Showing posts with label paul and joe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paul and joe. Show all posts

Monday, July 14, 2008

Let Them Have Fashion

On the anniversary of the most famous prison break in western history, I thought it would be appropriate to pay homage to some of France’s best exports.
In 1981, Robert Clergerie set up shop in the small French town of Romans. Approaching shoe design as he would sculpture, he created his famous women’s oxford and a parallelogram heel now known as the “Clergerie heel.”
Sophie Albou honed her design skills at Azzedine Alaia and headed the family fashion business, La Garage, in Paris, before giving birth to two sons, Paul and Joe. In 1995, Albou launched Paul & Joe, an irreverent, colorful take on Parisian chic.
Born in Grenoble, France, Catherine Malandrino strives to blur the line between dreams and waking life; to “enhance a woman’s femininity while cultivating an edge.” She says, “I want to design irresistible clothes that make a woman desirable, clothes that a man just wants to discreetly take off, clothes to keep as a secret, clothes that stay darling to you forever.”

In 1927, Hubert de Givenchy was born in Beauvais, France, and by age 17 had arrived in Paris, ready to begin his career in fashion. Decades later, the Givenchy name is legendary and conjures images of sophistication à la Marlene Dietrich, Lauren Bacall and, of course, Audrey Hepburn.
Find your mode à la française, at shopbop.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

First Fashion: Our Favorites from What's New

Working for a web-based boutique, I love to tout the benefits of online shopping, and today, a few items illustrate the pros of on-model versus the cons of on-hanger presentation.
On-Hanger Con: It’s difficult to imagine that insouciant, breezy style Paul & Joe is known for when there are no arms in those sleeves. On-Model Pro: With arms to fill them, it’s ethereal elegance at its finest. (And that blue is just about the prettiest I’ve seen, but that’s not really a model thing.) Paul & Joe - Honore Long Sleeve Blouse
On-Hanger Con: When this dress came across my desk, my first thought was: “What the...?” On-Model Pro: Its volume creates some pretty amazing draping action when it has a couple of shoulders to hang on. Elizabeth and James - Cocoon Dress
On-Hanger Con: Volume plus horizontal pleating can equal a fit disaster. On-Model Pro: So obviously not the case here. I’m hooked! Helmut Lang - Draped Top
Make your own pro/con list in What’s New.