Style & Design
Your source for tips, stories, and interviews about the worlds of Texas fashion, interior design, architecture, and more
Style & Design
March 1, 1999
Elisa Jimenez
Elisa Jimenez didn’t start out as a fashion designer. The 34-year-old El Paso native, who is the daughter of sculptor Luis Jimenez, set out for New York City in the early nineties to pursue her interest in sculpture and performance art. In 1995, she says, “I wore a dress I…
Style & Design
March 1, 1999
Suburban Renewal
How three Dallas area developers are beating back the threat of soulless sprawl by restoring a sense of community.
Style & Design
April 1, 1998
Wowtown!
The billionaire Basses had a vision—and money, of course. Now, thanks to their efforts, Fort Worth has the hottest downtown in Texas.
Film & TV
March 1, 1998
Joan Crawford
All her life, Joan Crawford raised other people’s eyebrows as often as she reapplied her own. From the time she arrived in Hollywood, the temperamental Texan provoked hostility and gossip, and her wide-eyed flapper persona soon hardened into that of a sleek, steely sophisticate. But the arrogance accompanied a massive talent;…
Style & Design
November 1, 1997
Tiles and Tiles of Texas
The ceramic designs created by these four Texas studios will look great in your kitchen or bathroom—and except for their shape, there’s nothing square about them.
Style & Design
June 30, 1997
Westheimer, Ho!
Accessories for sexual adventurers, columns for your Craftsman bungalow, tasteful tables made from old manhole covers: You can find it all on this reborn Houston strip.
Style & Design
May 31, 1997
Wore Stories
For her history of Texas fashion (see “The Way We Wore”), senior editor Anne Dingus began with—who else?—Sam Houston. “He’s always a good place to start,” she says, “and he distinguished himself by being sartorially flamboyant.” Then, drawing on library research and her personal archive of vintage postcards, ads,…
Style & Design
April 30, 1997
On With the Shows
Now that both its building and its mission have been renovated, Houston’s Contemporary Arts Museum is ready to win back the public and reestablish its eminence.
Style & Design
February 1, 1997
Victor Alfaro
Growing up in Chihuahua, Mexico, Victor Alfaro based his sartorial education on all the American fashion magazines; today the 33-year-old creative director of the New York clothier TSE Cashmere is so busy designing his own line of chic clothes and accessories that he barely has time to read. After a…
Style & Design
August 31, 1996
Gilt Trip
Andrew Eccles has photographed plenty of 24-karat celebrities for Texas Monthly, but his session with Lou Diamond Phillips was a truly golden experience. “In an industry that’s marked by jaded people,” Eccles says, “Lou was a breath of fresh air. He’s down to earth, talkative, enthusiastic—an incredibly sweet guy.” In…
Style & Design
June 30, 1996
Wende, Becky, and Kelly Parks
There haven’t been many successful sister acts in the world of modeling, but don’t tell that to the Parkses. Farm girls who grew up near Arlington in the tiny community of Webb, 20-year-old Wende, 22-year-old Becky, 23-year-old Kelly, and 26-year-old Kimberly piled into the front seat of a pickup truck…
Style & Design
June 30, 1996
Rock Star
Bob Ragan’s nationally renowned, intricately detailed stone carvings have a distinctly European look. Is it any wonder he lives in a place called Florence?…
Style & Design
April 1, 1996
Buckle Up
The rodeo belt buckle is prized by cowboys and collectors alike. By the look of these handcrafted samples, it’s easy to see why.
Style & Design
November 1, 1995
Seeing Red
The contrversial color of ASan Antonio’s new public library is only the latest indication that architect Ricardo Legorreta isn’t afraid to buck convention.
Feature
August 6, 1995
Silicone City
From invention to litigation, the breast implant has done more for Houston’s economy—and its psyche—than anything since oil.
Feature
April 1, 1994
Fit for a Queen
A look back at San Antonio Fiesta gowns reveals how the dresses have gone from elegant to excessive.
Style & Design
May 31, 1984
Move Over, Southfork
Up for sale in Dallas, the Shanbaum house boasts a whopping 28,000 square feet and what may be Texas’ most comprehensive collection of sixties and seventies kitsch—along with a $2.75 million price tag.
Style & Design
May 31, 1984
Texas Primer: The Resistol Hat
Whether it’s made of straw or ermine, this is the cowboy hat.
Style & Design
February 1, 1984
Texas Primer: The Texas Timex
Ever since LBJ’s gold Rolex appeared next to his gall bladder scar in news photographs, Texans have been buying the pricey timepieces by the carload.
Style & Design
July 1, 1979
Haute as a Pistol
Houston welcomes a classy Paris fashion designer with a rootin', tootin', ripsnortin' wild West show.
Design
November 1, 1977
View From the Top
Inside the cushy private boxes at Texas’ top sports stadiums, far from the madding crowd.
Feature
September 30, 1977
What’s Red, White, and Blue . . . And Orange All Over?
The Orange Show’s 75-year-old creator, Jeff McKissack, still goes dancing and is sure he will live to be a hundred. Never heard of the Orange Show? Then you’ve missed a razzle-dazzle piece of American folk art—an amusement park/sideshow that looks like a topless castle designed by a…
Design
August 31, 1977
The House That Art Built
What do you do when you have more paintings than walls to hang them on?…
Feature
April 30, 1977
Grand Hotels
You won’t find Greta Garbo at these classic establishments, but some things that happen there are straight out of a movie.
Feature
January 1, 1977
How to Be Southern
Southwestern is out, Southern is in. Here’s how to renew our charter membership.
Feature
November 1, 1976
Vanity Fair
The Greenhouse is where the rich and the chic go to play I spa.
Style & Design
August 31, 1976
That Certain Look
From alpha to omega, you can’t tell the sorority girls apart without a scorecard.
Style & Design
November 1, 1975
Is Your Life Dull? Is Your Environment Boring?
Four interior designers tell what they can do within four walls.
Style & Design
September 30, 1974
The Sweet Smile of Success
In some cases beauty is not even skin deep.
Cityview
September 30, 1974
Visit Beautiful Austin (Quick)
Austin is trading old houses for new offices. The City Council calls it progress.
Style & Design
June 30, 1974
Off, Off Damned Coat
Since our wearables often become unbearable, hereÃs a bold alternative.
Style & Design
May 31, 1974
Constructive Criticism
Once again a critical eye is cast on those irregularities along the skyline called buildings.
Style & Design
January 1, 1974
Temple of Cloth
The Apparel Mart in Dallas clothes Middle America. Their merchandise may not win many fashion awards, but it sells, and sells, and sells.
Style & Design
September 30, 1973
Suit Yourself!
From underwear to trenchcoats, everything you never knew about men's fashions answered.