Mingling with Minkoff – Rebecca Minkoff that is!

I had the amazing opportunity to meet renowned fashion designer Rebecca Minkoff and I’m just going to be brutally honest here: she was AMAZEBALLS. Alright, so I really only spent about 10 minutes interviewing her prior to the official meet and greet at Nordstrom Ala Moana, but first impressions are what count, right? And I can confirm that my first impression was as follows…(thoughts in my head of course) “Ok, love her outfit. And her lip color – what color is that? Dang, she’s tall.” Commence conversation/nervous interview…(more thoughts) “She’s so easy going. She’s just a normal, stylish girl who’s doing what she loves and happens to be pretty dang successful at it – I LIKE her.” Believe you me, I didn’t spend the 10 minutes just thinking thoughts, those happened in seconds. I obviously had some questions for her – c’mon!

If you’ve taken a look at RM’s pieces you’ll see they definitely have some edge – studs, tassles, hardware, you know, the stuff that elevates a purse from being a cute black purse to being THE CUTEST BLACK purse you own (same goes for all the other colors too). She credits this edge to having lived in New York City for so many years, where we all know things are edgy – far edgier than our tropical little set of islands or perhaps her home town of San Diego.

Now don’t be mistaken by my handbag intro, Minkoff offers up a full collection of accessories and sartorial amazingness (aka women’s apparel) in addition to her handbags. I did of course ask her preference, to which she responded, “I’ve been doing handbags long enough that I could do it in my sleep.” This was followed by perhaps my favorite reason why Minkoff enjoys designing handbags, “I don’t need to worry about how a handbag fits your ass, or your shoulders or your arms.” Yes, yes of course! That, I’m sure, is the very same reason we women fall madly, deeply, obsessively (to the point of crazy) in love with handbags – because handbags fit you when you’re skinny and, hot damn, they fit you when you’re FAT too. Handbags don’t judge and we love them for it.

Minkoff also noted that designing apparel is more of a challenge, but one that’s worth it – a challenge she doesn’t particularly mind. We all know that the female figure isn’t always the easiest to flatter, so I absolutely get where she’s coming from. If the going gets tough, she’ll take a break and jump over to handbags or visa versa. Again, this mirrors the female mentality (or at least mine)…getting stressed – stop by Nordstrom and buy a new purse – that’ll convert your stress into bliss

In true Nordstrom fashion, the event was fabulous. The passed pupu and wine were a nice little treat while everyone waited in line to meet Minkoff and shop. The DJ kept the mood fresh and Minkoff’s presence elevated an otherwise normal Tuesday afternoon of shopping to one for the books. Fashion fiends were quick to have Minkoff autograph their purses, myself included. Everyone buzzed around the RM section to find their very own “It Bag” to which I must note that her Morning After Bag did in fact earn the prestige “It Bag” title alongside heavy hitters in the fashion industry such as Fendi, Hermes, Chanel and Louis Vuitton. The difference though, is that unlike those seemingly elusive purses that many yearn for but never own, Minkoff’s designs are pleasantly attainable and exude a level of casual cool style that still has the power to punctuate your status as a respectable, “I know my sh*t” fashion fiend. This is precisely the air that Minkoff herself exudes. She looks phenomenal from head to toe, like you’re not sure if you can just walk up and chat with the renowned designer, but in reality she’s approachable and refreshingly cool. Not to mention her leather jacket and printed trousers are fricken’ killer.

And just two more things before you drool over the photos to follow:

1) RM’s favorite color is persimmon (ok, she loves tons of color, but she admitted that she particularly likes persimmon). PS – her lip color (that I loved) and her nail color were both persimmon.

2) RM’s cocktail of choice (because I had to ask) is a traditional margarita. AKA tequilla and pure lime juice. She’s been throwing them back before Bethenny Frankel branded them the Skinny Margarita. Oh and she also likes Bloody Mary’s too

Shout out to my girl @melissakim808 who called in for back-up (aka the Nanny) so she could Mingle with Minkoff last night!

Aloha.