Expert Guide: Elissa Schappell’s Conversation Pieces

Ever had chatter at a dinner party stall? We enlisted Elissa Schappell for the book topics she uses to kick-start dialogues. Her own novel-in-stories, Blueprints for Building Better Girls, is much discussed itself and anointed a Best Book by Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal and
O Magazine. For this Contributing Editor and Hot Type columnist at Vanity Fair, as well as Editor-at-Large for Tin House, a great literary conversation could cover Salman Rushdie, Dashiell Hammett and even Andrew McCarthy vs. James Spader.

Alexander Galan On: The Curated Coffee Table

There’s an art to building a beautiful library or coffee table book stack. “You can tell so much about someone from what they have on their shelves and coffee table,” says Alexander Galan from ARTBOOK|D.A.P. Books are the best way to dress a room,” he says. Galan has over 2000 books in his own library.

Here, how Galan creates the perfect literary tableau and has a few suggestions for adding to your own collection.

Spotlight On: Marcus Samuelsson

Marcus Samuelsson’s new memoir Yes, Chef charts his extraordinary journey, from his Ethiopian roots and Swedish adoption to his impressive culinary career. It’s a book foodies will love — Aquavit, Red Rooster Harlem, Top Chef Masters, Marcus covers them all — but even if you don’t know your soffrito from your soufflé, Yes, Chef makes for an entertaining read. Here, more dish on Marcus.

Every kitchen should not be without…
Champagne (because you never know who’s coming over), pickles (because I’m Swedish) and honey wine (some of the strongest and most delicious stuff from Ethiopia).

Spotlight On: Gypset’s Julia Chaplin

In her new book Gypset Travel, journalist Julia Chaplin espouses a certain kind of off-the-beaten-track luxury. Like Brazil’s Alto Paraíso or the more rustic Panarea in the Aeolian Islands. The images are beautiful, the details rich and the anecdotes amusing — Alto Paraíso, now a getaway for fashion industry insiders once attracted UFO believers in the Eighties. Here, Chaplin describes her ideal destination and how to get into a Gypset mindset. And, oh, that name? It’s a combination of gypsy and jet set.

Gypset is…
A new kind of luxury that fuses the sophistication and speed of the jet set with the wiliness of a gypsy. It’s flexible, spontaneous and ferrets out the untested and untried.

What’s Your Sign? Virgo

As we roll into the earth sign of Virgo (August 23rd — September 22nd), discover what’s in store for you. Astrology expert Susie Cox tells all — and reveals this is the moment for one of Tory’s favorite colors for fall: lush and vibrant green.

Virgo
Happy Birthday, Virgo! This is your month to shine, as Mercury joins your sun from September 7th to 10th. You will be smart during this time, so plan to do something intellectually stimulating.

Word of Mouth: A Fleetwood Mac Tribute

Long live the Mac! Just Tell Me That You Want Me isn’t your average album of covers. It’s a true homage to Fleetwood Mac — meticulously conceived and produced by music supervisor Randall Poster and featuring a roster of musicians musicians doing their own renditions of the classics. Listen to The New Pornographers’ Think About Me, Karen Elson’s Gold Dust Woman, The Kills’ Dreams and more here.

Print Mixing: A Little or A Lot

Love a great print? Our new fall collection is packed with plaids, zig-zags and feminine florals on any and everything — dresses, tops, shoes and bags.

If you’re feeling bold, go full-on feminine with an all-print ensemble — or even wear multiple pieces in the same pattern. It may seem old-fashioned, like matching your lipstick to your nail polish, but it actually looks ultra-modern and a bit offbeat.

The key? Start with a staple — like our Brady Cardigan — that actually does the print-mixing for you, then pile on more accents in the same color family. (Sticking with a similar palette keeps it from looking busy.) Or, if you’re not ready to go head-to-toe with this trend, just wear the sweater with skinny jeans and a floral scarf and you’ve mastered the mix.

Shop the Looks.

In Memoriam: Helen Gurley Brown

Before Sex and the City, there was Helen Gurley Brown and her bestseller Sex and the Single Girl. In 1962, the book caused a nationwide sensation and empowered women to think beyond the traditional confines of “first comes marriage….”

And that was just the beginning. The ever-feisty Helen went on to transform Cosmopolitan magazine and ignite a sexual freedom — her cover lines alone are the stuff of legend. Helen’s mantra: love, sex and money — women can have it all, and should.

We’ll leave the last words to this cultural icon. As Helen said in her biography (and also had embroidered on a pillow), “Good girls go to heaven. Bad girls go everywhere.”

The Internship: Mashable

When Laura Indvik was applying for a job at Mashable, it was her analogy — comparing founder Pete Cashmore’s understanding of the zeitgeist today to Diana Vreeland’s in the Sixties — that set her apart from other candidates. She’s now the company’s Associate Business Editor. For her intern Jeremy Cabalona, the story is equally happy; he just got hired as Mashable’s Community Assistant.

Style Tip: The Peplum

Wondering about the shape of things to come this season? Here’s one word for you: peplum. It’s that little flounce at the waist that gives some classic feminine pep to jackets, dresses and sweaters. Plus, its universally flattering, waist-defining powers make it the detail de rigeur for fall.

Proportions are key to tapping into this vintage-inspired trend: a slim pant or skirt plays up the flared hip. To try it out, choose an easy, versatile piece like our Madeline Sweater. For the perfect girl-meets-boy mix, pair it with leather skinny pants in modern, monochromatic black. Or, go for a patterned pencil skirt in shades of camel — peplum and plaid are a natural match. Another option? Bright color. The all-over red of this houndstooth skirt creates a streamlined silhouette that makes the hourglass-accentuating top really pop.

The Internship: Lucky Magazine

Interns, take note — hard work, individual style and a sense of humor are the way to Brandon Holley’s heart. Holley, the Editor-in-Chief of Lucky, and UNC student Abigail Rollins discuss the ins-and-outs of the magazine world, networking and being a smart cookie (literally).

The Internship: Christie’s

Lydia Wickliffe Fenet’s rise from Christie’s summer intern to Director of Strategic Partnerships, in just 12 years, is the stuff student dreams are made of. Here, she shares the secrets of her success, including her most important piece of advice: Be the first in the door and the last one out. We also met her intern, Emma Hart.

The Internship: Tory Burch

Today’s freshmen are tomorrow’s leaders. Our summer interns just headed back to school — we learned as much from them as we hope we inspired and taught them about design, business and what working at a fashion brand is really like. To kick off our second annual Internship issue, Tory and Morgan Stukes, from Boston University, talk about what they learned this summer. All week long, we will be featuring mentors and interns from various fields.

The Internship: EBOOST

Between all of his restaurants and companies, restauranteur and entrepreneur John McDonald needs a small army of interns. The lucky collegians get an inside view of MercBar, B&B Winepub, City magazine, Tasting Table and EBOOST. John and University of Colorado student Nick Wachs took us through a summer at EBOOST.

Michael S. Smith On: Summer Style

If only we could bottle summer living year-round. In lieu of moving someplace where it’s 70 °F and sunny every day, we asked famed interiors expert Michael S. Smith how to capture a little summer élan at home. The L.A.-based Smith is known for mixing American modernism and European tradition and has redone homes for Steven Spielberg, Lynn de Rothschild, Michelle Pfeiffer and, of course, the White House for the Obamas.

The key to making a home feel summery…
I’m a big believer in classic slipcovers — a set of white slipcovers feels relaxed and cool. I also really like putting down sisal or apple matting from Pottery Barn or Crate & Barrel It’s not a big investment and makes the room feel fresher. And I love to change the fragrance — Frédéric Malle’s Gardenia and Christian Tortu’s Tomato Leaf candles are simple and good.

Photo courtesy of Michael S. Smith

Day in the Life: Yuki Srikarnchana

With barely any time to spare, Yuki Srikarnchana (wearing our Tory Burch dress, here) zips around Bangkok in preparation for a big family dinner celebrating Mother’s Day in Thailand. Yuki, the CEO of Pendulum Group, a restauranteur and mother of three daughters, somehow found time to fit spin class in, too.

To all our friends and family in Thailand — Happy Mother’s Day!

Trend: Eclectic Lady

“When I wear something really ladylike, I balance it with natural skin and loose hair,” says Dree Hemingway, who stars in our Fall Lookbook.

From New York to Paris, the fall runways heralded the return of the lady. She’s pulled-together, refined and isn’t afraid of a little luxury. Our collection was inspired by movies such as In the Mood for Love and An Education, where the women are polished and slightly covered up but also sexy. For us, it’s all about that mix.

Eugene Souleiman, the hairstylist for our show, drew his own parallel between the hair (chicly tousled chignons) and the looks themselves, which sums up the aesthetic: “Pretty and chic, yet quirky. It’s when a good hair day goes bad.” Likewise, these pristine looks are worn with a wink. Or at least with leather.

From clothing, shoes and bags to the little finishing touches, we created a mini collection of our favorite ladylike pieces: Shop Now.

Spotlight On: Scott Dadich

How do you translate the physical experience of flipping through the pages of a glossy magazine into an equally appealing, visually exciting digital format? That’s the challenge Scott Dadich, Condé Nast’s VP, Editorial Platforms and Design, faces on a daily basis. Here, he shares the two-word mantra that guides his vision and talks about his latest project, The New Yorker iPhone app. Getting our weekly dose of wit and news on the go? We love it — and we’ll never have to miss another caption contest again.

My favorite apps are…
I can’t live without my New Yorker iPad app. Twitter is my must-read every morning. Martha Stewart Craft Studio is one of the best creativity apps out there — I can’t believe how much fun I’m having with it. I love FFFFound for design inspiration and Planetary for music, but without a doubt, Instagram is my all-time favorite app.

Style Tip: Tweed, 3 Ways

Even though temps are still topping 80 degrees in NYC, it’s hard not to be tempted by fall’s textured tweeds in rich jewel tones. So why wait? We did a bit of remixing with our just-debuted Victory Suit and came up with three stylish ways to wear tweed from late-summer all through fall.

To get a quick fix now, try the jacket over white jeans with a neutral t-shirt or lightweight knit. (Even in August, we always keep a second layer handy — if your office is anything like ours, those air-conditioned summer days can get chilly.) Later into autumn, the go-to uniform is bare legs and pencil skirts, topped off with some boyish basics, like a classic sweater and two-tone flats. After the first frost, go all-out ladylike with a floral secretary blouse, spectator heels and bright tights. Et voilà — tweed has never looked so chic: Shop the Looks.

Must Hear: The Stones in Morocco

Morocco has been luring seekers for generations. And while Paul Bowles and the Beats made their way to this beautiful and exotic country, we’ve always been intrigued by The Rolling Stones’ famous visit in the summer of 1989.

For three days, they recorded with a group from Jajouka, Morocco, that William Burroughs once called the “four-thousand-year-old rock band” — the Master Musicians of Jajouka led by Bachir Attar. The recording sessions resulted in the song Continental Drift, from their 1989 album Steel Wheels. Hear it here.

Day in the Life: Darcy Miller

Candy, cupcakes and Olympic bronze medalist Lia Neal — all in a day’s work for Darcy Miller, Editorial Director of Martha Stewart Weddings, author, illustrator, party expert and whiz at festive décor and scrapbooking. She also is the latest curator on OpenSky, her first shop inspired by her daughter Daisy. Here, a snapshot of Darcy’s sweet life.

Word of Mouth: Beck in S.F.

Surprise! To rehearse for this weekend’s Outside Lands fest, Beck just announced a last-minute show tonight at Bimbo’s in San Francisco. It’s anyone’s guess if he’ll play songs from his next “album” Song Reader, out in December. Completely blurring that performance-art line, the folk-funk-rocker’s latest is a book of sheet music for 20 new songs with original art by Marcel Dzama and Leanne Shapton — one of our favorites. Recordings by fans and other musicians (and maybe Beck himself?) will be featured on McSweeney’s.

Pinterest: Marrakech Express

From colorful finds in the souks (right) and intricate tile work to the iconic Majorelle Garden and centuries-old mosques — check out our Marrakech Express Pinterest page for a photo diary of Tory’s trip to Morocco. Away we go….

Insider’s Guide: Maryam Montague’s Marrakech

Human rights specialist Maryam Montague has traveled to over 70 countries, zigzagging from Senegal and Sri Lanka to New York and Namibia. It wasn’t until she landed in Marrakech, however, that this stylish nomad and mother-of-two got the urge to settle. She fell in love with the food, the people, the culture — and went on to build a beautiful home there with her architect husband, launch a Marrakech-centric blog and online textile store, publish a Moroccan design book and open a boutique hotel. She even presses her own olive oil. Here, discover Maryam’s favorite shopping destinations in Marrakech.