I [heart] New York - a post in 3 parts - trois

Repetto. I adore this old company and am so happy they've had a resurgence in the last couple of years. The showroom space we rented in NY last week belonged to a woman who was somehow involved with bringing Repetto to the US, but I don't know any of the details. In the space there was an entire wall of Repetto shoe boxes which were actually full of shoes! It was very hard not to play dress up with those goodies inside their lovely magnetic black boxes.
Anyway, Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot must be part of the ad campaign as these images (along with all the lovely Selby images) lined the walls. Notice their shoes? I want Serge's Zizis. But I did just get gorgeous kelly green Cendrillons like BB's from Mohawk. Was this my dream workspace? Darn close.

My friend Christina came by the showroom to help out a bit, so I made her model a flat tote. It looks lovely on her, as does her swan like neck.
I couldn't help trying on some Jasmin Shokrian. This jacket is one of the new designs from her Draft 17 collection. It is a voluminous, ripstop windbreaker. I loved it! Jasmin had the sense to pair it with the brown Trop for the photo. It looks warm and yummy.
I also had to try on the winter white messenger. LOVE. I want it. People will be scared of it, it's white! But I think it will just get better and better as it gets the patina of time.
Have you seen Carine Roitfeld in the front row? I'm sure we've all seen better pictures than this, but this was taken with my iPhone and I kinda of love it.
It was taken at Sophie Theallet , the one and only fashion show I attended. The clothes were lovely, but once I glanced at each the outfits coming down the runway, I went back to watching CR. She was wearing over the knee leather boots, a big fur coat which she took off, a poker face the entire show, and had an hyper hot editor (assistant?) sitting next to her.

Pause Bisous

We used to watch a French talk show on TV5 called Tout Le Monde En Parle, hosted by Thierry Ardisson. (I developed a crush on him despite all my natural instincts, but that's another story...)Anyway, they used to do this thing which they could only do on foreign television - it would not work at all on US tv - which they called a "Pause Bisous." They would stop the talk show mid-whatever, the lights would flash and music would start and it would say Pause Bisous on the screen - you know, general show-chaos - and all the guests and Thierry would get up, give one another a bisous (a kiss on each cheek) and then they'd sit back down and regain composure and pretend like that weirdness hadn't just happened.
As queer as this gimmick was, I've often thought of this as a metaphor for taking time out to recognize someone, or kiss someone, or give a shout out to someone - you know, another way to stop and smell the roses...Well, here's my Pause Bisous to Simone. The image is from her new website for flowers in NYC. And it's still a work in progress, but her contact info is there and if you need flowers in New York, take my very safe word for it, she's amazing. She is also an incredibly talented artist, but she does the flowers for Babbo, (thus the aforementioned same day ressies)...and for a variety of other high high profile people and events.

I [heart] New York - a post in 3 parts - deux

A Day in the Life:
9:00 Get out of subway station, see a charming cafe where I grab banana bread and a coffee then start walking to my 9 am appt - in the wrong direction - in full tundra wind blowing the "stylish" fur hat right off my head and spilling coffee down my coat for a few blocks until I realize that I'm no longer on the same street as I wanted to be on...
9:05 Realize my mistake and start speed-walking the opposite direction. Throw undrunken, but half gone coffee in trash can.
9:10 I arrive at showroom - out of breath and sopping wet. That's what happens when you "speed walk" in a down coat. Not pretty. But after that troubled beginning, it actually did get a lot better and these were the appts I had today, which I can only hope will develop into long CVIVIER friendships:
9:20 First meeting with a Euro trend forecaster who was running late too, mercifully - just late enough for me to regain composure.. ;)

10:30 Taxi uptown to Henri Bendels on 5th Ave.

12:30 City bus back to showroom to meet with Carla from Jumelle Brooklyn

2:00 Babble through a highly intimidating meeting in French with Sarah from Colette.

3:00 Taxi to meet Anne at Steven Alan in Tribeca

4:00 Taxi to meet Gigi from Madewell
8:00 Get a virtually unattainable same day Babbo reservation, thank you Simone...so delicious...

11:00 Finally return to the super cute, Roman and Williams designed Ace Hotel
Brush teeth with $10 Aspesi toothpaste from the Ace Hotel No. 8 shop. (I needed toothpaste! And it's Italian and it's cute. And it's really good.)

11:20 Exhausted.

I [heart] New York - a post in 3 parts - Un

The Selby a Paris:
I haven't blogged all week as I was in New York with Jasmin Shokrian meeting with store buyers and press. I worked from morning until evening and then ran to have dinner at some fabulous place, got home late, then started early again the next a.m. It was a visit to the city that never sleeps and I've returned exhausted. Anyway, the reason I'm posting these fabulous pictures from the Selby, is because the wall above is what we saw upon exiting our dingy elevator on the 5th floor of our lovely, rented Chinatown space.
The French woman who rented us the space, worked with Todd Selby when he went to Paris to photograph the living/creative spaces of the hyper-hip Parisians (above is Nadege Winter.)
The showroom, which she vacated for us, was perfect for Jasmin and me. In our first time showing together, we inhabited it extremely successfully (pictures in an up coming post part deux de trois) seamlessly blending her clothes with my bags in a merchandising heaven. The colorful and inspirational pictures from the Selby were such a happy bonus, I had to photograph them.
The French novelist Frédéric Beigbeder, whom le mari has been enjoying lately was featured...
As was the incredibly gorgeous (and looong legged) Inès de la Fressange...

(all photos from TheSelby.com)

A Heart with Handles

After I finish photo shopping a million photos, after I finish a hundred other things, after I put my boy down to sleep, le mari et moi, we may actually defy tradition and go out to eat tonight if only because I'm taking my show to New York tomorrow. The fact that it's V Day pales in comparison to the fact we get to have a last meal together for a week in a calm environment which we don't have to clean up. So if we look like suckas at the restaurant tonight, so be it.


Here's my heart to you, dear reader, if you're out there. It kinda looks like one if you squint. It's one of my new messengers - Hello, Mr.Poppy. I'm pretty sure that color is guaranteed to make your day.


These are the other new colors on the contact sheet, before light is shed upon them. The "winter white" makes me crazy, too.

Silver Standard

My friend Simone snapped this shot with her phone last night. It is from the new Standard Hotel in NY. CLAREVIVIER's newest retail outlet. I will go visit my flat work totes and La Trop-Noires next week while I'm there. One day, Andre B. and I will have a drink and laugh about it all...xoxo
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY.

Quote of the Saturday

"Got about 15 pics taken yesterday...at least 8 of them were Japanese, 'who's your bag? who's your bag?' I think I need a different color for every day."

-Stylist Fifi Powell in NY for fashion week with the patent green laptop clutch.

Quote of the Day

"Wore my Mini to the [omitted highly anticipated movie] premiere on Monday. Even if the movie HADN'T sucked, the bag STILL would've been the smartest thing around that evening." -Anonymous Friend

(Anonymous Friend owns a red Mini Sac.)

Model Friends

My stylist-cum-Euro-trend-forecaster friend Fifi Powell came over today to pick up a laptop envelope for her trip to New York in a few days for fashion week. We made her a patent, crinkle kelly green one. Can you say, Attaché my heart?!

Normally I crop heads, even on my most gorgeous subjects because I don't like to open anyone up to chatter. But here's Fifi, all wrapped up in her vintage Katherine Hamnett trench and her Wellies on this rainy LA day clutching the VIV attaché (not yet on the site.) C'est, alors mais, ridiculeusement mignon!
La belle Danielle came over the other day to grab some mini-sacs to take to a few west side ladies. She was dressed so cute in her jeans and white shirt that before she left I asked her if I could take a few pictures of her with the mini-sac.

And, let's just pause for a moment to take closer look at her Dries shoes. I mean, Come On!

Yo los quiero, por favor. Je les veux, s'il vous plait.

I Spy

Occasionally my friends will send me a picture they've snapped with their cellphones if they see someone carrying one of my bags. Here're two recents:

And from the Hollywood Farmers Market:

A lovely visiting Belgian woman made an appointment to come to the studio to see the bags just before she was to return to her country. She settled on the Trop Noire and a pile of clutches. My first entry into Belgium! Now I must try to get into a shop in that design capital.

Je trouve que c'est très chic sur elle.

Currently Vivier

While production is full steam ahead fulfilling website orders, things are quite busy around here for Jocelyn and me: CLAREVIVIER is collaborating on a bag with an amazing artist for her very high profile art show coming up in LA, which I won't mention until we're actually in production for it. If I talk about it, I'm scared I'll jinx it, and I REALLY want to do it; and I'm creating samples to bring to NY to meet with press and store buyers - hopefully - I don't know who will show up, but I know for sure a really great Japanese store is coming to see me (I hope I didn't just jinx that) so that makes the whole trip worth it! I'm sharing the New York showroom space with the amazingly talented, LA-based clothing designer Jasmin Shokrian, with whom I'm also collaborating on a clutch group based on the palette of her Draft No. 17 collection.
In other CViv news, another very sharp designer friend of mine, Tracy, told me about this before Google alerts! Go sleuth! When I checked my Twitter account, RDuJour had already sent me the link. I don't know who RDJ is, but they run a kick-ass fashion blog and I'm pleased as punch to be on it.
The blog below, I Saw You Look At Me, is by two gorgeous and hyper (pronounced the French way: eeepear) stylish Belgian teenagers and I'm soo honored to be on their site. It is beyond cool.

If You Need Me, Google Alert Me

While out to dinner on Friday night, I check my iPhone which has buzzed my tush, to find that I've been Google alerted to a web mention of my name. I love Google alerts, I just feel so on top of it all! Anyway, this particular time, I was alerted to a Rose Apodaca mention so I think it's referring to an old post she did on the gold flat tote, but no! It was a new blog post about how in Paris that night, a jerk tried to mug her (!) and take her new Clare Vivier tote along with her whole life in it, of course! As horrible as it sounds it is an inspiring tale from a woman's point of view, as she actually fights him off! The wounded dirtbag scampers away with nothing at all. GO ROSE! And, by the way, I think I may need some Chipewas...(and side note: how cool is it that Rose is carrying one of my bags in Paris?!)
Oddly enough, Google alerts did not tell me about this next one, however, one of my spies stationed around LA, quickly sent over the link from NOTCOUTURE. This is exciting for me as this is a cool NY-based fashion website! Yay. (And, my friend Else had just minutes before told me about that other line mentioned on page - sunshine and shadows as we're both a little obsessed with clogs right now.)

And, on Saturday afternoon my pager was blowing up with this GA: A lovely post by gallery owner Heather Taylor on Lucky blog.