Designing Women (and Men)
Few of us ever meet the people whose names appear on our clothing labels. These four local talents want to change that. Buy off-the-rack at their shops or have something designed just for you.
CIBELINE
Cibeline Sariano will keep reworking a pattern until it fits. This delightful designer creates the tailored classics women need for the office, but with a feminine flair and unexpected fun details. She also sells adorable party dresses, along with coordinating jewelry and kitschy hostess gifts, perfect for one-stop shopping. Prices are kept low for her young, devoted following. 85 Holland Street, Somerville, 617-625-2229, www.cibelinesariano.com
DANIELA CORTE FASHION
If you want people to ask where you got your fabulous outfit, pay Daniela Corte a visit. The Argentine dynamo comes from a country where high fashion is second nature, and fit is everything. Corte loves color, prints, and flirtatious designs, and she thinks women should look like women whether they're at work or play. The charm of both the designer and her designs is contagious. 91 Newbury Street, third floor, Boston, 617-262-2100, www.danielacorte.com; open 10a.m. to 2p.m. Monday through Wednesday or by appointment
DAVID JOSEF FASHION STUDIO
David Josef likes to say his customers are age 35 to death. He's not kidding. One client liked Josef's dresses so much, she insisted on being buried in one. A master of special-occasion dresses for the less-than-perfect figure, Josef has been a Boston fixture for the past 28 years. Clients like Susan Wornick, Liz Walker, and Kitty Dukakis are his best advertisement. 59 Wareham Street, Boston, 617-350-8850, www.davidjosef.com
OKW (O-KOO)
"I'm aware women have hips," says the unflappable Waheeda Ali-Salaam, who, along with business partner Henry J. Wong, has been dressing sophisticated professional women and socialites fort hepast 18 years. Ali-Salaamis also keenly aware of how to adapt the most luxurious and unusual fabrics into dramatic -- but never costumey designs, some of which have been to the White House and the Oscars. 234 Clarendon Street, second floor, Boston, 617-266-4114
