Up With a Twist: Molly Moorkamp

In case you missed it, yesterday Molly Moorkamp launched her direct-to-consumer line. Moorkamp is a NYC-based designer who had up until now focused exclusively on custom womenswear. But all that changed yesterday with the debut of her first ready-to-wear collection, now available to purchase online - and just in time for the holidays.

Perhaps you are like me, and (too) often catch yourself pretending to be a Palm Springs mademoiselle of yesteryear, prepping for yet another cocktail party with a martini in hand, Sinatra on the record player, and hairspray within arm’s reach. This daydream comes to life with Moorkamp’s pieces - the perfect wardrobe for such a repeat fantasy scenario. The perfectly tailored shift dresses and coats hark back to a time that (if perhaps you are like me) I feared was lost forever - a time when your gentleman caller opens your car door, offers to take your coat, and brings you a cocktail in a coupe glass - and not just because someone is documenting it for their Insta story (or dare I say it - waiting for you to cheers them for a boomerang). It’s a time that is not extinct - and thanks to Moorkamp - has resurrected with more color, style, and polish this time around.

All it takes is one look at Moorkamp’s paillette-embellished cigarette pants and I’m confident your faith in classic occasion dressing will be restored. The Edie Sedgwicks, Catherine Deneueves and Tippi Hedrens of the world are not dead and gone - they are alive and well, they remain fashion icons, and they are wearing Molly Moorkamp.

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Shop the Molly Moorkamp Holiday 2018 Collection here.

It's Weezie Baby

There are few things that are as encouraging to me as a girl boss success story. Call it female solidarity or reverse sexism (trigger words !!!) or what have you - but hearing of women who are able to actualize their ideas is inspiring and leaves me with a “you go gurl” sense of gusto. And when these goal-goddesses (yes, I just coined that) are your amigas, it’s all the more exciting.

Enter Weezie Towels, a brand of luxurious-yet-affordable customizable towels, expertly designed to be the perfect size, feel, and look. Duo Liz Eichholz and Lindsey Johnson launched Weezie earlier this month and have already broken the type-towel-in-your-search-engine internet (if there were such a thing). But the hype is real and well deserved, because the towels check all the boxes: soft, absorbent, custom embroidery options, hypoallergenic, fluffy, economical, did I mention fluffy?, etc. The list goes on - but the result is a towel that leaves you happy to not just see your bathroom, but actually use it, which is an impressive feat, indeed.

Can you be a repeat customer of a brand that only launched a couple weeks ago? Me thinks you can. I started with a set of hand towels for our guest bathroom and a set of bath towels monogrammed with baby’s initials … and then they arrived. I quickly fell in love, staged a photo shoot (with some help from the pro), and proceeded to order the navy make-up towels. As I type this, I have a starter pack (four bath towels, two hand towels) in my shopping cart because it just didn’t feel right to not have some for moi.

So there you have it - I’m a Weezie repeat offender, guilty as charged. Treat yourself to some Weezie towels and join me on the the not-dark, fluffy side.

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All photos by Houston-based photographer, Leah Walker Wilson.

BINTO Baby

I’ve made a conscious effort to avoid preggo-absorbed posts on here since my priority is to appeal to the masses, so to speak. But today is the exception because my UVA friend Suzie, founder of women’s health supplement company BINTO, and I are joining forces. It all started approximately seven months ago, somewhere in the midst of the “OMG I’m pregnant” moment, when I went through my (very) rudimentary checklist: no more alcohol… start taking vitamins… take it easy on the caffeine… no more alcohol…

As one does with college friends, I had stayed up to date with Suzie’s post-grad endeavors and knew she had started a company geared towards providing women with organic, personalized supplements to target their specific needs - from infertility, skin and digestive health to prenatals, energy issues, and overall health boosters. As I read and got overwhelmed by different reviews on prenatal vitamins, BINTO’s no one-size fits all philosophy appealed to me because it felt like I had a professional holding my hand during what seemed like a frantic time. Once the daily packets (so easy!) arrived and I started incorporating BINTO vitamins into my daily routine, those feelings of wtf-am-I-doing?! eventually morphed into a you-got-this, just-follow-your-new-to-do-list state of mind.

Fast forward to now… I’m 8 months pregnant and am so grateful to have experienced a relatively easy and go-with-the-flow pregnancy. That checklist I started back in March has totally upgraded (thanks to the help of many) into my daily wellness routine I shared with BINTO for its Medicine Cabinet Series. Feeling happy and healthy these past months have no doubt helped me (and baby!) get to where we are now, which is a different kind of frantic, omg-he’ll-be-here-soon-what-do-I-do?! state of mind. But it’s a good state of mind, and one I feel very lucky to have reached.

So if I have any words of wisdom to impart during my first foray into preggo-world they are to TREAT. YO. SELF. You can tell yourself you won’t buy any new clothes, but if you’re anything like me, that can’t be helped. If you can find ways to feel fabulous while your body does its thing, then do so (pro tip: investing in accessories takes the mind off of sizes on tags; you’ll wear new shoes, bags, and jewelry during and post-pregnancy). But most importantly - treat yourself (as in your corpus) right. Do what ya gotta do (travel while you can, massages, exercise classes, blow outs, etc.) and take your vitamins. And if you can find some as easy and effective as BINTO, all the better.

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Printed Maxi Dress - Ganni// Velvet Embellished Headband - Benoit Missolin// Pink Linen Dress - Sleeper// Sunglasses - Krewe// Ice Cream Earrings - Jennifer Loiselle

The Freya Brand

Something old, something new. The phrase usually conjures up wedding-related thoughts, but not today. Those words come to mind as I sit here trying to decide what color bag from the Freya Brand I like the most. Conceived as modern-day hat boxes, the Mini Poppy Bag is basically two things in one: a shrunken luggage staple from a bygone, glamorous era, and a luxurious, on-trend handbag - perfectly sized and perfectly designed. 

The San-Francisco-based Freya Brand offers more than just the mini bag (my fav), and co-founders Linsay Radcliffe and Lindsay McConnon struck gold in developing a prototype hat box that is 100% leather and handmade in Italy. I love the functional shape (I can see myself rocking one in the day as easily as I could to a black-tie night function), unique design (the leather strap and brass hardware accents are everything), and after much pondering, am convinced I need the red one (just in case husband is reading). 

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Danielle Rollins is Rollin' on down to San Antone

The Instagram algorithm powers that be are how I first learned of Atlanta-based tastemaker Danielle Rollins. With the excitement of moving into our first home came going down a few interior decorating Insta-account rabbit holes – and through one of these adventures I found myself at the gates of an entertaining palace, home to the Queen D herself. I wouldn’t describe this figurative e-meeting so much as #goals as #aspirations. Think pristine tablescapes, perfectly curated interiors, some native-Texan sassy underpinnings, and enough Brunschwig & Fils to wallpaper your dog house, should you so choose

I’m drawn to any creative mind who likes to party (surprise, surprise), but throw fashion into the equation and you have what every boss I’ve ever had has always wanted and never quite achieved – my 100% attention. So when Cloche reached out with an invitation to style some pieces from Danielle’s new clothing line, I was on the midnight train to Georgia (excuse my cheese). The collection includes floor-length patterned skirts, boxy silk tops, and a revolutionary concept that will earn Rollins a place in my personal history book: hostess pajamas. In the Veranda feature on her stunning home, Rollins references the old adage that also happens to be (surprise, surprise) one of my personal mantras: “if you buy clothing for a life you want to live, you’re going to live it.” Well if wearing some Danielle Rollins gets me closer to living like Danielle Rollins, I’ll take one of everything, porfavor.

There is no time or place where entertaining with style is done more enthusiastically and flamboyantly than San Antonio during Fiesta time. So Danielle paying a visit to SA for a trunk show scheduled on April 5th & 6th at The Argyle (with 10% of sales donated to Texas Biomedical Research Institute) means the stars have certainly aligned. And who better to usher in this debut than local entertaining/decorating mavens Cloche Designs and M Interiors? If you can’t make the trunk show, order online with code SANANTONIO before April 6th to take advantage of the give back. Her couture collection is exactly what a Fiesta-wardrobe should be: fancy-yet-festive, a nod to tradition, and all about the party. ¡Viva!, indeed.

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Linen Drawstring Top - Danielle Rollins// Le Zebre Zip Clutch - Danielle Rollins// White Raw Silk Top - Danielle Rollins// White Flower Earrings - Nicola Bathie

Shop all Danielle Rollins Liberty Print skirts here and don't forget to use code "SANANTONIO" to donate 10% of your purchase to Texas Biomedical Research Institute!