Hot child, it's almost summer in the city. The Mister Softee trucks are back on street corners. Girls are donning Havaianas instead of knee high boots. Grabbing post-work cocktails is complicated by the fact that drinking al fresco is a must. And finally, the mother of all warm weather rites of passage: invites for outdoor barbecues have started to invade your in box.

While I enjoy a cookout as much as the next girl, I find that dressing for such low key day-into-evening fetes can prove stressful for several reasons: 1. Outdoor space usually equals outer borough. Which usually equals turned out hipster chicks who turn their noses at a Forever 21 frock. 2. Daytime drinking usually leads to nighttime drinking, and there's something significantly less charming about a wife beater/cut-off jean skirt ensemble when it's 10 o'clock at night. 3. You will sweat. It will be unattractive.

Thankfully, FrenchMe has arrived on the fashion scene to quell all of my neurosis—or at least the wardrobe-related ones. Born out of a tiny Williamsburg apartment, the emerging line of handmade pieces is full of ladylike but casual dresses, jumpers and swimsuits inspired by French fashion from the '50s and '60s (ergo the cheeky moniker). The cuts are modern and flattering, revealing just enough skin to make the muggy evenings ahead bearable, and ensure that you'll look equal parts Ginger and Mary Ann as you bite into that burger.

Best friends Liz Berg and Jeannette Tiso, the pretty young things behind the line, are currently in school at FIT, so keep an eye on these talents on the rise—we expect even bigger things from them in the future!

FrenchMe is available at Debut, 298 Mulberry Street; for more information contact frenchmeplease@gmail.com.

- Caroline Stanley

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Similar Topics:Emerging Designer, fashion, shopping, spring 2008

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