Designer Spotlight: Kaylee Tankus

If you aren't familiar with Kaylee Tankus clothing, get excited because this line is modern, comfortable, trendy, sophisticated, and at a great price point.  I have a few Kaylee Tankus pieces and I always get tons of compliments on them.

I'm really into draping right now, and the Kaylee Tankus sweater I recently purchased from Hu's Wear, in Georgetown is a perfect example of how well designers Ryanghee Kim and Minjee Kim exhibit their draping skills.  It's asymetrical and has a boat/cowl neck.  Here's a picture of it.



The model wears it as a dress where I prefer to wear it as a tunic with skinny jeans or black leggings.

A Korean brand, the Kaylee Tankus line was started by Kay Lee in 2004. The vision was to cater to women who wanted avant-garde design, but easy to wear contemporary clothing, at moderate prices. Since then, Ryanghee Kim and Minjee Kim have stepped in as the design team and have brought an architectural aesthetic to the clothes, which makes each piece stand out.

I guarantee that if you wear Kaylee Tankus clothing you will be comfortable, feel great, look great, and everyone will want to know "who" your wearing.  It's a no brainer!

Shop Kaylee Tankus here.

Work's a Drag...

Everybody's workin for the weekend!  I often think of Loverboy's 80's hit song and nod my head in agreement.  Let's face it -- we all have to work, but while working shouldn't we either:

A. love what we do so the time flies by, or
B. work fewer hours so as to have more time for family and fun?

I find that day in and day out, I sit at my desk and although I may be busy working, I am not having fun, and I am constantly counting down the hours until I can go home, and counting down the days until the weekend!

Arrrg!  I guess that's life huh?  Do any of you feel the same way? Always counting down the days till the weekend?

Swiss Art

While we were vacationing in Switzerland this summer, we learned that the Swiss are extremely talented people.  Their craftsmanship of watches, and clocks is superb.  Their artistry in wood carving is lovely.  Their ability to produce some of the best chocolate and cheese is amazing.  And, they keep their cities antiseptically clean, which is a great talent in and of itself.  What a great country!

During our stay in Solothurn, we were lucky enough to have lunch at a family friend's house, who happened to be a ridiculously talented artist.  His home was breathtaking.  His creations stood and were hung throughout each room.  Everywhere you turned was a different masterpiece, and all were fantastic.  We also got to visit his atelier, which is where Mike and I fell in love with all of his work.

Who is this artist you ask?  His name is Rudolf Butz and he has been an artist his entire life.  He was classically trained in France and Italy as a painter.  Most recently though, he has been creating glassworks, acrylic transparent art, and sculptures and they are all amazing.

Mike and I bought this transparency piece which was originally a photograph which was then transposed digitally onto acrylic with the most beautiful colors and shapes.  It's mounted on our wall and looks super cool.

Our piece hanging in Rudy's atelier

If anyone is looking for a modern, sophisticated, colorful peice of art, look no further!  Rudy's work will blow you away!  He also happens to be a great cook, and a really cool guy.  I can't wait to collect more of his work!

Check him out here.

Congratulations Brett Favre: You're a Douche!

Let's just say that you are one of the greatest ball players of all time. And on top of that you are playing in New York and are above average in the looks department (think, rugged Wrangler jeans spokesmodel). And for the sake of my story, lets pretend that you are interested in a young lady who happens to work for the same New York city football franchise, and she, too, is above average in the looks department (think, busty Maxim magazine model). How might you go about taking an interest check?

Let's see, being a super-pro athlete you could send a lesser known player on a fact finding mission. Or you could have your agent call her agent. Or, if you are old fashioned, you could exhibit some chivalry and strike up a casual conversation.

Or, you could be Brett Favre . . . and send her text messages with pictures of your penis.

Classy move Brett. For that, you are undoubtedly a HUGE douche.

And if that wasn't enough, your wife's pretty damn cute, too. And she's a cancer survivor.

Brett, you are a Mega-Douche.

Bag Ladies

I was walking to work this morning and noticed that 9 out of 10 women were carrying mulitple bags.  Two huge bags over each shoulder, a tote in one hand and a smaller purse over the shoulder, a large purse and a gym bag in the hand...

Why ladies, why?  This is when Coco Chanel's advice of taking one thing off before you leave the house, comes in handy.  What are these women carrying around?

I have many things in the bags I carry, but I always only carry one bag.  I refuse to leave the house with mulitple bags strewn across my body!  It just looks sloppy.  Unless you are on your way to the airport, I don't understand why you need to be carrying so many things, in so many bags!

The rolling bag is the worst of them all!  Some sound advice ladies, from a woman who LOVES her bags.  Carry one and one only.  If it's not big enough to hold everything you want, switch to a larger one.

Thank you.

Anniversary Weekend

This Tuesday is our 2 year wedding anniversary.  How time flies!  Last year we went out to a lovely yet extravagant dinner, so to switch it up (and save a little money) we decided to celebrate in a more low key way this year.

What did we do?  Well we cooked and drank and cooked and drank.  Saturday night we made Remy's Ratatouille, the dish that made Remy the rat famous in the movie Ratatouille.  I love that flick!  The dish was amazing.  We paired it with a Cabernet Sauvignon  that we got in Napa on our honeymoon from Pina cellars.  It was divine.

Tonight we made pizza.  We made our own red sauce with roma tomatoes, garlic, fresh thyme and parsley. We used leftover slices of eggplant, and zucchini from the ratatouille and we topped it with fontina cheese, and crispy pancetta.  It may have been the best pizza we ever made.

A perfect anniversary weekend if you ask me.  Good food, good wine, and great company.

Here are the pictures from our feasts.  Is your mouth watering?

Ratatouille before going into the oven

Out of the oven. Soo delicious!!

Crispy pancetta for the pizza.

Eggplant and zucchini slices.

Q&A with Style Guru....and me!

I was perusing Facebook the other day and came across an interview that was conducted with Nina Garcia, who is a judge on Project Runway and who is also the Fashion Director at Marie Claire magazine.

Nina Garcia has great style and she brings her expertise of fashion to the pages of Marie Claire, which I greatly enjoy.  After reading the interview with Nina, I thought it might be fun to ask myself some of the questions she was asked and provide my answers here on FWC.

Here goes nothin!

How much should a woman’s individual personality and lifestyle influence her wardrobe, and how often should she reevaluate?  I think individual personality is the key to different style asthetics.  The way you style yourself is a way to showcase your personality.  I agree with Nina that comfort is extremely important.  When you are comfortable in your clothes, you exude confidence and in turn, you look great! Re-evaluating is important as well. Like Oprah says, if you haven't worn it in over a year - get rid of it!
 
What are a few pieces to avoid on a first date?  Tops that are too tight or show too much cleavage, I just think they're tacky!
 
When it comes to the office, do you have any quick tips for wearing current trends while still looking professional?   Instead of trendy to work, go classic with a trendy twist.  Add a scarf or lots of bangles to a pencil skirt, blouse and a pair of heels in a color that pops! I always think it's better to be overdressed at work, than under-dressed.  You never know when a Board member will show up and need to meet with you.

Can you name the top three versatile wardrobe pieces every woman should own?  Pair of skinny jeans, gray or black sweater, and crisp white oxford shirt.

OK, now the lightning round…

Favorite color? Gray
Favorite fabric? Lace
Favorite midnight snack? Cold pizza
Person you’d most like to meet — past or present? Princess Diana
Guilty pleasure? Reuben sandwiches
Qualities you most admire in a person? Honesty and sense of humor.
Favorite getaway? Paris!
Favorite place to shop? Right now, it's Muleh and Hu's Wear in DC.  Both carry great labels like Isabel Marant, Philip Lim, Barbara Bui, and Autumn Cashmere.
Hardest thing to pull off? Oversized clothes without looking like a crazy person.

Check out all of Nina's answers here.

Mondo Mania

I hope all of you have been enjoying this season of Project Runway as much as Mike and I have.  Our favorite designer BY FAR is Mondo.  He is so innovative and I want to wear all of his clothes.

Honestly though, that's not the only reason we LOVE Mondo.  I mean, just look at him!

He's fabulous!!! Mike and I love how he puts himself together. He always looks great, and always like Mondo. He's true to himself and it shines through!

Mondo's got our vote for best PR designer. Who are you rooting for?



Paris Shopping!

I was so excited to see that the first few episodes of this season's Gossip Girl were filmed in Paris!  It made me even happier when Blair mentioned Zadig and Voltaire, which was one of my favorite stores in Paris.  I got the cutest pair of black ballet flats there (see below).  They have tiny skull heads lining the top, and they're made of really buttery leather. LOVE!

I also really loved this store called The Kooples. I picked up an awesome three quarter sleeved striped sweater there with button shoulders and pockets.  Too cute.

Although Zadig and Voltaire recently opened a store in the meatpacking district in Manhattan, The Kooples can still only be found in Paris and Provence.  These were two really great stores with that rock and roll, edgy vibe which I'm really into right now.

You can totally shop online at both stores, which I may have to start doing.  See for yourself here.

I Love Justin Timberlake

How can you not? I even loved him in 'N Sync, a little secret I never thought I'd divulge here on FWC...

This video of JT and Jimmy Fallon made me happy this Friday morning. Enjoy!

Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon Perform 'His..., posted with vodpod