Maharajah dreamin’
New York designer Roberta Freymann’s bib necklaces with colorful sequins and chandelier drops have to be my single favorite discovery of 2008. Perfect for this post-luxe life, they’re inspired by a maharajah’s jewels, only they’re plastic and $225. And now Freymann is bringing them to L.A. at her new Roberta Roller Rabbit pop-up store at the Brentwood Country Mart.
Since 2001, Freymann’s boutiques on the Upper East Side of Manhattan have been one-stop shops for chic Eastern-inspired tunics, totes and flat leather sandals that add a lot of style to a wardrobe for not much money.
“The problem with beaded caftans and tunics is sending them to the dry cleaners,” Freymann says, explaining the idea behind the beaded collar necklaces, which spruce up anything from a T-shirt to a black dress. “I asked myself how you could get the same look, only easier.” The store also stocks hand-dyed horn necklaces ($150), silver-dipped wax beads ($200), beach hats ($85), one-of-a-kind vintage Indian fabric totes ($250) and $1 Indian wedding bangles to buy by the fistful.
A former buyer for Ann Taylor, Freymann spends most of her time on buying trips in Bangkok, Thailand; Mumbai, India; and beyond. She is best known for her lively block prints, which are done by hand in India, mixing paisleys, florals and cute repeating graphics of monkeys, fish, octopuses or coral.
The new store is bright and cheery, the shelves piled high with printed cotton kurtas ($50 to $70) and pareos ( $25 to $50) for women and kids, button-down shirts ($70) for men, quilts ($125 to $225) for the home and more.
If a beach vacation isn’t in the cards for the near future, this may be the next best thing.
Roberta Roller Rabbit, Brentwood Country Mart, 225 26th St., Suite 4, Santa Monica, (310) 899-4440. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
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