Kendall Conrad

As you may or may not know, post-Harper’s Bazaar and pre-KiC, I had an eponymous line of handbags (my line sadly went with the economy). Because of that, my ears always perk up when I hear of other women who’ve made the leap. Kendall Conrad‘s name kept popping up here and there and the same week I met one of Kendall’s friends, Julia Leach of Chance, I also saw a profile on Kendall in Martha Stewart Living. I love Kendall’s style; it’s minimalist, bohemian, slightly tomboyish. (When I saw her Martha Stewart profile I wanted everything she mentioned down to her favorite olive oil.) She has two stores in L.A., one in my favorite shopping mall ever (if you can call it that), the Brentwood Country Mart, the other in Venice. A mother of two girls who lives in Santa Barbara with her husband David Cameron, she is a perfect KiC profile.

Having had my own line of handbags before, I’m curious, what made you want to design bags? I studied architecture in college and was a painter. I never studied fashion or set out to be a handbag designer per se, it just fell into my lap. I started my first company in 2000 called Tauro. At that time, I couldn’t find any handbags that I liked. Feeling creative (I was pregnant with my second daughter), I had this idea to make a very simple tote with hand-stitching and tassels. I took it to a local saddle maker to execute. Soon my friends wanted ones of their own and so it began. We still make the original tote, the Marisol.

What is your idea of a perfect handbag? A bag that is made by hand, is lightweight, soft but holds its shape, has a bit of structure and is in a beautiful leather that has real character. I always gravitate to bag that has an equestrian feel. The pragmatist in me likes compartments for organization, but not a lot of bells and whistles on the outside. Brass hardware, a discreet label inside and a little hand-stitching.

California style is….Modern and classic, authentic, functional and chic, understated and elegant, easy and sophisticated, sustainable.

Summer essentials: The idea of “essentials” to me really comes down to editing to the bare minimum. I want to be untethered and free of anything extraneous. My go-to summer bag is the Playera, because it’s versatile, packs flat, is sophisticated enough to take to town and casual enough to tote to the beach. Other necessaries include Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil, Intelligent Nutrients Organic Lip Delivery Nutrition, and giant straw hats that my friend brought back for me from Peru.

Entertaining essentials: Rosé in the summer, champagne the rest of the year, good company, a great playlist, delicious food, warm lighting, and spontaneity! Never uptight or fussy.

Fave activities to do with your girls: On beach days we set up our “living room” at Rincon Beach with all of our gear–surfboards, boogie boards, a volleyball, books–where we picnic and spend the whole day, usually ending with a campfire dinner; horseback riding at our family ranch in Northern California; overnight trips to Santa Cruz Island in the Channel Islands.

Five fave addresses: 1) San Ysidro Ranch for dinner outside under the loquat trees; 2) Little Dune Beach in Point Dume, Malibu; 3) Santa Barbara County Bowl for summer outdoor concerts; 4) the hike to Tangerine Falls in Montecito; 5) dinner in the garden at Axe Restaurant on Abbot Kinney in Venice.

Next destination: Morocco–Essaouira and Chefchaouen.

Keeps you sane: My husband David! And long beach walks with my dogs at Loon Point.

Portrait by David Cameron; Kendall with her daughers, courtesy Vogue.com.

Julia Leach

Here at KiC, we live for the summer. So when we had the opportunity to meet Julia Leach, designer of Chance, a line basically devoted to summer essentials (and everything striped), we were excited. Leach, who was executive vice president and creative director at Kate Spade before she launched her own line a year ago, embodies a laid-back coastal vibe with her long blond hair and equally long legs. She is thoughtful, incredibly easygoing, and her inspiration comes from a love of adventure, travel and simplicity in style. (Who doesn’t want to be sitting on a beach somewhere in a Chance striped tee?) Last week Chance opened their first pop-up shop in Barneys. While Leach received a lot of coverage about her collection, we wanted to find out more about the woman behind the brand.

What is it about a striped T-shirt? It’s that the striped T-shirt telegraphs a bigger idea beyond being a piece of clothing. Very few garments communicate a world or notion, but the striped T-shirt does. It conjures up a sense of adventure, design, simplicity and personal style, values that anchor Chance and my point of view on living and dressing. I’ve had so many people tell me stories about their favorite striped T-shirt since I launched the business–there’s an emotional attachment to it, a romance.

Your California beach attire vs. New York beach look. In California, I pull out my old Levi’s cut-off shorts and wear them with one of my boyfriend’s old Turnbull & Asser button-down shirts over a black Tomas Maier bikini. Flat leather sandals and a straw hat finish it off. In New York, I’m usually in a Chance henley (one of my favorite styles) and a pair of Theory shorts from a stack I’ve accumulated over the years. Again, the black bikini. I’m not a big collector of sunglasses, I have two in rotation, an Oliver Peoples silver frame aviator and Tom Ford aviators with a gold frame.

Five things you cannot travel without:

1. A pair of Manolo Blahnik dark brown leather flat sandals I’ve had for at least 10 years. They’re perfect and have stood the test of time. They go everywhere with me.

2. White jeans year-round. I like Madewell’s Skinny Skinny.

3. A beloved denim jacket from 45 rpm, great for dressing up and down, as well as dealing with the temperature changes that accompany travel.

4. A LaFCO Cucumber Thyme mini candle–it brings a touch of home to any hotel room.

5. A good book is essential. This summer it’s There & Then: The Travel Writing of James Salter, my favorite author.

6. I know this makes six, but music is so important to me. I’m constantly making playlists and they become associated with certain places and adventures.

A Chance fragrance would smell like….Honeysuckle and jasmine with a subtle note of lemon. The fragrance would be a collision of sensual/velvety, lightness/sunshine and West Coast/East Coast…like a walk through Beachwood Canyon in LA or along the beach on the North Fork  in the evening when the flowers are in full bloom.

Summer means….Tan legs, Essie Imported Champagne on my toes, J. Crew tuxedo shirts from the boys department with black crepe shorts and strappy sandals. Watching nature TV and bike riding upstate, dinners on the terrace in LA, sharing crisp, cold Sancerre with friends, fresh corn on the cob with lots of lime, kiddie cones with a double-dip of butterscotch, a sense of freedom and possibility, and Chance.

Julia photographed by Andrew Paynter