SFBayStyle

Q&A With 944 Magazine Editor & Oakland Resident Laurel May

 

Laurel May relocated to Oakland from Scottsdale, Arizona in summer 2008 to launch the San Francisco edition of 944 magazine. This sassy chic editor shares what she enjoys about living in Oakland. (Photo by Loren Earle-Cruickshanks)

As a new Oakland resident, what's your take on Oakland's sense of style?

Oakland’s the ultimate melting pot. There’s so much variety here! Hippity-hoppers, hippies, hookers, hipsters . . . I feel there’s a real sense of freedom here, everyone is doing their own thing and there aren’t any Marina chicks standing around keeping score on what brand of sunglasses everyone’s wearing.

Santana Row's Fall Fashion in the Park

Santana Row hosted its fifth annual Fall Fashion in the Park event on Sept. 11-12.   The show, featuring such top labels as Anne Fontaine, Cole Haan, St Croix, Brooks Brothers, Lucy, Furla, among others, benefits four South Bay non-profits: Breathe California, Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley, Junior League of San Jose and San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce. 

Patrons were treated to a night under the stars, with paper lanterns floating on the gentle breeze.  Fashion lovers mingled in the intimate courtyard, sipping wine and chatting with Santana Row retailers.   With warm summer days soon giving way to chilly winter, toasty coats and knits were the first order of business.  I visited a few of the boots to get the flavor of the season's hottest offerings.

944 September Fall Fashion Issue

Don't we all just love September? The chill in the air, the kids back in school, the big fat fall fashion mags!!944 San Francisco brings it home this issue with must-read articles on local fashionable trends.

Such as: An interview with Jessica Herrin from Stella and Dot home jewelry business, a profile of up-and-coming fashion designers Alyssa Prentice and Ronnie Escalante Jr., a Q&A with one of SF's most stylish closets, and much more. Check it out online at: http://www.944.com/magazine/

Fashionable Entrepreneur

It’s not everyday that I get to peek inside the closet of a fashionable millionaire, but recently I did just that while visiting entrepreneur, Gurbaksh Chahal - better known as G - at his SoMa penthouse. We were talking fashion, more specifically his fashion, and one thing led to another and I asked, “How big is your closet?” and he said, “Do you want to see it?”

G has lived a classic rags to riches story. He emigrated from India with his family at age four, watched his parents struggle to make ends meet and dropped out of high school to start an online ad network, which he sold for 40 million dollars at age 18. Now at 26, G has sold his second business, BlueLithium Inc., another online advertising agency to Yahoo!, and is the toast of San Francisco with a his memoir and a reality show both due out later this year. Beyond all that, the guy knows how to dress.

G says he wasn’t always fashion conscious. “We didn’t have a lot when I was growing up,” he said. “We shopped at Goodwill.” Focused on his work, G didn’t think much about style or clothing until after he sold his first business. “I realized I had become more visible and I needed to look better.” So G went to Men’s Wearhouse for his first suit, because, he thought, where else does one go for a suit?

Interview with Temple St. Clair, Jewelry Designer

Temple St. Clair Carr has become one of the most popular jewelry designers in the world. Featured in recent issues of Bazaar, Vogue, and Town & Country, her jewelry, under the name of Temple St. Clair, is selling like hotcakes. It can be found here in the Bay Area at Saks Fifth Avenue in San Francisco, Pink Tangerine in Menlo Park, and Kerns in Burlingame. When Temple St. Clair Carr was in town recently for an event celebrating her latest collection, I had the opportunity to interview her and view her latest collection up close. Here is a transcript from our meeting.

Interview With Nick Verreos of Project Runway & Nikolaki Design

On Tuesday, Beth and I had the delight of talking with Nick Verreos, co-designer of Nikolaki Design and Project Runway star. Nick spent the latter part of his childhood in the Bay Area and graduated from Mills High School. The three of us chatted about fashion, San Francisco Bay Area style, Project Runway, Nick's blog, wearable trends for winter and spring as well as fashion tips for moms (for the SVMoms crowd).