KQS Purse Pals

Karen's Quirky Style - Engineered by Andrea T "Dominion Day" dress and painting

EAT Dominion Day

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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West Village Model Karen Rempel - Karen's Quirky Style - Alexis Bittar Jewelry

Karen’s Kinky Christmas

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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Karen's Quirky Style - Post-Mortem of Vogue Cover Shoot

Post-Mortem Vogue

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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Karen's Quirky Style - Anna Wintour's Master Class inspires West Village model Karen Rempel

Master Class – Anna Wintour! Lessons Learned…

So inspiring! I just finished Anna Wintour’s Master Class on Creativity and Leadership, and my heart is bursting with creative ideas. There were so many inspiring photographs of fantastical scenes in the class, and style tableaux that my eyes literally wanted to drink up. So many details—such richness and beauty—that I wanted to keep looking […]

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Karen's Quirky Style - West Village Model Karen Rempel transformed into Kris Jenner

New Face – Kris J!

I never thought I would be the mother of a gorgeous group of Kardashian stunners! But last week I got an email asking if I was available to do a shoot with The Face magazine. Of course I said yes, and a couple of days later, there I was on a set in mid-town. You […]

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Karen's Quirky Style - West Village Model Karen Rempel's singing debut in Bowie blue suit

Quirky Singing in 70’s Style

You might have guessed based on my personality and love of unique expression that I am a big fan of David Bowie. He’s definitely an influencer on my quirky style. I’ve previously mentioned conducting the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra dressed as Bowie. You may not know that I also ran the New York Marathon dressed as […]

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Karen's Quirky Style - West Village Model - Simrita Dhillon and Karen Rempel in the shot that never was

Inside the Vogue Cover Shoot

The Shot That Never Was… Being Discovered… It was like a fairytale. I was walking up 6th Avenue after Barre3 class, a bag of groceries slung over my shoulder, on my way to meet my friend Robin Hirsch for a glass of wine at Spain Restaurant on W. 13th Street. It was raining fairly heavily, […]

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West Village New York Model Karen Rempel on Bleecker Street - Dress by Engineered by Andrea T

Bleecker Runway Show

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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Karen's Quirky Style - New York Model Karen Rempel at Pace Opening

Pounced at Pace

I attended the opening of the new Pace Gallery in Chelsea this week, and had a great time checking out the 7 floors, including outdoor terrace with great views of Chelsea and downtown Manhattan. The event was covered in the New York Social Diary, in a fantastic article by Jill Krementz. Patron of the arts […]

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Karen's Quirky Style - Diana Broussard - West Village Style New York

Diana Broussard’s Genius Designs

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 - Proud as a Peacock in Quirky Colors

Quirky Color – Peacock Pride

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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Karen's Quirky Style - Camp at the Met - Fashion Mashup New York Style

Outrageous Camp at the Met

The Met has a new exhibit in The Costume Institute‘s “Fashion Wing,” called Camp: Notes on Fashion. The above was my favorite quirky look in the exhibit. I like the mashup of elements: Mannequin holding baby Mannequin wearing glasses Plastic rainhat Chiffon ballgown with yellow birds on it

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New York Fashion Model Karen Yvonne Rempel on Karen's Quirky Style uses KQS Purse Pals

Style Notes: Mini Handbags

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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New York Model Karen Rempel - Karen's Quirky Style - Dominion Day Dress 2 by Engineered by Andrea T

Rubies on Bleecker

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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