Spring 2011 - The Studio

March, 2010 Volume 31
TALK
233 Harvard Street • Brookline, MA 02446 • TEL 617-738-5091 • FAX 617-232-4434 • www.studio233.com
G O I N G D I G I TA L
It took us ten years to go from tin box to cash register and another fifteen to get our first computer. So, it was only a matter of
time… we’re going digital. Newsletters cost a lot to print and postage keeps going up. Studio Talk will become a digital
newsletter as of our next issue, September 2011. It is with a certain degree of sadness that we go this route, for we too, will miss
the inevitable ink smudges and the portable and permanent nature of the printed word. But change is also exciting. We will still
produce the two issues that you’ve come to expect each year, but now we will continue the conversation by filling you in on instore promotions, sales and just about anything we think you might want to know in between. When you get right down to it, it’s
exciting, but… you will be out of the loop if we don’t have your email address. It’s simple! Go to our home page and sign up at
www.studio233.com.
Our first digital newsletter will arrive early next September, but there’s a whole lot of season before then and we have plenty more
to say. So don’t miss out, it only takes a second.
Thinking Out Loud
The Studio has always
afforded us the privilege
of meeting extraordinary
women. It has been one
of the best things about
this business; and just
Marcie
when we think no more
amazing women could ever exist, along
comes one who magnifies the pleasure.
Last summer we met Joanne – petite,
beautiful, exuberant, charming and totally
blind. New to Brookline, she happened
by The Pear Tree one day and inquired
about where she could find great clothes.
The Pear Tree’s proprietress generously
suggested The Studio even escorting
her down Harvard Street where new
friendships were instantly forged.
Blind from birth, there was no special
attention to separate her from her sighted
siblings. She was the first blind student
in her large mid-western city to matriculate through a regular high school and
then earned a degree from Wellesley (no
small feat at a time just before computers). Then came successful careers, lots
of travel (most recently to Prague and
Budapest) a marriage and the sudden loss
of her husband. She faced it all with a
spirit and strength most of us can only
imagine.
A tousled head of beautifully kept curls,
perfect makeup (yes, perfect) and a signature funky style of dress. A great visit and a
quick shop has her sailing confidently down
our stairs ready to complete her day and
we’re left feeling, well yes… privileged.
LAST CHANCE
Winter Merchandise
up to 75% off original
We began as womb-mates and after that were never far
apart from each other until 1967 when Sandy moved to
London and “I” stayed in NY. We were separated for the
next nine years… a continent apart.
It would have been great to have today’s instant
Sandy
communication – email, skype, facebook and photos
traveling across the Atlantic in real time. But then we wouldn’t have our treasured
shopping bags full of letters… a conversation between the two of us longing to stay
connected and share our lives. We ‘talked’ about everything: family, friends, kids, how we
were feeling , the state of the world, what we were thinking, what we were cooking, and, of
course, clothes…” How’s the shopping going?” and ”Have you mailed that package yet?”
Ilene
It was a different world in many ways and so were the clothes…
so let’s go in back time with some excerpts.
Ilene to Sandy
Sept l969 - Sandy, I hate to be a pest,
but with the start of a new season, a
young girl’s thoughts turn to clothes…
Nov l969 - The package arrived today
and I’m so excited about all my clothes…
the boots are so comfy, the jeans are terrific and I love my shirts. I did a complete
accounting and guess what – I only spent
$108…
June l970 - I’m going to send you the
greatest wedgy sandals made in Romania.
Everyone in NY is wearing them. I might
buy a second pair… I never want to be
without them.
Nov 1971 – Remember those Biba over
the knee suede boots you told me about…
has the new shipment arrived yet? I must
have them.
Sandy to Ilene
Jan 1968 – Ilene, do you wear tights? I
never wear stockings any more… Marks
and Spencer have great tights for 7
shillings 6 pence. They are a lot more
comfortable than a garter belt and you
don’t have to worry about ugly garters
showing … I would have sent some
without asking, but I know you and your
peculiarities.
Mar 1968 – The uniform on Kings Road
is either long maxi-culotte with short
leather battle jacket, or long maxi coat
with boots and beret… sometime ruby lips
are thrown in with frizzy hairdos…
Nov l970 – You won’t believe what’s in
Biba!. Terrific gabardine midi skirts and
they are £10 which is $24. The colors are
amazing and there are long turtle neck
sweaters to match. I may go back and
get the midi turtle neck dress for only $7.
Considering what was going on in the world during those years, our trans-atlantic
shopping was truly retail therapy. Here we are forty years later, still talking about
clothes, and the best part … we’re back together.
SPRING preview. . . . . . HOT PICKS
THE CARDY
Cardigans definitely dominate
and for good reason..they are
terrific and run the gamut from
long and slouchy to short and
cropped. Pop a short cropped
one over a longer tank for
the layered look or over a
sleeveless dress when it’s chilly.
• Aldo Martin’s artsy cardigan
with flowers and stripes…even
the buttons are great!
DRESSES
Our love affair with dresses never dies, even
when Seventh Avenue is touting another
season’s must haves. And why wouldn’t we
love anything so easy, it’s a no-brainer. A
quick flourish of accessories and an even
faster glance in the mirror has you out the
door with only one decision remaining.
Where to show it off? Needless to say we
were excited by the wide array of really
‘wearable’ dresses we saw at the latest
New York shows. To be honest, and to
comply with full disclosure, we’ll admit that
most summer frocks are sleeveless. If that
send shivers down your spine, rest assured,
we’ve thought of everything, with little
cardigans to the rescue.
• Our Hot Picks: Nic + Zoe’s wild flower
flirt dress, Eileen Fisher’s ‘lantern dress’
– a racer back mid-calf tank dress with a
totally outrageous hemline; a gossamer
light mixed floral dress from Lauren Vidal;
and Joseph Ribkoff’s sophisticated taupe
and black empire dress.
• You’ll fall in love with Petit
Pois’s light as a feather printed
mesh cropped cardies.
• Nic & Zoe’s multi-colored
wild weave cardigan can be
mistaken for a Missoni.
YOU’VE GOT MAIL?
We won’t clog your inbox, but
we do periodically alert you to
special promotions and new
arrivals. Regulars and newcomers alike go to our website
studio233.com.
(you’ll be happy you did)
TROUSERS
If it’s spring, it’s time for the
inevitable question… are
we still wearing cropped
pants? The answer is
a resounding yes,
and thanks to Betty
Draper of Mad
Men, they’ll
be paired with
kitten heels as
well as flip flops.
• Christopher Blue
and sister company
Worn has all our weekends covered with light
weight poplins and ghost
dobby in terrific colors.
Nic + Zoe
• New resource Workers
for Freedom not only does a
unique cargo with zippers,
but donates a portion of
sales to pediatric hospitals.
What a great idea!
• Margaret M.
for something a
bit dressier in
washable bistretch, Conrad
C for a contemporary legging
look without it being a legging and Elliott
Lauren because, well, he
just knows how to construct a
great fitting pant.
Spring PREVIEW cont.
THE BLOUSE
Blouse lovers rejoice, you’ll
have a great choice… we
were happy to find more
blouses/shirts than usual.
• Cino’s girly western shirt is a
combo of soft plaid and floral
trim – perfect with cropped
jeans.
• Retro-inspired and very
feminine - printed and crinkled
blouses from Alison Sheri, plus a
novelty cotton with funky buttons.
• Marcie’s favorite, a pinstriped, irregularly pleated tunic
length button front from Linea
Domani.
TEES
Old t-shirts never
die they just
fade away and
become second tier.
When you’ve purged
last summer’s tees and
need to breathe new life
into your collection, come in.
You won’t be disappointed.
• An irresistible three-quarter
sleeve t-shirt cardy with crystal
buttons from Necessitees.
• Neon Buddha’s angled short
sleeve v-neck tee is close to
perfect. We were crazy about
the slub fabric and raw edge
- you might want to stack’em
up. The colors are soft and
summery.
• Don’t miss Feathers wave
print tees. We loved the
print so much we
ordered it two
ways – long
V-neck swing
and scoop neck
elbow sleeve.
We predict a
best seller.
• Nic + Zoe wowed us with
their tee shirt collection. A
much longer version of their
classic tank, a fantastic ¾
sleeve and a hard-to find terrific short sleeve.
YOU gotta HAVE friends
its A fabulous FAKE
You might have thought we were done sounding
off about luxury handbags (“A Bag By Any Other
Name” and “The Little Bag That Could” Studio
Talk 2008), but suddenly along comes The
Together Bag, touted by the New York
Times as the new “IT’ bag.
How could we not let
you know that now is
your chance to own this
fabulous ‘tongue-in-cheek
knock-off of the famous
Hermes ‘Birken Bag’
at the bargain price of
$35.00….What fun!
The Studio will donate
$10 to The Dana Farber
Center for Women’s Cancer for
each bag sold. Cotton canvas in red or blue.
We’ve always thought of our
customers as friends and hope
it’s mutual. But alas, it appears
that even friendships need to be
validated today. We’re now on
FACEBOOK. Be our friend?
Height: 11” • Width: 15” • Depth: 8”
facebook.com/studio233
accessorize ACCESSORIZE accessorize
accessories INDEX
events
Caribbean blue resin and
glass jewelry $25-$55.
Handmade rusched
cotton scarves $29.
Packable cotton hats in
6 summery colors $24.
Iridescent glass and
brass jewelry $45-59.
sym-pli
adv \’sym-plē
a: without ambiguity : clearly
b: without embellishment : plainly
Sergio Tomani
handmade leather
shoes $159-169.
Convertible strap pewter
leather bag $159.
TRUNK SHOW
MARCH 10 - 12
wearable • washable • wonderful
Toyo woven paper
fedora, natural and
platinum $32.
Blue PVC cross-body
bag $95.
Leather double
eyeglass case $20.
Silk printed crinkle
scarves $29.
Leather patchwork bag,
leaf, coral $259.
Chain link bracelets $25-39.
Airy viscose printed
scarves $32.
aris
P
m
o
fr
direct
APRIL 7 - 9
Coming Soon
Slouchy leather bag,
tangerine, tomato
$155.
Earth tone stone neck $79.
Cordani pewter leather
platform sandal $169.
JEWELRY
SHOES
check your email or our website
Amory
Erika
Cathy
Emily
Ilene
Marcie
Mary
Emily
Sandy
Mary
Cathy
Many thanks to photographer Shelly Harrison and our models - it was fun, S, M+I
Just because something is earthfriendly doesn’t mean you have
to forgo fashion. Meet Mosey,
our exciting new bag line which
began as PET plastic bottles
and is now 100% recycled
gorgeousness. With
supple, water-resistant
fabric in luscious color
combinations, every
bag has details
to organize
you (key
fob, wallet
on a leash,
ipod pocket,
sunglass
loop) and
quilted
design
elements
to charm
you.
clothes ENCOUNTER
A customer came in to exchange Christmas gifts that hadn’t worked out.
She carefully unboxed her rejects eagerly anticipating the fun of selecting
their replacements. In the middle of her try-on session another customer
comes into the store to pick up an alteration. At the front desk, she eyes
the still prettily packaged boxes of returns; a necklace, a cami and a
sweater and ends up not only going home with her newly hemmed
trousers, but a necklace, a cami and a sweater. as told by Susan Golden
Studio Talk
green IS beautiful
Vol. 31
• Sympli Trunk Show – March 10 - 12
• Lauren Vidal and Mado – April 7 - 9
• Visit www.studio233.com
reminders
233 Harvard Street
Brookline, MA 02446
BOSTON, MA
PERMIT NO.
Greater Boston’s Best Kept Secret
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