Daily Front Row

2010 March 19

Hey, DJ!

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Sam Shipley,Hilary Duff, Jeff Halmos
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(LOS ANGELES) Confederacy, the wildly popular East Hollywood boutique co-owned by Ilaria Urbinati and Danny Masterson, drew a smattering of hip fashion insiders last night including Hilary Duff, Bijou Phillips, Laura Prepon, Sophie Buhai, James Valentine, Chris Masterson, Jessica Paster, Tara Subkhoff, Caroline D’Amore, Kate Sumner, Eric Ray Davidson, Sam Shipley, Jeff Halmos, Sasha Alexander and more to celebrate the spring collection from Shipley & Halmos. 

Masterson, otherwise known as DJ Mom Jeans, maintained an upbeat party vibe while guests sidled up to the bar for a Svedka cocktail, toasting the store and admiring the works on display by artist Sage Vaughn. “We try to incorporate local talent whenever we do a designer event in-store, and we thought the two would complement each other nicely,” the actor-cum-entrepreneur offered in between creative mixes of '70s punk and '80s rock.

Weaving through the crowd, Duff stayed close to best friend and fellow actress Alanna Masterson throughout the evening and managed to pick out a few new spring pieces to take home, including a pair of standout leopard print skinny jeans from Rebecca Minkoff’s latest ready-to-wear line. “This store keeps me cool," the actress smiled. "I don’t know what I’m wearing half the time, but everything in here is eclectic and different, which I like. I try to have fun and mess around with clothes and mix and match, and I’m always up to hearing about new brands."

Hovering near the DJ booth, Prepon, clad in a 3.1 Phillip Lim ensemble recently purchased from the store, shared stories from a new show she’s currently shooting. The actress admitted that while she’s far from a fashionista (“I had never heard of any of these designers before!” she confided), Confederacy has quickly become her one-stop shop. “I come here because it’s Danny’s store, and I try to support, but I also know that on the rare occasion I decide to go shopping, it better be a place where I know I’ll like a lot of stuff,” she said. “There’s not a lot of selection on the east side of town, but I live like four blocks from here, so it couldn’t be more perfect. Plus, I’m from Jersey…when I’m in here, I feel like I’m back on the east coast.”

But what about the day-to-day business particularly during this economic downturn? “We’re experiencing amazing success, honestly!" continued Masterson. "Everyone else has shut down, but we have things flying off the shelves here. It’s Ilaria, and what she chooses to buy and how limited everything is. This is her store. Everything in here is because of her!”

Echoing his praise, Ben Foster, the host of the evening’s soiree, added, “I know nothing about fashion. I avoid going out at all costs, but when I have to, Ilaria takes exquisite care of me. She’s a guru.” Glancing around the boutique, a refreshingly large space complete with exposed brick walls, telephone booth dressing rooms and a charming indoor courtyard, Foster raised his can of PBR to Urbinati and declared, “I love it. It’s London, its New York, it’s current. It’s one of the few places in Los Angeles that actually has some identity!”
JENNIFER CHAN