Man Up!
Savvy just loves a well-dressed gent. Alas, they’re often few and far between, what with the modern penchant for T-shirts, shorts, flip-flops and a backward baseball cap. So Sav can be forgiven for feeling a little lightheaded when she walks into Citizen Frederick and immediately gets a strong, masculine vibe. Shelves of impeccably folded jeans, rows of shirts both rustic and elegant, wooden boxes stacked with ties and leather accessories, an array of enticing grooming products, vintage trunks and typewriters—they all add up to an atmosphere that is insouciant and enticing. No surprise the store’s charming owner Antonio Rico just won a $20,000 grant in the Microsoft Small Business Contest. Look for sumptuous wingtips by Rancourt, versatile classics by Grayers and surf- and motorcycle-inspired pieces by Iron Resin. American-made is the name of the game. 112 E. Patrick St., Frederick, 240-578-4058, citizenfrederick.com
Out Of Africa
In some stores Savvy simply wants one of everything. Yes, maybe she’s a greedy guts, but what’s not to love about Alice Jane in Bare Hills? With so much perfectly curated fashions and accessories, how could owner Melissa Becker possibly top it? By returning from South Africa with a bag full of beads. Glass beads, plastic beads, stone beads, beads of blue and red and yellow and black and green and pink. Flat discs that look like Necco Wafers and round pebbles that look like they were plucked from a riverbed. Becker combines them with diamonds, cubic zirconia, even fabric tassels to create one-of-a-kind bracelets and necklaces she calls her Love Africa line, from $28 to $950. 1407 Clarkview Road, 410-296-2233, alicejanejewelry.com
Serenade Gypsy
A little bit of the City of Brotherly Love has come to Charm City, with the recent opening of Free People at Harbor East. The Philadelphia-based company leased a 2,545-square-foot space at Aliceanna and Exeter and filled it with its signature bohemian look—festive frocks of linen and cotton, tribal prints, jeans, rompers, lingerie and accessories. Macramé and fringe are especially all the rage, but it was the brilliantly colored FP One Quilted Tie Jackets that caught Savvy’s eye. Woodstock meets the Hamptons. 1001 Aliceanna St., 410-779-4700, freepeople.com
Shop For Good
Savvy often waxes rhapsodic about local-gal-made-good Danielle DiFerdinando, who sells fab bags under the name Danielle Nicole. Anointed by none other than Oprah, who went gaga over her Sydney Shopper Tote, Danielle has created a new handbag line in honor of Claire Marie Wagonhurst, a Notre Dame Preparatory School student and aspiring designer who died at age 17 of a rare cancer called adolescent melanoma. The Claire Collection will be revealed in May in support of the Claire Marie Foundation, which will also host a shopping fundraiser at Lilly Pulitzer in Towson Town Center on May 23. clairemariefoundation.org
