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Meet CCH Collection’s Carter Johnston

When we discovered that CCH Collection’s Flagship store was right down the street from where we live, we were immediately enthralled. We spent a lovely afternoon in the store trying on basically everything, talking with the collection’s designer, Carter Johnson, and picking out a few pieces to show off on the blog. (It was so hard to choose – everything is so versatile!!) Carter designs the pieces, they are made in NYC and her sister, Alston, works in New York with the sales and production aspect. We love the modern twist on gorgeous, classic pieces and when we asked Carter a few questions, her answers sum up the Collection perfectly. (See Catherine in the Pop Top here!) The Crystal Press: What Inspires You?
Carter Johnston: I’m inspired every day by what I see around me… People Walking down the street, themes I see on the runway, pictures I see on Instagram… sometimes even a color story in graffiti on a wall can spark an entire collection!

TCP: What drives you?
CJ: I love to create clothing that makes women feel comfortable and stylish at the same time. I always find that when I want to look put together I often cannot find something comfortable enough to wear all day long – or – if it is comfortable, it does not look stylish and sophisticated. Many times pieces I design come from the desire to fill a void in my own wardrobe and I think I represent a lot of working women out there that have children or busy work schedules, where they need to be able to translate what they have on at work or running errands into what they wear to dinner or drinks with friends. I hope that their CCH pieces will fill that niche!!

TCP: How did you know it was time to start your own line? Fears you had to overcome?
CJ: I have always collected pieces that I have come across through the years – whether it was a discontinued sample from work that needed a fit revision, vintage pieces found from all over, amazing pieces from my mother or pictures of my Grandmother – I have quietly been creating my collection since as early as I can remember. I usually have the silhouette in my mind and then try to find an amazing fabric to make it in. I have these shapes floating around in my head and once I find the fabric, they come to life!!

TCP: Out of all the cities for CCH to pop up in – why Richmond?
CJ: I am from Richmond and have always thought this would be the perfect location for a CCH Store because what we offer suits the lifestyle of many of the women here. Richmond is a stylish city and the women are sophisticated. They want to look put together and effortlessly chic. They do not crave trend… they want to look timeless and elegant!!

[ we could not agree more!! well said! ]

TCP: Who is your muse?
CJ: The line is named for my Grandmother as many of the first silhouettes were based on either pieces she wore or a look that she embodied. There are many “vintage” elements in the collection (high waisted pants, feminine blouses etc) but I like to make the silhouettes feel current by tweaking their fit and making them up in fabrics that are conducive to the lifestyle of busy women today.

and a few fun ones to end on —

TCP: What is your favorite song?

CJ: I love “No One’s Gonna Love You More (Than I do)” by Band of Horses

TCP: What is your favorite quote?

CJ: “Fashion must be the most intoxicating release from the banality of the world” – Diana Vreeland

Love the wall of printed instagrams!

They have a variety of pumps to try on with the clothes, in case you are like us and never come prepared!

Make sure you go stop by the Flagship Store on Grove Avenue if you’re local. It is so beautifully curated and Carter is extremely fun, knowledgeable and talented! [ shop online here if you aren’t! ]

Lifestyle

what we want wednesday

Planning a vacation anytime soon, maybe a beach getaway? I am jet setting to St. John next week so these are some pieces that are on my mind in lieu of this trip!

1.Striped top: Elizabeth & James, bc who can deny a top that is breathable, airy, with that oops-is-my-skin-showing kind of peplum.

2. Books: Assouline. Once you pop your Assoline cherry, you will understand the inherent yet sneaky need to add to your collection. In the spirit of my trip to St. John – I chose these Monte Carlo, St. Tropez, & Capri books for guaranteed mesmerizing images to go with the tropical theme. Is there such thing as tropical overload?

3. Army green shorts: Madewell, self exclamatory.

4. Earrings: Kristen Elspeth , to ward off bad vibes with this chic, mismatched evil eye earring set.

5. Spring Herbal Steam: Fig + Yarrow, the idea of bringing the spa to me (for budget purposes temporarily, one day I will come back to life as a millionaire…right?) as of late is oh so intriguing. Create your own facial treatment with these organic herbs or make a tea. Who am I, the tea police?

6. Market Bag: Need Supply, HOW AMAZING IS THIS BAG? NEED, WANT, OBSESSED. And Richmond, you look beautiful emblazoned on a market bag or in this instance, a beach bag.

7. Thong sandal: Aldo, since Isabel Marant has brought back the fringe-y pom pom thingamajig, I’m obviously into the fringe detail on these sandals and especially appreciating this Aldo price.

Lifestyle

If we haven’t made it clear via our non-stop social media posts, we love a good happy hour in a sure-i’ll-skip-the-gym-again-today kind of way. Detrimental to our health? Eh maybe.. but in this case, we hope to make it advantageous for you. Don’t worry, we have openly admitted that this love for happy hour tends to aid to our non productiveness however, we have decided to turn it into something productive and share our favorite #rva happy hours with you all once a week.

Between the two of us, when we get the itch to go to happy hour, we have yet to find a good go-to site that highlights the happy hours that make you feel as fancy as you are and not like the rosè (or bud light, personal preference) chugger that you may or may not be. First up this week falls into the well known category of Wine Wednesday. I almost fell off of my stool in surprise when the bartender at this week’s restaurant, Southerly, referenced the Wednesday happy hour. He explained that all of the bottles of wine were half off and while I got excited for the $22 dollar delicious rosè on the menu – this excitement did not distract me from the fact that Veuve Clicquot was also on said menu. Being the envelope pusher that I am, I threw a curveball at the bartender by asking if Veuve was included. If you are a fellow Veuve lover, you know that the answer to this question tends to be disappointing but fear not because I almost fell off of my stool again because he said a whopping yes. Veuve for forty something dollars? Count us in.

Oh, I should probably add that the wine list is subject to change, that Southerly is the restaurant connected to the lovely Southern Seasons off of Staples Mill, & that yes, they have a patio. Happy Wine Wednesday-ing and you are welcome for the advance notice because premeditated happy hours are ze best.