Category: Style Sessions

The other day, Justin and I were hanging out at South of Beale when we saw this very fashionable woman striding past.

We quickly signaled the bartender for our tab and struggled to get our stuff together — cameras, notepads, pens — before we lost her.

“It’s no use,” Justin said and sighed. “She’s walking at a pretty good clip.”

“But you just ran a marathon,” I reminded him. “And finished! You can probably catch her. Just leave me here. I’ll be okay.”

He looked back toward the street as if to assess the situation, but she was already gone.

[That’s basically what happened anyway.]

We had already gathered up all our stuff and paid our tab, so we wandered into the streets of downtown, and who should we see a little while later but the same woman, Meredy Carnahan? Only this time she was joined by her four-legged friend, Idgie.

Carnahan, an interior designer with Looney Ricks Kiss, was wearing an American Eagle vest, a Free People hoodie, a tank, a skirt from H&M, and Camper boots.

“I wanted to wear my boots,” she said of the outfit. “This is the first time I’ve worn them this season.”

I have to admit: With just a chill in the air, it was perfect weather for layering and boots with skirts. I especially loved the cute little beads hanging from the zipper of Carnahan’s hoodie. So fun!

Idgie is wearing a collar Carnahan bought off etsy.com.

Okay, actually, while we were at South of Beale, we thought waitress Carla Quin looked cute as a button.

She got both her pants and her embroidered tunic from Plato’s Closet while her little ballerina flats came from Shoe-Nami. And her shell necklace, which I really liked, was from Florida. The whole thing — especially with the color and detailing of the tunic — is so casual cool.

“I’m a single mom so I don’t buy anything more than $20. It’s a rule,” she said.

She said her style was kind of Midtown, but not too indie or provocative.

“I like to look like a mom, but at the same time, I’m 23,” she said. “It’s hard to pull off.”

I think that might make these “mom jeans” but in a good way.

My friends at Lansky 126 are having a special 7 Diamonds event Friday, October 23rd from 4 to 9 p.m., where they’ll be showing 7 Diamonds fall line and serving cocktails. It should be fun.

Until then, you can enjoy this preview. (Also you might have seen 7 Diamonds in the Flyer’s fall fashion issue. I love the shirts and generally use at least one each year.)

Speaking of shoes that POP!, look at these.

And in this particular case, I actually got some information about them (though I’m sure through no fault of my own).

“Everything I’m wearing is ancient and put together at the last minute,” Emily Halpern told me. “I wore black because I wanted to be understated.”

The top came from Sachi, while the jean jacket is from the Gap. Those were paired with Uniqlo jeans and red Calvin Klein heels.

“It was fairly monochromatic until I added the shoes,” she says.

They add a nice POP!, no?

Halpern also mentions a rule of fashion: Keep the classics in your closet, even after they’ve gone out of style. Her jean jacket, for instance, is about six years old.

“I like to hold onto things. For a while, they might not look good, but after some time, they work.”

In keeping with today’s general footwear theme, let’s talk about Joel Halpern’s boots.

We could also talk about Halpern’s J. Crew shirt and uniqlo jeans, or the fact that Style Sessions is making an effort to be more inclusive of dudes, but let’s talk about the boots.

He says he’s had them for three years, and when we ran into him, he had just had them resoled that week.

“When you find a good pair of boots, you keep them,” he says.

[I personally could not agree more. I’ve got a pair I’ve had since high school and you know that was a long time ago.]

Unfortunately, I cannot read my notes as to where he got these boots (Best of Memphis was kind of an anomaly. Usually my notes are very neat.) but he did say that they were one of the “biggest investments” he’s made.

Wolford — an Austrian company famous for its hosiery and lingerie — will be hosting a trunk show at James Davis Wednesday, October 14th, and Thursday, October 15th. I’m not sure exactly what they’ll be showing, but I assume it will include selections from their fall/winter 09 ready-to-wear line.

Just to give you a little taste, here are some images from the company’s website:

(ed. note: Yes, I know this picture is a little racy, but those are some fun spat-inspired tights.)

Last week was the Flyer’s Best of Memphis party and I have to say, most of the attendees looked pretty damn good. Take Eryka Smith, for example.

(For more examples, you can check out the Flyer’s Flickr set here.)

Smith is the owner of Crazy Beautiful, the winner for Best Women’s Clothing Store for two years in a row. For the party, she and her friends all dressed in these cute, petticoat dresses from Hell Bunny.

“We like to step it up a notch,” Smith says.

She paired the Hell Bunny dress with bling from Gasoline Glamour. But it’s the petticoats that are the real stand out, pun fully intended. Smith says they’re selling very well this fall.

“We’ve been selling them in the store to girls who are conservative and even they’re rocking them,” she says.

Speaking of stepping it up a notch, even Justin and I cleaned up for the occasion. Of course, we didn’t stop long enough to have it documented properly. But I can assure you, when we stood still, we looked very cute.
EDITOR’S NOTE: p.s. Justin doesn’t have any sort of offensive mustache, or any mustache at all. Just so you know. Unless he’s grown a beard since I’ve seen him last. This picture is somewhat misleading.

You know how l love clothes with a story. This entry of Style Sessions is more like a saga, so bear with me a minute.

A few months ago, I happened to watch The Mentalist, and fell in love with both Simon Baker and the costume designer’s use of three-piece suits sans tie. Hottt.

(Excuse me while I fan myself off for just a minute.)

I loved the look so much in fact that I wanted to find a slim-fitting, three-piece suit for the Flyer‘s fall fashion issue. Unfortunately, I was a little pressed for time this year and never came out up with anything.

At some point later on, I ran into the very charming Brett Magdovitz of Get Down and we started chatting, like you do, and though he is a connoisseur of the jumpsuit, he mentioned he owned several three-piece suits.

And then he said he would wear one to the Best of Memphis party. And I said that if he did, I would make Justin take a picture.

(To be completely accurate, Magdovitz didn’t actually wear this to the party. He wore a Cuban shirt and some sort of pants, but I *might* have made him go home and change and come back. Maybe.)

“I’m bringing back three-piece suits and jumpsuits,” he says of the two retro styles.

This was actually the first time Magdovitz had worn this suit (he accessorized it with an “Earl” belt-buckle, but you can’t see it in the picture). And he would never have found it if he hadn’t done a good deed.

He was driving near Highland and South Cooper one day when a hitchhiker waved at him to stop. He said he would give the guy a ride and the guy told him that he was needed to go to his best friend’s estate sale. Apparently both the hitchhiker’s best friend’s mother and father had recently passed, and “there was all this unbelievable stuff.”

Brett ended up getting a pair of boots, a hat box, and two other suits (This actually could be two other jumpsuits. My notes are unclear. What can I say? It was late in the party).

Gia Barsocchini was visiting from L.A. when we saw her at the BoM party.

She is wearing a dress from her friend’s line, Bread & Butterflies, with cute Stella McCartney booties.

“It’s the cutest little flirty summer dress,” she says. “And it’s very versatile.”

The belt, though cute, is completely functional.

“The dress is a little too big on me,” she says. “If I don’t add a belt, it kind of hangs.”