Wear What When

The Rules

1. Get yourself to Neiman Marcus at 6:30p on March 4

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Feb 26, 2010 at 08:00AM 0 Comments

A Fashion Rules question: “What was Diana Vreeland’s most famous line?” Know the answer? Bring it with you next Thursday night.

2. Proceed to Mariposa, NM’s in-store restaurant, where little old me has been asked to host a fiercely competitive (in a friendly way!) round or two of Fashion Rules, a style-centric board game. Monopoly for the Marc Jacobs set.

3. Grab a cocktail, and some bites, and join in.

It’s all part of Neiman Marcus’s Fashion Rules Party, a multi-store get-down celebrating the spring season and all things suede, semi-sheer, cropped, layered, draped, soft, pretty, and otherwise perfect.

The game begins at 6:30, and then the games continue with a spring trend fashion show at the plaza level at 7:30 and then free-for-all spa treatments, mini-makeovers, and more in the cosmetics department for the remainder of the evening, til 9.

What I like about parties in especially well-edited department stores, is the part about hanging out with Chanel suits and patent-leather beige YSL heels like it’s just no big deal. You can chill at the local pub and rub elbows with a pin-ball game and a couple of pull-tab dispensers if that’s what works for you, but too often luxury brands and exclusive designer goods feel all too … exclusive. Untouchable, really.

Here’s a chance to right that wrong—and show off some intimate knowledge of designer factoids and sartorial history, too.

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Tags: Eastside, Fashion Show, Party

Stepping Out

Bellevue Arts Museum shows over a hundred shoes by pioneering designer Beth Levine

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Feb 08, 2010 at 07:00AM 0 Comments

Photo: Courtesy Bellevue Arts Museum

Slideshow: Beth Levine

View Slideshow » Photo: Courtesy Bellevue Arts Museum

Slideshow: Beth Levine

View Slideshow » Photo: Courtesy Bellevue Arts Museum
View Slideshow » Photo: Courtesy Bellevue Arts Museum
View Slideshow » Photo: Courtesy Bellevue Arts Museum
View Slideshow » Photo: Courtesy Bellevue Arts Museum
View Slideshow » Photo: Courtesy Bellevue Arts Museum
View Slideshow » Photo: Courtesy Bellevue Arts Museum
View Slideshow » Photo: Courtesy Bellevue Arts Museum
View Slideshow » Photo: Courtesy Bellevue Arts Museum
View Slideshow » Photo: Courtesy Bellevue Arts Museum
View Slideshow » Photo: Courtesy Bellevue Arts Museum
View Slideshow » Photo: Courtesy Bellevue Arts Museum

Considering modern designers like Diane von Furstenberg, Stella McCartney, and even Tory Burch, it’s hard to imagine an America that didn’t allow iconic, groundbreaking shoe wear designer Beth Levine to put her own name on the beautifully made souls of her artful pumps.

And in fact, as Bellevue Arts Museum curator Nora Atkinson told me, the designer and her husband Herbert Levine, whose name took Beth’s place there under the arched step of so many stylish women’s feet beginning in the early 50s, they were hesitant to use his when they sent their first shipment to a department store in the south, fearing anti-semitic backlash.

BAM’s Beth Levine show, which opens on February 18 and represents the only such show in this country (can you believe that??), is set to be a personality-driven, architectural heel-studded walk through fashion history that gives way to many conversations about the ownership of ideas and the cultural impact of haute couture and everyday dress in America.

Then again, it should also be really fun just crusing through and imagining wearing all that smart, practical, but completely beautiful design. And then maybe shopping afterward.

Some things to think about before you go:

-Levine was a Lithuanian farmer’s daughter who knew a thing or two about calfskin and animal hides when, at 38 in 1946, she moved to New York to work as a shoe model as a means of getting her … um, foot in the door to become a designer.

-Yeah, you guessed it: The leadership in the male-run factories in those days weren’t interested, until she proved to them that she was bringing ideas, and solutions. And an American design identity — until Levine came along, the shoe industry in the states was based on replicating European looks.

-Beth met Herbert in one of the factories; they opened their own manufacturing operation in ’49. It closed in ’75, though she continued consulting and designing after that.

-Her clients included Jackie O, Marlene Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe, Cher, and Nancy Sinatra — Levine is credited with bringing those boots made for walking to haute couture.

-Yes, her sexiest styles would fit a modern day Carrie Bradshaw type, but she had a sense of humor and wild innovation, too. She designed one style lined in an AstroTurf-like material -- she was a farmer’s daughter, don’t forget, and thought everyone needed to feel the “grass” between their toes. Check the slideshow here for more.

-We wouldn’t know as much about Levine without expert and author Helene Verin, who will speak at BAM’s preview party.

-We wouldn’t have access to so many historical perspectives without the help of Seattle-based design legend Sara Little Turnbull, who loaned a dozen or so styles for the show.

Start making plans now to stroll through the exhibit with your most amazingly shod and design-savvy friends — as to whether or not you’ll want to wear your museum-friendly comfortable shoes, I’ll leave that to you.

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Tags: Design, Eastside, Bellevue Arts Museum, Shoes

New, Used, Open, and Closed

Retail changes, and changes and changes

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Jan 28, 2010 at 08:00AM 2 Comments

This Lanvin pump is 40% on Posh on Main’s website

I want to pass on word of a couple retail changes, but since we all hate bad news, let’s start with some details from the brighter side.

Alexandra’s, Downtown’s biggest designer consignment shop, hits its fall/winter sale today. All past season pieces (think chunky knits, wrap sweaters, wool slacks) are 50% off their lowest price, and spring merchandise is 10% off.

While you’re in the neighborhood, with new-to-you bargains on your mind, you should check Driftwood Consignment as well. As mentioned in this post about a heavy linen batwing dress/tunic from A Small Collection that I scored there, Natalie Anderson and Adam Peart’s two shops (there’s one in Madrona, too) buy and sell to and from the kind of girl who shops small, neighborhood boutiques and scores up and coming, small batch designers.

Consignment shopping does require patience and the hunter/gatherer spirit. Driftwood is small enough to navigate without much of a strategy, but at Alexandra’s, where pieces are well-organized by color and style but the sheer volume can be overwhelming, you’ll do well to enter with a target or focus, even if that means just concentrating on a color, or patterns versus solids. The shop gets bonus points for using those little triangularly round size indicators on the top of their hangers that make browsing that much easier.

And now, for the bummers.

+Some changes on Main Street in Bellevue: Posh on Main’s storefront has been shuttered; the remaining inventory is online. Having made big markdowns, owner Angela Self plans to sell through her stock of Valentino flats and Miu Miu booties before taking down her site.

Christi’s on Main, just down the way, is also on its way out. A closeout sale is in full effect.

+In the world of plants and greenery: UrbanWeeds in Fremont is selling its remaining botanicals and accessories for 90% off; the store will close at the end of the month.

When one door shuts … another often opens. You might try the brand new Midnight Blossom in Ballard if you’re need of an organic, in-house oxygen generator, and see our Diggable Plants from last spring for more shops that’ll grow on you.

+Speaking of growing: Plum Children’s Shoes in Madison Valley is closing; check their site for great deals on European kids’ kicks, and on Queen Anne, Urban Kids Play has reconsidered their format. They’ll continue offering safe, smart toys online, but the retail location is transitioning to a drop-in childcare center.

+Cartier at Pacific Place? Gone. Across the street and down a block: Coldwater Creek is hanging it up as well.

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Tags: Weddings, new, vintage, sale, Fall/Winter Sale, Eastside, consignment, floral, closing

Sale of the Week: Getting to Know Them

Your budding friendship with Neiman Marcus can only grow deeper starting today, as the Last Call sale launches

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Jan 21, 2010 at 05:00AM 0 Comments

Photo: Alex Martinez

A look from Seattle Met’s Fall 2009 fashion shoot; the red hot Zac Posen dress might just be among the major-deal finds at the big Neiman Marcus Last Call sale that starts today

You know how to shop the Nordstrom half-yearly sales, and you know the little nooks and back shelves where your favorite neighborhood boutiques offer their markdowns, but you don’t yet know Neiman Marcus on sale.

The still fairly new to us high-end department store begins their Last Call today. It’s the first major, big-time, steal-it-now-or-regret-it-forever mega sale since the retailer’s September opening. Markdowns are as much as 65% on apparel, shoes, handbags, home decor and gifts, and designer jewelry.

While you’re at the Bravern, check out these on-going shopportunities——-

Winter Clearance at Brooks Brothers Country Club: Up to 50% off

Fall and holiday looks at Tory Burch: 40 – 60% off

Once-a-year Sale at Sur la Table: 20 – 40% off select merchandise; up to 75% clearance items

David Barton Gym: Sign up during January and skip the enrollment fee

Piazza Sempione: $50 off a purchase of Spring 2010 merchandise totally $250 or more

Red Door Spa: $120 special = Massage or facial plus manicure or shampoo, blow dry, and finish; all services come with make-up touch-up

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Tags: Fall/Winter Sale, Eastside, Neiman Marcus, Bravern