Silicon Valley Community Newspapers - Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Home
Almad
en
Resident
Ca
mpbell
Reporter
Cup
ertino
Courier
Los
Gatos Weekly
Times
Rose
Garden
Resident
Sar
atoga
News
Sunnyv
ale
Sun
Willow
Glen
Resident
We
st San Jose
Resident

Fi
er
c
el
y
L
o
c
al

N
e
w
s

Fi
er
c
el
y
L
oy
al
R
e
a
d
er
s

Specia
l
Sectio
ns

Advertising

Place an Ad
Online Form
Contacts &
Deadlines
Religious Directory Getting Coverage
Local
News
Schools
Sports
Post an Announcement About Us
Contact
Information
Circulation
Philosophy
History
Executive
Staff
Employment Archives
Browse Past Issues

Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Hom
e >
Los
Gato
s
Wee
kly-T
imes

Hom
e >
Busi
ness

07
17
|
W
ed
ne
sd
ay,

Ap
ril
25,

20
07

Business

Local businesses are making fashion statement this spring

By

Sue Cristallo

This is the
month for
clothes, from
funky to
couture, for
"designer
meals" and
for casual
and fine
dining. New
stores are
popping up
for spring
women's and
men's
fashions.

AZADEH COUTURE IS HERE ON
MAIN STREET with a new
ready-to-wear line. Fashion mavens
will be thrilled to know they need go
no farther than 262 E. Main St. for
their original clothing designs and
now will be privy to clothes by
Azadeh on the rack. Azadeh Riaz,
previously head designer of Bebe
fashions, just took over two floors in
town for the second store bearing
her name. The original store is in
Union Square, San Francisco.

On the ground floor of the Los Gatos store,
which opened March 1, there is a salon
devoted to the custom designing of wedding
and ball gowns, dresses and suits during the
two to three days each week Azadeh's in
town. The upper floor is home for her
ready-to-wear jeans, tops, dresses and suits.
The new line will be featured at a fashion
show luncheon in the store on April 26. Call
store managers Ladan Mohajer or Ariana
Delima at 408.354.4845 for information
about invitations. Learn more about the
fashions at www.azadehcouture.com.

BLANEY AIKMAN
MAKES
ONE-OF-A-KIND
HANDBAGS TO GO
with anything you wear.
They're fuzzy, flamboyant
and a great antidote to
chain store products that
lack heart, she says.
Aikman is a hometown
girl, a graduate of Los
Gatos High, class of '96
(her father, Dave
Aikman, was in the class
of '61).

She says she's
"a 5-foot-2,
redheaded,
triple-threat
survivor of five
open heart
surgeries
spanning 28
years." Her
congenital heart
defect didn't
hold her back. In
fact, it gave her
more reason to
express herself.

"My heart
condition
has given
me the
drive, the
courage
and the
appreciati
on of the
opportunit
ies life
presents,"
she says.

Sewing became her hobby at an early
age and has evolved into her creation of
fuzzy purses made of yarn. Warner
Brothers bought some of her B. Aikman
line of originals that were used by sitcom
stars Melanie Griffith, Sarah Gilbert and
Molly Stanton on Twins. The handbags
have appeared in feature and short films
and in fashion and designer shows. They
can be seen where she does
business--on her website,
www.baikman.com, or by calling Aikman
direct on her cell at 818.469.4956.

JoS.A.BANK CLOTHIERS IS ENJOYING AN
"AWESOME" RESPONSE from the town, says new
manager Max Verduzco. The 150 Main St. men's
clothing store opened last November in a
4,000-square-foot space. It features "Nordstrom
and Brooks Bros. quality, only at better prices," he
says. The main source of the store's business is
customers reached by mail with sales promotion
offers. "We do promotions and sales year-round,"
Verduzco says. As a result, folks can expect to pay
from $299-$699 for a suit on sale as opposed to
$450-$1,295. February, normally a slack month in the
trade, made a very good showing here.

"In fact, our CEO wanted to know,
'What's going on in Los Gatos?' "
Verduzco grins. The former owner
himself of a classic clothing store, he
quotes an old clothier's adage referring
to the sport coats and suits hanging
along the wall, "If you're doing well on
the wall, you're doing well overall." The
Baltimore, Maryland-based
JoS.A.Bank has been a classic
clothing store for 102 years and now
has nearly 400 stores. Go to
JoS.A.Bank.com for a better look or
call 408.354.1451.

DREAM DINNERS
MEAN WELL-FED
FAMILIES and a lot fewer
headaches for Mom. There
are three new owners of
the local Dream Dinners
meal assembly store at
14107 Winchester in
Vasona Station. It's a
homey storefront where
busy people may go
regularly and put together
in one session a week's
worth of family meals.

The meals are built according to
recipes and with all the fresh
ingredients at hand. Palo Altons
Jeannie Llewelyn, 48, and her
mother-daughter team of
friends, Kamini Patel, 45, and
Krupa Patel, 23, celebrated
the opening of their new
business with a membership
sign-up campaign and open
house last month. They donated
a portion of the sign-ups to the
American Cancer Society.

Former owners
Susie Mason and
Terry Sweeney
have moved on to
enjoying more time
at home. They
opened Dream
Dinners in 2005. To
learn more, visit
Dreamdinners.com
and select menus
and sessions, or
call 408.871.6858.

ATTENTION ALL
FOODIES: The casual
Italian restaurant and
bocce ball court,
Campo di Bocce, is
open again for lunch
and dinner. The 565
University Ave. club,
which welcomes the
public, has been closed
during renovations
needed after 10 years
of operation. Call
408.395.7650.

Dio Deka,
the fine
dining
Greek
restaurant in
Hotel Los
Gatos at
210 E. Main
St., is now
open for
lunch from
11:30 a.m.
until 2 p.m.
Call
408.354.770
0 for
reservations.

Got
a
busi
ness

story
?
Call
Sue
Crist
allo
at
408.
354.
835
3.

Silicon
Valley
Community
Newspapers
| 1095 The
Alameda,
San Jose,
CA 95126 |
Phone:
408.200.100
0 | Fax:
408.200.101
1
Copyright
MediaNews