Project Runway's Christopher Straub, Maurices & A Giveaway!!

Raise your hand if you're familiar with the show, Project Runway. 

Oh, wait, of course you are!  I mean, we're all fashion bloggers here, or followers of fashion blogs or girls that are at least interested in fashion. So, we all know about Project Runway! I've seen an episode of it here and there, but I don't watch it regularly. A) I don't have cable anymore. (*gasp* I know! That's crazy, right? But really, that's a topic for another blog post.) And B) I just don't have time to watch TV anymore. Trust me, I wish I did!

Anyways, all of that to say that Christopher Straub from season 6 is collaborating with Maurices to launch a designer line!!  Maurices is a hometown store that sells trendy apparel to the hometown girl with a twenty-something attitude and spirit. Hey, that's me! I may not be twenty-something anymore, but I sure do act like it. ;)  Y'all know that I love Maurices. I wear something from their store at least once a week! lol  Christopher is from Shakopee, Minnesota, and very proud of his hometown roots, which is one of the reasons Maurices knew he would be a perfect match for them.  I'm so excited about this collaboration!! The collection launches online Tuesday and in stores on Black Friday. These party frocks are gorgeous and most definitely worth breaking my shopping ban for! ;)  Everything from the lush cropped fur jacket to the elegant burgandy dress to the sparkly jewelry is reasonably priced to keep you and I dressed to impress and stay on budget. It's the best of both worlds really. =)

I had the opportunity to interview Christopher via skype on Friday and let me tell you, it was a pleasure!  Here are a few of our Q's and A's. =)

Me: I went to your website and saw all of your gorgeous bags.  Where do you get your inspiration?
Christopher:  Most of my inspiration comes from nature.  Most of my inspiration comes from nature. I’m always in tune with the seasons and with what’s happening. I love floral and water and air and leaves and those elements and they’re really important in my design. I try to incorporate them in my designs whenever possible.

Me: Who is your favorite designer?
Christopher: Oh, there are a couple. One of my favorites is Alexander McQueen. He also drew his inspiration from nature and likes the art and showmanship of it.  But I also like Betsey Johnson. She has a lot of fun with fashion and that's fantastic.

Me: What trends do you see being big for 2012?
Christopher: Sequins aren’t leaving us quite yet! It’s great because a couple of  years ago everything that was sequined was shiny silver sequins.   And now we’re really playing with texture and proportion and going into matte sequins and other colors and even printing on top of sequins. I think that that’s still going to be an important trend maybe for the next couple of years.

Me: In your opinion, what is the "must have" fashion piece or trend for the holidays?
Christopher: For the holidays?? I have a list of must haves! Do you only want one or can I give you a few.
Me: Yes, give me your list! lol
Christopher: I’ll give you a few because I just did a whole article about this! I would say a jacket or what I call a topper that gets you from home to the car and from the car to the party.  Don’t throw an athletic jacket over that cute little dress. Something that’s textured or furry or like a bolero.  Change up the proportions a little bit, too. It doesn’t have to be a huge jacket.  I call that just a topper. And the other big thing for me is a clutch. A clutch that coordinates with your outfit that’s just big enough to hold everything you want, but it’s not a purse.  Those are probably my two must haves for the holidays.

Me: If you were told that you could only shop at one clothing store for an entire year, which store would you choose?
Christopher: I live in MN and we have the Mall of America., which has like 500 stores.  And every time I go, I always go into this one store called Heritage.  It’s parent company is Forever 21.  It’s like Forever 21 for men.  They have like cool jackets and t-shirts and skinny jeans.  For someone like me who has to make appearances, I have to buy pieces that are going to have a short life span because I can't show the same things over and over again.  So, I go to places that are more accessible.

Me:  Out of all the celebrities in the world, who would you most like to design for?  
Christopher: I think Lady Gaga. It’s not just that she’s a star. She has fun and she pushes fashion to the breaking point. She doesn’t pinpoint herself to one specific style. She does everything from high end fashion to truly art pieces. And then also because of how immensely famous she is. If you put a piece on her, everyone is going to know about it.

Me: What do you like most about being a fashion designer?
Christopher: The thing about being a fashion designer is that it’s about being an artist and getting things out of my head.  What  I enjoy most is that I’m able to get the thought in my head out and onto a body or whatever and then I’m able to move on to the next idea.


That pretty much sums it up! He was such a sweetheart and so incredibly patient with my lack of interviewing skills. lol I felt like more of an interrogator because I wasn't so great with transitioning from one question to the next. I'll have to work on that for my next big interview! ;)

You can go here to view the lookbook for Christopher's collection with Maurices.  Or you can drool over these photos. =)

I absolutely love the skirt on this LBD! I could totally see it with a little red sweater and some red accessories to really Christmasify it. =)

This cropped fur jacket and dress? GOR-geous!!

Now, for the truly exciting news? Maurices wants to give you, one of my lucky readers a $50 gift card to their store! If you don't have a Maurices nearby, no worries, they have a website where you can shop to your heart's content! 

This giveaway is now closed!

Here's how you enter:

Go to Maurices' website, pick out your favorite item and then leave me a comment telling me what you'd like to purchase with the gift card. And that's all you have to do!!  This giveaway is open to US residents only. 

Now, for some additional entries, you can:

Follow me via GFC (+1, Leave additional comment)

Follow Maurices via twitter (+1, Leave additional comment)

Follow me via twitter (+1, Leave additional comment)

Like Maurices on facebook (+1, Leave additional comment)

Like me on facebook (+1, Leave additional comment)

Share this giveaway on twitter or facebook (+1, Leave me a comment letting me know that you did!)

That gives you a total of 7 chances to win!  The only thing I ask is that you make sure you leave a separate comment for each entry because I'll only be able to count you once if you only leave one comment.  Please make sure that either your email address is attached to your user name or that you leave me your email address in the comment!

This giveaway will end Thursday at midnight and I'll announce the winner on Friday, November 25th!  Thanks, y'all and good luck!!

Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by Maurices. I received free product in return for the review.  Any opinions, however, they're totally honest and completely mine!