Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/67043
The brand's stylish tags boarding school in Kenya for girls with top grades. Available in bright, saturated colors and slim fits, the blazers are meant to be head-turners. "We take things like a schoolboy blazer and twist it through color and fabric, and make it interesting," explains Whitney. Handmade silks come from India, hardware is sourced from around the world, and the European cut was fine-tuned for two years by a team that also has worked on fit for brands including Elizabeth & James and Theory. She also tapped Boston-based blogger and interior designer A cropped coral jacket by Two Penny Blue ($345) A sampling of Whitney's line for summer "The mission of the company is to empower girls and women around the world. " Erin Gates—who runs elementsofstyleblog.com— to serve as a consultant. But don't take that to mean Whitney has been anything but hands-on. "I'm the founder and creative director, and I run every aspect of the business from sketching to picking out fabrics to contacting schools in Africa," she says. Starting in June, the jackets will be sold exclusively online at 2pennyblue.com; brand name is a historical reference to one of the first adhesive stamps created in the UK in 1840, which featured a picture of a young Queen Victoria. the "It celebrated women in power," explains Whitney. But even more fit- ting, "The stamp has been compared to the Internet for how it changed society," she says. "People who didn't have access suddenly did; there was a massive increase in literacy. It's about democracy and education, so it really cap- tures the essence of the brand." While her husband is already ensconced in his new job, Whitney has been waiting until the end of the school year to move to her new home in Lakeview—she wanted her son, Jack, 4, to gradu- ate from his Boston preschool first. above and right: Some of Whitney's recent pattern- making sketches When she joins Epstein in Chicago this summer, don't be surprised if you see a beautiful blonde in a bright jacket zooming down Addison Street. "We're about five-and-a-half blocks from Wrigley Field," says Whitney, clearly excited for what this summer holds for the entire family. "Jack and I can just hop on a scooter and see his dad." Blazers are $275–$360 at 2pennyblue.com. MA michiganavemag.com 95