what im { and maybe you } will be giving { or getting } for christmas...

can you believe its time to start thinking about Christmas? i can't either. i have been busy here at the shop working on gift ideas for my list and yours.

love these wraps in bright colors...

the holiday bags in silk... lovely with a black dress.

and yes, we are making plenty of cuffs...

fun headbands and flower clips... perfect for the stockings.

will this bow tie is for you. no fear im sure you arent reading this...

who wouldn't love a monogram sash? i have several newly married friends who are sporting a new name...

this summer i picked up a few vintage buckles for holiday season... love this paired with jeans and a fitted top or a old favorite in your closet that may need a lift. karen, if you are reading this... yes, one is for you.

and for those on my list that are hard to shop for, you may receive a gift card to be used on a anything of your choice. i know gift cards can seem impersonal but really who wouldn't want to custom design a dress or any garment? so, for all of my hard to shop for friends and family members this is your gift. now you will have just what you need/want/cant live without or have been dreaming about... so you will have what you want and wont have to borrow my skirt/top/dress or sash.

usc modern mocktail fashion show

how pretty are these laroque models? the fashion board of usc put on a very impressive fashion show at 701 whaley on nov. 3. over 100 members of the board from the school of retail come together and put on a modern mocktail fashion show. i was very honored that they asked me to help and take part in the show. the money raised will be donated to hep research breast caner.

before the show the fashion board helped organized the designers and local boutiques ...

hair and makeup artists from paul mitchel work on the models downstairs...

while upstairs models chat and get ready. below is mary ross walker. one of my favorite customers of all time... love her. she was sweet to step in at the last second to model for me.

marquis, president of the fashion board... adore his pink hankerchif.

students from usc djed the event... euro rock filled the air.

amy woodell played a huge part in the event as the vice president of the board.

small break before the show. discussing fashion and settling their nerves the students flip fashion books on travis's coffee table in his loft above the runway at 701. he loves having this space to work and create but this was extra rewarding to help shoot and be a part of the show.

a mix of local fashion lovers, students, professors and boutique owners wait for the show to begin...

laroque holiday cocktail collection on the runway.

brooke and madeline after the show in laroque headbands and frocks...

paige and indira and i after the show. could not have done the show without the two of them.

travis hands off the camera to a model to take our picture. he is to thank for all of these beautiful photo's along with others of the event. you can see more on the laroque facebook group or his travis teate photography.

oh, and did you see the daily gamecock the day after the show? the new halter style made the front page!

http://www.dailygamecock.com/multimedia/slideshow-fashion-show-1.859382

much thanks to the usc fashion board who put on a truly outstanding show to support a great cause. i look forward to the spring show and working with the overwhelmingly talented students.

a sample of the bridesmaid dresses...

how the cuffs are made and why we are always out of them...

i have an obession about saving fabric. even the smallest pieces i fold and stack in the designated color group. below is a sample of the last years garments, well what is left of them. i love looking and remembering who wore what when... easter, the cup, homecoming... mother of the bride. sometimes they are made into bow ties or small bags. maybe used as trim or to inspire a new design.

on a trip to ny this summer it came to me... a way to use the small pieces. since then i have been working to create cuff bracelets.

first step... fabric on to the cuff. at the stage things are moving slowly but i am very excited to see the fabric in the shape of the cuff.

i had envisioned the cuff to have a laquared effect. heavy, shinny and glossy to the touch. after several trips to lowes and different mixtures of laquare concoctions i think i have found what works best.... (you didn't think i was going to tell you the secret did you? ) they turn out beautiful but takes literaly hours to dry and many coats.

here are a few from the last collection as they dry....

ta da! a few from the first group... the new cuff's are much more shinny ...

a few happy customers stop by wearing their cuffs on the way to devine foods... love mixing the cuffs with other cuffs.

so... in a short while... more cuffs.

i am experimenting with a modern monogram on the cuff. maybe one letter or an important date. look for pictures soon.

oh, and look for them in southern living in march along with the story about the shop and the carolina cup.....

alicia and brantley tie the knot

alicia and brantley were married last weekend at canal and senate. i have made several wedding dresses but by far this was the most special. i have know the couple for a few years and felt very honored that alicia choose me to make her gown. also, this was the first wedding that i attended that i had made the wedding dress. very rewarding to be there... and what a beautiful location... right by the bridge. have you been there? its a secret wonderland down under the gervias street bridge...felt almost like being in a postcard the setting was so perfect. oh and as much as i would love to take credit for the photography i have to tell you that all of these lovely photo's were taken by melinda register. her work is always incredible.

and here was the monogram for the inside of her dress...

below is sweet jenna and brice. jenna's dress is little laroque with a match bow like alicia. brice is wearing a tie just like brantley's, his dad.

love alicia's monogram sash...

travis and i at the reception... im wearing our new tulip skirt from the fall collection.

so brice's tie is the smallest tie i have ever made... 7' long.... very tiny and so sweet.

this is what the office looked like at 830am on oct. 1 as i waited for Gary Clark from Southern Living. looks great. flowers on the table... new lamp, bags perfect, rug with not one thread from a garment in the works. you can actually see the top of my desk ... and take a look at window. no clutter. amazing.

the week prior i was a wreck....

to plan a party in a week can cause stress to anyone... to plan a party for southern living, that must look like spring is beyond emotional. we redid all the flower boxes one night... (yep, thats a lamp on a chair so we could see.)

being october an all new collection of seersucker and bright patterns had to be made to hang in the shop to carry out the "day before the carolina cup" theme. skirts in bright pink and white and bow ties in electric prints soon filled the shop and the winter collection took a rest in the back room while spring appeared in october.

the article will be in the the march 2010 issue and i am so excited. this will be the first national magazine to cover the shop. i could not have done everything to prepare for the party and shoot without the help of all my friends and family. i am so greatfull for their time and support. folding fabric ... polishing silver... are the clothes tagged? no back room in southern living had ever looked like mine does normally does. now the back room is perfect. buttons in jars color coded. all the bins labeled... floor swept and spotless. we all came together and pulled off a really great photo shoot and party.

here late at work...

next thursday, oct 1 southern living magazine will be here at the shop for a photo shoot to follow up from an interview done in june. its 1130pm on september 25. im here at the shop learning to blog and reflecting over the last three years. i made my first skirt after college while working in medical sales. only then for a creative outlet... having no idea what the future would hold. i knew i wanted the skirts to have a name, although didn't know how or where they would be sold. the first label was a monogrammed ribbon. i made 50 and i wondered how i would ever use them all..... and laroque is my maiden name. my father passed away when i was five from a heart attack. i didn't know him well but knew i wanted the name to be carried on. my happy, creative endeavor, escape from the corporate world seemed like for a good place for the laroque name.

i could start the story from the beginning but right now i sit in this beautiful studio and all i can think about is how incredibly blessed i am. God is good for sure. not just for the southern living interview, although i am so excited, and most likely wont sleep... and will be busy making the shop look like spring in october for the shoot. everyday i come to a place that i love. i love the fabric and the texture.. the vintage books on design... the classic patterns that stand the test of ages. even the buttons make me happy. most of all i love the people. i love their stories. the studio seems most like a living room and less like a retail space... even typing "retail space" seems inappropriate. i have had great times here. laughed, cried, been amazed, inspired, frustrated, nervous, scared... every emotion.

my job is to make people feel beautiful. beautiful so they can enjoy their lives to the fullest. just something about feeling pretty and special that every lady longs for. putting on something that you truly feel beautiful in is just what you need. the extra confidence to walk into a party or down an aisle. give a speech, teach a class, your first job or meeting the parents for the first time. telling someone you love them... or maybe that you're leaving them. seems laroque has dressed woman for all occasions.