GEORGINE SS16 At the Skylight at Moynihan Station

Last Sunday, we attended the runway show for GEORGINE at the Skylight at Moynihan Station, the magnificent old Post Office Building on 8th Avenue across from Madison Square Garden.  We were a stone's throw away from the Empire State Building, visible in the background. In a surprise turn of events, Jean got there early (!) and saved Valerie a place at the front of the line. While waiting to get into the show, we were photographed by none other than Bill Cunningham -- and a number of other photographers -- so we'll see where our photos show up. We have our fingers crossed for the front page of W. Ha!

Although the designer, Georgine Ratelband, is only 26, her collection is wonderfully inventive and cohesive. A 2011 graduate of the Istituto Europeo di Designo in Milan, she is passionate about the synthesis of culture, travel and femininity. Her take on a denim dress is decidedly feminine.  Her accessories were the perfect counterpoint to her slender silhouettes.

Her collection is an eclectic multi-continental approach, mirroring the designer's splitting of her time between the US, Europe and Asia. The shoes, especially those in blue, looked terrific on the runway and are from Go Melissa.  Sunglasses are by Moscot.

The brand's press release describes her clothing as inspiring an eclectic fusion of the electricity of New York, the sensuality of Paris and the chaotic energy of Bangkok, which can be glimpsed in every piece of GEORGINE’s collections.

Ric Pipino for Melville Pipino Salon styled the model's sleek hairstyles. Gordon Espinet with the MAC Pro Team did the makeup. Jewelry is by Patricia von Muslin. MAO PR is GEORGINE's PR firm.

It was refreshing to see a designer not afraid of color. We loved these vibrant yellow fingerless gloves paired with the dress with the yellow collar and fur sleeves.

The cobalt blue gloves and the round style sunglasses were the perfect accessory for this lady-like dress.

The pink accent helps to extend the line and elongate the torso. Check the two-toned collar in the  foreground and the pink sleeves on the dress in the backround.

The simple close cut of the clothes is reflected in the models' close to the skull hair-dos.

These mirror image dresses remind us of some of the work exhibited by the Museum of the City of New York in the Stephen Burrows exhibition.

These dresses are packed with subtle nuances. You just have to dig for them.

How fabulous is this color combo?

And this one.

OK - that was on the runway. Now for a view of what was happening off the runway.

The weather was quite balmy (a little like us!). So having to stand in line was not too hard a chore.

Linda Fargo from Bergdorf Goodman looked amazing in simple black and white.  Emily, her companion, had the same color scheme in opposite proportions.

Greg Asher aka Fashion Baggage flew in for fashion week.

We ran into Allan Kent who was looking great, as usual.

Just standing outside was a treat.  Doesn't she look great in motion?

Standing on line was fun too! The brunette on the right is wearing one of the new Valentino skirts.

Even the ushers were fabulous!

So many of the guests looked like they should be on the catwalk.

Loved this woman wearing the ribbon hat and tutu.  Turns out she's a milliner.  We've lost touch with her.  If anyone has her contact info, please connect us!

Bad picture, but it's man-about-town Michael Musto.  We see him here and there wearing VERY comfy shoes, and as both of us have foot issues as well, we sympathize and empathize.

Not surprisingly, we ran into the chameleonic Faustina.  You'll find her in our previous post, looking completely different.

Great minds think alike.

Let's close with this lady. (Remember her from our Chromat post?)  Standing next to her was our best idea of the evening.

MEN AT WORK...

...AND WOMEN TOO

We are hard at work tonight, and so will not be posting our usual Wednesday post until Thursday.  (That sounds a bit like Alice in Wonderland, but that's a subject for another time.)

What's that you say?  This doesn't look like work to you?

Well, don't forget the old line from John Milton: "They also serve who only stand and wait in interminable queues."

Above, we're standing outside the stately former U.S. Post Office on 8th Avenue (that's a sliver of it at the right), which has been converted, like so many stately buildings, into one that is said to better serve 21st century needs.  At least for the moment, the post office, which takes up nearly a whole city block, has taken the place of Bryant Park and Lincoln Center as the focal point of New York Fashion Week.

So we could quote yet another famous line that works really well here:

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat* nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift** completion of their appointed rounds."


*This is far more appropriate than they could have known when this was written.

**  We know - take this with a grain of salt.  If we were really swift, we'd be posting tonight, racing to meet our deadline, just like Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in the marvelous His Girl Friday.

OUR ADVENTURES AT THE CHROMAT RUNWAY SHOW

photo by Aoi Fujikawa

One of the things we had on our Santa's Wish List this year was to see the Chromat Spring-Summer 2016 runway show.  These wishes are always a bit dicey, coming as they do waaay before Christmas, but Santa came through, and we had front row seats, for which we are doubly grateful.  (There isn't too much left on our Wish List now.)

First, let us give you a look at the finale, when all the models come parading at the same time.  This will give you your best view of everything. As you view the clothing, keep in mind that Chromat originated as an extension of designer and architect Becca McCharen, with a structural language forming the foundation of every garment, from the simplest bikini to the most complex 3D printed dress.


To our surprise and delight, the show opened with supermodel Alek Wek, seen below flashing by so quickly that she's a bit of a blur.  Wek is wearing a collaboration between Chromat and Intel, the details of which you can read about here.

Just a few details, since you've already seen the show.  If you've seen our previous Chromat reviews, you know that Chromat specializes in bodycon on one end of its spectrum, and avant garde grids-to-wear at the other.  Bodycon is still the watchword, but Chromat is also moving in other directions as it grows and matures.  This piece is along the lines of the stark and severe Chromat that first caught our eyes.  Chromat garments function as armor or scaffolding for the body, empowering the wearer to become the strongest most powerful version of themselves.  Among the strong, bold women to wear Chromat are Beyonce, Madonna, FKA Twigs, Tyra Banks and Nicki Minaj.

Unlike so many designers, Chromat acknowledges and embraces its plus size fans.  Here is one of the designs from the Spring/Summer 2016 Momentum collection.  In this outfit, as in several others, we noticed that Chromat is venturing into colors, generally one color at a time.

Chromat is for the woman who isn't easily intimidated, but there is a bit of softness and femininity in this dress mixed with Chromat's open sensuality.

For the final piece in the runway show, we were treated to another Chromat - Intel collaborative piece, this one showing several of Chromat's more high profile characteristics: geometric/graphic shapes, cut-outs, futuristic styling, and non-traditional materials.

For the full effect, and to get a peek at the Intel equipment, we have to show you the back as well.

No show is complete without the people, and in fact the people are often as much fun as the show itself, so let us tell you a little bit about the other guests, and show you some of our favorite moments.

For a nanosecond, after checking in, we were invited to stand on a line (you know how appealing that is), but just for the shortest period of time, and then we were rescued by Patience, who whisked us away to the VIP lounge.  Patience (who is well named), kindly twirled on request, the better to show the rows and rows of fabulous furry fringe on her vest, but none of it has come through in the photograph, so we charge you with imagining it.

Seating for the Chromat show started an hour before the 8:30 pm runway show, allowing us and other select guests (thanks to the intercession of Patience) to mingle in the Design Disrupted Lexus Lounge, sipping Veuve Cliquot and munching on beautiful to look at and delicious to eat hors d'oeurves and chocolate bark, hung on meat hooks in a reference to the neighborhood's Meat Packing District roots. To our joy and disbelief, we got to spend some quality time with our favorite celebrity couple, Chelsea Fairless and Lea DeLaria, both of whom turned out to be fixtures at New York Fashion Week's primo events. Lea - fresh of the launch of her new album of Bowie songs and tapings of Orange is the New Black - and Chelsea just got back from Palm Springs where Chelsea coaxed Lea into modeling a few caftans and turbans in the splendor of the desert. Check them out on Instagram: Chelsea is @female_trouble and Lea is @realleadelaria.

In between discussions of the cosmos and the Pythagorean theory, a conga line broke out! 

Strange things tend to happen around Lea and Chelsea. Lea has more energy than any five people put together. Anyone who has spent any time around them begins to appreciate how well opposites attract and complement each other. Through another six degrees of separation, when she was at Parsons, one of Chelsea's best buds was a roommate at RISD of our pal Joana Avillez, so they connected when Chelsea visited Providence. Unfortunately, although Jean wanted to take a photo of the turquoise temple of Lea's eyeglasses to show how it matched her turquoise neck tattoo, she got distracted when the dancing started. (Story of her life -- both the distracted part and the dancing part!)

Among the other guests in the Design Disrupted lounge was this trio of gents, obviously enjoying the atmosphere as much as we.

Arabelle Sicardi was also at the pre-show party.  Hip and attractive, she also colors her hair grey! Arabelle then adds other shades like lavender and purple. Since so many boomer women color their hair in an effort to hide the grey, it is so interesting and refreshing to see how chic grey looks on younger women. Perhaps when they get older, they won't fear going silver naturally.  (Well, look at the role models they have to work with!)

Speaking of young women (and men) opting to go grey, we ran into Coco Layne (@Lolita Bandita) and Tayler Smith (@nottaylersmith) who made the wheels turn backstage at the Chromat runway show. We were invited back to the Lexus Lounge after the show and got to see them just before they headed off to the post-show party in Brooklyn.  Both were wearing Chromat and Tayler has slyly worked in a Zana Bayne harness as well. Although we were invited to join the after-party frivolity, we thought we'd leave that to the young folks that particular evening.

Our heads spun with the fantastically diverse crowd this show drew.  We had to show you the woman in the polka dot skirt, of course. When we ran into her two days later at another show, she was wearing another show-stopping full skirt.

And how about this striking woman in her amazingly graphic two piece dress?

This photographer had the most wonderful glasses.

While the other trio of men we already mentioned was wearing traditional button-down shirts, this crew went for the more avant gard approach to fashion.

We met this trio of attractive and fun ladies including Eda Levenson (2nd from right) aka Lady Fancy Nails who was responsible for the models' manicures for the past several Chromat shows, including last February's long, pointy black nails.

Here is an idea of the SS16's Momentum collection's more graphic nail look, courtesy of Lady Fancy Nails.

How's this for a Cat Tat?

We met this three-some after the show.  Don't you like her necklace?

This very dapper gentleman wore a tee-shirt with a decidedly kittenish image.

At the end of the runway show, this fellow @iamdiddy stopped us for a photo. We gladly obliged despite the fact that his mesh face mask reminded us of Hannibal Lecter. We did want to rip that Adidas vest right off him and keep it for ourselves.

What could be more appropriate than to end the posting with this photo? Besides, it gives you a view of the back of Valerie's red metal cage.  More to come.   In the immortal words of Yogi Berra, it ain't over till it's over.

OUR DINNER WITH SUE*

Last Saturday night, we invited the inimitable Sue Kreitzman to dinner at one of Jean's new finds, the Cafe Select.  It's a little Swiss bistro designed to look like a train station, complete with a large Rolex wall clock.  We took a seat on the banquette near the front window, which was wide open on the balmy night, and settled in for a lovely evening of tasty food and delicious conversation. After just a few visits, Jean has become addicted to the polenta in wild mushroom sauce and crispy zucchini chips, and we both like their Coral Reef cocktail, edged with finely ground pink peppercorn.  Sue ordered a Negroni made with Dorothy Parker gin (and asked that the bottle be brought to the table for an Instagram op).

Sue's signature look includes lots of color and amazing jewelry. That evening, she wore lots of pink and a striking Day of the Dead necklace of her own design.

It's impossible not to thoroughly enjoy oneself with Sue.  Engaged and engaging, her glass is always 3/4 full when others are wondering if their glass is half full or half empty.  (How does she do that?) We leaped from one topic to another seamlessly, never running out of things to laugh about.  If you need more information to understand for yourself what makes Sue inimitable, click on the link on our opening line. Or you can click here to view our post about dinner with Sue at Casa Lever; here for our post about our visit to Sue's amazing fun-house of an apartment; and here for our coverage of Sue Bourne's documentary Fabulous Fashionistas, featuring Sue and five other active, accomplished women living in the U.K.

Can you tell we're big fans? We can't wait for Sue's return in November. Till then, we'll make a few pilgrimages to Cafe Select.

* With gratitude to director Louis Malle, without whom this post's title would not have been possible.

Idiosyncratic Fashionistas At Forty+ Style's New York Blogger Meet-Up Dinner

Sylvia, editor of 40+ Style, is a champion organizer, and thanks to her, a group of New York bloggers got together at La Lanterna di Vittorio in the West Village on Friday night. Not so much to discuss business, but simply to break bread and rub elbows. (And mix metaphors.) That's Sylvia, above seated at left, and Lyn Slater of Accidental Icon seated at right.  Most of you will recognize Jean, standing.

We finally met Suzanne Carillo (find her multifaceted fashion blog here), friend of our friend Forest City Fashionista Shelley Long. Suzanne travelled from Toronto to meet the New York contingent (following her and Sylvia's previous meeting at the Vancouver 40+ Blogger Meet-Up).

You may have noticed by now that we ate in a darkened room. We originally had a table in the upstairs garden under a huge skylight, with a charming overhead city view, but most of us voted for a quieter ambience in La Lanterna's cellar. Below left, is the unstoppable Sue Kreitzman (wearing a necklace of her own design), and next to her is Debra Rapoport (wearing a hat of her own design). Both of these creative women can make something fabulous out of just about anything imaginable.

That's Elyse Fradkin (Elyse4Design)  below at left, with Lisa Hartman. Lisa is in town from Utah visiting her daughter McCall, a student at Pratt. Lisa's @HersHisandOurs ("Blending Her One with His Five") is on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest and her card reads: "Master Blender".  Elyse primarily designs jewelry, but that night she grabbed our attention with a series of burlesque photos she had recently taken. Here in New York (and likely elsewhere), it is now possible to take burlesque classes, and Dita von Teese is just the best known of a number of burlesque dancers heading up the current revival.

In the center below is photographer Denton Taylor with his wife Theresa.  We heard that Theresa has an enviable shoe collection, but more importantly, she has an enviable shoe organization system: all the shoes are in shoe boxes, and displayed on each box is a life-size photo of the shoes within (courtesy of Denton) for easy retrieval. How clever is that? (Oh, and for some inexplicable reason, Jean is showing off her biceps.)

A splendid time was had by all. We ate great food, met great people, and added to our vast store of knowledge. Many of us agreed to reconvene later in the weekend for Sunday brunch. Yum!

Interview with 40+ Style

We recently wrote about meeting fellow blogger, Sylvia of Forty+ Style.  Click here for our post. We were lucky enough to meet with her while she's visiting New York for a month from her home base in Singapore. As a follow-up to our recent brunch with Sylvia and photographer Denton Taylor, she sent us a series of questions to elicit our thoughts about fashion and style and how we dress has changed as we have aged.

Yesterday, she ran our interview along with a number of terrific photographs taken by Denton, who also took all of the shots in this post!

Rather than repeat or summarize what we said, just click HERE to read her post, which we don't mind saying is terrific!

During brunch, Sylvia also interviewed us about how we define style and uploaded it to YouTube.  Click HERE to view her video of us in its full size.  If you want immediate gratification, click on the arrow below to see it in half size.


She interviewed our Canadian pal Shelley, aka Forest City Fashionista, and fellow New Yorker Lyn, aka Accidental Icon.  She also featured Sacramento, who wears amazing colors and is coming to New York next month to visit. Check out Sacramento's blog, Mis Papelicos.

Sylvia is convening a couple of blogger meetings this weekend (both involving food!), so we're looking forward to spending more time with her -- and many of our mutual friends -- and to meeting new birds of a feather.

Taking a Break

Since we somehow didn't actually post our Sunday blog until Tuesday (don't ask), we're going to leave it up for a couple days and run our Wednesday blog on Thursday this week. Please tune in tomorrow, kiddies!