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On the Street: Black, White & Red

Posted on May 18, 2007
Filed Under On The Street, Women | 13 Comments

Looks like this one make me envy redheads (hair as accessory!). The red coral earrings are a great touch. Her dress is Max Studio, her belt is from Gap, and her shoes are Banana Republic.

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Think Runway, Shop Beltway: Catherine Rapetti at Apres Peau

Posted on May 17, 2007
Filed Under Think Runway...Shop Beltway | 10 Comments

Every time I stop in to Apres Peau, there is something new to lust over. Owner Tina Alster (who was on The Daily Show a few nights ago btw) and partner-in-crime Liberty Jones have taken boutiques in Washington to a whole new level (“D.C.’s answer to Colette or Takashimaya” as Daily Candy put it). A witty take on Alster’s profession and gift-giving, the shop’s name is just as creative as it’s offerings.

The airy Hugh Newell Jacobsen-designed space is stocked with items that are often exclusive to the store or otherwise hard-to-find. With all of this fabulousness, you might assume that everything in the store is out of your price range. Not so. I recently did a double-take with the price tag on the men’s travel items from Rowallan, a Scottish leather goods desginer, and an of-the-moment acrylic pitcher from French line Murval priced at a mere $25.

Handbags like this tote from Catherine Rapetti have been flying off the shelves at Apres Peau. This smart canvas-and-leather tote has convenient zippered sections and is the perfect city-to-beach item.

Regularly priced at $330, Project Beltway readers can snag the tote for $295. And it just keeps getting better: stop into the store anytime, mention Project Beltway, and receive a free gift with any purchase!

…So, if you haven’t paid a visit to the store yet, now would be an apropos time, don’t you think?!

Apres Peau
1430 K Street, NW
202-783-0022
www.aprespeau.com

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Kobald Watch Party for EarthEcho International

Posted on May 17, 2007
Filed Under Around Town, Events, Men, Women | 4 Comments

Green is the new black….and I’m sure that Phillippe Cousteau (pictured…mugging for the camera) and his sister Alexandra have quite a bit to do with that. The siblings started the nonprofit EarthEcho, which promotes environmental awareness, in honor of their father Phillippe Sr. and his father, the legendary Jacques Yves Cousteau.

Last night’s event at Poste Moderne Brasserie celebrated the debut of a limited edition dive watch designed by Kobold Watch Company and Cousteau; a percentage of the (pricey!!) watches will benefit the organization. Poste was a fitting host: Executive Chef Robert Weland’s sustainable kitchen has been earning him and the restaurant quite the buzz recently.

Cousteau wears his philosophy well: he’s perhaps the only man in Washington who can get away with wearing a yin-yang necklace.

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Lady in Red & The Year of the Copycat.

Posted on May 17, 2007
Filed Under On The Street, Women | Leave a Comment

I stopped this young woman yesterday right at the end of the rain. I assumed her dress was vintage; turns out it was some relatively no-name brand from TJMaxx. It’s amazing how the market is changing and how available runway-influenced styles have become…sometimes so completely that it could become illegal. Not that I’m saying that her dress is a runway style; it is however, new vintage, (think perhaps a la Olson twins) if I may coin a phrase. I love the styling and the buttons. Look closely at the tab fastening at her middle. The fabric was cotton & linen.

I had a hard time reading that article and coming up with a solid position on the subject On one hand, I feel for the designers–if we screw the thing we love (great design) by not supporting it, it will no longer be able to exist. But when you want something so badly and it comes on the cheap, who are you to resist??! Why pay for the cow, you know.

So ladies, in the words of the late Janis Joplin, I say get it while you can.
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Rock the Vote.

Posted on May 16, 2007
Filed Under Everything Else, Men, Only in Washington | Leave a Comment

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City Chic: On Connecticut Avenue

Posted on May 16, 2007
Filed Under On The Street, Women | 5 Comments

On my way to work the other morning, this woman saddled up to the same slab of sidewalk as me as we waited for the walk signal to turn, or at least for the cars to stop coming (Washingtonians are so turning into NYers in this way). However, I was way too pre-coffee, AND I was carrying like 3 bags (work bag, gym bag, Whole Foods bag) didn’t feel like fishing my camera out. But there was also the fact that she looked so polished that I felt like a draft horse in comparison. I love her slim-fitting (read, not tight) skirt (from Sisley by the way), the ladylike way she tucked in her blouse, and her simple-but-high-quality leather bag. It reminds me of something Angelina Jolie might wear. I also think that this woman is a good example of how wardrobe basics are worth thinking about. Ask any stylist what every woman should have in her closet, and she’ll tell you: a black skirt that flatters your shape, a tailored white button-down, a great LBD, a pair of classic pointy black pumps, etc. If you do not own the basics, you simply can’t get dressed in the morning.

If she wanted to really kick it up, she could have done some kind of bold shoe color or some other kind of accessory (building off of your basics…ahh, a good way to build a closet full of things you love! I think that was how I rationalized having purchased an early 60′s pink brocade car coat with beaded embroidery when I was living off of Ramen Noodles in the Outer Banks…) She could add some color and it might really elevate things. However, I admire that she keeps it simple & sleek and less trendy than that. She wears this with a clear sense of confidence, the best accessory of all of course. Ultimately, she fits right into with the codes of appropriateness most professional women in the city (who want to be taken seriously) must follow, while making it look just a bit better than normal.

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GOP Style: The Debates

Posted on May 16, 2007
Filed Under Everything Else, Men, Only in Washington | 4 Comments

So they’re no Brad Pitt. But they, yes they–the white-men-in-suits, are DC’s own celebrities and we’re stuck with them, good or bad. So I feel inclined to comment on the style of the GOP White House hopefuls. This is a Washington DC style blog, after all. Read on to find out who didn’t show enough cuff, who wore the ugliest watch, and who did–and didn’t–rock that ubiquitous DC Hill-bling, the American flag pin.

All photo credits: FOX News.

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