New Brahmin

The View From Behind

I stopped by the discussion for Jay Calderin's new book, Form, Fit & Fashion, on Friday night at his homebase, SFD. Because I'm always so well prepared and an excellent photographer, I grabbed a seat directly behind Jay and was able to take this incredible picture of his back and moderator Chris Muther (from the Boston Globe). I'm totally going to win some sort of photo prize for this one.

The conversation was light and full of laughter. Jay discussed his background, how he didn't want to be "the chacha designer" and decided against making red dresses at a very early age (it's because he's Latin), his influences (Vionnet!) and how architecture and construction are the most interesting and important elements of design for him. While Jay thought it was a joke when his editor called him to write the book, he realized he was being offered cart blanche and was able to put together a book that would "stir the imagination" of young designers. His book covers beyond design and touches upon the business side of fashion as well. 

What I found most interesting was Jay's insight about Boston as a fashion city - which can be a very loaded topic. Jay had moved here in 1989, deciding he was sick of NYC, and founded Boston Fashion Week in 1996. He feels that Boston can be "the thinking man's fashion city" since, you know, we are the intellectual hub of America. Jay believes that Boston as a whole needs to figure out what it wants to celebrate about it's fashion. His thoughts are to move forward and merge with the brilliant technologies that are coming out of the area. He suggests that local designers think more about alternative presentations, a la London, utilizing technology as well as collaborating with other design-oriented industries to create more memorable and long-standing presentations. 

His best point of the evening (albeit unrelated to the book): runway shows can be wasteful. While he agrees that there's nothing like a good show, putting on a quality production costs a lot of money. Since we are so bombarded with imagery from high-cost shows from around the world, it's easier to criticize a local designer more because of poor lighting or bad seating than for their actual designs. Not that runway shows are going away in Boston - however, Jay would love to see more video and photo exhibitions coming from Boston designers for this year's BFW.

Continued Breaking News: ZOMG!

I am determined to break this Topshop Boston story- not even just for the blog, but so I can start having a full freak out and start making some serious wish lists. After using my intense Google skills, I came across many blog posts referencing an article written in Nov. 2007 for WWD containing an interview with Topshop owner Sir Philip Green...

Each of these posts included a summary of Green's statements to open two more Topshop Manhattan's and debut stores in Las Vegas, Miami and BOSTON!

THATS RIGHT FOLKS! Boston. Are your mouths watering yet?

Here's where I found the most reliable post, but a quick Google search of your own should yield the same results. The original WWD article has since been deleted.

UPDATE: AllSaints is going into the old Pottery Barn space. There's still hope though!

[image source]

Shiver Me Timbers!

How about that wind yesterday?! Besides blowing open a door in my apartment, the wind did some major damage on Newbury Street.

Seen here is what was the door at the new Jonathan Adler store. The same thing happened not to far down the block at Sabon. Kind of insane, no? Let's hope Mother Nature has gotten over it and stops blowing into stores.

Black Friday Round-Up

There'll be sales just about everywhere this Friday, so here are some to get psyched about:

- Salon Sassoon is offering to anyone booking a blow dry service this Friday a complimentary, 30 minute treatment (personalized for your specific hair type) - it's a $42 retail value and will give you an hour of calm amongst the holiday shopping madness Salon Sasson 399 Boylston Street, Back Bay 617.536.5496

- lunaboston.com is having a huge online sale for all of you too lazy to get off the couch. Save 40% from 10am to 1pm, 35% off from 1pm to 4pm and 30% all day. No codes are required, prices reflected on the website and very few exclusions apply. If you're not lazy, you should stop by the Newbury Street store, because I'm sure the love will spread there as well Luna Boston 205 Newbury Street, Back Bay 617.262.3900

- Dress is offering 15% off everything in store, including styles currently on sale Dress 221 Newbury Street, Back Bay 617.434.7125

- Reiss is taking 50% off select collections (their 1971 stuff is drool-worthy) starting Friday, ends this Sunday Reiss 132 Newbury Street, Back Bay 617.262.5800

- Turtle is offering 20% off everything in the store this weekend Turtle 619 Tremont Street, South End 617.266.2610

- Moxie in Beacon Hill has beautiful shoes - some serious deals - 30% off boots, botties, bags and pumps and 20% off anything black or that has black in it thru Sunday Moxie 51 Charles Street, Beacon Hill 617.557.9991

That's just the tip of the iceberg. Barneys, Saks, Neimans and Stel's are also having some stellar sales that demand your attention. I need a valium already.

We Hear That Right Now...

...there's a party going on at Leokadia until 8pm. It's their annual Friends & Family night (offering up 30% for their beloveds). Hopefully owner Jessica Lynn won't kill me for posting this because there was an RSVP so they wouldn't run out of booze. Go, support, shop and don't drink all their beverages up.

Leokadia

667 Tremont Street

South End

Drool Worthy

What Newbury Street shop just picked up Balmain for spring? The majority of us might not ever be able to afford it, but it feels so good to know it's there if you could. 

Scientologists On Clearway Street

For those of you who follow me on FB, I said something mean about Tom Cruise last week (it was my subversive version of "RIP Patrick Swayze"). Not that that has anything to do with anything here (unless I go missing - then we'll have to deal with Xenu). However, when I was trolling my favorite daily gossip site this morning (I'm on an anti-Perez kick - he doesn't need my page views and I've grown bored with him), I see this picture of Tom Cruise in Boston. 

I immediately recognized the variety of cereals and household goods in the window behind him to be Bodega. I happen to be at Bodega today and without prying too much, I found out that he and "Kate" were there yesterday shopping, on a recommendation of Cameron Diaz. Not bad. I really wanted to ask if they had to put lifts in/on any sneakers for him, but refrained cause I didn't want anyone to think I was corny (I am). So Boston beware, the Cruises are out and they'll shop and probably block some of your favorite stores in the meantime.

[photo source]

Notes On Last Week

Two things about last week that I completely failed to mention because, let's face it, after a night with 4 parties and a late-night after party, I wasn't fully functioning on Friday. One, Salon Sassoon, which just opened it's new, huge white space on Boylston Street, possibly has the best dressed staff in all of Boston. Two, if you weren't at Fashionably Late at the Liberty on Thursday, you'll never understand what you missed. 

For the first time ever in the party's 5 month history, people actually stopped what they were doing to pay attention to the fashion show going on. Ballerinas from Boston Ballet took place of the models and danced their asses off to a set killed by DJ Michael Savant. The styling - which was a mix of classic tutus and Karmaloop's sleek and bold selection of skin tight leggings, tops, vests, you name it - was both tongue and cheek and flat out genius. Topped off with brilliant hair and makeup (Jeannie didn't put her makeup brush down for 2 hours straight), this was hand's down the best show to date. The party was pretty insane too. The crowd was young, hip and beautiful (although we were hearing comments from people on the otherside of things that there were "too many gangsters" there - which could have easily been the hotels regular douchey crowd). Bottom line, these parties try to make it about the fashion, no one really pays attention and this time, they did. Cheers to the KL crew for making it pop off.

The Remnants Of Boston's Fashion's Night Out

With so much hype over Fashion's Night Out for months and months and months, you would have thought Boston would have caught on. It didn't. Newbury Street was dead at 9:15pm, a night that fashion overlord Anna Wintour suggested to retailers on a global level to keep their doors open until 11pm. (total sidebar: even my dad read me a list the other day of things he would do if he were in New York for FNO, including "have the Olsen twins serve me a beer or two")

Luna had a party earlier on, which I unfortunately missed. I heard rumors that Agent Provocateur was supposedly jumping, but when I went past, the lights were off and the doors were locked. Their neighbor, True Religion, however was wide open, with a small number of people trying on jeans, but that's not exactly my scene. 

Neiman Marcus seemed to be the only department store to embrace the initiative. I did arrive on the later side and entered from the men's department. Dead. On second floor contemporary, DJ Miss Thang (who I've been seeing everywhere lately) did her thing to a near empty room. Upstairs, appropriately placed in front of the Chanel department, was Boston's grande dame, Marilyn Riseman, holding court to a small crowd and MCing a game of fashion trivia. Ms Riseman went through an entire deck of trivia cards, sold somewhere at Neimans, and I'm told that after I left, there had to be a tie breaker. There was a lot of shouting and Marilyn is absolutely hilarious and persistently read through everything with an occasional anecdote or joke. There also happened to be some sort of beauty thing going on in the Copley Mall entrance on the main floor. I guess food may have been served since there were tables set up outside in the general mall area. 

But that was it. Maybe we can give it a shot next year, Boston? Could actually be fun. Perhaps there'll be a spring Fashion's Night Out. Maybe NB should organize it? Sorry for sounding so pessimistic, I'm just mildly disappointed yet not surprised.

Sad Part 2

This one hits home for me. Because it was my home. The Achilles Project had it's last call on Saturday night. A victim of the economy and more so location. Fort Point is a fantastic neighborhood but Summer Street isn't exactly Newbury or Charles, regardless of all the talk of developers and the city when the concept store opened last February. Who knows when the neighborhood will really take off, some say 2 to 5 years, others 10, one person even mentioned 25 or 50. Bottom line, as great as it was, it is too hard to wait for the rest to catch up. And contrary to some rumors, both the restaurant, Persephone, and the store, Achilles, were doing just fine. Well, as fine as any other small business is in this economy. A painful decision to close, nonetheless. 

Thanks for the run, Achilles. Thank you for giving me my best friends, teaching me so much (including how to keep a secret), feeding me and getting me drunk, allowing me to host good friends, making me dance, letting me play with your clothes (that will surely be missed by more than just me), for the long nights, the short walks home and most of all, the sense of family that was developed amongst the staff and regular customers. I will miss the fries, the candy bar, the crabcakes, the mac n' cheese (which, I would like to add, was on the menu for me, even though I wanted them to call it "Princess Sparkles Mac n' Cheese"), the stock room, the inside jokes, late night conversations and most of all, the camaraderie. May the legend live on...