Tucked in a sun-filled annex at the designer’s Park Shore home, the chic k.fisk showroom exudes happiness and beauty from the brightly colored aqua walls to the simply stylish clothing and accessories neatly displayed throughout. There are plenty of sassy, sophisticated and fun styles for women of any age to enjoy. Welcome to k.fisk.
For local designer, Kristen Blabey, a transplant originally from the northeast, creating her own fashion style is something that she has thought about and cultivated her entire life. As an Art History/Studio Art graduate from Tulane University in New Orleans, Kristen grew up in southern Connecticut spending most summers on Cape Cod and the Islands enjoying the beauty and ease of coastal living at an early age. The k.fisk concept was slowly developed through her artistic interests, eye for fashion and desire for a fun, easy style. After years of living in New York City post-college and then back to Connecticut working in the antiques and interior design business, it all came together when she moved with her young family to Naples in 2004. She realized her true love of sunshine, beach-living and staying active as she settled into the gorgeous gulf coast town. With this lifestyle came the overwhelming desire for easy, flattering clothing that make you feel beautiful, comfortable and ready for anything…feeling stylish with ease and elegance for an impromptu lunch outing at Campiello to watching your kids play tennis or heading to have beach cocktails at sunset. As a wife and busy mother of three young children, this need became more and more important!
A self-admitted sun-worshipper and fitness enthusiast, Kristen, loves the outdoors and often wears beachwear or workout clothes mostly because of their comfort and ease as she navigates between bootcamp workouts, work responsibilities and school pick ups. In reality, she’d much rather be looking more “put together”! She felt that the idea of comfortable clothing didn’t have to always be limited to yoga wear or a beach coverup. The k.fisk dream was born!
“There’s not a lot of time for fussing with my wardrobe,” she says. “We all live busy lives. The way I see it, dressing can really be as simple as wearing a cute, flattering dress. You can style it up with fun jewelry, lipstick and a super pair of heels or keep it casual with flip flops and a smile! I love effortless style…throw on and go. Keep it easy, make it fun! At k.fisk, I’ve designed a collection of stylish, fun pieces which include my favorite “dresses” as well as many other fabulous easy ‘go-tos’ to add to your wardrobe. Perfect for carpools to date night. They will have you looking and feeling great…and ready for anything!”
k.fisk is a sophisticated, stylish collection of pretty, ready-to-wear wardrobe essentials, all thoughtfully designed and manufactured in the USA, using fine, durable fabrics in bright, cheerful colors, personally researched and hand-selected by Kristen herself. The clothing collection includes a variety of Kristen’s “favorite” dresses as well as stylish tunic-tops, skirts and scarves, to name a few. Each style is meticulously developed by the designer and then sewn in manufacturing facilities in both New Orleans and in Brooklyn, NY, which happen to be two of the designer’s favorite cities. Kristen spends a good deal of time traveling to the various facilities working on each of the stages of production; starting from her preliminary sketches to fabric choices to sample making to fittings and final phases of manufacturing. You can say that each piece is made with lots of love and attention to detail…in true k.fisk style! The select textiles used, boast an array of fabulous, versatile, solid colors. They are all washer/dryer safe, have SPF protection and have just enough stretch for a soft, comfortable fit. It’s really like wearing workout clothes with loads of style! The soft, wrinkle-free fabrics also make each piece incredibly easy to pack when you’re on the go. That’s an added bonus!
The designer also scours the country in search of interesting accessories, such as fantastic necklaces, colorful bracelets, gorgeous handbags, as well as, tapping into current trends like shiny flash tattoos, to round out her classic k.fisk designs. The great thing is that each clothing style can be worn many different ways with a simple switch of accessories which make them extremely versatile, too. With her love of antiquing and good flea market hunting, Kristen also has created a personal treasure trove of fabulous one-of-a-kind pieces which occasionally pop up in her collections. All of her accessories are specially selected to add a unique flare to each of her simply elegant designs. There is always something new and exciting when you visit k.fisk!
