Robanne Schulman is a private wardrobe stylist who brings sophistication, style, convenience and a confident edge in fashion to her clients. She navigates the trends so her clients don’t have to. With contacts stretching from New York to Los Angeles to Paris and places in between and beyond, Schulman and her company, Plaid Monkey, have built relationships at some of the world’s finest stores – getting a fashion insider’s access to exclusive previews, one-of-a-kind pieces and priority selection.
Schulman has been described by her clients as the trusted adviser who handles their wardrobe worries while giving them back their valuable time. Since founding Plaid Monkey in 2000, Schulman has worked with celebrities, executives, professional athletes and busy men and women across the country who rely on her carefully honed instinct and relentless pursuit of the right look and fit. She took some time to talk with Discover Atlanta and open her (shopping) bag of secrets for our readers. Want to know where this personal shopper spends her time in Atlanta? Here are her top 10 retail must-haves:
Blush Bungalow
Great boutique with a sophisticated, timeless and bohemian flair nestled within Simply Home and offering clothing, jewelry and art. The ladies at Blush Bungalow focus on hard-to-find lines from the West Coast, including Raquel Allegra, Galadriel Mattei vintage sweaters that are hand dyed as well as Inhabit cashmere and a Luxe active line, Skin.
Sugarboo & Co.
Upscale whimsical items, unique handcrafted jewelry, excellent candle selection and fabulous assortment of papers, cards and tablets. They also have distressed wooden signs with cool quotes and inspirational sayings. Most of their inventory is locally made.
DEKA
One-of-a-kind active luxury store and celebrity favorite, DEKA combines cutting-edge fashion with everyday luxury for the casual yet sophisticated woman.
Bella Bag
A national luxury handbag curator and reseller. An amazing concept. Want a Gucci, Hermes, Chanel or Louis Vuitton purse but don’t want to take a loan to purchase it. Go to Bella Bag and buy a pre-owned bag at a reasonable price.
Tulipano
One of Atlanta’s faves. Owner Mary Swanson has a great selection of on-the-cusp clothing, unique jewelry, handbags and shoes you don’t see everywhere.
Calypso St. Barth
Many Atlantans were super excited when this store hit the West Side. Calypso St. Barth has grown from a modest resort-wear boutique to a luxury lifestyle brand with a passionate international following. Inspired by travel, culture and the arts, the brand reveals unique and feminine pieces, which women of every age have come to love. From exotic dip-dyed caftans to luxurious cashmere cardigans, the brand’s apparel and accessories are designed for women to endlessly mix and match into countless combinations of effortless elegance.
Morgan Kylee
A great find. This high-end little boutique carries sought-after lines such as Rachel Comey cardigan cashmere pieces and cool pillows by Cat Studio. The boutique carries many lines not found elsewhere in Atlanta, such as Troubadour, Steven Alan, Franco Ferrari and BRAVE Leather.
Tassels
A beautful jewelry store that carries super unique pieces as well as a jewel lover’s fave, Cathy Waterman. Named one of the top 10 jewelry boutiques in the country by JCK, Tassels has jewelry that would be perfect for blue jeans to black tie events.
Les Nouvelles
An uber-chic website that actually opens its showroom up for clients from 10. a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and on weekends by appointment. Most of their labels are exclusive to Atlanta.
Salle
This optical boutique has everything from Tom Ford eyewear to unique hard-to-find designer eyewear from Chrome Hearts. Not only do you have the area’s largest selection of high fashion eyewear, you can also have an eye examination and then pick out your glasses. Don’t want glasses that your friends have? No problem. Salle can custom design a shape, tint them any color or even add diamonds to the frames.
Mary Welch is a veteran journalist who writes about travel, lifestyle and business. Her work has appeared in publications such as the Atlanta Journal Constitution, The Fulton County Daily Report and Family Vacation Critic.
http://www.atlanta.net/Blog/Fashion-Guru-Reveals-Atlanta-Shopping-Secrets/
