Savvy September 2013

SEPTEMBER 2013

womanWonderTara LaTour was destined for the New York fashion scene but took her talents to rural Minnesota – and has been a design star ever since

THE BEST DENIM FOR YOUR BODYChoose the right style of jeans for your shape

Fall TrendsSee inside for what’s hot at

local boutiques

Prompt and Professional

How to save time in your morning routine

Pretty Pastries

Glam Doll Donuts tells their delicious secrets

2 SEPTEMBER 2013 | savvy.mn

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3savvy.mn | SEPTEMBER 2013

in this issue 09.13in every issue

4 letter from the editor13 local finds

fashion6 denim Choose the right jeans for your body.

8 accessories Allison Roorda explores what accessories

you need to wear this fall.

10 new hot Local experts talk what’s hot in fall fashion.

12 trends See double this season with your favorite

repetitive prints.

cover story14 wonder woman Tara LaTour of Chaska seemed

destined for the New York fashion scene. Then she decided

to take her talents to rural Minnesota – and has been a

design star ever since.

nosh20 so glam Glam Doll Donuts gives customers a delicious

and beautiful experience.

love & life22 wild streak Cate Mezyk inspires women with her

blogging, her business and her fashionista ventures.

24 lookin’ good How to make the most of your morning

routine.

28 savvy sun signs Teri Parsley Starnes, a professional

astrologer living in Minneapolis, tells readers what to expect

from the stars this month.

30 explore your intuition Jodi Livon, author, intuitive

reader and resident psychic at Twin Cities Live, answers

your questions about intuition.

savvy’s missionSavvy Magazine aims to educate and inspire a community of Twin Cities-area women who share personal stories and real-world information on how to feel, live and look the best they can. Through original reporting, local events and journalistic integrity, Savvy is the source for how to be healthy, happy, fashionable and connected.

correctionsSavvy Magazine strives to publish accurate information in every edition. When necessary, we will correct and acknowledge errors.

Did you spot an error? Contact Editor in Chief Britt Johnsen at [email protected] or 952-345-6387.

feedbackDo you have any story ideas? Did anything inspire or enrage you? Contact us at [email protected] or 952-345-6387.

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PUBLISHERJennifer Sorenson

EDITOR IN CHIEFBritt Johnsen

GRAPHIC DESIGNERSNicole Bullock | Lindsay Gergen

CIRCULATION MANAGER Ruby Winings

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Emily Abbott | Scott Fagerstrom

Mollee Francisco | Stephanie KotelnickiJodi Livon | Liv Lane

Teri Parsley Starnes | Allison Roorda

COVER PHOTOGRAPHYSteve Lucas Photography

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Carrie Rood

WEB Steve Delmont

SAVVY.MN EDITORIAL BOARDBritt Johnsen | Jennifer Sorenson

Becky Poss | Jennifer EversonKay Guidarelli | Judy Holmquist

Wendy Kleiser | Kelcie McKenneyJanelle Meier | Lanae PaaverudBecky Porspakka | Karen Wolf

Savvy Magazine is published monthly by Southwest Newspapers. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior consent of Southwest Newspapers, 952-445-3333, P.O. Box 8, Shakopee, Minn. 55379.

CONTACTS: CONTENT:Britt Johnsen, 952-345-6387 or [email protected]

ADVERTISING: 952-345-6477 or [email protected]

SUBSCRIPTION AND ADDRESS CHANGE:Ruby Winings, 952-345-6682 or [email protected]

PLEASE RECYCLE THIS MAGAZINE

This is by far my favorite time of year. The air is getting cooler and crisper, and as the days get shorter, paradoxically there’s a sense of renewal in the air. Soon the leaves will be changing to reds and burnt oranges. It’s also a new school year for many people, from brand-new kindergartners (and their parents) to college students.

And of course, everyone’s wearing their new clothes and shoes.

We’ve got a ton of fall fashion info for all the fashionistas in our community. Please welcome our fabulous new style writer, Emily Abbott, whose stories on fall fashion and trends land on pages 10 and 12. Mean-while, Allison Roorda updates us on acces-sories trends on page 8. And on page 6 we explore the best denim for your body.

But almost no one seems to know fash-ion better than Tara LaTour. Our cover model and designer extraordinaire tells Scott Fagerstrom her story – and how a woman destined for NYC fame settled in Chaska to launch a designer bridal busi-ness. Check out the article, as well as some fascinating facts about why brides don’t have to wear white, on page 14.

Even donuts can be couture. So BFFs Arwyn Birch and Teresa Fox teamed up to create the ultimate donut experience. As you can see on page 20, what they offer is at once beautiful and delicious.

As we all know, though, looking beau-tiful isn’t always easy. Sometimes it’s just too much work to really get to every detail. Luckily Stephanie Kotelnicki explores style routine shortcuts. She’s got some good solutions to common problems. Check out her column on page 24.

If you haven’t yet heard about one of the biggest fashion events of the year, then go online to Savvy.mn to learn more. Savvy is

hosting a FUEL U! Fashion Show. Several past Savvy cover models will be showcasing clothes from local boutiques. The event will be emceed by Twin Cities Live’s Chris Egert and Emily Engberg. A portion of the pro-ceeds will also benefit The Wildcat Sanctu-ary. Come wearing your favorite animal print outfit and you could win a special prize!

So now it’s your turn to talk about what you think is important. Tell us what you’re obsessed with this fall, or let us know what you think about what you read here by e-mailing us at [email protected]. Or head over to savvy.mn to make comments online.

Wishing you a beautiful and renewed fall,

Britt JohnsenEditor in Chief

Fall Renewaleditor'snote

• A story about Jodi Mayers published in Savvy’s August edition on pages 14 and 15 contained errors that require correction. Jodi Mayers trained employees for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and Pepsi-Cola. She also in her work history took a job as a sales consultant with Organizational Concepts International (now called the Seabury Group). Her store, Corset Styling and Fashion Boutique, is located at 54th and France in Edina. Jack Hysell of Salon Intrigue styled Mayers’ hair for the photo shoot and Christopher Prather of Extrados Salon was the makeup artist. Read the full corrected article at savvy.mn.

corrections


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fashion | jeans

how to choose the right jeans for your body

PEAR (weight carried in the hips and butt)

What to buy: When you carry weight in your hips and butt, you want to be sure to have enough coverage so that when you bend down, you won’t expose yourself, Mayers says. You also want to create balance with your hips. She recommends mid-rise jeans in the style of flared, trouser or boyfriend. Straight-leg jeans can be worn with a tunic. Also be sure to get your denim with a contoured waistband, Mayers says.

Shopping for the right jeans can be like shopping for bathing suits, says Jodi Mayers, owner of Corset Styling and Fashion Boutique in Edina.

“It can be so frustrating,” she says. “It doesn’t take long to get discour-aged in a dressing room.”

Corset carries size 0 to 20, help-ing women with all shapes and sizes at its 54th and France location. Mayers offered some of her best professional tips on what each woman can do for their shape and size as they’re shop-ping for jeans, no matter what store they step into.

PETITEWhat to buy:

For petite ladies, a slim cut or a boot-cut work best. Also, cropped skinnies are great; you can even show off your ankles with heels for a sexy look. If you’re a slim petite, check out the boyfriend style.

APPLE (weight carried in the middle)

What to buy: Mid-rise denim is important to get because extra fabric is needed for tummy control, Mayers says. Also look for a wide waistband as well as tummy-tuck technology to avoid the muffin top.

PLUS-SIZEWhat to buy: For this shape, Mayers advises a

darker rinse, which slims the shape. She also rec-ommends a mid-rise or high-rise straight leg, trou-ser or boot cut. When you’re shopping for jeans, be sure to minimize the broadest areas and accentuate the smallest spots on your body.

BOY (straight up and down)

What to buy: For boyish figures, Mayers rec-ommends low-rise or mid-rise, and a slight boot-cut to create a curvier silhouette.

DENIM DICTIONARYWhat if you’re at a store that doesn’t specialize in jeans? Here’s a decoder for

jeanspeak when figuring it out for yourself or asking a sales clerk.

Cut: This is the style of the jean, such as flared, boot-cut or boyfriend.Rise: This is the distance from crotch to waistband. Six or less inches is low-rise;

six to nine inches is mid-rise; and nine inches and over is high-rise.Rinse: This is the color of the denim. “Anybody who is trying to create longer,

leaner lines is going to want darker washes,” Mayers says.Fabric: Mayers recommends jeans with a stretch, which help them fit each

woman’s body as they wear their denim.Inseam: This is the length of the leg. Keep in mind the length of your jeans

when also thinking about how tall your shoes will be.

JODI MAYERS’ TOP BRANDS (Corset carries these jeans)

Kut from the Kloth. “Good for tall and curvy women,” Mayers says. “Also comes in plus sizes.”

Mavi. “Great stretch; good for tall, apple, boy or hourglass shapes.”Not Your Daughter’s Jeans (NYDJ). “Good stretch. Runs one size big. Great for

plus, apple, pear and hour-glass shapes. Often comes with tummy-tuck and butt-lift technology.”

Liverpool. “Great for curvy girls or those with some height. Also offers nice stretch.”

fashion | jeans

HOURGLASSWhat to buy: Low-rise or mid-

rise jeans, either wide-leg or flared. Skinnies can be worn with tunics. Be sure to get a contoured waistband.

TALL What to buy: A long-and-lean,

straight-leg is best for this figure. Get a flared, boot-cut or boyfriend jean, Mayers says. “I’m pretty tall, and I love to wear heels,” she says. So be sure to take into account what kind of shoes you want to wear when you’re selecting your denim.

Britt Johnsen is Editor in Chief of Savvy Magazine. Send feedback to

[email protected].



Fall is on its way.

A great way to pull a fall outfit together and make it stand out is to pay attention to your accessories.

“Accessories are a big part of the business today, everything from scarves to bulky necklaces,” says Kit Avery from Dana’s Apparel in Edina. “It’s probably bigger as a percentage of the business than it has been in a long time.”

Minnesotans are used to weather that changes in the blink of an eye, so here are some tips to make sure you’re prepared for looking your best when the temperature starts to drop again.

SCARVESDana’s Apparel at 50th and France Avenue

carries a range of accessories along with clothing. Avery says fringe will be especially popular this fall. For scarves, that means items with fringe as well as some beading or metal-lic thread that adds some shine.

“Scarves… (have been) a really strong trend for years,” Avery says.

Barb Heinrich, owner of Local Motion in Uptown, says she has also seen the animal trend continuing to be popular for the fall. “We tend to go for some quirky things,” she says.

Heinrich says Local Motion also sells a lot

of fall and winter hats, like women’s fedoras.

JEWELRYTrends in jewelry can follow trends in

clothing closely, so some new fashions may be inspired by what’s been on runways.

“I tend to buy a lot of jewelry that acces-sorizes with the dresses,” Heinrich says. “Purple is a big color for fall, so I’ve got a lot of amethyst.”

Ann Rutledge Ackman, store owner of Arafina in Edina, says the colors for fall are tending toward jewel tones, like red, royal blue and emerald green.

Dana’s Apparel has not only the more neutral necklaces and bulky necklaces, they also offer some unique options with one of their brands: Dansk.

“Daansk is from Denmark which is fun because the European trends continue to be strong,” Avery says.

But bulky and color-matching jewelry aren’t the only options. After 27 years in the retail business, Heinrich says she has learned to pay attention to her clientele’s tastes as well.

“I did pick up on some daintier things, the little tiny jewelry,” she says. “I think it just depends on the person. It doesn’t have to be a big trend.”

According to Jennifer Horan, senior

manager at Macy’s Minneapolis, jewelry will also be expanding this fall.

“Jewelry will see the influx of the brooch,” she says. “These jeweled pieces look fresh and exciting worn in clusters or unexpectedly.”

PURSES Purses can coordinate with outfits or

stand on their own. Ackman says one trend in fashion this season is leather, which includes leather combos and leather trims.

Heinrich, meanwhile, has seen things shrink in terms of purses and bags.

“I’ve seen a lot of clutches,” she says. “That seems that’s kind of the trend to go not quite as big.”

Horan sees the same trend at Macy’s.“In handbags, clutches will be updated in

new fabrics and textures, such as lace, brocade and many jeweled embellishments,” Horan says. “These bags can transform easily from day to evening.”

The summer trend of the rounded bowler bag will continue into fall, Horan says, modi-fied with the fall trend of animal prints.

“The third large trend in bags that we are seeing is the ladylike shoulder bag,” Horan says. “These bags are very structured, in a variety of sizes, and typically feature an adjustable chain shoulder strap.”

ON ACCESSORIESChange your accessories with a change of seasons, and your look will be set.

fall back

BY ALLISON ROORDA

fashion | accessories

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BOOTSHeinrich says she saw a lot of over

the knee boots while she was at market, but she warns that is a hard trend to sell for some buyers.

“For fall, I went heavy on a boot com-pany called Miz Mooz,” she says.

Miz Mooz produces ankle boots as well as higher boots. Heinrich likes the company because they also produce cowboy boots, which can be just as popu-lar in Minnesota as in Texas.

“In boots, the knee-high boot that we saw largely for the first time last season, will be returning in a big way,” Horan says.

Horan says new embellishments will make the knee-high boot new for the fall. A new trend will be the Chelsea boot, which reaches mid-calf.

Allison Roorda is a staff writer at Savvy. She can be reached at [email protected].

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BY EMILY ABBOTT

Models on the fall 2013 runways strut-ted down the catwalk showcasing dozens of this season’s “it” trends. Women wrapped in plaid jackets, blazers and suits represented designers such as Lanvin, Tommy Hilfiger and Stella McCartney. Other designers, such as Vivienne Westwood and Versace, chose edgier fashions in leather, tartan and chunky knits to represent their vision for the fall.

With so many trends to sift through, it can feel overwhelming to decide what’s worth trying. So where does one splurge

this season? Here, two local experts in the industry take a moment to dish on what they believe will be worth adding to your closet this season and what trends they are most excited about.

Amber Toste, owner of Houndstooth Boutique in

Savage and Eden Prairie

Houndstooth brings on-trend items from familiar designers south of the cities, from distressed denim to perfectly-worn white tees and cozy knits encapsu-late. When asked what Amber felt would be the top trends for this season, she was quick to remark about the resurgence of

boot-cut denim. One of the most flatter-ing silhouettes, this classic is definitely a piece every woman should have in her closet. Also on Amber’s radar? Button-down silk shirts and a military look with a feminine twist.

Chunky knits are Amber’s top items for the fall. She’s already excited to live in them as the cool weather sets in.

Talena Anderson, district visual coordinator

for White House Black Market

White House Black Market seeks to “Make Women Feel Beautiful.” So they use black and white, pops of color each season,

Local experts offer their take on what’s hot this fall.

fashion | fall

Top Trends for Fall


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and classic pieces such as structured pencil skirts and silk blouses. Despite working for a company noted for its basics, Talena was quick to exclaim prints as the biggest thing for fall. She feels this season’s trend is best worn combined with well fit basics in Pantone’s colors for the fall, such as Samba, Koi and Vivacious.

Feeling bold herself, Talena says the most exciting thing she is looking to try is mixing fall’s new prints; perhaps pairing her floral shirt with a striped skirt.

Emily Abbott is Savvy’s fashion writer. Send feedback to [email protected].

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fashion | trends

1. Doodle Your Best Top. Mod Cloth, $27.99. Try this with leather pants for a punk-rock look. 2. Hailey Silk Headscarf. Clubmonoco.com, $59.50. Wear this silky scarf around

your neck for an of-the-moment look. 3. Merona Women’s Favorite Lawn Shirt. Target.com, $22.99. Layer this crisp cotton button down under a brown blazer. 4. Sage Scallop

Flat. Sole Society $49.95. Pointed toe fl ats take skinny jeans up a notch. 5. Floral Wide Leg Pants. shopbop.com, $325. Say hello to your feminine side in a sweet fl oral print.

6. Checkerboard Saffiano Travel Tote. Michaelkors.com, $298. Carry all your fall essentials in this brilliant Michael Kors tote. 7. Stardust Logo Scarf. Marc by Marc Jacobs

Piperlime.com $98. A logo scarf in pink can make any girl feel luxe. 8. Café Capri in Rope Print Pants. J Crew.com, $110. Café pants in imperial blue pair well with silver fl ats

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See double this season with your favorite repetitive prints. Nothing is off limits, from feminine fl oral to black and white Ikat.

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Tara LaTour of Chaska seemed destined for the New York fashion scene. Then she decided to take her talents to rural Minnesota – and has been a design star ever since.

BY SCOTT FAGERSTROM


As the editor of Glamour magazine’s “Save the Date” wedding blog, it’s Kim Fusaro’s job to survey the work of America’s top bridal-

gown designers, then pick one or two of their very best creations for the honor of inclusion in what is, perhaps, the nation’s best-known fashion forum.

Late last year, Fusaro looked over the work of designer Tara LaTour—and threw up her hands in despair.

“I simply could NOT narrow down my favorites by Tara LaTour,” Fusaro told her readers. “So here are FIVE to-die-for dresses from her latest collection.”

Impressive, but then again, that’s the sort of acclaim becoming common-place for LaTour, a Chaska native widely acknowledged as the wunderkind of America’s bridal gown industry.

At the age of 33, and less than three years into her career, LaTour now finds herself mentioned in the same breath as long-time fashionistas Vera Wang and Lela Rose. Her designs have earned praise from editors at Brides, Martha Stewart Weddings and Glamour, among others. And her dresses, which start at $3,400 and top out at $22,000, can be found in the nation’s top boutiques, includ-ing Manhattan’s famous Mark ingram Atelier.

The secret of LaTour’s rapid rise to the top is the fresh vision she brings to the rela-tively staid world of wedding fashion. Rather than confine herself to the stan-dard full-length gown with extra-long train, her hand-sewn dresses are couture fashion

statements in themselves; rather than white or off-white, LaTour works with a full palate of colors.

The idea that brides should wear white because that color represents purity is “absolute BS … I never really understood it,” LaTour told Savvy during a recent interview.

As a little girl, “I told my grandma (a seamstress herself ) that ‘when I’m a bride, I’m going to wear blue,’ ” LaTour recalls. When her grandmother pointed out that brides always wear white, “I was like, ‘why?’

“I was always like that kid who was a little off, a non-traditionalist from the time I could talk.”

•••Perhaps the most non-traditional

thing about LaTour’s work is not the look of her gowns, but the place where those gowns are designed and manufactured.

While the traditional career path for a couture fashion designer leads through New York, Beverly Hills or Paris, LaTour operates out a warehouse in Chaska, the same place she graduated from high school in 1996.

LaTour has done time on both coasts, as a student at the Rhode Island School of Design, then at San Francisco’s Academy of Art, and finally at New York’s famous Parsons The New School for Design. It was after graduating from the latter in 2010 that she announced her impending return to Flyover Country, to the horror of many friends and colleagues.

“My friends tried to sit me down and have an intervention with me,” she laughed. “You can’t leave New York! It’s death! You could be seriously committing career suicide!”

“It was a huge risk,” LaTour concedes, but after spending most of her 20s on the road, graduation from Parsons meant “it was finally time to settle down and choose a place to start some roots.”

LaTour’s roots in the southwest sub-urbs of Minneapolis are both deep and

wide. ”I have a huge family (that seemed like) half the population when I was growing up. I’m pretty sure we were some of the original settlers.”

Even as a child, LaTour loved to experiment with design. On trips

to her grandparents’ summer place at a lake near Brainerd, “the second we walked into the cabin, everyone else wanted to go to the lake; I headed for grandma’s (fabric) scrap drawer. I’d make things for dolls, I’d try to decorate Tonka trucks … basically, anything that would sit still.”

LaTour’s obsession with fabric design was matched only by her passion for dance; to this day, she continues to coach the dance team at Chaska High School. She

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might have chosen a career in dance, but an injury she suffered during a stint on the dance team at St. Cloud State Uni-versity eliminated that possibility.

For several years, LaTour appren-ticed at the edges of the fashion indus-try; she did design presentations while at St. Cloud, and served in sales for the Vera Wang line. But it was as a student at Parsons, the design school equivalent of Navy SEALS training, that her career began to flourish. Working day and night, LaTour set out to learn whether the wed-ding world was ready for dresses with an edgy fashion design; or, in LaTour’s words, “whether there were other weirdos out there like me.”

“It’s not for the faint of heart,” LaTour says of Parsons. “People should get medals when they graduate. I usually got three or four hours of sleep … a little over half the kids who started did not finish.” LaTour emerged from that crucible with steely self-discipline, and just as important, a contact list that included some of the industry’s biggest names.

“I’m so very thankful for the education, and for their networking system, which is phenomenal. … The (list of ) people they know is really impressive. One of the professors I never even had sent a four-sentence letter to the editor-in-chief of Brides magazine, saying ‘I have this girl who’s amazing.’

“In my first year out (of school), I’m introducing myself to the biggest maga-zines on the planet. That’s the power of what an e-mail can do.”

Since then, LaTour has fulfilled one career goal after another, in rapid succes-sion: Her first big exposure in a national magazine, for a dress called “Harper”—named after her niece (“I was at Barnes & Noble when I saw it, I jumped so high that my skirt probably flew up a little too much”), her first full-time hire (a former intern who blossomed under LaTour’s tutelage), her first order from New York’s Mark Ingram (“he’s an icon, the say-so for what’s next”) and most recently, her first sale of a “really bold, color-saturated” gown to Jen Boyles, a Minneapolis bride whose “skin tone didn’t look good in white” (Boyles went on to blog about her wedding for Minneapolis St. Paul magazine).

Asked about her ultimate career goal, LaTour won’t get into specifics—”I’m a real believer that when I say it out loud,

I jinx it,” but it’s clear--from both her body language and the determination with which she speaks--that she won’t be satisfied until her label is among the best-known in the fashion universe.

“Tara’s tenacity and vision are what have made her one of the more innova-tive bridal designers in the U.S. today,” says Laura Nelli, the noted Minneapolis designer behind Nelle Handbags.

Nelli, a dorm-mate with LaTour at St. Cloud State, recalls that even then, being a fashion designer “was a dream for Tara. Those early sketches and designs were so raw.” LaTour’s success since then “clearly illustrates the power that perseverance, dedication and education have in reaching a dream. “

•••For a couture dress designer, LaTour’s

inspirations spring from what might be considered surprisingly mundane sources: Illustrations in the children’s book “Where the Wild Things Are,” scenes based on Broadway’s “Into the Woods,” the landscapes of her youth around Scott and Carver counties, and most of all, the female members of her own family—all of them personal heroines for LaTour.

Her first professional line, rolled out for the 2011 season, was called “Coney Island and the Muses”—allusions to her childhood memories and heroines. “Coney Island” refers not to the famous New York amuse-ment park, but to a long-defunct resort on an island in Lake Waconia; the “muses” are LaTour’s female ancestors and siblings.

“I am obsessed with ruins. I find them fascinating,” LaTour says. “There’s a mys-tique around what it was when it was alive and full, and a romanticism when it’s small and dilapidated.” Waconia’s Coney Island, which “was supposed to be the Minne-apolis version” of its New York namesake, is a case in point: “As a kid, I used to go out there. (I loved) the island, the ruins, the texture, the gradation of color.” The

Blurring the

BoundariesWhen Tara LaTour designs a

new line of wedding dresses, she has one of two things in mind: Pushing out the boundaries of what’s considered “acceptable” in wedding fashion, or paying the bills.

“Some seasons, we stay a little safer … the gowns are very accessible,” LaTour says. Other collections are “more about making a statement.” LaTour hopes she’ll make enough money off the former to sustain her business through the edgier years.

She’ll soon fi nd out, as the upcoming 2014 line will no doubt be considered LaTour’s most daring to date. The inspiration for those soon-to-be-revealed gowns is the work of Australian artist Jessica Stewart, whose pencil-and-paint-based, monochromatic portraits of dreamers and lovers are both wistful and disturbing.

“You look at these (drawings); they’re so romantic and ethereal … you look a little closer … they’re really haunting. The whole idea of her work is based on juxtaposition.” Stewart is particularly well known for her black-and-white portrait of a beautiful woman with skin so translucent that part of her skull is visible.

Stewart’s work is simply an intellectual inspiration, of course. LaTour isn’t literally transcribing what she sees in the portraits; she merely hopes to convey the same ethereal sense, common to much of Stewart’s work, that human relationships are in constant fl ux. Still, she knows people might ask “why would you choose something so haunting” for a wedding gown?

“It’s a challenge,” LaTour conceded. But “I’ve never been so excited about a collection. Fashion and bridal have always been very separate. This is all about fashion.”

-Scott Fagerstrom

“If you truly want to go to work every day, you’re going to do good work. That’s how I’m going to get the best results.”TARA LATOUR


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Shopdress LaTour considers her favorite was partially inspired by the texture of bark on the trees that have overgrown the resort.

As for “the Muses,” LaTour notes that “I’m always inspired by my family. The women in my family have all been really phenomenal—strong, brave, courageous.”

It all adds up to an ethereal yet power-ful look, something LaTour calls “organic modern romanticism.” Think J.R.R. Tolkein’s Elven Queen Galadriel, out for a night on the town in the Forest City of Lorien.

Translating that sort of fantasy into a dress that brides actually wear, of course, requires long hours and utmost attention to detail: LaTour’s dresses are not only painstakingly made by hand, they also “all have a name. They all have a personality. They’re like our children. We talk about them like they’re people.”

LaTour’s day typically begins in the wee hours and runs until about 1 a.m. Her three employees and four interns are also expected to spend long hours of labor in the increasingly overcrowded 1,300-square-foot warehouse they call home.

Describing herself as “a teacher at heart,” LaTour takes great pride in making sure her interns gain valuable fashion experience, and come away with a taste of the rigors she endured at Parsons. But she’s also anxious not to become the sort of fashion tyrant familiar to anyone who’s watched “The Devil Wears Prada.”

“We have a studio motto: ‘Work hard play hard.’ We work really hard and we get a lot done. My interns get a nice edu-cational vocabulary … they participate a lot” in all aspects of the business. But “we also have fun at work.” At 3 p.m., “when everyone gets sleepy,” LaTour will gather her staff around to watch a video by comedienne Kristen Wiig (star, not coin-cidentally, of “The Bridesmaids”). She’s also been known to spontaneously take the entire crew out for a caffeine boost at Waconia’s Mocha Monkey, or to start lec-turing everyone in a strange foreign acci-dent, just for grins.

Right after graduating from Parsons, Latour served a brief stint as an assis-tant designer for one of the country’s top manufacturers, and “it wasn’t a great experience. There was not a good balance, you were constantly being told ‘you’re not good enough,’ and you didn’t feel great walking out of work. I don’t think anyone

yielded their best results from that.“If you truly want to go to work every

day, you’re going to do good work. That’s how I’m going to get the best results.”

Scott Fagerstrom is a Twin Cities-based freelance writer. Send feedback to [email protected].

Your Wedding Dress Doe sn’t

Have to Be White

White hasn’t always been the color of choice for brides.

In fact, according to Tara LaTour, that tradition only goes back about a century and a half, to the era of Queen Victoria. Prior to that, bridal gowns came in a rainbow of colors.

Colorful fabrics had long been a statement about the wearer’s wealth, but the development of dyes made those colors more accessible to the middle class. A few decades earlier, bleach had been invented, making pure white clothes possible; the absence of modern laundering techniques meant only the rich could keep such clothes looking pristine, resulting in white clothes—rather than colors—becoming the new mark of success.

Most of all, there was the 1840 wedding of Queen Victoria, in a white gown, to Prince Albert. The modern media was just beginning to emerge, and Victoria’s wedding may have been the fi rst fashion statement transmitted to every corner of the English-speaking world, with European and American elites following her lead.

There was even a primitive version of what we’d now call a PR campaign; one editor “made up this little poem” describing “all these colors brides shouldn’t wear,” and ever since, white has been the de rigueur color for their gowns.

-Scott Fagerstrom


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If donuts are the new cupcakes and vintage is the new modern, then Glam Doll Donuts has it all fig-ured out already. The charmingly

hip Minneapolis donut shop opened on Nicollet Street to incredible acclaim this past February and hasn’t looked back since.

“We feel so lucky,” says co-owner Arwyn Birch, who teamed up with long-time best friend Teresa Fox on the venture.

Selling an experienceThe two 30-somethings got the idea to

open a donut shop while visiting the famed Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland, Ore.

More than just a bakery, “it was a desti-nation spot,” Birch says.

“A donut is a donut,” Fox says. “But it was an experience they’re selling.”

They began to wonder why a similar donut shop wouldn’t work in Minneapolis. The more they thought about it, the more they realized that they were just the girls to give Minneapolis a donut experience like no other.

“We were at a transitional time in our lives and this was the perfect culmination of our interests,” Birch says.

So using Birch’s eye for design and Fox’s family recipes, the two girls got to work making their dream a reality.

“It all came together,” Fox says.

Femme fatalesNext to the Black Forest Inn at the corner

of Nicollet and 26th streets, Birch and Fox

found a vacant building that had previously housed a bakery. Though it had been empty for two years, some of the equipment was still inside. Even better, it was located just blocks from where they live.

Once the space was theirs, they trans-formed it into the concept café of their dreams, adding vintage light fixtures, plush furniture and a photo booth. They gave a nod to their shared love of the femme fatales of the ‘40s and ‘50s with pin-up art, a pink ceiling and glittered floors.

“We went nuts with glitter,” Fox says. “It’s a visual experience,” Birch says.

DonutsCreating the look was only one part

of the equation. Developing their donut menu was another. Fox worked to perfect her grandmother’s recipes while experi-menting with some bold flavors of her own. The result is a variety of both classic and modern tastes.

Among the early customer favorites are the delightfully named Calendar Girl - with salted caramel; the Dark Angel - filled with vanilla bean cream and topped with chocolate icing; and the Showgirl - driz-zled with maple icing and decorated with pieces of bacon.

While bacon-topped donuts may be old hat for Twin Cities donut connoisseurs, Birch and Fox have several donut offerings that are both daring and intriguing, includ-ing a couple that pay homage to the diverse ethnic cuisines surrounding them.

“We wanted to include the neighbor-hood influence,” Fox says.

The Girl Next Door features provo-lone and muenster cheese. The Bombshell is filled with spicy Mexican chocolate and topped with cayenne pecans. And the Chart Topper is a cake donut with both peanut butter and sriracha.

“We get a lot of wedding orders for that one,” Fox says.

Just a little more than a half year into their donut adventure, Birch and Fox are pleasantly surprised by the early and con-tinued success of Glam Doll Donuts.

They’ve quickly gone from seven employees to 17. “We’ve created a little family here,” Fox says.

But it’s not all sugar and spice. “Frying and proofing donuts is not that sexy,” Birch says.

Still, they’re happy. And their customers are happy, too.

Mollee Francisco is a writer for Southwest Newspapers, which publishes Savvy. Con-tact her at [email protected].

Arwyn Birch and Teresa Fox team up to offer a dazzling donut experience.

nosh | femme fatales

BY MOLLEE FRANCISCO

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When Cate Mezyk pushes her cart through Target, she gets lots of double-takes from fellow shoppers. The Prior Lake mother of three tends to stand out in the crowd, dazzling onlookers with her fashion-able outfits and five-inch-heels.

Yes, even while stocking up on paper towels.

Mezyk is the fashion blogger behind Wild Ruffle (wildruffle.com), which she started in January 2011 to satiate her desire to help women cultivate their own sense of style. Someday, she’d love to open her own boutique, but with raising her family the top priority right now, she opted to start a blog first.

“This is a way to write about what I love, which is personal style and shopping local,” Mezyk said. The blog regularly features photos of Mezyk – all taken by her eight-year-old daughter, Avery – showcasing new outfits and style ideas, as well as fashion tips and product giveaways from shop owners and artisans she loves.

Inspiration struck during a vacation to the East coast, when she and her equally fashion-conscious mom stumbled upon a boutique that wowed Mezyk, a former retail manager for Nordstrom.

“They had amazing accessories and statement shoes – things you would remem-ber seeing on people, but none of them

were outrageously priced,” she said. Mezyk realized that was exactly what she wanted to help women find: affordable but fun con-versation pieces for their wardrobes – and the confidence to wear them.

In fact, through Wild Ruffle, she tries to inspire women to see the versatility of the clothes in their closets. During her Fashion Remix features, she’s worn the same item “seven ways in seven days” – from a striped tank top to a cropped blazer. On other days, Mezyk says her mood dictates what she wears.

“One day I may wake up and put on my faux leather shorts and studded shoes, and the next day I’m wearing a boho maxi dress. It ’s an ever-changing thing with me,” she says.

Mezyk says the most fulfilling part of blogging is hearing from readers who have tried a new look or visited a store they wouldn’t have before. She’s also proud of her status as an “elderly” fashion blogger. Since most fashion bloggers are in their early 20s, Mezyk loves hearing from older moms relieved to find a blogger who doesn’t let her age or life stage squelch her inner fashionista.

Eager to connect in-person with store owners and readers, Mezyk launched her first Wild Ruffle Pop-Up Shop in Novem-ber 2011 – a one-day boutique featuring

local design-ers, retailers and ar tists . T h e s u c -cess of that e ven t wa s “a fantas-tic surprise that evolved from blog-g i n g , ” she sa id . M e z y k continues t o h o s t Po p - U p Shops twice a year, with the next event slated for Nov. 9 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Prior Lake. Plans are underway to make it her biggest event yet - and you can bet she’ll be wearing her trademark five-inch heels.

Liv Lane calls herself a Human Sparkler, devoted to helping women define and ignite their inner sparks – the traits, talents and passions that light them up from the inside out. She has mentored hundreds of bloggers around the world, and profiles an inspiring local blogger in each addition of Savvy. Find her online at LivLane.com.

love & life | bloggers

WILDstreakCate Mezyk inspires women with her blogging, her business and her fashionista ventures. BY LIV LANE

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You’ve done it! You’ve finally landed your first REAL job. You have a salary, outra-geously expensive benefits, and even the option to begin

a retirement fund. During the interview process you put on a fancy outfit, styled your hair, made sure your nail polish wasn’t too spunky, and applied your makeup like you were going to walk the red carpet.

But the problem is, as the weeks turn into months, your motivation for taking time to get dolled-up is dwindling.

Shortcuts and organizational choices are an important part of my life when run-ning from one place to another, and now is the time to candidly tell you what some of my timesaving suggestions are for those mornings that I don’t want to think every detail through.

COLOR-CODE YOUR CLOSETDo not organize clothing by style – i.e.

shirts, sweaters, tank tops, etc. Instead, orga-nize them by color. All of them. Dresses and pants, too, although they can have their own sections. This will always help you save time when you are looking for things. You wanted your yellow, lace button-up? Great! It should be in the yellow section. Your red sweater? Awesome! Look in the red sec-tion. Not there? Then logic suggests it’s in your laundry pile. ROYGBIV.

OWN AT LEAST ONE ALLIGATOR CLIPSlicked-back ponytails are nice, and

adding a headband can give it some extra flare, but an alligator clip doubles as a hair band and an accessory. Did I mention it is a triple threat when used as a self-defense tool?

AVOID NAIL POLISH“For shame!” some of you might be

exclaiming. Polish is a great accessory, but when you are rubbing moisturizer onto your face the morning of your big work presen-tation and you suddenly notice that half

of your polish is chipped away, there is a good chance your confidence will slowly be replaced with self-loathing. Eliminate this potential problem by avoiding polish at least every other week. Here’s an added bonus: Your nails are porous. That means they are meant to breathe. If you want brighter, longer, healthier nails, then let them be.

YOUR NEW MANTRA IS “FEE-FI-FO-FA”That stands for Fallback Outfit, Fall-

back Accessories. Fallback outfits are those pieces of clothing that you always feel nice in – no matter what is going on with your body when you wake up. Bloating, weight fluctuation, you name it – these clothes help make it all bearable. Don’t have a pair

BY STEPHANIE KOTELNICKIStephanie Kotelnicki outlines how to solve dilemmas in your morning style routine.

love & life | style

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of comfy dress pants yet? Then (if you are feeling particularly devilish) wear some black athletic pants. It’s risky, but it will also save you an extra change later at the gym if you can pull it off.

Fallback accessories are pieces you can wear no matter what your outfit looks like – and that makes your acces-sorizing time faster than Speedy Gon-zalez. Don’t have any multi-purpose pieces? Then forgo accessorizing.

I promise I am not trying to strip you of your femininity. Just hear me out: No one in the history of the corporate work environment has ever said, “Wow, that bracelet really makes you look outstand-ingly professional. In fact, it makes you look so professional that I’m giving you a raise and I’m adding it to our dress code requirements along with black slacks and well-groomed hair.”

Unless you work in fashion or you have tattoos that need to be hidden, it is unlikely that accessorizing is a necessary staple of your professional attire. Instead, save yourself a little time by giving your-self less to fuss over. At least once in a while.

Stephanie Kotel-nicki is truly terrified that someday she will be “that old lady with cats.” Not because she is afraid of being old, or lonely, but simply because she does not really care for

cats. She thought it made sense to write this column because she is one of many single women traversing the complicated terrain that is dating, love, sex and life. In the short amount of time she’s spent on this planet she’s learned the following: It isn’t fun to date boys who don’t like it when you win at card games. Friends are your best resource for support and fun but they can also drive you a little crazy. People will always ask, “Why?” after you ask them, “What is your astro-logical sign?” And finally, no matter how tenderhearted Stephanie may be, her foot almost always ends up in her mouth.


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savvy sun signsARIESMARCH 21 - APRIL 19

TAURUSAPRIL 20 - MAY 20

LEOJULY 23 - AUGUST 22

VIRGOAUGUST 23 - SEPTEMBER 22

CANCERJUNE 22 - JULY 22

GEMINIMAY 21 - JUNE 21

love & life | astrology

You are being taken on a life-changing journey. Even though you seem con-fident to others, you know you don’t always feels that way. For this month, pretend that it isn’t all up to you and that you have friends, partners, and colleagues waiting to help you. At times, this month, you feel invigorated by life, and at other times self-doubt creeps in when your attempts to create meet a roadblock. This stagnation may be particularly strong around Sept. 9. By the Full Moon on Sept. 19, you are ready to seek help you need. The give and take of partnership teaches you a lot about your self.

You long for more balance. This year, as you move out into the world in expansive new ways, make sure you don’t lose your connection to a rich, interior life. The fall is a good time to look at bringing both urges into harmony. At the New Moon on Sept. 5, evaluate your workload and see what needs to shift to bring more ease. Starting Sept. 17 and going through the Full Moon on Sept. 19, pay attention to your emotions and intuition. On Sept. 20, you realize an important truth that feels soulful and powerful. Sept. 26-28 is a time to get your bearings again.

Grab hold of life this month. You are encouraged to live up to the gifts you already possess. The challenge for you is to find the creative balance between introversion and extrover-sion. Whichever is the most comfort-able for you, find a way to stretch into the other way of being. Sept. 9, Mars in Leo will square Saturn; look at your obstacles as gifts that teach you what really matters. By Sept. 14, you are sailing into exciting new terrain. An encounter on Sept. 28 may be chal-lenging but also enticing. Be open to soulful exchanges. These can give sur-prising rewards.

The end of summer is your season. Get your inspiration from the natural world. Virgos are expert at discern-ing what is truly valuable and devot-ing themselves to serving those ideals. On the New Moon on Sept. 5, set an intention for the year that acknowl-edges your talents and deepest desires. Don’t be afraid to advocate for your point of view. You can contribute a grounded pragmatism to any situation you find yourself in. At the Full Moon on Sept. 19, the Moon in Pisces opposes your sign and you are able to realize a truth that helps you achieve balance. There are no insignificant coincidences. Enjoy the journey.

You are getting karmic messages tell-ing you to stop resisting the work you need to do. Big changes are afoot in your life and these can feel over-whelming. At the Full Moon on Sept. 19, your passions are high. Don’t hold back, and let your heart lead. Be inspired by beauty as you release attachment and relish the freedom and power that results. Although you like to think of yourself as slow to anger, you are provoked as Mars in Leo squares your Sun sign. Anger is a teacher, and how you react to others while remaining true to yourself is an important test of your will and values.

This month you are eager to synthe-size the things you have learned over the summer. You are taking life more seriously than you usually do, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t having fun coming up with new ideas concerning balance and fairness. Brilliant insights are paired with challenges and con-flict from Sept. 14 through Sept. 16. Hang on and try to be flexible. The Full Moon on Sept. 19 is revelatory. You see how you want to change and realize the importance of having a safe supportive place in which to make these changes happen.


PISCESFEBRUARY 19 - MARCH 20

SAGITTARIUSNOVEMBER 22 - DECEMBER 21

LIBRASEPTEMBER 23 - OCTOBER 23

AQUARIUSJANUARY 20 - FEBRUARY 18

CAPRICORNDECEMBER 22 - JANUARY 19

SCORPIOOCTOBER 24 - NOVEMBER 22

Teri Parsley Starnes is a professional astrologer living in Minneapolis. Her monthly horoscope is written exclusively for Savvy readers. Learn more about Starnes’ business, Starsdance Astrology, at starsdanceastrology.com.

love & life | astrology

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You are enjoying a relaxed pace, dig-ging deeper into the mysteries of relationship, and finding what truly motivates you. This is a satisfying time for you even when you tempo-rarily feel stuck around the Full Moon on Sept. 19. Secretly, you even enjoy the pressures you are feeling since you also feel uniquely qualified to conquer them. This confidence peaks on Sept. 26 when Venus trines Jupiter. Use this energy to embrace your abilities and try to avoid wasting it on frivolous things that aren’t really important to you. The planet of communication, Mercury, is in Libra for most of the month. Share what is on your mind.

It is a relief to know that you don’t have to do everything by yourself, but you also realize in order to collaborate better, you need to listen to your part-ners. Where are you resistant to input from others? The more you open, the more others will listen to your point of view. And your point of view is strong this month. Pluto is stationing direct in Capricorn the day after the Full Moon on Sept. 19. Your impact is powerful but isn’t always welcome by others who don’t understand your commitment. In spite of this, you find willing collaborators the last week of the month. Practice relationship skills.

Last month was quite revolutionary for you. That energy continues this month as you feel a surge of creativity when the summer ends. The challenge will be to figure out how to focus your innovative ideas into a coherent plan of action. The New Moon in Virgo on Sept. 5 is a time to pause and assess the fine details of the changes you are making. You might chaff at the disci-pline it takes to slow down your light-ning-quick mental processes, but you will benefit from giving your ideas a more thorough evaluation. At the Full Moon on Sept. 19, you are reminded that emotions are equal in importance to thoughts.

You are learning that the healing you create for yourself also creates healing for others. This month, pay attention to your own wellbeing. Take care of the pragmatic details of your life with-out surrendering your desire to help others. The week of Sept. 9 you real-ize a new truth that helps you create more integration in your life. The Full Moon on Sept. 19 is in Pisces. This represents a turning point in your year. Struggles you’ve had recently may not completely resolve but you are able to appreciate your accomplishments and your innate gifts. These gifts range from artistic endeavors to idealistic causes. You have access to inspiration.

Life is juicy right now, isn’t it? As the light of summer begins to wane into fall, you naturally come alive. Venus enters Scorpio on Sept. 11 and this gives you impetus to deepen relation-ship. Look for people you really trust to understand where you are coming from. Right before the Full Moon on Sept. 19, you encounter a chal-lenge that asks you to look honestly at your life. This enquiry will lead to renewed vitality; so don’t shirk your responsibilities. Opportunity comes knocking on Sept. 26. Then on Sept. 28 you are asked to prove that you are committed to standing up for your-self and your gifts.

Thoughts turn to learning. Some of you will be going back to school in the fall; others will embark on a new adventure of some sort. The Virgo New Moon on Sept. 5 is a great time to evaluate your learning habits. What helps you focus on the next steps in your life? Paradoxically, focus on your home first helps you expand outward into the world. If you confront a fear, you find that you are quite capable of transforming yourself. At the Full Moon on Sept. 19, you hear the voices of change and dissent. You could well be adding your voice to the chorus too.


J odi Livon, author of The Happy Medium, intuitive coach and resi-dent psychic at Twin Cities Live,

says everyone is intuitive.Each month readers ask Livon about

their questions around intuition and all things supernatural. In this month’s edi-tion, readers ask about mediums’ shop talk, aging and parenting advice.

When you meet other famous medi-ums and talk about your skills, do you all work in the same way? Or does everyone work in their own unique way? Do you ever meet the other living mediums when you are talking to dead people? When you are with another medium can you both talk to the same dead person at the same time?

Though I have had the extreme plea-sure of meeting some fabulous mediums such as James Van Praggh, discussing working styles has not come up in the conversation. Mediums are interpreters of information. How the information comes through is determined by the skill level, personality and life experiences of each medium. And yes, it is possible for a spirit to communicate with more than one medium at a time. They may even prefer one medium’s style or intuitive code over another’s. I like to refer to this as “spirited favoritism.”

I have often wondered about aging after someone passes away. For example, my husband’s father died when he was 41. His mother when she was around 70. If they reconnect after death, how do they appear to each other? Do they remain the “age” they were at passing and re-connect at that timeframe in the past?

When someone comes through from the other side, he or she typically appears in one of two ways. The first is how best my client would recognize the spirit. If a grandfather is coming through with a message for his granddaughter for instance, he may appear as an older man because that is how she knew him. The second way a spirit appears to me when he or she comes through is at their own favorite age. This may be when the spirit, while incarnated, was happiest and/or felt the most attractive.

Are you able to help or give guidance to your clients with behavior issues they might be having with their children? For instance, if they are angry a lot but you’re not able to get the child to open up about what might be bothering them, can you give insight on what may be at the core of their anger to help improve the situation?

Yes, I am able to give intuitive guid-ance to my clients about their children. Of course, I am always mindful of honor-

ing everyone’s boundaries. Each of us has our own unique journey as a soul and that journey includes hardships. A parent’s job is to keep their child out of harm’s way so naturally the inclination is to ‘fix’ what seems broken. At times, this means the parent needs to give their child space. I’m often able to identify when this is true for my client as well as provide insight into what might be making a child a bit more “spirited” when applicable. It’s important to keep in mind that a reading provides insight that can generate fresh perspec-tive, validation and peace. An open mind, however, is most essential to that end.

Send your questions for Jodi Livon to Savvy Editor in Chief Britt Johnsen and your question may appear in an upcoming edition of the magazine. Livon can’t answer every question but she’s grateful to receive all of them. Johnsen is at [email protected] or (952) 345-6387.

Jodi Livon is an author, resident psychic at Twin Cities Live, and she’s an intuitive coach for the business sector. She also offers readings for indi-viduals. Her website is TheIntuitiveCoach.com.

ExploreYOUR INTUITION

with Jodi Livon

love & life | intuition


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Savvy September 2013