Fashion should never be a guessing game. As any trend authority can attest, clothing should always complement the core of the individual -- the real you, not someone you're trying to create with various pieces of expensive fabric.
The concept sounds simple, but, let's face it, that's not always the case. A second opinion is an invaluable shopping tool and consulting people with a strong style sense can often prevent a run-in with the fashion police.
Sarah Skinner is one of those people. With business partner Lisa Trautner, she co-owns and operates Ess Elle Style Studio, 1919 E. Kenilworth Pl., as a source for not only contemporary, sophisticated women's attire, but also the skills needed to piece things together.
You can think of her shop as an investing course, but for fashion. Her advice is sound: Spend the money for a couple classic, simple pieces and forget most of the flair.
"What we try to do here is show you where you should be investing your money and where you don't need to," she says. "Typically, a good pair of jeans tends to be more expensive, but they last you and they tend to be more classic. I don't think you need to invest all your money on a skinny jean with all the embellishments. Just clean it up and go forward.
For trendier items, she encourages thrift, and at an average price point of $60, Ess Elle is able to provide the range.
"We're a lifestyle store, so we have everything from weekend attire to professional to special event wear," Skinner says. "We're not over-the-top trendy but we're not basic, either. We're the good mix where the young professional wants to be."
What makes Ess Elle such a great fit for the area is Skinner's and Trautner's insight into not just the fashion industry itself, but Milwaukee's specific take on it.
"From the time we opened to now, things have changed," Skinner explains. "Some stuff was too fashion forward, and it's not like Milwaukee isn't fashion forward -- it very much so is. But there are definitely different looks, and I think we may have been puling a little too much from the Coasts and not finding our own Midwest style."
Trautner spent more than a decade working with local boutique staples like Aala Reed and Ma Jolie. Skinner has worked for Giorgio Armani in Orlando, has attended conferences in Las Vegas and has returned to her home state with a confident grip on how our region compares to others when it comes to dress, which is to say, a look that is more classic and sophisticated than places like L.A.
That's not to say that she disregards the Coasts completely. We happened to have caught her just before she flew off to New York for some spring buying. So, what are we in store for in the coming months?
"Skirts are getting to be more important now," she says. "For a long time dresses were huge as a staple piece and they'll still be big, but you'll see more A-line and mini skirts making their way back for spring."
She advises lightening up the palate with vibrant hues like purple, electric blues, magentas and bright mustard. But really, no matter what your taste in clothing, Ess Elle is a part of a growing group of retail businesses around the North Avenue corridor that are fast shaping up to be a fashion district.
"All of us are creating this amazing synergy in the neighborhood instead of competing against each other," Skinner says, mentioning the seasonal boutique crawls through the area. "It's exciting that (Milwaukeeans) are able to pick and choose which fashion district they want to go to. Milwaukee as a whole has a really nice synergy."
OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.
As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”
