The Genteel is launched!!
It is with great pleasure and tremendous excitement that we announce the launch of our online fashion and design magazine, The Genteel ( www.thegenteel.com ). It’s almost hard to believe we’re finally here. We have come a very long way in such a short amount of time. My partner, Irene, and I have worked very hard to create a product that is founded on our deep passion for fashion, journalism and life! And here we are, curtains drawn back. We could not be more thrilled and proud of our baby.
This online magazine is the definitive source for informed men and women such as yourselves, who desire global, in-depth, and intelligent stories on fashion and design.
We could not have done it alone. Our global team of contributors shape The Genteel. On a daily basis, the publication dispatches thought-provoking and insightful articles from the streets of Oslo, Toronto, Beirut, Moscow, United Arab Emirates, Seoul and beyond. Today a contributor from Tokyo joins us!
I always said that The Genteel is to be viewed as a fashionable “Economist” publication. Our daily bulletin includes stories told through the lens of Business, Culture, Society, Design, Best Kept Secrets, Commentary and Street Style.
At this point I invite you to visit The Genteel [ www.thegenteel.com ] and enjoy a new perspective on global fashion and design. We also encourage you to “Like” our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/TheGenteelMagazine and follow us on Twitter @thegenteel as we will be promoting stories as they come in.
Sincerely yours,
Mona Chammas
Editor-in-Chief, The Genteel
I’ll be in New York this weekend, and in anticipation of the trip, I’ve decided to rummage through photos I took during New York Fashion Week. There are a handful left I have not published, and I owe them due attention. Like this photo, for example.
The unfortunate thing about sub zero winters is that dreaded winter coat. If you are of the sensible variety during winter, you’ll know what i’m talking about. Glorious looking or not, the coat hides all that style you wish you could show off without freezing your behind off.
What this young gentleman achieves through smart layering is a proper reveal of his outfit. He’s made small, yet significant styling choices such as tying his jacket with a nondescript belt, as if it was a curtain opened just wide enough to check out the goods beyond. The comfy red velvet scarf is such a chic touch to the academia look cued by the leather belt, attache and the moccasin boots.
Annie looks positively 60s summer chic in her Diane von Furstenberg plaid dress. All that’s missing is a scarf wrapped around her hair and we’re good to include this red lipped beauty in a segment of Mad Men. The setting is seemingly fitting given that Annie works in Toronto’s own Mad Men-esque hub, Bloor and Bay street, where advertising agencies line up, or stack up I should say, like homes on tree lined streets in suburbia. The dress, made by the doyenne of dresses, is one in which I am mad about. It’s simple, yet ultra feminine, perhaps because it is evocative of a time where women were meant to be perfect wives and beautiful lovers at the same time.
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The Goods:
Dress, Diane von Furstenberg
Workwear Revival 
This is exciting! I have been published in the Toronto Standard! Please check out the article by clicking on the title above, and let me know what you think. This is a big feat for me because I am a loyal reader and fan of the Toronto Standard. The writing that comes out of that publication always amazes me. I’m so honored to be a published writer there!
I noticed Emily’s cool, assured stride as she was walking along Spring Street with her mother. It is apt to echo Mona’s sentiments here about sounding like an old fart. As I listened to Emily tell me with such poise about her years of experience in the fashion world, I was surprised to learn that she was still in undergrad. I firmly believe that the confidence with which one wears their outfit will make (or break) it and Emily illustrates my point.
Emily described her style as “do-it-yourself” and “whatever happens”. She made me laugh when she noted that her necklaces were her re-incarnation of “tacky gold belts” (yes, I remember those from the 90’s) and hand-made feather details. Turning to street style as inspiration and stores such as Forever 21 that are on trend but wallet-friendly, translates into a large canvas on which Emily can experiment. With her confident approach to style, I look forward to see what she comes up with next!
Story and photo by Irene Kim
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The Goods:
Dress, Forever 21
New York and Toronto Street Style: Summer Delicates
White on white is definitely a colour matching situation that is hard to pull off, at least in my books. Safer circumstances in which women can go full on white is typically in the summertime and even then you’d be hard pressed to find an outfit that does not look tacky. Not in this case, not even close. Both Angela and Irene look spectacular in white.
The linen shorts on Angela (above) and Irene are incredibly summer chic, and this is a measurable attribute, people. Amidst the scorching heat we seem to be enduring, these shirts and knitted shorts make their owners look breezy and comfortable next to their hot and bothered neighbours. The cool (pun intended) trick to both Angela and Irene’s white outfits is they feel delicate, but their materials, which are made of heavier fibres, feel comfortable and practical at the same time. Notice how both their tops have longer sleeves! And the only glisten to be had is of the variety that seeps from their style. White, comfortable outfits are in full throttle here, and I need an encore.
Photo credit: Irene Kim
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The Goods:
Angela
Shirt, The Gap
Shorts, Club Monaco
Shoes, H&M
Bag, Aldo
Dog, King Charles Cavalier (my favourite!) named Finn
Irene
Cable knit shirt, Banana Republic
Shorts, Club Monaco
Shoes, Marc Jacobs
Bag, Gucci
Sunglasses, Marc by Marc Jacobs
1 year agoBeirut Street Style: Emily Cremona takes a leap into the wild
This post marks my last of the current inhabitants at Starch in Beirut. Though I am looking forward to seeing what new labels arise from the boutique-cum-design incubator, I want to pay one last homage to the crew.
This is my second piece on Deena Wassef, Lebanese Egyptian designer for Emily Cremona. Make no mistake, she is a force to be reckoned with. Such is the case with her S/S 2011 collection. Ah yes, the collection, with it’s greige tones, asymmetrical lines and deconstructed volume. Where Danielle from Deviations designs for the playful princess in women, Deena designs for her counterpart, the pale and deranged princess. Such is the look that is Emily Cremona, an intended contradiction in it’s own right among the mainstream in Lebanon. If you check out the collection in store (hurry! the collection will not be at Starch for much longer) or on the website, you get the sense that the inspiration is somewhat akin to a rather despondent Alice in Wonderland, both physically and mentally lost in the depth of the woods. This visual genius stemming from Deena Wassef is worth keeping tabs on as she is takes her first steps as an independent local designer.
Beirut Street Style: Les Femmes Fuchsia
These women come in a pair, along with those pants. I first spotted them at Starch boutique in Saifi Village, hobnobbing around as close friends joined at the hip. When I caught up to them afterwards, they immediately assumed I wanted to do a story in ridicule of the fact that they both wore fuchsia pants at the same time. Far from the truth. In fact I actually marvelled at how similar they looked with their fuchsia pants, relaxed buttoned blue shirt, clutch in hand and their perfectly imperfect tousled hair, yet each one looked exceptionally unique. I saw these ladies again on my flight back to Toronto, during the Beirut to Paris leg of the trip (tiny world, I know!). No doubt these best friends spend a lot of quality (shopping) time together, which may attribute to looking similar style-wise. Whatever the case may be, they looked individually wonderful, chic and comfortable, ingredients that seldom live together in harmony.
1 year agoBeirut Street Style: From Latex to Princesses
The wonderful thing about global street style is the number of impromptu run ins one comes across with people who are somehow connected to you. Traversing through Gemmayze, an eclectic Beirut district of alternative art, fashion, cafes, restaurants and bars, I approached a woman waiting by an old cobbler. I thought her style was defiantly unique for what I normally see amongst Lebanese women. Masculine lines with bouts of bold and chunky. Danielle’s look is entirely her own, that is to say she designed the clothes she wore that day, minus the Raybans of course. The real story between Danielle and I is that she had been following Geeky Chic for a while and once made a comment of praise on my Facebook page. I was totally unaware of the fact when we met. In fact when I met Danielle in person I did not know who she was and vice versa. We made the connection after I told her I was a street style journalist based in Canada. Moments like these make me feel that the notion of our world being small is widely understated.
Two doors down from the cobbler is Deviations, the boutique where Danielle is the head designer. Before I entered the store, I could not help but notice a giant mirror adjacent to the door. Store owner, Amer, cleverly placed this mirror next to the store entrance to satisfy the narcissist in every Lebanese woman. The idea is that you look at yourself in the mirror, and then naturally at the store’s display of flattering evening dresses, all in an effort to inspire you to check out that sexy yellow number you can now so easily envision wearing (thanks to the mirror).
The story of Amer and Deviations is an interesting one. It’s a 25 year old brand, born in Los Angeles. The original concept behind Deviations included fetish wear, slits, studs and the like. The inspiration behind the aesthetic of a deviated look so to speak was a marriage between ’80s goth from NYC and Rock ‘n Roll L.A. The line was dominated by lycra to emphasize the woman’s body at all times. Some of Amer’s clients included Cher, Courtney Love and Annie Lennox. Deviants for sure. The advent of 9/11 brought Amer and Deviations back to Lebanon. A small part of the Lebanese culture at the time responded to Amer’s look. It wasn’t until Danielle came in and started designing for Deviations with more volume, colours and details, that more and more Lebanese women started warming up to the brand. These days a good amount of Lebanese women buy clothes from Deviations to wear abroad.
Deviations today, with Danielle at the helm, is inspired by fairy tales. Such is evident via trims, notions, details and playful colours. Many of Danielle’s dresses are embedded by wires that enable the look of the dress to change according to the woman wearing it. How fun! The brand and Danielle’s fairytales that come with it ensues with a bridal line of hers named Doochi. Doochi has not deviated from it’s mother ship entirely. The line caters to women who are non conformists, unconventional and unique.
1 year agoThe other side of Nicosia
Nicosia, the last divided capital in Europe is commonly characterized as a pastiche of old and new. One of the world’s oldest cities, Nicosia has rapidly been playing catch up ever since Cyprus has joined the European Union in 2004 along with Malta. Developed infrastructure such as chic resto-lounges, wider streets, a newly renovated airport and of course a blitz of Café trottoires, of which you’ll find the majority of the Cypriot population at all hours of the day, are among many indicators that this once sleepy island is now turning into a maturing European hub.
But what about the pockets of Nicosia that have remained intact and untouched by cosmetics? Incubated within Nicosia, they are not within a proverbial wall, but an actual one. Old Nicosia lies within the Venetian built walls, initially constructed in 1567 to protect it’s people from imminent Ottoman attack. Much of the wall remains, as does the culture and lifestyle of the Cypriots within it.
Old Nicosia is a time warp in it’s finest form. Narrow streets and old houses with ornate balconies extending from sandstone walls, and craftsmen in small workshops practice trades unchanged for centuries.
As for street style, the divide between old and new Nicosia is eye opening. Instead of running into brand hugging, trend following Cypriots most notably found smoking cigarettes and drinking frappés at modern cafes, I found types who prescribe to counter culture and alternative (life)styles.
They call him Butterfly (below). He is a political philosophy writer whose personal style is in such conflict with the growing establishment of Euro chic Cyprus.
My guide, Pascal (below), who also happens to be my brother in law, lies at the intersection between the inner and outer layers of the wall. He is tired of the hoi polloi of the “new Cypriots” as I like to call them, so he retreats every once in a while within the walls for some authenticity found in the people and the tiropita. He often marvels at the people he sees among him on the street, often asking himself where these people come from?
My sojourn within the Venetian walls of old Nicosia was an adventure in time, culture and style. In my first 16 years of living in Cyprus, I had never ventured this deep. Although I was pleased that such a micro world existed within Nicosia, and that almost 100% of it was preserved from centuries past, I was hoping for it to be less isolated from Nicosia at large. For one, i’d like to see more modern boutiques set up shop within the walls, while maintaining and respecting the cultural and architectural integrity of the area. I saw few examples of this within the more outer layers of the wall, bordering new Nicosia. I definitely think it would sprout a whole new dimension on a fashion front as an inspirational backdrop for burgeoning Cypriot designers.
Random Daze theme by Polaraul
