DRESSING ROOM : Arkansas towns get some love from Rock City T-shirts
Posted on Thursday, May 1, 2008
Rock City Outfitters, a Little Rock-based clothing-design company, has a new line of clothing dedicated to the state of Arkansas. Short- and longsleeve T-shirts and hooded sweatshirts feature relevant — and tongue-in-cheek — designs such as “I [Heart ] LR,” “ Ski Little Rock, ” “Jonesboogie,” “ J-Vegas” (claimed by Jacksonville and Jonesboro residents, according to the company Web site ) and “Viva Fayetteville.” The Pine Bluff design depicts a guy in a gas mask in honor of the notorious paper-company smell.
The line will also include shirts that celebrate the cities of Searcy, Conway, Paragould, Russellville, Weiner, Rogers and Cabot. Men’s, women’s and children’s sizes are available, as are totes and buttons.
Rock City Outfitters pieces are available online (shirts are $ 20 each ) at rockcityoutfitters. com and will be at Riverfest from May 23-25. The company plans to add locally-owned and operated retail outlets.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Faux Pas, a Heights jewelry store, is celebrating its 15 th anniversary. Customers will get 15 percent off their total purchases today through Saturday. A prize drawing will be held; customers also will receive various giveaways. Refreshments will be served. Faux Pas began in 1993 when Betty Brinkley bought three small jewelry cases that were operated as a separate business inside Little Rock’s Cabbage Rose boutique. She moved to her own space on Kavanaugh Boulevard, adding several lines of faux and fine jewelry. A second location opened in the fall at Pleasant Ridge Towne Center in west Little Rock.
“I just appreciate all of our customers,” Brinkley says. “It’s because of them that we’ve been in business 15 years.” Her biggest challenge, Brinkley says, has been “trying to guess at what the customers are going to buy” — and how much they’d be willing to pay. Sometimes the things she thinks will be big sellers aren’t, and vice versa. But she must be doing something right; being in business this long is her biggest triumph.
Faux Pas carries a number of designer accessory lines including Maya, Patrice, Tano (Italian leather handbags ), Kenneth Jay Lane, Mary Frances, Swarovski crystals, Brighton and Majorca pearls. The store also restores, repairs and restyles vintage jewelry. Faux Pas is at 5815 Kavanaugh Blvd., (501 ) 664-8038; and 11525 Cantrell Road, Suite 309, (501 ) 716-2548. Hours at the Heights store are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday; at the Pleasant Ridge store, hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Saturday.
POOF ! NEW LOCATION Speaking of Pleasant Ridge... Powder and Smoke, the oh-sochic gift shop operated by Mindy Stewart, has moved there. It reopened Saturday and is adding some new fragrance lines, including Missoni and Tocca. Look for Powder & Smoke in Suite No. 205, next to Indigo Home. Also, a Jude Frances Jewelry trunk show will be held there today and Friday — “our first trunk show in our new place,” Stewart says. She’ll have champagne and chocolates on hand. The phone number is still (501 ) 225-5353.
BRUSH WITH GREATNESS Claudio Riaz, international makeup artist to celebrities, will appear today and Friday at Barbara Jean Ltd., 7811 Cantrell Road, No. 1, Little Rock, to promote his line of cosmetic brushes. The Brush Collection is the result of five years of research and is the No. 1 seller in cosmetics brushes from Barneys New York. Those interested can call (501 ) 227-0054 to schedule an appointment with Riaz or any of the store’s cosmetics specialists.
DRESSING ROOM PICKS I homed in on a gaggle of items from Newport News (newport-news. com ): An espresso-colored stretch sateen safari jacket ($ 49 ), coordinating ankle-length, animal-print mesh skirt ($ 29 ) and large espresso satchel bag ($ 39 ) featuring man-made materials and with gold hardware. In the catalog, the bag and jacket appear to be the same color. But the chocolate-brown bag comes nowhere near matching the reddish-brown jacket. Otherwise, these are three great pieces. The jacket and skirt can be worn with neutral-colored accessories.
A sapphire-colored, anklelength ballet-neck dress in rayon-spandex stretch jersey (regular price $ 39 ). The fitand-flare silhouette is highlighted by horizontal shirring of the bodice. I was reminded of why I dislike regular jersey fabric: It’s somewhat coarse, wrinkles far too easily and tends to highlight one’s body liabilities. But the styling of the dress is attractive enough to invest in careful ironing and a good bodyshaper.
Chosen to match the aforementioned dress: A kidskin, sling-back pump with 3-inch heels, $ 39. Unlike the case of the safari jacket and bag, the shoes are a pretty decent match for the dress.
A metallic gold, sleeveless turtleneck sweater, on clearance for $ 11. 99. It’s a bit thin to be the fall / winter offering it originally was, but it’s perfect right about now.
Having avoided linen for years — and tired of sweating in black, nonbreathable fabrics during the summer — I went to Newport News’s big sister, Spiegel (spiegel. com ), and took a chance on sale pieces from its Signature Washed Linen Collection: A white Sleeveless Tunic (currently $ 29 ) and matching, lined Long Bias-Cut Skirt (currently $ 49 ). These are wonderfully classy, expensivelooking pieces. Advice to other buyers: Don’t use starch when ironing; it will only cause large, exaggerated wrinkles to develop in the garments as you go about your day. Steam-iron the pieces and just deal with the soft, fluid wrinkles that come naturally to the fabric.
Thought I’d try once again with Victoria’s Secret’s tops (victoriassecret. com ). The choices this time: A cotton rib-knit turtleneck sweater ($ 19 ) with button-accented tabs on its short sleeves. Also sold during colder weather, this top is a bit thick for our summers. Other than that and a small seam split that was already developing in the shoulder area when I got the thing, it’s OK. A boat-neck, slightly-off-theshoulder bra top ($ 19 ). Thumbs up. It’s a nice, breezy little piece that can be worn on the shoulders, too.
I recently obtained another unique bag from PamCo. The body of the black leather, ostrich-embossed $ 49. 50 tote is shot through with subtle touches of metallic gold. It features silver decorative hardware and a top zip closure covered by a tasseled flap. PamCo owner Pam Powell offers a plethora of unique bags and hard-body wallets — leather and manmade — for less than $ 60. Call (888 ) 907-2626. Dressing Room is published biweekly. Send news releases to Helaine R. Williams, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, P. O. Box 2221, Little Rock, Ark. 72203, or e-mail hwilliams@arkansasonline. com
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