Shop The Edit: Worldly Weekender

So your man is a man about town?  Well we totally got him totally covered with our round up of goodies for the Worldly Weekender in the current issue of Ballanytne Magazine. Thanks to Ballantyne Jewelers, Neiman Marcus and Taylor Richards & Conger, we were able to source some of the finest threads our city has to offer the gents. 

1. Grab Troubadour's leather and nylon rucksack bag for his next overnight getaway. 
2. If you're man is a denim snob, well these are the jeans for him. 
3. This classic watch from Ballantyne Jewelers should be perfect for just about any and every guy. 
4. I'm not really into jewelry on a man, but there is one thing I have been digging the past few years.  I love the leather wrap bracelet especially in brown. TRC recommends one by Ben Pipano. 
5. The chicest men's hoodie. 

Shop all of the Worldly Weekender edit below and HERE if you are unable to view in your reader. 

Vintage Voila On Stands Now In Ballantyne Magazine

If I do say so myself, the Style Points in the newest issue of Ballantyne Magazine looks pretty awesome.  Given my love of quality vintage clothing, this edit was particularly fun for me.  If you love great vintage like I do, get excited as you prepare to see everything from clothing to accessories and in between inspired by vintage design.  As we all know, the good stuff always comes back, like my Grandmother's poolside caftan here... 

Americana, patchwork, embroidery belted leather coats and rich velvet for formal occasions are a few of my favorite vintage inspired designs for Fall '17.  There are great finds from Charlotte's own Frock Shop and Neiman Marcus as well as House of Landor and the resurrected for modern day cool, Seafarer Denim. Read the entire issue HERE.  

What a treat it was, too, to be able to provide personal styling services to my editor.  Read about the AMAZING vintage needlepoint bag we uncovered tucked and hidden in her closet.  Do you have any amazing vintage finds?  I'd love to hear about them! 

What To Wear To Your Next Summer Outing

"With a bevvy of warm weather activities spanning from back yard barbecues to outings across the region, what to wear can be vexing!"  For the current issue of Ballantyne Magazine, I was tasked with the fun chance to create a pair of His and Her looks for three Queen City summer activities.  Undoubtedly leading the charge for this season's most exciting events is the PGA Championship at our very own Quail Hollow Club.  (You can bet I'll be stalking the socialite attire at Wednesday's practice round).  No summer is complete without a day on the water at Lake Norman, Mountain Island Lake or Lake Wylie, and with concert venues across the city, you know there won't be a shortage of tunes for grooving to.  Check out the looks below, and view the full issue HERE.

Spring's Palette At Ballanytne Magazine

If you find yourself in the Ballantyne area of Charlotte be sure to grab a copy of the neighborhood's namesake publication.  Our team had a fun time capturing on camera the Work, Live, Play, Stay essence of this city within a city as I like to call it.  Looks were curated from all Ballantyne neighborhood stores, mixing hi + lo with new + consigned.  Styling relaxed looks of muted tones by day and glam brights for a night on the town, one thing's for sure, Ballantyne local mega model Olivia Pires shines around town!  Catch the entire story HERE, including outfit credits. Can you guess which outfit I would wear first? 

Fall Trend For The Winter: Velvet

Velvet was one of my favorite of the fall season's hottest trends.  In the Fall issue of Ballantyne Magazine, I highlighted a couple of velvet pieces for the season, including the cousin to this fab crushed velvet dress by one of my lifelong favorite designers, Cynthia Rowley. Now that it is officially winter we are continuing to see velvet throughout this cold weather season. And with that, I welcome a world of fab velvet for your wardrobe, much of it for the taking on sale.  

• I cannot even handle how awesome these festive velvet embellished booties are.  Someone needs to get them for New Year's Eve and for all time.
   
• Add just a hint of velvet to your wardrobe with this very affordable dressy going out top.
   
• Golden Goose sneakers being all the fad, I'm not sure you can top this velvet hi top version.
   
• And this colorful Isabel Marant Etoile frock tangibly priced.  Yes, please!

I love the fabric so much I had to have some of it in my family room, as you might recall seeing in my post about my Tufted Turquoise Velvet Couch!  

Shop some of my favorites below and HERE if you are unable to see the below images. 

A Closer Look At The Fall Trend Edit + Town & Country Inspiration

Earlier this week I shared my Style Points contribution for the Fall/Winter Issue of Ballantyne Magazine.  I really enjoy this quarterly project, because it puts me in a seat where I sorta feel like the style editor of a magazine.  I can honestly say I see my work for these local and regional projects to be just as strong as the likes of InStyle Magzine, Allure, Town & Country.  I know I can do it.  I get to work with designers and their publicists to collect the proper images for my story and as a result I establish and work to build relationships with the fashion source direct.  This is a big part of being about to do my job.  I decide what the editorial piece is going to be about, I collect the images and information I need from the designers, I put it all together and then send it off to the magazine editor.  

Next, the talented art directors work their magic to put out a spread that I think looks quite impressive.  The first time I sent my work over to them I shared a similar piece from Town & Country Magazine.  Aside of my Grandmother and Great-Grandmother, filing through the fashion pages of T&C is where the style obsession all began for me.  In the early 1980's, they used to dedicated pages and pages to showcasing runway looks each fashion season.  I would cut out my favorite looks, organize and paste them into my own fashion book.  

The Ballantyne Magazine Style Points edit has been such a fun project.  Below are links to some of the hottest trends you can expect for Fall.  

Tassel Mania!  I've included a swanky belt from the uber chic and talented twin sister designers, Lizzie Fortunato, and the accessible to everyone tassel earrings sold by one of my favorite design stores on the planet, Furbish Studio.

Velvet is going to EVERYWHERE.  I included an interesting dress from my first favorite designer, Cynthia Rowley.  Not sure when it will be available to the public, but here and here are lots of great Ready To Wear designs for Fall/Winter 2016. 

Metallics.  One thing I love LOVE, including this draped front mini dress, and this Caterina Lucchi sequin pailettes calfskin backpack you can find at Our Place Boutique in Charlotte. 

Local designer Regine Bechtler rocks the puff sleeves trend just like Jean Paul Gaultier would with her eclectic handmade Peace Jackets.

I LOOOOOOVVVEEE the guitar straps this season, especially Valentino's.

The Herno lightweight puffers are simply the best.  You can find the fur lined one pictured above over at TRC W.

Novis rocks the school girl jumper so chic layered over a turtleneck.  You can find Novis in Charlotte at Capitol.

Ballantyne Magazine: Fall Trends for Women And Men

If you live in the Ballantyne area of Charlotte, be sure to pick up a copy of this quarter's edition of Ballantyne Magazine.  I had fun including not only women's but men's fashion and fall trends in this issue, featuring some of my favorite designers available at some of my favorite Queen City retailers and on line shops. Velvet, puffy sleeves and metallic... the 80's are officially back! Check out the entire article HERE.