Halcyon Fashion for Indian Summer and Fall Equinox

Bordeaux Smock Long Sleeve Drape Front

By Laura Medina

August 29, 2008

Even in the waning days of Summer, we girls, whether it be sunny California or balmy Charleston,SC, are still simmering in the heat of an Indian Summer that lingers until mid to late October, right before the leaves turn orange just in time for Halloween.
The quandary conflicting us is this, we desire a crisp, new wardrobe celebrating the changing of the seasons but the reality of regional heat and humid defeats the practicality of a heavy, wool jacket or coat. Women want to celebrate autumn with the signal of new clothes without suffocating in them.

With these arriving transitional collections from Bordeaux and Miss Me’s MM Couture’s upcoming Holiday/Resort collection, these soft feminine pieces are surprisingly sturdy investments year around.

Bordeaux Haltered Cowl

Numerous times I repeated the mantra of “Corporate to Club” concept but these clothes traverse seasons without skipping a beat or a dent to your wallet because of the soft Modal fabric, the chiffon/satin texture, and the airy tailoring. These are fashion pieces that you can sweat in relief yet keep you warm when the temperature does drop. With the draping construction and fabrication, again, these make good travel pieces for your glamorous but hectic life, whether you’re a jet-setter or a career soccer mom.

As active Baby Boomers and maturing Gen-Xers prove the naysayers, just because a woman reaches a certain age doesn’t mean she abandons trendy, sporty fashion. In fact, the sportier the clothes, the more they fit their busy lifestyles. A growing number of designers, Los Angeles or Manhattan based, are those women themselves and want to solve growing figure issues without sacrificing style or comfort. Trendy fashion isn’t exclusively for Size 0 toothpicks anymore.

Bordeaux Long Sleeve V Neck with Pleated A-Line Skirt

Ardy Raminfar, a ten-year garment veteran and Bordeaux’s founder and CEO, recognized that active career women need flexible but light undergarments that move with the body, not against it. He removed corset stabbing underwires, ditch the cumbersome wired, padded bra, and incorporated the camisole’s bust line into a shapely but ruched wireless bra insert, inserted breathable mesh control panels to slenderize the bulges and the pudges along the waistline. He sold his shapewear as SkinnyZs and they were a hit.

Until, women told him it was a hassle to slip on the SkinnyZs then slip the outerwear over them. It hits him that if he sews the shapewear into the tops and the blouses themselves, more women would buy them for the sheer convenience. This is when SkinnyZs became Bordeaux.

These soft, feminine but flexible career tops and blouses can carry a on- the- go woman from office to occasion without the hassle of driving home or awkwardly changing into a second outfit in the restroom.

With these two-in-one tops in wrinkle-free knits, an in-demand business woman can pack her whole wardrobe into a carry-on without packing in additional, separate bras and camisoles, making room for more stuff, as in evening pumps and jewelry.

With his expertise in knitwear and woven construction, Ardy (a play on the word, “ardent,” describing his drive for fashion perfection) can take usual mundane utilitarian pieces and make them sexier, more elegant. Items that a sophisticated woman of a certain age can wear with ease and confidence, they’re career, “power pieces.”

Bordeaux Multi Pleat Long Sleeve Mock Neck Dress

The stiff, straight edges derived from men suits have been puffed up then deflated into languid curves, bell sleeves and flowing cowl necks. Unyielding navy pinstripe woolens are replaced by the luxurious supple but body-retaining, durable Modal, emanating that Seventies’ sexy career woman vibe, best exemplified by Faye Dunaway in “Network.” Powerful but soft, that’s Bordeaux.

If you still desire something a bit more special that you can wear now in the heat of an Indian Summer that you can still wear right through the holiday bashes without wrecking your wallet.
Miss Me’s more upscale line, MM Couture’s Holiday/Resort line, hits the spot.

Miss Me's MM Couture Cream Ruffle Sleeveless Blouse

The satin cream ruffle sleeveless blouse can be tucked in a blazer for both office and cocktail. Alone, it’s great for tapas bar-hopping with a great pair of black trousers. Cosmo girls will love this.

Miss Me's MM Couture Deep Ruffle V-Neck Halter Blouse

The plunging satin halter top with ruffled neckline also offers a sophisticated option, sexy but chic.

If subtle satin blouses fail to strike your fancy, you can’t go wrong with these young- at- heart sequin pieces.

Miss Me's MM Couture Sequin Bodice Empire Camisole

If you want a sporty, springy, separate, this empire waist camisole with sequin bust in a pouf gauze tulle completes a velvet or satin trouser or dress up a pair of jeans.

Miss Me's MM Couture Sequin Dress with Tiered Skirt

The airy cocktail dress with the spangled bodice and tiered skirt vibrates that youthful flip and frippery.

You can get ready for the tricky weather by checking out Bordeaux at Online Retailerswww.urbanminx.comwww.shopintuition.comwww.krenee.com

Or get prepped with Miss Me at Goga and Jojo’s in Downtown Charleston or Mt. Pleasant’s Blush .

Http://store.missme.com/ will carry their upscale MM Couture later on their website.

With this bountiful crop of fashion, you can’t trip with your get-up crossing an Indian Summer into an Autumn Equinox.

Sophisticated Surfwear

Whether you’re on Folly Beach or Manhattan Beach, surfing is a lifestyle and a state of mind that nobody out grows.
Unfortunately, most surfwear apparel companies assume the opposite. They over concentrate and over saturate the apparel market for tweens and teens then immediately stop when their customers either go away to college or segue into the real world.
As any surfer knows, she or he will be riding those waves until sunset. In fact, Joie Rucker, the founder of Joie Jeans and Rich & Skinny Jeans is a devoted surf girl and she’s well more experienced than the usual teen.
What should a surf girl do when she out grows those teeny-bopper tees and minis and need decent stuff for that cocktail party at the beach cottage or a supper in a proper bistro or a simple run into the supermarket for more wine and cheese? The premier French sportswear company, Oxbow, is swimming to the rescue. After twenty years of sponsoring and nurturing surfers and extreme athletes well into their thirties and forties, Oxbow realized these mature jocks need a more stylish wardrobe than the loud, floral Hawaiian shirt.
Using the French tradition of better textile and tailoring, Oxbow International General Manager, Eric Bonnem , spearheaded a team of designers in evaluating activewear into contemporary sportwear that can transition a surfer woman or a surfer gentleman from sand to soiree without skipping a beat.
To paraphrase, Oxbow’s US CEO, Gary Hunt, “We’re here to carry the surfer from the surf to Skybar.”
He’s reflecting on what it means to be a surfer today and how real surfers live. They’re not in the waves all the time and few abandon the sport after age 18. These educated wave-riders need casual clothes and cover-ups that can double as a pretty dress or a breezy tunic topping off a pair of jeans.

Today’s surfer girl lives multiple lives. As in Gabrielle Reece, they’re fit moms who run immediately from the beach to the babysitter then to the market for groceries. Or, she’s a busy designer like Joie who only needs a simple chic top or a pull on a trouser or a kicky skirt to take her back to the office or studio.

As what Gabrielle’s husband, Laird Hamilton, said, “We’re surfers. We know who we are. We work hard.” The surfing couples, parents or not, want easy but elegant attire for a Summer White Party or hip outfits for that post-beach bar-hopping with friends. These outfits better share multiple lives as the wearer.

In fact, Oxbow would be great collegiate wear for the university surfer girl. This dressy ensemble fits right in campus with a simple sweater and a wrap mini. The professor will never know you went surfing right before class or the night before.
Think of Oxbow as the smarter big sister to all those American surf apparel companies still catering to the kid sister.