The Fashion Informer

The Fashion Informer is on Vacation

...and will return in August with the latest fashion news.  Happy summer!  

Illustration © Lana Frankel

Random Questions For… Rag & Bone

Since launching their his-n-hers line of classics-with-a-twist in 2004, Rag & Bone duo David Neville and Marcus Wainwright have been responsible for some of fashion’s hottest trends, worn by some of the world’s hottest celebs.  

It girls from London to Los Angeles rocked R&B’s slinky leather leggings last fall, Angelina Jolie’s stepped out in an R&B trench, and Kate Bosworth and Sienna Miller both turned up in paparazzi pics wearing the duo’s borrowed from the boys schoolboy blazers and safari jackets with sexy skinny jeans (well-cut, handcrafted denim being the backbone of the Rag & Bone oeuvre).  

Rag & Bone jeans were originally manufactured in Kentucky, in fact, before the factory closed, and the line, though decidedly English inspired, is still made entirely in the US of A in factories that have been in business for generations.

The Fashion Informer caught up with the British-born, New York-based 2007 Swarvoski Menswear Award winners - who are entirely self-taught - just before the July 4th weekend to get the lowdown on their must-have grooming products, favorite summer activity and how the lanky lads spend their family time (Neville is married to Revlon makeup artist Gucci Westman and Wainwright’s better half is model Glenna Neece; both couples have young sons, born just a week apart).

So, David and Marcus...

What did you have for breakfast this morning? 

DAVID: Coffee and a croissant at home while young Dashel threw food around our living room.

MARCUS: Tea, half my son’s French Toast and a bagel with cream cheese.

What's your favorite holiday? 

DAVID: Barbados at Christmas time, when you really feel like you have deserved a rest, and it is cold and wintery at home.

MARCUS: Anywhere on the beach, preferably in the Caribbean - because I can lie on the beach, drink beer in the morning, swim whenever I want and at last get a chance to read.

Tell me about your best friend. 

DAVID: I miss my friends in London a great deal, but moving to New York has been the best thing I did.

MARCUS: I married her - my wife, Glenna Neece.

What's the one grooming product you cannot live without? 

DAVID: La Mer Lip Balm!

MARCUS: Nail clippers!

Favorite summer time activity? 

DAVID:  Bat & Ball on the beach.

MARCUS: Barbecuing.

What was your nickname as a kid, and what's your nickname now? 

DAVID: Nev.

MARCUS: Parks (Marcus Parkus Pudding and Pie...don’t ask).  Managed to shake that now. Old school friends call me Wainers.

What's the best thing about being a Dad? 

DAVID: Seeing this little guy develop and figure stuff out. He is only just one, but already so much has happened.

MARCUS: Waking up at 6 in the morning, closely followed by hearing him laugh.

Do you believe in love at first sight?  

DAVID: No.

MARCUS: No.

What will be the title of your autobiography?

DAVID: “Positive Vibration.”

MARCUS: I’m not sure there will e an autobiography.  “Making Something From Nothing, Doing What I Loved,” maybe?

What's in current rotation on your iPod? 

DAVID: Mine is currently broken.

MARCUS: Radiohead, Joy Division, Black Angels.

For what will you be arrested (hypothetically speaking)? 

DAVID: I am a responsible dad and husband now, those times are behind me.

MARCUS: That’s a good question. Hopefully, something suitably reprehensible but worth getting arrested for!

What's the greatest, or most important, lesson your parents taught you? 

DAVID: Believe and you can make it happen.

MARCUS: Do what you love doing, and that whatever happens they would be there for me.

Beverage of choice?

DAVID: Peroni, lots of it.

MARCUS: Peroni or Asahi beer.

If you had the chance to ask God one question (assuming s/he exists) what would it be? 

DAVID: What happens next?

MARCUS: Why all the mystery?!  

When are you happiest? 

DAVID: With Gucci & our little Dash.

MARCUS: Sitting in the sun with my family drinking beers and barbecuing.  That or skiing.

Random Questions For...will return in August.   

Random Questions For...Costello Tagliapietra

When Jeffrey Costello was growing up in Bristol, Pennsylvania, he learned the finer points of pattern making and couture techniques from his grandmother, who had worked for designer Norman Norell in the 1960s. New York native Robert Tagliapietra, meanwhile, learned similar dressmaking skills from his grandmother, who also worked for Norman Norell in the 1960s.

Is it any wonder, then, that Costello and Tagliapietra both became clothing designers and, after meeting in Manhattan in 1994, joined forces to launch their own painstakingly tailored womenswear line eleven years later?

Their uber-feminine collection of sensuously draped jersey dresses, slinky satin skirts and curve-caressing suits have won the duo rave reviews since their line debuted in 2005. The 2006 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalists have already had their work exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute, and they were included in the 2007 “New York Fashion Now” exhibit at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.

The Fashion Informer caught up with the talented, sweet-natured Red Hook residents earlier this month - just after receiving word that they would be among the inaugural September Fashion Week shows at New York’s new venue, Focus (an old printing house on 11th Avenue) - to get the lowdown on their favorite reads, their manscaping secrets and their signature Lumberjack look.

So, Robert and Jeffrey...

What did you do last weekend, and what are your plans for this weekend?

ROBERT: Last weekend we worked, had dinner and played records with friends. Next weekend, we’re celebrating my younger sister Lindsay's graduation in Massachusetts, then driving her back to the city where she will start her internship at Starworks.

What's your favorite book or movie of all time?

ROBERT: Favorite books would be anything by Flannery O'Connor, Carson McCullers and Anne Sexton, I love a short story especially when traveling and it is so easy to get lost in these works. Favorite movie would have to be Time Bandits. I think I watched this movie about a billion times growing up, and I still put it on once in a while; this is every boy’s dream - at least it was mine!

JEFFREY: I go on author kicks and right now it is Kurt Vonnegut. Favorite movie probably is Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, a much more glamorous and tasteful version of how I grew up, ha!

Tell me about your best friend.

ROBERT and JEFFREY: We have several great friends who are very special to us and with whom we try to talk to as regularly as is possible and always make time for when they are in town. Thankfully they understand our workload and do not take our absence as anything more than what it is.

What's your dream occupation (other than what you are doing)?

ROBERT: I would love to be making music, producing, DJing, etc.

JEFFREY: Running a dog rescue somewhere in New England.

How old were you when you first wore suspenders and a plaid shirt?

ROBERT: I was big on suspenders in middle school during that Bugle Boy craze; it was the eighties. I have worn them on and off for years but as my belly has “grown," they have become more practical and less of a fashion statement! Plaids and jeans I have worn forever.

JEFFREY: When I was five years old I remember my mother sent me to grade school in a navy blue shorts and jacket suit that had suspenders and I have worn them on a fairly regular basis since then.

You both have beards but they always look neat and tidy. Any manscaping tips for our readers?

ROBERT and JEFFREY: We never leave home without a beard comb. And it helps to have a friend along to make sure there is nothing in your beard while out in public, ha!

What newspapers and magazines do you read on a regular basis?

ROBERT and JEFFREY: I-D, Vogue, W, New York Times.

What is your favorite time of day?

ROBERT and JEFFREY: Late at night (way early morning) the city sounds so empty and eerily quiet; we love to work at this time because there are no distractions.

When you were 9, what did you want to be when you grew up?

ROBERT: Oddly enough, a lawyer.

JEFFREY: Anything that would take me out of my home town and into New York.

What's your favorite summer time activity?

ROBERT and JEFFREY: We love 5AM walks on a New England beach.

How would you like to be remembered?

ROBERT and JEFFREY: Jolly and portly.

What is your favorite period in history?

ROBERT: We both love the seventies; there was such an amazing raw creative energy and new things really felt new - music, fashion, attitudes. People were really interested in expression for the sake of expression.

Beverage of choice?

ROBERT and JEFFREY: Coffee with tons of cream and sugar and/or Gatorade.

What never fails to make you cry?

ROBERT: The last ten minutes of Dot and the Kangaroo (a cartoon film from childhood).

JEFFREY: The Elephant Man always leaves me dewy-eyed from the minute it starts.

When are you happiest?

ROBERT and JEFFREY: Listening to music or watching movies at home with our dog/son, Sam.

Photo courtesy Nick Heavican

Stay tuned next week for Random Questions For...Rag & Bone.

Random Question For…Vena Cava

Brooklyn-based duo Lisa Mayock and Sophie Buhai have been designing the Vena Cava line since 2003, the same year they graduated from Parsons.

Known for their signature hand-drawn prints and elegantly edgy cuts, which reference silhouettes past (Poiret, Biba and Jean Muir are influences) without ever feeling dated, the California natives won the Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation award in 2006 and were nominated for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund in 2007.

They also mount the coolest Fashion Week presentations around, throwing a house party titled “Withdrawing Room” one year - where models lounged around a a charmingly realized faux-living room, bedroom, game room and dining room setting where they read, tried on shoes, played Scrabble and nibbled on cheese and grapes - and hosting a touchingly nostalgic Astroturf picnic in the Bryant Park tents the next (for their Spring 2007 collection, which was inspired by turn-of-the-century Japonisme and the work of Scottish architect Charles Renni Mackintosh).

We can’t wait to see what they’ve got up their sartorial sleeve come Fall (in addition to being named one of American Fashion’s “New Guard” in the September issue of Vanity Fair, that is).

In the meantime, The Fashion Informer caught up with the witty, whip-smart duo the day before their Resort presentation to get the low-down on their tuneage du jour (they kick it old school, yo!), must-have beauty products, and their favorite summer activities (cold brewskie in the shower, anyone)?

So, Lisa and Sophie...

What did you do last weekend, and what are your plans for this weekend?

LISA: Last Friday night we got back from Italy, where we were at Linea Pelle. Sunday I went to an indoor BBQ where there was a man dressed as a lightbulb. In my zombie-like jet lagged state, it made perfect sense. This weekend I am researching Oaxaca for a trip with my mom this summer and falling asleep in the park.

SOPHIE: Last weekend was movies, chess class, pizza party, and a day of exploring a tropical plant nursery in Red Hook. This weekend is shoe repair, hair cut, and flea market/road trip.

Favorite summertime activity?

LISA: I have two that I like a lot: Falling asleep in the park while reading is pretty fantastic; it’s a close second to coming home really hot and sweaty and drinking a cold beer while showering.

SOPHIE: Lobster, cards by the pool, top secret lake.

What's in current rotation on your iPod?

LISA: Goblin, The Gap Band, E.U. Tom Tom Club.

SOPHIE: Bo Hansson, Roy Orbison, Glenn Gould.

Tell me about your pet(s).

LISA: I don’t own any, but enjoy checking out the lizard section at Petco. I particularly like the leopard iguanas.

SOPHIE: No pets; just looking after number one.

What's the one beauty/grooming item you cannot live without?

LISA: I make a practice of using deodorant.

SOPHIE: Mascara or my black tooth.

How do you relax at the end of a long, hard day?

LISA: When I feel really stressed out, I like things that require zero cognitive ability. For example, watching "Nacho Libre" or "Fletch,” or taking a bath while reading Us Weekly.

SOPHIE: Spagetti Bolognese, a Parliament cigarette, and the newspaper - all in bed.

What was your nickname as a kid, and what's your nickname now?

LISA: I've somehow gotten Lisaface, even though it’s longer than my name.

SOPHIE: Then and now: Countsophulaa, The Count, Papula, Nanook, Blondeau, Binkette, Soph.

What is your most treasured item of clothing/piece of jewelry?

LISA: I have a giant safety pin that is threaded with freshwater pearls. It was my great aunt's, and reminds me of her every time I wear it.

SOPHIE: My dad's 1984 “Revenge of the Nerds” bomber jacket - the real deal.

What's your favorite method of communication?

LISA: I do enjoy the text messaging; it’s a good way to pass on jokes without feeling like you’re interrupting someone too much.

SOPHIE: Pay phones.

What song never fails to make you cry?

SOPHIE: The Isley Brothers “Who's That Lady."

If you had the chance to ask God one question (assuming s/he exists), what would you ask?

SOPHIE: “The Godfather” I or II?

What's your favorite sport (to watch and/or participate in)?

LISA: Badminton and soccer.

SOPHIE: Bowling.

Do you believe in suffering for fashion/beauty?

LISA: Maybe just a little.

SOPHIE: No.

What will be the title of your autobiography?

LISA: An Ark Kit Puncture, Anarchy Torture, an Arctic Lecture, an Orchid Texture, an Art Collector...a quote from Gordon Matta-Clark. I have no idea what this means but I enjoy saying it - and I think it would make a good book title.

SOPHIE: Blackgreynavy.

When are you happiest?

LISA: I'd like to create a scenario where I’m with all my close friends, barbequing some cheeseburgers in a backyard, listening to good music, and eating gummy worms. That would make me really happy.

SOPHIE: In a very crowded junk store or a very expensive steak restaurant.

Stay tuned next week for Random Questions For...Costello Tagliapietra.

Random Questions For…Duckie Brown

Last year saw menswear label Duckie Brown nominated for a CFDA Award (alongside Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein) and featured in the “New York Fashion Now” exhibit at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum.

This year finds the Duckie duo (that’s Steven Cox and Daniel Silver, for the uninitiated) celebrating their sixth year in business and refining the tongue-in-chic collection (think: gold sequined hoodies, three-armed sweaters and low-crotch trousers) for which they’ve become famous.

The Fashion Informer quizzed the former Tommy Hilfiger designer (Cox) and ex-TV producer (Silver) behind the quirky-classic collection (a favorite of Jude Law, Adrien Brody, Graham Norton and Ashton Kutcher) earlier this month and got the low-down on how they relax in their off-time, the best way to chill after a long, hard day and what they’d be doing if not designing menswear.

So, Daniel and Steven…

What's your favorite off-duty activity?
Daniel: Playing Scrabble – I’m addicted.

Steven: Swimming. I do an hour three times a week – I’m training for a triathalon.

Getaway spot of choice?
Daniel: Anguilla – the beach, the beach, the beach – going to the beach is a religious experience for me.

Steven: Saint Jean Cap Ferrat – where my parents have a vacation home. It’s heaven here on earth.

Tell me about your pet(s).
Daniel: Fred - he’s a Shepherd/Collie mix. He’s 15 and he’s old. But he still likes to eat and still wants to take a nip at anything that has wheels and moves quickly and erratically, like skateboarders or children. We’re taking it one day at a time now. Today is a good day.

Steven: Don’t have any.

What is your favorite line from a song/movie?
Daniel: “I wish we were old and this was all behind us and we would have survived it all,” Katie says this to Hubell near the end of “They Way We Were.” Sometimes I think wouldn’t it be great to just fast forward to the end part of my life – but then I realize I would miss the middle part. It’s difficult to have a good middle. Beginnings and endings are easy; they are always good and exciting and filled with promise or resolve. But a good middle is difficult to have.

Steven: “Every time I see you falling I get down on my knees and pray” by New Order. I LOVE them.

Who do you consider the most underrated designer (living or dead)?
Daniel: Betsey Johnson. I don’t think people give her enough credit.

Steven: Carol Christian Poell.

Tea or coffee?
Daniel: Ice coffee.
Steven: Tea.

What's your dream job?
Daniel: To own my own florist shop.
Steven: I’m doing it.

What's your no-fail hangover cure?
Daniel: A rare cheeseburger.
Steven: A burger.

How do you relax at the end of a long, trying day?
Daniel: Take a bath.
Steven: Take a bath.

What's the last movie you saw, and would you recommend it?
Daniel: Atonement – stick with the book.
Steven: Control - Loved, loved, loved!

Who is your personal style icon?
Daniel: I don’t have one. No, I take that back - I think Steven has great style, actually.
Steven: I don’t have one.

If you could change one thing about the city in which you live, what would it be?
Daniel: To eradicate the word “luxury.”

Steven: Nothing.

What's your favorite store in the world?
Daniel : There’s an incredible florist shop in Paris on the Left Bank that’s amazing. Don’t know the name but every time we go to Paris we shop in and just hang out for a while.

Steven: Church Mouse in Palm Beach - great vintage clothing.

What freaks you out?
Daniel: Dishonesty mixed with stupidity – it’s a lethal cocktail.
Steven: Flying.

When are you happiest?
Daniel: Actually, I’m kind of a happy person. I’m happy a lot of the time – I’m happiest with friends, on my own, while at work – and on holiday. I get up every day and say..”how lucky am I” and I mean it.

Steven: On a beach.

Stay tuned next week for Random Questions For…Vena Cava.

CFDA & Swarovski Snaps

A few outtakes from Monday night's CFDA Awards and Swarovski pre-party, Sunday night at Norwood.

Photos © The Fashion Informer/Lauren David Peden

CFDA Celebrates American Fashion

We'll post photos from the Swarovski soiree and the CFDA Awards gala later today.  But in in the meantime, you can read all about our adventures - and complete coverage of the evening's winners - on VOGUE.COM.

Photos © The Fashion Informer/Lauren David Peden

Random Questions For…Alexander Wang

“Anyone can get all dressed up and glamorous, but it’s how people dress in their off days that’s most intriguing to me,” says designer Alexander Wang. 

It’s pieces for these in between, wayward days that form the basis of Wang’s collection, where clean, classic, refined silhouettes blend with an effortless urban street chic.  Wang’s goal is to celebrate a woman’s own individuality, and break the conventional idea of a predictable “uniform.”  In his view, a t-shirt and jeans can be just as sexy and stylish as an evening gown (especially as worn by Wang’s model-muse pal, Erin Wesson, who styled the designer’s most recent runway show).

Wang was born and raised in San Francisco and moved to New York at age 18 to attend Parsons School of Design.  He launched his first collection, which was predominantly knits, in his sophomore year. A full collection followed in 2007, and is currently sold internationally in over 150 boutiques and retail stores. Now 24, Wang resides in New York City’s Lower East Side.

Earlier this year, he was recognized by the fashion industry with the Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation Award.  More recently, he was nominated for the Swarovski Womenswear Designer of the Year award, going up against Rodarte and Thakoon.  The trophy will be handed out at tomorrow’s swanky CFDA gala at the New York Public Library. And his limited edition collection for Uniqlo just hit stores.

Wang, as always, was cool as cucumber when The Fashion Informer tracked him down in London earlier this month for a quick tête-à-tête. 

So, Alexander…

What's in current rotation on your iPod?


Old school rap; Tupac and Blackalicious.

Where is the most unlikely place you've found inspiration for your work?


Wal-Mart.

What's your favorite pig-out food? 


Vietnamese lunch boxes.

What's the one grooming item you cannot live without? 


Face wash.

What's your non-fail hangover cure?

I don't get hangovers, luckily.

What's your idea of a perfect day?

Spending a day at the beach with my friends having a cookout.

If you found $15,000 cash in a brown paper bag, how would you spend it? 


I’m not gonna lie, I’d take my friends on a trip somewhere.

When was the last time you rode the subway? 


Everyday, three times a day, I ride the N, R, W from Broadway in Soho to Midtown.


What's your all-time favorite line from a song?

"Sipping on gin and juice" by Snoop Dog
.

Brunch: pro or con? 


Pro, I can never wake up for breakfast
.

Tell me about your pet(s).


I don’t have any.


Favorite summertime activity? 


Walking around in the warm weather
.

Please look up from your computer (or wherever you're answering these) and tell me what you see. 


South Molton Street in London, I’m answering these as I walk around London. 



Who’s your favorite character on Ugly Betty?

I don't watch the show.

What freaks you out?


Stress.

When are you happiest?

When I'm not stressed.

 

 

Phootlery Sandals = One Well-Heeled Traveler

With summer comes summer travel, accompanied by the age-old issue of how to cram as many stylish looks into one stylish carry-on as possible (a predicament that’s become even more pressing with the new $15-per-checked-bag fee being instituted by some US airlines).

Happily, we recently discovered a new shoe line that seems tailor made for jet setting fashionistas who prefer to travel light.  Called Phootlery, these stylishly strappy sandals are ingeniously designed with a series of hidden bra strap-like hooks that allow you to detach the upper from the sole, so you can easily go from a casual daytime look to a seriously dressy evening shoe in a snap - and everything packs flat.

“I was traveling a lot and packing shoes was always my biggest challenge,” Phootlery designer Chris Ann Phelan told The Fashion Informer of her inspiration for the line, which she launched in 2006.  “I needed both casual and dressy shoes, but I also didn’t want to be limited to just one pair for each occasion. It just wasn't satisfying. Flip flops are easy to pack, but design wise, they’re too basic. I felt that there was a need for something special.”

After taking a shoe design class at the Fashion Institute of Technology, Phelan – who has a Master’s in retail management from NYU and has worked as a Broadway costume designer, assistant to Zang Toi, technical designer at J. Crew and retail strategist for chains such as Gap, Inc. – had her “aha” moment in 2004, having already tried and discarded about 10 different closures for her work-in-progress line.

“While getting ready to go to go out one night and wearing a strapless dress, I was converting my bra and it dawned on me that [this system] would work for my sandals.  I was late that evening for the party mocking up the strap!”

Two years, several prototypes and one “interchangeable footwear system” patent later, Phootlery was officially born.  

Today, the collection, which Phelan has dubbed “couture for the foot,” consists of six different sole options (in chocolate brown, silver or gold leather) and twice as many uppers (in bright jewel tones and beaded leather, fringed suede, metallic mesh and even clear PVC), allowing clients to mix and match to their hearts’ content. 

For fall, Phelan says she’s “jumping on the sustainability wagon and will incorporate ‘green’ items such as recyclable leather and vegan pieces” into the line, which retails from $200-$340.

And in keeping with her “couture for the foot” ethos, clients can even book a one-on-one appointment in Phelan’s Grammery Park studio to design their own one-of-a-kind sandals. 

“Clients want something unique,” she says. “And the choices really are endless!”

 

 

 

Random Questions For…Theodora Richards

“4 Stroke was a brand new company and they were just starting out and they were looking for somebody that was just starting out as well, and it just so happened to be me!”

So explained fashion-rock progeny Theodora Richards (daughter of model Patti Hansen and Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards) on how she came to be Vice President of Creative Direction for the New York based “music inspired” premium denim label, 4 Stroke Jeans.

“Now I have this title, which is so official sounding, it’s ridiculous,” added the whippet thin, surprisingly grounded blond who has, until recently, been making her living as a model (as does her younger sister, Alexandra).  “I’m kind of freaked out by it, but it is incredible and by having that role I’m just so much more vocal with what’s going on with the designs. You know, a lot of [famous] people go and get involved in the business and they just sit back and let everybody else do it for them, but these guys have such a good vision and they really want me to be a part of it, so it’s working out perfectly.”

Not least of which stems from Richards’ long time obsession with all things denim (what, you thought Keef’s kid would be swanning around in diamonds and fur?  Not bloody likely.)

“I have always loved jeans,” Richards told The Fashion Informer when we got her on the phone earlier this month.  “I used to wear Gap floral leggings, up until, like, seventh grade.  But there was this girl in my class and she would just wear denim in the coolest ways – she was the first to wear denim jackets, she sagged her jeans, she Bedazzled things.  She made me fall in love with jeans then and I’ve just been trying to carry on the tradition ever since. So yeah, jeans and me, we go together like peanut butter and jelly.”

When not designing denim, Ms. Richards likes to spend her time listening to obscure music, drinking super spicy tea and scanning the skies for NC-17 cloud formations.

So, Theo…

What’s your favorite off duty activity?

Well, I’ve been trying to become a part of The Cloud Appreciation Society.

Is that a real thing?

Yes, it is, actually.  This eccentric Englishman and his wife have begun this society and you get your number and you send in your pictures of what you’ve seen in the clouds and if it’s a really decent picture, you can have it put in a book. I’ve been trying to get more involved because I do love and appreciate clouds.  So that’s my off duty hobby.

I love it.  Is there a favorite cloud shape that you’ve seen?

I have seen some pretty amazing things, but some are kind of dirty, so I will leave them to the imagination.

Ok, then.  What’s in current rotation on your iPod? 

Well, at the moment, I’ve been listening to Jimmy Durante and Otis Redding.  Of course, that was just today.

Did Jimmy Durante sing, I thought he was a comedian?

Yeah, he has a few songs.  You know, it’s actually really strange, a lot of those old comedians put out a few records.  Or, like, Louis Prima, even though he’s a true blue horn player, he did some really funny songs, like ‘what do you think I’m made out of, lasagna?’  Things like that, I love because I love to laugh while I’m listening.  And I listen to this [collection] Hello Children Everywhere,which is all of these amazing children’s songs that go from Peter Sellers singing with Sophia Lauren to some really great stuff that’s odd. I wish that I could spread it out to the world.  It’s actually a lot of British children’s songs, with a few Americans, like the red head guy, Danny Kaye. I really like tapping into the stuff that nobody’s heard of.

Coffee or tea?

Tea.  I live close to Balthazar and they do this amazing really, really gingery tea that kind of burns when it goes down it’s so gingery.  And English tea is always great; English breakfast always does it.

Do you have any hidden or unusual talents?

Um, you know, the thing when people can turn their tongues into shapes?  I taught myself to do the hotdog, you know, the one you when you fold your tongue like a hot dog.  And I can hula-hoop really, really well for a long time.  I won a competition at Tortilla Flats.

Tell me about your favorite pair of jeans.

Well, there’s this pair by 4 Stroke called the Clutch that have a really gorgeous layered pocket in the back and a zipper that goes down the back of the shin so you can either have a flair or it can be super tight. I love that jean.  And then there’s one called the Roseland, which is a skinny that looks good on every type of woman.  We’ve been dying them in these fluorescent colors - they’re gonna come out later on this year - and they’re incredible. 

What is your favorite method of communication?

You know, I have to say that I like writing a letter and sending it in the post, but that rarely happens, so…I have a Blackberry and it’s the easiest – and the only - way to get in touch with me these days.

What’s your favorite holiday?

I really like when we’re all together as a family and it seems like Christmas is really the time when everybody gets together.  This past Christmas, we had 75 family members in my house in Connecticut and it was amazing.  My mom was ecstatic, glowing; she loves when we come home.  Everybody’s having babies and, it was really awesome. My mom just redid the kitchen and she just was so excited to show it to everybody.  You know, we really enjoy each other’s company.

Tell me about your pets.

Oh, it’s been so funny, the story of animals in our household.  We’ve had Pumpkin and Ras, Pumpkin is a shortbread Labrador, blond, and she’s about nine, 10 years old now.  Rasputin might be a year younger or a year older, we’re not sure, but we got him from Russia when dad was on tour and he just followed into the stadium where they were performing and this woman who was an avid dog lover, saw that he was being treated badly by the security guards and took him into my father’s room and said please take him home and my dad fell in love with him instantaneously and he’s been with us ever since. He is a little black Terrier Poodle mix - he kind of looks like Toto, with what looks like my dad’s hair on the top [of his head].  He’s small, and he’s amazing, and he loves my dad. We’ve had our cat forever - he’s such a great hunter - and we’ve got two French Bulldogs that are sisters, black and white, and they’re called Etta James, or Etta Bella Cow Pig, and Sugar. So they’re all flourishing, the family and the dogs.

What is your most treasured fashion possession?

Wow, that’s a tough one. I’m really sentimental with jewelry because I don’t really wear it that often. There was this pearl that my dad gave me for my graduation when I was 18 that’s from Japan and it’s like the size of a marble; it’s so beautiful.  It’s on clasp so I can turn it into anything, but I wore it as a necklace.  I haven’t worn it since my graduation because I’m terrified of losing it, so I let my mother hold onto it.

What was your nickname in childhood and what’s your nickname now?

It’s always been Theo, everybody just shortens it.  And then I’ve been called Teddy and Theodorable, which is so cute and I love it.  Coach Reilly gave me that; he was my teacher when I was, like, five years old.

What’s the greatest or most important lesson that your parents taught you?

Um, treat people the way, you know, not even the way that you’d want to be treated because that’s almost selfish, but…I’ve never been judged by my parents and I will never judge another.  So I think they taught me that, and then manners are always fantastic, so I definitely thank them for teaching me my skills and politeness. And respect.  You know, just being a good person, really.  They’ve been so wonderful.  I hope that I can do this for my kids.

Theodora and Alexandra vs. Mary Kate and Ashley: who would win in a fight?

Oh God, I think that anybody would say me and Alexandra, just because those girls are tiny.

What never fails to make you cry?

Dumbo, “Baby Mine.”  When I hear that s