Lollapalooza

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We are going to turn this, our favorite festival, upside down.

Corresponding for Lucky, we're going to be staking out the best festival looks, talking to your favorite performers and attending all the best parties.

We've featured quite a few of the Lolla artists on our THC in Your Head mixes and we can't wait to get their take on style.

SO: What are you going to wear?

See you there.

Nena Ivon: Retail Icon

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If someone were to play her in a movie, she would be Meryl Streep. She teaches at Columbia. She’s a big supporter of Chicago theater. Red wine is her drink. And she is Saks Fifth Avenue’s most storied employee. 53 years of folding sweaters, trips to Paris and staging fashion shows.

We ask her a few questions over drinks and eel terrine at Boka:

If she wasn’t a retail legend: “I would have been an Egyptologist.”

On a good wardrobe stylist: “It’s like being a decorator. If I would have a decorator doing my home I would want them to say, ok, your apartment is you, how can we make this more you? I want it to be mine.”

On her apartment: “My apartment looks like a gypsy caravan – king of the gypsies as you understand – very layered, very eclectic, layer upon layer upon layer – literally. It doesn't interest me if no one else likes it.”

On customer service: “It’s clicking – that’s the hard part – getting the trust level.”

On retirement: “I walk by the store and think shouldn’t I be upset? Shouldn’t I have some kind of pain? But not in the least. It was time to leave.”

On style: “Style is of the moment. Something at a certain time, in a certain place, with a certain person and how they handle that. Confidence, elegance, and assuredness is what makes a person memorable. Style is fleeting. Fashion is very definitely fleeting.”

A Nenaism: “When one loses one’s femininity, one loses everything.”

On all of the attention following her exit: “I didn’t ask for any of this. And if I had, I wouldn’t have gotten any of it.”

You would be a great guest judge on Project Runway.

“I want a pop-up book.”

With Angels

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Alexander McQueen

As one of the many mourning the untimely passing of designer Lee McQueen, we can celebrate what will surely be an enduring legacy in fashion, art and the myriad stories recounting the unique way he moved through his life.

The last time I was in LA, I went shopping. Obviously. But I walked out of a boutique without taking home a gorgeous gold leather belt with McQueen's stamp and signature skull to adorn it.

But it stayed with me! Dreamt about it that night. And directed my taxi driver to return to the boutique on the way to the airport so that I could pick it up and take it home.

A certain astrologer says "lacking any significant earthy placements and dominated by water ... [McQueen] wasn’t really ever on the Earth plane fully."

Whether that is true or not, the above image says, very clearly, angel with wings.

And speaking to LOVE before he took his life, he said "I want this to be a company that lives way beyond me ... hopefully this house will still be going. On a spaceship. Hopping up and down above the earth."

Of this last collection, you could rightfully say he was inspired by the divine.

Long live McQueen.

Here: Ingrid Sischy on McQueen Here: Cathedral by Raymond Carver

THC in ‘Where’s Yvie?’

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Spreading the Haute Coast to Coast

stylist-april-francis-1

We've always been a huge fan of Hejfina. And ShopNastyGal. And Refinery29, a site we fell in love with way back when.

So, when Piera came calling from Refinery29 we were there to do whatever we could to help her out on her adventure in the Windy City. When told to meet at Reckless Records - a spot close to our heart - we fell in love. And when asked to wear a most precious purple vintage YSL jacket, the most charmingly named Yvie, we fell deeply in love.

A huge thank you to Christene and Piera, YSL and Parisienne for inviting us to share the love.

Check out all the fab ladies Yvie met on her tour to search out and spread the message of Parisienne in the great USA (don't miss, she did it drippingly well, darlings) here. And where did we tell Yvie and the ladies to go while in Chicago? Robin Richman, Chalk, and Ikram, of course.

And lastly, as we were particularly excited about meeting Yvie at Reckless Records - there's nothing we love more than a music + fashion fusion - we'll clue you in to our dream affair. Check out Home by Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros and fall in love. Then come back for more when we press THC in Your Head Vol 7. X

photo via refinery29.com

Have You Met…

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Our Fabulous Intern, Dez?

So, you might have seen him in thisvideo, or to the right in the fabulous photo by Adam Kuehl, or when we took him to New York to work with us at the V is for Vintage Event, but we wanted to formally introduce you to our darling intern, Dez'Mon Omega Fair.

He's a finalist in tonight's FORD Walk-Off at Crimson Lounge and we know he's going to take first place (unless it's rigged) because he's just that fierce. Plus, he's already gotten training from the fabulous Miss Jay at his alma mater, SCAD.

Aside from all of that, he's also a rather talented illustrator. When he asked to be our intern, we had seen some of his drawings on hisblog so we said sure, if you draw us a Girl! Here's what he came up with:

Wouldn't you say she could be the patron saint of THC?

X, we love you, D.

Malia Gives Good Chi

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Malia Mills is Onto Something . . . Driving down Halsted - Spotted! - a delightful message in the window at Malia Mills.

Have you popped into her store here in Chicago? If not, she stocks fantastic stuff - her signature is a well-made, great-fitting swimsuit. Anyway, we about died when we saw the Give Good Chi tee pictured at right. With it's hot pink lettering and homemade aesthetic, we just had to have one - and Malia delivered, making one just for the Haute Closet!

It's a great message and we wanted to pass it along ... so get into Malia Mills (2050 N. Halsted) and get some of the good stuff!