Thursday, February 24, 2011

Cute girl in Nylon Magazine

I like this girl - her hair, jacket, gloves, skirt, tights, le total, quoi. But I especially heart her bag. :) 

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

A few days in the showroom

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I spent last Thursday and Friday at the Steven Alan Showroom meeting new stores and teaching the staff about my line. It was so fun to meet all the new buyers, and of course, so nice to see the buyers who've been with us for a while-
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like the Japanese store GALERIE VIE. It is always such a pleasure to come into contact with these buyers. This time they brought me the new GV send-out, catalogue. It is very special to be featured in the mailer because there aren't many pages in it. So far we've had the good fortune to be featured two times.
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I love the simplicity of their styling. An egg with our silver Bando bag! Cute.
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We also had some darn stylish women walk through the showroom and try out the bags! The black pebble laptop clutch looks great with this Marni coat, right? And can you peep those Isabel Marant hidden platform sneaks on this girl? I was dying.
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This stylist picked the royal blue pebble clutch which managed to make her already adorable ensemble even a-door-bell-ier!
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The very hot, (in more ways than one, it was very warm in the showroom) Evelyn from Diavolina in Los Angeles, picked two things she would like: Our new bando bag in Tomato and black laptop pebble clutch. :)
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One of my favorite things about this blog is the people I've met because of it and Kee Edwards is a perfect example of that. Long story short, because she liked my blog she emailed me out of the blue, told me about her line Loup Charmant, I loved it so we met for coffee in New York the next time I was there and we've been friends ever since! It turns out that her line of lux organic leisure wear was just picked up by Steven Alan showroom this season as well! We were so happy to find we'd both just joined the same showroom. Then, when we saw one another on Thursday, we were kinda surprised to see we were wearing very similar outfits - fluffy, fuzzy white jackets
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 and vintage Italian boots!

Monday, February 21, 2011

I'm Magda, The Motherf-ing Queen of Spain

It is my first portrait by an artist ever, it is by Frohawk Two Feathers currently at Taylor De Cordoba gallery in Culver City. I "sat" for him a few months back in his backyard while he photographed me with all sorts of props in my hands like knives and machetes and proper hand-fans for effect, I was sitting in for Magda, the Queen of Spain in the late 1700s for heaven's sake and security was no joke. People in power were bad-ass and showed it or they were eliminated, but the weapons did not make it into the portrait. Frohawk went for the facial tattoos instead. That is my hat though - remember it from here?
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Read a very informative review of the show and Frohawk's works here.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Mile High Bloggers Club

I'm on my way back to New York. (Literally on my way, in flight blogging. Thank god for wifi.) Two trips in two weeks, phew! It's better than the alternative of staying away from my family and work for 10 days. Last week it was for magazine desk sides, a fashion show, a Theory appointment and a few potential showroom appointments. Our little company is growing and it seemed to be the time to outsource a bit of work. As of now, our retail accounts will no longer be handled in-house. After visiting showrooms in NY and LA, we decided Steven Alan was the best fit. I'm very excited to see what this new partnership will bring. This week: Thursday and Friday buyer appointments in our new digs.
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xoxo

Monday, February 14, 2011

My Trip to 12

So here's the back story of that photo below: Last week, I cold emailed Filipa Fino, accessories editor of Vogue, asking if I could have the honor of presenting my bag line to her (well, that's almost how I said it) and got a response from one of her assistants immediately. Yes, I could come to Vogue, at 4 Times Square, and show my collection.
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So, on Thursday of last week, I woke up my first morning in New York and put together - out of a hastily packed suitcase - an outfit worthy of Vogue. Miu Miu coat, vintage leather skirt, black tights, Miu Miu boots and a lovely silk, Gucci scarf.
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When I arrive on the hallowed 12th floor of Condé Nast,
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I'm instructed by said assistant to lay my wares out in the lobby. Yes, lobby. So I do. And they look beautiful. They ended up keeping white things from my line for a story they were doing. That is to say, a couple white clutches and a white iPad case made especially for them that day in Los Angeles and FedExed for the following morning. By my account, it was a pretty good initial meeting with Vogue. As I leave the building dragging my suitcase full o bags, I notice my reflection in a window at Times Square and think it's pretty cute with my giant Alpaca hat purchased at one of the only non-chain stores at the Mall of America, I think actually called the Alpaca Store, at Christmas time, so I snapped a picture. I love how you can see the black messenger bag on my arm, too.

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After Vogue, I have a few other meetings around town. When I'm finished, I'm back out on the Manhattan streets with my suitcase promptly at rush hour. Something you learn very quickly while trying to hail a taxi in NYC with a large roller suitcase: cabbies don't stop for you because they think you're going to the airport and they only want to go to the airport at very certain times of the day. Not rush hour. So I'm freezing, extremely uncomfortable in my very high Miu Miu heels, when I discover that not only I've been walking in the wrong direction(!) but that I'm now on the corner of 5th avenue and Saks Fifth Avenue and I am about to cut my legs off at my feet if I don't purchase another pair of shoes immediately.
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So I drag my big ol' suitcase through the very lovely aisles of SFA. Here I am waiting for the elevator. Observation: Hard to be classy with a black roller suitcase any place other than the airport. When I got to shoe department I tried on many sensible pairs of shoes.
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But I settled on these. Sensible? No. More sensible than Miu Miu 4" heels? Yes. Thank you. I'll wear them out of the store. And, no I do not need the box, thank you.

With the new "sensible heels" on my feet, I stride back out onto 5th Ave with my mega suitcase in tow, and still no taxis stop. So when the 25th gypsy cab stops for me, instead of shoeing them off like the rest, I say yes, thank you very much, jump into my 80's stretch limo gypsy cab and arrive chez Simone many dollars lighter but very happy to be home away from home.
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These are the types of flowers Simone keeps chez elle.nycpart1-1
Ahhh, pour me a glassa!

Friday, February 11, 2011

I'm in NY

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More here when I return,
more here for now.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Magic Hour

We have a magic hour most days in Los Angeles around 4 or 5 o'clock. It is the most beautiful time to be at the beach, at Soho House for cocktail, hiking Runyon Canyon, or if none of those are options, on my front porch. Last week was extremely busy for us over here - we shipped big orders to Steven Alan and Theory - and deftly kept multiple other balls in the air, but we always have time for a little photo break at magic hour.
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And even the pros got to see our golden time last week: I was interviewed and photographed for Swedish Elle! Cool, right!? The editor-in-chief, Hermine Coyet Ohlen, herself came to interview me. And local (rockstar) Swedish ex-pat photographer Sarah St. Clair Renard came to shoot it. That's us above.
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Jocelyn got her spring on with a fix of a new red CV foldover clutch.
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Matilde scored a pair of never-been-worn vintage pumps from my closet (still in box!)
She's so in love with them, I don't think she's taken them off since I gave them to her, except to pack up Theory. :)
Also, pop over to see what I did tonight - it was another type of magic. :) xoxo