June 17th we, The Chics, partook in quite the fun and exciting Fashion Incubator San Francisco panel “Using Blogs to Build Your Brand”, moderated by our favorite writer, fashionista-in-the-know, San Francisco Chronicle STYLE contributor and fashion commentator Tony Bravo!
The experience was inspiring, fun beyond what words can convey, and hey, who could ever dislike being asked to share the spotlight and act all wise ‘n all on a subject? Not us! We LOVE ego and we shall feed it any chance we get! HAH and *wink, wink*!
So, without any further ado, want to get noticed and covered by fashion bloggers? Need inspiration for your next blog post that will make your brand pop? Then click on through and hear leading fashion and lifestyle bloggers from j’adore couture (Kim Mitchell Stokes), Stylenik (Kristen Philipkoski) and us, The Chics, Leila Radan and Michele Gates, reveal what works and what won’t in building followers to grow your brand.
Whether we did a good job or not matters not, we looked good and we were filmed. Mission accomplished!
Thank you Tony for thinking of us and asking us to be on the panel and thank you Fashion Incubator San Francisco for hosting us!
May 27th we, The Chics, interviewed former model and celebrity photographer Mr. Nigel Barker, of America’s Next Top Model fame, as he made a stop at Macy’s San Francisco to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and to promote his latest book, Models of Influence!
Here’s where I have a confession to make. Up until Michele informed me that we’d be interviewing Nigel, I had no idea who he was! The closest I’ve gotten to watching reality TV, is HGTV as I’m drawn to anything and everything real estate, design and remodeling. Yes, this means that I have never watched America’s Next Top Model… nor have I ever watched The Face… or any reality TV show for that matter, aside from Betsey Johnson’s short-lived reality TV stint on the now-defunct Style Channel because DUH, anything and everything Betsey Johnson is a MUST! But I digress.
So, a few days pre-interview I had to google Nigel’s name to see what I had missed out on and to say that I was blown away by the man is an understatement. His prolific body of work and his contagious passion and zest for life speak for themselves but, being the romantic geek that I am, what truly moved me was Nigel’s deep love for his wife and children, and for their family and friends. I was, and still am, particularly taken in by Nigel’s Instagram page. Seriously, check it out. Nigel has a unique way of viewing the world. He turns even the most casual of outings into picturesque moments of inspired existence where he takes the time to share his thoughts and to wax poetic on life, on his experiences and, more frequently, on his deep appreciation for what he has manifested and what he is living. There we are privy to his travels both alone and with his family, their latest adventures and discoveries, the deep bond his wife shares with her twin sister, the deep love and appreciation that Nigel has for said bond, and so much more, all captured ever so artistically and shared with the world at large.
So yes, we met Nigel Barker, THE Nigel Barker, the celebrity you all know and love. But more substantially, we also met Nigel Barker the man, the kind, sweet, charming, intelligent, polite, handsome-inside-and-out lovely human being that he is and THAT is what thrilled me the most.
And so without further ado, here you go, a motha of a post because not only do we have one video of Nigel, we have THREE! Delve on in, watch, love and share! Here we are with Nigel in our latest installment of Chic Talk!
After our interview, Nigel was ready for his Macy’s San Francisco talk and Q&A and we caught it all on tape for your viewing pleasure, thanks to our lovely Team Chic videographer Nancy Ericsson! Enjoy!
And last, but definitely not least, here’s a little side chat I had with Nigel, dedicated to my high school Sri Lankan friend Sasha, filmed both by Nancy and by me.
How’s that for some Nigel Barker fabulosity? Good? You’re welcome!
May 20th my partner-in-Chic Michele and I proved our hard core admiration of none other than acclaimed director John Waters, by being first in line for his sold out (within the first 4 minutes of it being posted online we were told) book reading at local San Francisco bookstore, Green Apple Books on the Park!
Though we have yet to score an interview with Mr. Waters, we are pursuing him and have even tracked down his very lovely and polite publicist and come Fall may be able to talk one on one with the Pope of Trash himself, the very Prince of Puke, or as he likes to refer to himself, the one and only Filth Elder! Oh yes we will!
We did, however, manage to get some Chic guerilla footage of the man himself reading from his latest book, Carsick, and answering our questions in the Q&A no less. Don’t believe us? Click below and watch our latest Chic Spotting adventure starring the fabulous John Waters!
Michele was under the weather but gracefully showed up for moral support and in solidarity with me as I went at it alone and interviewed Justin at one of our favorite San Francisco stores, Wonderland SF.
Having initially reached out to Justin on Facebook, Michele and I were pleasantly surprised to be greeted with warmth and humor by this local social butterfly and reality-TV-star-in-the-making. Justin was sweet and kind online and even more so offline, as well as down-to-earth, funny and charming. We can attest to the fact that whatever diva-ish stories may surround most reality TV stars, we will never believe such potential future claims about Justin! We think his Bravo profile says it all!
A native San Franciscan, Justin Fichelson is one of the Bay Area’s top luxury brokers at Climb Real Estate. He is the true embodiment of a real estate shark and credits his success to his exclusive roster of clients and unparalleled knowledge of the market. Fichelson is a master networker, and not only knows the key venture capitalists, angel investors and founders of Silicon Valley’s most successful and innovative companies, but is personally friends with them. His circle also includes the Getty and Hilton families.
Voted “Most Likely to Become a Millionaire” in high school, he sat side-by-side to many of the up-and-coming tech superstars and works hard to ensure he’s their first call when buying property. A constant in the San Francisco society pages, Fichelson knows the importance of making the rounds and can frequently be seen attending charity galas and serving on the boards of various committees. From his colorful suits to his unconventional living situation, he embodies the eccentric persona of a true native San Franciscan and is always working his social network to land his next big listing.
So, without any further ado, here is our Chic Talk with Justin Fichelson himself! Though I must say, “unconventional living situation”?!? Why was THAT not brought up in our interview Justin? WHY? Perhaps a follow-up is in order!
Thank you Justin for a fun interview and thank you Irene Hernandez-Feiks for welcoming us all into your incredible world that is Wonderland SF with open arms! And to you Chicsters we say, remember to tune in to the premier of Million Dollar Listing San Francisco on July 8th! Congratulations Justin!
Oh Chicsters, forgive us, for we’ve been remiss at keeping you in the know! A mixture of life, busyness and sheer laziness kept The Chics from tuning in but, rest assured, NO MORE!
As you know, The Chics exploded unto the scene by interviewing fashion icon, and the inspiration of A Pile Of Chic, Betsey Johnson! Next up was supermodel Kate Upton, followed by a very busy month of March that saw them politely stalking, meeting and filming Margaret Cho, ending with a big splash that was their interview of Danish actress, incredible visionary, philanthropist and activist, Connie Nielsen!
Their interview with Connie was their first professionally filmed interview. What do we mean? Well, we are so excited to announce that A Pile Of Chic has their very own Team Chic, comprised of videographers Nancy Ericsson, John Chris Lopez and Stefunny Pettee! Welcome to our world of Chic guys!
Now let’s delve in, shall we?
May 7th the incredible Writer/Director/Producer Jill Soloway, of Transparent fame no less, was in town for a conversation with Michelle Tea and Eileen Myles at the Contemporary Jewish Museum. Of course, our Chic actress Leila Radan rushed on over and met her! Does that get our Chics one step closer to maybe interviewing Jill some day? We do not know but we do know this, what The Chics decide they want, The Chics will get so we reserve bragging rights for the day that interview is indeed scored! Jill Soloway, we’re coming to getcha!
May 11th saw The Chics in the company of Justin Fichelson, San Francisco native and one of the stars of the upcoming reality TV show, Million Dollar Listing San Francisco! Michele was under the weather but gracefully showed up for moral support and in solidarity with Leila as Leila interviewed Justin at one of their favorite San Francisco stores, Wonderland SF. Thank you Irene Hernandez-Feiks for welcoming The Chics into your incredible world with open arms!
Check out the sneak peek of the show here, our candid shots below and stay tuned for our interview with Justin!
May 20th Michele and Leila proved their hard core admiration of none other than acclaimed director John Waters, by being first in line for his sold out (within the first 4 minutes of it being posted online we were told) book reading at local San Francisco bookstore, Green Apple Books on the Park! Though they have yet to score an interview with Mr. Waters, they are pursuing him and have even tracked down his very lovely and polite publicist and come Fall may be able to talk one on one with the Pope of Trash himself, the very Prince of Puke, or as he likes to refer to himself, the one and only Filth Elder! Oh yes they will!
They did, however, manage to get some Chic guerilla footage of the man himself reading from his latest book, Carsick, and answering their questions in the Q&A no less, but we’re gonna tease you for now with the below snapshots and show you the footage at a later date just because we can! So, for now, the below is all the John Waters Chicness you get!
May 27th Leila and Michele interviewed former model and celebrity photographer Mr. Nigel Barker, of America’s Next Top Model fame, as he made a stop at Macy’s San Francisco to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and to promote his latest book, Models of Influence! Oh yes, THE Nigel Barker! What can we say? The man was a true gentleman and as charming, intelligent, passionate and polite as he is handsome!
Here’s a little side chat Leila had with Nigel, dedicated to her high school Sri Lankan friend Sasha, and a couple of shots, both that Nigel himself snapped with Leila’s iPhone 6Plus. Does this mean that The Chics have been photographed by Nigel Barker? Why yes, yes it does!
And last, but definitely not least, we are beyond thrilled and honored to announce that we are partaking in quite the fun and exciting Fashion Incubator San Francisco panel Using Blogs to Build Your Brand, moderated by our favorite writer, fashionista-in-the-know, San Francisco ChronicleSTYLE contributor and fashion commentator Tony Bravo! Spread the word and come on down and join our Chics as they add their voices to those of leading fashion and lifestyle bloggers from j’adore couture and Stylenik as they all reveal what works and what won’t in building followers to grow your brand. Get your tickets here and join us this Wednesday the 17th, from 6:30pm – 9pm! Don’t miss it!
How’s that for an update? But wait, to recap and to add a bit more goodness to the mix, stay tuned for:
The posting of our Justin Fichelson interview.
The posting of our guerilla footage of director John Waters.
April 20th found my partner-in-Chic Michele and me in the beautiful Marin home of Danish actress Connie Nielsen, safely tucked away from the rowdy-trafficky-overcrowded-pretty-much-shut-the-city-down infamous San Francisco pot day festivities.
As gracious as she is beautiful, Connie warmly welcomed us into her home and generously granted us an extended interview that found us doing away with our Hollywood career related questions (after all, her incredible body of work speaks for itself) and placing our focus on her inspiring non-profits, Human Needs Project and Road To Freedom Scholarships.
We left Connie’s home in awe of her accomplishments and fully enamored by her, her kind heart and compassionate ways. In a world where quick fixes are the norm, where solutions are short term and, more often than not, act as self-aggrandizing bandaid token acts of kindness aimed at elevating one’s philanthropic profile rather than truly offering those in need a long term solution, Connie’s accomplishments with Human Needs Project and Road To Freedom Scholarships stand out as models of tangible hope that both elevate and nurture human dignity along the way. But why write about it when you can delve in and see for yourselves?
Click on through and join us in our awe, and in our celebration, of a woman we admire, respect and simply adore, Connie Nielsen.
As you know, we, the Chics, live in SF. We ADORE Margaret Cho, the famed comedian, actress, singer, SF native and homeless rights advocate. ADORE. Like, seriously, love to the umpteenth level spread thick on a delicious bed of ADORE raised to the highest degree ADORE could ever be raised to!
My partner-in-Chic, Michele, heard that Margaret was to be in town. Margaret tweeted where she would be. Her whereabouts-to-be were also advertised so, naturally, we showed up and ever so politely stalked her.
We met her at the beautiful event held at the SF Eagle, on March 28th, that honored the late Robin Williams’ work with the homeless and raised funds for a film about Margaret Cho’s #BeRobin campaign.
We got her number.
She gave it to us. Her number. Willingly. We are just THAT cool. Apparently, Michele and I are also an angry, lesbian couple but we’ll leave that for another day.
And while Margaret is to be our summer 2015 interviewee, for now, you get this… Margaret in all her glory, that one day when we, the Chics, had the honor of meeting her in San Francisco!
Mental Note: When filming with an iPhone, hold the phone sideways for proper footage or else you get this. But hey, it’s Margaret Cho so we’re not complaining!
Oh my The Chics have been busy! They’ve been so busy that we’ve been remiss in properly bringing you up to speed. So, no more!
March 3rd found The Chics in downtown San Francisco, at Express, for the Kate Upton Spring Fling Shopping Event. Down a videographer, Leila took one for the team, behind the camera, and Michele made her first solo appearance as our official Chic interviewer for the night, interviewing Kate Upton. Find a sneak peek below and stay tuned for the actual interview!
Oh how camera ready and polished they are, right? Well, as much as we love fashion here at A Pile Of Chic, we also appreciate it when people get real and “getting real” seems to be quite a skill Leila and Michele have mastered (though we cannot say the same is true for their photo booth skills). See for yourselves.
March 19th our ladies experienced the official launch of the newly opened W Beijing – Chang’an, featuring the queen of burlesque Dita Von Teese, as they “rocked the empire” at the W in downtown San Francisco. Though no official interview is forthcoming, they snapped a couple of shots and a mini video that packs quite the punch!
March 24th The Chics received exclusive VIP treatment, as did the other select guests, at Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s San Francisco film premiere of The Mask You Live In, followed by a VIP after-party at Brooks Brothers in downtown San Francisco. Leila was even quoted by her beloved, and hands down favorite writer/reporter/fashionista extraordinaire, Tony Bravo, in his San Francisco Chronicle piece ‘The Mask You Live In’ has a good reason to make all boys cry. Michele and Leila were even snapped by acclaimed photographer Drew Altizer’s team at the event! Pictures and official documentary trailer below.
And yes. Jennifer Siebel Newsom graciously agreed to an interview. Though confirmation of a date is pending, the news is thrilling to us here at A Pile Of Chic!
And last, but most definitely not least, here are The Chics with their summer of 2015 confirmed interviewee, Margaret Cho herself, famed comedian, actress, singer, SF native and homeless rights advocate. The pictures were snapped, and much fun was had, at the beautiful event held at the SF Eagle, on March 28th, that honored the late Robin Williams’ work with the homeless and raised funds for a film about Margaret Cho’s #BeRobin campaign.
Stay tuned for raw footage of a raw, raunchy, and always hilarious Margaret Cho at the event! A bonus run-in and fun was had with beloved-friend-to-The-Chics-and-Robin-Williams’-best-friend Michael Pritchard himself,an American stand-up comedian, youth counselor, and advocate of social emotional learning.
How’s that for an update? But wait, to recap and to add a bit more goodness to the mix, stay tuned for:
The posting of our Kate Upton interview.
The posting of our fabulous, live, raw Margaret Cho footage.
Upcoming coverage of everything Chic from our Betsey beginnings to the most current Chic happenings by our very own Michele Gates for her SF Examiner column!
Forthcoming interviews with Danish actress Connie Nielsen, Margaret Cho, Jennifer Siebel Newsom and more!
[YO! This is a long post. Like, long! If you don’t want to read, simply scroll on down and, BAM, the interview is there in all its Betsey Johnson glory!]
Welcome to the official launch of our spur-of-the-moment labor of love and fun! “We” are Leila Radan and Michele Gates, heretofore known as The Chics. If you want to get to know us better, read up on us here because we are most certainly NOT going to monopolize our first post by talking about ourselves. We would much, much rather talk to you about bigger and better, namely, Betsey Johnson.
Yes, you read right! I said Betsey Johnson, the amazing, inspiring, fun-loving wonder-woman of a fashion icon herself because, well, we got to interview her! YES! You read right AGAIN! (Great job, by the way).
A little over a month ago, Michele reached out to me, her soon-to-be partner-in-chic, and asked me if I would co-interview Betsey Johnson with her.
The day of the interview finally arrived and I had a vision of what to wear all mapped out! My shoes? Jeffrey Campbell gold glitter Litas! My dress? A prom-tastic Betsey Johnson dress I scored oh so many moons ago at Crossroads and had yet to debut! My jewelry? A black-and-white bow ring and white lacey earrings and a skullicious necklace all by Betsey Johnson! My nails? Acrylic, long, sharp, edgy and black!
Makeup ready and minutes away from needing to be in my car, I dove into my dress, hurriedly zipped it up half way, decided that the other half of my zipper’s journey needed my husband’s guidance, rushed over to him whilst envisioning myself zipped up and already in my car with Pearl Jam blasting as I sped to Macy’s to meet my fashion-icon but, instead, had my smooth morning-to-be and my delightful-fantasy-that-wasn’t jarred by the husband’s distressed part-lecture-part-calm exclamation of “WHAT DID YOU DO?!?! You are stuck in your dress! How did you get so much fabric into the zipper? I can’t even get you out of it! It’s stuck at the waist! STUCK!”
He pulled the zipper up, he tugged at it, he pulled it down, he held the fabric together and tried it all by himself, but no go. I held the fabric together and tried pulling it up and pulling it down but it wouldn’t budge! We pulled up some more, we pulled down some more, I sucked in my stomach but could not account for my hip bones’, or my breasts’, or my shoulders’ protruding existence and so the dress remained on my waist, stuck. We pulled and we pulled until the metal pull-thingy of the zipper broke! No worries, that’s what paper clips were for. I breathed deep breaths as we swooped the paper clip into the zipper and pulled some more. We pulled and we pulled and we got so serious about our pulling that we even enlisted the help of jewelry pliers to truly pull and to truly tug like we’d never pulled and tugged and, ahem, tore off the zipper head that held the paper clip in the process!
I breathed such heavy breaths that hyperventilation kicked in… my fantasy, threatened by the death of my prom-tastic dress’ zipper, lay on the line, and so I howled like no fashionista has howled before, I screamed like no diva has screamed before, I almost-but-not-quite-because-I-did-have-my-makeup-on-already-after-all cried a cry that no Betsey Johnson devotee has cried before and then I uttered the unthinkable, “CUT IT OFF! CUT OFF THE INNER LINING! CUT OFF THE STUCK FABRIC! CUT IT OFF!” and when freed from the zipper the obvious statement was howled and screamed and shrieked and almost-cried at the husband, “NOW GET THE DRESS UP, ZIP IT UP WITH THE PLIERS, AND SAFETY PIN ME IN AND MAKE SURE IT STAYS ON! NOTHING MUST INTERFERE WITH MY BETSEY JOHNSON MOMENT! NOTHING!”
Tempted to speak back but taken aback by the psychotic look in my eyes and by the fierce determination-bordering-on-delusion that only the true love of Betsey’s designs can muster in a mere mortal, the husband dutifully obliged and, somehow, I made it out of the house, somewhat shaken but ready to fashionably forge ahead with my adventure in my prom-tastic Betsey Johnson dress, my glitterific Jeffrey Campbells, my Betsey Johnson bling, my acrylic nails intact and with the fabulous addition of a vintage Betsey Johnson faux fur coat and a Betsey Johnson orange purse that provided my world with the appropriate pop-of-color it so called for.
And the rest is Chicstory. A few technical difficulties beyond our control ensued, there are snippets of wonderful conversation and shared moments with Betsey that sadly didn’t make it into the footage, but we were able to salvage 25 minutes of fabulosity to share with you. And so, without any further ado and with our dresses properly in place, we bring you the legend herself and the inspiration behind A Pile Of Chic, Betsey Johnson!
A sneak peek into tomorrow’s launch, starring none other than #BetseyJohnson! Here’s our Chic, Leila Radan, and fashion icon Betsey Johnson! Betsey is wearing Leila’s faux fur vintage Betsey Johnson coat (Yes! Betsey Johnson wore Leila’s Betsey Johnson!) and holding up her Miz B by Leila Radan necklace, which she told us to tell you she just LOVES!
June 17th we, The Chics, partook in quite the fun and exciting Fashion Incubator San Francisco panel “Using Blogs to Build Your Brand”, moderated by our favorite writer, fashionista-in-the-know, San Francisco Chronicle STYLE contributor and fashion commentator Tony Bravo!
So, without any further ado, want to get noticed and covered by fashion bloggers? Need inspiration for your next blog post that will make your brand pop? Then click on through and hear leading fashion and lifestyle bloggers from j’adore couture (Kim Mitchell Stokes), Stylenik (Kristen Philipkoski) and us, The Chics, Leila Radan and Michele Gates, reveal what works and what won’t in building followers to grow your brand.
A Pile Of Chic 