Spring 2013’s fashion week fell upon New York City just in time to remind us, amidst a few feet of snow, that warmer weather and hot trends are indeed on their way. Here in Boston, all we could do was eye the excitement from afar, reminisce back to fall when our own fashion week took form, and try to forget that we were once named the Worst Dressed City by GQ. In honor of all the designers, runways, and celebrity appearances that graced the Big Apple, here are a few words of fashion wisdom from some of Boston’s best style bloggers, including the coming trends of the season. Really, struggling through a blizzard of such proportions as Nemo requires some well-deserved retail therapy.
Martini Severin//Beyond Boston Chic
Despite making a big move to London in November of last fall, Martini Severin’s stylish persona as a fashion photographer was founded here in Boston. She started her blog Beyond Boston Chic back in February of 2008, “as a way to find sartorial inspiration” in the grips of a dreary winter (sounds familiar). The project took off as a way to capture the style of Boston, which Severin describes as “casual sophistication,” and has grown from there while gaining major attention: most recently, Severin was featured in the January 2013 US Glamour issue. Before that, Severin’s work was highlighted at two different exhibits in the city; the first, displayed at Boston City Hall in 2011, titled “Look at You, Boston!”, caught classy city-dwellers on their daily commute. Of Bostonians, Severin says she is surprised by how clever and poised they are in their dress. Although she didn’t attend NYFW, Severin says her must-see runways would include Michael Kors, Alexander McQueen, and Marc Jacobs, and she’s looking forward to botanical and floral prints this spring.
Marissa Berenson//The Well-Appointed Catwalk
Marissa Berenson may have started her career in public relations before moving on to freelance journalism, but she found a consistent home for her voice and passions when she started her blog, The Well-Appointed Catwalk, in 2010. What began as a simple way to catalogue her passion for chic style and design, the blog now consumes most of her time that’s not spent at her job at a publishing company. Born and raised in Boston, Berenson provides a New England perspective to national trends and styles. As for Boston’s fashion scene, Berenson describes it as small and very intimate. That’s not such a bad thing, though, compared to New York: “There’s a lot less competition. Everyone’s supportive, and less catty. It’s a small pond, but it’s a lot easier to succeed in it.” You can find this big fish on the streets of Boston in this spring’s trend of brightly colored metallics, as Berenson is looking forward to coming out of winter wearing bright colors while scouring the racks at Saks, her go-to department store. Be sure to check out Berenson’s latest posts that take you inside NYFW.
Brittany Fischer//Boston by Brittany
Although relatively new to the world of style blogging in Boston, Brittany Fischer’s site, Boston by Brittany, does not come off as novice. Launching the blog less than a year ago after graduating from BU, Fischer covers the best restaurants, bars, spas, salons, and fitness centers in addition to retail stores, but her time spent working at various luxury boutiques drives her focus to fashion. Although Fischer loves Boston, she considers the fashion scene here “pretty dismal, unless you consider Patagonias and Uggs trčs chic.” But don’t think that opinion discourages her from standing out and scoring the best threads that Boston has to offer–Fischer loves to haunt the boutiques on Charles Street, such as Crush, Wish, and Holiday. She also recommends a spot unique to Boston: Britt Ryan’s signature store on Newbury, where shoppers can snag sample sizes at a discount. Come spring, Fischer is eyeing black and white, floral, lace, and monochromatic trends, but if she were able to attend The Row show in New York, you’d find her in leather leggings, a blazer, and lots of chunky jewelry. In her opinion, “Too much of a good thing is great.”
Kristen Uekermann//The Boston Fashionista
Since moving to Boston in 2005, Kristen Uekermann has been on a mission to take high fashion down to a manageable scale, on the belief that even without a bottomless budget, us everyday folk can “look and feel amazing in our clothes.” While she says that fashion exists everywhere, her take on Boston’s style scene is “the next generation Brahmin,” meaning that Bostonians give sophisticated cuts and styles new life by mixing them with modern fabrics and colors. Uerkermann also uses her site to bring attention to local designers (such as Lily & Migs), local boutiques (like LIT on Newbury and in the North End), and the next big thing in fashion from everyday innovators (think fashion trucks). Uekermann also has an eye for bargains, her favorite places to shop around town include The Closet and Second Time Around, in addition to Mint Julep and Crush. As for spring, she’s on the lookout for leather detailing on classic items, and if she were to attend her choice of runway show in New York, she’d be at Michael Kors in the best motorcycle jacket she could find.
Krista Casey and Dave Kavaler//Boston Street Style
Both Krista Casey and Dave Kavaler were studying photography at Northeastern when they met, and out of a shared interest for fashion, photo, and their city, Boston Street Style was born. Casey and Kavaler recognized the unique flair that Bostonians flaunt on a daily basis, and the lack of an everyday style blog focused on the town, so they took to the streets with cameras in hand to find the trendiest travelers in the city. Since launching their site a year ago, they’ve discovered a distinct energy thriving amongst the fashion in Boston, not to mention many different styles: from classic, to vintage, to funky, to sporty. “If you can imagine it, you can find it in Boston,” Casey and Kavaler believe. Through their photo blog, they strive to capture not only interesting outfits, but “a piece of someone’s unique character.” Boston Street Style is the perfect destination for style inspiration, and by finding what people in town are wearing on a daily basis, Casey and Kavaler capture a distinct feel of Boston that you won’t find anywhere else. As for this spring’s trends, they’ll be on the lookout for black and white combined with bold graphic prints, a trend they believe is “ripe for interpretation.” Check out BSS in the coming weeks to see how Bostonians spin the new styles.
Find out more about these fashion-forward bloggers in the slideshow below:
