ALAYNA:
CLOTHING
PROVIDED
BY
AZEEZA
AND
JEWELRY
BY
POMELLATO;
D.C.:
SUITING
PROVIDED
BY
BOGA;
HAIR
BY
GIA
AT
MARIANNE
STROKIRK
SALON;
MAKEUP
BY
TROY
AT
CHANEL
BOUTIQUE
136 MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM
Back when he was a bachelor on a boys' trip to Vegas in 2005, entrepreneur
D.C. Crenshaw stopped by the Brioni boutique in the new Wynn Hotel,
where future wife Alayna happened to be working. "Vegas was meant to
be," reminisces Alayna, a Vancouver native with backgrounds in mens-
wear and womenswear who had moved to Las Vegas after more than a
decade of selling for Emporio Armani, Ermenegildo Zegna, and Christian
Dior on Rodeo Drive. Following a whirlwind long-distance courtship, D.C.
and Alayna settled down in Chicago and were married—but not before
Alayna took D.C.'s wardrobe to the next level. "Before I met her, the most
expensive pair of jeans I bought was $35," muses the man-about-town. "I
was always a suit guy, but she helped me advance my casual game."
Wearing a black maxi dress and an impressive stack of DoDo by
Pomellato charm bracelets, Alayna cites Halston, Akira, and H&M ("It's
trendy, it's disposable, and if my kids spill something on it, it's not the end of
the world," says the mother of two) as a few of her favorite haunts. As the
store manager for Pomellato, she's particularly excited to see a bumper
crop of haute new neighbors on Oak Street. "When I first moved here,
Chicago fashion was kind of conservative, but I think that we are evolving,"
she says "It's exciting to see Tom Ford, Christian Louboutin, Dolce &
Gabbana—it's only getting better." Just like D.C.'s style. "Often I have in my
head what I'm going to wear, but then I change it because I like to take a risk
and mix and match things that haven't been done before," says D.C., who
favors custom tailoring and boutiques like Haberdash and Akira. "Usually
he's on point," says Alayna with a laugh, "[but] I might tweak a little bit."
T H E T A S T E M A K E R S
D.C.
CRENSHAW FOUND A LONGTIME LOVE—AND A SUPERLATIVE STYLIST—IN HIS WIFE, ALAYNA.
