What2WearWhere Finds Fashion at the Carlisle and Per Se Penthouse

Lauren Busch, Jessica Karam, Caitlin Kafner, Jayne Cunningham, and Cristen Bullen.

The elegant penthouse showroom of Carlisle and Per Se Collections was host to a convivial confluence of some of the city’s most influential businesswomen the other night. Marie-Noel Bastien, Director at Citigroup, Karen Klopp, founder of What2WearWhere.com and Frances Shultz, freelance writer and Special Projects Consultant for the Collections, welcomed the group who represented some of the most prominent financial institutions in the city.

The theme of the evening was “Spring Dressing” which resonated with the gathering of stylish career women, who don’t have time to shop but are expected to look “put together” every day at the office and at social functions.

They were impressed with the ease of shopping at the Showroom, well secluded from the hustle and bustle of the their daily lives. Carlisle creates couture dresses, suits, separates, and accessories with a sense of classic style that is modern yet appropriate for any professional or social occasion.

Marie Noel Bastien and Karen Klopp.

Marie Noel welcomed the crowd and thanked co-chairs Katie Cusack, Credit Suisse; Eleanor Goodyear, and Holidae Hayes, UBS Financial Services Inc; Elizabeth Hewitt, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Laurie Niles, J.P. Morgan Chase; Kim Nisbet, RGE Roubini Global Economics; Nina Reeves, Nina Reeves Communications; Pamela Scott, Citigroup Global Markets, and Julie VanderVeen, BNY Mellon.

She complemented Karen Klopp and What2WearWhere on its commitment to philanthropy – 25% of the revenue from retail sales on the site is donated to charities that help women, children and the environment. What2WearWhere.com is an online boutique and Blog that helps today’s busy women dress and shop for all of life’s occasions.

Viva Bhogaita and Frances Schultz (or ‘How to tie a scarf’).

Karen replied, “We love this approach to dressing – instead of shopping reactively, hastily running around town when you have an event to attend, this system encourages pro-active wardrobe planning. You go to the showroom and a well-trained Fashion Consultant like Viva Bhogaita will help you compile your social and workplace fashion needs for the upcoming season.”

Viva and Frances demonstrated the versatility of the collection by pairing coordinating pieces in endless possibilities for the workplace, travel and social functions. They also had some fun showing the group how to “pop a color” to liven a look.

Viva Bhogaita and Frances Schultz.

The beautiful, singular designs are a testament to Carlisle's ongoing commitment to expert, European fabric suppliers and crafts people. In addition, the price points of the line are exceptionally reasonable, something most women don’t realize when making their first appointment. It is a pleasant surprise to find the cost of couture jackets less than half of what one might expect. In addition, both the Carlisle and Per Se collections carry sizes 0-18 and tailor each item with their on-site seamstress.

Every dress has a coordinating jacket or sweater. Viva demonstrated how to build an outfit by first creating a “column,” or one solid color with pants, skirt and top and adding colorful elements from there.

Included in the presentation was a gorgeous, multicolored scarf that was created by Carlisle and Per Se to benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation. To date, the scarf has raised over $1,000,000. One of the highlights was when Frances Schultz, who is style personified, demonstrated her fabulous scarf-tying techniques.

Showroom Director Leena Gurevich.

Showroom Director Leena Gurevich closed the evening by announcing her generous offer to donate a portion of the proceeds from the event to Fountain House, an organization, which has been committed since 1948 to bettering the lives of people with mental illness, through the development of innovative techniques, research and shared knowledge. Click here to learn more about Fountain House.

Guests included Elizabeth Bastien, Alexis Fedor, Jayne Cunningham, Calypso Lawrence, Whitney Brownie, Pam Nochlin, Samantha Gilbert, Jaya Viswanadha, Miriam Eaves, Pamela Scott, Nina Rue, Elissa Kramer, Robyn Marks, Emily Leonard, Anne MacGillvray, Kathy Kildruff, Kamiesha Garbadawala, Beth Tunney, Lauren Busch, Jessica Karam, Caitlin Kafner, Cristen Bullen, Joan Rose and STUDIO Organic Haircare’s Danielle Brown.