sugar, spice and chai lattes dresses

Is that title even funny/pun-ny??!!
No, not remotely.
Sitting alone in the deliciously heady warmth of one of my fave petit Boston restaurants, JER-NE, — its strong suit being, not in the least, its ideal location for my beloved solitary art of people-watching¹ whilst munching on the most perfect green salad — I was nostalgic for spring. It'd been a very cold February day; it was an even colder evening.

To be certain, while the scene for this post was building up in my head, I thought it not only pretty, but rather clever.
Now, not so much.
My brain concocted a seemingly charming play-on-words in which a beautiful woman is wearing a dress reminiscent of a piece from Richard Chai's Fall 2008 collection (NY)... The evening breeze ripples through her dress and occasionally lifts curly wisps of her thick black hair (if she were me, hair extensions LOL)... She swirls a glass of Cabernet sauvignon a cold Chai latte (ooh clever!!) in her (right) hand... Her bare feet trace the annuli of the wooden planks... She's happily immersed in her surroundings, but very much in her own world... on the veranda of a shabby chic bistro.
Really, it was a lovely scene... Ah, well.

[Back to reality]
Perhaps, 'twas the easy lightness of some of the pieces in his recent Fall collection — especially the latter dresses and blouses in the collection — but I couldn't help an intoxicating adoration for Richard Chai. With such airiness, it was as though life couldn't get any more perfect; that I couldn't possibly have anything to fear. A silly righteousness emanates from within, however: I'd need a wrap the thickness of ten blankets to go with my outfit in cold-wretch Boston!! Thank goodness he also showed lots of sweaters and coats. Still, I couldn't care less. I'm in love with Richard Chai's designs. Each piece offers an elegant simplicity that gives one rein to play it up or down. Additionally, the essence of femininity that every gyrl craves is cleverly crafted into each piece, it's stupidly irresponsible not to give it a second or fifth look (even as you debate the price-worthiness of said eye-catching piece). Yes, dear Richard belongs to that clique of new young twenty to thirty-something designers that think it just dandy to have four-digit price tags on their dresses!!

Appreciatively, Chai's designs are demurely sexy and classy: the prototype for a classic chic piece. Prior to launching his eponymous label in 2004 to great reviews, Chai worked for Geoffrey Beene, Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan and TSE. Indeed, he reportedly helped Marc Jacobs launch his celebrated line. His Asian/Korean heritage is earnestly epitomized in his work. There's a minimalist, unconventional aproach to his designs that upon closer inspection reveals intriguing detailing and intricacy in cut and construction lines: cartridge pleats, quilting, origami folds etc. Again, it's the understated refinement and sophistication for which I live everyday and love so much.

If you remain unmoved by Richie's clothes, perhaps, his handsomely boyish looks will melt your unwieldy ice-encrusted heart. I mean, isn't he just gorgeous??!! It's like an undeserved bonus: wearing a lovely dress made by such a cutey!! I read somewhere² that he was named one of People's Sexiest Men Alive in 2004.³ Yum!!
Richard Chai clothing is available at Barneys and Shop Jake.






Yummy kisses.



Footnotes:
1. Yes, I'm very much an observer. I quite enjoy sitting quietly on my own and especially musing over the fashion mishaps of common folk, even as I plot about righting such atrocities. *Laughter tinkle* Ahh... Thomas Hobbes was indeed correct, "Laughter is nothing else but sudden glory arising from sudden conception of some eminency in ourselves, by comparison with the infirmity of others." Okay I'm not just all awful. One of my facebook quotations also reads "Laughter is the closest distance between two people [before they kiss]. ~ Victor Borge revised by Yours truly. *Awww... how sweet*
2. I do not remember where, and I do not care to look it up. Ooops.
3. Sorry are there lists that enumerate the Sexiest People Not Alive... ummm Dead?? I don't mean to be dreary and unfeeling, but are there?? LOL.