Designer Nicole Miller Headlines Celebration for W.O.W. at Tootsies

 

The Women of Wardrobe (W.O.W.) for Dress for Success wanted to celebrate their 10th Anniversary in a big wand put together their strongest line-up to date.  Headlining the evening event that packed Tootsies with a crowd of over 300 attendees, was the very popular American Designer, Nicole Miller, along with jewelry designer, Claudia Lobao and local accessories designer for Presmer, Annsley Popov.  Nicole Miller fans, many of which came to the event wearing their favorite Miller dress, were excited to see up close and personal the many pieces of her Pre-Fall and Fall relatively new sportswear collection, Artelier (sportswear collection only three years old) as well as her always sexy dress collection.

My Chat w/Nicole: I was fortunate to have a few minutes of one-on-one with Nicole Miller prior to the event to touch base on all of the many projects she has going.  She’s very enthusiastic about designing sportswear, which she says, has always somewhat worked its way through her collections throughout her 27 years in the business.  Dresses, of course, come easily for her and those wonderfully sexy dresses that we all love to wear that do wonders to enhance our best assets and camouflage our sins, through her masterful draping and rusching, continue to be there in both day and cocktail for evening.  She has, however,  grown into many additional categories, including Home, Fragrance, Eyewear and Evening Bags.  For 2014 she takes her first steps, literally, into the shoe business with her licensced collection of shoes and the addition of a small daytime handbag collection.

 

For her Artelier Sportswear Collection, shown below, Nicole took her inspiration from Menswear. She particularly looked to those movie icons of the past that were best known to us for their mannish tailoring in their wardrobes. Katherine Hepburn, Greta Garbo with a little Annie Hall, all inspired the pants, soft blouses and many of the jackets that even she says she has taken to as her own wardrobe for a day at work.  Her colors, unusual for her, says Nicole, are dominated by black and grey in solid and pattern with an occasional pop of rust, teal or forest green. Matched pantsuits, lots of leather are an important part of this look.

Another color way that has become extremely popular in the fashion world of late is the mixing of blue and black and Nicole Miller is no exception to this trend, as seen below.  Both in Sportswear and Dresses, that sophisticated combination was very apparent throughout the fashions shown at the Tootsies show.

About Claudia Lobao: This San Antonio gal, is always a popular visitor to Tootsies.  Her affordably luxurious collection is always a great mixture of the basics that she continuously updates, especially in her amazing earring selection,(I personally own several) with a new collection which was sleek and contemporary in chunky beads for the neck and wrist.  Tootsies always carries a good assortment of Claudia’s jewels on a regular basis, so you can stop in any time you need a jewelry pick-me-up!

About Presmer & Annsley Popov: New on the scene in Accessories, is Presmer, whose designer, Annsley, started making python items when she moved to Houston and couldn’t find a python decorative pillow and made one for herself.  With encouragement from friends, she began a collection of skin accessories for both the home and that also include handbags ranging from clutches to larger totes, small leather goods and even the addition this season of flip-flops.  Her colors are right on, her prices delightful and her styling basic with a flair that can take you through several seasons.