Meet a Maker: Ann Mashburn
Have you ever met someone whose style feels so natural & effortless but totally put together at the same time?
That was my experience in meeting designer & retail entrepreneur Ann Mashburn last week at her DC (Georgetown) store, where she feted one of my favorite authors, Julia Reed (her recent cookbook/entertaining book, “Julia Reed’s South” is terrific). And now I’m completely obsessed with Ann’s flair & feel like everyone should know about it!
Left to right: Ann Mashburn, me, Julia Reed.
I have read Julia’s articles & books for years, but Ann’s sartorial style and her shop were completely new to me.
(photo courtesy of La Dolce Vita)
(photo courtesy of Atlanta Magazine)
As she said in an interview with Milieu magazine last March, “In our stores we like things that are very simple, but one hit of specialness goes a long way.” This means classic tailored shirts with a little flounce or ruffle...shift dresses in stand-out colors that are just a touch off of the usual palette….beautiful linings that you wouldn’t expect at such an accessible price point.
Ann designs many pieces under her own name & those were the pieces I gravitated to most, but she also carries other great lines such as Sonia by Sonia Rykiel, Carven & even Aurelie Bidermann jewelry which I adore!
She & her husband Sid Mashburn have deep roots in retail/style (with stints everywhere from J. Crew to Lands End to Conde Nast) and now have shops in Atlanta (where they live), Houston, DC, Dallas & Los Angeles. AND their website - www.AnnMashburn.com — is excellent, so if you’re not in one of those cities, you can shop from home.
Ann is everything I admire — smart, strategic (she has a very clear point of view in her collection), down to earth (she has 5 daughters — as a mom of 2 girls, I know that comes with the territory:), friendly, and super stylish in an original & authentic kind of way.
I came home with my arms full of Julia’s books, some great dressy pieces for Spring/Summer, fun beaded necklaces & Diptyque “Baies” room spray which I can never resist.
Thank you to my friend Lindsay for taking me! Lindsay’s style is exactly the way I described Ann’s -- she has that very easy, polished look that is never contrived but always “presentable” as my mother would say. AND Lindsay’s house is the same way - fresh, classic, warm & inviting. Perhaps a post on that later….:)