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Eliza Starbuck

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occupation: co-founder of The Uniform Project and designer

“Being pregnant, I’ve had to sort of adjust the way I dress. I think the pregnant form is beautiful, but also sort of comical, so I don’t try and hide it much.” Eliza Starbuck

Good style often goes along with being ahead of one’s time and thinking individually, and can be seen in historical icons on the level of a Joan of Arc, whom Eliza champions as someone who had such a modern point of view in her bravery and fashion statements. “The short cropped hair that no one else was doing at the time,” and of course the capes and armor – Eliza has reinterpreted both aspects of the heroine’s style with such accuracy that the similarity between the two is eerie. Her fanciful imagery with dressing doesn’t stop there – “Where the Things Are” can be seen in her slipper fetish and the Russian folklore of Firebird in her embroidered dresses and feathered earrings. Eliza’s eye for the ethereal led her to approach Sheena, her partner on The Uniform Project (the feature previous to this one) on the subway, because she was dressed like a “vintage elf.” That meeting led to a genius “fashion meeting of the minds” that says everything about the future in their use of personal style to raise tens of thousands of dollars for Indian school children to have uniforms to go to school. Eliza is our first pregnant woman on SLU, and like her role models, stands out as a fearless innovator in the way that she is the architect of her life.

If you like Eliza, you might also enjoy Donna Harrison, Telfar Clemens, or Ellen Fisher.


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Arthur Louie

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occupation: co-owner of The Archive in San Francisco, manager, and merchandiser

“I love the hidden details about the clothing I have and that I sell in the store. You may not see it, but I know that it’s there, and that’s why I enjoy wearing it.” Arthur Louie

Arthur was on course to be an optometrist, which makes sense when you hear how deeply he sees through (like x-ray vision) the construction of his clothes. With the perfectionism of an architect, his clothes fit his body like a luxurious glove, whether the “C”-shaped skinny jeans, blazers with the highly accentuated cuts in the arm pit, or the extra-long sleeves on his sweaters. He talks with fervor about the boiled wool lining of his jacket, the raw edges of his pullover, and the excitement of being able to wear something inside out when it’s so well-made. But most daring (and such a great tip) is the magic that happens to the shape and texture of a leather jacket when you throw it in the washing machine. However, Arthur’s prolific, almost museum-worthy boot collection (mostly made up of the sadly defunct Carpe Diem brand, (the white Augusta ones by designer-Simone Cecchetto, former Carpe Diem shoe designer, are a standout!) is for me, what defines him most of all. They are impeccably rugged, and their take on an Eduardian silhouette adds the ideal amount of theater to his skillfully understated and impactfully refined and laid-back wardrobe.

If you like Arthur, you might also enjoy Stephan Jenkins, Geoffrey Young, and Mack Dugan.


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Coco and Breezy

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occupation: accessory designers

“We are one person in two different bodies.” Coco and Breezy

Coco and Breezy, identical twins from Minneapolis, say that together they are one person, and have literally never spent a day apart. They have had the good fortune to have each other while fending off stares in their Grace Jones meets Star Trek style. The twins’ high voltage, over-the-top line of sunglasses began when they needed to block themselves from “taunting peers.” Every day counts both in their work ethic (they sleep three to four hours a night) and in their imaginative and highly assembled outfits. Everything is possible for creating the details that make a difference, like the broken glass off of the street from a bus window that adorns one shoulder of a leather jacket, and their kingsized and king-like rings that they made with materials from Home Depot (they have the power of Gladiator chic written all over them). Despite the fact that Coco and Breezy finish each others’ food, designs, and sentences, they love to learn from other people and everything around them. For me, this is a sign of their guaranteed success, and I have a feeling this is just the beginning of these futuristic rockers.

Check out Coco and Breezy’s blog here.

If you like Coco and Breezy, you might also enjoy RZA, BJ Panda Bear, Jermaine Jagger, or Tay Trong.


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Kwasi Gyasi

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occupation: director of strategic branding and business development for MyUberLife

“Master your mind. Live with purpose and passion and your ambition will always surmount your fears.” Kwasi Gyasi

Kwasi is a quiet deep thinker – it doesn’t seem that he does anything without a lot of thought, including getting dressed. His favorite activity is reading – it’s “medicine for the mind” for him. I love Kwasi’s army/mechanic jumpsuit turned “gentleman” with a flannel shirt buttoned up and a tweed newsboy cap, and the way he wears white jeans in the winter rolled up into knickers. He brings new life to a classic button-down shirt with his zippered harem pants and to the tried and true desert boots by cuffing his jeans above the ankle. Kwasi and his business partner Jey Van-Sharp come to fashion, art, and music in their strategic marketing and branding business from brainy majors such as economics, physics, marketing, mathematics, architecture, mechanical engineering, and philosophy between them. Kwasi says that he is inspired by the whiff of opportunity, the dream of what is to come, and the possibility of determining the end-point in the distance.

To learn more about Kwasi, click on the detailed captions page.

If you like Kwasi, you might also enjoy Milton Puzy, Mack Dugan, or Ian Bradley.


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Erika von Petrin

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occupation: vintage clothing and accessories buyer and dealer

“[I'm inspired by] C. Jere brass, Brutalist lighting, La Belle Epoque, Art Deco-era opera coats, skin, fur, feathers, Sandor Marai, Yves Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, Margiela, the Industrial Revolution, architectural ruins, the Bloomsbury Group, old school hip-hop, Dolly Parton, and really expensive hosiery.” Erika Von Petrin

Erika had me when she said so humbly about her staggeringly enchanting vintage collection, “alittle bit of glamour in a pedestrian life.” She is so on point, genuinely knowledgeable and contemporary while authentic. When Erika goes searching for the current trendy spikey jewelry on Ebay, she ends up with ancient Indian bracelets, unlike anything you have seen. A sensualist to the bone, she collects loads of Miriam Haskell jewelry (the best!), wraps herself casually in an almost edible 70’s bronze dress and in keeping with her uncommonly good taste, wears it with one of her cherished Margiela boots, the black ones with the painted pink toe. Ballet Russe comes to mind, in the rich colors and textures of her coveted multi colored sweater dress, 40’s slavic fez and worthy of worship fur sleeved outer-wear number. Fringe, feathers, opera and cocoon coats, enameled and gilded bags, Erika sniffs out the “gloriously beautiful.” Like an exquisite hand-made piece of porcelain behind glass in a museum, Erika wears only one of a kind and she is one of a kind the way she wears them.

To learn more about Erika, click on the detailed captions page.

If you like Erika, you might also enjoy Ellen Fisher or Tziporah Salamon


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