Misstropolis | Style

The Many Looks of Daniela Corte’s “Urban Oasis”

2009-11-05T18:45:05-05:00

Boston-based designer Daniela Corte staged a show on the last night of Boston Fashion Week that proved Boston has what it takes to be a world class fashion hub. The collection the Argentinian born Corte sent down the runway was as vivacious and colorful as the designer herself. Now, in anticipation of a move down the street from 93 Newbury to 211 Newbury in January 2010, Daniela Corte Studio is planning a massive sample sale. (Just in time for the holidays!) Check out the photos of the show, then head to the studio to get some for yourself. On the last night of Boston Fashion Week the local fashion-crazy crowd was ready to celebrate. It had been a winning week by any measure, exceeding even intrepid BFW founder Jay Calderin’s expectations. Turnout had been tremendous, many events were either full or sold out, and the media had taken to the week’s festivities like Arianna Huffington to a political headline. On October 2 Daniela transformed an industrial space in the South Boston A Street Lofts into an urban oasis of ambiance, attitude and style.

Digging Up the Old and Making it New Again: Nymph “Nile”

2009-10-21T02:27:21-05:00

A new jewelry line designed by Matsu’s Dava Muramatsu, captures the essential paradox of Egyptian treasure. Ancient, distressed, unrefined jewels discovered in tombs and dug up from the ground are as - if not more - valuable than new ones found in luxury stores. Reacting to a market saturated with mass produced, disposable stuff, and a society obsessed with the new, Muramatsu debuts Nymph “Nile,“ a jewelry line inspired by the river than runs within.Dava Muramatsu is going with the flow. Not long after her psychic told her to stop “bending the water,“ disrupting her natural path, she surrendered to an impulse she says she’s been aware of for many years. “I have always been into jewelry, even before it was a thing,“ she says, “I was piling beaded bracelets on my wrists years ago as an ethnic statement.“ Now she is making her own jewelry, called Nymph, laden with meaning from her ancestry, her passions and her experience.

Sam Mendoza Puts Everyone in the Front Row

2009-10-01T20:29:27-05:00

Boston-based wunderkind Sam Mendoza transformed the Liberty Hotel and the Boston fashion scene Tuesday night with his Dark Wave Disco-inspired show. With fabric flowing from featherweight dresses, models paraded an impressive collection of fresh looks. Pictures and video from the evening put you in the front row with the most stylish patrons of Boston Fashion Week. Read on!Jay Calderin’s ever-evolving Boston Fashion Week has offered a full schedule of events to keep resident fashionistas busy this year. Everyone I’ve spoken with agrees this has been the best BFW yet, kicked off in high style last Friday with the getsugar, Misstropolis party at the Beehive and the Fashion Boston party in the South End hosted by the W and fabulous Jack Yeaton. But Boston has never seen anything like Sam Mendoza’s show at the Liberty Hotel on Tuesday night.

Erica Corsano’s Stuff

2009-09-21T16:16:10-05:00

In anticipation of a festive week of fashion right here in Boston, Misstropolis chats with Stuff Magazine’s very own fashionista, Erica Corsano.Erica Corsano is one of Boston’s most visible and beloved bon vivants. She somehow seems to be out everywhere and chained to her desk editing the new and improved Stuff Magazine

End of Summer His and Her’s Packing Guide

2009-08-15T02:53:00-05:00

Fall may be looming, but summer is not over yet. Nor thank goodness are summer getaways. Misstropolis is here to help with the very important job of packing for the last weekends away of the summer of 09. No laboring over Labor Day packing. Alisa Neely styles a his and hers packing guide. Bon Voyage!You’ve begun waiting expectantly by the mailbox for your fall issue of Vogue to come. But summer isn’t over yet and you’ve still got weekends away filled with dining al fresco, golfing, farm stands, walks on the beach and cold Corona’s. So we’ve decided to help you out with packing for those last summer weekends. Here is the Misstropolis Hers and His Packing Guide for the last of your great summer get aways.

Gypsy: Nantucket’s Haute Boutique

2009-08-03T14:34:22-05:00

The first time I laid eyes on Anthony Nac’s jewelry was when I stumbled upon a trunk show he was doing in the impossibly hip and cozy fashion den Gypsy, then located on Main St. in preppy old Nantucket. I was astonished not only by the jewelry (they had found him before everyone else did) but also by the level of sartorial sophistication in a place where I assumed canvas shorts and flip flops would always edge out any alternative. Gypsy has since grown to a three location style destination as fashionably bold as ever. Misstropolis spoke with Gypsy’s founder, Paola Gonfrade about the store, the island and the wanderlust that inspires it all.From her first visit, Paola Gonfrade loved Nantucket. She was on vacation with friends in 1986. “From the beginning,“ she remembers, “it was a take your breath away kind of thing.” Still, the woman who many believe is redefining Nantucket style says she can love it because she can leave it. It’s no accident that Godfrade’s glamorous boutique on Federal Street in Nantucket is called Gypsy. She would fit perfectly into Julia Chaplin’s recently released book Gypset Style. The subtitle “Gypsy + Jet Set” captures some of the essence of Paola and in a way, of her boutiques.

Sam Mendoza’s Super Big Gay Dance Party for Fenway Health

2009-07-22T15:15:32-05:00

Tonight designer and man about town Sam Mendoza is throwing a party with an admirable twist. Yes it will have a fabulous fashion show, yes it will have drag queens and a mad, hot dj and yes, everyone will be there. But more glam than all that is the twist of generosity Sam is adding to the evening by doing it all for a cause close to his heart.“Fenway Health does amazing work in AIDS research and awareness. They pioneered new ways of reaching the GLBT community of all ages and backgrounds regarding physical and mental health and is a nationally recognized organization. We truly are lucky to have them as neighbors.“ Sam Mendoza

Father’s Day Gift Guide 2009

2009-06-16T20:01:52-05:00

Hers is a chef and a vintner, with a pantry and bottling shop in the basement, and an unapologetic do-it-yourselfer. His was a super handy man with a tricked out work bench in the garage, and a fan of handmade things. The Dads of Alisa Neely and John Ross are part of the inspiration behind their combined Gift Guide for Father’s Day. Top five picks from both stylists include something for the handyman, the dapper don and everyone in between. June 21st will be here before you can say “tee time” so be sure to check out Alisa and John’s picks, and show the dads in your life how much they mean to you.As professional stylists, Alisa Neely and John Ross see so many things in so many stores and on so many websites that they can definitively say what’s worthy of your loved ones and what’s (definitively) not. This week Alisa and John lay out their top five gifts for dads just in time for the big day on June 21st.

Cynthia Rowley Comes to Boston

2009-06-10T16:26:30-05:00

The Boston shopping scene has a new jewel in its crown with the opening of the Cynthia Rowley boutique on Newbury Street. Alisa Neely sat down with the acclaimed designer to talk about Boston style, the Rowley customer and the beauty of bicycles.Cynthia Rowley was in town last Thursday for the opening of her first ever Boston boutique. Misstropolis sat down with the down to earth, approachable designer to get the 411 on her vision for the store and how she ended up in our fair city.

Beauty in Store

2009-06-03T03:56:36-05:00

Upcoming shows at Stil and Hudson promise to tear you out of the same old, same old rut. Poleci, an up and coming line beloved by the likes of Jessica Alba and Liv Tyler is quietly opening stores all over the U.S., Europe and Asia. Stil hosts a trunk show in their Prudential store. PATCH NYC reveals new looks from their jewelry and housewares lines, sure to generate a lot of buzz when on display in their Pop Up Shop in Hudson’s South End store later this month.Two upcoming shopping events blur the line between art and commerce. PATCH NYC’s seemingly effortless chic and vintage inspired aesthetic permeates their jewelry, pillows, tote bags and fine art. Poleci’s architecture-influenced approach to fashion uses innovative shapes and textures for exciting new spring silhouettes. Don’t Miss these special opportunities to see the brands’ spring designs in live, uniquely staged settings.