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    Designer Chat

    Nicole Miller's secrets of fashion success — and most embarrassing moment

    Darla Guillen
    Aug 23, 2013 | 9:29 am

    While it’s easy to attribute Nicole Miller’s longstanding success in the fashion industry to her talent, impeccable eye and instinct for what will look good on the female form, another reason might be that she’s just so cool. It’s easy to see why anyone would want to work with her, and it’s a given that she knows how to change up fashion staples to please the modern woman.

    While at Tootsies recently for a trunk show and special appearance at the Women of Wardrobe event, she talked to CultureMap about her fall collection, some personal fashion mishaps and advice for style-challenged professionals.

    CultureMap: What inspired your fall collection?

    Nicole Miller: It was menswear inspired. We said, you know, girls who dress like boys, and we looked at old movie stars like Greta Garbo and Annie Hall (Diane Keaton) and Katharine Hepburn, anybody who sort of addressed or was known for wearing men’s clothes and used that for inspiration.

    CM: Have you every changed your mind midway through a collection?

    NM: Oh always. It’s a process. I start out with a bunch of stuff that ends up on the cutting room floor. Or outside influences come in and mold it in a different direction. The seeds are still there, but where it ends up is not always where you thought it would. It’s an evolutionary process.

    One thing I always say is don’t leave the house without looking in the rearview mirror. And that goes for your hair as well as for your clothes.

    CM: Do you often look to pop culture for your inspiration? From where do you typically decide on the foundation for a new line?

    NM: Sometimes it’s been wherever I’ve traveled. I was using a lot of vintage images. I mean I did a Byzantine collection and a whole collection (based on) rose windows about six or eight years ago. Then I did a lot of things based on my travels, like a Mayan collection after I visited Tulum. Sometimes I do this around-the-world thing. But, whenever I do something for too long I just change it up because I’ll feel like I’m in a rut, and I’ll feel like I keep doing the same thing, so I switch it up.

    CM: So is that why you’ve expanded into designing other products, like wedding dresses and home decorations?

    NM: I didn’t decide I wanted to go into wedding dresses; they decided they wanted wedding dresses from me. A lot of women wanted the evening gowns we had and asked us to make them in white. And a lot of employees would ask, ‘Will you make our dresses?’ But that’s been very successful for us, the wedding dresses. I really like the destination wedding dresses, I’ve never been into frou-frou.

    CM: What advice would you give to a style-challenged professional who needs to look put-together and doesn’t know where to start?

    NM: A full-length mirror and rearview mirror in your house, and spending a Saturday with all your stuff laid out on your bed and trying out all your different options. And then when you figure out what works for you, when you’re shopping, you’ll know what works. If I’m going on vacation for 12 days, I put everything out on my bed that I’m considering and I try everything on. And I don’t want to bring anything that doesn’t go with something. You know if I’m going to the beach I won’t take too much black.

    CM: So somewhere between practicality and personal style?

    NM: Well one thing I always say is don’t leave the house without looking in the rearview mirror. And that goes for your hair as well as for your clothes. I went to a breakfast once, and all the women at this breakfast, their hair looked like a rat’s nest. And they had just combed the front of their hair and it looked like they had just woken up. You have to look at the back of your head and your clothes. And you want your butt to look good.

    CM: You’d think with their stylists that wouldn’t happen. Where was that?

    NM: In New York, at a breakfast! I remember another time I was in New York and I wanted to wear something different that wasn’t my own, just something different and far-out, so I was trying on things but there wasn’t a rearview mirror in the dressing room. And I stepped out to see it, and it looked horrible because the dress had a weird pleat that fanned out and made me look huge.

    CM: You saved yourself from that dress. Have you had an embarrassing fashion moment that you didn’t prevent?

    NM: I went to the opera in Milan and these friends of mine went shopping at Louis Vuitton and I got this amazing dress that I loved and the zipper just wouldn’t stay down; it went all the way up my back. And this was a $2,500 dress! And of course I was wearing thong underwear. I gave the Italian men a show!

    Nicole Miller, right, poses with Tootsies creative director Fady Armanious.

      
    Photo by © Michelle Watson CultureMapSNAP.com
    Nicole Miller, right, poses with Tootsies creative director Fady Armanious.
    unspecified
    news/fashion

    boots with a story

    Houston bootmaker offers $5,000 cowboy boot and gator hunt adventure

    Gabi De la Rosa
    May 16, 2025 | 11:30 am
    Republic Boot Company Gator Hunt
    Photo courtesy of Republic Boot Company
    Houston bootmaker, Republic Boot Company, turns gator hunts into a custom pair of boots.

    In Houston, where custom boots are a source of great pride and style, one local brand is taking the bespoke boot experience to a new level. Republic Boot Company, known for its elevated, hand-crafted creations, just launched a Gator Hunt Experiencewhere customers can source an alligator hide, which will be transformed into a pair of cowboy boots.

    Part adventure and part traditional craftsmanship, the experience begins with a hunt in the marshlands near Anahuac, about an hour from Houston, and ends with a custom-made pair of alligator-skin cowboy boots tailored to the client's vision by a Republic Boot Company boot specialist.

    "At Republic Boot Company, we pride ourselves on crafting boots that are not just footwear, but a legacy," said Chris Conrad, owner of Republic Boot Company. "This new Gator Hunt Experience takes that commitment to personalization to an unprecedented level, offering our customers a unique and memorable journey taking them from the bayou to the heart of the Bayou City."

    The gator hunt is $5,000 per person and includes an 8.5-foot alligator (larger alligators incur extra costs). Individuals of all experience levels can participate, and all necessary permits and equipment are provided to ensure a safe adventure. After the hunt, the hide will be tanned during an eight-month process to ensure a one-of-a-kind pair of boots. Just in case the kicks aren't enough of a conversation starter, participants will also receive a professional mount of the alligator head.

    Alligator hunting season runs from September 11 to September 30, so the boots won't be ready for the 2026 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Once they are complete, however, they will be wearable pieces of art with a memorable story behind them. Those interested in extending their only-in-Texas half-day hunt into an overnight experience can book overnight accommodations through Republic Boot Company.

    custom boots in houstonhouston custom bootsalligator bootsrepublic boot company
    news/fashion

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