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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Everyone, no matter what your fashion interest is or where your fashion taste lies, can agree on one thing: a Little Black Dress is essential in every wardrobe, in every season.

And this Fall is no different.  You will need an LBD for some occasion or event.  The difference this season is that the selection is vast and the return of the Ladylike Looks make it easy to pick the perfect dress for you.

We love the long sleeved mini dress and were so delighted that Joie did a version in black lace.  With a beautiful hemline and neckline, this is a dress we found delightful and fun. 

A little mix of some leather gloves from Carolina Amato, booties from Pour La Victoire and a chunky bracelet and voila, you have the unexpected LBD complete.

In a more traditional manner –  a beautiful heel from Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent, a clutch from Botkier some stunning earrings from GEMMA REDUX can make this dress Black Tie worthy.

Graham & Spencer does pieces like no other and they have a clientele to prove it.  This drape sleeve dress is a classic LBD with a fashion forward twist.  The sharp shoulder is a must have this season and having done this sleeve last season (we had it for about 2.2 seconds before it sold out), they are experts at creating a drape sleeve that makes a statement with any painful sharp encounters.

Worn with a Alex and Ani Horn Necklace and a Streets ahead Leopard and Studded Twist belt takes this dress one step closer to LBD nirvana.

Sometimes a jersey dress just has it all and this LNA is one of those times.  A racerback style with a gorgeous, drape neck cowl extending the entire length of this mini make for a fresh statement. Accessorize with a statement necklace and an on-trend Ladylike Leather handbag from Treesje.

Worn with tights and an over the knee boot, we also love this dress layered under a cropped jacket or chunky sweater wrap.

Which LBD will you take on this season and how will you make it your own?  That is the beauty of the LBD- it can be a blank canvas for you to do with it what you please. We look forward to showing you our ideas and seeing your ideas as well.

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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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