| Watch it On April 25, the annual Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race, a 125-nautical-mile International Yacht Race, billed as the largest yacht race in the world, begins in Newport Beach and can be viewed all along the coast as yachts race to Ensenada in Baja California. :: newporttoensenada.com |
Floating over Newport Marina, A’maree’s is a heart-stoppingly beautiful cathedral to fashion, architecture, sensuality, and common sense. The store is literally one of the most heavenly fashion experiences in the world.
The Thornton Ladd and John Kelsey modernist masterpiece in which the store lives was built in 1961. Originally a restaurant, it has been lovingly restored to life by sisters Dawn Klohs, Apryl Schaefer and Denise Schaefer, and then stuffed with riches they glean from the four corners of the earth.
Together the sisters marry a precise aesthetic of the gloriously sophisticated with pure feet-in-the-sand practicality. “Modern comfort and clean living are luxury,” says Denise Schaefer. “So is perfect design.”
Sculptures by Laguna Beach artist Cheryl Ekstrom tower above portholes in the concrete, through which they seem to contemplate the ocean below. Inside lies a vast and elegant kitchen, where tea or wine is offered. If you like your glass, you can buy it and take it home. Everywhere is seduction; handmade furniture beckons one to sit. Sheepskins and pristinely ragged linen blankets heaped up like so many sandbanks invite touch, and outside, the impossible blueness of the ocean, and the hypnotic undulating masts of the boats complete the spell.
Heaving with inventory, the store is a veritable pirate’s den of treasure. Established design superstars such as Azzedine Alaia, Junya Watanabe and Celine brush satiny shoulders with newer finds, such as Maison Rabin Kayrouz and Yulia Vital.
The beauty of A’maree’s ideology is embodied by the voices of their customers. “The best compliment we ever get is that so many of our clients keep the things that they buy from us for years,” says Schaefer.
Photography James Cant
Digital Tech Joanna Miriam
Photo Assistant Lily Cote
Hair and Makeup Sussy Campos
Styling Kim Bowen at Magnet
Stylist’s Assistants Jennifer Annang, Sarah Mosqueda
Model Stephanie Cherry at Next Models LA
Boat Dare, with thanks to Ralph Rodheim and Bob Kettenhofen of Doyle Sailmakers
All clothes and accessories are available from a selection at A’maree’s, 2241 W. Coast Hwy., Newport Beach.
:: amarees.com
