Shopchantal Stylefile

Tis the season. . . gift giving. 

This year we’ve made it even easier to pick a gift that she will love.  Whether she is your wife, mother, sister, aunt, significant other or friend, we have great gift ideas for all.

Tre Anita Bubble Ring in Grape Soda

Jewelry:  A treasured piece for both the classic or trendsetter, jewelry comes in many forms.  Alex and Ani, Streets Ahead, Gemma Redux, Tre Rings and soon to come, House of Harlow 1960.

Carolina Amato Citron Mittens

Cashmere: Available in sweaters, scarves, hats and mittens. No woman can deny the gift of cashmere from Autumn Cashmere, Oonagh by Nanette Lepore and Carolina Amato.

Follis Julia Bag

Handbags: A must have season changing style, a handbag is a personal touch to every wardrobe. Choose from Follis NYC, Treesje, Botkier, Olivia Harris and Twelfth Street.

Ombre Vertical Scarf

Scarves: Our top selling gift item in the store, our Me & Kashmiere scarves are a bit of heaven in the most gorgeous prints. Made of 100% Lightweight Cashmere, these scarves can be worn all year.

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As the invitations start pouring into the mailbox and inbox, we sometimes get overwhelmed with excitement at who we will see and what we will wear. Here are a few ideas for the top 3 events this Holiday season.  See the full collection of ideas in our Lookbook section. 

An Elizabeth and James Blazer tops off a Shoshanna Strapless

The Must-Attend Event

Dresses are an obvious choice for these events.  The wonderful thing about these parties is that it can be the one place where you can really take it to the next level and go all out. Whether the event is “cocktail” or “black-tie casual“, you can never go wrong with a beautiful dress, stunning jewelry and drop-dead gorgeous shoes. A little hand-held clutch is essential. We love the the zip around wallets from Botkier. They hold everything we need and add a little pop of metallic color. A blazer or faux fur vest or even a cashmere wrap is a nice accent to your entrance and exit. 

Rebeeca Taylor Runway Cami with Treesje bag

The Neighborhood Party

Probably the most fun you’ll have all season, the neighborhood party is the perfect place to mix up your style. We think dark denim is the way to go here. A beaded top, a cropped jacket and the perfect pair of jeans is an easy way to be casual chic and still show your personal style.  Don’t forget to add a fashionable bag because you may have to carry it with you during the entire party. 

Nanette Lepore with Joie OTK boots

The Office Party

Depending on your profession, this event can be on opposite extremes from Black Tie to Casual Chic. The most important thing is to keep it is sophisticated and appropriate.  We love a sweater dress paired with boots and a piece or two of statement jewelry. We also love the idea of the Olivia Harris Baby Ball bag for a night like this. You want dress for the job you want, not the job you have – or so they say. We say better to be overdressed than underdressed for an office party.

Check out our lookbook for more ideas.  Just remember: It’s never to early to start planning for these events.  We all know the holiday season comes up fast.  Don’t worry though, we are here to help. Stop in to see us or check out shopchantal.com for some inspiration.

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That’s right, only 3 days to take advantage of our 5th Birthday Celebration gift to you!  

Our in-store 20% off Everything Sale starts Friday and ends Sunday. chantal. moved to 229 Commercial Street, Portland in July 2010.

And, we will be open until 8 pm on Friday as we celebrate 5 years and proudly present a collection of artwork from local artists inlcuding Jessica Weiser of Fidelio Photo, Illustrator Meagan Anderson and Painter Kelly Rioux.

Don’t miss out on new Fall & Holiday collections from Rebecca Taylor, Joie, Nanette Lepore and many more. 

Shoes and boots from Joie, Pour La Victoire and Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent heels are a must have for the season.

Handbags from the best and brightest: Botkier, Treesje, Oliva Harris by Joy Gryson are all brand new arrivals for Fall and Holiday.

New denim styles and washes from DL1961, Genetic Denim and the must have, sell out [Blank] Cargo Pant is also still available. Don’t miss out on the perfect pair of black skinnies. We have them from all our designers so you can find just the right fit.

Dresses from Shoshanna are absolutely necessary in the coming months.  Get a jump start and pick up the newest styles before they are gone.

Cashmere and accessories from Autumn Cashmere is flying off the shelves and we are excited to see such a love for this amazing brand.

Shop in store at chantal. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to get 20% off everything.

Plus, with every purchase you can enter our raffles to win a pair of Autumn Cashmere gloves, a Botkier wrap around leather bracelet, a complimentary cut and style from our photo hair stylist, Miranda Condon.  And, SoPo SUP (South Portland Stand Up Paddleboard) will be here to show off one of their boards and are giving away a Free 1 hour Paddleboard lesson.

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It’s long been thought that Summer is the time to have fun with color, but now Fall is following suite. This season designers have embraced the color wheel and the combinations are so complementary.

We love the mix of military green with the softness of lilac as with this Rebecca Taylor Ostrich Cami and Elizabeth and James Band Jacket. The raw edges of this jacket are a pefect juxtaposition to the soft, fly aways of the cami- don’t you think!

And you must admit, the use of purples and greens and greys doesn’t sound very pretty, but EDUN proves you wrong with this gorgeous silk, asymmetrical hem dress in those exact colors. We love it paired back to the Joie Coachella “must have” boot of the season (Yes, the color is called “mud”).

For a softer version, check out Shoshanna’s Snow Leopard Dress. Animal prints are taking on the new hues as well and this one is stunning – edgy, fun and really wearable. The charcoal and blush tones are perfect for next spring too!

Rebecca Taylor Shirt Dress

We also are loving a softer palettes of beige and taupe like this Rebecca Taylor Shirt dress topped off with an bold accessory or top in a punch of red or mixed with an eggplant purple.  Very chic.

Me & Kashmiere Ombre Scarf

And don’t forget, a cashmere scarf from Me & Kashmiere in a seasonal color and print goes a long way to show your style.

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The one piece that I was looking forward more than anything this fall is the leather short.  I realize that to some a leather short is a bit of reach, but for those willing to take a chance and try them, we promise you will not be disappointed.

The Joie Denver Leather Short is a beautiful piece that is so wearable.  It is just how you choose to put it together.  It needs to worn in a way that best reflects you and what you feel the most comfortable wearing.

To give you some ideas, we styled this Hot Fall Trend 3 ways.

Classic – a style that never goes out… of style. The key is the downplay of the pieces and up play of the accessories.

Wear the short to work with a little jacket or out for a day of shopping with some short, flat boots.  Top with a button up shirt by Elizabeth and James,  a fun statement piece of jewelry (we chose a Streets Ahead belt) like Gemma Redux or a simple glass bauble ring from TRE, add a wide, strappy heel and a grocery style bag from Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent.

For Night – Perfect for a date night out or a girls night on the town.  We love this Graham & Spencer Lace Back Cami because the lace is subtle, yet sexy.  Not sure you want to share the lace? throw on a Blazer.  This whole outfit is so on-trend with Leather and Lace. The Pour La Victoire Short Bootie is a great way to toughen up this really girly look.

This look would be great with a open toe bootie as well.

For Day – The cool Fall days and nights are quickly upon us so we love that these shorts are super versatile when paired with a tight.  We chose a patterned style (stylists own), but you can do an opaque Plush tight too.  The military-esque details on this Rebecca Taylor sweater is perfected with it’s soft lilac color.  Another way to wear the popular military style  - YOUR way.  Pair this cozy, easy yet sophisticated look with a rugged bootie or an over the knee, flat boot (available soon at shopchantal.com and in store at chantal.).

A statement bag is a must for all these looks.  A gorgeous gold studded Crossbody bag from Treesje or if you dare, the Botkier Ava Slouchy Hobo in Metallic Mermaid would be amazing.

Have fun with fashion this Fall.  Check out our lookbook and trends sections for more fabulous ideas.  We are updating the layouts and look of the site too.

And you can always visit us at the store. We love and live for helping customers try new looks.

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It’s been some time since I’ve been able to get to updating the blog. My apologies to all.  The reason is that we’ve been working tirelessing for weeks on our new location at 229 Commercial Street in Portland Maine.

Our new space has wood floors, exposed brick walls and huge ceiling beams and has a bit more of a warehouse feel than our past location.  We are now completely open on Commercial Street (less a few unpacked boxes) and our selection of designers is as amazing as ever. 

We’ve added some great new designers to the new space including Treesje and Botkier handbags, now featured on our handbag wall. More styles are arriving daily and the wall should be filled with Fall 2010 bags in no time.

A try-on seating section is close by to our new shoe displays with shoe cabinets close at hand so we can check styles and sizes quickly and easily from Joie, Pour La Victoire and  Cynthia Vincent.

Next to the handbag wall is our set of jewely cases complete with a mirror and shelving making it super easy to try on necklaces, earrings and bracelets from Streets Ahead, Gorjana, GemmaRedux, Alex and Ani and our newest ring designer, Tre.

Floating shelving makes viewing our Splendid tees and Me & Kashmiere scarves a pleasure.  For Fall and Winter, you will find these shelves stocked with gorgeous Autumn Cashmere and sweater pieces from Joie, Edun and Rebecca Taylor.

Our new cable hanging rod system makes our collection of contemporary designers like Shoshanna, Elizabeth & James, Nanette Lepore, Son of John, Monrow and so many more really easy to see and pair up with our amazing pieces of denim.

Just beyond the beautiful hanging collections is our glass cube wall filled with your favorite denim designers including Genetic, [Blank], DL1961, Current/Elliott, Rock & Republic, PRVCY premium and more to come soon.

We hope you will come visit our new space and see what’s new for collections including our expanded shoe and handbag designers.

229 Commecial Street (former Decorum space) is next door to Barbour and McKenzieTribe and across the street from Sushi Sapporo.  207.347.4427 www.shopchantal.com

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