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1. You find a lot of inspiration in menswear pieces. What attracts you to the menswear style and tailoring?
- Unlike women's fashion where every season the prevailing silhouette can vary wildly,there is a classicism in menswear that endures through the decades. That attention to tailoring and subtle details which you often find in very fine men's clothing is something we find quite alluring. We try to bring those same enduring qualities to our collection, paying close attention to the subtlest of details that fast fashion can often gloss over.
2. What are your best-selling styles in the collection?
- Our best-selling style is the piece that launched our brand: The His is Hers® Original Shirt. It's a versatile piece which like many of our designs leaves itself open to interpretation by the wearer. We love to see how the stylish women drawn to C + K reinvent our pieces. Everything from the His is Hers® shirt styles to simple sheaths like the Crew, another big seller, are heightened by the accessories that our customers pull from their closet to pair with our pieces.
3. Tell us a little bit about your target customer? Who is the Claridge + King woman?
- It's hard to pin point the age of our target customer because happily we've found that everyone from college girls to women in their seventies have found pieces that work with their lifestyle at Claridge + King. But regardless of their age or their geographic roots, we find the women who wear our brand (as well as the men who purchase it for them) are rather sophisticated and confident. They know themselves, their body and what works for them. They're the farthest thing from a slave to fashion, but they are nonetheless current and very much aware of well cut clothing and fashion.
4. How has the brand evolved since its launch in 2008?
- Three years ago when we launched the line we knew there were two directions we were interested in navigating: loungewear (which also encompasses stylish sleepwear) and casual ready-to-wear. We felt that there was a space in the sleepwear realm where women like us who didn't necessarily want prissy poly nightgowns or cat covered pajamas could find pieces as cool as the clothes we wore during the day. Creating a boxer, pajama pants with deep, fetching slits on the outside of each leg, smoking jacket inspired robes and of course, The His is Hers® Shirts that can be worn as nightshirt, we took on the challenge of ready-to-wear next. Often our designs are inspired by what's missing in our own and our customer's closets. We listen to what our retailers like Ladybird suggest we add to the line. For instance, last year after so many women told us how much they liked the styling in our boyfriend style shirts, but desired a fitted white shirt too, we took over a year to develop the Great White Shirt. It's our answer to that go anywhere pinpoint cotton shirt devoid of darts that's subtly tailored to nip in at the shoulders, bust and waist. This spring you'll find it edged with a tone-on-tone texture detail: white grosgrain ribbon sewn down the front and cuff plackets, with our logo embroidered discreetly in white thread atop it.
5. What do you hope to bring to Claridge + King in the future? What are your plans for 2012?
- What's ahead? More monochromatic pieces with a palette heavy of grays (from cool to warm tones), blacks, blues, olive and, of course, white–like the shades you'd find if you pinched pieces from your boyfriend/husband/brother's wardrobe. This spring, summer and fall you'll see more dresses that do double duty like a lot of our line.
From the return of the linen Belle (in midnight and sterling gray linen) that you can wear as a tunic or even a mini dress, to an off the shoulder dress dubbed the Grayson, to our first shirtdress inspired by our Great White Shirt which arrives for fall which you can wear as a dress or a long top, buttoned just to the waist and paired with pants like our luscious washed silk twill lounge pants arriving any moment.
We're also crazy about our sweaters. We love our fine, lightweight cashmere sweaters (The Long V Tee and the Two-Toned Crewneck) with a pinch of silk in them. They feel like t-shirts and layer like one, but wear remarkably well. (The silk in it diminishes the pilling you get with most cashmere.) And in about a month the Patch Sweater arrives. Available in three shades of gray it's a 100% cotton sweater with elbow to cuff leather patches on each sleeve. It's a great looking piece, our latest obsession. (Besides we're cold year round and always keep a sweater handy.)
How Ladybird wear's Claridge + King's the Great White
1. With Shorts
- The Original C+K button up looks great with a pair of cut off shorts. This is a great everyday look.
2. Dress Pants
- You can't go wrong pairing this Original style with a pair of navy dress pants. Add your favorite heels and a bright colored bag!
3. Printed Pants
- We really enjoy bright colored pants, and heavy printed pants. To tone down the pants we like to add the C+K Original button up.
