Instagram sold me on this one — and I am super thankful — snarky statement tights. I mean, who wouldn’t want tights with some fun comment on them? I saw them on my feed, bought them, and have been wearing them nonstop so thought I would share with you all! Saint Sass Tights!
I got “Trouble Maker” and they just made me giggle.
Balaclavas are all the rage!!!! (Humble brag — I have been in to them for over a dozen of years!) But I am so so so happy that they are back in fashion and I love them so much. They are not only warmer than a hat, but give off a different and fun vibe.
My poor kids wore them their whole childhood – mainly because it was so easy to put on and not have them lose it. This was almost 13 years ago!!!!
Fashion inspiration from New York City streets to California shores….Côte à Côte! Started by one of my besties, Eleanor, and her good friend, Ferebee, they created an online presence putting together outfits and ensembles with key pieces. Hands down, it is the best website / instagram / fashion inspiration you will ever find. So, go on instagram, follow them, and see their fashionable tastes.
Eleanor lives in California and Ferebee lives in NYC — they are both beautiful, smart, and incredibly fashionable.
I love Suzie Kondi — both the person and the brand. And everything she sells is perfection — not just her sweats or her sweaters (I am obsessed with my new sheer skirt I got from her!) but also her socks. WHO KNEW? She currently does not sell them online (only at her store) but I am telling you all to be on the lookout for these socks online and go to her store to get.
The perfect ankle sock to wear with skirts and loafers.
With the start of the new School Year, I am dreaming of lots of new Natori items — undies, bras, pajamas, everything! Here is my wish list:
1. Bliss Serenity Cotton Slip Dress
I love anything cotton that Natori does — it is timeless, comfortable, breathable, and the perfect nightgown. I love this one — and it comes in black and white!
Usually when someone shares a dupe with me, I don’t believe it until I see it in person — and if it is good, then I will copy the fake. So last month when I was in the Bay Area and saw my bestie in a studded belt — I told her immediately I loved her Khaite Belt — she told me it was an amazon fake for 15 dollars. I couldn’t believe it. Everything about the dupe looked EXACTLY like the real deal.
The real. For 650 plus dollars.
15 dollars — OMG YES YES YES YES. Same same but different!
Over Spring Break, while doom scrolling on instagram, I came across a sweater / poncho / fun sweater that I knew I needed. Yes, even as a Jew, I knew I needed this Virgin Mary sweater. Or Guadalupe.
The sweater I saw on instagram and knew I needed it.
There is nothing more awkward than me taking a selfie, but here it is! Me and a selfie wearing sunglasses. I recently discovered Eva Masaki sunglasses and I love (that said, my daughter hates them on me and is not a fan). They are a statement, but sometimes, it is fun to change things up and have a different look, and these are definitely different than my normal sunglasses I wear.
Awkward photo. Cute glasses.
Spotted on one of my favorite style Instagram friends, I asked immediately where her reading glasses were from. Thankfully, they were affordable, in stock, and OH SO CUTE! Reading glasses from Anthropologie! WHO KNEW????
Ok, I might not look cute, but I love that they are different. AND THEY ARE 35 dollars!!!! I am so blind (read old) now that I need pairs in my bags because I can’t read anything anywhere.
Last month when I was packing for the summer, I found one of my beloved denim summer jumpsuits to pack. The problem was that it felt a little more risque and showed too much skin than I felt the need to at the ripe age of 45. So through the referral from a friend, I was introduced to Evie, who repairs denims.
Photo from 2020 — I love this R13 denim jumpsuit — one of the perfect summer outfits. But I never liked that it went up on the thighs. (and oh — my ankle injury — thank god I don’t have that now!)
Early June, when I was at my sister-from-another-mister’s beach house, she had the perfect sun hat on. It checked all the boxes — cute, easy, stylish, and protected your face from the sun! I knew it was the hat that I needed for the summer. So, I copied her, and bought it — the Requiem Zig Zag Ocean Hat from Gigi Burris — and I love it so much. SO happy she did all the research and found the PERFECT HAT. Thank you, BK. Trust me — this hat is THE 10/10 best Summer hat of all Summer hats.
Side view from afar.
Natori is coming out with a kids line this Spring which is super exciting. There are many different dresses and each of them are so cute, fresh, and fun. In preparation for the line to drop, there was a photo shoot last week and the model was none other than Tusia (my 10 year old daughter).
Waiting for our turn to go to the shoot and get primped.
On Wednesday this past week, a friend organized a hat making class in Brooklyn through Mad in Brooklyn. It was a full day of hat making, crafting, and learning all about hat making. It was an incredible experience and I loved every minute of making my hat. To top it off (get it)., I love the hat that I made. So it was a win win day and experience.
To make the experience even better there were tacos, tortilla chips, AND margaritas. That alone, made it fun.
This past Sunday, I visited the old Barneys building (RIP) as Louis Vuitton is hosting an exhibition there until December 31st. This exhibition is the fourth and final stop of this traveling show. Not only is it an exhibit, but Fred’s (the restaurant, SOB, RIP) is also temporarily opened while Louis Vuitton is in the building. The exhibit is located on three of the floors, presenting 200 trunks that were created by 200 different artists.
The building. Entrance is free — you can reserve a ticket online, or just simply walk in, depending on the time of the day and how busy it is.
One of my most stylish friends periodically sends me texts with clothes she thinks I would love (she is always right AND these are the best types of texts to get!). This Spring, she sent me the outfit with a sweatshirt she thought I needed(I did), but I was most interested in her straw bucket hat. Of course, she sent me the information and I immediately purchased it. It is expensive, but I always think cost per wear (if you wear it everyday, you divide the item cost per day), and it turns out to be a steal of a deal! The Chloe x Mifuko straw hat!
It is not a hat that looks stylish — but it protects every part of your face from the sun.
My mother has been collecting shawls from all over the world her entire life — she literally has cabinets full of hundreds of shawls. Each shawl has a different story and represents the country and its craft work. So when I came across a vintage shawl dress, I had to get. It reminds me of my mother and I absolutely love it. I have been a long time fan of Bode — a NYC menswear company that specializes in one of a kind, handcrafted clothing that is cut from antique fabrics, victorian quilts, grain sacks, and bed linens.
Vintage shawl made in to a dress — one of a kind — each is unique and special.
I have been on a mission to cleanse my closet of clothes that no longer suit me by sorting through every article of clothing and deciding whether to keep, donate, sell, or alter. In this process, I found so many shirts that I LOVED but the silhouette was too long (because I used to wear a lot of long shirts with skinny jeans). So I took a handful of shirts to the tailor (if in NYC, I love Alteration Specialists — across the street from our apartment!) with high waisted pants and asked them to crop them. Yep, a 40 something year old wearing cropped shirts. I am so happy to recycle (upcycle!) clothes and I feel like I have a whole new wardrobe. Take a look at my awkward selfies in cropped shirts — and I highly recommend the process of making new from something old! Here they are!
I love this shirt and finally have so many different pants that it will work with.
I love crazy different pants — something a little different and unexpected. Here are the top favorite fall pants that I am dying to own.
Floral, flowy, fun.
I am excited to share with you a conversation with friends that recently started a new direct-to-consumer-retail company, Woodley + Lowe. It is a loungewear fashion company directed for the younger generation that is smart, interesting, as well as comfy, cozy, and fashionable. It is just the beginning! Check out the questions and answers with the founders and check out Woodley + Lowe!
Who is your target customer? Who are they? Where do they live? What do they like to do?
Basic but not so basic.
This question turned out to be harder to answer than you might expect. I know, from a business and marketing perspective, having a very specific image of your “target customer” is important, but so much of what our brand is about is accepting that our fans don’t fit just one “type”. She might be athletic, she might be artsy, she might be social, she might be shy—she might even be all of the above. (We even recognize that, while we use the she/her pronouns, we would love to see non-binary or cis-male fans in our clothes as well!). That said, generally speaking, she’s high school or college aged, passionate, authentic, and connected to her community. She’s tired of having to choose between inexpensive fast-fashion that doesn’t last and popular women’s brands that are too expensive or don’t quite fit her style. She’s looking for a brand that speaks specifically to her, and not her mom or her younger sister.
What makes you different / sets you apart from competitors?
Size chart. Looks like a complex scientific graph.
Our biggest differentiator is our approach to size. We were frustrated with the “one size fits all” approach and message of other brands, and we wanted to create something that addressed more sizes and shapes. Especially for teen girls, who are growing in all different ways and rates, we wanted to create a brand that everyone in a friend group could wear. Having more sizes presented a challenge from a cost and logistics perspective, but it was really important to us. We currently cover sizes from about 12/14 kids’ to size 10 women’s. Our A-B-C-D-E system (and pants come in 2 lengths for each size) gives us the ability to add where we see demand—which brings me to our other differentiator….
We are all about listening to our fans and delivering what they want and need. We want them to collaborate and co-create with us. That’s why we’ve incorporated a lot of space on our website for photos of real girls in our clothes. We love to see how they style them—everyone has a different take. We also love to poll our followers on Instagram about new colors and designs they want to see. It’s a win-win: they get to be involved in what we deliver, and we build an enthusiastic fan base.
Current selection of items.
We wanted to launch with a really tight assortment—we’ll have 12 different styles to start—so picking one favorite is hard! The key driver of our brand are the comfortable fabrics we selected across all pieces. We feel really good about our Sweats category. We began developing it even before that’s what everyone was living in. Our Cozy Cloud Fleece, which is the base for all of it, is the softest blend of cotton, rayon, and recycled poly. It literally feels like wearing a cloud (but warmer and dryer.) Once you put on our Comfy Crush Hoodie and Dream Joggers, you won’t want to take them off.
But we wanted to be more than just another Sweats brand. We’re also really excited about our Elevated Essentials. We used the same comfort-driven approach to create a few pieces for when you need something a little nicer than the just-off-the-couch look. For example, we have a ruffled mini skirt and cropped rugby made from a soft and smooth modal fleece. One of our Ambassadors joked “I could sleep in this and save time in the morning before school!” Lastly, we’re rounding out our collection of essentials with a few Base Body Wear pieces: a bralette, a cami with built-in shelf bra, and, of course, some leggings. Once again, we went for the comfort approach, so our fabric is not too tech-y, but equally wearable all day in class or out for a run.
Soft, pastel color palette.
Our color palette came about by polling our fans. We found that what they really wanted were clothes in colors that they loved and make them feel good, and not necessarily tied to seasons. So our launch collection is heavy on pastels, even though we knew we were launching for fall, because that’s what everyone was gravitating to. Then we added some more neutral colors to help ground it—olive, vanilla, and our marine blue (which is like denim), and threw in orchid as a pop color. We’re excited to get more active with our community in getting their feedback on colors, through our Instagram account and on Pinterest as well.
Logo
Just like much of our other decision making, our name came about through polls. Before we even launched Woodley + Lowe, we set up an Instagram group of about 150 high school girls (mostly in NY, but some across the country), to help us with branding and other initial design decisions. We brainstormed a number of different words and names that reminded us of high school/college (for example, Woodley is the road that my high school is on in Washington, DC), and then we polled our Instagram group. Turns out they loved the idea of pairing two names together, and we did too. It’s come to represent to us, as a brand, the yin and yang of everyone’s personality—sometimes you’re playful, sometimes you’re serious; some days you might want to dress up and go out with your friends, and other days you just want to sit in bed and watch Netflix.
What’s to come
We’re already well into development of our Spring drops. Even though our pieces are meant to be worn year round, we know it’s important to infuse some newness. We’ll definitely carry over what we expect to be the most popular styles, and add some fun colors. We’re also excited about some more summery pieces that have a kind of retro-summer-camp vibe. Mainly, we’re just excited to continue growing our collection of comfortable essentials to endlessly mix & match with each other or your other favorite pieces.
Fashion.
Ambassadors — tell me about them!
Ambassadors
We took a different marketing approach than most other direct-to-consumer start ups, who seemed to turn on a website with cool branding and then pour a bunch of money into Facebook and Instagram ads and watch people come to their site. But we think the Gen Z consumer is savvier, and most of their purchase decisions come from “what are my friends wearing.” So we decided to create an Ambassador program—real girls, not paid influencers—to sing our praises to their friends. Ambassadors can apply through our website, and they’ll be emailed a few questions to answer about themselves. We accept anyone who’s interested, as long as they’re 14 and older. (If we get to a point where, logistically, we can’t handle the numbers, we may institute a waiting list, but everyone will eventually be accepted!) In exchange, they get a discount code and other perks, and we ask them to refer friends to shop and send us pictures for our website and social media. So far we’ve loved getting to know this enthusiastic group!
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Thank you, Woodley + Lowe! I am inspired by female entrepreneurs that have a mission and accomplish what they set out to do! I can’t wait to get my hands on one of your hoodies!
Late Spring, I went on a mad search for the perfect summer hat — I wanted something practical, comfortable, chic, and unique. It was way harder than expected as I didn’t just want a simple straw hat. I wanted something with a little more flair, personality, and character. So when I came across Teressa Foglia — I instantly fell head over heels. The first one has some embroidery details, straps, cowboy vibe. I loved it so much that when I was in LA, I made an effort to go to her Malibu store and fell in love with Teressa (holy cow, chic and beautiful as ever) and ALL OF HER HATS. I walked away creating another summer straw hat — with some leather, flower ribbons, and more of a hipster attitude. After weeks of wearing both hats daily, I purchased TWO MORE straw and basic hats that the kids and I have been using on all of our hikes, bikes, river, water adventures.
This is my first hat — but most recent picture (yesterday at Crater Lake). It has a cowboy look but I love the detailing and the straps.
Cloth masks are the newest necessary fashion statement, and these cloth masks are my absolute favorite. To purchase, simply go on instagram and DM NYC jewelry designer Chloe.
I requested two adults, two kids, in african prints. A lot of options to choose from and I knew I wanted that style.
Going back old school — friendship beaded pins! When I realized that we were going to be at home for a loooooooong time, I realized I needed more activities that would interest both me and the kids. So I bought a ton of friendship bracelet embroidery thread as well as friendship glass beads to put on pins. It is simple and super easy but also fun and retro.
Big box of beautiful glass beads!
One of my favorite clothing lines is Warm. Not only is it my favorite store in NYC (it carries all different lines not just Warm) but I am also friends with the designer, Winnie, who I love, respect, and adore. Everything Winnie does is GOLD and her style is impeccable. When she launched a collaboration with Madewell, I knew that I would love everything. Sure enough, I do. But especially the high rise denim shorts. LOVE oh love! They are so comfortable and the perfect fit. It comes with a belt that you can tie, but I prefer it without…. If you are looking to support small businesses, smart people, and a good look, then these are the shorts for you!
Shorts. Perfect color and fit.
Last Thursday, Josie Natori presented Fall/Winter 2020 Ready To Wear. Unlike previous seasons, my mother in law decided to do a show/ presentation at her home versus renting out a space. The most fun and chaotic part about it is that the models were housed in our apartment to get dressed, hair and make up done. From 10 in the morning until 7 pm at night, our house transformed into a backstage of a photo shoot and runway show. In addition to the show itself, the highlight was having my son and his friends come over in the afternoon to get ready for their dancing school amidst a flood of models, hair and make-up artists, and show staff.
It looks calm at this very moment, but there were 40+ people there. Hair, make up, people who ironed, photographers, etc…
Currently, I am trying to dress more out of my comfort zone and take more risks. Like wearing ankle socks with skirts and pants, but showing off the socks. So in my attempt to be BRAVE, I searched high and low where to find the PERFECT ankle sock. And if you can believe it, it is way harder than one would expect! But thanks to the internet, Other Stories socks are the perfect ankle sock with pizazz, color, and fit!
And of course, I couldn’t just buy one, I had to get 4! And I cant wait to buy more….#hoarder
