WHATʼS KYRA WEARING?
Style Watch
Kyra Oliver is an entrepreneur, philanthropist and a runner who is passionate about her environment, from what she is wearing, to where she is wearing it.
Kyra Oliver
Chris Cox
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Glitz & Glam
such as the fox trimmed silk hat in navy with pink polka dots. A nice bold print scarf would ac‑ cent this beautifully as well. Go ahead and have fun. Then this fabu‑ lous wool camel pon‑ cho caught my eye. This looks so good with a skirt and a smart pair of suede boots or a dis‑ tressed pair of jeans with cowboy boots. The versatility is beyond belief making it a must‑have. Both pieces are flattering, fun and warm not to mention sexy. If you dress frumpy, you look frumpy̶if you dress sexy, you look sexy. So let me see...frumpy...sexy? Sexy should always win. Fashion week is creeping up al‑ ready where we will see what is hot for next fall. I have a few shows lined up for February. I will let you know whatʼs in for 2010. Dress well.
doesn't have to be extremely ex‑ pensive̶which is something else I try to emphasize.” And just who are the devo‑ tees that embrace the elegant life? “I have a very diverse read‑ ership. I really thought that I'd be writing to those who are just out of college and looking for some tips about how to get along in life. Judging from the comments, emails and letters Iʼve received, my readership skews to the adult married person, late 20s and up. Most of the traffic comes from this country, but I have readers on all the other continents, too.” Coxʼs blog has gained na‑ tional press. “I was fortunate enough to be featured in an issue of House Beautiful and the magazineʼs website linked to easyandelegantlife.com ̶ʻThe Love Listʼ included my blog in the ʻBlogger's House Tour,ʼ so a lot of my readers are design lovers, too.” Future projects from the suave trend‑spotter include pub‑ lishing. “Iʼm writing the Easy and Elegant Life book which I hope to offer for sale early in 2010. Iʼve also got a pitch letter waiting to go to a publisher about a coffee table book Iʼd like to do.” Online, Cox authors an‑ other blog on clothing for his tai‑ lor at LevinerWood.com and Easy and Elegant Life continues to evolve. “I learn something new every day. The interesting thing about the blog format is that it is highly interactive; so my readers help di‑ rect the content to some extent. Iʼd like to feature more video and do some interviews with a few ex‑ perts in the fields in which I have interests,” Cox says. “Iʼve posted a look book of the clothing photos from the blog to Facebook and tweet on occasion. I imagine that those commitments will continue to grow and evolve with the Easy and Elegant Life brand.”
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es, itʼs re‑ ally, really cold out‑ side. That is ab‑ solutely no reason to layer yourself to the point of looking like you are hiding a bear underneath your coat. Truly, win‑ ter fashions offer very sexy alter‑ natives, but you have to dress smart. You can stay warm and look hot all at the same time. I decided to visit J. McLaughlin (407 Libbie Avenue) to see what they would have for this winter season. I was excited to find this faded pink quilted silk jacket that zips down the front and has knit sleeves. It is so in‑ credibly comfortable and surpris‑ ingly warm. What is great about it, is that it is light enough for fall and spring, yet provides warmth in the winter, espe‑ cially if paired with an adorable hat
William Powell, Myrna Loy; Rôti de Porc aux Pommes de Terre et aux Oignons; martinis with frozen olives; Barbour jackets; Polo collar sweaters and suede driving shoes; clothing that fits; and thank‑you notes, these are all the topics of an Easy & Elegant Life (easyandelegantlife.com), Richmonder Chris Coxʼs blog de‑ voted to ʻthe search for everyday elegance and a study of the art of living well.ʼ A graduate of The College of William and Mary, Cox was an Eng‑ lish major who quickly “unlearned everything” when he wrote as a di‑ rect mail fundraiser in DC and later as a copywriter at The Idea Center where he became a partner. In be‑ tween those two jobs, Cox did stints as a dance instructor at Arthur Murray on W. Broad Street; worked at Ogilvy, Adams and Rinehart; and as a co‑manager of the Britches of Georgetown cloth‑ ing stores in DC. Easy and Elegant Life was launched April of 2007, though the original impetus for the site was a suggestion from a friend that Cox author a book about en‑ tertaining. “I envisioned a work that was more ʻlifestyleʼ oriented, combining my interests in enter‑ taining, etiquette, a return to classical elegance in menswear, and cooking,” Cox says. But about that time Cox read about the fashion blog “The Sartorialist” in The New York Times and was participating in online style forums, so he switched mediums. Coxʼs current foray into freelance writing and fulltime blogging also came about from a life crisis. “I was diagnosed with tes‑ ticular cancer for the second time,” he explains. Cox and his wife had a one‑and‑a‑half year old daughter and a six‑week‑old son at that time. “There is a his‑ tory of the men in my family dying from cancer of one sort or another,” Cox says. His wife sug‑ gested that he “ʻretireʼ and do what I wanted to do,” in an effort to reduce the possibilities of can‑ cer‑inducing stress from a career in advertising. “Now, I write for myself, do free‑lance copywriting and the occasional voice talent for my old agency.” Cox says. “We live on a teacher's salary. Easy and elegant