Style

Style Counsel: Daniel and Aaron Strasser

Evan Wallis — Thu, 30 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Obligatory twin question: Did your parents make you wear matching outfits? Daniel: No, but we had coordinating outfits. If I had a red striped turtleneck with maroon cords, Aaron had a blue striped turtleneck with navy cords. Aaron: And we had identical bowl cuts.

Did you always look so snappy? Aaron: I’d like to think so. Daniel was always paying attention to layering shirts and matching patterns. I was really into vintage clothing. My older sister took me to my first thrift store when I was younger and I haven’t stopped since. I can pull a flannel off a rack and have it tailored for under $10. Bang, my favorite shirt.

Who is the better dresser? Daniel: Aaron always had an ease and coolness to the way he dressed. My style was more deliberate; my school clothes were always laid out the night before.

Aaron, did you get those tattoos so your people could tell you apart? Just kidding. Aaron: I’m in love with Cincinnati’s imagery. My tattoos are just a way of expressing it. Cincinnati gets a reputation for being a very conservative town when in actuality it is a pretty accepting and open community. I am surrounded by beautiful, creative, and stylish people every day.

Photograph by Annette Navarro
Originally published in the June 2013 issue

Skip Williams

Alyssa Brandt — Thu, 02 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

From Carhartt to Comme des Garçons, this TJ Maxx Menswear Merchandise Coordinator is all about the high-low mix.

You worked as a costumer, first at Kings Island, then followed by many years at Paramount Pictures in Charlotte, North Carolina. Do you ever make your own clothes? I also grew up with a mother and grandmothers and aunts who would wake up early on a Sunday to make themselves a new dress and hat for church. I can make anything out of anything. I love taking one thing and turning into something new. Lately I’ve been working with vintage trench coats and turning them into tote bags. There’s so much great detail on a trench.

Do you have a favorite vintage haunt? I loved Village Discount Outlet [in Newport] but they closed. I’m everywhere—thrift stores, eBay, Nordstrom, H&M.

What’s your ebay strategy? I hunt for things from past collections of Vivienne Westwood, Martin Margiela, Comme des Garçons. I know what I’m looking for and when I see it, I get it. I don’t buy anything just because it’s cheap. I got a great John Bartlett military coat on eBay. It’s full-length black wool with silver buttons and pleats down one side.

What’s your best piece of advice for men looking to step up their style game? Pay attention to fit. Buy your size or smaller because it’s going to fit better. Men tend to buy their clothes too big, especially jeans, and that’s how you get diaper butt. Look for color, look for print—and camo is going to explode this summer.

What’s your fashion weakness? Shoes. You can have on a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and if you have a great pair of shoes and a great bag, you’re done. I have a pair of limited edition Clark desert boots with a union jack on each heel. A friend who works at Nordstrom got them for me.

That’s a good friend to have. I have several. I keep them very close.

Photograph by Annette Navarro.
Originally published in the May 2013 issue.

Under Cover

Amy Brownlee — Thu, 02 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Imagine a scenario: Your gift for a housewarming party is a bottle of wine, and you want to spruce it up for the occasion. But stick-on bows aren’t cutting it and those wine bags just seem...pointless. Teruko Nesbitt and her Montgomery shop Hanamiya Beautiful Japan provide an elegant solution: Furoshiki. The term describes a cloth that is used to transport a multitude of day-to-day goods such as clothes, food, money, and personal items. It has more recently evolved as a convenient giftwrap—though the Japanese traditionally unwrap the item and then reclaim their furoshiki (which is often emblazoned with a family crest) for another day, while Nesbitt’s American customers typically include the cloth as part of the gift. Furoshiki is impressively adaptable, and can (depending on the size) become a handy carrying case for just about any object—even a watermelon. “In the summer in Japan, when you visit your friend, it is very popular to take a watermelon,” Nesbitt explains. Rest assured, she will teach you the special method for wrapping such an item; customers who purchase a wrapping cloth get a free tutorial, and Hanamiya hosts weekend classes for a fee.

You’ll also find an array of high-end imported porcelain, cute Japanese office supplies and stationery, and even hair accessories at Hanamiya, all of which you can wrap up in Nesbitt’s collection of colorful cloths. And very best of all, furoshiki has been eco-friendly for centuries.

7795 Cooper Rd., Montgomery, (513) 891-8738, hanamiyashop.com

Photograph by Chris Smith.
Originally published in the May 2013 issue.

Bespoke Spokes

Amy Brownlee — Thu, 02 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Maxwell Lundbeck constructs bikes in his Mt. Lookout basement. And they’re beautiful. The Cleveland native started with a degree in electrical engineering, moving on to a manufacturing career with Toyota and landing in Cincinnati in 2009. It was here that he decided to get serious about cycling. And in an engineer’s mind, this means building bikes from scratch.

Enter Lundbeck Cycles, whose main service is customization. Every bike starts with a discussion: Do clients want to be able to tackle hairpin turns at high speeds? Comfortably hold a horizontal position for racing? Next, Lundbeck gets body measurements to tailor the frame’s geometry. “Fit is huge,” he says. “Regardless of whether or not the bike is better, the person who gets the correct fit is going to think it’s the best bike in the world.”

Lundbeck’s bikes look as good as they perform. He uses a technique called fillet brazing, melting brass or silver around steel tubing joints and filing the transitions smooth. The resulting frame appears as a single, elegant piece. He also clears out the clutter. “Stock bikes are totally overbranded,” he explains. Look no further than the window of a bike shop to see frames plastered with Specialized and Trek logos, turning their riders into moving billboards. “I get rid of that,” he says. “Everything is clean.” This attention—or rather devotion—to detail gives Lundbeck an edge on national brands (his prices are comparable, too; base frames start at $1,750) and makes him popular with cycling enthusiasts. Says Lundbeck, “being a huge bike nerd is necessary.”

Photographs courtesy Lundbeck Cycles.
Originally published in the May 2013 issue.

Style Counsel: Evan Scheller

Evan Wallis — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Lavomatic Sauté Chef Evan Scheller wears a bow tie while cooking. Skateboarding, too. With a large collection and maybe the quickest tying skills in the city, Scheller is a bona fide bow tie aficionado.

What’s with the bow ties? I like bow ties because they are something people don’t wear a lot anymore. I enjoy adding a little bit of clean-cut class to my outfits.

What do you have against a necktie? One, bow ties don’t get in the way, especially when I’m cooking. Two, not many people know how to tie a bow tie, so you sorta stand out.

When did you learn to tie one? I learned a long time ago. I was watching TV when I was kid and there was a J.C. Penney ad with bow ties. So I taught myself. I didn’t actually wear them much as a kid, but have started wearing them a lot as I’ve gotten older.

What made you start to wear them regularly? A couple years ago, I realized that I liked the way men used to dress and portray themselves back in the day, so I try to do that.

How many bow ties do you own? At one point I had 86 of them but I lost a few due to moving and such. I probably still have more than most people.

How quickly can you tie one? Let’s time it. [11 seconds later] Done!

Do you have a favorite? My purple Cremiux.

Bow ties have a formal connection. how do you make them more casual? Slap on some skinny jeans or put a on a cardigan. A true gentleman just makes it a part of everyday routine. Now if only I could grow a mustache.

Originally published in the April 2013 issue
Photographed by Jonathan Willis

Green Dreams

Evan Wallis — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 04:00:00 GMT

There can be more to a green lifestyle than swapping light bulbs and recycling. Take the sustainability-minded fashion at Substance in Over-the-Rhine. Many of the shop’s brands (some of which are designed in-house) are created with organic or repurposed materials, or sourced from small-batch and fair trade manufacturers.

You may recognize the Substance name from the original shop in Columbus’s Short North district. Owner Christina Getachew relocated to Cincinnati in 2007 and soon started scouting sites to expand her store. She settled on Over-the-Rhine for the same reason that many new shops, restaurants, galleries, and businesses have ended up there: The neighborhood’s artistic and collaborative atmosphere is downright catching.

Getachew has installed a Design Lab in the Cincinnati location, where staffers repurpose old or out-of-season items into new (and in some cases, completely different) garments and accessories. Her most inspired idea is updating humble T-shirts into hand-loomed and crocheted scarves and clutches. Substance even provides co-ops to students in UC’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, who help to create the Design Lab garments. Naturally, the shop works with local designers in each market to stock both locations. “Selling locally-made products in our store is a big part of how we try to be sustainable,” Getachew says. “And there is a lot of it here in Cincinnati.”

Substance, 1435 Main St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 381-0545, shopsubstance.com

Originally published in the April 2013 issue
Photographs by Chris Smith

Good As New

Alyssa Brandt — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Jaime Castle’s Etsy shop was two years old when the amateur seamstress auditioned for NBC’s Fashion Star last year. And even though she wasn’t selected, it was a validating experience. “I was the only one who featured kids’ clothes,” she recalls. “When I compared mine to others, I could see mine were good.” That kind of confidence is crucial in the craft-saturated world of Etsy, where established designers mingle with upstart shops like Castle’s Mousebee Couture.

Back in 2009, Castle started sewing sundresses for her toddler daughter by recycling her husband’s dress shirts, taking them apart and using the pieces to build darling dress silhouettes. She then quickly stepped up her game, getting private sewing lessons at Stitch (Robin Nielsen’s former sewing studio in Madeira), making and selling her own patterns, and branching into girls’ formalwear. Mousebee now has customers from Texas to Australia ordering Castle’s custom silk, taffeta, and lace fancy occasion dresses.

With these sales came the crafter’s holy grail: Castle was able to leave her weekend waitressing gig at Enoteca Emilia to focus on Mousebee full-time. “Coming from waitressing, I’m really good at customer service, and at dealing with brides and moms,” she says. “I can make a dress in about four days with distractions. Otherwise it’s two days with the help of my in-laws babysitting.”

Mostly, however, Castle credits Etsy itself for helping to make Mousebee a success. “Everyone is cheering each other on and there are lots of forums for asking questions,” she says. “Etsy really is a community.”

Mousebee Couture, etsy.com/shop/mousebeecouture

Originally published in the April 2013 issue
Photographs by Ryan Kurtz

Marian Kelly

Alyssa Brandt — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 05:00:00 GMT

After getting her fine arts degree in film from New York University, Georgia native Marian Kelly landed in Cincinnati through a stint with AmeriCorps. Kelly now serves as vice president of the Cincinnati Film Society, and while she may be soft spoken, her style comes through loud and clear.

When we met, you were wearing a purple striped coat over a leopard print jacket. clearly you love mixing patterns. Any tips for pulling that off? My first rule is leopard print goes with everything. It’s been my neutral for the last 10 years. I think the trick is finding harmony in the pieces. But it’s really about taking chances and not being afraid to mess up.

Do you shop for vintage? Yes. I like thrift and resale shops. I’ve picked up accessories at Atomic Number Ten and I love the resale shop at the Brighton Center in Newport. It’s a bring-a-bag-and-fill-it-for-two-dollars kind of place. I love the worker shirt I bought there. And it’s not a thrift store, but the Burlington Coat Factory in Covington is great for just about everything.

You’re 28 but look so much younger. Can you still get away with shopping in the juniors department? Yes, and I do! But I have to be careful not to dress like I’m 16.

What’s your biggest fashion weakness? I have a jacket problem. My favorite is my navy blue blazer, a five-dollar thrift store find that I got in New York years ago. It’s sturdy, comfy, warm—they just don’t make clothes like that anymore.

You’ve been in Cincinnati for almost four years. Do you miss living in a big city like New York? Cincinnati has an energy that’s great. There’s a feeling of being on the verge of something here that’s exciting. Everything’s been done in New York.

Photograph by Jonathan Willis
Originally published in the March 2013 issue

Clear The Decks

Amy Brownlee — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 05:00:00 GMT

When Tyler Deeb launched a Kickstarter campaign last October to finance his reimagined playing cards, the Louisville-based designer hoped to meet a $6,250 goal and maybe bank some extra cash for his troubles. Twenty-four hours in, he’d smashed through the goal. A month later, Deeb finished the campaign with $146,596.

Part of the deck’s appeal is its quality. For the printing, Deeb chose the United States Playing Card Company, an Erlanger-based firm that happens to be the gold standard for playing card printing. And as for Deeb’s cards, they’re not your average pack of Bicycles. He painstakingly designed the box, card back, and each individual card face. “I wanted them to be functional, but I was OK with changing things up a little bit,” he says. All the familiar motifs are there, but Deeb made the face card characters a bit larger, scaled down the size of the numbers and symbols, and wove in a little courtly drama. For instance, the king of clubs holds a bow and arrow and the jack of spades takes an arrow to the heart. And in most modern decks, the queen of hearts holds a flower; in Deeb’s version, she’s clutching a voodoo doll. Look for a second edition design, for sale at Deeb’s company, Misc. Goods Co., that will offer new colors, slightly larger numbers, and a few new inside jokes. $15, misc-goods-co.com

Photographs by Anna Jones
Originally published in the March 2013 issue

Play It Again

Evan Wallis — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:23:00 GMT

Casablanca Vintage is experiencing a revival, and it was an unlikely pair of musicians-turned-shop owners who pulled it off. In its previous life, the Northside clothing store was kind of a mess. Diehard shoppers loved the huge selection, but the stock was literally piled on the floor, and the empty storefront window gave the place a gloomy, disused vibe.

That all changed in January of 2010, when loyal customers Teddy Aitkins and Sky White made an offer to purchase the shop. You may recognize Aitkins as the drummer for local band Automagik, and White as the keyboard player for the band Foxy Shazam. The pair began Casablanca’s transformation by wading through the stock and reorganizing the shop’s interior. “One half of the store was covered by a pile of clothes that was about 10 feet tall,” Aitkins says. “It was in disarray, but that never stopped people from shopping here.” With Aitkins and White in charge, the piles have been replaced by racks filled with clothes that date from the 1920s all the way through the 1980s, organized by style and color. What hasn’t changed is Casablanca’s street cred. The large inventory has been cultivated over 26 years, something that Aitkins believes makes the store stand out in the saturated world of vintage shopping. “Casablanca has been established for a long time; people know the name, so we get people bringing us product every week,” Aitkins says. “You can find things that really speak to your style here.”

Casablanca Vintage, 3944 Spring Grove Ave., Northside, (513) 541-6999, casablancavintage.com

Photograph by Chris Smith
Originally published in the February 2013 issue