Spotlight on Tracy Reese

After Detroit native Tracy Reese moved to NYC to pursue her dream of becoming a designer, she graduated from Parsons School of Design in 1984. Soon after she worked for many fashion houses, including Arlequin and Perry Ellis as the design director for Women's Portfolio. In 1996, she launched her first solo collection that evoked "charm and glamour" and continues to design dresses with a distinctive flair and sexy styling. She started a couple different fashion labels, including Plenty and Frock, at a more affordable price range. Her clothing is carried by many department stores and most of her clothes are manufactured in the US. For the complete Tracy Reese experience, se owns 2 stores that sell her collections: one in NYC and the other in Tokyo. Her dresses are adored by many celebrities including Michelle Obama, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, and Beyonce. Her design vision that she continues to strive for is:

"We love pretty, we like beautiful, flattering, color! That’s what people come here for. There was a moment when big stores weren’t into that but our customer always was, and she was coming here."

Designer of the week Mara Hoffman!

Mara Hoffman born in Buffalo, NY is a New York based fashion designer.  She graduated from Parson's School of Design in New York City and studied at Central Saint Martins College in Arts and Design in London before launching her first ready- to-wear collection in 2000. Her designs inspired by nature, world travels, and fantasy creating one-of-a-kind prints.  Patricia Field, noted American costume designer and stylist, who has worked on the set of Sex and the City TV show, and the movie, The Devil Wears Prada, gave Mara Hoffman her first client base in NYC by featuring some of her dresses in her NYC boutique. Ultimately, the brand became more well known and expanded. From there, Mara Hoffman was able to launch her first swimwear collection in 2008, which she is most known for. In 2011, she was inducted as a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America and has recently hit a record year of growth.  She continues to expand in the number of stores that carries her clothing and participates in both the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in New York for the Fall and Spring Ready to Wear as well as Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Swim in Miami. 

Dressed by Lori featured store spotlight by Shoshanna!  Check it out!

http://www.shoshanna.com/dressed-by-lori-boutique/

Designer of the Week Shoshanna!

       Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss was born and raised in Manhattan and its fashion of the Upper East Side. With a History and Art History degree from the University of Los Angeles, she decided to focus her attention on fashion. She worked at a lingerie factory and learned how to produce clothing in order to start her own brand. With help from her father and now CEO, she launched her first collection in November 1998 wanting to create a “whimsical” clothing line with detailed dresses that were easy to wear and fit many body types. Now, she creates everything from swimwear to accessories, to children’s clothing. Her dresses appear in almost every high end department store, such as Bergdorf Goodman and Bloomingdale’s, and in multiple magazines, such as InStyle, Hamptons Magazine, and Glamour Magazine. In addition, her celebrity clientele include TV personalities, such as Kelly Ripa and Sara Gore, and actors, such as Anne Hathaway and Blake Lively.

Here is a taste of her '13 Fall Collection:

If you want to see more of her dresses stop by on

October 3rd from 2:00- 6:00 pm

for a Shoshanna Trunk Show and Charity Event

 10% of all proceeds benefit Dress for Success

Designer of the week AMY MATTO!

About Amy Matto

Born and raised in Wisconsin, Amy Matto moved to New York City to pursue a career in business. Despite her success, she yearned to follow her passion of becoming a fashion designer. Amy always loved designer clothing, but was disenchanted upon recognizing that her favorite designers, who embody the American lifestyle, were not actually manufactured in the US but overseas in China

With a strong business background, Amy embraced the challenge of learning everything she could about the fashion industry and turning her dream into a reality.

Amy launched her contemporary women’s dress collection in the fall of 2009 from the living room of her New York City apartment. Without formal fashion training, Amy taught herself everything about the business by exploring the Garment District, following deliverymen and talking to anyone who would stop.  She also found the best collaborators in the business, including talented pattern makers and a factory with exceptional craftsmanship.

Amy quickly realized that there are many fashion brands out there, yet was determined to differentiate hers from the crowd. The main principle behind her brand grew out of a reaction to the often flashy, over-styled designs she saw in stores as well as the industry trend of outsourcing to China.  She aimed to make her dresses sensual yet classic and appropriate, with understated elegance and timeless silhouettes.  Most of all, she is proud that her brand supports the local garment industry, a vibrant part of New York City’s historical landscape. 

Today, Amy commutes to the Garment District from Greenwich, Connecticut, where she lives with her husband Kevin and golden retriever, Harley.

About The Brand

Amy Matto is the owner and designer behind her collection of contemporary women’s dresses. Recognized for designing smart, stylish, and versatile silhouettes, her dresses are perfect for taking any woman from day to evening.  Refined details, classic solids and subtle prints characterize the Amy Matto collection. The designer draws inspiration from traditional American sportswear and her own travels throughout the world. Through her line, Amy strives to offer women of all ages high-end sophistication at an accessible price-point.

About Our Customer

The Amy Matto customer is deliberate in her fashion choices, seeking understated elegance and appreciating the best quality fabrics and craftsmanship. She is sophisticated and appropriate while still being fun and feminine. Celebrity fans of the brand include Halle Berry, Sharon Stone, Cindy Crawford, Bethenny Frankel and Kelly Rutherford.

Designer of the Week- LEONA!

Lauren Leonard started working in fashion at a young age. After college, she moved to New York City to pursue her fashion career and gained enough confidence to start her own line in Nashville, TN, called Leona. Her playful prints and sophisticated silhouettes are perfect for young women. Lauren Leonard focuses on using only the best quality and luxurious fabrics for all of her designs to set her apart from others. Her celebrity fans include Guliana Ranic, Tayor Swift, and her clothes are featured on TV shows, such as 90210 and Gossip Girl. Her Spring 2013 collection is full of fresh prints and pastels to combine for a perfect look for both Spring and Summer. Every dress and blouses have unique details that make them one of a kind and "whimsical," as Lauren likes to say.

To view more of Leona's designs and see what she is doing for fall, here is a runway video of Leona's Fall 2013 Collection at Nashville Fashion Week 2013.

Designer of the Week: KARINA...dresses for "every-body"

Karina Cousineau is a brooklyn-based dress designer who strives to create dresses that flatter every body type and dresses that women love to wear. Her dresses were mentioned in Travel and Leisure Magazine as the best travel dress. You can crumple it up, and stash it in a suitcase, but will still look smooth and polished when you slip it on. Easy to wear and comfortable, these dresses are a must for traveling. Pair it with boots and tights in the winter, or simply with flip-flops in the summer for a cute, effortless look. Each and every dress is made in the USA and is available in 15 styles in limited edition patterns so you will be one-of-a-kind. 

"Dress in a Purse"

Here is a cute video on how to tie one of her wrap dresses: 

A Little Bit about Me...

Dressed by Lori is my lifelong dream. I graduated from Bauder Fashion College’s Marketing and Merchandising program and announced to my family “one day I will open my own store.” So….30 plus years later it finally happened! For over a year, I looked for the perfect location and none of the locations I viewed seemed right. One day I asked my angels where I should be and was led right to downtown Millburn. It was there that a store had just put a sign in the window that they were re-locating and a lease was available at 304 Millburn Avenue. From there, everything just fell into place.

Dressed by Lori offers a fresh, chic venue for women to shop for contemporary, whimsical yet classic and feminine dresses and accessories. I offer a wide variety of one-piece dressing, options including brands like Amy Matto, Karina, Francis, Leona and Shoshanna. All USA made jewelry and hand-bags from Evocateur, Krysia Renau, Carolina and ZaraTerez.

After 6 months of being in business, I am ready to expand the Dressed by Lori experience into a blog. I want to be able to give fashion tips and tricks to all of my customers.  So enjoy!