Teaching Your Kiddos Spanish? Check Out Baby Besos

Many of our parents and grandparents were taught as Hispanics growing up in South Texas, “If you want to prosper in the U.S., do not speak Spanish, do not teach your children Spanish.” Fortunately, times they have a-changed; parents can and should teach their children more about their culture. I met with mother-of-two and owner of Baby Besos, Victoria Herrera, who built a business that teaches other children and her own about being Latino with fashion and other child-friendly tools.

“After I had my second child, I realized I wanted my children to love and understand Spanish the way I love it,” explains Herrera. “I tried to find tools around the house to expose them to Spanish, but I couldn’t find anything. So I decided to start a business and found things from all over the country.” Herrera found books, CDs, toys, blocks, accessories and more. Inspired, she started making her own burp cloths, bibs, blankets, and clothes. “I brought items from all over, but I ended up starting our own line of blankets and bibs.”

As we met, Herrera began emptying the contents of her bag, first pulling out a blanket made with the traditional, bright floral hand-embroidered Mexican dress. “This is a dress that my grandmother would’ve worn. Now that I have a daughter I want to pass on a tradition of that dress. But I created the blanket with a modern twist to it.” While the pink Mexican dress adorns the middle of the blanket, it’s made up of several bold fabrics and materials like purple mink with raised polka dots and colorful cotton flowers. “Raised dots are good for a child’s motor skills,” says Herrera. “It’s good for them to feel different textures. But I also make other mainstream blankets that are still a little bit bolder than your normal baby blankets.” Herrera unfolded a two-sided blanket with cute zebra print and soft mink on one side, and turquoise and black flowers on the other. Perhaps it does not include the Latino flare of the blanket made with the Mexican dress, but it is still loud and proud; it is still Latino.

And it’s probably the Latino influence in her garments and accessories that captures people’s attention and won Baby Besos a business award from the South Texas Women’s Center. Herrera pulls out more contents from a bag she also sells, and low and behold, a bib with a giant Virgin Mary on one side and the color red on another, emerges. We are meeting in the Starbucks in a more—how do I be diplomatic about saying this?—less Latino side of town. The conservative Texan in me had to joke, while looking over my shoulder, “Well perhaps you can use the red side when you have more conservative guests coming over, and the Virgin Mary side amongst Latinos.”

Herrera even sells dyed cloth diapers with embellishments, a pink shirt that says, “You’re giving me Ojo,” and a boy’s onesie with the words, “No Hablo” written on an etch-a-sketch. She also sells an array of baby blankets and other clothes with images from the famous Mexican game Loteria, like “El Apache” or “La Luna.” In addition, Baby Besos is growing. They’ve just partnered with Carrizo Project, a company that heads to Honduras to teach women how to sew and be self sufficient. “They are literally in the mountains of Honduras sewing!” Herrera excitedly explains. “And they teach the women confidence. I started selling their bags, and 100 percent of the proceeds are sent back to Carrizo Project in Honduras.” Herrera sells them as diaper and baby wipe holders. “But you can use them for other things like spoons and baby food,” she adds.

To see more Latino-centric items or to go shopping, logon to BabyBesos.com. They have everything from $5 onesies to $90 blankets with their average price running from $15-$25 an item.

Austin: Day Trip to Dress Shop

Dress Shop is no longer one of Austin’s best kept secrets. Tourists from local hotels were stopping by during my visit to check out the infamous store owned by the, “Dress Evangelist,” Leslie Gandy. “We carry dresses that are both ‘of the moment’ but will last for a long time,” explains Gandy, “we do have our fair share of college and even high school customers-but the dresses appeal to the many professional women who work near us, as well as tourists of all ages looking for a fun purchase on their visit to Austin.”

Opened in August 2009, Dress Shop remains the first women’s retailer on Congress Avenue in over a decade. And what better way to announce that a woman can join the ranks of men, than by opening a women’s boutique in a historically male-dominated business area? As if Gandy’s message isn’t clear enough, her dresses are literally the perfect fit, as they’re designed for a real woman and not for the double-zero-diva modernistas have become obsessed with hating. According to Gandy, “we really advocate looking good. The hour glass dress is flattering and fits really well. Our dresses are made of many different [and forgiving] materials, like knit and stretch. We also carry an array of styles and designers, such as Yoana Baraschi, Bon Bon by Micah, Suzie Chin, and Maggie London.”

Dress Shop’s price point ranges from affordable to expensive, as there’s a look for every occasion: casual, cocktail, sundress, work dress, etc. In addition to carrying dresses, they sell all the pretty little things and accessories that accompany them. Necessities for, “no more wardrobe malfunctions,” as Gandy likes to call it, includes original Hollywood fashion tape, disposable nipple covers, silicone nipple covers, deodorant removing sponges, plunge back bras, and more. However they carry more fun necessities and accessories such as, sequin encrusted handbags and jewelry galore, like sparkly bracelets, peacock feather necklaces, gold and silver earrings.

The clutch bags are my must-haves, as I found myself jealous and fantasizing about them within moments of leaving the shop. I’m also still pining away for the timeless polka dot sensations and the Audrey Hepburn-inspired dresses. Today I’m considering re-modeling my closet area—or even the rest of my house—to look like the interior of Dress Shop itself. The shop’s vintage aesthetic with colorful splashes of black and white, baby pink, and exposed brick, features an original Durham Tobacco ad from 1896.

About the owner: A Texas A&M alum, Gandy left her home state to live in New York City, where she honed her sense of fashion. She worked for Us Weekly Magazine, focusing on celebrities and style, and became the marketing manager for Macy’s. She met her Longhorn husband in the big apple, who convinced her to move back to the lone star state and share her knowledge and passion for fashion with the rest of us. Her mother owned a similar shop in the 80s in Texas City. For more on Dress Shop, visit their site, facebook account, or stop by IRL.

Caroline Kennedy's Five-City Book Launch Tour

Caroline Kennedy came to San Antonio for a five-city launch tour promoting her new poetry anthology, She Walks in Beauty, A Woman’s Journey Through Poems. Titled after Lord Byron’s famous poem, the anthology includes works from other greats of English literature, such as Edna St. Vincent Millay, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Amy Lowell and more. However, proudly featured alongside those greats are selections from the Alamo City’s own greats: Barbara Ras, Naomi Shihab Nye, Sandra Cisneros, and Rosemary Catacalos.

I had the humbling opportunity to attend Kennedy’s San Antonio tour, and appreciated not only reading stories from local women writers, but that San Antonio was representin’ with the likes of Caroline Kennedy. I fought the urge to raise my hand and announce that I too, am part of the local women writers scene. Who knows, maybe Kennedy’s next edition will include an installment, of my notorious “Chick-Lit.” Until then, I enjoyed reading the work of my predecessors and hopefully you will too. The idea for the anthology came to Kennedy on her 50th birthday, when friends sent her poems to commemorate the occasion. Inspired to celebrate the stages of a woman’s life, Kennedy divided the anthology into several sections, from Falling in Love, to Marriage, Work and Motherhood.

Barbara Ras’ Secret Lives describes a risqué journey mothers may embark on together. These mothers “that smear peanut butter on bread” are the ones who are “talking about their bodies and what they did with them in Portugal, Hawaii, the coast of France, it’s better than cards, it’s anatomy and geography…” A personal favorite, Naomi Shihab Nye’s My Friend’s Divorce is a rhythmic story about her friend’s garden, representing a fresh start. In Little Clown, My Heart, Sandra Cisneros captures the emotional tantrums that come with romantic love through the youthful voice the author is famous for (“Spangled again and lopsided, Handstands and Peking pirouettes”). And Rosemary Catacalos’ Crocheted Bag, featured in the chapter on “Beauty, Clothes, and Things of This World,” reminded me of Gertrude Stein’s high modernism.

However, perhaps the dearest passage of the entire anthology wasn’t a poem, but a few sentences written by Kennedy herself: “Collecting these poems reminded me that when I was younger, I thought my task was to forge ahead and succeed as an individual. But growing older has helped me realize that our success lies in our relationships—with the family we are born into, the friends we make, the people we fall in love with, and the children we have.”

Caroline Kennedy has written and edited seven books on constitutional law, American history, politics, and poetry. None have included contributions from local writer and Gal about the Globe, Desiree Prieto, but I’m sure her next one will.

A Visit with International Fashion Line, ‘Niche,’ Created in San Antonio, Texas

Turkish-born designer, Nilgun Derman, and her daughter, Ayse Derman, are the proud owners of Niche, a modern women’s clothing line carried in high-end boutiques and departments stores throughout the U.S. and Canada. In 500-800 stores at any given time, and in almost every state in the U.S., Niche happens to be headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, in an industrial area near the airport, or what I like to call, “Little Industry,” as it’s full of discreet warehouses and studios. However, Niche’s success is anything but little, and you can find the line at Dillard’s La Cantera— in the bridge section with Eileen Fisher—or at Julian Gold on McCullough.

Over 25 years ago, Nilgun Derman began the company with an art-to-wear line of hand-painted garments—influenced from her other passion. She holds a master’s degree in industrial design, and originally made furniture, which she believes inspired her to move toward clothing. “The concept of furniture and industrial design resonates in the work because our pieces are structural and architectural,” Nilgun explains. “But they are comfortable and yet elegant.” Nilgun began designing painted clothing because of its popularity in the late 80s and early 90s, but eventually the clothing evolved into a more ready-to-wear line. The feminine collections, aimed at the 30-and-up demographic, includes wearable separates, casual but sleek and fitted-jerseys, knits, cotton and plaid.

While the line is created in San Antonio, it’s primarily produced in central Texas, and Niche is proud to have kept it completely “Made in the U.S.” According to Ayse Derman, the company’s Creative Director and a University of Texas at Austin Business Alum, creating the clothing close to home has also helped Niche carve out their own niche in such a competitive market. “A decade ago it seemed very enticing to take production overseas. A lot of companies did it, like Ralph Lauren, and even the boutique brands moved overseas because the production costs so much less.” Ayse continues, “but we were stubborn and kept it here, and now there a lot of problems with overseas production. We can flip over something in three weeks, whereas overseas production cannot be flexible with deliveries and that’s where clothing companies can experience problems.”

Niche can join the “Fashion for a Cause” crowd, as managing their production close to home means they don’t overproduce. Ayse explains that they don’t make anything until receiving orders, and believe it or not, it’s easier that way. “We don’t have to project,” Ayse says, “we do our production based on the response. We don’t end up with extra inventory or clothing.” Ayse ensures that a percentage of the line is brand new and innovative, and a percentage of the line is tweaked. “We have history on the women’s body, as we have a little core group of clothes that have stayed the same for ten years. Soft separate groups, styles that consistently are best sellers.” The company also fulfills special custom orders, for weddings and other occasions.

Niche produces a couple fashion shows a year for the fall and spring break, which includes 110 bodies, styles, and two smaller breaks, one for holiday and one for resort, like early spring, which features crews. In addition, they attend the big tradeshows in the U.S. I had a chance to check out the Fall 2011 line and adore their black and white jersey dresses and scarves, as well as their brown striped separates, as brown is making a comeback in fashion. If you really want to know more about them, go shopping. As Ayse explains, “the pieces will tell you the whole story.”

Sidenote: While Niche’s studio is closed to the public and their line can only be found in select boutiques and department stores, their involvement in the community is immense: they mentor UIW interns, have hired UIW graduates, and also make fabric donations to the International Academy of Design and Technology.