Economy of Style
A notebook on evolving trends, fashion sense and cents

STLFW: Rebecca Minkoff at Saks St. Louis

Rebecca Minkoff drew a huge crowd to Saks St. Louis on day two of STLFW. Minkoff’s spring/summer 2014 ready-to-wear collection embodies the playful charm her contemporary brand is known for. Intricate embroidery, festive floral prints, and a modish snake skin print added worldly flavor to her sporty chic separates.

Snatch Rebecca Minkoff’s necklace

The following two looks were personal favorites. The ‘Avenida’ dress in chalk boasts a minimalist design with edgy details like a side zip, side mesh, and crisscrossed hemline. The embroidered ‘Gia’ tank is the perfect building block for print mixes as seen by its pairing with the ‘Pisco’ floral print silk shorts.

Get the Look:

Left: Dress, Sandals, Satchel

Right: Tank, Shorts, Jacket, Sandals, Tote

Rebecca Minkoff items flew off the shelves at Saks following the runway presentation. The current Friends & Family sale at Saks, offering 25% off items, couldn’t occur at a better time. As an added bonus, guests had the opportunity to meet Rebecca Minkoff, who graciously greeted and signed handbags for every person who waited in line. And, that line was long, y’all!

Rebecca Minkoff signing the front flap of a MAB tote

I’m now so excited about the finale event of STLFW, the designer showcase at St. Louis Union Station tonight. You too, right?

Saint Louis Fashion Week: Spring into Fashion

And, we’re off! Spring into Fashion, the first runway show of the Spring 2014 season of STLFW, went down last night at the Saint Louis Galleria Mall. In addition to delivering a steady flow of up-to-the-minute style inspiration, the event raised over $3,000 for Friends of Wings, a St.Louis-based non-profit organization that holistically supports children with life-threatening illnesses.

Last night’s show featured styles by several of the Galleria’s top stores—Fossil, Francesca’s, True Religion, White House Black Market, Banana Republic, Bebe, Tommy Bahama, and Anthropologie. Shoes were provided by Aldo Shoes and Sperry Top-Sider.

From masterfully mixed prints to a safari chic ensemble, here are my favorite styles fresh from the runway:

Left: Anthropologie dress, Anthropologie shoulder bag

Middle: Francesca’s top,  Francesca’s shorts

Right: Banana Republic top, Banana Republic shorts

Want to elevate your style this spring? Day one of STLFW gave us the green light to mix prints, showed us that beautiful blooms produce iconic style, and demonstrated that jumpsuits and jogger pants can be super sophisticated.

Mixed prints: Francesca’s top, Francesca’s skirt

Moody florals: White House Black Market dress

Graphic florals: Anthropologie dress

Jumpsuits: Bebe sleeveless jumpsuit

Jogger Pants: True Religion camo pants

The next stop on the STLFW train is Saks for a special presentation by Rebecca Minkoff tonight. Check out the full schedule in Get Ready for Saint Louis Fashion Week.

Get Ready for Saint Louis Fashion Week!

The runway portion of Saint Louis Fashion Week (STLFW) begins next Wednesday! Are you ready? I’m looking forward to seeing you there. Today’s post shares the complete runway schedule and some style inspiration for each event.

1. Spring into Fashion at the St. Louis Galleria opens the Spring 2014 runway season of STLFW. The show will feature looks styled by the Galleria’s top stores.

Top // Skirt // Necklace // Sandals

2. Our next stop is Saks Fifth Avenue for a special runway presentation by Rebecca Minkoff. Rebecca Minkoff, most known for her playful and edgy designs, is undoubtedly an industry leader in luxury clothing, handbags, footwear, and accessories.

Rebecca Minkoff dress // Clutch // Sandals

3. The final runway show, the STLFW Designer Showcase at St. Louis Union Station, presents collections by Novis, Harbison, Viktor Luna and Skif International. After browsing the collections of these designers, I’m most excited about this show.

Novis NYC Dress // Bracelet // Clutch // Shooties

Purchase STLFW Tickets

Print Mixing

As we count down to the opening of the runway portion of Saint Louis Fashion Week, St. Louis bloggers got together last night at Scape American Bistro for a blogger lounge. I wore a mixed print ensemble to celebrate the occasion, pairing the Gap slim cropped stripe pants with a J.Crew bar stripe tee. To mix things up even further, I added a pair of geometric print pumps that fit right in because they maintained the overall color story of the outfit.

Tee—J.Crew (old) | Now at J.Crew Factory

Pants—Gap

Blazer—Tahari | similar

Shoes—Joe’s Jeans

Bag—Rebecca Minkoff

Earrings—Kate Spade Outlet | similar

Necklace—J.Crew | similar

Watch—Michael Kors | similar

Lip—Mac ‘Flat Out Fabulous’ lipstick, Mac ‘Magenta’ lip pencil

Nails—OPI ‘You’re Such a Budapest’

A snap from Instagram sharing a few essentials this blogger took to the event last night:

What I Wore: STLFW Kickoff Party

Spring 2014 Saint Louis Fashion Week (STLFW) kicked off last night with Fabric, a party at St. Louis Public Radio. The event, which featured a video installation exploring the production of handmade textiles and a thought-provoking panel discussion on fashion in St. Louis, has set the bar high for the fashion season about to ensue in the Lou.

I plan to be on the scene, so stay tuned for coverage on the events in April, including a special presentation by Rebecca Minkoff at Saks. Until then, here’s what I wore to the party last night. The look is anchored by a printastic Cynthia Rowley dress I purchased in Marshalls for $29.99. The dress is very similar to this more expensive Milly sheath.

For more STLFW style inspiration, check out a special blogger edition of Alive Magazine’s Style Notes.

Dress—Cynthia Rowley | Milly version (on sale)

Shoes—Tahari

Bag—Milly

Earrings—Kate Spade | option

Bracelet—J.Crew (on sale)

Watch—Michael Kors | similar

Lip—Mac ‘Flat Out Fabulous’ lipstick, Mac ‘Magenta’ lip pencil