Vogue Declares Jenna as First Lady of Cool

"Thanks!" to both Bourbon & Pearls (check out her lovely blog here) and Alice (check out her cool website here) who let us know that Jenna Lyons was recently featured in Vogue Magazine.

To view it yourself, you can either go to J.Crew's Facebook page here or see Bourbon & Pearls' blog post "JCrew's First Lady In Vogue." (much easier to read from this post, just double click on the scanned image). There are great shots of her home too!

There is also a mini-article over at Vogue worth checking out (click here to read in its entirety):

Join The Crew
By Lauren Milligan
August 24, 2011

JENNA LYONS is bringing her J.Crew label to the UK, with the launch of a Brit-accessible ecommerce site - and the designer, profiled in September's Vogue, has big plans for even more expansion on these shores.

"We'd love to open stores in the UK, I'm absolutely champing at the bit to do it!" Lyons told us today. "We have a trip planned soon to look at locations and hopefully we'll be able to learn alot from the UK ecommerce launch - what the UK customer wants. We know a little already - because British customers often shop in our stores in New York and elsewhere and then have the goods shipped back to the UK - but this will definitely help.

"We've been focusing on our growth in the US: we've launched childrenswear; we have an amazing wedding business; shoes and accessories are growing rapidly; and there has been a huge uptake in menswear, so we're looking to launch men's-only stores," she explained. "We wanted to make sure we had all our ducks in a row in the US - but things are solid so now is the right time to look at the UK."

The brand, grown from a basis of "classic, tailored pieces inspired by menswear," has become famous for its simple yet desirable basics: Lyons singles out a "classic menswear-style trouser, cropped and created in hot pink and bright blue" and the "back-to-basics Mona pump" as season highlights. So who does Lyons - herself hailed as a paragon of dressed-down chic, and go-to designer for Michelle Obama - think is cool?

"Helen Mirren," she said without hesitation. "She's just spectacular as an actress - and so beautiful. For me, the debate about how actresses age in Hollywood is really interesting - and she is someone who is aging so well. I also love Solange Knowles, she's so cool - and her son! Oh! Solange Knowles and her little boy are my two new obsessions."

Did you check out these articles? Did you find any quotes or tidbits particularly interesting? If so, please share! :)