Chance, launched this past Friday in New York, is the vision of former Kate Spade creative director Julia Leach. Leach celebrates simple sartorial classics, which combine function and form, as a means of endless possibility. Chance sees the nautical striped shirt as the personal fashion paper clip, saluting timeless style that can be worn seamlessly from the city to the seashore with confidence, ease, and relaxed sophistication. Pieces from their debut collection and images from their brand book, above, embody this vision. In addition to clothing, you can find a few small goods, such as letterpress seashell cards that were illustrated by Leach's mother.
Leach shaped the voice and visual identity of the Kate Spade brand, where she worked for 11 years. Every now and then a new brand enters the fashion landscape, which is much more than a tag on a shirt -- with Chance, I have a feeling that a modern classic was born* {images from here and here}
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PS. Without ado, a H-U-G-E congratulations to my dear friend Kate and her lovely husband(!) John. The happy couple tied the knot Sunday at an intimate garden ceremony outside San Francisco -- it was truly perfect and fully embodied one of her favorite passages from Emma:
The wedding was very much like other weddings, where the parties have no taste for finery or parade…but in spite these deficiencies, the wishes, the hopes, the confidence, the predictions of the small band of true friends who witnessed the ceremony, were fully answered in the perfect happiness of the union.
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PPS. I l-o-v-e-d your comments on the matter of town mouse or country mouse -- what passionate and experienced perspectives! In the best of all worlds, I would have an apartment in the city and a house in the country -- sunday afternoon tea parties on the veranda, weekend getaways, antiquing, and a more relaxed way of life. Tempting* Let's see what the rest of the year holds in store.
xx, Jane
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 4:50 PM 
This past week I attended several NYFW Shows for Matchbook – one of my favorites was the Chris Benz presentation on Monday afternoon. Big Band standards blared from the speakers and a glistening gold backdrop set the scene for models with retro updos. His fall collection looked to the flappers of the 30s, secretaries of the 60s, and bright young things of the 80s for an entirely fresh take on youthful, urban sophistication.
