Tanya Taylor Is All About BBQ and Air Conditioning This Summer

New York designer Tanya Taylor unwinds with backyard BBQs and frosty snow cones.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

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Fashion for Sexy Summer Nights

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Style Spotlight: Summer Layering

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Face Time: Charlotte Ronson Talks Summer Fashion, Gearing Up for Fashion Week

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Designer Charlotte Ronson attends Love Heals at Luna Park on July 7, 2012 in Sagaponack, New York.

Designer Charlotte Ronson has had quite the year having debuted both a beauty line for Sephora and a handbag collection in recent months. Ronson, who graduated from New York University in 1999, and launched her fashion business a year later, is lauded for her cool-girl personal style, celebrity following and for building a business that generated $15 million in revenue last year.

We caught up with Ronson in the Hamptons at the annual Love Heals at Luna Farm benefit, which supports HIV/AIDs education, where Ronson was one of the hosts for the evening. As Ronson told us: “I have been involved in this charity for so long—over 10 years. It’s been a long time. It’s just such an important cause to me. My sister has DJed here in the past. We’ve been involved as a family for many years. It’s just important to spread awareness in any way that I can.”

What are you working on this summer?

"I’m getting ready for fashion week and my show that is coming up in September. I am working on my line I Heart Ronson for J.C. Penney. I have a really cute bathing suit line with Shoshanna [Lonstein Gruss]. It’s this really cute collaboration that I am also working on. And I have a bag line that is hitting stores in the fall. It’s been a busy summer."

How far along is your Spring 2013 collection, which will hit the runway in September?

"We are doing pretty well. We are starting to get our samples in, and when they start to come in it’s all about how you react to them and thinking forward to the show. It’s an exciting time. It’s all starting to come together."

What advice would you give to aspiring fashion designers?

"You really have to make sure this is your passion and that you are willing to work extremely hard to make it happen. Internships are important. I worked at Cynthia Rowley for a little bit, and I interned at Harper’s Bazaar. Take the time to figure out that this is what you want to do."

Any summer style tips you can share?

'I think it’s all about feeling good and adding a little bit of color. Everybody looks good wearing a little bit of color right now. And just looking healthy and natural. You don’t have to try so hard in the summer. Just throw on a flirty dress and espadrilles and you'll be ready to go."

What about beauty tips? 

"My beauty line for Sephora is about being happy, natural, healthy, sun-kissed. I think beachy hair looks great year-round and then it is great to use a product that gives you that natural sun-kissed glow."

What’s that item in your wardrobe you can’t live without? 

"I have drawers and drawers of T-shirts. I especially love vintage. The more worn in, the better."

Jessica Yuen's Summer Started With Azealia Banks

Jessica Yuen

Yuen's summer 2012 soundtrack is one of Thread NY's favorite designer playlists to date.

Designer Jessica Yuen of Bedford St. Laundry tempers a gritty-pop summer '12 playlist with splashes of rock (Arctic Monkeys, Supergrass), hip-hop (Azealia Banks, Ma$e), and a nod to teenybopper Top 40 (you just can't fight Carly Rae Jepsen this summer). We can't say for certain, but we suspect this is our most addictive Designer Playlist yet.

"Robi Rob's Boriqua Anthem," C+C Music Factory: "The Spanish girls in junior high put me on to this song and I've loved it ever since. Makes you want to crash a backyard/basement party in Corona."

"Noisy Night," Portastatic: "I first heard this song when I started dating the boyfriend and instantly loved it even though I hated most of his music at the time. Somehow hearing it makes me feel like I'm sitting on a rickety porch swing with the smell of wet grass wafting in the air."

"Feel So Good," Ma$e: "I don't know that Puff still drives Mercedes or that Ma$e still gets the ladies but [this song] has been the jam since sixth grade. Bonus points for the matching silver suits. Yea, yea."

"Alright," Supergrass: "I think 99% of girls my age know this song from the group photo scene in Clueless. It's such a kooky Brit teen anthem, you can't not love it."

"Why Have We to Wait," Razika: "I saw these adorable Norwegian girls play at Cameo Gallery this past winter and their light poppy sound is perfect for summer."

"El Tigeraso," Maluca Mala: "Any New York female who finds the experience of walking by the bodega in pum pum shorts in the summer both obnoxious and hilarious, this song is for you."

"212," Azealia Banks: "My summer started the moment I saw the video which was some time in the winter. Her energy is beyond."

"I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor," Arctic Monkeys: "Stomp and flail around a dark sweaty pub with Alex Turner? Yes, please."

"Baby Baby Baby," Make the Girl Dance: "The French somehow have the whole dance genre completely figured out. The beat and the outrageous lyrics just encourage the best bad decisions."

"Call Me Maybe," Carly Rae Jepsen: "C'mon. Don't fight it."

Summer sales guide: what to avoid and what to buy

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Isaac Mizrahi Talks Favorite Movies and Why He Hates Makeup in the Summer

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Isaac Mizrahi at the W New York - Downtown Presents Grand Classics: "New York In Film" Summer Screenings Event.

Isaac Mizrahi handpicked to first film to be screened at the “New York in Film” movie series, which kicked off last night at the W New York Downtown.

Mizrahi, who regularly cites movies as an inspiration for his work in fashion, selected "Sweet Charity," a 1969 film directed by Bob Fosse that chronicles Charity (played by Shirley MacLaine), who works as a taxi dancer as she looks for love.

“It inspires me because it is about New York, at a point when I was a little kid," said Mizrahi, who co-hosted the evening alongside fashion writer Derek Blasberg. "I love New York. I grew up here. I remember it in that way, in this kind of edgy way when there was this kind of danger about it. I also love Charity. She’s the kind of woman that I think about.

It turns out many films—including the 1961 remake of "Back Street," about an affair between a fashion designer and a married man—have inspired the designer's career.

“Do you have three or four days to hear about all of the movies that have inspired me?” the designer joked to us. “'My Man Godfrey,' 'Dinner at Eight'—there are a million things from the '30s that I love."

As for what Mizrahi is up to this summer he said he's "working my little butt off."

"I’m moving into a new place, and I can’t even say when," he said. "I just have to get through the next few weeks of work.”

Among his current projects: Xcel Brands has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with The Jump Apparel Group to manufacture and distribute sportswear, dresses and suiting under the Isaac Mizrahi New York brand, which will debut in Spring 2013. Then there is the Isaac Mizrahi for Kleinfeld ready-to-wear bridal collection that debuted in April. And he is mentoring aspiring teen designers as part of a virtual six-week Summer of Style program along with Define My Style.

Despite his hectic schedule, we couldn’t let Mizrahi go without asking for some summer fashion tips.

“Longer skirts. I don’t even mean maxi skirts, I mean mid-calf,” he advised. “Shorts, I love shorts. Flats and little heels.”

His summer style "don’t" is makeup. “Makeup is so hard. I can’t look at makeup right now, I don’t know why," he said. "I always think everybody looks way younger, even if you are 100 years old, in no makeup.”

"Sweet Charity" will be screen again tonight at 7:30pm at the W New York - Downtown, 31st fl. Director and filmmaker Spike Lee will select the next film for the series, which will resume July 26-27.

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Designers on Summer: Rebecca Minkoff Loves Mint Chip Ice Cream, "Call Me Maybe"

When she isn't running her handbag empire or designing her fresh ready-to-wear collection, Rebecca Minkoff can likely be found at the beach during the hot summer season. Here, her tricks for kicking back, staying chic (tip: stash water spray bottles), and having fun during the sweltering months ahead.

Summer Getaway: "I’m so excited for my upcoming trip to Harbour Island [Bahamas]. The pink sand and crystal clear waters are perfection."

?Warm-Weather Activity: "On the weekends if it’s sunny out you’ll find me at the beach."

?Beat-the-Heat Solution: "Bring a spray bottle with you."

?Summer Workload: "My workload never slows down but I always try to make time for a vacation and some sun in the summer."

?Fondest Childhood Summer Memory: "Going to the beach with my whole family."

?Summer Uniform: "I love wearing short flowy dresses and ankle boots. It’s perfect for going to work and then hanging out with my son Luca."

?Summer Treat: "Mint chocolate chip ice cream."

?Summer Anthem: "'Call Me Maybe' [by Carly Rae Jepsen]."

?Summer Style Icon: "Kate Moss—not just for summer though!"

Ultimate NYC Vacation-for-a-Day: "The pool at Soho House with my son and husband."

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