Need to Refresh Your Wardrobe?

Choke by the recession? Here's some relief directly from the designers.

What: Cloth Logic and Tulle Sample Sale

When: Saturday December 13th from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Where: Morning Glow Inc.
350 Apra St.
Compton, CA

Why: This event is perfect for your holiday shopping as everything is under $20! Guys can come out and stock up on Cloth Logic’s vintage inspired sweaters and outerwear while picking up a few Tulle pieces for their gals without breaking the bank. Entrance is free and open to the public. Cash and Credit cards accepted.

You can check out Cloth Logic at www.clothlogic.com and Tulle at www.tulle4us.com.

PAPER Magazine lands in LA

Mr. Mickey Partying It Up on the Sunset Strip

For it's Fourth Annual trek to Los Angeles, the uber-Soho culture/fashion/art magazine, PAPER Magazine has returned to West Hollywood.

It perched temporarily at 8873 Sunset Blvd. at the corner of Sunset Blvd. and San Vincenti Blvd.

Everytime, they make their westward migration for five days, they set-up a pop-up gallery, performance space, photography studio, and shop.

Other than enjoying the sunny weather and palm trees, the folks at PAPER Magazine recognized that the City of Angels have a growing art, culture, and fashion scene, mostly ignored by the city's obession on starlets and the entertainment industry.

It is their purpose to shine a light on these LA culturati and fashionistas for their up-coming annual February issue.

Mickey Boardman, aka "Mr. Mickey" getting his groove on at the opening party

Hard Rocker-turned-DJ, Andrew WK

Actually, the staff at PAPER Magazine are pretty generous folks.

They thought highly of Andrew WK's new venture, a night club called Santa's Play House and kindly asked him to bring his concept and crew to LA to be their house DJs for the five days event.

For Andrew, his night club is a natural growth and extension of his regular rock band, which he personally told me, is planning to hit the road again pretty soon.

He's still banging away on the keyboard over Eighties hits, ZZ Top's "Sharp Dressed Man" and classical Seventies and Eighties funk and rap.

Kim Hastreiter, Co-Publisher/Editor and Founder of PAPER Magazine

As the maternal editor watches the opening celebrations, Kim is opening and willing to talk to anyone. Remember, she's searching for fresh talent.

She lived very briefly in LA and attended Walt Disney's Art Center up in Pasadena.

She always knew LA has gifted artists, since she was one herself.

As she watched the city spawn in many directions, Kim noticed that each neighborhood grows it's own identity and personality since everyone is choked by their own traffic.

The magazine crew want to spotlight those emerging artsy neighborhoods like Culver City, Silver Lake, Echo Park, Los Feliz, Venice Beach, and LA's garment district, Downtown. Places the mainstream media in Los Angeles ignore because they're not tv/movie/entertainment heavy but they're ripe of individuality and real Los Angelenos, not air-brushed starlets dying for the red carpet.

They pick West Hollywood because of it's central location as a gathering spot.

Dallas from VH1's "Rock of Love: Charm School"

Celebrity Stylist, George Blodwell, and on the right, his wife, blonde Italian fashion publicist, Piera.

Towards the final hour, the party really heats up when uniquely LA celebrities arrive in droves.

Old friends, George Blodwell, and a couple of actors greeted this writer. Local Sunset Strip rockers show their support for the NY magazine.

Everybody will have even more blasts.

Thursday and Sunday are the editorial days when things calm down and people of every stripe are welcomed to show their graphic designs, clothes, style, and talent to the PAPER staff for their Febuary issue. Those are the days, the pop-up store becomes "Project Runway" and hunts for fresh talent to showcase.

Friday and Saturday are the 24-Hour "Chop Shop" Party. Open to the public and for everyone to enjoy, it's an all day and all night shopping and partying carnival where shoppers can watch artists convert Levi's denim into all sorts of stuff while partying to Lady Tigra, Chapin Sisters, and prominent alternative rockers.

Go ahead and save the cover charge for other things and join the celebration of what is good about LA and party with PAPER Magazine people this weekend at 8873 Sunset Blvd.

Meet Best Friends Forever, Tulle & Cloth Logic

This complementary boy/girl line of when innocent nostalgia meets preppy sportswear happened when, through a friend of a friend, the girls of Tulle, Jennifer Smith and Anoushka Scott, met Leon Shpayer. Together, the trio grew added on then grew their menswear line, Cloth Logic.

Tulle Cashew Puff Sleeve Trench Coat

It started when vintage aficionado, Anoushka Scott, hooked up with graphic designer-turned-crafting fan, Jennifer Smith.

Tulle Empire Waist Top

After earning her Graphic Design degree at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), Jennifer figured she was better off returning there for a fashion design degree since she always sewn clothes for her friends. She expressed her dedication to the craft by studying it for four more additional years at SCAD.

Her journey in fashion lead her to Anoushka Scott.

While working in a vintage boutique, Anoushka piques her interest in retro fashion. Her boss offering workshops in vintage clothes only fueled her drive into Los Angeles Trade Technical College, Los Angeles' top-secret but top-notch school for fashion and pattern design.

It was at LA Trade Tech (the school's nickname) that she bumped into fellow student, Leon.

Both praised the school's no-nonsense attitude towards apparel construction and paying attention to details. They said the school drills this mind set that fashion isn't a glamour game but a technical, engineering skill.

Tulle Navy Tie-Dress with Short-Sleeved Sweater Coat

Later on, when Jennifer's and Anoushka's womenswear, Tulle, took off and felt like they were ready to tackle menswear, they hunted high and low through a network of friends for a menswear designer that share their sensible yet cute, vintage aesthetics. They found Leon Shpayer. Even, Jennifer recommended him.

Humorously, Leon called fashion, "It's a teeny world."

Cloth Logic Black Barracuda Jacket

In the nineteen years he have been living here, since immigrating from St. Petersburg, Russia, Leon developed a deep appreciation for the East Coast's common sensed utilitarism and the Preppy smartness.

Cloth Logic Hooded Windbreaker

A rainy but romantic Spring trip to Boston inspired Leon's current collection of sporty windbreakers and stylish and sleek zip-up sweaters.

He watched Ivy League couples walking hand-in-hand. The flowers were beginning to bloom after the Spring shower.

A storyline or a concept sprung into his head.

He based his collection on an Ivy League, perhaps a prep school boy. Bored with Boston, he decided to take a trip to Manhattan's Lower East Side for some excitement.

The kid went vintage shopping there in those thrift stores.

He returned home, mixing his vintage military salvage with his more conservative prep school wardrobe.

Cloth Logic Granite Navy Short Trench

Leon's "Preppy Meets Military Punk" earns him a legion of male celebrity followers from "Gossip Girl"s Ed Westwick to Ryan Seacrest.

E! Executive News Editor, Ken Baker, can't help but praise Cloth Logic's classically tailored but ruggedly punk blazer that saves him from looking like a bum.

There's nothing "bummy" about Tulle's pristine womenswear or Cloth Logic's new classic Americana.

Easy-Breezy Clothes for Day & Night

Sheiki Jeans Designer & Founder, Shelia Marie Dudley

As a normal, hourglass woman, Shelia Marie Dudley, was frustrated by the lack of fashionable pieces that fits her curvy physique that are easy to wear and easy to take care of in a hot climate.

She took matters into her own hands and started her own line, Sheiki Jeans. She begun with jeans since they are a wardrobe staple. Soon, other curvaceous celebrities, such as Salma Hayek, Kim Kardashian, and Tyra Banks, fell for her well-tailored denim. In fact, it is Atlanta and the Southeast that are her biggest market-where real women with real bodies live.

Spurred on by her inital success in jeans, Shelia soon developed Sheiki Shirts, tops and dresses to accompany her "easy to wear, easy to care" philosophy.

Virgo Dresses

Her Sheiki Shirts are easy, breathable jersey knits basics that are great for everyday wear.

Pisces Dresses

Since Shelia wanted flexible in her clothes, her mini-dresses can be worn by themselves or be paired with her jeans as tunics.

These dresses-tunics-tops can be warmed up for Fall when accessorize with a wool or cashmere scarf, making these warm-weather basics into quick and accessible Fall pieces.

Since the silhouette, the construction, and the fabric are adaptable year-around, her line can be a great wardrobe investment for any girl-about-town like Tyra and Kim.

Ms. Dudley debut her more upscale, evening wear line during this recent Los Angeles Fashion Week, Sheiki Collections.

She's translating her "easy to wear, easy to care" mentality for those nights out on the town.

Despite the predominance of black, leather, and sequins, the Sheiki Collections retains the goal of the ease of wearability and adjustability to a woman's body living a fast-paced life.

The usually sporty hoodie has been glammed up for night.

The tight tank top has been loosened up and draped then dipped in sequins for a night out.

This tough ensemble can broken down into for various outfits.

The leather, flared jeans can be topped off with a white sweater for an elegant look.

Speaking of sweaters, Shelia is in the process of developing a line of Sheiki Sweaters but that is still in development.

Even as Sheila Marie Dudley progresses into evening wear, she didn't forget the importance of wearability and maintenance, whether it be hot, humid days or sultry nights.

Full Frontal TV's James Aguiar's Picks from Los Angeles Fashion Week

James Aguiar's fave, Suh-Tahn

Since Los Angeles has this long traditional for birthing out trends in sportswear, I asked my always kind and knowledgeable, James Aguiar, VOOM HD's "Full Front TV"s fashion expert and "Behind The Label"s industry insider, what are his favorite picks from this crop of this recent L.A. Fashion Spring/Summer 2009.

He was sweet enough to take time out to chat while battling an on-street parking dispute in Brooklyn in this cross-country conversation. Smart, stylish, -and brave, what a gentleman!

His perennial favorite Los Angeleno design team of Suh-Tahn reappears consistently, remembering them as, "New York clothes for New Yorkers by Los Angeles designers."

Their strong technical skills in construction paired with Manhattan's more stark palette of cool white and gray paired against dark black and navy blue struck a chord with this New Yorker.

Marissa Ribisi & Sophia Coloma

of Whitley Kros

James' other favorite is another design duo of Whitley Kros, comprising of Marissa Ribisi and Sophia Coloma.

Marissa has transitioned from being actor Giovanni Ribisi's sister and being an alternative movie star from Richard Linklater's "Dazed and Confused," to being Beck's wife and the mother of their two children, son, Cosimo Henri, and daughter, Tuesday and a partner in contemporary sportswear line, Whitley Kros.

Whitley Kros were generally inspired by the beach. Whether it be a cool morning fog or a blistering high-noon sun, they literally have you covered. The collection consist of wraps and tunics in light-weight knits coordinating with light silk dolphin shorts and shimmering satin baby-doll camisoles. Each outfit can be broken apart then spread out to be paired off with other pieces in your wardrobe. It seems like Marissa and Sophia consciously put out a year-around wardrobe that fits in any active woman's lifestyle.

Kevan Hall Black & White Gingham Dupioni Silk Halter Top

Another designer noted, when pressed, is Los Angeles stalwart, Kevan Hall.

He strikes James as the most impressive, not just in the usual qualifications of design, styling, construction, and fabrication.

James describes him as the most experienced and the most business-wise.

Mr. Hall, stressed by James, knows the importance of buyers and loyal patrons to truly keep a fashion designer and her/his company alive.

This wise designer understands what it takes to do a fashion show and what a fashion show means.

James calls him, "The Leader."

Kevan Hall's Lurex-Infused Wool Belted Sheath Dress

Mr. Hall has always been this particular columnist's favorite because he comes the closest to what is considered "a society designer," a fashion designer catering to socialites, what other derisively dismissed as "ladies who lunch." When he shines, his natural inclinations aims toward elegant but easy to wear seperates with tasteful features, such as his zebra-stripe tunic with rhinestone hems from his African Collection a year ago to now, his "Mad Men" late Fifties and early Sixities-influenced line, with the added sparkle of Lurex-infused wool.

Unlike most designers, he understands the climate where the majority of his clients live, affluent, mature women who live in hot weather, arid or humid.

If his African, zebra-striped tunic was the it outfit year ago-and still going strong on photo shoots, then his black-and-white gingham halter in dupioni silk is crisp and refreshing for a hot, sultry Summer Spoleto Soiree. Timeless enough for the hot young things in Spoleto Scene or The Apollo Circle at The Metropolitan Museum of Art or the more established steadfast patrons of the opera and the ballet, these are classy outfits for classy people.

At his recent headlining show, Mr. Hall attracts the likes of Hollywood socialites, such as Candy Spelling, Tori's mother, Christine Devine, and the Mayor of Los Angeles, the honorable Antonio Villaraigosa in the front row.

This is a refined break from the usual front row of celebrities from A-List to Z-List.

His fans are noteworthy and respectable, just like the clothes and the man, himself.

Young Grace Kelly, Tracy Reese Spring 2009, the New Classics

by

Laura Medina

Tracy Reese built her Spring 2009 collection on a foundation of new classics. Glacial trenches and coat ensembles in icy but soft velvet. Warm enough for Fall, perhaps Winter yet light enough for a cool Spring night.

The trench coat alone, worn with a petticoat underneath makes a great elegant evening dress with a Fifties Dior-like feel.

This coat ensemble can easily be taken apart then split into two different outfits.

The trousers, paired with a black turtleneck or cashmere sweater, are a luxurious basic.

This is the little black dress for the young generations of up-and-coming socialites.

Interestingly enough, this also has a Fifties retro stylings of black lace, nipped waist, and pouf skirt.

Ms. Reese is one of the few women designers following the late Fifties and early Sixities styles from AMC's hit, "Mad Men."

This rich violet sheath dress is a good example of the Early Sixities' Jackie Kennedy look, simple chic in exquisite satin with a judical use of crytal beading. No jewelry required.

Ms. Reese pays homage to Spring in this vibrant lily green cocktail dress.

The Ice Princess returns in this ruched cocktail dress in chiffon and soft ruffles in pale, cool blue.

Ms. Reese provides the new generation with mature but new classics that will stand the test of time. That, eventually, they too, will pass onto their offsprings.

For grown-up clothes for the new generation of socialites, they need a fresh but grown-up cocktails.

Mix one part Rose's Cocktail Infusions Blue Raspberry Mix with one part Citrus Vodka. Shake with ice then strain into a martini glass to go with your icy but rich evening wardrobe.

Rebecca Taylor, The Bohemian Preppy

by Laura Medina

Despite the economic turmoil, you can still get designer looks for less by studying the latest styling from the latest New York Fashion Week by recycling your existing clothes with a touch of the newest or a classic piece.

That way, you can stretch your closest onto the season without going broke.

Based on Rebecca Taylor's Spring 2009 offerings, it's a perfect season of a potpourri of looks.

All you need for those transitional seasons, such as Fall and Spring, are a trench coat, a blazer, a gray pantsuit, and those empire waist camisoles and tunics.

To freshen up your wardrobe, add something plummy or fruity or floral in light-weight chiffon, whether it be a tunic or a babydoll that has been going strong for the past five years.

The great thing about this collection is the flexiblity to do a multitude of looks for two different seasons by either breaking apart a pantsuit, layering, or just wearing the piece alone for a Summer look.

Since this collection has a looser Bohemian spirit, it's perfectly ok to mix the hippy with the preppy. Something borrowed from a boyfriend or brother or from mom, sprinkled with your own Springy tops

By Ms. Taylor revisiting and recycling classic wardrobe pieces, such as the trench coat, you can be fashion-forward for all seasons.

Inspired by Ms. Taylor's fruity color palette, why not mix up a refreshing beverage of one part Rose's Cocktail Infusions Watermelon Mix with one part 7Up in a pitcher for friends or for yourself.

It will make all those changes in climate and the market so much more easier.