A Chat with Jeanne Beker

I first met Jeanne Beker in November 2010 when she was promoting her new clothing line of carefully considered basics, EDIT by Jeanne Beker, at the Hudson's Bay Company. It was EDIT that brought Beker back to Vancouver last week as she showcased her fall/winter 2011 offerings. The line continues to deliver staples that Beker deems essential in any woman's wardrobe, but this time around it also includes plus-size offerings and a denim line "cut for women of a certain age." $5 from every pair of "Jeanne's jeans" sold will go to the charity Dress for Success.

Last Wednesday I had the pleasure of meeting Beker again in an intimate setting with a handful of other bloggers. It was such a treat to see her, and even better to do so while sitting in resplendent comfort in The Room's Platinum Suite for almost an entire hour. Beker proved to be just as personable, lively and well-spoken in person as she is onscreen and in print. Her career may put her among fashion's high-flyers and haute couture superstars, but as she demonstrated during our conversation and the ensuing EDIT presentation, she was still a down-to-earth Canadian gal at heart.

On fashion's influence on the self: "Fashion can be a feel good thing. It can also be a victimizing thing."

On Vancouver being voted one of the worst dressed cities in the world by MSN Travel: "This is the kind of city you live in when you realize that there's more to life than appearances and material things. This city is about living with a capital 'L'. I just think you should dress how you want to dress."

On her favourite Twitter follows: Beker admitted that for the thousands who follow her on Twitter, she doesn't follow anyone, although at one time she did consider following her daughters.

On fashion's next generation: Beker also confessed to being taken aback whenever she meets young fashion fans who say to her "I want your job!" When she started with Fashion Television 26 years ago, such a job didn't exist; she was a pioneer who forged her own path and created a niche for herself. She hopes that the next generation of fashion lovers will push fashion to the next level and invent new roles for themselves rather than repeat what she's already done.

For the last question of the interview, I asked Beker what was in her bag, and as soon as I asked I worried that I'd overstepped my bounds. But Beker was a great sport about it and began rooting around in her bag on the spot. Watch to find out what shade of lipstick she wears. (Thanks to StyleStruck for the video!)

Bloggers who met Beker (left to right): Rachelle Morgan, Olivia Lovenmark, May Globus, Valerie Tiu, me and Christie Lohr

A big thanks to Susan Tyndall and the Hudson's Bay Company for arranging this amazing opportunity, and of course to Jeanne Beker for her time! Check out her EDIT fall/winter 2011 collection (in stores now exclusively at The Bay) and her latest book, Finding Myself in Fashion (which, incidentally, I reviewed earlier this year).

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And the winner of Jeanne Beker's Finding Myself in Fashion is...

CC from Le Sigh

Congratulations CC! I'll be emailing you shortly with details on how you can claim your prize.

Thanks to everyone who entered. For those who didn't win, stay tuned: I have another giveaway coming up tomorrow with not one but two prizes.

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Solo Lisa Reads: Finding Myself in Fashion by Jeanne Beker--Plus Giveaway!

Host of Fashion Television, editor, clothing line creative director, author, trained actress and mime, mother...is there anything that the indomitable Jeanne Beker can't do? In her new autobiography Finding Myself in Fashion, Beker opens up about her personal and professional life in an unprecedented way. Engaging and articulate, this book recounts her encounters with some of fashion's biggest names and candidly discusses the ups and downs in Beker's personal life.

Finding Myself in Fashion is structured as a series of non-sequential vignettes, each chapter plunging the reader into a new time, place and subject. I had trouble following along at first, but eventually I settled into the narrative groove and went along for the ride. And what a ride it is. After 25 years as host of FT, she has seen it all: Valentino and Yves Saint Laurent's retirement, Alexander McQueen and Isabella Blow's suicides, 9/11 and the resultant cancellation of New York Fashion Week. Beker does a great job of capturing the allure, charisma and creative genius of the fashion designers that she covers. It's obvious that she never ceases to find them inspiring, which in turn inspired me to admire them even more.

Interspersed with stories of the upper echelon of the fashion world are accounts of Beker's own life: how her parents survived the Holocaust; her painful divorce and romantic misadventures; her two girls, Bekky and Joey; how she found her idyllic country home; and so on. Finding Myself in Fashion ends with Beker touring across the country to promote her EDIT clothing line, during which I had a chance to meet her. But even as I finished the last paragraph and turned the page, I got the sense that although the story ends there, the next great chapter of this amazing woman's life has yet to begin.

Special thanks to Penguin Books for sending me an advance copy of the book to review. Finding Myself in Fashion is available in bookstores nationwide, but one lucky Solo Lisa reader can win a copy of their own!

For a chance to win, simply leave a comment on this post telling me what your favourite Jeanne Beker memory is. (Did you grow up watching FT and fantasizing about interviewing Karl Lagerfeld? Did you enjoy watching her as a judge on Canada's Next Top Model? Did you read her Globe & Mail columns in the Style section religiously?) If you don't have a blog or Twitter, leave your email address so I can contact you. All entries without a means of contact are disqualified. The contest ends Friday May 20th, 12pm Pacific time. The winner will be chosen randomly. Good luck!

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The Bay Celebrates Jeanne Beker's New Line EDIT

It's not every day that you get to meet a living legend in the fashion industry. When I received an invitation to a party promoting Jeanne Beker's new clothing line EDIT--with an appearance from the Fashion Television host herself--I headed to the Bay's downtown flagship location along with fellow fashion industry insiders, media personnel, Jeanne Beker fans, and the Bay's clientele. EDIT is a collection of well-priced versatile basics intended to transcend seasonal changes and stay in a stylish busy woman's wardrobe for several years.

As she conceded during the Q&A portion of her appearance, Beker is not a designer--she has "too much respect" for what designers do to call herself that--but she is an editor with a discerning eye, and with her new fashion endeavour she is presenting an edited-down collection of standby pieces: the perfect blazer, a little black dress that goes from the office to cocktail hour, a fitted white shirt. I know this doesn't sound terribly exciting for diehard fashion fans who crave trendier offerings and already have all the basics they want. But good basics executed well are always hard to find, and if Beker's line helps the general populace dress better and makes their shopping experience less frustrating, then more power to her.

After fielding questions with articulateness and candour, Beker remained to sign autographs and meet fans. The lineup was long but definitely worth it. I had a chance to catch up with friend and gorgeous blogger Carolina of Closet Full of Nothing, who was also wearing her Chanel 2.55. We had to get a photo of our "bag twins" moment.

Lest you think this is mere coincidence, Carolina and I established long ago that we were bag twins and we planned the whole thing. I'm still waiting for the day when we wear our matching bags, Talula oxford shirts, and Urban Outfitters straw fedoras. How about it, Carolina?

Meeting Jeanne Beker! She was absolutely lovely and complimented my Pretty Pennie sterling silver wishbone earrings. My blouse is from Zara (as seen in this haul video).

Speaking of silver jewelry, I also wore my Wendy Brandes OMG rings out that night. The boy snapped the photo below for me. Did you know the rings are extremely handy for situations that render you speechless? Encounters with notable fashion personalities and encounters with delicious steaming bowls of spicy ramen from Benkei both merit an OMG.

OMG that's good ramen!

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