Tag Archives: tracey vest

New Tracey Vest Feather Earrings

June 30, 2011 Amy Scalia Leave a comment

My new peacock feather earrings by Tracey Vest

I just adore Tracey Vest. She’s a local designer who has a mantra of “go big and fabulous or go home.” I’ve written about her a bunch here on my blog.

She’s known for her big statement accessories, especially with the use of feathers. Well, she’s up to something new: feather earrings. And I’m obsessed.

I’m now a proud owner of several pairs: bright pink, light pink, black, and… my favorite… peacock.

Without fail, I get at least one compliment every time I wear the peacock ones. (The last one came from a very unsuspecting quiet emo boy on Fountain Square. Very funny!)

They’re about $25 for a pair, and they’re sooo comfortable. Dare I say… light as a feather? : )

Definitely check out Tracey’s new earrings for yourself. She has a great website, but her Facebook page is updated with all her newest creations. She also has inventory at Eulas in Silverton, too!

Also, something else to think about… I know feather extensions are super popular right now (but not exactly practical for life in the professional world). So this is a way to add some fab feathered flair when you want to!

Fashion, Local Designers

Check out Eula in Silverton

May 12, 2011 Amy Scalia Leave a comment

You’d think after running Cincy Chic for the past four and a half years, I would have “been there, shopped there” in every single boutique in Greater Cincinnati. For the most part, that’s true, but occasionally I’ll unearth a new little Tri-State treasure. And I did just that when I found out about Eula in Silverton. Eula isn’t new to Cincinnati, though. They’ve been around for more than seven years!

Sandy and Mary, the former school teachers who now co-own Eula (click to enlarge)

Sandy and Mary, the former school teachers who now co-own Eula, emailed me to tell me about their store and invited me in. So, I dropped by the next time I was in the area (it literally took me three minutes to get there from Kenwood Mall). I absolutely loved it!

These ladies have amazing taste – some great accessories, some clothing and unique gift items. A lot of their inventory is from local designers, which is awesome. I recognized some of them, such as Tracey Vest, who I have several pieces from. But I also learned about designers such as fabric artist Carole Gary Staples.

Check out the webcast below where Sandy, Mary and I give you a peek inside the boutique and showcase three of my favorite pieces from the store! And below the video are some great pics of items from the store! Enjoy!

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Cheap Chic, Event, Fashion

12 Days of Seasonably Chic Showcase: Day 7

October 30, 2010 Amy Scalia Leave a comment

We’re exactly one week away from the Nov. 6 Seasonably Chic Showcase! Here’s a sneak peek of some of the vendors you’ll see there, and my favorite things they offer!

Tracey Vest:
I’ve told you about the ever-fabulous Tracey Vest before. Well, she’ll be at the showcase and you’ll get to meet her in person! While checking out her site doing research for this blog, I found some amazing new stuff! Top of line purses, accessories, shoes and hats, OH MY! Elegance and style are the forerunners of Tracey’s designing in my opinion. Faux furs and feathers are coming in with a hit now a days and Tracey Vest is the perfect place to find it. Here is a hat that I couldn’t stop going back to. This peacock hat is elaborate and beautiful and would be especially fabulous if you frequent Keeneland or The Kentucky Derby. You can even wear it in the fall and spring while you’re at a gorgeous outdoor event. Tracey Vest’s designs are vivacious and full of style; go check it out.

Thoma & Sutton Eye-care:

Even though I am not an eyeglass wearer (I have a fake pair I wear when I want to look more Editor-ish! haha!), it doesn’t mean I was turned away from Thoma & Sutton’s “spec-tacular” designs. No, like I said before, I don’t wear glasses but I am a sucker for high fashion. With designers like Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Prada, and Blvgari, there is no going wrong coming to Thoma & Sutton Eye-care to find your frame of choice. And not to mention, their deals are out of this world! There are many Thoma & Sutton locations so there is no reason why you aren’t getting in your car to throw out those old lenses and upgrading. Heck, I’m even thinking about getting some of those frames from Thoma & Sutton and asking them for faux lenses. Like I said; high fashion, great deals. Featured is a fierce pair of Roberto Cavalli frames that are brand new in the Fall/Winter collection.

Carolyn & Company Dance Productions:
I’m so excited that Dancing with the Stars has brought so much new attention to the art/sport of dancing! I love dancing (especially Salsa!!!) and now lots of other people do too! I thought dance lessons would be a great gift to give a loved one so we asked Carolyn & Company Dance Productions to be a vendor at the showcase. Dancing is not for everyone and doesn’t come naturally to everyone, but the owner of Carolyn & Company Dance Productions, Carolyn Rollin, is suuuuper nice and takes her expertise to make dance easy and enjoyable for any type of dancer. The thing that I like the most about Carolyn is that she can teach you a dance specifically for your wedding day. The first dance as newlyweds will be forever in your mind … and photo album… You don’t want to look like Elaine from Seinfeld dancing when you look back! haha!

Arbitrage Clothing:
Arbitrage Clothing, wow. That’s the first thing that came to my mind when I first saw this line at Cincinnati Fashion Week. What a handsome, sleek-fitting line of clothing for every man. There are many different ways to shop on their site as well. You shop by features, you shop by item, you shop by collaborations, but then you hit my favorite. You can shop by your own personality. (But at the showcase… you don’t have to shop online! You can see it all in person!) The fit of the clothing is a tailored fit so it won’t be the typical dress shirt that hangs off of your body. I know my husband has a closet full of dress shirts (he’s an anchor, so it’s part of the job). But when he wants to wear one without a jacket or maybe just a pair of jeans, they look way too baggy. So, he of course rummages through his closet to find something else and we’re an hour late to where ever we were going. With Arbitrage, that’s not going to happen.

(Drew, Cincy Chic intern, speaking here…) I, myself, am a plaid guy, so, of course I had to feature this amazing REVERSIBLE plaid shirt. The efficiency of this line never fails. This is great for being relaxed in a pair of jeans but then you can tuck it in, put on some nice slacks and you have a fabulous, business casual shirt. Arbitrage has accessories like cuff links and wallets, to ties, shirts, and hooded button up shirts. This is every man’s dream clothing line.

PS: thanks to my intern, Drew Ross, for helping me put this blog together.

Fashion, Local Designers

The Fabulous Fatima

August 20, 2010 Amy Scalia Leave a comment

Me and Fatima wearing her signature "FlowersFromFatima" designs ($15/two clips) (click to enlarge)

A few weeks ago, I got an email from a girl named Fatima Spencer. She said she’s a senior at Xavier and loves reading the blog. She was inspired to write to me after reading this post I did on Tracey Vest, who is a local designer of accessories.

Fatima is a budding entrepreneur who has been dabbling in the accessories design world for the past 13 years. Yes, let’s do the math… she’s 20 years old now, so she’s been making and selling accessories since she was 7.

I asked her what inspired her to start designing at such a young age. You know, since I was probably playing with my imaginary friend, making mud pies, annoying my brother, or something else much less productive than starting my own fashion accessory business at that age.

She said she was part of a community beautification project, and that’s when she fell in love with nature. She started to wear flowers behind her ear, and eventually started making and selling silk flower hair accessories. Those designs evolved and she started to add some sparkle with Swarovski crystals.

Today, she is the owner and designer for “FlowersFromFatima” with an online Etsy ecommerce site, and is sold in two local boutiques. I asked her to come to the Cincy Chic office so I could check out her designs in person.

First off, let me just tell you how completely gorgeous this girl is. If her accessories don’t get her into Lucky Magazine soon, she’ll be in there as a model for sure. Equally as beautiful were her designs. You can tell she’s been at this for more than a decade.

Everything was very well-made, and in pretty little packages. You could buy one of these pieces and give them as gifts in her chic clear boxes with purple ribbon. She said she does a decent wedding business – a big demand for plum and gold colored items this year she said. And I see on her site, she also has items for little girls too.

Everything she creates has a flower/nature theme. And, now knowing her story, makes her designs even more special. Her prices range from $15 for two small clips to $35 for the bigger pieces, so they’re very affordable. I encourage you to check out the fabulous Fatima!

Fashion, Local Designers

Christmas in July

July 20, 2010 Amy Scalia Leave a comment

Today I was reminded of how much I love my job and the cool people I get to meet because of it. I met with a wonderful woman named Tracey Vest. She emailed me saying she made her own accessories and handbags, and wanted to be a vendor at some of our events.

When she first walked in, I noticed she was a bit shy and unassuming. A stark contrast to the loud, ostrich feather handbag billowing off her shoulder. I told her I loved her bag and she said it was one of her designs.

Hmm… ok, tell me more, I’m IMPRESSED…

She proceeds to pull a myriad of “look at me” items from her bag. A leather print fur clutch, flower headbands, and feather cuffs… I’m still shocked at all the loud pieces this quiet woman created.

I asked her where she got her inspiration and she said her grandmother had a passion for flashin’ her fashion. She apparently never left the home without her neck, ears and every limb and finger accessorized. She said her parents loved to go out on the town and she loved to watch them get glammed up. And today, she helps others glam up and grab attention with her eye catching, hand-made pieces.

Turns out, she’s been featured in Essence Magazine, Cincinnati Magazine and her items were recently in an episode of “Ugly Betty.” But she was so humble about it! If my designs were in a national TV show or magazine, I’d be shouting it from a rooftop. But no, not Tracey!

With things as unique as this, I asked her if I could try on a few to take pics for the blog. I couldn’t help but fall in love with two of her headbands, and she GAVE them to me because she knew I’d be a good advocate for her with all the running around I do. I couldn’t believe how generous she was. It completely made my day! So, today is kind of like Christmas in July in Amyland! YAY! Ho Ho Ho! Merrrrrry July 20 everyone!