September 29, 2024
Sweet Transvestite
August 30, 2024
Dancing at the YMCA
August 4, 2024
Chelsea Popsicle
September 29, 2024
Sweet Transvestite
August 30, 2024
Dancing at the YMCA
August 4, 2024
Chelsea Popsicle
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) is my favorite movie of all time. I’ve seen it at least 30 times. I’ve gloried to dress as Frank’n’Furter in a corset and fishnet stockings more than once. When the new glass elevators were revealed at the 14th Street subway station, the iconic elevator scene from the Rocky […]
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This is a first for Karen’s Quirky Style—Karen in drag! Were you wondering who that mustached dude was? Ha, it’s me! This is my attempt to appear as dreamy as Randy Jones, the captivating cowboy from the Village People. Why did I take it in my head to do this, you ask? The spark was […]
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The Salmagundi Club of New York is one of the country’s oldest arts organizations, founded in 1871 by artists and patrons to support one another. The clubhouse occupies a beautiful, landmarked brownstone at 47 Fifth Avenue. Originally built in 1853 for Irad Hawley, president of the Pennsylvania Coal Company, and his wife Sarah, it’s the […]
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The year is 1973. On the Buses is rolling out of the depot for the last time after a four-year run on the BBC. Daisy the Double-Decker has seen it all. I was the big fan of the show, which introduced me to the depths of the double-decker bus and British humour. So naturally I […]
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It’s time for celebration as Travelers Poets & Friends brings the sunny flavors of Italy to the neighborhood. The heartful Italian café market, wine bar, restaurant and bakery is centered between the Pamina gelato shop and the elevated Italian restaurant, Alaluna. The storefront at Sixth Avenue and West 11th Street sat empty for three years […]
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Hello friends, this month I visit Chelsea’s new gallery on the block, Hauser & Wirth Editions at 443 West 18th Street. Trees are flaunting their blossoms and I feel like voguing in wearable art by Engineered by Andrea T. This fantastical pink pouffe mocks the cherry blossoms, embellishing a slim black dress with Andrea’s trademark […]
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Manhattan’s first beach, the unimaginatively named Gansevoort Peninsula, opened in October 2023. When choosing the location for this month’s column, I wanted to keep the beach action going after a quick trip I made to play on la playa in Puerto Vallarta in January, so I decided to head for our new beach on the […]
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Happy New Year, dear readers. I hope that 2024 will be more Zen for all. For the dramatic look in this month’s column, I was inspired by an article in the New York Times about Sukeban wrestling—a fashionable and fun new Japanese style of women’s wrestling. The women’s costumes, makeup, and signature fat braids are […]
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The Erskine Press building at 17 East 13th Street is currently the home of the Singaporean cocktail bar Singlish. But the Village Preservation plaque to the left of the doorway yields a clue to a rich literary history. Butterick Publishing Company I love that in the 1890s, Butterick printed their women’s dress patterns at this […]
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The way that businesses open and close in New York, hearts are broken and new love affairs begin. It can be hard to keep track. Is it S&P? Is it Eisenberg’s? Answer = All of the Above. A Little History I’m sure many of you know and love the venerable Fifth Avenue lunch counter directly […]
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This month, I went with my crew to another iconic New York literary destination, which also claims to be NYC’s oldest original bar and restaurant, Pete’s Tavern. This combined many of my favorite things: New York history, literature, yummy cocktails and food, and gorgeous quirky fashion. Pete’s is located at 129 East 18th Street at […]
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Toad Hall is a charming neighborhood pub in SoHo, named after the famous manor in The Wind in the Willows. Drinks prices are pre-pandemic, and there’s a gorgeous pool table in the back. Phil happened upon this little-known spot on a mid-afternoon meander and stayed for a beer. The bar is over 100 years old, […]
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My first memory of Elton John’s music is listening to “The Bitch Is Back” at my Aunty Lynne’s house in Penticton, BC. I was playing with my sister Kim and cousins Denise and Sherry, while my aunt and Uncle Dwayne were enjoying a few beers, listening to Elton John on a sunny summer afternoon in […]
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With the passing of Tina Turner on May 24 to a place that surely awaits the world’s most beloved entertainers, this month’s column is brimming with celebration and sadness. How to reconcile losing the ones we love? The heart cries out: Let’s Stay Together. An Inspiring Role Model Tina has always been there, an inspirational […]
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Do you remember the heartbreaking final scene in And Just Like That, Season 1, when Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) scattered Big’s ashes into the River Seine? Just as Season 1, Episode 1, made us cry when Big died, Episode 10 closed off the first year of Carrie’s grief with a call-back to the music playing […]
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Candace Bushnell, Carrie Bradshaw, Sarah Jessica Parker… Fabulous women, both real and fictional! Sex and the City (SATC) turned twenty-five on June 6, and Season 2 of the SATC reboot, And Just Like That, premieres on June 22. For my 50th Karen’s Quirky Style column, I want to celebrate the gorgeous, glamorous, talented women of […]
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Back to the Future at the Bonnet Bash. West Village model Karen Rempel and her pal Jeff Reid duel it out while joined at the hip at the National Arts Club’s 2023 Bonnet Bash, with props from Denny Daniels’s Museum of Interesting Things. Photo by Denny Daniels. This year’s Bonnet Bash at the National Arts […]
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The sheer pleasure of summer bliss in a sea of winter men at Fanelli’s Café in Soho. A dear friend from Jersey City took me to the beloved Fanelli Café on an early trip to New York. It was nighttime and glowing spots of candlelight lit the winter-dark café. Mike told me stories about the […]
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Digging it! Phil just had to take a photo of me standing in this digger on our way to Little Island. He’s such a guy! Jutting into the Hudson River, Little Island is a bite-sized, low-commitment park. You can follow the path to the peak in less than 10 minutes, enjoying stunning views of Manhattan, […]
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Love for sale? Last August, I learned the sad news that the Meatpacking District’s last remaining “short stay” hotel, the Liberty Inn was up for sale. I hadn’t been aware of the inn, though I’d walked past it many times, but I was devastated that Manhattan was losing another tree in the garden that gave […]
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Karen Rempel’s artistic rendering of a Philip Maier photo, capturing the alienation of Edward Hopper’s Automat. Hector’s Café and Diner, at the corner of Little West 12th Street and Washington, has been serving meatpackers three squares a day since 1949. Open at 3 a.m., it’s always a beacon in the shadow of the High Line […]
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I was a girl during the first golden age of feminist television, from 1976 to 1978, when we had an intoxicating fistful of superwomen role models: Wonder Woman with Lynda Carter, the Bionic Woman starring Lindsay Wagner, and Charlie’s Angels with Farah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith, and Kate Jackson. Like Wonder Woman herself, who grew up […]
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Ascend the stoop to the Merchant House Museum at 29 East Fourth Street, between Lafayette and the Bowery, and you might be surprised at what you find. No staid merchants in striped pants and tailcoats are in evidence. But there’s a circa-1860s casket and viewing in the front parlor, and a death scene in the […]
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“Girls don’t play rock’n’roll,” 13-year-old Joan Jett’s guitar teacher told her. Two years later, she founded The Runaways, together with drummer Sandy West. Don’t tell a girl no! My Uncle Dwayne gave my sister and me The Runaways’ second album, Queens of Noise, for Christmas 1977, along with nine other best-selling albums from that year, […]
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Stop this day and night with me and you shall possess the origin of all poems… Do you recognize this geometric structure? I am sure every West Villager does—it is instantly recognizable! It is of course the New York City AIDS Memorial at Seventh Avenue and West 12th Street. Unveiled for World AIDS Day on December 1, […]
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Electric Lady Studios is a mystical Village lodestone with a platinum rock’n’roll pedigree. Founded by Jimi Hendrix in August 1970, the studio opened a mere three weeks before his tragic accidental death due to an overdose of sleeping pills in London. He was 27. If you’ve read Patti’s Smith’s memoir Just Kids, perhaps you remember […]
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Dear readers, you know that I’m proud to be a New Yorker and I love this city passionately. Last Saturday, when we did this photo shoot, was the first time I felt ashamed of my city, and of myself by association. I had arranged to meet photographer Phil and lighting assistant Amy in Father Demo […]
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West Village model Karen Rempel gazes across Sixth Avenue, waiting for the Jefferson Market Library to open. Photo by Philip Maier. I stayed at the iconic Washington Square Hotel on my first trip to New York, in 2014, because of its literary history and proximity to the Blue Note. I soon encountered the marvelous Jefferson […]
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Fifteen years after the final iteration of the infamous Chelsea nightclub in the deconsecrated Gothic Revival church at the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 20th Street closed, the wild energy of Limelight is still as infectious as the latest Covid variant. The iconic NYC dance club Limelight opened in 1983, and in its heyday […]
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West Village model Karen Rempel waits for Mick Jagger on St. Mark’s Place. He’s late. Photos by Philip Maier. This corner is obviously the coolest spot in New York City! I’m sitting by a graffiti’d doorway at the corner of St. Mark’s Place and Avenue A. It looks like the bar might be deserted, but […]
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I don’t watch the Oscars every year, but this year I was working late and I had the show running on another screen to keep me company. I thought overall it was a funny, uplifiting, and moving spectacle. I loved the tributes to movies with signifant anniversaries (Cabaret, The Godfather, Pulp Fiction, as well as […]
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This issue marks the third anniversay of this Karen’s Quirky Style column, which celebrates a love affair with playing dress-up in New York! This column would be nothing without you, dear readers, and I want to give you a big hug and kiss for reading and commenting and just generally adding to the fun and […]
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Storefront fortune tellers are almost as ubiquitous as nail salons in New York. Who among us hasn’t succumbed to the lure of peering into the mists of the future, seeking a hint of reassurance that things are going to be okay? Or guidance to make a choice? Only $10 to gain a moment’s comfort from […]
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Happy New Year! The days have been cool, gray, and rainy in New York City this winter. Not at all the white Christmas that we dreamt about. But as the hip hop duo Atmosphere so eloquently said, “When life gives you lemons, you paint that sh*t gold.” Life has dealt a sh*tload of lemons lately, […]
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Keith was an awfully good sport about being comedic fodder for my Catch and Release foray into fiction. When I saw this exquisite jacket from Engineered by Andrea T, I immediately flashed on Keith Richards—he would totally wear this jacket! Check out the glimmer of chartreuse silk lining. Simply gorgeous! So I decided to design this month’s quirky […]
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I first heard about CBGBs at a party in high school in Burnaby, BC. My friends were playing Talking Heads’ “Life During Wartime” and somehow I parsed the word CBGB’s, though it took decades to learn about the Mudd Club. I’m sure all native New Yorkers know that CBGB’s is the birthplace of punk, though […]
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I always have fun on photoshoots for this column, but the shoot outside Chelsea Guitars was exceptionally boisterous. First of all, my photographer, Phil, encouraged a lot of girl-on-girl action with Marilyn Monroe, which put me in a giddy mood. Cavorting with a ukulele-playing Marilyn is a blast, as I’m sure many readers can imagine. […]
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Of course I was invited to the Met Gala this year! Not!! Being a humble West Village model and style blogger, I don’t have the gravitas of the glitterati invited to the ball-to-end-all-balls. But as you may recall, I dressed in honor of the non-gala last year, and I was fascinated to catch a few […]
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On my first trip to New York, in 2014, I ditched the “Search Inside Yourself” course that brought me to the city and headed over to the Hudson River to search outside myself. The first fascinating wonder I saw was Stephan Weiss’s bronze sculpture, “The Apple.” Soon after, I spotted the Statue of Liberty in […]
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Summer is here and it’s time to put on your coolest whites and head for the mountains, forests, lakes, and beaches. If you can’t get away, the Jefferson Market Garden has never looked more lush. Stop in for a refreshing dose of oxygen, perambulate to view the rainbow flowers tucked into every corner, and visit the koi […]
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All photographs by Philip Maier unless noted otherwise. My fashion sense was influenced by the ’80s glam metal scene, which was fomented by the punk rock scene in NYC in the ’70s. The Velvet Underground was Andy Warhol’s house band, spawning Lou Reed’s shattering Rock n Roll Animal in 1973. At the same time, Jean-Michel Basquiat […]
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George was waxing philosophical again. “I have a trite aphorism that I offer all the time: men are driven by egos, women are driven by emotions.” The first time he said it, I disagreed, gave it some thought, and disagreed again. Now that I had heard it 48 times, I was beginning to believe him. […]
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New York Tough. New York Proud. New York Variant. Rona the virus is drooping. I began tracking coronavirus news daily, obsessively, in March of 2020, as I’m sure many of you did. I even created an email folder for NYC updates related to the virus, testing, vaccinations, closures, and other impacts on the city. In May […]
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This Catch and Release thing is really picking up momentum. Not only is George giving me advice on my love life, but now readers are writing to give George advice to give to me! Last month, George suggested I marry someone rich and then bump him off. In response, Arthur wrote, “George should probably point out—as […]
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This month’s look veers into very quirky territory, bringing a confluence of three distinct elements into a unique look that combines disparate sources into a true Rempel original. But before I tell you about the fashion, let me set the scene. We shot this month’s column in the storied Minetta Lane, in a Spanish-influenced doorway. […]
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I looked at dozens of apartments in the Village in 2017 when I was searching for my dream New York home. One of my favorite apartment viewing experiences was a co-op with loft bed that caught my eye on StreetEasy because it had a vintage chocolate poster on the living room wall. When I viewed […]
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An early casualty of the pandemic, Gato at 324 Lafayette Street closed in March 2020. Owner Bobby Flay said, “As of March 16th, I am closing my restaurant Gato because of the obvious and unprecedented circumstances threatening our world. I wish everyone well.” As businesses boarded their windows, artist Sino began painting murals of his mythical Frank Ape art […]
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My publisher George thinks his dating stories are better than mine. “Men can roam more freely than women. I’ve been all over the world.” He told me he dated a French woman (in France), the heiress of a famous line of Armagnac. She lived in a castle, and sadly rejected his offer of marriage, which […]
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My love affair with New York began in Washington Square Park. I parachuted into the Washington Square Hotel on my first trip to New York in 2014, drawn by the fact that the Rolling Stones and both of the Dylans had stayed there. Within minutes of ditching my bags, I was walking past the park on my way to […]
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When I was a little girl, I loved playing dress up. In Canada we had a show called Mr. Dressup that was on every weekday morning from the time my family got a television until the mid-90s. His puppet friends Casey and Finnegan were part of the fun, but the moment I liked best was […]
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I don’t know about you, but I’ve felt like flying since we got the news on November 7 that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been elected the leaders of our country. The cheers, honks, and bells ringing through the streets of the Village made New York seem like herself again—electric and alive. And now […]
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This column is for all of you who have a favorite old sweater that you want to hang onto, even though your main squeeze pressures you to get rid of it and has tried three times to donate it to Goodwill. This quirky look is a real mash-up of styles and periods, but my vintage […]
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Mask and dress art by Engineered by Andrea T. Photograph by Philip Maier. A while ago I told you about a stop-you-in-your-tracks dress by Engineered by Andrea T, based on a painting called Dominion Day by James Kerr. Recently when Andrea told me she was making couture face masks, I immediately asked her if she […]
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West Village model Karen Rempel in bespoke dress and mask by Engineered by Andrea T. Fearless Girl also wears mask with bow by EAT. Photo by Tess Malone. You might wonder how a simple dress relates to women’s empowerment. This month’s photo series is an all-woman effort, featuring this stunningly simple bespoke dress by Engineered […]
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Engineered by Andrea T is the design studio of transformation artist Andrea Thurlow, a designer and bespoke tailor with a flair for the dramatic. She creates striking evening wear, day wear, and Broadway costumes with a personal aesthetic using top-quality natural fabrics and an engineer’s precision methodology. My favorite piece by Andrea T is a […]
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A killer look often starts with one piece to build on. I put this style together around these luscious cherry wine trousers, which I found for a luxe change-of-season steal at Tiziano Zorzan on 8th Avenue. Tiziano has 3 locations in the West Village, where you can find exclusive capsule collections designed and made in […]
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The First Monday in May Everyone who loves fashion knows that The First Monday in May is the highlight of the year, when the glitterati put on their most fantabulous creations and head up the red carpeted steps into the Met. (Check out the wonderful film Ocean’s 8—which premiered at Alice Tully Hall in 2018—to […]
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In these days of social distancing, I couldn’t get my dear friend Dusty to take my picture. So this month’s column is my first selfie, taken using a mirrored elevator. And of course with all clothing stores closed, I needed to call on the contents of my fab four closets to put together my Corona […]
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Dear reader, I hope that you and your loved ones (both skinny and furry) are home safe, and enjoying some close time together, catching up on some of those things you’ve been meaning to do. This home time is a time for reflection, and a pause to look at the changes in NYC. This is […]
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This Easter promises to be bleak, and nothing is bleaker than an un-peopled Bleecker Street. When Dusty and I headed over to Bleecker for this month’s shoot, we were doing our best to put a bright face on Easter. I chose a soothing fifties-reminiscent outfit in chick-and-bunny colors with ironic white gloves in brave pandemic […]
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This month’s look is a mixture of old and new, with contrasting textures and colors. The centerpiece is the striking, shiny black PVC pants by Andrea Thurlow of Engineered by Andrea T. I love their sleek edginess. The next step in putting this outfit together was to hunt through my closets for the perfect shoes […]
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With spring still a distant wisp of hope, bright colors can help us bridge the gap in the dead of winter. What a great opportunity to wear this delicious electric-toned dress by Andrea Thurlow of Engineered by Andrea T. Notched cap sleeves and slim pencil skirt bring a hint of Forties elegance to Andrea’s modern […]
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A friend recently told me about a new book by Sofia Din MD, Do We Really Need Botox? Handbook of Anti-Aging. I read the book, and I am flummoxed about what to tell you. The book offers overviews of various “anti-aging” options, including eating right and exercising. But the premise itself is questionable to me. […]
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You might not recognize me this month with my new hair color. Even though the color has changed with each month of this column, this time it is a real surprise. Brunette! When she first saw it, my friend Rhonda at LifeThyme said, “Karen, what happened, your hair is normal!” She was shocked. The brunette […]
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My first commercial print modeling gig has born fruit on Sixth Avenue on the Juice and Joy sandwich board! Lots of friends have mentioned seeing me on the TV screen inside the cozy juice bar on Sixth. Now I’m out on the sidewalk as well. Minor fame in the West Village! Many thanks to Mo […]
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Having trouble getting in the spirit this holiday season? I hope that Karen’s Kinky Christmas outfit, complete with Grinch-green wig, will put you in the mood for some holiday hijinks. Come on, tell Karen, have you been naughty or nice? I have a holiday gift for you if you can guess what I am holding […]
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The dearly awaited December issue of Vogue came out, and there was Phoebe Waller-Bridge on the cover. OMG, this was the issue I might be in! Even though, as I wrote previously, it seemed chances were very slim that I was in the shot, HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL. When my friend Simitra sent me a text […]
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With apple-picking season flying by and Thanksgiving fast approaching, I brought out my cowboy boots for this month’s adventure on Bleecker Street. The weather was still so warm on the day of the shoot that I decided to pair the boots with flared black shorts and fishnet stockings. (Think Beyoncé at Coachella! Love this incredible […]
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My friend Dusty Berke received an award for her arresting photograph Playing Statues on Bleecker on October 16 at the prestigious Salmagundi Club. The photograph of West Village model and photojournalist Karen Rempel (moi) originally appeared in the “Karen’s Quirky Style” column in the May 2019 issue of WestView News. You might recall my blog […]
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I had a fantasy dream come true on a recent Sunday, modeling couture designer Engineered by Andrea T’s gorgeous creations on Bleecker Street. Which is your favorite? Red dress with purple accents – eye-popping color! Mod winter-white dress with “grass” vinyl print on hem and straight black stripe down the front center line Garnet red […]
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Diana Broussard is a creative force of nature. She’s a true pioneer in fashion design, from Calvin Klein’s eponymous underwear for women to the latest in wearable tech—exclusive, sleek handbags with customizable video displays. She has worked with some of the biggest names in the business, including Dior and Gucci, and started her own line […]
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Karen’s Quirky Style is all about expressing our inner joie de vivre through color and fun combinations of clothing and accessories from different sources and time periods. I love walking down the street and seeing people’s faces light up with delight at the unexpected sight before their eyes. (Namely, moi. Haha.) The outfit I’m wearing […]
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Everything old is new again, but the newest introduced at Paris Fashion Week this year is Le Petit Chiquito by French designer Simon Porte Jacquemus. It’s beyond the tiniest handbag you’ve ever seen, with room for ONE of these items: a single mint or piece of gum a housekey a folded-up twenty for cabfare Now […]
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Fall is in the air—my favorite time of year. What a great opportunity to wear this delicious jewel-toned dress by Andrea Thurlow of Engineered by Andrea T. You may recall the story about the “Dominion Day” dress in the July issue of WestView. Andrea made this dress using extra yardage of the “Dominion Day” custom […]
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The drag queens and fashionistas in the West Village will laugh when you hear about my awkwardness with ballgowns. I may have worn a ballgown when I was seven years old and playing dress-up with my neighbor friend’s lovely box of treasures. Certainly I dressed my Barbie in lovely floor-length gowns when I was a […]
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Confession time. I’m a shoe fanatic! I have a friend who decides what she’s going to wear on a given day based on which pieces in her remarkable jewelry collection she feels like displaying. For me, it’s all about the shoes. I will often pull together an outfit based on which of my dearest pair […]
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For me, having fun with fashion is about finding pieces I love at the most unexpected moments, and then combining them with old favorites to come up with an entirely new, unique look. I call this “Karen’s Quirky Style”: You won’t find these ensembles in Vogue They don’t cost a mint No one else wears […]
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The National Arts Club celebrated Jo Weldon’s new book, Fierce: The History of Leopard Print, in March, with a leopard-spotted event that had stylish New Yorkers turning out in truck-loads of faux pelts adorning every imaginable garment from boots to hats. Touted as a “neutral,” leopard prints might have been invented as nature’s camo, but […]
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I met actress Bettina Schwabe at a party for an investor club at VNYL in the East Village. She asked me where I got my jewelry, so I’m dishing a few secrets here to share with you… Style Tip Style doesn’t have to be expensive. One of the signatures of Karen’s Quirky Style is to […]
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