INTRODUCING - The SartoriaList Women's

I am happy to begin The SartoriaList Women's
Same concept as the Men's SartoriaList plus two additional services.
As with the men's list I will try to get a good mix of ladies from varied income levels.
I am currently efforting responses from women in New York, Milan, Paris, London and Stockholm (Berlin?).
I will be updating the SartoriaList as I receive answers but quite a few will be going up in the next two weeks.

Of course, I had to start with a few of the coolest women I know.


CARINE ROITFELD

Hair salon
Romain Color - 37 rue Rousselet paris 7eme

tailor:
Styl'up - 5 rue pasquier paris 8eme

Dry cleaner:
Delaporte Teinturerie - 62 rue Francois I paris 8eme

Shoe repair
Pulin bottier - 5 rue chauveau Lagarde paris 8eme

Nail Salon
Sothys institut de beaute - 128 rue du faubourg saint honore paris 8eme

Body Treatment
L appartement 217 - 217 rue saint honore paris 1er



EMMANUELLE ALT

Hair Salon:
Leonor Greyl - 15 rue Tronchet paris 8eme

tailor:
Styl'up - 5 rue pasquier paris 8eme

Dry cleaner:
Delaporte Teinturerie - 62 rue Francois I paris 8eme

Shoe repair
Cordonnerie Vaneau - 44 rue vaneau paris 7eme

Nail salon and body treatment
Institut Revlon - 19 rue Bassano paris 16eme



TARA HENTHORN

Hair Salon: ALAIN COIFFURE 184 rue de grenelle 7emer
cute little place, where the clientele are like your grandparents, and walking in the door is like stepping back into the 1950's. the ladies have regular appointments to get themselves coiffured and to catch up on the quartier gossip. i go there not really for the haircut (as my hair is never in more need than a trim), but so soak up a little of the old life...

Tailor or Alterations: Being a designer i do it myself.

Dry Cleaner: PRESSING MALAR 27 rue malar 7eme

Shoe Repair: CHAUSSURE ROLAND 12 rue malar 7eme
Gorgeous little old man, owns and runs the place all by himself, and every morning i pass him on the street on the way back from the boulangerie, smile and say "bonjour".

Nail Salon: NOCIBÉ 96-98 rue st Dominique 7eme
A quiet little old place that also gives the most fantastic relaxing body massgaes.

Body treatment: CORPORO SANO 15 bis rue Amelie 7eme
Great eyelash tints.

On The Street.......Being There, Paris

Sometimes getting a good shot is just being in the right place, at the right time, and actually realizing that you are in that moment.

Marina (above) and I were waiting for a show in Paris and I saw this incredible light and told her "quick, jump into the street, the light is perfect!"

It could have been with almost anyone and the photo still would have turned out this way - luckily, Marina always looks very cool.

Recently, I have been reviewing my photos from the last two years for a few projects and as much as I love Milan I get so many great shots in Paris.

I think it must have been a photographer that first called Paris "The City of Light"

Oh wait, isn't Paris also called "Big Sky Country", I never got that one.

I also don't understand why New York is called "The Buckeye State".

Charvet Event At Saks San Francisco - part 1

Mr. Colban (right) with Saks buyer Bill Wynne
I visited and took a few photos at the Charvet store while I was in Paris for the women's collections. I used some of the photos to illustrate our event.
This little corner of the Paris store really captures the essence of luxury and elegance that is Charvet.
Two fabulous young ladies that attended the event in San Fran
Colorful cuff links at Charvet, Paris
The fabric room on the second floor of Charvet in Paris. This is where the magic happens.

Rolls of silk shirting fabric at Charvet, Paris Chris Mitchell of Details magazine (left) and Michael Macko of Saks (right)

The event was so great and it was wonderful to meet so many of my San Francisco readers . Thanks to everyone that came out. I will write more detail about the event for tonight's post but I wanted to get these first shots up this morning..

Charvet Event At Saks San Francisco - part 2

Color fabric bolts at Charvet . Paris
Vintage Style, San Francisco
Wall of Collars at Charvet, Paris
San Francisco Style
Not only is the Paris Charvet store's second floor packed with fabrics but it is very much a true workroom with a large cutting table and patterns that are adjusted right on the customer.

The selection of bow ties and pocket squares is mind-blowing
Wall of Cuffs at Charvet, Paris

I received a few emailed questions wanting to know when Charvet will create a website or start e-commerce. Jean-Claude said that his main concern is color accuracy of the computer images on a website, He is very proud of the high standards of his customers and will wait until he feels confident that the technology is perfected enough that what he shows on a website is what will ship to his customer.
He actually has already done quite a bit of research on the subject and even suggested a Photoshop book to me. I'm guessing that when the Charvet site is ready it will have been worth the wait.

Paris Vogue Girls Outside the Chanel Show

I think this photo says a lot about the state of skirt lengths and heel height on the girls in Paris.

I will have to review but did I shoot any girls in pants in Paris?

Were there in girls in Paris wearing pants?

Pop Couture - New York Times Magazine

By VIRGINIA HEFFERNAN
Published: December 19, 2008

Sometimes the Web is most satisfying when it confirms a cliché from the world offline.

I’m thinking of the captivating street-style photoblogs, which display snapshots of chic pedestrians in cities around the world. Such blogs exist for Tel Aviv, Stockholm, Moscow, Sydney, Seoul, Berlin, Dublin, London — you name it. Survey them one morning over coffee, and you’ll feel like a boulevardier of the whole world, breezing past one stunning creature after another, free to cruelly assess or dumbly gaze — at supreme leisure and invulnerable to reciprocal scrutiny.

What can be learned from a global anthology of fantastic-­looking people? First off, you might find that looking at people on city streets is almost a perfect allegory of Web-browsing. Tellingly, the major Chinese search engine, Baidu, takes its name from an ancient poem about the search for (what the portal’s FAQ calls) “a retreating beauty amid chaotic glamour.” Anyone encountering the bedlam of the Web seeks a resting place, even — at times — a literal or figurative embrace. The suspense of that exploration is mirrored in the story you find on the street-style blogs: the search for a quiet connection with beauty in a metropolis of strangers.

But what specifically do the photoblogs teach about fashion? The novelty of Aladdin pants, the sweetness of dove gray, bits and pieces of style — gestalts, vibes — the same vague revelations you might discover while walking in the Harajuku neighborhood in Tokyo or the French Quarter in New Orleans. Dozens of street-style blogs for Muslim women show inventive ways to wear a hijab and eye makeup. Some stylish people on the blogs look chipper and resourceful (Tokyo); some look pampered (Cape Town). Others appear proud (Stockholm), playful (Austin), radiant (Copenhagen), easygoing (Nairobi), celebratory (Buenos Aires), ferocious (London). The street-style blogs palpably lift the mood: human beings in their natural habitats and chosen adornments seem suddenly ingenious, unpredictable and above all beautiful.

That feeling mounts at the best sites — Face Hunter, Style-Arena, Stockholm Street Style — and peaks with a glance at The Sartorialist, the bellwether American site that turned this kind of cruising-photo­blogging into an art form. Fathered by Scott Schuman, a onetime employee of the men’s clothing enterprise Chess King who (though he detoured through a career in high fashion) never lost his eye for the sharp-dressed Everyman, The Sartorialist features not just handsome people but also handsome photographs. The site’s generous, near-gilded portraits are especially pleasing when contrasted with stock rage-filled fashion spreads in glossy magazines. Schuman’s images have no edge; they’re all creamy center.

On an average day at The Sartorialist you might catch two students, she with a pink bow at her neck and he in a shrunken flannel shirt, loitering not far from a humorous-looking bearded man in a military-band jacket, who himself preens not far from a row of sophisticated winter women in dark stockings, heels, furs and vividly colored August-weight dresses.

Indeed, the street-style blogs of the world are so trippingly delightful and spontaneous that, while you forget your cares in your money­less world tour, you may also forget all societal gravity and natural laws and snob hierarchies — until. Hold up. At Garance Doré, a French blog named after its proprietress, you hit a hard truth, the immovable cliché of style: Paris. The Web came, the European Union, Tokyo style, war, Sarkozy, the crash of global markets. And still everyone dresses better in Paris.

At least, I mean, they look sublime at the house of Garance Doré. Raised by a high-stepping mother who wore Mugler and Alaïa, Doré is a fashion illustrator who in 2006 became “a little frustrated with the commissions I had, and in particular by the lack of contact with the readers” (as her freshly translated bio puts it). She closed the audience gap with a blog — as so many do; at first, it showed sketches and captions and now features photos of people she encounters. You know, just people, regular people, like an ethereal redheaded It Girl outside a Karl Lagerfeld show, or the sultry French model Valentine Fillol Cordier at the Palais Royal.

A friend of mine won’t look at Garance Doré because he says it fills him with longing he can’t bear. I feel nearly the same way, though I don’t stay away; I’m pleasurably overwhelmed. Somehow Garance Doré gives viewers the sense that they are in the urban splendor too, or could be, or should be — strolling or sauntering, rather than linking and clicking. And at this moment in cultural history, when the allure of Europe and Paris and the sumptuous, leisurely life is assumed to have faded, we’re not on guard against it. Garance Doré should come with a caution.

With their scarves and coats in muted colors, steady gazes and rosebud mouths, the figures who pause at Garance Doré seem somehow sainted. Unlike Schuman, Doré publishes photos of faces alone (often set above full-body shots), so her focus is less on silhouette and proportion and more on expression and complexion. While Schuman’s camera is curious, Doré’s is smitten. Her figures glow under her attention. They’re nearly aflame.

As a rule, the street-style blogs don’t take many ads. They’re not advertorial, either. I haven’t seen any that systematically caption their photos with information about brands, labels, prices. And if you think you might try to replicate one of the looks, you’re thrown back on your wits and your own wardrobe: the sites don’t suggest places to shop. A proposed “shopping guide” that was forever “premiering soon” on The Sartorialist seems to be stalled.

On the other hand, in this time of a downturn in traditional media that’s said to be both “cyclical and secular” — meaning that there’s a recession on and that the businesses are fundamentally changing and moving online — the street-style blogs suggest a new way of displaying fashion and, down the road, monetizing fashion reporting. Vogue’s Style File blog at Style.com, which features celebrities and breaking fashion news, rarely draws a single comment. By contrast, a Garance Doré post of an unnamed woman in houndstooth and stripes drew 78 comments, in French and English. Sartorialist posts regularly draw more than a hundred. People return to these sites, and stay a long time. In the fashion frame of mind, some viewers would no doubt click on ads for e-tailers that might sell them clothes, jewelry, accessories and cosmetics.

It’s also worth noting that if it’s the styles of New York and Paris that play the best online, nothing in the taste of the times should be all that confounding to people who know the rules of traditional fashion. Although of course even the great Garance Doré — who seems to me to be the guardian of all style — can get confused. Recently, Doré reported that she came across a stunning young woman with “une allure incroyable” in black eyeliner and a vintage blue puffer coat. Doré speculated that she might be from an exotic land, perhaps where grog is drunk. (At times, the French fashion world seems to be intoxicated by Scandinavian beauty and style.)

Though Doré addressed her in English, the alluring woman was entirely French, called Marianne (“Comme la République Française,” the woman added helpfully). It turned out that she was Doré’s neighbor in Paris. A stylish Parisienne? Quelle surprise.



from Scott
I'm so happy to see Garance Dore getting the attention her work deserves. She is one of the few blogs I look at every day for inspiration.

On the Street.......Palais Royal, Paris

In the past I have had a hard time finding great menswear style in Paris but maybe I was just looking in the wrong places.

I have been really inspired by the gentleman I found the last three days - I'm hitting my Paris groove.

Style Profile...Dario Spadea Pandolfi, Milan

Dario Spadea Pandolfi

Job?
Cesare Attolini Executive

Best Sartorial advice from your parents?
My grand father and my father says always: “The elegance is something that must be whispered and not shouted…”

Style icons?
If in the past, men like Duke of Windsor, Cary Grant, Fred Astaire, the Kennedy or Giovanni Agnelli set the trands in matter of elegance. The trendsetters of today are the international designers and young actors and artists. Think about the architect Rem Koolhaas, or Jeremy Irons, mixed with the street rappers. Many of them are propositional toward a new and intelligent way of dressing that needs to be elaborated and customized in the details…and go on, the new dandy people like Manfredi Della Gherardesca or the young generation from good and noble family like Raphael Abascal Medina Duke of Feria who has attitude and elegance since they were born…or people from fashion system like Mario Sorrenti.

Describe your personal style
Sunglasses: Persol
Shirts: Cesare Attolini
Polo shirts: Lacoste
Knitwear: Cashmere made in Scotland
Denim jeans: Levi’s 501 col. White or denim.
Jacket: Cesare Attolini
Suit: Cesare Attolini
Watches: Omega or Swatch
Umbrella: Mario Talarico - Napoli
Gloves: Mario Portolano - Napoli
Shoes: Churc’s, John Lobb, Alden, Car shoes
Fashion shoes: YSL
Sport shoes: New Balance, Nike

I build my daily look around?
My humor

Personal Style quirk?
A touch of navy blue

Most cherished item?
Travel luggage set by Goyard – Paris

I feel best wearing?
A Cesare Attolini suit!

The first thing I look at in another Sartorialist?s outfit ...
How they match the colors and the proportion of the items they are wearing.

I always break this fashion rule.
The birth of fashion stylist and designers in the 80s and 90s had totally changed the way of thinking: Fashion shows started to set the rules, men became more “fashionist”. It’s not like that anymore. I seem to feel embarrassed in wearing fashion clothes; I claim my own role, reviving the value of men’s clothing embellished by personal researches, never banal nor ridiculous.
I don’t want to be fashionable; I want to be admired for my style…Sartorial and customized style!

Never caught wearing?
Short white socks!

Most underrated item in menswear/womenswear?
The socks!

Dress to impress who?
Nobody…myself!

Shine your own shoes?
Not often!

Shoetrees?
Round

Favorite stores?
Milan- Antonia Uomo
Riccione- Nick & Sons
Arezzo- Sugar
Tokyo- United Arrows
Paris- Old England & L'Éclaireur
NY- Bergdorf Goodman

Your next "must have" purchase?
Custom made sandals from Island of Capri

I skimp when buying ...
T-Shirts

Favorite item of clothing
Shoes

Guilty pleasure
Shoes and bags

Cologne, skincare?
Cologne:
Black Tie by Washington Tremlett
10 Capri by Carthusia
Caron Pour Homme by Caron

Skincare:
Nickel for Men – Manhattan/West Village NY
The Art of Shaving - NY

Most stylish city?
Paris, NY and Tokyo

When I was high school I wore?
Uniform…It was a Private Catholic School

Sports?
Equitation

Favorite fashion magazine?
L'UOMO VOGUE, POSH

Favorite vacation spot?
Island of Capri – Campania
Island of Salina -Sicily

Favorite neighborhood restaurant?
Milan:
Finger’s – Via Gerolamo Emiliani
Osteria La Voliera – Via Crema

On the Street.......Chambray Shirts, Paris

I don't know about you but it has been a loooong time since I have worn a chambray shirt.

I saw this guy in Paris at the Watanabe show and the slim cut of the denim shirt just made it look new again to me (I don't think I will wear mine quite as open though.)
When I got back to New York I found this one at J. Crew ( I know, two J. Crew posts an a row - I swear I'm not getting paid by them!!) The extended collarband detail, slim cut, soft chambray and large white buttons is what really got me. J. Crew Chambray Shirt


Of course, as it hits 90 degrees in New York I begin to think about Fall 2007 and my return to Paris in October (it should start to feel like Fall by then)
When I was doing the post about the Dust Bowl look - I came across this shot which is so inspiring.
It has also been a while since I buttoned a shirt all the way up but it might work great with this new chambray shirt, some type of chunky sportcoat on top and mixed with pants and shoes worn like the gentleman below.


and a scarf (I guess that goes without saying)



This is how I use my own site - a little bit of this, a little bit of that

This is why I often say that I rarely consider an entire look as a "yes" or "no" but as elements to be pieced together for my own use.

It is a visually greedy approach but also a much more accepting approach- it allows me to be inspired by a very large cross section of people because it is not really about the people at all.

Actually, sometimes it is about the person and not the clothes but then it is usually about the intangible quality of HOW they wear the clothes.
Case in point

Again, completely visually greedy but instead of been exclusive to people wearing high-end labels it is really very inclusive.

Abstract Inspiration!

wow, this was a very rambling post

The Sartorialist for Paris Vogue

One of the things I like about the blog format is the sense of "real time" that it can convey on developing stories.

To that end, remember back in early January when I did a post about a project I was shooting for Paris Vogue?

I shot the story all though fashion week(month) in NYC, Milan and Paris.

The issue is just now hitting the stands and I couldn't be more happy with the results.

I ended up getting the cover(!) of this model supplement and a very large number of shots inside.

As you can imagine this is a big day for me.



ps thanks to everyone that turned out for the Met panel discussion yesterday!

pss I am in NYC for the next three weeks so get ready for some (hopefully great) New York Area street style shots. I might end up in Princeton and Yale in the next two days (hint)

Dries Van Noten Shop in Paris

I hear that Dries is preparing to open a new shop in Paris.

The shop here in Antwerp is closed to transition into Spring 2007.

I will try very hard to get shots of the shop while I am in Paris the next few days.

Most of the photos I am taking here in Antwerp will appear on my GQ page.

I have gotten some great images, a great mix of the cutting edge and the traditional that makes Antwerp so interesting.

The fashion school here is incredible , it is so inspiring to see how proud the faculty is of their students and how happy the students are to be there.

If only Project Runway could have been based in Antwerp!

While I was at the school today Walter Van Beirendonck was working very closely with the 4th year students on their final collection. Couldn't you just imagine watching him on the students back instead of Tim Gunn!

The Sartorialist on Paris Vogue.com !!!!

Anyone who has been watching this blog for a while can just imagine how excited I am to be on Paris Vogue.com.

It just went up today and though I can't read what it actually says, what I imagine it says is just fine with me!

check it out here. Paris Vogue.com

Paris Surprise

I'm back on my regular schedule now so look for updates around 9am and 5ish pm


My first morning in Paris I'm sitting outside at a cafe having coffee and a gentleman walks by, stops, then asks if I'm The Sartorialist!
That was pretty cool.
Turns out he had emailed me before, he has a brand consulting company and has worked with a lot of great clients (like Goyard). We sat and talked a while and his insight for some of the best places to shoot in Paris was invaluable. Thanks Pierre.

In Paris

I just hit Paris!

And don't forget the men's fashion show coverage from Milan and Paris at
The Sartorialist on men.style.com

cool story about The Sartorialist at MSNBC.com right now
The Sartorialist on MSNBC.com

Wednesday Morning - The Sartorialist Is Going To Paris!

I feel like a new man!! I slept, ate and I feel like a human being again!

This has been one of my best days ever, I met several people I have always admired - Franca Sozzani, Luciano Barbera and most important Giorgio Armani. Oh yeah, and I found out that I will be continuing my adventure in Paris for the mens shows there. It will be such a great contrast from Milan.

I know it seems crazy that i have shot myself lately considering I have never done it before but I thought it might be a fun way to keep a personal journal of the trip. Tomorrow we are have breakfast at the Hotel Principe di Savoia

Just to make it easier here is a link to my mens coverage at Men.Style.com
The Sartorialist on men.style.com

Again Thanks to everyones support and kind words, Next stop Paris.

Survey Results - Women's

First of all, thanks again to all of you for your input.

I'm slightly surprised and proud that 45% percent of my audience is female and ,literally, from all around the world. (Except Montana?)

A few observations - by age.



14 - 19 years old - 17% of total women responding
Favorite Brands:
Marc by Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu, Stella McCartney, American Apparel

Favorite Magazine:
Vogue, Nylon, i-D, Paris Vogue

Favorite Stores:
Vintage, American Apparel, H&M, department stores
Do the department stores act as an early fashion school or museum?
One place to see a lot of brands at different price points and learn the scope of the fashion landscape?).
No one mentioned Gap.




20-24 years old - 33% of total women responding
Favorite Brands:
Marc Jacobs, Lanvin, Balenciaga, Dries Van Noten, Miu Miu, Chloe, APC

Favorite Magazine:
Vogue, Paris Vogue, Italian Vogue, Vanity Fair, Nylon, Numero, i-D

Favorite Stores:
Independent boutiques, designer-owned boutiques, vintage, fashion chains (J. Crew, Club Monaco, Banana Republic)




25-29 years old - 21% of total women responding
Favorite Brands:
Marc Jacobs, Chloe, Lanvin, Marni, Paul Smith, Stella McCartney, Chanel, YSL, Burberry
No Dolce& Gabbana - I knew I liked you people!

Favorite Magazine:
Vogue, Paris Vogue, Italian Vogue, foreign publications of Elle, W, Lucky, GQ?

Favorite Stores:
Independent boutiques, designer-owned boutiques, vintage, fashion chains ( J. Crew, Club Monaco, Banana Republic)




30-39 years old - 19% of total women responding
Favorite Brands:
Big on APC, Marc Jacobs, Prada, Marni, Dries Van Noten, smaller lesser known designer labels
Beginning to assert a more personal style?
Is APC the basic items that are used to highlight the more dramatic items from Marni, Jacobs, Prada, etc?

Favorite Magazine:
Vogue, interior design magazines, cooking magazines, Teen Vogue?

Favorite Stores:
No clear cut favorite stores, no department stores, even fewer responses to this question than the younger age groups




40-49+ years old - 10% of total women responding
Favorite Brands:
No clear-cut favorite, at this age are the women less influenced by designer direction and beginning to refine a more personal style?
The women that did have designer favorites tended toward to more avant-garde like Comme Des Garcon and Yohji

Favorite Magazine:
Several " I have given up all my subscriptions", again- are these women's more focused on creating their own style?

Favorite Stores:
All over the place - designer, vintage, department, discount, and chain stores.
Are the demands of family life more important than chasing a designer lifestyle?
I think maybe these women have developed a style and are less worried about where they buy the clothes that create this style.



Finally, everyone shops online but not usually for expensive clothes, more books, movie, and fashion chain stores like J. Crew.



Again thanks everyone,
Mens on Friday, by just overviewing I think we will see some interesting comparisons - especially 40+ men vs. 40+ women.

Now I'm off to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Tonight Robert Burke is participating in a discussion on how the runway shows effect what people really wear. He is using some of my photographs to illustrate his points! I never thought I would have something, anything on a wall at The Met!

From Paris Vogue - Magdalena

I realize that since the supplement i shot for Paris Vogue wasn't distributed in the US that a lot of you didn't get to see the photos.
Well, I am pretty proud of them and I want to have them on my blog so i will run a few of them over the next few days with a little background story - if there is one.


This is probably my favorite shot of the whole series because it was so hard to get.

It was literally raining sideways while I was shooting Magdalena
Because it was raining so hard I had her sit on a covered loading dock that had a little light coming in from the side. Since I was using an 85 lens I was back quite a bit, standing in the rain, while my assistant Lynn held an umbrella right under my chin. We must have looked like we were playing stand-up Twister because we were both trying to huddle under this little umbrella. I'm surprised that none of the raindrops show up in the shot. I think it is because of the dark background and lack of and direct light.

I prefer to shoot outside in natural light and rain can make life difficult but only if you let it.

The Vogue Paris Masked Ball

Garance did a great post about our adventure that was the Vogue Paris Masked Ball.

On the Street....Paris in Black & White, Paris

Wrapping Up Astaire vs Grant

Thanks to everyone who participated!

I love the passion everyone brought to the discussion.

Special thanks the Richard Torregrossa and G. Bruce Boyer for their contributions. I highly recommend both of their books.

Just to clarify Richard was being completely tongue-in-cheek, if you read it again I think it is pretty obvious (and he told he wanted to play a little devils advocate even before he wrote it)

It's funny you guys mentioned Gene Kelly.
When I was in Paris last time I met Mr Assouline of Assouline Books and he said to me "I saw you walking on the the street today! I thought you looked like Gene Kelly!" (I guess I was dressed like an American in Paris)


If I was going to do an actress version of this exercise I would do Louise Brooks vs.....



Who would you compare/contrast Louise Brooks to?

She seems so unique to her time in many ways.