.b. Pepper.

Finally, not far from e.b. Pepper is Roberta Weissburg Leathers. All I can say of Roberta is if you wish you were a celebrity, then just stop by her shop.

Being a boutique, Roberta likes to get to know her customers, and then be their personal shopper in a way. She buys her stock with you in mind, and takes note of the styles that you prefer—not to mention her store is always packed with gorgeous belts and fun, art-themed socks. She has an overwhelming collection of cowboy/cowgirl boots and a talent for personalizing leather that could knock your socks off. And as an added bonus, she’s extremely nice.

If you’re ever looking for something to do, and you’re near any of these shops, definitely stop inside. And don’t forget to keep an eye out for copies of WHIRL!

Little Red Riding Vogue: Review of New York Fashion Week

chathamcommunique

Now that things from 2014’s New York Fashion Week have settled down a bit, it’s time to analyze and review! Although I love the classics like Chanel and Dior, I have to say, I always get especially excited to see shows from more alternative fashion houses.

One of my favorites will always be Kate Spade. Part of that may stem from the fact that her pieces are often somewhat affordable—especially if you hit up an outlet. This year she continued with her usual style of color blocking, stripes, and florals. In my opinion, she nailed it. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! She showed off some great dresses and bags that I can’t wait to see in the stores.

Another fantastic collection came from Zimmermann who charmed with ruffled gowns and gleaming blouses. Zimmermann chose to play with many textures and colors, and it definitely gets your attention. With dreamy periwinkle and creamsicle tones, this collection has me absolutely swooning. Any one of their pieces could make me feel like a princess in a Disney movie.

Now if you’re looking to be a specific princess—namely Jasmine—you should check out the collection from The Blonds. As usual, The Blonds dominated with a specific theme in mind. This time, they showed off gorgeous sequined and beaded outfits, often with beautiful billowy bottoms that couldn’t help but remind me of Jasmine in Disney’s Aladdin. All told, it was iconic as always.

Anna Sui, a regular at this point, knew what she was doing and rocked fashion week with a collection boasting dozens of unique patterns and cuts. Each outfit was uniquely edgy and charming with tones ranging from scarlet to indigo. She even threw in a few metallics to rival Zimmermann.

One thing I always love to see at fashion week is collaboration. In Jeremy Scott’s case, it was none other than Miley Cyrus. To be specific, Cyrus created a series of collaged sculptures to exhibit at Scott’s show. And she couldn’t have picked a better partner. Scott is well-known for his colorful, “out-there” style which he reiterated this year.

One of the best shows this year had to be Betsey Johnson who went above and beyond as usual. This time, her show’s theme was marriage equality. The show’s openers were models styled as same-sex couples. Many of the models throughout the show were also drag-queens—each one sashaying down the runway in one of Johnson’s crush-worthy, over-the-top ball gowns. She relied, as always, on girly tones and cuts, rocking the femininity of each queen.

If you missed my piece on the new designers at Marc by Marc Jacobs, check it out because that’s all I have to say about the new MBMJ previewed at fashion week. It’s flawless, shocking, and so Luella. With bright colors, color blocking, polka-dots, and bold text, Katie Hillier and Luella Bartley have stolen my heart once again.

Finally, there’s Altuzarra who is now featuring pieces at Target. Who doesn’t love high fashion at affordable prices? None of what was shown at fashion week is on the racks at Target (simply because this is their 2015 Ready to Wear, and also because these are not pieces they designed for Target), but nonetheless, it was darling and daring, shifting from baby pinks and blues to black and gold.

Overall it was a fantastic fashion week that has me drooling and dreaming about all the amazing pieces the designers of the world are creating.

Little Red Riding Vogue: A whirlwind of a summer

chathamcommunique

Over the summer I had the incredible opportunity to work for Pittsburgh’s WHIRL Magazine as a Fashion Editorial intern. For those not familiar with WHIRL, WHIRL technically has three publications: WHIRL Magazine, Edible Allegheny, and WHIRL Wedding Guide.

For anyone interested in the happenings of Pittsburgh—anyone who wants to know about the best restaurants, shows, stores, etc. in Pittsburgh—read WHIRL Magazine. Anyone interested in finding out more about local farmers markets, healthy recipes, and gardening should check out Edible Allegheny. Finally, if you’re planning a Pittsburgh wedding, you have to read WHIRL Wedding Guide. It lists all of the best venues, caterers, event planners, etc. in Pittsburgh.

Although each magazine is so unique, it all falls under one fearless leader: Christine Tumpson. As an editorial intern, Christine, WHIRL’s editor-in-chief, was my direct supervisor. She taught me so much about the world of magazines—and also about life.

Photo Courtesy of Veronica Cheng WHIRL interns at lunch

Photo Courtesy of Veronica Cheng
WHIRL interns at lunch

When I signed on for the internship, I was a little afraid that it could easily turn into a sequel for “The Devil Wears Prada.” I had no idea what to expect. The employees at WHIRL that I had been emailing about my paperwork seemed nice enough, but I couldn’t get a good read on Christine. When I showed up for my first day, I was about 20 minutes early—trying to make a good impression. Christine hadn’t even come in yet.

Christine was the kind of boss that everyone wishes they had. She’s like the mom everyone wishes they had. She lives by the flow of the world and sometimes she’d send us out to the most interesting places on the most exciting adventures. On one of my first days, she told two other interns and me that we had to take the bike trail down to this bike museum and then to a café she loved.

We got lost, there was a torrential downpour, but by the time we found the bike museum, it didn’t even matter. We were soaked to our cores, but walking into Bicycle Heaven was like entering another world. When we mentioned we were from WHIRL, we were given a tour of their extraordinary bike collection and given a brief history of their work.

Once we were finished, we trekked back out into the pouring rain to Chateau Café and Cakery for a fantastic lunch. When we checked out at the register we were all given little coasters with Pittsburgh themed things on them. When they had my order ready, they called out, “Roberto Clemente Bridge!” I don’t know of any other restaurant that does this.

Christine’s focus for our internship was not just to familiarize us with magazines, but to familiarize us with Pittsburgh. After all, that is WHIRL’s goal. At least once a week, she’d send all of us interns out for lunch to some incredible restaurant in Pittsburgh so we could immerse ourselves in our city and build friendships that I’m sure will last our whole lives. She introduced us to stores that I never knew existed, and now cannot live without.

Throughout the course of my internship, I assisted in major photo shoots, styled and managed minor photo shoots, wrote blogs for said photo shoots, assisted in major events, distributed magazines, collected products from stores, assisted in editing the magazine, and so much more.

I got to walk into stores, pick out whatever I wanted, and leave with so many bags I couldn’t walk in a straight line (although I did have to return them after the photo shoots). I got to go to some of the trendiest and most expensive restaurants in town for lunch. I got to see Pitcher Park Memorial Skate Park before it opened. Through WHIRL’s amazing, annual One WHIRL Yoga Fest, I found out that I actually love yoga and want to get much better at it.

For one summer I got to live out my dream job and be part of a family unlike any I have ever met. As we like to say at WHIRL, it was a ‘whirl-wind!’

Check out the denim blog I did for them here!