VAMPLIFIED : Her leopard-print chemises are sassy, her gowns are boldly slinky. Valentin Siroon is a vamp, with a handle on the wily feminine look.
She likes dark lipstick, faux leopard jackets and platform shoes. She wouldn’t be caught dead in a dull business suit. That’s why Valentin Siroon is a vamp.
As owner of Vamp, a men’s and women’s clothing boutique in Laguna Beach and the name of her own clothing line, Siroon is out to convert others.
On this sunny day while women wander past her boutique in shorts, flowing sundresses and other laid-back beach looks, Siroon sports a little black dress and black knee-high boots, dark brown lipstick and a taupe eye shadow that frames exotic eyes.
If you ask her, she’ll happily expound on the finer points of vampishness--like tying a scarf around the strap of your handbag.
“I always have a scarf hanging from my bag. It’s just so feminine, so chic,” she says.
Another must for would-be vamps:
“Always wear lipstick,” she says. “And heels.”
Webster’s dictionary defines a vamp as “a woman who uses her charm or wiles to seduce and exploit men.” Siroon’s definition of vamp: “She’s bold.”
“You want to be as bold as you can be, but do it with class,” she says.
Siroon, a 27-year-old Huntington Beach resident, models herself after super vamps: Audrey Hepburn (“the most beautiful woman who ever existed”), Grace Kelly and the vixens on “Melrose Place.”
“Audrey Hepburn in ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’--that’s the epitome of the vamp,” she says.
Vamps have been drawing a lot of attention recently in the fashion industry. Chanel’s deep burgundy nail polish, called Vamp, has been a hot seller, and vampish fashions such as leopard-print chemises and slinky gowns have been shown on runways.
“I was hesitant when I heard that vamps are in,” says Siroon, a fan of vamps since childhood.
“When I was a little girl, I would change my clothes four or five times a day. I loved playing dress-up.”
While growing up in Iran, she would visit a couture house her aunt owned. “I’d cut and sew and make little patterns.”
Together with her brother-manager Alfred, Siroon opened Vamp 10 months ago, quickly expanding from a small boutique in downtown Laguna to a larger location across from the Laguna Art Museum in January.
Before launching Vamp, Siroon worked 10 years in the fashion retail business, most recently as manager of Privilege and shoe buyer for Charles Jourdan in South Coast Plaza. In her spare time, she worked as a contractor making clothes for other companies.
“Then I decided I needed to grow. I wanted my own storefront, with manufacturing in the back. I wanted to give people something really different,” Siroon says. “Everybody wants to look different. They usually go to Melrose in L.A. to get that, there’s nothing here in Orange County.”
Her mission: to outfit the vamp--and presumably the vamp’s boyfriend--from head to toe. Her Vamp clothing line features styles that are often slinky but never too revealing. Among the looks: a black fitted jacket with faux leopard cuffs and collar ($98) and matching A-line miniskirt ($48); a little black A-line dress with leopard trim around the hem ($165) that can be paired with a short leopard bolero ($72); and hip-huggers with bell legs in stretch black or snake-printed Lycra spandex ($48-$115).
“The clothing has a lot of attitude. It says, ‘Here I am,’ ” Siroon says.
She sometimes imitates the look of vampish designer fashions. She shows off a sleeveless chemise in a bold pink checkered and roses print ($68) that is in the same fabric and style as one by Versace.
Not surprisingly, black and red--the favored colors of vamps--dominate the collection, although Siroon is bringing in lots of icy pastels for spring.
She also carries “classy but sexy” fashions that fit her vamp philosophy from lines such as Bisou Bisou, Rex Lester and B.C.B.G., including Lester’s long cut-floral velvet Diva dress ($310) or ivory chiffon baby doll dress with spaghetti straps ($285).
“People always ask if the clothes are vintage,” Siroon says.
That’s because much of what she carries--the vinyl Kelly bags adorned with daisies, dresses with narrow belts and platform shoes--harkens back to vamps of the ‘40s through ‘60s.
For men, Vamp has loose-fitting textured sweaters made of natural fibers, retro-looking shirts and sweaters, even motorcycle jackets and boots. There’s a Wally Cleaver-ish zip-up sweater with an argyle vertical stripe ($42) or a linen crepe, button-front woven shirt ($68).
“With men, I’m trying to give guys a real clean-cut yet rugged look. It’s the James Dean look,” Siroon says. “And every man should wear nice, big shoes.”
In the future, she hopes to add a line of cosmetics, Vamp swimsuits and Vamp shoes.
“All women should wear platforms,” says Siroon, issuing another vamp commandment. “They give them height and sassiness.”
All in all, she hopes to turn her boutique into a one-stop shopping source for vamps.
“I could do bags, shoes, hats, lingerie. I like it all. I’m going with what I want to produce,” she says. “The big designers design for other people. I’m designing for myself.”
