Apr.

29

Southern Sophisticate

Paris. Milan. New York. Charlotte? The southern style quotient rose exponentially in 1998 when LAURA VINROOT POOLE opened Capitol in the heart of SouthPark. Gone are the southern belle stereotypes, and make no mistake, Capitol is a serious fashion destination for any serious fashionista along the I-95 corridor.

While fashion writers report fashion, for me, it’s the buyer’s eye that navigates the fashion landscape and ultimately determines what we will see on the streets, in boardrooms, and at the social events of the season. And thanks to fashion pioneers like Laura, the South is rising again as an important destination for fashion designers who can no longer ignore the old money and nouveau sensibilities of the South’s savviest style mavens.

Capitol features innovative designers like Altuzzarra, Andrew Gn, Dries Van Noten, Christian Cota, Derek Lam, Irene Neuwirth, Irving & Fine, Stella McCartney and Zero+Maria Cornejo. And Laura and her team curate forward with a global perspective to insure that Capitol’s collections are unmatched and representative of what’s fresh and happening right now.

As much as I appreciate the well-edited fashion selections at Capitol, another source of inspiration are the interiors. With the help of interior designer Barrie Benson, Laura has created an sophisticated shopping experience by incorporating vintage furnishings by Tommi Parzinger, Jean Prouve and Edward Wormley. The result is welcoming and you find yourself wanting to linger a bit, maybe with a bottle of champagne and your best girlfriends to shop the afternoon away.

Capitol was designed by Laura’s architect husband Perry Poole and the courtyard features a dramatic 750-square-foot vegetal wall created by Parisian botanist Patrick Blanc who Laura happened to meet on a trip to India. If I were to own a fashion boutique, I would want my atelier to look and feel as chic as Capitol and from one southern girl to another…I declare this is southern style at its absolute best!