HUSK

Charleston's newest popular resturant HUSK.

Talk about COMFORT FOOD. Husk is Charleston’s perfect combination of modern day sophistication and down-home goodness. The second you walk onto the double-front porch and feel the coziness of being home, it’s like the whole experience has you wrapped in a cashmere blanket. The board on the foyer wall lists all the local farms, fishermen, growers who supply your food. It feels like one big Southern family here with roots that extend for generations. On the drink menu they serve things like cider made from the same recipe as its creation 100 years ago  or house-made soda concoctions and old classics like Cheerwine Soda from Salisbury, NC, the old soft drink company still run by the same family. With a menu that changes twice daily, it’s so hard to decide what to order! As far as the classics on the menu go, I’m always a sucker for southern catfish, which is outstanding here, but word has it they are the best burger in town. So add it to your must-eats list and feel free to take me with you when you go….

PS- the pig ear lettuce wraps are DELICIOUS, the selection of Madeira wine is fantastic, and their pimento cheese crostini haunt my dreams…

Charleston's newest popular resturant HUSK. Charleston's newest popular resturant HUSK. Charleston's newest popular resturant HUSK. Continue reading “HUSK”

Hampden Clothing

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Being in New York City, especially now that the studio is so close to SoHo, we are very aware of all the amazing boutiques the city has to offer…almost to the point of being overwhelmed!

I’d been putting off buying a garden wedding dress for months. I didn’t want to spend a day going from store to store, but I also wanted to have more of an experience buying such a special piece than sitting all alone in my PJ’s on a Saturday morning and ordering online. I think there is a time to buy something quickly online and then there is a time to make it an experience.

When I was down in Charleston with Tibi for their pre-fall runway show, we stopped in to the boutique Hampden Clothing where creator and owner Stacy Smallwood has turned an historic King Street storefront into a little curated slice of SoHo heaven. I walked in, I said I was looking for a garden party wedding dress, and in 15mins it was done. It felt like I was finding something insanely special without having to do all the work. They carried everything from Alexander Wang to Rag & Bone, Tibi to KENZO and more. It was fabulous.

So what’s the point of covering a store? The point is, Stacy brought New York fashion -avant garde silhouettes, crazy patterns and pieces so chic they look like something a princess would wear – into Charleston South Carolina, a town of 400,000 people, and never looked back. She doesn’t sell beach flip flops or mass-produced product that’s here today, gone tomorrow; she respects her customer’s intelligence, sophistication and style. She created a space where you can love fashion but not have to know anything about it and still be taken care of. She has wound back the clock to an era of shopping where the store was specially curated for you, where shopkeepers knew your name and what you liked, pulled for you from designers when she is on buying trips to New York or Paris, and makes sure you feel as good as you look. In a time where the Internet makes us all so anonymous, it’s a modern day luxury to have someone like Stacy who KNOWS you.

I sat down with Stacy in her store to hear how she created her own fashion universe in the middle of the South.

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How did you get into fashion?

I was recruited by Neiman Marcus at Vanderbilt to go straight into their buying program, and it was the best decision I ever made. I moved to Dallas and I was with Neiman Marcus for five years as an assistant buyer and designer in sportswear, and department manager in ladies shoes at the flagship store.

Why do you say it’s the best thing that ever happened to you?

It taught me a work ethic and gave me a bigger picture of the fashion industry that I wouldn’t have gotten. My buyer taught me to – she worked equally as hard if not harder, and she taught me to never ask anybody to do anything you wouldn’t do.

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Tibi Takes Charleston

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When I got the invitation to Tibi‘s pre-fall fashion show in Charleston’s historic Library Society Hall hosted by Hampden Clothing Store (more on that little gem tomorrow), I RSVP’d right away. Two of my loves coming together – fashion and the South!

I was first introduced to the fashion brand Tibi last year and lived in her pieces all of fall. Tibi is a brand that doesn’t take fashion too seriously, but instead allows you to play in interesting ways…the kind of way that makes people notice something special about you even though you’re still the girl next door…. even if you’re twirling around in RIO (!!!)

Down in Charleston I was able to meet the creator of Tibi, designer Amy Smilovic (who was born on St. Simons Island!) and ask her where it all came from, how it went from selling pieces out of suitcase to the runways of New York and now back home for the women who have seen you through it all…

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So first, what’s the connection between Tibi and Charleston?
“The first connection is that Stacy just has an amazing boutique. I don’t think her boutique defines Charleston, I think it would be a great boutique anywhere. But we do have a big southern following and I’m sure that’s because it’s where I’m from, St. Simons Island, Georgia.”

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What does Charleston mean to you? 
“All weekend we’ve been talking about things that are real and authentic, and this town is the real deal, you know? There’s so much authenticity here between the homes and the streets and the communal feel and the shopping. It’s really a thriving real town, which is so great to see especially when so many towns are struggling.”

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Southern Charm

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While in Charleston shooting Helen Rice as part of our “Inspiring Women” series, we stayed at the most beautiful historic boutique hotel you could ever imagine down south, Zero George. Just a short walk from the thriving shops and restaurants of Meeting & King streets and perfectly renovated to balance the original wood floor planks to our much needed modern amenities, it’s just the kind of place you would call a home away from home

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