Je T'aime NOLA is a family fashion affair - NOLA.com

Je T’aime NOLA puts a new spin on the term “family affair.” It’s true that a conversation with owner Jana Smith will likely include mention of her close-knit family: husband James and four sons, ages 8 to 18. But the kinfolk found on the clothing labels are what furnish Je T’aime Nola with its biggest fashion surprises.

Smith, a NOLA newcomer who settled here this past summer, brought in four labels by

Frances Malik, a friend from her longtime home of Dallas, whose designs take on the personalities of her own family. The Ivy Jane label (named for Malik’s daughter) is “fun and funky,” Smith says. “It will make you smile. It comes in pants and tops.” Cousin Earle “is special. He is, during the winter, very conservative, but come spring he’s conservative with a little bit of sass. He has some really cute pants that are red jagged, but it has a black hi-low top to go with them. It’s understated sass. “Aunt Wanda is someone that you have a cup of soup with. She’ll make sure you’re taken care of and covered up warmly. She’s my layer girl: coats, jackets, wraps.

And Uncle Frank is a hot mess with a dress. His dresses are different prints. Some can be one (print), others can be all combined. You never know what you’re going to get.” Other lines include 3J Workshop’s funky embroidered cotton knits, and the delicate and lacy look of 4 Love & Liberty, which typically appeals to a young shopper. Customers of a few more years might lean toward the flowing, vintage-inspired looks of Johnny Was. “Most women need to cover this up,” Smith says, pointing to a common low-lying problem area, and the line of floral silk tunics by Was is a pretty way to do that. Some are long enough to double as dresses.

Big Star jeans transcend generational divides, offering skinnies as well as those with a little stretch and support. Bracelets by Made in the Deep South pair vintage brooches with hand-cut leather straps.

Smith calls Je T’aime’s NOLA’s overall vibe boho-chic; her husband, she says, calls it Southern sass. The shop’s show-stoppers, the sassiest of them all, may be two lines of footwear. The creative bent in both the hand-tooled Cock of the Walk cowboy boots, which double as canvases for their artist maker, and the Feather Junkie booties, made from upcycled tall boots and with feather and leather accoutrements,make them just as at home in the Crescent City as in Dallas. Smith feels that way about her family, too. “We love the culture. We love the people,” she says.

Je T’aime Nola is at 3613 Magazine St. 504.309.6028

via fashion - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNHz19WnShWIpCZoGyeFpToWzDB9YQ&url=http://www.nola.com/fashion/index.ssf/2013/12/je_taime_nola_is_a_family_fash.html