Monochromatic Outfits: The simplest way to create an elongated vertical line is to craft an outfit in one color.  However, you needn’t be so strict—dressing in light and dark variations of one color creates much of the same effect. 

Vertical Lines: Instead of wearing garments with strong horizontal detailing, try ones with vertical details.  What kinds of details are we talking about?  Zippers, buttons, stripes, piping, pockets, and other embellishments.

Dark Colors: It’s no secret that dark colors tend to recede, and light colors tend to come forward.  Though wearing dark colors visually minimizes problem spots, wearing head-to-toe dark colors can be dreary.  Play up your best features by strategically adding lighter colors in those places.

Wearing Something You Love: To truly look amazing, you also have to feel amazing about yourself.   And there’s no better way to feel good about yourself than to be wearing something that you love.  Draw attention to your best features with a favorite sweater that shows off your amazing collarbone or an eye-catching necklace that frames your gorgeous face.

Next Question: According to Women’s Wear Daily, this fall is the season of the dress.  We’re particularly partial to the classic wrap dress.  But what do you think?  Tell us, are Wrap Dresses In, or are they Out?  Cast your vote on the sidebar!

Pictured: Manzano Hobo| $548 at Anthropologie.

Peggy: I’ve been crafty and making jewelry all my life. But about 5 years ago I had started making jewelry again when I was living in Los Angeles—I was a poor journalist and wanted to have some pretty things for myself!

O: At what point did you realize that you were really on to something?   

P: After I sent in samples to my favorite TV show, "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" and the costume designer called me back and said, "We love it, please send more."

O:  In three adjectives, how would you describe the Peggy Li brand?

P: Feminine, elegant, and modern.

O:  Describe your design inspiration.

P: The beautiful natural materials I work with are an inspiration to themselves. I also look at current fashion trends for inspiration in my jewelry design. I don’t make anything that I wouldn’t wear myself.

P: My biggest challenge has been running the business while still working full-time. While it meant missing out on a lot of opportunities, the slow growth has also let me continue to design when and what I like and keep the business personal.

O: What’s a typical day like for you?

P:  I wake up and check my email, answer customer questions and log in new orders. If it’s Monday-Wednesday, I then go to my day job and work and then come home and work on orders until midnight! If it’s Thursday or Friday, I spend the day working on orders, creating new designs, answering email, updating my website, and surfing the web for resources and ideas.

O: How do you balance your day job with your second job designing jewelry?

P: I recently went part-time with the day job and am living a much more balanced life now! I’ve also allowed myself a little breathing room, like not feeling guilty if I turn an order around in 48 hours instead of 24.

O: Little known fact about you?

P: I spent my first years in Los Angeles trying to make it as a screenwriter.

O: If your house was burning down, and you could only keep one thing in your closet, what would you keep?

P: I would keep my classic black leather Christian Louboutin pumps.

O: Thoughts on Silicon Valley style?

P: It is very very casual. Flip flops and t-shirts are a common sight at my job.

O: Favorite piece from your collection?

P: My favorite piece is always my newest piece. Right now I love my Lovely Leftovers Bracelet!

O: Favorite designers?

P: My style has gotten so casual since moving back to the Bay Area! I’m wearing lots of jeans and Splendid t-shirts.  In terms of window shop designers, I love Balenciaga, Missoni, Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent, Manolo Blahnik, Christian Louboutin, and Tom Nguyen.

O: What are the current trends in jewelry design?

P: Still lots of variation in chains, both in gold tones and silver. This fall I’m going for darks, with oxidized sterling chain and deep colors from red ruby, navy iolite, grey sapphires, smoky quartz and deep greens.

O: How about the next big jewelry trends?

P: Jewelry is great in that the trends get reinvented over and over again. The next big trend is taking the bohemian horns/tooth motifs from the past year and breaking them out into even broader nature themes. You’ll see insects of all sorts, branches, leaves, feathers, lots of critters in many interpretations.

P: Buy only what you know you’ll wear! Don’t be afraid to mix gold and silver. Don’t be afraid to go big or dangly, even if that isn’t normally your style — anyone can pull off those looks.

O: What can we expect from your next collection?

P: Lots of luxe details like ruby accents and a move back to big stone necklaces.

P: Watch for my work to appear again this fall on ABC’s "What About Brian?"

O: Last words?

P: Everyone has a creative side — find it and express it, it will make you happy!

Next Question: Colorful handbags in shades of sunflower, grass, and aqua are adorning the arms of fashion mavens.  But what do you think?  Should we beware of basic brown and black and have our handbags embrace these rainbow colors?  Tell us, are Colorful Handbags In, or are they Out?  Cast your
vote on
the sidebar!

3.  TOP QUALITY FABRIC. Fabric is the foundation for a great jean, and just as good grapes make great wine, good fabric brings out great washes. Good denim will also be able to hold its shape throughout the day. Cheap denim will eventually stretch out within the first two hours of wearing.  

4.  THE DESIGN.  Design is what distinguishes between brands, and subtle details and innovative construction are what defines premium denim. Stay away from anything too loud that screams for attention; simple and clean is timeless. Also, buy brands made in USA.  Los Angeles is the capital of premium jeans, and you can’t go wrong if you stick to the right labels.

5.  And the last tip for looking for the best premium jean: Just look for the KASIL label. Everything I’ve mentioned is in our label :).

And one step at a time, Michael is gracefully opening doors, fine tuning his product, and building his brand.  With an international fan base and pent-up demand in the US, Michael Wesetly will be launching in the US this spring—you’ll be hearing more about the deliciously brilliant designer in the coming months.  Goes to show that slow and steady wins the race.

Michael: We’re a tailored suit company with a contemporary edge.  We’re not for the younger generation, and we’re not for the older gentleman, but we’re a high quality designer suit company with athletic, European style fit. 

O:  How does the suit market differ from the sportswear market?

M: It’s so hard to gain access to the market, especially at the high-end level.  With sportswear, you get a nod in.  But with suits, it’s hard to be recognized.  A suit is like a steak; you can make it taste good, but you need to know what you’re doing. 

O: Why did you focus on high-end, luxury men’s clothing? 

M: There aren’t too many new designers out there in this market, since it’s hard for a new guy to break in.  By new, I mean designers like John Varvatos—not established designers like Gucci or Zegna.  Because of this, I didn’t launch my brand at home. I went overseas to Russia and sold the brand there for Russian Fashion Week.

O: Why overseas?

M: Within this game, there’s no blueprint.  It’s not like all designers need to start in Texas, move to Chicago, and then go to New York.  With the company we had, I felt it was a strategic move to not start at home.  I wouldn’t face judgment based on styling or income.  If you look at high-end designers, or African American designers, you don’t see many in the high-end market.  You see them in the sportswear section.  But not in high class, high quality clothing.  Also, Moscow is one of the top fashion cities in the world.

O: Thoughts on Project Runway?  Do you watch?

M: Oh my gosh no.  I don’t have time.  God bless those guys though, if that’s the way they want to start their career.  I don’t pay too much attention to it.  It’s interesting to see the judges really discriminating and judging the contestants, since the contestants are their future competition.

O: Do you think that the show is an accurate reflection of the industry?

M: Yes and no.  Yes in what they pick.  Sometimes people think designers set the trends.  But it’s buyers who select what’s in stores.  However, there are so many other aspects than just design.  Many people can make good clothing, but it’s also about how you run your business.  It’s so much more than great clothes.  I would say that only 40% of the game is the actual clothes.

O: Biggest challenge?

M: We’ve conquered most of them.  It’s about making sure infrastructure is where it has to be.  What do we need to work on?  We’re about to launch into the US market.  Everything that we’ve done up to this point is promotion and marketing.  Wanted to make sure that people knew who we were before we got here. 

O: What’s your game plan?

M: We’re working hard and playing slow.  We don’t want to burn out.  Everything is calculated so that we can serve the end user and make sure they get the best products from us.  If you give the customer an authentic, awesome product, customers are going to come.  We’re a global designer company.  We look at it from a global, not a US standpoint.  For Fashion Week, we’re going to Tokyo [Fashion Week] then Rio de Janeiro [Fashion Week], then Olympus [Fashion Week] in New York.  In my eyes, Olympus is the best fashion week in the world.  And instead of being a niche designer label, we’ll be at the footsteps of Ralph Lauren and Gucci.

O: What’s a typical day like for you?

M: Currently, I live in Pennsylvania and  work in New York.  I drive from Pennsylvania to New York, where I speak with my team.  Mornings are spent doing PR and getting the word out about Michael Wesetly.  But most of my work is actually done in Pennsylvania.  It’s not like New York—it’s where I can come home, relax, and hit the sewing board.  It’s the best part of my job. 

O: Little known fact about you?

M:  There are a lot of secret things about my brand.  I’m 6’6”, and when fans come to see me after my shows, it catches them off guard to see that (1) I’m a black guy, and (2) I’m 6’6”.  Also, I lived abroad for seven years.  And I was a law major at Penn State.

M:  We test our clothing.  If people like it, then we can sell.  The fashion industry is backward.  In other industries, and especially pharmaceuticals, they test and then they sell.  With fashion, the testing stage is nonexistent and designers have to cross their fingers hoping that the customer likes their work, hoping it sells.  In part because of this, making millions as a designer is rare.  It’s almost like going to the NBA right out of high school.

M: Luxury from both markets—high-end suits and funky sportcoats.  I don’t have stuff for everbody, but I’m damn close.  It’s a good mix of products.  Look out, it’s coming!

O: Where can we purchase Michael Wesetly clothes?

M:  We’ll be in 42 exclusive locations across the country for our US launch.  We’re not going for the big bucks, but the big bucks are going to come.

O: Last words?

M: I don’t have a design team.  It’s just Michael Wesetly.  I personally design everything, down to the fiber content of the suit.  I’m also a relentless editor.  I’m not going to give you 99 garments.  I’ll give you the 15-20 garments that I know will sell.