Food and Fashions From Greenwich Take Center Stage in Bedford Show

Though locals have barely felt the effects of winter, many turned their thoughts to spring on Wednesday at the "Spring Fashion in the Farmhouse" luncheon and fashion show at the Inn. 

Sixty women enjoyed a three-course lunch and preview of Carlisle and Per Se designer Susan Klope's spring 2012 collection, modeled by three professionals and four businesswomen from Bedford and nearby.

"We wanted everyone to see the clothes on 'real' women—women they knew and trusted," said Lori Brodsky, events coordinator at the Bedford Post. "This collection is very wearable, and not just by 6-foot tall models."

One group of women—seated at table eight, along with this reporter—said they came to see the clothes, and each other, pausing from busy work schedules and carpools. A mix of Bedford and Pound Ridge residents, the women shared over 50 years of collective friendship together.

"It's nice to take the time for your friends," said Vicki Dey, a Pound Ridge mother of three who came to support Jackie Kornblau, who was modeling at the show. Joining them were Kim Bickley, Dey's friend since their preschool years at Lucy Robin, a local jewelry designer; Cynthia Filkoff, of , Cinzia Panetti, a garden designer and Kornblau, Panetti's partner in their interior and garden design business.

Kornblau said she'd modeled when she was younger—having grown up in La Spezia, Italy, with a fashion designer mom who owned a boutique—but it had been some time since she'd walked a fashion runway. She carried off her duties with style, modeling a black-and-white pop floral glazed jacket made of Italian fabric.

The review from the women at table 8?

"Many wearable things," said Bickley, who favors a jacket-and-jeans look. In-between their lunchtime conversation—which ranged from the agony of children applying for college to the differences between Italian and American schools—they nodded their approval for many of the featured pieces.

Camille Branca, a real estate agent with and member of the , also modeled in the show, which featured a mix of textures, finishes and colors, including mandarin orange and alabaster. Ruth Lopp, of Rowayton, and Jen Danzi of Greenwich rounded out the line-up of "real-women" models. 

Klope, in narrating the show for guests, said fashion "is an attidude, not defined by your birthdate—it's how you express yourself." Carlisle and Per Se are typically available through seasonal in-home trunk shows across the country but locals can check out the collection at the showroom in .

*Editor's note: This article originally appeared on Bedford-Katonah Patch.