A Passion for Carolyne Roehm!

When it comes to great Amercian style, Carolyne Roehm is in a class by herself. Yes, she's absolutely gorgeous in person. But what makes her more than simply stunning, is her devotion to creating beautiful things. I can speak about this with authority as I have had the pleasure of working with her on her collection of dresses for Best & Co.

From our very first meeting in her breathtaking NYC apartment, I was struck by her warmth and approachability. She extended the same graciousness to my entire staff and it didn't take long for me to realize that every member of the Best & Co. office (including my dog, George) had developed a crush on Carolyne. In fact, I always knew when she was paying us a visit because the office and everyone in it would get a little more dressed up for the occasion!

After all, we are talking about a woman who worked for her mentor, Oscar de la Renta, for ten years, launched her own eponymous successful fashion house, and served as the President of the CFDA. Let's just say if I had a resume like that . . . I might be throwing around a little attitude . . . but not Carolyne! The most we could ever get her was a cup of coffee (and Dunkin Donuts was just fine!) Frankly, Carolyne was much more interested in the design process and using her time and talent to create the most beautiful girls dresses I have ever seen. From her sketches to her trim choices, Carolyne's eye for detail and quality is unerring and exact.

The designs that Carolyne created for Best & Co. were inspired by her life long passion for all things blue and white and happily coincided with the publication of her ninth book, A Passion for Blue and White. You can purchase a signed copy of the gorgeous book from Carolyne's website.

http://www.carolyneroehm.com/

While we plan an official launch and in-store event with Carolyne for Mother's Day, due to demand, we are previewing a portion of the dresses right now on our site. I think they capture Carolyne's love for quality and beauty perfectly. We all feel very lucky to have shared this experience with Carolyne and hope you will too!

A Best & Co. baby shower that takes the cake!

I received the most incredible photos from one of our customers, Paige Campbell, who had a Best & Co. themed baby shower!

As you can see, the cake was modeled after our gorgeous gift boxes – right down to our signature ivory bow!

I love the tiny cupcakes surrounding the cake. A cluster of three on petite silver pedestals – so sweet!

Even the m&m’s are in the Best & Co. color scheme. I have to get some of these for the office!!

And check out all of the beautiful baby gifts from Best & Co. just waiting to be opened!

Thank you Paige for sending these gorgeous photos! My entire team loved seeing them! I am sending you a little cashmere something to welcome your little one into the Best & Co. family!


Catherine

Chic Baby Gifts!

January 9, 2009

I recently received a lovely birthday card from my dear Godmother, Mary Ann, containing this wonderful photo from my christening (just twenty two years ago . . . ahem!)

That’s Mary Ann holding me (don’t my sister and brother look thrilled to have a new baby sister?)

Certainly, the christening is the main event when it comes to Godparent duties, but Mary Ann maintained her responsibilities with regularity and aplomb. To this day, she remembers every birthday . . . and this leads me to the subject of today’s blog . . . chic baby gifts.

I was lucky enough to be the recipient of one of the chicest baby gifts ever – courtesy of Mary Ann. Upon my birth, she purchased a set of sterling silver teaspoons and then sent one on each birthday (monogrammed of course) until I had the full set. Now, truth be told, it’s difficult to grasp the chic factor of silverware when you’re five . . . and for that reason, Mary Ann always included a little something that was more age-appropriate. (This was an excellent tactic as it also enabled my mom to snatch the silver out of my sticky hands and carefully place it in a safe deposit box.)

When I graduated from college, my mom presented all of the teaspoons to me and I was thrilled to have something so special and “adult.”

Photo Courtesy of At Home with Carolyne Roehm

Anne Randell, my head of PR and Marketing, gives charm bracelets to her goddaughters – and then adds a charm for each special birthday. So sweet!


Our friends at Charm Co. have a fantastic collection of vintage charms that we sell in our Greenwich Best & Co. store. We also sell wonderful bracelets by Links of London. Here's a whimsical bracelet that reminds me of animal crackers. Wouldn't it be fun to receive a silver animal charm on each birthday tucked into a real box of animal crackers?


Photo Courtesy of The Charm of Charms by Jade Albert and Ki Hackney


My very stylish friend (and new Mom,) Alison, gives these precious little booties to celebrate the birth of a new child. The bottoms of the booties are personalized with the baby’s birth date and name:

And of course, I would be remiss if I didn't include a plug for our gorgeous Best & Co. layette gift boxes. They are inspired by the century old designs sold in Venice. In addition to giving your gift panache, they become true keepsakes when used to store all the wonderful mementos of a baby's first year.

What about you? What gifts do you love to give and receive?

Spring Photo Shoot

While it is literally freezing here in New York today, I have spring on my mind. We recently shot our Spring 2009 catalog and we are now finalizing our lay-outs. Here’s a behind-the-scenes tour of the fun and chaos created by children, parents, nannies, stylists, dogs, dog handlers, and one president hovering with a digital camera . . .

Even before we arrive at the studio, my team spends days creating story boards, planning each shot, sourcing props, and casting models.

Here’s Halston’s rack. Just like the “big girls,” our models visit our showroom for a final fitting before the shoot to ensure that the clothes fit just right.

We photographed two of our Spring 2009 collections – “Nautical” and “Picnic.” As a result, we had an interesting mishmash of props at the ready including a massive antique ship’s wheel, vintage butterfly nets, masses of fresh flowers, and dozens of fresh cupcakes . . . which Ava got to sample when her shot was finished.

It takes a village! Here’s my team getting everyone set for the shot and simultaneously making sure that we don’t crush any of our precious models with the giant ship’s wheel!

Isn’t there a saying about working with small children and animals? At Best & Co., we throw caution to the wind! The Scottie has been Best & Co.’s mascot since 1879. (In addition to the fabulous outfit – we will be offering dog collars and leashes this year. This set is in blue and white gingham – so cute!)

In between shots, our models pass the time in low-tech ways . . .

And in high-tech ways . . .

Ava* multi-tasked on her i-phone while getting her hair done . . . actually, the phone belonged to the stylist (thank goodness!)

*We had three little girls on the shoot named Ava!

At the end of the (very long) day – we were thrilled with the results of our shoot. I can’t wait to share them with you in February!

The first two mock-up’s landed on my desk this morning (see below) . . . . stay tuned!