Fave Look: Rachel Comey

Making the Fall 2013 collections easy to digest. Scroll through all of our top getups here.

Rachel Comey, from WWD.

Of a Kind

Because apparently Rachel Comey is of the mind that you don’t need to choose between cozy and flashy. This is some sweater sweetness. —erica

IMAGO-A

Yegang Yoo never intended to launch a handbag line. The South Korean-born, Brooklyn-based designer, who has worked with the likes of Hussein Chalayan and Rachel Comey, created her ready-to-wear label, IMAGO-A, in 2011, and she was perfectly happy sculpting bold, printed jersey dresses and angular sweaters. But then one day she found herself with a bunch of really rad leather on her hands.

“It was this calfskin printed with metallic silver so it had this mirrored effect,” recalls Yegang. “I contacted everyone who stocks leather in the city—old contacts, anyone I could find—to get this leather. And then when I got it, it was too stiff to use in the clothes!” So she began playing with the material, folding it in different ways. “I was trying to achieve these geometric surfaces to reflect the light at different angles, and it kind of evolved into a handbag.”

In less than a year, her one experiment expanded into an entire line—think city-friendly, origami-esque purses and totes in bright blue and red leather with braided straps. This sort of improvisational openness guides pretty much everything Yegang does, from becoming a designer (she abandoned her childhood architecture ambitions after seeing a Comme des Garçons dress in Vogue) to making patterns part-time for her friends at Vena Cava after graduating Parsons—so she could play keyboards in a band, where, by the way, she met her husband. As she says, “I’m about trying all these different things to see what works, and letting the design come out of that.” —raquel laneri

imago-a.com

Fave Look: Rachel Comey

Attacking the SS13 collections, one getup at a time. See ‘em all here.

Rachel Comey, from WWD.

Of a Kind

Oh, you thought pastels were only a spring thing? Rachel Comey begs to differ—this dress is coming your way for fall. —erica

Weather Vain: Montreal, Quebec - 86 and Partly Cloudy

Like just about everybody else, I have a soft spot for Montreal—and not just because of the copious amounts of pork product, even. Here’s what I’d want to wear if I was in Canada’s second city today. —erica

Clockwise from top left:

+ One of the so-rad pouches Baggu made for Of a Kind—to keep you from feeling weighed down strolling the Plateau.

+ A second pop of neon—because why not?—brought to you by Annie Costrello Brown.

+ A summery plaid Rachel Comey dress that feels very eating-oysters-with-friends-at Liverpool House.

+ The sort of sandals (c/o YMC) that feel so French-speaking in a Madeline way.

+ Bring on the big, fat Karen Walkers. In these, you could lounge around Cafe Olimpico drinking iced coffee and reading all morning long.

For more dressing-by-the-forecast, head this way.

Next Level: Summer Loafers

Loafers can feel so fusty. But when they get all warm-weather-y? Suddenly they’re chill—a welcome alternative to those sandals that try to maim you with their straps. Here, four pairs that deserve your affections. —erica

LEVEL I: Yes, these perforated Matiko guys could hang with a smoking jacket. But they’ll also look stellar with some knee-grazing chino shorts.

LEVEL II: Elizabeth & James just showed your huaraches how to get dressed up.

LEVEL III: Leave it to Rachel Comey to get *everything* right: the three leathers, the slingback, the black sole around the toe.

LEVEL IV: Osborn delivers a little bit of sunshine on even the rainiest summer days.

More mini-trends in four parts! Right here!

Of a Kind

When the weather’s not right for a real cable-knit, go all trompe l’oeil with this Rachel Comey silk situation. —erica

In Character: Vivian Ward

America’s favorite prostitute taught us—even those of us too young to really get that she was a hooker when we first saw the film—a very important lesson: The clothes can make the girl. (Ok, and maybe the hair too—that wig was a bust.) Here’s what Viv wore to knock the argyle socks off Edward’s crowd. —erica

A transitional piece, if you will: Even Kit would recognize her in this borrowed-from-the-John Rachel Comey blazer.

Nothing says “I can hang with you snobs” like a polka dot hat from Brigitte Bardot.

This off-the-shoulder Black Halo dress is best accessorized with that trademark Julia Roberts laugh.

You into “In Character?” There’s more over here.