Ruth Caldwell, 27, knows what she wants and systematically works to get it. She's the buyer for Capitol boutique at Phillips Place.
Caldwell, a native Charlottean, graduated from West Charlotte High and Washington and Lee University.
During a 2001 internship at the New York Stock Exchange, she took networking to the extreme by lunching daily with a different alumnus. Caldwell initially worked at Morgan Stanley, where she built a foundation in finance and accounting. Daily, she called New York retailers until she landed a job at Barneys New York.
She went from having a secretary to being a secretary to Judy Collinson, Barneys' executive vice president for womenswear and "a legend in the industry." Caldwell rose through the ranks at Barneys to become a senior assistant buyer in women's designers collection and then worked for Saks Fifth Avenue as associate buyer for European couture.
On a visit to Charlotte last fall, she ran into Capitol owner Laura Vinroot at the Morrocroft Harris Teeter.
"She asked me if I was ready to come home," said Caldwell. "And I thought, I kind of am."
Q.
What does a buyer do? "My job is to look and take it all in and pick up clues from the designers as to a direction to go for the coming season. From a purely artistic sense, the runway show is the purist sense of what the designer is thinking.
That is my answer to people who scoff `who would wear that?' Maybe you wouldn't, but there are feelings (there) that trickle down and will influence mass collections."
Q.
Describe your style. "It's very personal, kind of grounded in the classic, but always a little bit off, with a little bit of a twist."
Q.
When did you decide dressing up was fun? "I can't remember when it wasn't fun. I was always putting together strange outfits.
There's a picture of me at age 5 where I've taken monkey grass and made some earrings. They were very glamorous monkey grass earrings. I was resourceful and unconventional but I was always a glamourpuss.
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Q. Who was the first person you remember influencing your style? "There are so many layers of influence.
My earliest influence was my Aunt June. She was like Auntie Mame, literally. She was fearless.
She wore bright colors. She bought me denim miniskirts my mom wouldn't. She encouraged me to wear whatever I wanted to wear and have fun with it.
She has a kind of zest for life."
Q. What has living in New York made you appreciate about Charlotte?
"A dishwasher. I don't know where to start on that. It's such a nice pace.
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Q. What styles are distinctively Charlotte? "I'm excited to be back in a place where people wear color.
In New York I was always the buyer who wanted to buy color. The longer I stayed, the darker I found my wardrobe getting. I actually worked with buyers who owned nothing but black and white.
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Q. What will the trends be for spring? "The best way to describe the colors are the darks and lights of seashells.
Mink-y colors and grays. Really soft, muted, sophisticated colors."
Q.
What designers suit your style? "Every season I have new favorites. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Alber Elbaz (who designs for Lanvin) and Nicolas Ghesquiere who designs for Balenciaga.
Jayne Mayle (a British designer; her label is Mayle). I will wear anything Mayle. I love vintage clothes.
I would love vintage Balenciaga. That would be my ultimate. Vintage Halston gowns in the 1970s were so amazing.
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Q. Where do you shop vintage in Charlotte? The Sleepy Poet Antique Mall (off of South Boulevard).
...
I got some of my furniture at 1510 (on Central Avenue)."
Q. Do you wear suits still?
"I left my suits behind me when I left Morgan Stanley. Even then, I would have on a suit with pink vintage Ferragamo loafers."
Q.
What's your favorite meal? "I love hot dogs. I like it when they have the casing and it kind of snaps.
My ideal meal would be a chili cheese dog and champagne."
Q. Do you have a piece of jewelry that is special to you?
"I have an antique Victorian gold locket that I bought with my first tax return in New York City."
Q. Tell me about your taste in jewelry "I like gold.
I only wear stud earrings. I usually wear my diamonds, and sometimes I wear my pearls if I want to look particularly prim. I usually have on multiple layers of necklaces.
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Q. What was your best bargain? "I get all my basics at American Apparel.
They have great cotton."
Q. Favorite purse?
"My Goyard bag. It's like a briefcase but I treat it as a purse. In New York, your purse is like your car because you have to have a big bag because you don't have a car.
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Q. Favorite scent? "I switch it up but my favorite is Herm s' Un Jardin Sur Le Nil.
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Q. Celebrities whose style you admire? "Carine Roitfeld, the editor of French Vogue.
She is my hero. Diana Vreeland, the former editor of Harper's Bazaar and Vogue."
Q.
Favorite cocktail? "I love gin and tonics."
Q.
A favorite book? "I read `Love in the Time of Cholera' by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It is so beautifully written.
I love the first line: `The scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love.' "
Q. Complete this sentence, "I can't believe I once wore.
.." "Laura Ashley.
My mom made me. I had the matching jumpers and headband. It's before I had creative control over my own outfits.
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