Washington's Own Style: Unsung Designers

Our interview (and an impromptu fashion shoot) in DCist.

Washington's Own Style: Unsung Designers
By fashion contributor Rachel Cothran. See more of her writing and street photography at her web site Project Beltway.

Tucked in an alleyway off 18th Street in Adams Morgan, an off-beat shop hides behind ugly metal double doors, but the clothes you'll find inside are often diamonds in the rough of D.C. fashion. At Unsung Designers, polos and pearls are tossed aside for one-of-a-kind dresses in original prints and killer heels you won't ever see at Nine West. [more...]

Love the Look: Tell Me About It, Stud...

2007 is the year of the stud. From Spring through Fall, these luxury labels added some edge to their collections by punking up their accessories lines.

Burberry Studded Bag



















Balenciaga Studded Wedge



















Dolce and Gabbana Studded Heels...















...and Spikey Peep Toes



















Christian Louboutin Studded Boot



















Gigi Favela "Sonya" Punkie Studs ($360. in, left to right, white gold, black or turquoise. Limited quantities available. Get yours now at Unsung)

Unsung Debuts: Gigi Favela Shoes

I thought I'd died and gone to heaven when Monica Favela George walked into our showroom with a suitcase full of shoes. I know I take the shoe fettish to new heights but, unlike other questionable impulse buys I have made (the militant beret or the faux fur jacket reminiscent of JLo) my shoe purchases are always without regret. I love my shoes; I have an amazing collection--the kind that makes women at the semi-annual Bergdorf's shoe sales stare at my feet helplessly amid their piles of Loubutins and Chloes. So when Monica showed us the samples from her first collection of Gigi Favelas--a collection packed with color, textures and attitide--we were the first to place personal orders. Now they're here directly from Italy, and my addiction is sated for a bit. Quantities are limited, ladies, so get on our email list for a reminder about the Gigi Favela trunk show at Unsung on March 8.

The first pair of Gigi Favelas I acquired: