Fashion In Detroit is back for its 3rd annual show, where national and local fashion designers will showcase their Fall/Winter 2012 collections.  This year’s event will once again include Market Detroit, an interactive pop-up shop retail environment showcasing local vendors and designers.  A portion of the proceeds from Fashion In Detroit will go to this year’s charity partner Ronald McDonald House of Detroit and Ann Arbor.  For more information or to purchase tickets go to www.fashionindetroit.com.

~Jessica R. Simmons     

The ladies of FASH DET have organized a thrift (and vintage) crawl for January 28, 2012.  If you’re available you really should go because these ladies are serious thrifters - I’ve seen firsthand their eye for quality pieces at bargain prices.  Go, meet new people, pick up some great pieces, all while support local businesses.  

~ Jessica R. Simmons

My friend, stylist and fellow blogger Alvita Lozano has curated Fall In Love With Fashion - an event which brings together two of her loves - fashion and art.  She came up with the idea to curate a fashion themed art event years ago, following a visit to an Ann Arbor art gallery.  After a recent photo shoot she styled, themed, “Fall In Love With Fashion,” Lozano decided to marry the two to create this event. 

Featuring a wide range of artistic talents, Lozano’s mission is to combine 1/3 fashion culture themes, 1/3 social responsibility and 1/3 business.  Lozano’s plans are to curate a fashion and art event annually.          

Appropriately slated on Valentine’s Day, Fall In Love With Fashion promises to be an exciting event.  In the spirit of full disclosure, I’m putting together a window display for the event, which I’m super excited about, so if you’re in the area, I hope you’ll join us.   

~Jessica R. Simmons

Detroit Snob founder Desiree Cooper; Photo by JMillz, FreshCoolDope

I met Detroit Snob founder Desiree Cooper at an entrepreneur seminar.  What caught my attention was the t-shirt she was wearing - understated and black with the words, “detroit snob” across the front.  It was minimalist and chic, yet attention grabbing.  Detroit Style Review caught up with Desiree Cooper recently to find out more about Detroit Snob.        

DSR: Tell me about Detroit Snob and what prompted you to launch the brand?

DS: “I first came across the term while doing interviews for my blog about three years ago. While it immediately resonated with me, it took me awhile to realize that this was very descriptive of how so many Detroiters feel about their hometown.”

“It applies to the new creative class that is now pouring into Detroit, as well as to the people who have been here for decades, trying to make the city a better place for everyone.  It applies to the young and the old.  With the media always wanting to tell the story of our decline and how we’re a symbol of racial strife and urban decay, at heart, we are a city of snobs—people who get each other, and aren’t concerned with who else gets us.”

“It was clear to me that the time was ripe to give Detroiters something to rally around—a way to show their dogged pride.  Detroit Snob is not just a slogan or a fashion statement— it’s also a mentality, it’s a community, it’s a way of life.”

DSR: What is a Detroit Snob?

DS: “First of all, a Detroit Snob doesn’t have to be someone from Detroit.  I’ve had people buy the shirt from Maryland to Los Angeles.  A Detroit Snob is anyone who has an affinity for the city and is willing to work for its bright future.   A Detroit Snob is high-minded, but always down-to-earth.  A Detroit Snob offers action, not excuses.  A Detroit Snob is a serial optimist.  A Detroit Snob finds art where others find refuse.  A Detroit Snob plants green where others see gray.  A Detroit Snob never offers apologies, only possibilities.”

DSR: It seems that part of your brand’s message is to highlight Detroit’s positives.  What are some of the things you wish others knew about Detroit?

DS: “Detroit residents give a higher percentage of their income to charity and religious organizations than residents in most other cities.  Detroit’s theater district is second only to Broadway.  Belle Isle is the largest city island park.  It’s bigger than Central Park and was designed by the same architect, Frederick Law Olmstead.  Lafayette Park has the world’s largest number of buildings designed by famed German architect Mies van der Rohe.  It remains one of the finest examples of urban renewal, with its mixed-income and mixed living options.  Do I need to go on?”

DSR: What are your future plans for Detroit Snob?

DS: “My partner—veteran public relations specialist Pat Williams Taitt Euseary—and I have a definite vision for the company which includes new designs and expansion to other kinds of apparel.  However, we are open to the organic way that the company is evolving.  Over the 2011 holidays, a senior citizen lost her home in a fire.  Detroit Snobs came to her aid, donating clothing within the first 24 hours.  It was amazing to see what an active network the Detroit Snob has become.  It’s not just a slogan—it’s a way of life.”

DSR: Where can one purchase Detroit Snob products?

DS: “Of course, the tees are available online at www.detroitsnob.com.  They are also available at the following metro Detroit locations:

The Peacock Room, 15 E. Kirby (in the Park Shelton next to the DIA)

Flo Boutique, 404 W. Willis (in Midtown Detroit)

Spectacles, 230 E. Grand River in Harmonie Park, 

The Lido Gallery, 33535 Woodward, Birmingham

Savvy Chic, Eastern Market - 2712 Riopelle, Detroit, MI 313-833-8769
Savvy Chic- 32800 Franklin Rd. Franklin, MI 48025, 248-325-9601”

DSR: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

DS: “We invite you to get on board with Detroit Snob. You can find us on Facebook. You’ll see that people are posting their photos of themselves being active all over in their tees.  It’s also a great place to talk about what’s happening around town and how to get involved.

~Jessica R. Simmons

Thanks to my friend and fellow blogger Alvita Lozano, vintage shopping at the Rust Belt Market has become one of my new weekend hobbies and guilty pleasures.  I went to the Rust Belt Market when it first opened over a year ago, and I have to admit, it was quite overwhelming, so I hadn’t been back, until recently.  What once had a little bit of everything going on has settled into a nice vintage shopping destination, with multiple vendors, all under one roof.  Here’s the 411 on a few of my favorites:

Kelli’s Vintage

Kelli, owner of Kelli’s Vintage, started selling vintage over 7 years ago online, but now sells exclusively at the Rust Belt Market.  “I started collecting and selling vintage because I love clothes and wanted a home business.  I also noticed a lot of the new styles were copying off the old styles,” said Kelli.  Kelli’s Vintage acquires it merchandise from multiple sources.

Dolly Rocker’s

Owner Cara Nova Lundgren has been working in vintage stores ever since she was 13 years old, so opening her own vintage store was a natural progression since she’s always been around it.  Although she closed her Dolly Rocker’s storefront on Woodward a few years ago, Cara continues to sell her vintage merchandise at the Rust Belt Market and through her Etsy store.    

Resurrected Vintage

Wardrobe stylist and Resurrected Vintage owner Lisa Patterson has been selling vintage for 19 years.  She started out with her mother at antique shows, selling vintage to other dealers.  For 10 years she had her own store front in the historic Old Town District in Saginaw, but has now settled into her space at the Rust Belt Market, in addition to selling through her Etsy store.  Lisa specializes in what she likes to refer to as “wearable vintage,” – pieces that her customers can wear today, without looking dated.  “When I select pieces, I have a type of person/customer in mind,” said Lisa.  “If I can’t visualize a specific customer or how he or she can wear it, I don’t buy it.  I usually know the right customer when they [sic] come to me.”  Lisa acquires her merchandise through estate sales, thrift stores and from other dealers.  Lisa uses a lot of her merchandise in film, television and print production then resells it once she’s done.          

The Rust Belt Market, located at 22801 Woodward in Ferndale, MI, is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 11am-7pm.    

~ Jessica R. Simmons

Photos by Detroit Style Review

The Italian Renaissance produced many influential and interesting characters, but probably none more fascinating than Countess Caterina Riario Sforza De’Medici.  The illegitimate child of the then Duke of Milan, Countess Caterina was raised in great privilege, side by side with her father’s legitimate children.  “She was this contemporary person.  She fought battles and even owned her own breast plate,” said author Elizabeth Lev, in a recent interview.  “She was well educated and had excellent taste, but she was also an actor – when things weren’t happening fast enough she got up and got things done.  She had a tremendous physical education.  She learned to ride and hunt with her brothers.”   Married off at ten years old, Countess Caterina would mother six children, wed three husbands and become the Countess of Forli and Imola.

Even in the fifteenth century, Milan was known for its high fashion, in which Countess Caterina greatly indulged.  “She wore clothes that turned everybody’s heads.  She wore brilliant colors, she had jewels set into her clothes, she knew how to dress to impress.   Despite all her motherhood concerns and all of her political concerns, she was always very, very interested in her appearance.  Style and the impression you can make with how you look was very important to her,” said Lev. 

A natural born, non-conformist, Countess Caterina was every bit the fashion rebel, risk taker and rule breaker.  “Throughout Italy, at various points, there were sumptuary laws which dictated how long your train could be, how many rings you could wear on your hand, what materials you could use.  In Florence and Rome, for modesty’s sake, women were to wear a transparent kerchief to cover their shoulders and the tops of their breasts.  Caterina never did any of that.  When she was younger she wore very low cut gowns,” said Lev.  “At seven months pregnant, Countess Caterina took the Fort of Rome and held it hostage until she got what she wanted.  When she had given up the castle, she walked out in a simple brown traveling dress, brown was the color of mourning, with a sword and a money belt around her waist, which was unheard of because that’s [the sword and money belt] what a man would wear; only men did that.”                   

Despite her love for fashion and style, Countess Caterina was quick to remind her detractors that there was more to her than met the eye.  “Whenever anyone began to question or talk down to her, her response would always be, ‘You talk to me like this because you look at me and you think that I’m a woman, but you forget that I can think like a man,’ and that’s what made her such an exciting figure for the fifteen hundreds.” 

Author Elizabeth Lev will be at St. Regis Parish on Wednesday, January 11^th at 7pm to discuss her book, The Tigress of Forli.  St. Regis Parish is located at 3695 Lincoln Rd. Bloomfield Township, MI.   

~Jessica R. Simmons    

Let’s be honest – Brad Goreski is television gold.  Who didn’t love him on the Rachel Zoe Project, feel bummed to hear he’d left Zoe and then become totally geeked upon hearing he was getting his own reality show, It’s a Brad Brad World (I shamelessly raise my hand for all of the above)? Aside from his innate sense of style, Goreski’s sweet heart persona makes you want to spend time in his world.  It’s a Brad Brad World premieres tonight on Bravo at 10pm EST.   

Photo courtesy of Bravo

Just in case you’re not completely shopped out by now, one of my favorite retailers, Zara, is having a sale, starting tomorrow.  Now go forth and shop!