Now feeling a touch more seasoned at the fashion week of it all, I have to say this #NYFW was fantastic. I celebrated designer friends (here’s looking at you Wes & Misha), bumped into gal pals like Ms. Olivia Palermo, and rubbed shoulders with the fashion elite who were all champing at the bit to see what fall trends are in store.
This past december at Art Basel in Miami, I met the lovely Misha Nonoo. And by “met” I mean danced the night away and sipped cocktails with, and by “lovely” I mean – chic, badass, and cut from the cloth of those who don’t take themselves too seriously. The kind of woman you instantly adore.
Lord knows I love a hat. If you check out my Instagram on any given day, you’re apt to find me in the same panama hat and aviators that I’ve been hiding under for a few years. So I thought it might be time for a change. Cue the cool, weathered, one of a kind hats you’ll find at 18 Waits.
You see these distinctive clutches on every red carpet. The acrylic objet-d’arts in throwback shapes and designs echoing those carried by starlets of the ’50s and ’60s. Brett Heyman, the LA born designer, who ran PR for Gucci until 2010 when she launched her adored line, Edie Parker, coveted the bags she would find at local second hand stores and flea markets.
Andrea Lieberman’s eponymous collection, A.L.C. has garnered accolades from the CFDA, and graced the pages of WWD, Vogue, and Harpers Bazaar. And there’s good reason. This New Yorker & Parsons School of Design grad, sheathed everyone from Jennifer Lopez and Gwen Stefani to Gwyneth Paltrow and Cameron Diaz when she worked as a stylist before launching her line.
Interested in channeling your inner Jean Seberg in Breathless? That ooh-la-la, je ne sais quoi that designers today, from Rodarte to Marc Jacobs, pepper into their collections. Think unfussy striped dresses, a sweet rounded collar, perhaps some little ladylike gloves.
Perhaps it’s the girly girl in me. Maybe it’s the fact that if given the choice between punk and pretty, I will always vote for pretty. For women looking like ladies. For the opportunity to wow with class and grace and fairytale level ball gown beauty.
I have to be honest when I say that I don’t really remember playing dress up as a little girl. No vivid memories of twirling in front of the mirror or sliding into my mom’s heels. The irony of this is noteworthy given my job on Suits, where, yes, we act, and yes, we emote, but we also play some serious dress up.
Bohemian Bourgeois, aptly nicknamed “bobo” by les Parisiennes, refers to a fusion of social classes, much like “Champagne socialists” in the UK, or “limousine liberals” in the states. And as loaded as all of that may be, let’s just for a moment, put the political suggestion to the side and simply talk about what it means to be “bobo chic.”
Am I wearing Tom or Nina for this scene? That’s Suits speak for the $5000 Tom Ford skirt I find myself wiggling in to, or the Nina Ricci cashmere and lace sweater that will be delicately peeled off of my body (so as to protect the perfectly pointed craftsmanship) after a long day of work.