Fashion designer Alice Roi describes her own style as “grungy” – and it fits. Today she has on a pair of jeans, a poofy Northface coat and black-and-white clogs.
“You like my shoes?” she asks. “I made them with Wite-Out.”
Roi’s creative and fun approach to fashion prompted us to see if she could find a chic and trendy outfit – with only $100.
We knew she would blow our minds.
“I have a different vision for my line than I do for myself,” says Roi, whose clients include Heidi Klum and Antonia Bennett (Tony’s daughter).
“It’s all about comfort, style and a little bit of ballsiness.”
1. California Fashion
(18 W. 14th St.; [212] 633-8947) “It’s real easy to make a skirt, put it over your head and let it sag on your hips with one of these huge comforters on 14th Street,” says Roi. She picks out a burgundy comforter with a huge peacock pattern on it.
Next, she looks at a navy boy’s blazer.
“I like that it has a shrunken look,” says Roi. “It looks really authentic, like prep school authentic.”
2. Dee & Dee
(22 W. 14 St.; [212] 243-5621)
Amid all the Barbie toys and SpongeBob SquarePants dolls, Roi finds a pile of off-white long-john shirts that she says “would be perfect” over the skirt. “The long-john shirt represents a little sexiness,” she says.
(3) Magic Shoes Inc.
(178 Bleecker St.; [212] 673-1633)
From Airwalks and Converse sneakers to Vans and Kangaroos, this store screams retro. Roi is drawn to a pair of penny loafers.
“It’s funny, in a preppy dirty kind of way,” she says. “It’s kind of like that L.L. Bean rustic look. We can scuff it up a little bit with a nail file.”
The salesperson checks for a size 8, but only has a 7½. Roi takes it anyway.
(4) Duane Reade
“I’m looking for some kind of accessory to add the final touches,” she says, looking through nail polish and Goody hair barrettes. “What do you think of some press-on nails? It reminds me of this picture I have of Peggy Guggenheim in Venice on a gondola – her lapels had jewels all over them.” For the record: Roi hopes to implement the press-on nails look into one of her future lines.
(5) Alice Roi’s apartment
Roi gets out a pair of pinking shears and lays out the blanket on the floor. She folds it in half, and cuts a half circle in the middle. On a model, Roi cuts the bottom of the skirt and glues the press-on nails to the lapels of the boy’s jacket.
“I think the outfit is ’50s, which is really a big trend right now,” says Roi. “But it’s still not totally kooky – you don’t look like you’re wearing a blanket, because you’re not wearing it like a blanket.”
“It’s a very intellectual outfit; it looks studious but cultural. I think the whole outfit looks really rich.”
Roi’s Golden Rule:
“If you’re going to buy something eccentric, like the comforter, you should always pair it with something basic, like the blazer and the long-john shirt. You should bring back familiar garments. Do something to bring it back to reality, and not only reality but familiarity.”
What she bought:
California Fashion: $72.70
Dee & Dee: $4.99
Magic Shoes: $20
Duane Reade: $1.99
Total: $99.68