Last Minute Shopping Gift Guide

Winter Coat

The Blog:  Which style flatters which shape?

PK: Yes, if you are tall don’t shy from emphasizing your stature - ankle length coats can look dramatic. If petite, then more on-the-knee lengths, wear long boots, the same colour as your coat to lengthen the silhouette. Larger, then leaner straight cuts.

Always check the line of the coat buttoned-up and undone.

The Blog:  And colour?

PK: If you have the funds there are lots of great colours but if this is an investment then stick to the classics: black, navy, brown and cream which won’t date.

I hate saying this but the jazzy coat is not so easy to pull off - it’s best to say no to tricky color panels, and too many pockets - dress your coat up with a great scarf or patterned sweater.

If you can afford, it’s nice to have both darker and lighter - the lighter coat provides glamour for the evening. Once you have the neutrals covered look to red or fuchsia, deep purple.

 

The Blog: How much should you spend? And if the choice is expensive coat or weekend in New York?

PK:Two different questions! Buy the coat you can afford - think of the cost per wear if you are unsure. Cashmere/wool blend is lighter than 100% wool and also look at Loden, natural new wool from the Italian and Austrian Alps, which is light, warm, wind and water - proof. Great for cities like Toronto and Chicago. The cashmere blend or Loden is more expensive but worth it.

You get more wear if the coat has a removable hood or collar to gain the flexibility of two different styles.

The Blog: Let’s get a little more detailed.

PK: Yes, the details. I look for nice finishing, say on the collar if it’s finished in leather when you remove the hood. The quality of the clasps or zippers, inside pockets which are functional to hold my iPhone and so on. Lightness - a winter coat need not be heavy.

The Blog: So how much to spend?

PK: Will you love the coat for the next 5 years? Even if you update every winter you want to wear the new coat  for several years.

But it is an investment. Decide your priorities in a coat but the coat’s success will live and fall by the cut and the feel of the fabric.

The Blog: Well then? New Coat or New York?

PK: I love the idea of both! Buying the coat and wearing it in New York!

Well, you are feeling good about yourself when you are trying on the right coat. But then there’s MOMA, maybe wine with friends in a pleasant bar, mid - town. Hmmm.....

The Blog: Well?

PK: You know, the weekend experience in a place like New York or Paris, that’s what drives your style, helps you define the manner of dressing. And that’s worth more than any coat -even a really nice coat you want to spend your weekends with!

The Blog:  Thanks.

Black Friday Special

PK 25th Anniversary Party

PK 25...pictures say more than a thousand words...

 

Thank you to our wonderful customers and everyone who attended!

25 YEARS PETRA KARTHAUS FASHION ANNIVERSARY

PK - Once Upon a Time

The Blog:  WHAT EXACTLY DOES HERITAGE MEAN?

PK: Heritage is not nostalgia - a bittersweet longing for the past - authentic heritage is something you can see, feel, and sense in a product.

The Blog:  WHAT ABOUT "NOW"?

PK: The fashion product has to be relevant to "now", of course. But heritage is built upon many years, sometimes a generation, of tradition and values, built upon experience, passion, and know - how.

The Blog:  WHAT ABOUT DESIGN AND HERITAGE?

PK: Sure, in design start from something, don't invent, but go back through the brand history and try to build up an idea for the new collection.

The Blog:  25 YEARS OF FASHION BUYING IN EUROPE. ADVICE?

PK: Well, it's not about what looks "now" or what looks like "heritage". You have to look at what's commercial, what works for the customer. So, when I'm in Paris or wherever, I often think about the customer - including the customer still to meet. And that's why we put together these images from the past 25 years for the blog - I hope they like it!

The Blog:  AND THE HORSE?

PK: The merry - go - round horse has been in the store from day 1. Children walk by and so the horse is really for them. A 3 year old girl pulled her father in last December. She was so thrilled to get on that horse! He's a little precious so the father had to hold her in the saddle

Once Upon a Time.....Harry and Petra had a great idea, and thus began Petra Karthaus Toronto...

1989 - 2000....

...turned into 2001 - 2014...

....the present!

Boulevard de Paris - Capucines

After the film, we came out onto the Boulevard des Capucines. It was twilight. It was grey, a chill coming. Holding hands, we made our way down the Boulevard. Shopping in the 2nd Arrondisement was one of our rituals. Manfield, across from Theatre Olympia, is a shoe store. A pair of suedes, with too-high heels, caught my eye. Paul said they would go with my cashmere coat.

From MANFIELD we walked along Capucines, to window shop…“faire du lèche-vitrines" as we used to say, and then to Le Grand Cafe Capucines.

Paul ordered our early Saturday evening coupes du champagne. We talked of the film and laughed. In a way, every film with Paris at its heart is a love story. We chose onion soup, then lamb, a carré d'agneau. Paul chose the wine, a Château Lalande-Borie.

We walked back along Capucines, in the direction of the metro OPERA, warmed by the food and wine against the cold, blowing night. I had tied my midnight navy blue scarf, a Petrusse, to protect against the chill. Holding hands, we stood in front of Palais Garnier. Before descending into the Opera Metro, we looked in all directions, at the lights. Paul recited: "Then there was the bad weather. It would come in one day when the fall was over.”

“There is never any ending to Paris and the memory of each person who has lived in it differs from that of any other......But this is how Paris was in the early days.”

                                                   Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

 To tie a Scarf for the Evening

Petrusse scarves are now in-store.