Fashion

LOOBOOK: COREY

the name may have changed, but the clothing is as cool as ever.

by rebecca willa davis

Although the name has changed slightly--from Corey Lynn Calter to just Corey--the clothing that's coming from the LA-based designer is as fresh as ever.

"It's not a separate line," explained Calter from backstage at her fall '13 presentation (the spring line, in stores now, is the inaugural Corey collection and features actress Nora Zehetner). "I'm the sole owner [of my company] and some of the advantages of that are you can do what you want! And I just sort of wanted to."

We can't argue with that--especially not when it results in vintage-inspired printed tap dresses, lounge-ready jumpsuits, and kimono sleeve-esque tops. It's a little Bonnie Parker, a little Sally Bowles, even a little Ioanna Gika (of IO Echo). "Everything in this line is something that I would wear. There are those things girls loved about their Corey Lynn Calter garments, but I wanted to challenge them a little bit. Like, let's kick it up a little. You maybe want a fit-and-flare dress from me, but let's try a tulip skirt and a tank with a higher neck on it," noted the designer.

For fall, she used "smoke and flowers" as her inspiration, tapping into a, as she put it, "sexier, moodier, yet still playful and essentially feminine" mindset. "Like what you would wear if you were in an opium den and you were the chicest girl in there," Calter added.

But if you can't wait until fall to get your hands on the collection, there is one piece from her spring line that Calter particularly recommends: her short-suits. "I like how real girls are going to wear them with a T-shirt and with flats; I like that vibe," she noted. We do, too.

Check out the full Corey collection here