Take Schelter

Kate Schelter's Gramercy Park apartment is cozy, warm and delighfully charming. Watercolor paintings, delicate drawings, mood boards, photos and calligraphy place cards are artfully strewn across the walls. Memories and souvenirs are very important to Kate, so she makes sure they are a constant visual reminder, from the moment the first sunbeam wakes her up. But she'll soon have to give her up her apartment of 8 years. No, this is not some disastrous New York lease-end story. It's a very happy move: she is engaged to be married this summer! "Chris and I both have too much stuff to combine in one of our apartments. I don't know where we will live but I know that it will be nice, where ever we end up," she says with confidence.

Kate Schelter was the original, pre-Ton, pre-Sart street style photographer for Vogue. At a time when  fashion blogging and internet traffic was at its lowest, Kate was everywhere, backstage at fashion shows,  mingling at cocktail parties, and on the street, her camera always close and her eyes peeled for a streak of fashion-forward style. What was so special about Kate though, was that whenever I saw her, I'd wish someone would turn the camera on her. With her signature black Chanel bag, red lipstick, enfatuating giggle and often wearing something short and sweet to show off her killer legs, she usually shined as bright and mighty as the starlets and socialites she was photographing. When she finally left her freelance position at Vogue to pursue a career in fashion consulting, it didn't take long before her colorful, feminine style  took the spotlight and became a staple all on its own.

Kate, wearing vintage Saint James boat T and Ferragamo cardigan. With pooch 'Bear'. 

When she's not working, or walking her dog, or preparing her wedding, Kate goes vintage shopping. She's a pro, with a handful of tricks in her pocket. "I don't think I've ever bid on anything on Ebay that's over $50." She goes to flea markets and no-name stores outside of the city to get the best deals. She reads the classifieds to find out about Estate Sales in Cape Cod or Los Angeles. "I get in line at 5 AM before all the dealers arrive!" A few weeks before our shoot, she had just sold about 30 pieces to a large vintage archive. "It was mostly Yves Saint Laurent. I just can't store it all and sometimes I want the pieces to go to "good homes" if I'm not wearing them. Vintage is like boomerang karma: what goes out, must come back." 

Kate has a passionate affair with vintage Ungaro. "I love the color and the prints! I do have to alter most of the pieces I buy though, for a more modern fit and length." Here she is wearing an 80's two-piece silk, floral suit, with House of Lavande Turquoise earrings. 

Ungaro dress, Panama hat and vintage jewelry.

Damien Hirst left, Hugo Guinness right. 

Givenchy strapless chiffon evening dress, gifted by Tracy Smith, the owner of House of Lavande, and silver bag from Argentina.

Kate attended RISD to study graphic design and photography. She held on to her cathartic love for painting and decorated her apartment with dozens of watercolors, sunglasses being one of her favorite subjects. "We always sketched by hand (at school). It's an invaluable skill. I kept elaborate sketch books with watercolors, collages, notes... I always loved the fluid quality. I do tons of paintings on vacation but somehow have zero motivation when I am in Manhattan. Go figure!"

Bergdorf Goodman leather shorts, Irish fisherman's cable knit sweater, fur hat and heart shaped sunglasses.

Bear.

Kate saves everything that has her name handwritten in calligraphy. "It's a lost art."

Faux-fur 80's trapeze leopard coat ($20 on Ebay!), YSL black blouse with bow, 70's floppy hat.

Mexican dress (Ebay).
I wear these Mexican dresses all summer. I am so inspired by South America. The Mayan Peninsula is the best for finding pieces like this. And I would love to go to Peru. They wear the brightest colors!

Yves Saint Laurent top and yellow Ralph Lauren skirt.