10 Minutes with an Entrepreneur: The Poppy Store
The jewel-box boutique The Poppy Store
could easily be confused with the well-edited closet of a front-row fashion lover. Except that its clientele is the under-12 set. Here, co-founders Jenny Belushi (married to Jim) and Heather Whitney Rosenfield, tell us about the importance of change, passion and having a strong opinion.
Day in the Life: Alex Kramer
New York entrepreneur Alex Kramer has led a pretty varied career, with stints as photo editor at The Source magazine and head of visuals at Luxury Finder. Now, she’s turned fashion designer with a terrific collection of chic-yet-streamlined looks, available at Shopbop and Intermix. We wanted to know, are her days now as eclectic as ever? Considering they kick off with a Dolly Parton ditty, you bet.
We’re celebrating Global Entrepreneurship Week by spotlighting inspiring women business owners.
10 Minutes with an Entrepreneur: One Kings Lane
Imagine a one-stop online shop that sells the best designer décor, furniture and antique finds for a fraction of the cost…and you have One Kings Lane. Launched by Susan Feldman and Alison Pincus in 2009, the website has taken off (understatement). They personify the big-ideas spirit celebrated right now during Global Entrepreneurship Week. We asked Feldman and Pincus to give us 10 minutes….
To Do: Sinister Pop at the Whitney
Everyone has a dark side. The Whitney Museum’s new Sinister Pop exhibit takes a look at the less cheerful side of artists like Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns and Ed Ruscha. Goodbye, bright flowers and oversized soup cans. Hello, limp cigarette butts and faceless mother and child. It’s a fascinating take on a much-studied and oft-quoted era, with nods to everything from film noir and over-consumption to race relations, women’s rights and post-Vietnam War political rage.
Madonna and Child, 1963 by Allan D’Arcangelo. Estate of Allan D’Arcangelo; courtesy of Mitchell-Innes & Nash.
Tory’s Gift Guide: Part 1
To help spark your inner shopper, we gathered our most-wanted gifts, style tips and inspirations into four eye-candy collections for every personality type. Up now: The Sophisticates, a mix of LBDs, gems, jeweled shoes and other high-shine pieces for the season’s celebrations for your favorite friends (or even yourself). See the Gift Guide now.
To further get you in the spirit, we also crafted the perfect cocktail playlist.
To Do: Asterisms at the Guggenheim
In Gabriel Orozco’s hands, the everyday becomes utterly compelling and visually intriguing. After all, this is the artist who held a 1994 gallery show featuring four Dannon yogurt lids pinned to the wall — and it was a success.
His new exhibit at the Guggenheim (Nov. 9 – Jan. 13) works a similar transformative sensibility. Gabriel Orozco: Asterisms features a ton of debris gathered from an AstroTurf field at Pier 40 in New York (Gabriel throws boomerangs there) and Mexican wildlife reserve Isla Arena. He has organized it all into two grid-like installations, by color, size and material. Just check out the colorful landscape above. It’s pretty incredible when you consider you’re looking at, well, trash.
Tory’s Playlist: Best of Bond
Cue the suspenseful music (and long, long movie lines). As James Bond’s Skyfall opens today, we pick our favorite 007 songs, starting with Adele’s latest.
Holiday Hair: Repin It
We’re putting a new spin on pinning (and repinning). Every model from our Fall 2012 runway show wore our new jeweled floral hair clips in their undone-yet-sophisticated updos — and it’s a look you can easily do yourself.
First, prep with texturing spray, then blast with hairspray. Grab hair into a low ponytail, twist and pin up into a loose bun or chignon. Keep some strays — it’s part of the charm.
The finishing touch? Our vintage-inspired ladylike clips, whether you scatter multiple or just one. “Place randomly,” advises Eugene Souleiman, our hairstyling maestro. “It’s not wedding hair.”
Street Style: Cool It Now
In need of an easy shot of cool? Think leather. Take a page from blogger Mija Knezevic, who uses dark leather as a chic counterpoint. She toughens up the casual and sporty vibe of her baseball jacket-and-tee combo with our Ally Leather Pant, for instance, and pairs a leather LBD with our ladylike Katie Mohair Coat for some added edge. She adds a touch of eccentricity with embroidered cowboy boots and printed loafers.
Photos by Adam Katz Sinding
Book of the Week: Impossible Jewelry
This book is so big, it comes with its own tote bag. Inside The Impossible Collection of Jewelry, jewelry historian Vivienne Becker chronicles a modern history of bijoux, touching on some of our all-time favorites, like Verdura’s creations for Chanel and Art Nouveau objets. This isn’t a book you casually read in bed. It’s more a tome to be poured over — especially for those on your gift list who love the sparkly stuff.
Best Dressed: Brooke Magnaghi
What’s a holiday party without a little sparkle? We enlisted fine jewelry consultant Brooke Magnaghi to tell us everything she knows about bijoux — how to wear it, style it, store it and care for it. And Brooke, who also showed us how she’d wear Tory’s Everette necklace here — gave us her tips on shopping for the jewelry lover who has it all.
Tory On: Holiday Dressing
What’s Tory’s holiday look? A touch of glamour for day and evening. The Abitha sweater — with its special details — is a particular favorite.
Tory’s Playlist: A Little Bit Country
We love Nashville. The restaurants, the stores, the music! Here are some of the new things we’ve had on repeat: new and almost new.
Tory Entertains: Toasted Pumpkin Seed Brittle
Around here, today is more than just Halloween. It also happens to be Robert Isen’s birthday — he’s our Chief Legal Officer and President of Corporate and…Tory’s brother! So we asked Chef Dana Minuta, who makes a mean granola, to whip up a celebratory treat. Since both Tory and Robert love a good pine nut brittle — it was a staple at her home this summer — Dana’s pumpkin seed twist couldn’t have been more perfect. Get the recipe here.
Allison Sarofim On: Halloween
If you’re looking for a traditional Halloween party with all the expected accoutrements (pumpkins, witches and spider webs), then Allison Sarofim’s New York fete isn’t for you. But if you’re in search of a wild no-holds-barred bash, then keep reading. The New York-based film producer and philanthropist is famous for extravagant revelries with themes like World of Picasso and Andy Warhol’s Studio 54. The costumes are not to be believed — as you’ll see. Here, we grilled Allison on the holiday.
To Do: Neil Young at Snap Galleries
Get an up-close-and-personal glimpse at Neil Young’s storied four-decades career with a photo exhibit at London’s Snap Galleries, open until November 10. The show features the work of Joel Bernstein, and dates back to the famous solarized cover of the 1970 record After the Gold Rush. Since then, Joel — whose vast archive also inspired the look of the film Almost Famous — has taken at least 10,000 shots of the music icon. If you can’t make it to London, but still need your Neil fix, the musician also just published his autobiography, Waging Heavy Peace.
Neil Young in Limo, 1970 by Joel Bernstein
Video: The Little [Blank] Dress
Cocktails. Work. Weekend. The classic LBD is the perfect blank canvas — hence our decision to anoint it “The Little Blank Dress.” We styled one simple, versatile silhouette for multiple occasions. Shop the 3 video looks — or all black dresses.
Most Wanted: The Pixie
According to Paul Simon, jeweled shoes are one way to lose the walking blues. We concur! Our Pixie is a gem- and petal-embellished shoe that comes in a classic peep-toe and a wedge, combining height and walkability (paramount while making the holiday party rounds). So go ahead and build your outfit from the bottom up. From little black dresses (and pants) to distressed denim, they’re all a great foundation for showing off these head-turning heels.
Shop the Pixie.
Spotlight On: Talula’s
With the holiday season comes…many a heavy holiday meal. So we spoke to Aimee Olexy of Philadelphia’s farm-to-table restaurants Talula’s Garden (above) and Talula’s Table on how to eat healthy — and still be satisfied. The restaurateur, who named the spots after daughter Annalee Talula Rae, gave us her recommendations on everything from cookbooks to cheeses, the latter of which is a specialty of hers. Yes, you can have your cheese and eat it, too. Aimee even shared her recipe for a caramel apple and cheddar tartlet.
Video: Holiday 2012
For Holiday 2012, it’s all about evening, as our models mingle in classic cocktail dresses and menswear-inspired pieces with jewels and sparkle thrown in. Julia Frauche, Tati Cotliar and Shu Pei gather with Tommy Dunn to the soundtrack of The White Season by London band Still Corner. Our lookbook, photographed by Lachlan Bailey and styled by Ethel Park, was brought to life by filmmaker Max Nova. Shot on location in the former New York Academy of Sciences, a NYC mansion with a long, slightly mysterious history, it sets the mood for the season ahead. As the lyrics go: Dream this winter dream…
Shop all the looks from the video.
Insider’s Guide: Rodman Primack’s Brazil
With all things Brazil on the blog this week, we enlisted Rodman Primack, founder of The Blacklots and RP Miller Design, to break down the culture scene there. Fresh from the São Paulo Art Biennial, he gave us his full list of highlights, from 300-year-old baroque churches to a restaurant with an experimental side.
Igreja São Francisco de Assis in Ouro Preto, Brazil
Playlist: Lara Gerin
What gets the crowds moving in São Paulo? DJLara Gerin always knows. This is straight from the rotation at Tory’s recent party to celebrate our São Paulo boutique opening.
Spotlight On: Hinckley
Tory’s hitting the high seas — or rather, her designs are. She recently collaborated with Hinckley, designing the interiors of one of its latest models, the T34 jet boat. See the interior here, plus learn all about this legendary American yacht-builder — it dates back to 1928! — in our Q&A with owner David Howe.
Cristina Cuomo On: A Hamptons Halloween
As a mother of three and an admitted candy corn addict, Cristina Cuomo is the expert on celebrating family-friendly Halloweens — complete with festive petit-fours and apple-bobbing in a barn. Here, the Editor-in-Chief of Manhattan magazine reveals all, from how she decorates her house and where she gets the best pumpkins to the one Halloween she spent with the Bee Gees.